Sunday Morning Book Thread 09-02-2018

Man Cave

Good morning to all you 'rons, 'ettes, lurkers, and lurkettes. Oh, and we've got a new category of readers, escaped oafs and oafettes ('escaped oafs' is an anagram of 'Ace of Spades'). Welcome once again to the stately, prestigious, internationally acclaimed and high-class Sunday Morning Book Thread, a weekly compendium of reviews, observations, and a continuing conversation on books, reading, and publishing by people who follow words with their fingers and whose lips move as they read. Unlike other AoSHQ comment threads, the Sunday Morning Book Thread is so hoity-toity, pants are required. Even if it's these pants which Muldoon probably wears. He calls them his "fruits of the looms."

(h/t Witch Hammer for the pic which you can click on to see a larger-sized version)

Think You're Too Old To Write?

Here are some famous authors and their ages when their first book was published:

Toni Morrison: 40
Mark Twain: 41
Marcel Proust: 43
Henry Miller: 44
JRR Tolkien: 45
Raymond Chandler: 51
Richard Adams: 52
Annie Proulx: 57
Laura Ingalls Wilder: 65
Frank McCourt: 66
Harriett Doerr: 74
Harry Bernstein: 96

(h/t Allison K Williams)

It Pays To Increase Your Word Power®

If you’re BEGRUTTEN then you look like you’ve been crying.

Usage: I think Hillary Clinton has been begrutten since Nov., 2016."

Bookstore Needs Help

Lurking SoCal moron Scott e-mailed:

I wanted to get a shout out to Bookman in Orange, which is one of the few remaining used bookstores in Southern California. For those of us who don't use E-readers, and still prefer the look and feel of a physical book in our hands, used bookstores are a great resource for building our libraries.

Bookman recently was unable to renew a lease, but rather than giving up and closing their store, they decided to start a GoFundMe page to help with moving costs, and relocated within the same city. Their goal is $30K, and they've made it to $11K so far. It would be great if the Horde pitched in to help.

So if any morons feel so inclined, especially those of you in Southern California, you can kick in a few bucks using Bookman's GoFundMe page.

Moron Recommendations

The science fiction novels of Robert J. Sawyer came up in the comments last week:

The first Sawyer book I read was Calculating God which flipped the syfy cliche on its head. A brilliant atheist scientist meets a theist alien who can't believe an otherwise intelligent being doesn't believe in God. I quite liked it and read other of his works. Then I read his celebration of utilitarian bioethics, Quantum Night, and was quite offended by it. I kept thinking the hero would wake up and realize that this is all evil but nooooooooooooooo!

Posted by: Anonosaurus Wrecks, Tyrannosaur Wrangler at August 26, 2018 11:07 AM (+y/Ru)

Calculating God sounds interesting enough to add it to my stack.

Sawyer has written a number of science fiction novels, including Flashforward, which was made into a TV series a few years ago.

https://www.amazon.com/Calculating-God-Robert-J-Sawyer-ebook/dp/B0058U7I3E/

___________

49 Reading a kids book-Where the Red Fern Grows by Wilson Rawls. I don't know why its in my library. Not sure where it came from. It probably wouldn't be considered a classic today as it deals with a boy from the Ozarks-maybe around 1910-20 who loves his hunting dogs and chasing raccoons. Wouldn't be considered politically correct today. I am enjoying it though.

Posted by: FenelonSpoke at August 26, 2018 09:12 AM (AllCR)

Yup. Where the Red Fern Grows is a indeed a YA classic. The wiki entry has some reviews that give potential readers an idea of what they'll be in for:

I remember crying so much through this book, and even today I tear up thinking of Old Dan and Little Ann. I also loaned this to my [then] children’s librarian, because the library copy was always out. I even marked the pages, “Get out tissue here.”
— DeAnn Okamura

I love, love, love this book with all my heart and soul. My fourth grade teacher read it to me eons ago, and I’ve read it to two of my three boys. There’s something about weeping together uncontrollably that builds a community of readers…
— Tess Alfonsin

They did a good job with the 1974 movie adaptation. However, I do NOT recommend the sequel, which stunk on ice. But it is part of one the Muse family stories:

It was a bad weekend in December and we were all sick with the stomach flu. There was nothing to do but sit around and be sick. Mrs. Muse had managed to bring home some VHS movies from the library (this was 1998 or 1999), and one of them was the Red Fern sequel. So we're all sitting in the family room, wrapped up in blankets, each one of us with his or her own barf bucket to contain any, uh, spillage that might occur. We pop in the Red Fern II tape and start watching and we're all slowly coming to realize that this is, without a doubt, one the worst movies we've ever seen. It was absolutely atrocious. I don't think we even finished it. I think we hit the 'eject' button at some point and popped in another tape, and this needs a bit of set-up: Back in the late 70s, NBC ran a short "Greatest Heroes of the Bible" mini-series and this was one of those episodes. It was the Old Testament story of Joseph and his coat of many colors and his abuse by his brothers who hated him. It was, in a word, terrible. I had watched the series when it was originally broadcast and had forgotten how bad it was. But what was worse, one of Joseph's brothers was played by John Larroquette and not only could he not act worth a toot, but I could not get that sleazebag character he used to play on the TV comedy Night Court out of my mind whenever I saw him on the screen. We were all miserable, sick to our stomachs, with nothing but crappy movies to watch, topped off with Larroquette's bad acting.

It was a horrible, horrible weekend, but it's one of our family memories we enjoy laughing about.

Anyway, Where the Red Fern Grows is a good book, and you should read it. It was published in 1961, before little boys suddenly decide they're really little girls and their teachers egg them on.

Books By Morons

Lurkette YounglingLurker e-mails:

I've been a longtime lurker on AoS (since I was about 13 and reading over my mom's shoulder).

This is the first time I've seen this: a 2nd generation 'ette. I don't know if this makes me happy or frightened.

I really enjoy the book thread and hearing about all the moron authors, which kind of inspired me to take up writing myself. I've recently released a fantasy book on Amazon, based around a game I played with a group of friends; the typical fantasy-adventure RPG, complete with cast of mythical creatures.

The book is called The Philanderers: The Story Begins. Here's the Amazon blurb:

The first adventure of many... Within this book is recorded the origins of that legendary band of warriors, the Philanderers. It chronicles their daring exploits in the Nyokan crisis: their bravery, determination, ingenuity, and intoxication, as they fought to banish the serpentine menace that threatened their world.

It's only available in paperback currently, but the eBook is in development

___________

Moron author James Y. Bartlett has been called "Dick Francis of golf." That is, as Francis' mystery novels are set in the world of horse racing, Bartlett's novels, featuring intrepid golf writer Pete Hacker, who as you might guess, has a knack for solving mysteries, revolve around the sport of golf and major golf tournaments.

The last in the series is Death in a Green Jacket:

A body is buried in a bunker weeks before the start of the Masters golf tournament. When intrepid golf writer Pete Hacker begins to investigate, he runs up against a wall of silence from official Augusta and a feared killer from the South American drug cartels lurking in the azaleas. And he begins to learn about an unsavory past that may be about to catch up with Augusta National.

The Kindle edition is $1.99. Bartlett has just published the fifth in the series, Death from the Claret Jug:

There’s trouble afoot in the Auld Grey Toon when golf writer Hacker and the world of golf arrive in St. Andrews for the playing of the Open Championship.

Before the tournament begins, a golf official is murdered and dropped into the Bottle Dungeon at St. Andrews Castle.

One prime suspect is a celebrity American resort developer. But there’s a University professor trying to outlaw golf and disrupt the tournament. And shady Russians turn up everywhere--chasing a caddie friend of Hacker and serving cocktails for the Marquis Cheape, who just happens to own the land beneath the Old Course.

Can Hacker solve the mystery before the tournament ends?

$4.99 on Kindle. The other three in the series are Death is a Two-Stroke Penalty, Death from the Ladies Tee, and Death at the Member-Guest.

___________

If you like, you can follow me on Twitter, where I make the occasional snarky comment.

___________

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 09:34 AM

Comments

(Jump to bottom of comments)

1 Hey, all you zombies!

Posted by: All Hail Eris, She-Wolf of the 'Ettes 'Ettes at September 02, 2018 09:32 AM (kQs4Y)

2 Finished Hunt For Red October and Patriot Games by Tom Clancy. And have moved on to re-read of the Empire of Man series by David Weber.

Posted by: Vic We Have No Party at September 02, 2018 09:32 AM (mpXpK)

3 Nyah!

Posted by: Anna Puma (HQCaR) at September 02, 2018 09:32 AM (fGI92)

4 Now that IS a man cave.

Posted by: Vic We Have No Party at September 02, 2018 09:33 AM (mpXpK)

5 That skull on the left. What is it? Ox? Yak? Ram?

Posted by: Steve and Cold Bear at September 02, 2018 09:34 AM (/qEW2)

6 beautiful space to relax.

I also see Eris allowed Oregon Muse to escape.

Posted by: willow at September 02, 2018 09:35 AM (dPd5y)

7 That skull on the left. What is it? Ox? Yak? Ram?
Posted by: Steve and Cold Bear at September 02, 2018 09:34 AM (/qEW2)

Carabao? Water buffalo? The Deceiver?

Posted by: hogmartin at September 02, 2018 09:36 AM (y87Qq)

8 This week:

"Reconstruction 1863-1877: America's Unfinished Business," by Eric Foner.

Posted by: strawdog at September 02, 2018 09:36 AM (Cssks)

9 Morning all

Love Books, hate leftists, the msm, RINOs and mccain

Posted by: Nevergiveup at September 02, 2018 09:36 AM (Ydx5u)

10 I also see Eris allowed Oregon Muse to escape.
Posted by: willow at September 02, 2018 09:35 AM (dPd5y)
---

Let him think he earned it.

Posted by: All Hail Eris, She-Wolf of the 'Ettes 'Ettes at September 02, 2018 09:37 AM (kQs4Y)

11 Good Sunday morning, horde!

You had us sweating, OM--thanks for coming through.

Also, I'm no man, but I would be delighted to spend my days in that man cave.

Posted by: April at September 02, 2018 09:37 AM (OX9vb)

12 Tolle Lege
Picked up this week at used book store the next book in the Patrick O'Brien series The Commadore, but also got The Battle of Borodino by Alexander Mikaberidze which makes it the 3rd book of his I have.
So far The Battle of Borodino is the most detailed of that battle I have, and have a few of them.

Posted by: Skip at September 02, 2018 09:38 AM (T4oHT)

13 Now that IS a man cave.
Posted by: Vic We Have No Party at September 02, 2018 09:33 AM (mpXpK)

I like how the collection extends upstairs too. The empty spaces on the shelves sets my teeth on edge though.

Posted by: hogmartin at September 02, 2018 09:38 AM (y87Qq)

14 Thanks OM.

Reading "The Man Who Invented the 20th Century" by Robert Lomas. The man was Nikola Tesla, a true genius. But he was also a very troubled man, especially in his later years. Some called him insane, a madman, and even a quack. But he invented a lot of neat stuff, and if he had better business sense he would be as well known as Edison, Westinghouse, Marconi, and probably wouldn't have died broke.

And his inspiration for all things electrical was his pet cat Macak when as a child he caused static electricity while stroking it's fur.

One of his more amusing inventions was a mechanical oscillator (he made several versions) that caused vibrations in structures. Mark Twain, who was a fan and friend, visited Tesla one night and tried out his oscillator. It gave Twain a very pleasurable feeling (an early orgasmatron?), which was soon followed by a sudden and urgent need to use the toilet. This device was also called a mechanical laxative.

A funny summary of Tesla's inventions from The Oatmeal.
https://tinyurl.com/d9s9mjz

Some head music.

Loreena McKennitt - The Mystic's Dream
https://youtu.be/gtatT-797K0

The Dolly Rocker Movement - Gypsy Dancer
https://youtu.be/uPmOF5xljEk

Steve Martin - King Tut
https://youtu.be/FYbavuReVF4

Patti Smith - Gloria (Live 1979)
https://youtu.be/VgNeBNMJFZs

Posted by: Jake Holenhead at September 02, 2018 09:41 AM (vpcGp)

15 That library has lots of available space for new acquisitions.

Posted by: San Franpsycho at September 02, 2018 09:41 AM (EZebt)

16 I would have to replace one of those chairs with a rocking chair though.

Posted by: Vic We Have No Party at September 02, 2018 09:41 AM (mpXpK)

17 Thanks to the Moron who recommended Robert Gaudi’s “African Kaiser: General Paul von Lettow-Vorbeck and the Great War in Africa, 1914-1918. I had read a few short articles in history magazines about this man but this really paints a rich portrait of the man.

Some firsts: supposedly, the first racially integrated army in modern history (many NCOs trained at Kassel); and the first intercontinental Zeppelin voyage (4000 miles!).

Once landed, the zeppelin was going to be completely cannibalized and broken down for use: the muslin gas bag covers for bandages and sleeping bags, the canvas frame sheath for tents and clothing, the duraluminum frame for radio masts, the leather treads on the interior catwalks for shoes, and the structural skeleton for housing frames.

Hey, look what Wiki linked to:

https://archive.org/stream/myreminiscenceso00lettuoft#page/n0

Click on the arrow to page through the book.

Pro tip: hippo fat makes a tasty and nutritious bread spread.

Posted by: All Hail Eris, She-Wolf of the 'Ettes 'Ettes at September 02, 2018 09:42 AM (kQs4Y)

18 Man Cave is incomplete.

Where is the rolling tool box and gun collection?

Posted by: Blake - used bridge salesman at September 02, 2018 09:43 AM (WEBkv)

19 Toni Morrison is evil. Should be replaced with Joseph Conrad, also a late bloomer.

Posted by: Steve and Cold Bear at September 02, 2018 09:43 AM (/qEW2)

20 Mr. April and I spent some time in the antique stores yesterday. Did not find the bear skin he was hoping for, but I got some interesting books:

Pebbles from the Path of a Pilgrim, by Mrs. H. L. Hastings, pub. 1910.

Flight from Terror, by Alya Rachmanova, pub. 1933, and detailing her family's escape from Russia during the Bolshevik revolution.

And this one, which looks most interesting--The Strange Death of President Harding, "from the diaries of Gaston B. Means, A Department of Justice Investigation." Pub. 1930. Vintage true crime investigation--can't wait to read this one.

Posted by: April at September 02, 2018 09:44 AM (OX9vb)

21 >>> Should be replaced with Joseph Conrad, also a late bloomer.

Hos first novel was written in French.

Posted by: fluffy at September 02, 2018 09:44 AM (cHbmY)

22 That sunbeam and the bear in the library looks like Sean Connery in Goldfinger--the laser scene. You know the one I mean.

Posted by: Muldoon at September 02, 2018 09:45 AM (mvenn)

23 I read Give Your Heart to the Hawks: A Tribute to the Mountain Men by Wil Blevins. After reading this interesting book, I think the mountain men were some of the bravest, craziest, and most unappreciated men in American history. Their heyday began in 1806 when John Colter of the Lewis and Clark expedition did not return to St. Louis with the party, but went back to the mountains to trap. It was over in 1843 when the Great Migration began along the Oregon Trail, although some trappers remained for some years; but the era was over.

During these years these brave men mapped much of the west, found a pass through the Rockies, found a land route to California, and set the stage for the settlers to come. Blevins has collected some fantastic stories of their bravery, tenacity, and men just too ornery to die in the hardest of circumstances. A very interesting book that was well-written and researched.

Posted by: Zoltan at September 02, 2018 09:46 AM (7akVy)

24 Nice Lieberry!

When I was ute, I went round and round with my 9th grade English teacher, Ms.Ferguson, about the Oxford comma.

She demanded it's use, I declined and insisted both styles were correct.

She won. Although not a looker, she was nice. I wish she would have been like today's government skool teachers and just had sex with me instead.

Posted by: Hairyback Guy at September 02, 2018 09:46 AM (EoRCO)

25 >>> Should be replaced with Joseph Conrad, also a late bloomer.

Hos first novel was written in French.
Posted by: fluffy at September 02, 2018 09:44 AM (cHbmY)

He was an AngloUkrainoPole. I think he just grabbed whichever language happened to be nearby.

Posted by: hogmartin at September 02, 2018 09:46 AM (y87Qq)

26 Doing research for Catherine and Diana's newest foray into battling the Nazi occult and truthfully where I am planning to start the story, at Bergen-Belsen depresses the heck out of me.

"One woman cam up to a soldier who was guarding the milk store and doling the milk for children, and begged for milk for her baby. The man took the baby and saw that it had been dead for days, black in the face and shriveled up. The woman went on begging for milk. So he poured some on the dead lips. The mother then started to croon with joy and carried the baby off in triumph. She stumbled and fell dead in a few yards."
- American reporter Patrick Gordon. Bergen-Belsen April 1945.
pg 601. The Holocaust Chronicle: A History in Words and Pictures. Legacy Publishing. 2007.

Bergen-Belsen is where Anne Franks and her sister Margot died. And where Hilde Lobaur became known as "the SS woman without uniform" for her penchant for cruelty using a leather whip and a cane.

Posted by: Anna Puma (HQCaR) at September 02, 2018 09:47 AM (fGI92)

27 The ultimate man cave might be just like that only with the skulls of your enemies on the wall.

Posted by: Skip at September 02, 2018 09:47 AM (T4oHT)

28 22 That sunbeam and the bear in the library looks like Sean Connery in Goldfinger--the laser scene. You know the one I mean.
Posted by: Muldoon at September 02, 2018 09:45 AM (mvenn)
---
No, Yogi -- I expect you to die!

Posted by: Ranger Smith at September 02, 2018 09:47 AM (kQs4Y)

29 Hey, all you zombies!

Posted by: All Hail Eris, She-Wolf of the 'Ettes 'Ettes at September 02, 2018 09:32 AM (kQs4Y)

Hide your faces,

All you people

In the street

Posted by: naturalfake and the Hooters at September 02, 2018 09:48 AM (9q7Dl)

30 She demanded it's use,
---

Mrs. Ferguson had her work cut out for her!

Posted by: All Hail Eris, Literate Savage at September 02, 2018 09:49 AM (kQs4Y)

31 Posted by: Jake Holenhead at September 02, 2018 09:41 AM (vpcGp)

----------------

The Mummers Dance

https://tinyurl.com/gu2eblp

Be warned, she's a beguiling ginger.

Posted by: Blake - used bridge salesman at September 02, 2018 09:49 AM (WEBkv)

32
She won. Although not a looker, she was nice. I wish she would have been like today's government skool teachers and just had sex with me instead.

Posted by: Hairyback Guy at September 02, 2018 09:46 AM (EoRCO)

That made me laugh.

Posted by: Cannibal Bob at September 02, 2018 09:50 AM (EPnrI)

33 Death in a Claret Jug sounds like it is talking about Trump .

Posted by: Mitt at September 02, 2018 09:50 AM (2DOZq)

34 Carabao? Water buffalo? The Deceiver?
Posted by: hogmartin at September 02, 2018 09:36 AM (y87Qq)

Nailed it. Water buffalo. It's those bizarre sloped horns that look like long hair parted in the middle. They don't seem much use for goring, more for butting I suppose.

Posted by: Steve and Cold Bear at September 02, 2018 09:50 AM (/qEW2)

35 BEERgluten
always makes me cryyyyy

Posted by: votermom pimping NEW Moron-authored books! at September 02, 2018 09:50 AM (CE6iV)

36 Y'all are welcome.

Norman Maclean (A River Runs Through It) first published at 65.

Posted by: Bandersnatch at September 02, 2018 09:51 AM (fuK7c)

37 I will finish my book, I will finish my book, I will finish my book. Ok, now I feel better.

Posted by: Cannibal Bob at September 02, 2018 09:52 AM (EPnrI)

38 Good morning fellow Book Threadists. I hope everyone had a great week of reading.

And YES!! I want that man cave. (As soon as there are more book shelves.)

Posted by: JTB at September 02, 2018 09:52 AM (V+03K)

39 Today I'm going to the Knap-In at Flint Ridge State Park (yeeess, it's book-related) so I can see some demonstrations on flint knapping.

I have a couple of instructional books, but they keep putting me to sleep. Sometimes, I just want someone to show me.

Have a nice big pile of flint to get started on once I've got the basics.

Posted by: April at September 02, 2018 09:53 AM (OX9vb)

40 Still think it's too late for a novel for me but I would like to get some of that children's book mula. It's not about the quality so much as picking the correct subject.

Posted by: Mitt at September 02, 2018 09:54 AM (2DOZq)

41 Be warned, she's a beguiling ginger.
Posted by: Blake - used bridge salesman at September 02, 2018 09:49 AM

Yes she is. Good singer too.

Posted by: Jake Holenhead at September 02, 2018 09:55 AM (vpcGp)

42 Damn that was an old Sock.

Posted by: Lancelot Link Secret Agent Chimp at September 02, 2018 09:55 AM (2DOZq)

43 40 Still think it's too late for a novel for me but I would like to get some of that children's book mula. It's not about the quality so much as picking the correct subject.

Posted by: Mitt at September 02, 2018 09:54 AM (2DOZq)

"See Spot On The Car Roof"

Posted by: votermom pimping NEW Moron-authored books! at September 02, 2018 09:55 AM (CE6iV)

44 I finished "Lenin in Zurich" by Solzhenitsyn this week. It was a good portrait of the old cocksucker as he was hanging out in Switzerland away from the preliminary revolution activities in Petrograd which the simple pile of shit didn't think could happen without him, which is probably why it did. In a lot of ways he sounded just as self obsessed as TFG. Anyway I gave it four stars on Goodreads, nicking it only because the narrative was clunky which could be because of the translation.

After that I finally decided to tackle "A People's Tragedy: A History of the Russian Revolution" by Orlando Figes which has been on my bookshelf forever (I think it was a gift from a book group member). I made it through the first section which mainly pointed out what a bumbling fuckhead Tsar Nicholas was who dwelled on the most menial tasks while the country went in the shitter. Sounds like primo GOPe material. Anyway the narrative style is very good and I expect to enjoy this quite a bit, the subject matter notwithstanding. I strongly suspect some other members of the Horde of the Book have partaken of this.

Posted by: Captain Hate at September 02, 2018 09:56 AM (y7DUB)

45 Today I'm going to the Knap-In at Flint Ridge State Park (yeeess, it's book-related) so I can see some demonstrations on flint knapping.
Posted by: April at September 02, 2018 09:53 AM (OX9vb)

That sounds like fun! And it's even in Licking County, which is a silly name. Do you shoot or use flint tools or are you just looking for a crafting hobby?

Posted by: hogmartin at September 02, 2018 09:57 AM (y87Qq)

46 Still working my way through Grant.

Interesting to see how Grant wound up in charge of the entire northern army and allowed general like Sheridan and Sherman pretty much a free hand.

Basically, it appears Grant would point them in a direction and let them do their thing.

Also, I'm in awe of Sherman. The man understood that war is brutal and the best way to get it over with is overwhelming destruction of the capacity of the enemy to resist.

Posted by: Blake - used bridge salesman at September 02, 2018 09:57 AM (WEBkv)

47 Currently reading-

"Fibonacci Trading" by Carolyn Boroden

Probably not much of interest to the general reader,

except,

once again, it appears the Golden Mean is everywhere.

I mean everywhere in creation.

Either God is speaking in math or incredible coincidence or the very nature of Life and Matter cause the GM to be a near universal dealio.

Interesting stuff.

Posted by: naturalfake at September 02, 2018 09:57 AM (9q7Dl)

48 A 2d gen 'ette.... oh those poor wittle beta males in their oversized and overpriced rompers...

Posted by: Anna Puma (HQCaR) at September 02, 2018 09:58 AM (fGI92)

49 Hiya

Posted by: JT at September 02, 2018 09:59 AM (3bVFB)

50 Man cave needs an ottoman with a hidden bar.

Posted by: Fritz at September 02, 2018 10:00 AM (ANJe6)

51 43 40 Still think it's too late for a novel for me but I would like to get some of that children's book mula. It's not about the quality so much as picking the correct subject.

Posted by: Mitt at September 02, 2018 09:54 AM (2DOZq)

Maybe something old school about gender. Lets seeee a title like " Check Between Your Legs".

Posted by: Cannibal Bob at September 02, 2018 10:00 AM (EPnrI)

52 Robert Sawyer used to bill himself as "Canada's leading native-born professional science fiction writer" -- a category carefully defined to exclude Gibson (non-native) and Atwood (swears up and down she doesn't write SF).

Posted by: Trimegistus at September 02, 2018 10:01 AM (r1Z5I)

53 test

Posted by: Jerry Johnson at September 02, 2018 10:02 AM (8h9kC)

54 Cannibal Bob, gotta use alliteration of a simple sort for such titles.

Grab your hiney! Is it shiny?

Posted by: Anna Puma (HQCaR) at September 02, 2018 10:02 AM (fGI92)

55 Haven't had time to read. Busy washing the blood off my burnt orange jersey.

Posted by: RustyG at September 02, 2018 10:02 AM (8AvCG)

56 I continued with The Hobbit, both the fancy hardcover edition (worth the cost) and the audio version. I had forgotten how enjoyable the story is but I don't read it every year like LOTR. The audio version remains delightful in its simple approach.

I do wonder if The Hobbit would be published as a 'kids' book today. Same with the Narnia stories. I tend to doubt it.

Posted by: JTB at September 02, 2018 10:02 AM (V+03K)

57 "Give Your Heart to the Hawks" is an awesome read - I have it on my bookshelf since I was doing research on the Mountain Men for my first HF.
Been reading Jill Marie Landis "Tiki Goddess" mystery series this week, which was recommended in the thread a couple of weeks ago. Enjoying it very much, so far - a nice, regional series (set on Kauai's North Shore) with lots of local color, and even some recipes for drinks! (The Tiki Goddess is a bar and local hang-out.) Very enjoyable. Honestly, the book thread is where I go now for suggestions on what to read next!

Posted by: Sgt. Mom at September 02, 2018 10:02 AM (xnmPy)

58 Do you shoot or use flint tools or are you just looking for a crafting hobby?
Posted by: hogmartin at September 02, 2018 09:57 AM (y87Qq)

I shoot very little, am thinking of taking up archery, but mostly I just like stone and stuff made with it, and it's cool to have some old-timey knowledge.

So I'll start with some arrowheads, and then maybe when I get good at it, I can make some flint knives, because I think they'd be cool.

Posted by: April at September 02, 2018 10:03 AM (OX9vb)

59 I'm sure a girl power children's book would be successful. A more powerful Dora the explorer.

Posted by: Lancelot Link Secret Agent Chimp at September 02, 2018 10:03 AM (2DOZq)

60 54 Cannibal Bob, gotta use alliteration of a simple sort for such titles.

Grab your hiney! Is it shiny?

Posted by: Anna Puma (HQCaR) at September 02, 2018 10:02 AM (fGI92)

Anna! LMAO. This place always makes thing better....lol.

Posted by: Cannibal Bob at September 02, 2018 10:04 AM (EPnrI)

61 After that I finally decided to tackle "A People's Tragedy: A History of the Russian Revolution" by Orlando Figes which has been on my bookshelf forever (I think it was a gift from a book group member). I made it through the first section which mainly pointed out what a bumbling fuckhead Tsar Nicholas was who dwelled on the most menial tasks while the country went in the shitter. Sounds like primo GOPe material. Anyway the narrative style is very good and I expect to enjoy this quite a bit, the subject matter notwithstanding. I strongly suspect some other members of the Horde of the Book have partaken of this.
Posted by: Captain Hate at September 02, 2018 09:56 AM (y7DUB)

------------------------

I'm going to argue against Tsar Nicholas being a complete bonehead. Remember, his son, Alex, suffered from hemophilia. Back then, sons were treasured and Alex was the heir. Then, Rasputin shows up and, well, things went downhill from there.

The family was completely absorbed by Alex's illness and, in the end, I don't think they ever expected to be dragged into the woods and shot

Posted by: Blake - used bridge salesman at September 02, 2018 10:04 AM (WEBkv)

62 I finished Zane Grey's "Riders of the Purple Sage" precisely because it was so awful I couldn't stop.

When ace was toying with us about maybe doing another book club I suggested that we do some pulp fiction -- Hammet, Carver, or a Robert E Howard "Conan". He liked the idea but said he's read all the good Conans too recently.

Well, I found one for free on Kindle anyway, "Red Nails", and read it this week. It is also not, say, quality lit, but it's delightful campy fun.

There's a fine line between campy and purple.

Posted by: Bandersnatch at September 02, 2018 10:04 AM (fuK7c)

63 Trapped!

Cat on my chest, dog stretched out below me on the floor, and my coffee cup is empty.

Good bye cruel world.

Posted by: Beartooth at September 02, 2018 10:05 AM (kXSmR)

64 A more powerful Dora the explorer.

Doris of Webley perhaps?

Posted by: Anna Puma (HQCaR) at September 02, 2018 10:05 AM (fGI92)

65 Yesterday I threw a dart at my list and came up with "Golden Hill" by Francis Spufford, which is historical fiction about just what was involved in something as simple as covering a bank draft back when transatlantic communication took weeks. But, all of the CADL branches are closed all weekend for the holiday

At least it got me out of the house for a little while. Did someone here recommend that one? I want to report back when I've read it but I can't remember where I heard about it.

Posted by: hogmartin at September 02, 2018 10:05 AM (y87Qq)

66 I shoot very little, am thinking of taking up archery, but mostly I just like stone and stuff made with it, and it's cool to have some old-timey knowledge.

So I'll start with some arrowheads, and then maybe when I get good at it, I can make some flint knives, because I think they'd be cool.

Posted by: April at September 02, 2018 10:03 AM (OX9vb)

That is very cool April.

Posted by: Cannibal Bob at September 02, 2018 10:05 AM (EPnrI)

67 I'm getting a little tired of Tesla, to be honest. He's become one of the poster children for Progressives trying to tear down American heroes. "Tesla GOOD, Edison BAD!" seems to be the new line -- because Edison died rich and successful while Tesla was penniless and insane, therefore Tesla MUST be virtuous and Edison evil.

Posted by: Trimegistus at September 02, 2018 10:06 AM (r1Z5I)

68 The Innocents Abroad was first published by American Publishing Company in late July 1869, which makes Twain 34.

Posted by: aelfheld at September 02, 2018 10:06 AM (Zy9Yy)

69 Blake 46

Napoleon did that also, I've read: "Here is your objective. These are the resources available to you. Proceed as you think best."

Posted by: strawdog at September 02, 2018 10:06 AM (Cssks)

70 Cat on my chest, dog stretched out below me on the floor, and my coffee cup is empty.

==

no cat, but same here
some kind of book thread conspiracy

Posted by: votermom pimping NEW Moron-authored books! at September 02, 2018 10:07 AM (CE6iV)

71 Posted by: Blake - used bridge salesman at September 02, 2018 10:04 AM (WEBkv)

I blame his cousin King George who refused to give the Tsar and his family sanctuary.

Posted by: Lancelot Link Secret Agent Chimp at September 02, 2018 10:07 AM (2DOZq)

72 39 ... " Today I'm going to the Knap-In at Flint Ridge State Park (yeeess, it's book-related) so I can see some demonstrations on flint knapping."

April, It would be a hoot to knap the flints for my flintlock rifles. Unfortunately, with my delicate touch I would probably turn flint nodules into flint dust. Hope you have fun.

Posted by: JTB at September 02, 2018 10:07 AM (V+03K)

73 once again, it appears the Golden Mean is everywhere.

I mean everywhere in creation.

Either God is speaking in math or incredible coincidence or the very nature of Life and Matter cause the GM to be a near universal dealio.

Interesting stuff.
Posted by: naturalfake at September 02, 2018 09:57 AM (9q7Dl)

It may appeal to you aesthetically, but is there any actual evidence that it works in practice? Is it just another gimmick by someone trying to sell their investment snake oil advice?

Posted by: Steve and Cold Bear at September 02, 2018 10:08 AM (/qEW2)

74 63 Trapped!

Cat on my chest, dog stretched out below me on the floor, and my coffee cup is empty.

Good bye cruel world.
Posted by: Beartooth at September 02, 2018 10:05 AM (kXSmR)

That's when a wife comes in handy. Or husband...? Gees these gender neutral nicks...amirite?

Posted by: Cannibal Bob at September 02, 2018 10:08 AM (EPnrI)

75 14
And his inspiration for all things electrical was his pet cat Macak when as a child he caused static electricity while stroking it's fur.

I didn't know that. A story I've previously told on the pet thread is when my cats Leo and Kira (who were brother and sister) walked across the living room carpet towards each other. When their noses were less than an inch apart I saw a bright blue spark and heard a loud SNAP. They each took off in opposite directions while I laughed and laughed.

A funny summary of Tesla's inventions from The Oatmeal.
https://tinyurl.com/d9s9mjz
Posted by: Jake Holenhead at September 02, 2018 09:41 AM (vpcGp)

That Oatmeal cartoon is an absolute classic.

It was responsible for raising over a million dollars to buy Tesla's old Wardenclyffe laboratory which was derelict and about to be demolished for a housing development. It was saved and is being refurbished and turned into a Tesla museum.

It got me, too. I donated a ridiculous amount of money to the cause.

Posted by: rickl at September 02, 2018 10:08 AM (sdi6R)

76 Finally, finally, I get in early on the book thread because church is having only the late service.

Ironically, I haven't read any books this past week. Just AoS threads, related articles, and old comics.

I hope to remedy that over the holiday.

Posted by: Weak Geek at September 02, 2018 10:09 AM (UQij2)

77 JTB, if I ever get this hobby up and running, I'll make you some flints.

Posted by: April at September 02, 2018 10:09 AM (OX9vb)

78 Tesla didn't run around the country electrocuting elephants to sell his brand of electricity.

Posted by: Bandersnatch at September 02, 2018 10:10 AM (fuK7c)

79 Cat on my chest, dog stretched out below me on the floor, and my coffee cup is empty.
------
If I were to have a marble tomb a la Winchester Cathedral, my likeness would be just this.

Posted by: All Hail Eris, Literate Savage at September 02, 2018 10:10 AM (kQs4Y)

80 The bit about Tesla's vibratory machine reminds me: I just read an interesting paper debunking the famous "Doctors used to give women orgasms to treat hysteria!" claim. Here's the piece from Marginal Revolution: https://tinyurl.com/y85dqop6

I recommend following the link to the paper cited.

Posted by: Trimegistus at September 02, 2018 10:10 AM (r1Z5I)

81 78 Tesla didn't run around the country electrocuting elephants to sell his brand of electricity.
Posted by: Bandersnatch at September 02, 2018 10:10 AM (fuK7c)
---

It's a little thing called showmanship, Bander.

Posted by: All Hail Eris, Literate Savage at September 02, 2018 10:10 AM (kQs4Y)

82 Off to do things, you guys have a wonderful day. I'll check back in later, if not, please carry out funeral arrangements outlined in previous thread.

Posted by: hogmartin at September 02, 2018 10:10 AM (y87Qq)

83 Bergen-Belsen is where Anne Franks and her sister Margot died. And where Hilde Lobaur became known as "the SS woman without uniform" for her penchant for cruelty using a leather whip and a cane.

Posted by: Anna Puma

I just finished Black Cross by Greg Iles.

It was very good.

Posted by: JT at September 02, 2018 10:11 AM (3bVFB)

84 hubby borrowed "The distracted mind : ancient brains in a high-tech world by Adam Gazzaley and Larry D. Rosen" and I skimmed thru it
pretty interesting

one of the things it says is our brains see info like squirrels see nuts - we just can't resist digging for the next one

Posted by: votermom pimping NEW Moron-authored books! at September 02, 2018 10:11 AM (CE6iV)

85 If I were to have a marble tomb a la Winchester Cathedral

And now I have a prog rock earworm. Thank you so kindly.

Posted by: Bandersnatch at September 02, 2018 10:11 AM (fuK7c)

86 no cat, but same here
some kind of book thread conspiracy

Ah.It makes sense now. Yes, a conspiracy it is. That or I forgot to cook the bacon before settling in for the book thread.

Note to self: always have bacon handy.

Posted by: Beartooth at September 02, 2018 10:12 AM (kXSmR)

87 Is anyone else sick of the mile-long subtitles on e-books that have become common the last couple of years? For example from today's Kindle specials, Her Mother's Grave: Absolutely Gripping Crime Fiction with Unputdownable (sic) Mystery and Suspense by Lisa Regan and The Girl in the Letter: The Most Gripping, Heartwrenching Page-turner of the Year by Emily Gunnis. I assume it's a way to game the search engine algorithms, which I can understand seeming to be necessary, but I also assume it means they are badly written and refuse to read any that do that.

Posted by: Polliwog the 'Ette at September 02, 2018 10:12 AM (uquGJ)

88
It's a little thing called showmanship, Bander.

Posted by: All Hail Eris, Literate Savage at September 02, 2018 10:10 AM (kQs4Y)

Is there a video?

Posted by: Cannibal Bob at September 02, 2018 10:13 AM (EPnrI)

89 Posted by: Trimegistus at September 02, 2018 10:06 AM (r1Z5I)

Sorry but I'm one that has no problem with revealing the hard truth. Edison is still an American hero but he was not an honest man. I just wish they would do it with JFK.

Posted by: Lancelot Link Secret Agent Chimp at September 02, 2018 10:13 AM (2DOZq)

90 Snatch: See? That's what I mean. You know what else Tesla didn't do? He didn't give rise to at least three different industries. Edison did. But since we're now supposed to assume success is proof of villainy, we're only allowed to admire failures and crazy people.

Posted by: Trimegistus at September 02, 2018 10:13 AM (r1Z5I)

91 >>>Norman Maclean (A River Runs Through It) first published at 65.<<<
So what are the differences between the book and the movie? Is Norman's name ever mentioned in the book? College? River rafting? Where'd they get this stuff?

Posted by: Fritz at September 02, 2018 10:13 AM (ANJe6)

92 If I were to have a marble tomb a la Winchester Cathedral

And now I have a prog rock earworm. Thank you so kindly.

Posted by: Bandersnatch

A bodey oh doe

Posted by: JT at September 02, 2018 10:13 AM (3bVFB)

93 Downloaded "Clash of Empires" by Ben Kane for 99 cents. One of the Kindle Daily Deals books. It's about ancient Rome invading Greece. I haven't heard of the author before but his books get good reviews. Anyone in the Horde familiar with his work?

Posted by: JTB at September 02, 2018 10:14 AM (V+03K)

94 Hey, look what Wiki linked to:
https://archive.org/stream/myreminiscenceso00lettuoft#page/n0
Posted by: All Hail Eris, She-Wolf of the 'Ettes 'Ettes at September 02, 2018 09:42 AM

Heh, a Major Kraut served with General Paul von Lettow-Vorbeck in East Africa.

Posted by: Jake Holenhead at September 02, 2018 10:15 AM (vpcGp)

95 That's when a wife comes in handy. Or husband...? Gees these gender neutral nicks...amirite?

The Mrs is sensibility asleep in the bedroom or trapped by the other cat.

Posted by: Beartooth at September 02, 2018 10:15 AM (kXSmR)

96 Note to self: always have bacon handy.

Posted by: Beartooth at September 02, 2018 10:12 AM (kXSmR)

That reminds me I have 3 lbs of bacon to cook and I need to pack up the jerky I made yesterday. Luego all. Use your commas.

Posted by: Cannibal Bob at September 02, 2018 10:15 AM (EPnrI)

97 I blame his cousin King George who refused to give the Tsar and his family sanctuary.
Posted by: Lancelot Link Secret Agent Chimp at September 02, 2018 10:07 AM (2DOZq)

--------------

Well, then the Russian civil war started about the time WW1 ended.

The Russian civil war starting on the heels of the disastrous defeat of Russia didn't help, either.

Talk about a confluence of events.

Posted by: Blake - used bridge salesman at September 02, 2018 10:15 AM (WEBkv)

98 Heh, a Major Kraut served with General Paul von Lettow-Vorbeck in East Africa.
Posted by: Jake Holenhead at September 02, 2018 10:15 AM (vpcGp)
---

I laffed too!

Posted by: All Hail Eris, Literate Savage at September 02, 2018 10:15 AM (kQs4Y)

99 Is there a video?
Posted by: Cannibal Bob at September 02, 2018 10:13 AM (EPnrI)

Its name was Topsy. And yes.

Posted by: hogmartin at September 02, 2018 10:15 AM (y87Qq)

100 A tid bit I read in Napoleon's Army Handbook was that the flint knappers could get a respiratory ailment from the flint that could prove fatal. Now they would have had this as a full time job so unless your doing it that much it shouldn't be a issue.

Posted by: Skip at September 02, 2018 10:16 AM (T4oHT)

101 It's a little thing called showmanship, Bander.

Posted by: All Hail Eris, Literate Savage at September 02, 2018 10:10 AM (kQs4Y)

Is there a video?
Posted by: Cannibal Bob

Since Mr. Showmanship also invented the movie camera, of course there is!

Topsy the elephant meets her demise to prove how dangerous AC is.

https://youtu.be/NoKi4coyFw0

Posted by: Bandersnatch at September 02, 2018 10:16 AM (fuK7c)

102 Also discovered whilst doing research a typo can be a useful thing. There is Celle Germany and then there is Celles Belgium where on 26 Dec 1944 the US 2nd Armored Division defeated the German 2nd Panzer Division durin the Battle of the Bulge. Still wondering if I can make a joke out of the similarity of names.

Debating if I should try and find a 1944 map of Celle to see if the French Garden copse existed back then near the Neues Rathaus or just wing it by describing the a devastated town and here rising almost undamaged is this long pale red brick building that is the center for much British activity.

Posted by: Anna Puma (HQCaR) at September 02, 2018 10:17 AM (fGI92)

103 what is an internal server error 500 and how do I fix it. this is so stupid. retropox.

Posted by: retropox at September 02, 2018 10:17 AM (8h9kC)

104 The Mrs is sensibility asleep in the bedroom or trapped by the other cat.

Posted by: Beartooth at September 02, 2018 10:15 AM (kXSmR)

Boy that sounds familiar. Two big Maine Coons here. They get on you, you ain't goin anywhere.

Posted by: Cannibal Bob at September 02, 2018 10:17 AM (EPnrI)

105 well... i got one to go through.

seriously, how to fix a 500 error?

Posted by: retropox at September 02, 2018 10:18 AM (8h9kC)

106 Tesla's life fits the old adage:

"If you can't be a good example, you can still serve as a ~~horrible warning~~precautionary tale. "

Posted by: votermom pimping NEW Moron-authored books! at September 02, 2018 10:18 AM (CE6iV)

107 Top PLO official warns US, Israel will 'pay price' for UNRWA cuts
Hanan Ashrawi,

Well no you hag, that is the point, we ain't paying no more

Posted by: Nevergiveup at September 02, 2018 10:18 AM (Ydx5u)

108 It may appeal to you aesthetically, but is there any actual evidence that it works in practice? Is it just another gimmick by someone trying to sell their investment snake oil advice?
Posted by: Steve and Cold Bear at September 02, 2018 10:08 AM (/qEW2)

---------------------

The Golden Mean also applies to the existence of life on earth.

Posted by: Blake - used bridge salesman at September 02, 2018 10:18 AM (WEBkv)

109 Most people don't know that Tesla was the real inventor of the radio and not Marconi according to the US Patent office.

Posted by: Lancelot Link Secret Agent Chimp at September 02, 2018 10:18 AM (2DOZq)

110
Its name was Topsy. And yes.
Posted by: hogmartin at September 02, 2018 10:15 AM (y87Qq)

Gees. Ok now I gotta see. Damn.

Posted by: Cannibal Bob at September 02, 2018 10:18 AM (EPnrI)

111 The medico, he is in.

Posted by: Paolo at September 02, 2018 10:19 AM (N1ZXu)

112 103 what is an internal server error 500 and how do I fix it. this is so stupid. retropox.
Posted by: retropox at September 02, 2018 10:17 AM (8h9kC)
----

It means there are two retropoxi in the same dimension! It's causing a rift in time and space!

Posted by: All Hail Eris, Literate Savage at September 02, 2018 10:19 AM (kQs4Y)

113 Skip, one thing I did get from the books I've been reading (before they put me to sleep) is that you can get silicosis from knapping. Dust masks are recommended.

Posted by: April at September 02, 2018 10:19 AM (OX9vb)

114 The best book on the early trappers - mentioned above - is A Majority of Scoundrels.

Posted by: retropox at September 02, 2018 10:19 AM (8h9kC)

115 77 ... " JTB, if I ever get this hobby up and running, I'll make you some flints."

April, That is a kind offer. Flintlock shooters NEVER think they have enough flints. Prepper paranoia?

Posted by: JTB at September 02, 2018 10:19 AM (V+03K)

116 what is an internal server error 500 and how do I fix it. this is so stupid. retropox.
Posted by: retropox at September 02, 2018 10:17 AM (8h9kC)

https://stoatnet.org/500/

Posted by: hogmartin at September 02, 2018 10:20 AM (y87Qq)

117 This week I finished reading The Forever War by Dexter Filkins. This is a journalistic account of the Afghanistan and Iraq wars, all "on the ground" stories, with little or no analysis or "big picture".

Although Filkins makes a concerted effort not to interject his opinions into his stories, It is hard to avoid coming to the conclusion based on this book that the Arabs understand only "force - force, pride and saving face", and that they are not suited to governing themselves via democracy, only to being ruled by a despot. Some of the Iraqi characters say as much.

Posted by: cool breeze at September 02, 2018 10:20 AM (UGKMd)

118 seriously, how to fix a 500 error?
Posted by: retropox at September 02, 2018 10:18 AM (8h9kC)

---------------------

Is the site using dotnet 2.0? Is the application pool set up as a network service? Local service?

>

Posted by: Blake - used bridge salesman at September 02, 2018 10:20 AM (WEBkv)

119 seriously, how to fix a 500 error?
Posted by: retropox at September 02, 2018 10:18 AM (8h9kC)

===

look up the u/ whatever in the error
it's usually a slanty apostrophes or quote, sometimes a fancy hyphen
take it out

Posted by: votermom pimping NEW Moron-authored books! at September 02, 2018 10:21 AM (CE6iV)

120 So what are the differences between the book and the movie? Is Norman's name ever mentioned in the book? College? River rafting? Where'd they get this stuff?

Norman is the narrator of the book, which is as much a memoire as it is a novella. He did, as in the movie, go on to teach at Chicago which filled his time until retirement when he started writing things down. (A River, various reminiscences of time in the Forest Service, and one researched book about the death of a bunch of smoke jumpers in the late 40s).

The movie is quite close to the book in as much as you have to adapt things to a new medium to make it work there. It's not a book about flyfishing. Fishing is the thread that holds together the stories of two very different brothers and the world of Montana just after the War.

Posted by: Bandersnatch at September 02, 2018 10:21 AM (fuK7c)

121 Boy that sounds familiar. Two big Maine Coons here. They get on you, you ain't goin anywhere.

She has the the large American long haired cat to contest. I only have the small back cat but the Malinois is not going anywhere.

Posted by: Beartooth at September 02, 2018 10:22 AM (kXSmR)

122 the Arabs understand only "force - force, pride and saving face", and that they are not suited to governing themselves via democracy, only to being ruled by a despot. Some of the Iraqi characters say as much.
Posted by: cool breeze at September 02, 2018 10:20 AM (UGKMd)

Ain't that the truth

Posted by: Nevergiveup at September 02, 2018 10:22 AM (Ydx5u)

123 clear all history, and make up a bullshit email address seems to be the key to the 500 error.

...and got your rift right here, Eris, ya smartypants.

I am the one true retropoxian.

Posted by: retropox at September 02, 2018 10:22 AM (8h9kC)

124 Topsy had it comin'!

https://tinyurl.com/ya6ayggg

Posted by: All Hail Eris, Literate Savage at September 02, 2018 10:22 AM (kQs4Y)

125 >
Posted by: Blake - used bridge salesman at September 02, 2018 10:20 AM (WEBkv)

------------

I gotta give up with the whole typing of emoticons thing at AoSHQ.

Fortunately, not quite barrel worthy.

Posted by: Blake - used bridge salesman at September 02, 2018 10:22 AM (WEBkv)

126 I never have more than 1 spare flint, and have that one in my musket now.

Posted by: Skip at September 02, 2018 10:23 AM (T4oHT)

127 what is an internal server error 500 and how do I fix it. this is so stupid. retropox.

It means you have a character or characters in your post what Pixy doesn't like.

Strip out smart quotes, curly commas, and long dashes.

Posted by: Bandersnatch at September 02, 2018 10:24 AM (fuK7c)

128 I've heard about Topsy the elephant. Edison, you sadist. And we name schools after him.

My other concern: Who was/were the poor sap(s) who had to log the carcass away and bury it?

Posted by: Weak Geek at September 02, 2018 10:25 AM (UQij2)

129 Thanks, Jake Holenhead. Now I'll have "Got a condo made of stone-a" on my mind all day. Actually, that's not so bad.

Posted by: Art Rondolet of Malmsey at September 02, 2018 10:25 AM (S+f+m)

130 Steve Martin is just a wild and crazy guy

Posted by: Anna Puma (HQCaR) at September 02, 2018 10:26 AM (fGI92)

131 Thanks for the help!

Posted by: retropox at September 02, 2018 10:26 AM (8h9kC)

132 I should get up and out and do some chores.

*reclines on sofa, sips coffee*

Posted by: All Hail Eris, Literate Savage at September 02, 2018 10:26 AM (kQs4Y)

133 Norman is the narrator of the book, which is as much a memoire as it is a novella. He did, as in the movie, go on to teach at Chicago which filled his time until retirement when he started writing things down. (A River, various reminiscences of time in the Forest Service, and one researched book about the death of a bunch of smoke jumpers in the late 40s).

The movie is quite close to the book in as much as you have to adapt things to a new medium to make it work there. It's not a book about flyfishing. Fishing is the thread that holds together the stories of two very different brothers and the world of Montana just after the War.

I have a soft spot for A River Runs through it. I did my senior project, a documentary, on the Blackfoot river a few years prior to the movie coming out.

Posted by: Beartooth at September 02, 2018 10:27 AM (kXSmR)

134 Margin Status: Blown, like every thread ever. Sigh. Tinyurl

Reading Les Miserables by V. Hugo. Live the writing style and story. 900 pages but not a single extra word.

A thoroughly enjoyable read.

Posted by: Sharkman at September 02, 2018 10:27 AM (fRQju)

135 I've heard about Topsy the elephant. Edison, you sadist. And we name schools after him.

Posted by: Weak Geek at September 02, 2018 10:25 AM (UQij2)
----------

I would love to have gone to Topsy the Elephant Elementary School.

Posted by: bluebell at September 02, 2018 10:27 AM (JJZzu)

136 cool breeze

The movie Lawrence of Arabia when Omar Shariff explains why he had to kill Lawrence's guide. That sums it completely up.

"And this is why you will always remain little people!"

Posted by: Anna Puma (HQCaR) at September 02, 2018 10:27 AM (fGI92)

137 Posted by: hogmartin at September 02, 2018 10:20 AM (y87Qq)

aww what a great guide!
love the horror ewok

Posted by: votermom pimping NEW Moron-authored books! at September 02, 2018 10:28 AM (CE6iV)

138 Oxford comma is for grifters and pikers.

Posted by: gm at September 02, 2018 10:28 AM (/LIOp)

139 cool breeze

The movie Lawrence of Arabia when Omar Shariff explains why he had to kill Lawrence's guide. That sums it completely up.

"And this is why you will always remain little people!"
Posted by: Anna Puma (HQCaR) at September 02, 2018 10:27 AM (fGI92)

The movie Hidalgo also shows the Arab mind set that continues today.

Posted by: Lancelot Link Secret Agent Chimp at September 02, 2018 10:29 AM (2DOZq)

140 BTW, "The Fall of Gondolin" came out this week. I haven't started it yet but the Alan Lee illustrations look impressive.

This is probably the last such LOTR-related book. Christopher Tolkien is in his mid-90s now. But for Tolkien nerds, like me, these books are interesting.

Posted by: JTB at September 02, 2018 10:29 AM (V+03K)

141 I would love to have gone to Topsy the Elephant Elementary School.

With the adorable mascot Pyro Pachy!

Posted by: Bandersnatch at September 02, 2018 10:30 AM (fuK7c)

142 watching Hostiles with one eye
that is one powerful opening scene

Posted by: votermom pimping NEW Moron-authored books! at September 02, 2018 10:30 AM (CE6iV)

143 I should get up and out and do some chores.

*reclines on sofa, sips coffee*

Posted by: All Hail Eris,

What are holiday weekends for ?

Posted by: JT at September 02, 2018 10:30 AM (3bVFB)

144 Man Cave is incomplete.

Where is the rolling tool box and gun collection?

Posted by: Blake - used bridge salesman at September 02, 2018 09:43 AM (WEBkv)

Liquor cabinet, beer fridge, big screen?.....he's so deprived.

Posted by: BignJames at September 02, 2018 10:31 AM (0+nbW)

145 "And this is why you will always remain little people!"

Brilliant. And also the fact that those words reach Faisal before Lawrence does.

Posted by: Bandersnatch at September 02, 2018 10:31 AM (fuK7c)

146 The horns are hung too high.

Posted by: REDACTED at September 02, 2018 10:31 AM (7rpiB)

147 The Oatmeal cartoon also contains the definitive definition of "How to tell if someone is a geek".

Posted by: rickl at September 02, 2018 10:31 AM (sdi6R)

148 "The Strange Death of President Harding, "from the diaries of Gaston B. Means, A Department of Justice Investigation." Pub. 1930. Vintage true crime investigation--can't wait to read this one.
Posted by: April at September 02, 2018 09:44 AM (OX9vb)"

I remember reading that years ago - it was full of interesting stuff. Dirty politics of a bygone era.
Gaston Means reappeared a few years later in the Lindberg kidnapping case, as one of the people purporting to be in touch with the kidnappers. Ended up in prison.

Posted by: sock_rat_eez - they are gaslighting us 24/365 at September 02, 2018 10:31 AM (58Au8)

149 "Les Miserables." They knew how to title books back then, didn't they?

Never read it, likely never will. Saw the musical. Loved it, but it made me cry. (Of course, that's easy; my emotions are easily manipulated.)

I read that after Hugo sent the manuscript to his publisher, he heard nothing back for weeks. He finally sent a follow-up query: "?"

That got a reply: "!"

Posted by: Weak Geek at September 02, 2018 10:33 AM (UQij2)

150 Liquor cabinet, beer fridge, big screen?.....he's so deprived.
Posted by: BignJames at September 02, 2018 10:31 AM (0+nbW)

----------------

Liquor cabinet I can get behind. But big screen and beer fridge? So declasse.

Posted by: Blake - used bridge salesman at September 02, 2018 10:33 AM (WEBkv)

151 sarcastic urban dictionary

crestfallen = Trump's reaction to McLames disinvite

Posted by: REDACTED at September 02, 2018 10:33 AM (7rpiB)

152
ʎɐpoʇ ʎǝʞɐlɟ ǝlʇʇᴉl ɐ doʇdɐl

Posted by: Forgot My Nic at September 02, 2018 10:34 AM (LOgQ4)

153 Nailed it. Water buffalo. It's those bizarre sloped horns that look like long hair parted in the middle. They don't seem much use for goring, more for butting I suppose.
Posted by: Steve and Cold Bear at September 02, 2018 09:50 AM (/qEW2)

Actually, I think it is an African Buffalo, also called the Cape Buffalo. Compare pictures of the two and see what I mean. I also think it is an African Buffalo because that is a favorite kill for African safari hunters, and they are called the black death because of their bad tempers. Water Buffalo are usually domesticated, although there are wild ones.

Posted by: Anonymous White Male at September 02, 2018 10:35 AM (9BLnV)

154 149 "Les Miserables." They knew how to title books back then, didn't they?

Never read it, likely never will. Saw the musical. Loved it, but it made me cry. (Of course, that's easy; my emotions are easily manipulated.)

I read that after Hugo sent the manuscript to his publisher, he heard nothing back for weeks. He finally sent a follow-up query: "?"

That got a reply: "!"
Posted by: Weak Geek at September 02, 2018 10:33 AM (UQij2)

-------------------------

"Les Miserable" the movie is pretty true to the book also.

I recommend reading the book because Victor Hugo write well enough that he can get you into the scene so completely you can smell the dust.

Posted by: Blake - used bridge salesman at September 02, 2018 10:35 AM (WEBkv)

155 My wife had never read Where the Red Fern Grows, so early in our marriage I read it to her. She started getting impatient and read ahead when I wasn't around. I got a call at work one day, and on the other end was my wife crying and telling me she had just finished the book.

Posted by: Jim S. at September 02, 2018 10:35 AM (ynUnH)

156 Avoiding ALL the news shows this AM since all of them are mastrubating over mccain and dissing PDT...even some on FOX..but not pete

Posted by: Nevergiveup at September 02, 2018 10:35 AM (Ydx5u)

157 The arab carpet with a bear skin topper is.......unique.

Couldn't find a kilim or sumptin ??

Posted by: REDACTED at September 02, 2018 10:36 AM (7rpiB)

158 A warning:

Having read and really enjoyed Mark Kurlansky's "Cod" and "Salt" I reflexively grabbed his book "Non-Violence - a Dangerous Idea".

Don't do that. For Kurlansky Non-Violence is not 'Dangerous', but the right and proper way for sheeple to live. I force-read about 70 pages before I quit in disgust.

He has other titles that I was considering - but now I'm really off-put by his naive, ignorant, and flagrant idiocy. (note the Oxford comma.)

Posted by: Lurking Cynic at September 02, 2018 10:36 AM (S1Kso)

159 what is an internal server error 500 and how do I fix it. this is so stupid. retropox.

It means you have a character or characters in your post what Pixy doesn't like.

Strip out smart quotes, curly commas, and long dashes.
Posted by: Bandersnatch at September 02, 2018 10:24 AM (fuK7c)

You also get them when you cut and paste from another source besides Ace of Spades HQ. Someone said you could avoid this if you cut and paste to Word, then save it as a text file, and then copy it.

Posted by: Anonymous White Male at September 02, 2018 10:38 AM (9BLnV)

160 Actually, I think it is an African Buffalo, also called the Cape Buffalo.

Cape Buffalo. Darned hard to take down in a head on shot because you have to shoot between and below those horns.

I stood fast against a charging Cape Buffalo for a few short, happy seconds.

Posted by: Francis Macomber at September 02, 2018 10:38 AM (fuK7c)

161 Been reading a David Balducci Memory Man book, The Fix, published in 2017.

The author has invented a neat character, who has a "photographic" memory. The writing is good enough and is a nice beach read, but the whole hook of this super memory being a thing that matters, never really comes up in way that make you think, yeah cool, only he could have done that. I read the first int he series and thought the same thing

But that is not why I write today. It's that a side character who is a DOD spy of some sort and Memory Man have a quick dialougue to explain the sort of work that the DOD spy does. It included the phrase, " Yeah like investigating Russian hacking into our elections and stuff" to which the character replied "Most Definitely".

I literally laughed out loud. Why can't authors refrain from putting douchy little digs in their books? Especially ones that are informed in whole by vox and Fartbook posts. I mean he is supposed to be a smaht thriller writer that has some extra knowledge in the craft of spy work or something (everyone is a Tom Clancy right).

Anyhoo, he has this douchy dig in there that the DOD is all over the scandal of the century in a book about an official cover up of a scandal of the century while being completely oblivious that IN REAL LIFE the person with the secret server with real time leaks to the Chinese was let off by the the real world spooks and DOJ and LEO.
The Memory Man "Just wants to find the truth wherever it may lead" (hello Muldar), but the author is blind to it and telegraphs it with the one line about Russians

It's like in one line he completely guts his character motivations and credibility.

Anyhoo, does anyone else out there find these delicious "Easter Eggs" in their readings? Things an author puts in to signal he is of the body which ironically gut the novel.
BTW The Jack Reacher novel does the same thing in Echo Burning. I thought after reading that one, that some one needs to kick Jack Reacher's ass.

I guess I am going to have to go back and read 70's and 80's cold war novels for real world takes on modern geopolitical thrillers.

Posted by: Cuthbert the Witless at September 02, 2018 10:39 AM (9dzlp)

162 I never knew aretha franklin was a bigoted jew/white hater

Posted by: Nevergiveup at September 02, 2018 10:39 AM (Ydx5u)

163 WHAT?!!!

TODAY'S BOOK THREAD WITHOUT A TRIBUTE TO JOHN MCCAIN?!!!!

I will issue a caveat regarding Calculating God. Although I quite liked it, it may offend some because the God the alien protagonist believes in is not a personal God who concerns himself with your life but rather an impersonal, big picture God. What I liked was the discussion of how unlikely human life was suggesting a guiding hand and, I thought, the story was good.

Posted by: Anonosaurus Wrecks, Tyrannosaur Wrangler at September 02, 2018 10:39 AM (+y/Ru)

164 From what I've read of Tesla, he sounds like a naive, unsuspecting sort who was in desperate need of a friend. Also established: Marconi shamelessly stole and exploited Tesla's coil in the invention of the radio. A distinction and financial bonanza that was rightfully Tesla's. Alternating Current: thank you Nikolai. J.P. Morgan did much to ruin this man because Tesla's dream was to produce electricity "too cheap to meter." Some people are simply not born to survive in this world.

Posted by: Old Dude at September 02, 2018 10:39 AM (LGXGf)

165 Liquor cabinet I can get behind. But big screen and beer fridge? So declasse.
Posted by: Blake - used bridge salesman at September 02, 2018 10:33 AM

But must have at least a Tablet to keep up on AoSHq

Posted by: Skip at September 02, 2018 10:40 AM (T4oHT)

166 Avoiding ALL the news shows this AM since all of them are mastrubating over mccain and dissing PDT...even some on FOX

Posted by: Nevergiveup at September 02, 2018 10:35 AM

My wife turned it on for about 10 minutes, a recap of all the nasty anti-Trump rhetoric from Obama, Meghan, etc. I finally asked her to change the channel.

I hate those people.

As to Meghan, you know what bitch? Your Dad took the first shot at Trump. He coulda kept his mouth shut. Furthermore, your false eyelashes made you look like a two dollar whore. Who the hell goes Kardashian level eyelashes at a fvcking funeral?

Posted by: Forgot My Nic at September 02, 2018 10:41 AM (LOgQ4)

167 >>>I did my senior project, a documentary, on the Blackfoot river a few years prior to the movie coming out.<<<
Did you get one of those "Studies" degrees in fly fishing? Because I want one of those. And a new Thomas and Thomas.

Posted by: Fritz at September 02, 2018 10:41 AM (ANJe6)

168 Alexandria Ocasio Cortez Urges Kids To Get Parents To Vote To Get Trump Out

Weasel Zippers

Comrade Stalin would be proud

Posted by: Nevergiveup at September 02, 2018 10:41 AM (Ydx5u)

169 I guess I am going to have to go back and read 70's and 80's cold war novels for real world takes on modern geopolitical thrillers.

Posted by: Cuthbert the Witless at September 02, 2018 10:39 AM (9dzlp)

---------------

I got tired of Balducci a while ago. Got formulaic and tiresome.

Thanks for letting me know he hasn't gotten any better and, in fact, seems to have gotten worse.

Posted by: Blake - used bridge salesman at September 02, 2018 10:41 AM (WEBkv)

170 162 I never knew aretha franklin was a bigoted jew/white hater
Posted by: Nevergiveup at September 02, 2018 10:39 AM (Ydx5u)

Do you really care ? Just assume the worst

Posted by: REDACTED at September 02, 2018 10:42 AM (7rpiB)

171 Posted by: Forgot My Nic at September 02, 2018 10:41 AM (LOgQ4)

Amen

Posted by: Nevergiveup at September 02, 2018 10:42 AM (Ydx5u)

172 "Tesla GOOD, Edison BAD!"

Both were American citizens, and both were awesome in their own ways. Tesla was the smarter one though, and near 'bout loony. He built his devices in his mind and then built them. Edison just built stuff until he found something that worked and had commercial potential.

Have you ever read Telsa's autobiography? Hoo boy. You can get it free on the Internet's.

btw piss on Tesla Auto.

Posted by: freaked at September 02, 2018 10:42 AM (UdKB7)

173 Please buy my book.

It's an adventure story set in an imaginary underground world on another planet in another solar system populated by a wide variety of goblins, zombies, aliens, ghosts, elves, hobbit-like creatures that I call bobbits (nothing at all like Tolkien's), and talking giraffes. The hero, a 10-year-old girl, has to solve a series of runic riddles in order to foil the villain's secret plot to destroy the remnants of mankind. It falls in the genre of bleak, dystopian, optimistic whimsical, fantasy, crime alt-future-history thriller.

Oh, I almost forgot, I have never commented here and well...but I have lurked here for many many years and love all the book-related posts, the colorful comments, the memes, and the amusing anecdotes. If I were to offer a suggestion the site could use something like an occasional limerick.

I love your blog, Mr. O'Spades. Please buy my book.

Signed,

/Longtime lurker who read the How To Market Your Book section of the self-publishing site.

Posted by: Muldoon at September 02, 2018 10:43 AM (mvenn)

174 I never knew aretha franklin was a bigoted jew/white hater
Posted by: Nevergiveup at September 02, 2018 10:39 AM (Ydx5u)

Do you really care ? Just assume the worst
Posted by: REDACTED at September 02, 2018 10:42 AM (7rpiB)

Do I care..not much but a little...she was a great singer..I am disappointed but not surprised

Posted by: Nevergiveup at September 02, 2018 10:43 AM (Ydx5u)

175 You also get them when you cut and paste from another source besides Ace of Spades HQ. Someone said you could avoid this if you cut and paste to Word, then save it as a text file, and then copy it.

Posted by: Anonymous White Male at September 02, 2018 10:38 AM

The utility program below is quick and easy:

https://www.charset.org/html-special-characters
Just paste in, press 'convert', and it fixes everything.

Posted by: Forgot My Nic at September 02, 2018 10:44 AM (LOgQ4)

176 So I'll start with some arrowheads, and then maybe when I get good at it, I can make some flint knives, because I think they'd be cool.
Posted by: April at September 02, 2018 10:03 AM (OX9vb)

Make your own arrowheads, then your own skinning knife. Kill your deer, and then you'll REALLY enjoy doing it the modern way!

Cool fun, though.

Posted by: MarkY at September 02, 2018 10:44 AM (U6nhM)

177 Dionne Warwick > Fat Aretha.....

Posted by: Hairyback Guy at September 02, 2018 10:44 AM (EoRCO)

178 I never knew aretha franklin was a bigoted jew/white hater

-
It was quite the funeral. BJ Clinton ogling Ariana Grande, the presiding bishop copping a feel of Ariana's boob, and racist, anti-Jewish hate monger Louis Farrakahn (emphasis on the "con") front and center. Now, that's death with dignity!

Posted by: Anonosaurus Wrecks, Tyrannosaur Wrangler at September 02, 2018 10:45 AM (+y/Ru)

179 Did you get one of those "Studies" degrees in fly fishing? Because I want one of those. And a new Thomas and Thomas.

Ah, come sit by me. I got a tour of the T ampersand T workshop last year, which was fun. I'm an hour and a half away from there so when I need a repair I bring it in person.

Now, as to studies...I had a chance to take fly fishing as a gym class in college. I didn't. I had not yet converted to the fly and I was intimidated.

I found out years later it was taught by Joe Humphries, essentially the inventor of "match the hatch".

I am retarded, sir.

Posted by: Bandersnatch at September 02, 2018 10:45 AM (fuK7c)

180 I hate someone reading over my shoulder,especially a dead Buckerfuker...shoo..............

Posted by: saf at September 02, 2018 10:45 AM (5IHGB)

181 Serena Williams Praises Kaepernick for Kneeling During US Anthem: Every Human Should Be Grateful

Yeah and fuck her also

Posted by: Nevergiveup at September 02, 2018 10:46 AM (Ydx5u)

182 169
I guess I am going to have to go back and read 70's and 80's cold war
novels for real world takes on modern geopolitical thrillers.

Anything to recommend? I've read all of Clancy's stuff and I'm tiring of the current crop of thriller writers with the exception of Jason Matthews. Liked Brad Thor's novels but then he jumped on the anti-Trump train.

Posted by: Old Dude at September 02, 2018 10:47 AM (LGXGf)

183 Les Miserables looks like such a cool and romantic name for a book. I think it actually means "The Wretched".

Which isn't really cool or romantic at all.

Posted by: Sharkman at September 02, 2018 10:47 AM (fRQju)

184 Well, according to that cartoon, I am no geek.

But it's too late to shift to "Feeb Dweeb."

Posted by: Weak Geek at September 02, 2018 10:48 AM (UQij2)

185 Great minds think alike.
As do small ones.

Posted by: Burger Chef at September 02, 2018 10:48 AM (RuIsu)

186 Westinghouse was good to Tesla out of both kindness and recognition that Tesla good for the company's bottom line.

Posted by: Lancelot Link Secret Agent Chimp at September 02, 2018 10:49 AM (2DOZq)

187 I was wan't watching TV anyway and even avoiding the classless, political bullshit with both funerals discussed on AOSHQ. I find reading about colonial life, especially on the frontier, to be fascinating and suitably distracting. The dangers, the courage required, the ingenuity and perseverence of the pioneers is astounding. Just think how much time and work went into providing and preparing food or how much knowedge of wood was required or just getting the materials and making clothes. And the attitudes of the pioneers.

Makes the electronic world of today, even with its many benefits, seem pale and somewhat debilitating compared to the individual effort of those settlers and explorers.

Posted by: JTB at September 02, 2018 10:49 AM (V+03K)

188 I doubt Aretha had much to say about her own funeral.

Her corpse was just another excuse for the Left to carry on and show America their true Shitbag DemonRat character.

Posted by: Sharkman at September 02, 2018 10:50 AM (fRQju)

189 Lt. Sean Brady braked the Jeep to a stop, his vehicle was one of many queued up to cycle through a checkpoint. Figuring it would take a while, he killed the motor and again wondered what kind of strings had been pulled to get him this assignment, all he knew was orders had come down from SHAFE detaching him personally from the 3rd Armored Division to escort a few VIPs. He had complained loud and hard about being yanked out of combat until he had met the people he was assigned to escort.

"How long do you figure the wait?" Diana sitting in the front passenger seat asked.

Posted by: Anna Puma (HQCaR) at September 02, 2018 10:50 AM (fGI92)

190 Bowie played Tesla in a movie.

Did Bowie ever play Edison? No. Tesla wins.

Posted by: Bandersnatch at September 02, 2018 10:50 AM (fuK7c)

191 Anything to recommend? I've read all of Clancy's stuff and I'm tiring of the current crop of thriller writers with the exception of Jason Matthews. Liked Brad Thor's novels but then he jumped on the anti-Trump train.
Posted by: Old Dude

Frederick Forsyth, The Dogs of War.

Read it like opening a time capsule as to how things were done with the technology of the '70s. It is about mounting a mercenary campaign.

Posted by: Jinx the Cat at September 02, 2018 10:51 AM (UGWs/)

192 Hello all you oafs! I've long wanted a sci fi author to write what it sounds like Sawyer did with Calculating God, and I'm glad its out there. The premise is pretty solid and its ridiculous for every sci fi author ever to presume every alien race is utterly a-religious.

He sounds like a Crichton type of author from the reviews and info I can find: he picks a social or scientific trend and writes a book about it and its impact, which is a genre I enjoy. Hopefully he's not as wordy as Crichton.

I noticed that Calculating God won a Nebula award; I bet it never would today. Probably would be met with hatred and derision.

Posted by: Christopher R Taylor at September 02, 2018 10:51 AM (39g3+)

193 181 Serena Williams Praises Kaepernick for Kneeling During US Anthem: Every Human Should Be Grateful

Yeah and fuck her also
Posted by: Nevergiveup at September 02, 2018 10:46 AM (Ydx5u)

Not even with your...

I saw a picture of her yesterday. She's a freak. She's built like a damn linebacker. Ten quatloos says she uses steroids.

Posted by: rickl at September 02, 2018 10:52 AM (sdi6R)

194 I just read that the Boxers swallowed chains to make themselves bulletproof. Can that be true?!

Talk about "the bitter end"!

Posted by: All Hail Eris, Literate Savage at September 02, 2018 10:52 AM (kQs4Y)

195 I saw a picture of her yesterday. She's a freak. She's built like a damn linebacker. Ten quatloos says she uses steroids.
Posted by: rickl at September 02, 2018 10:52 AM (sdi6R)

I was thinking the same thing

Posted by: Nevergiveup at September 02, 2018 10:53 AM (Ydx5u)

196 I stood fast against a charging Cape Buffalo for a few short, happy seconds.
Posted by: Francis Macomber at September 02, 2018 10:38 AM (fuK7c)

I assuming you survived and the Buffalo did not. But, it would have made a funny post if you had written, "I stood fast against a charging Cape Buffalo for a few, short, happy seconds, and then was run over and crushed mercilessly. I then had many, long, unhappy years of rehab before I could feed myself. And he compounded the insult by pissing on me before he left. What a dick!"

Posted by: Anonymous White Male at September 02, 2018 10:53 AM (9BLnV)

197 I never knew aretha franklin was a bigoted jew/white hater

I like to believe she didn't ask for those toads to be at her funeral or to talk, but they were invited by the people who set up the show.

Posted by: Christopher R Taylor at September 02, 2018 10:53 AM (39g3+)

198 Geez, even Shorpy had a blurb and pic of mcstain.

Posted by: Infidel at September 02, 2018 10:54 AM (PhT3S)

199 80 The bit about Tesla's vibratory machine reminds me: I just read an interesting paper debunking the famous "Doctors used to give women orgasms to treat hysteria!" claim. Here's the piece from Marginal Revolution: https://tinyurl.com/y85dqop6

I recommend following the link to the paper cited.

Posted by: Trimegistus at September 02, 2018 10:10 AM (r1Z5I)

Don't need to. Since the female orgasm is mythical, there's no need to debunk the claim.

QED.

Posted by: OregonMuse, AoSHQ Thought Leader & Contributing Editor, Vanity Fair Magazine at September 02, 2018 10:55 AM (I3yXU)

200 I saw a picture of her yesterday. She's a freak. She's built like a damn linebacker. Ten quatloos says she uses steroids.

Oh yeah, but her and sis will never be tested because rayciss.

Posted by: Christopher R Taylor at September 02, 2018 10:55 AM (39g3+)

201
Anything to recommend? I've read all of Clancy's stuff and I'm tiring of the current crop of thriller writers with the exception of Jason Matthews. Liked Brad Thor's novels but then he jumped on the anti-Trump train.
Posted by: Old Dude at September 02, 2018 10:47 AM (LGXGf)

Wish Vince Flynn was still alive. It would be interesting to see what Mitch Rapp thought of the Trump era.

Posted by: Soona at September 02, 2018 10:55 AM (Fs5vw)

202 How come they never mention Kaepernick's radical Muslim connections, wearing the communist Che shirt, the Police pig socks, etc. ? You support Kaepernick you support an anti American no matter how you try to spin it.

Posted by: Lancelot Link Secret Agent Chimp at September 02, 2018 10:56 AM (2DOZq)

203 182
169

I guess I am going to have to go back and read 70's and 80's cold war

novels for real world takes on modern geopolitical thrillers.

Anything
to recommend? I've read all of Clancy's stuff and I'm tiring of the
current crop of thriller writers with the exception of Jason Matthews.
Liked Brad Thor's novels but then he jumped on the anti-Trump train.

Posted by: Old Dude at September 02, 2018 10:47 AM (LGXGf)

Have you tried Vince Flynn's stuff yet? He is actually better than Clancy.

Posted by: Vic We Have No Party at September 02, 2018 10:56 AM (mpXpK)

204 At least with the propaganda being written about Neil Armstrong in the upcoming movie, he's been dead a few years. With Aretha, her body ain't even in the ground yet. Disgusting.

Posted by: Anna Puma (HQCaR) at September 02, 2018 10:57 AM (fGI92)

205 Oh yeah, but her and sis will never be tested because rayciss.
Posted by: Christopher R Taylor at September 02, 2018 10:55 AM (39g3+)

Her sister is tall and skinny with an auto immune disease.

Posted by: Lancelot Link Secret Agent Chimp at September 02, 2018 10:58 AM (2DOZq)

206 So George Washington and Abe Lincoln were RINO's too?

Posted by: JoeF. at September 02, 2018 10:58 AM (NFEMn)

207 Here's the piece from Marginal Revolution

Doesn't surprise me. The movement was based on Christians who thought that a healthy body was part of a healthy faith, and thus were declared crazy sex crazed idiots to the secular left. Its like the Puritans who've been successfully painted as psychotic fun-hating witch burners who despised sex, women, non-whites, and were the very definition of inflexible prudes. By their enemies.

The reality is that they were just like everyone else at the time, but rejected hedonism and the typical practice of having mistresses, preferring to write love letters to their wives.

Posted by: Christopher R Taylor at September 02, 2018 10:58 AM (39g3+)

208 Serena Williams Praises Kaepernick for Kneeling During US Anthem: Every Human Should Be Grateful

Yeah and fuck her also

-
Don't! You'd be crushed like a pop can 20,000 leagues under the sea!

Posted by: Anonosaurus Wrecks, Tyrannosaur Wrangler at September 02, 2018 10:59 AM (+y/Ru)

209 Save the ,

Posted by: Burger Chef at September 02, 2018 10:59 AM (RuIsu)

210 Frederick Forsyth, The Dogs of War.
Read it like opening a time capsule as to how things were done with the technology of the '70s. It is about mounting a mercenary campaign.
Posted by: Jinx the Cat at September 02, 2018 10:51 AM (UGWs/)

Yup....good book and the movie wasn't bad either.

Posted by: Hairyback Guy at September 02, 2018 10:59 AM (EoRCO)

211 I stood fast against a charging Cape Buffalo for a few short, happy seconds.
Posted by: Francis Macomber at September 02, 2018 10:38 AM (fuK7c)

I assuming you survived and the Buffalo did not. But, it would have made a funny post if you had written, "I stood fast against a charging Cape Buffalo for a few, short, happy seconds, and then was run over and crushed mercilessly. I then had many, long, unhappy years of rehab before I could feed myself. And he compounded the insult by pissing on me before he left. What a dick!"

Umm. No. My wife had lost all respect for me because I lost my courage in the face of a lion. So she started banging the white hunter.

When I found myself again I was able to stand in against the Buff and I was happy and proud and brave and then the wife decided to help out by also shooting at the buffalo and hit me in the back of the head.

This is the book thread. I figured y'all would know my story. A guy named Ernie wrote it up.

Posted by: Francis Macomber at September 02, 2018 11:00 AM (fuK7c)

212 So George Washington and Abe Lincoln were RINO's too?

-
And they hated Trump. That's why we used to celebrate their birthdays.

Posted by: Anonosaurus Wrecks, Tyrannosaur Wrangler at September 02, 2018 11:01 AM (+y/Ru)

213 I'm currently reading Have Space Suit -- Will Travel by Robert Heinlein to my 10-year-old son. I'm a little worried because he's sometimes terrified of aliens, and the "wormfaces" in that book are pretty terrifying. But he's almost frantic in wanting me to read more every time I stop. It's my favorite of the Heinlein juveniles.

Posted by: Jim S. at September 02, 2018 11:01 AM (ynUnH)

214 The African Wildlife artist Simon Coombes was killed by a Cape Buffalo while walking home from getting water.

BTW: His son Guy Coombes is a flake buty paints damn near as well as his dad. See his "Titan" - a portrait of a Cape buffalo.

Posted by: Lurking Cynic at September 02, 2018 11:01 AM (S1Kso)

215 Vic, yes I've read many of Flynn's books. First was Memorial Day and I was hooked. What a loss his death was. I understand someone has taken up the Rapp character.

Posted by: Old Dude at September 02, 2018 11:01 AM (LGXGf)

216 Last week someone mentioned the Abel Jones books by Owen Parry. Isn't Owen Parry the pseudonym of Ralph Peters, the virulent anti -Trump idiot that was on Fox?

Posted by: Abby at September 02, 2018 11:01 AM (JGTZC)

217 Never cared for Aretha, I much prefer Sarah Vaughn, Carmen MacRae, and (!) Julie London. I think Whitney's voice out shone Franklin by a light year.

Posted by: CN at September 02, 2018 11:02 AM (Bx2+B)

218 Actually, I think it is an African Buffalo, also called the Cape Buffalo.
Posted by: Anonymous White Male at September 02, 2018 10:35 AM (9BLnV)

Concur, not least because water buffalo aren't exactly trophy worthy challenges.

Posted by: hogmartin at September 02, 2018 11:02 AM (PJ1Iy)

219 Frederick Forsyth, The Dogs of War.
Read it like opening a time capsule as to how things were done with the technology of the '70s. It is about mounting a mercenary campaign.
Posted by: Jinx the Cat at September 02, 2018 10:51 AM (UGWs/)

Recommend reading a future take on mercenaries.

The Profession by Steven Pressfield

It's kind of scary because he seems to have the gift of seeing into the future.

Posted by: Lancelot Link Secret Agent Chimp at September 02, 2018 11:03 AM (2DOZq)

220 Big endorsement here for "The Dogs of War."

I picked it up for 25 cents at a used bookstore across the street from where I was having a tire replaced.

Only problem was that I kept rereading the proposal and never could force myself to advance further.

Finally did and enjoyed it thoroughly. This was also one book through which I did not not skip ahead, a frequent failing of mine.

Tried another Forsythe book later. Forget the title.

Again, loved the logistics -- the protagonist was setting up a secret airbase from which to attack the drug trade.

But the ending was awful. Big disappointment. That was enough Forsythe for me.

However, that shabby DoW paperback will always remain in my house.

Posted by: Weak Geek at September 02, 2018 11:05 AM (UQij2)

221 Don't need to. Since the female orgasm is mythical, there's no need to debunk the claim.

QED.
Posted by: OregonMuse, AoSHQ Thought Leader & Contributing Editor, Vanity Fair Magazine at September 02, 2018 10:55 AM (I3yXU)

OK, that was worth a snicker. Or, maybe it was a snort.

Posted by: Anonymous White Male at September 02, 2018 11:06 AM (9BLnV)

222 Never cared for Aretha, I much prefer Sarah Vaughn, Carmen MacRae, and (!) Julie London. I think Whitney's voice out shone Franklin by a light year.
Posted by: CN at September 02, 2018 11:02 AM (Bx2+B)

Nothing beats Aretha's classic Atlantic Records stuff. Her later work--"Freeway of Love", "Who's Zooming Who?"--was pure 80's tripe....

Posted by: JoeF. at September 02, 2018 11:06 AM (NFEMn)

223 Posted by: Jim S. at September 02, 2018 11:01 AM (ynUnH)

Isn't it great?

I'm reading his "Time for the Stars" right now.

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

Posted by: All Hail Eris, Literate Savage at September 02, 2018 11:06 AM (kQs4Y)

224 210 Frederick Forsyth, The Dogs of War.
Read it like opening a time capsule as to how things were done with the technology of the '70s. It is about mounting a mercenary campaign.

Posted by: Jinx the Cat at September 02, 2018 10:51 AM (UGWs/)

Read his 'Day of the Jackal' and learn how to acquire a phony ID!

Posted by: OregonMuse, AoSHQ Thought Leader & Contributing Editor, Vanity Fair Magazine at September 02, 2018 11:07 AM (I3yXU)

225 My two favorite Hein lein 'juveniles' yare "Star Beast" and "Tunnel in the Sky"

Posted by: Lurking Cynic at September 02, 2018 11:08 AM (S1Kso)

226 222: I always thought her voice was pop and rough. Sarah's was like pure velvet

Posted by: CN at September 02, 2018 11:08 AM (Bx2+B)

227 Based on wikipedia, Where the Red Fern Grows concerns raccoon hunting dogs. But to think that this gives some sort of ultimate meaning to life is absurd. If you want to understand the absurdity of all projects and the grotesqueness of being-in-itself, I suggest you read Nausea.

Posted by: Jean-Paul Sartre at September 02, 2018 11:09 AM (/qEW2)

228 I figured y'all would know my story. A guy named Ernie wrote it up.

Posted by: Francis Macomber at September 02, 2018 11:00 AM (fuK7c)

It was a good story. It was good because it was powerful, and true, and had short sentences. Like mine.

Posted by: Some Old Guy in a Boat at September 02, 2018 11:09 AM (2dzsA)

229 The African Wildlife artist Simon Coombes was killed by a Cape Buffalo.

******

"Paint faster, Simon!"

Posted by: Muldoon at September 02, 2018 11:11 AM (mvenn)

230 Posted by: Captain Hate at September 02, 2018 09:56 AM (y7DUB)

------------------------

I'm going to argue against Tsar Nicholas being a complete bonehead. Remember, his son, Alex, suffered from hemophilia. Back then, sons were treasured and Alex was the heir. Then, Rasputin shows up and, well, things went downhill from there.

The family was completely absorbed by Alex's illness and, in the end, I don't think they ever expected to be dragged into the woods and shot
Posted by: Blake - used bridge salesman at September 02, 2018 10:04 AM (WEBkv)

The thing that strikes me about Nickolas, is how monumentally unqualified he was for the job he held. He was, by all accounts a decent man, in his personal dealings, and in his devotion to his family.

He had no business leading a country.

Why, you'd almost think this notion of heredity in politics is a bad thing.

Almost.

Anyhoo, Nick was not so much duped by Rasputin as his wife was, and in many ways she wore the pants in the family.

Posted by: BurtTC at September 02, 2018 11:12 AM (cY3LT)

231 Oh bugger, need to find my copy of The Shepherd by Forsyth since IIRC the story starts for our intrepid RAF Vampire pilot at Celle.

Posted by: Anna Puma (HQCaR) at September 02, 2018 11:13 AM (fGI92)

232 I've said before that I don't know anything about Aretha's personal life. I don't know whether she was a moonbat. I never heard her make any political statements.

I like her music, and she was quite beautiful when she was younger.

Posted by: rickl at September 02, 2018 11:13 AM (sdi6R)

233 Just finished Jutland 1916. For details of the battle, this is a very good book. It was by a British author, but he seemed even handed. He does support Jellicoe almost wholeheartedly.

This is the third WWI book I've read recently. The other two dealt with the battle to varying degrees. Conclusion, the Germans won a slight tactical victory and avoided being annihilated by the larger British fleet. However, the blockade remained and strategically, the British emerged with the win.

Posted by: WOPR - Nationalist at September 02, 2018 11:14 AM (J70i0)

234 Painting a charging Cape Buffalo is a daunting challenge.

Sprint 50 yards. Stop. Set up easel. Make 3-4 quick brush strokes. Scoop up easel. Sprint 50 yards. Set up easel...

Posted by: Muldoon at September 02, 2018 11:15 AM (mvenn)

235 I like her music, and she was quite beautiful when she was younger.

That's respectful. Unfortunately this is "piss on anyone who just died" week.

Posted by: Bandersnatch at September 02, 2018 11:15 AM (fuK7c)

236 I didn't watch any of the funerals, studiously avoided them in
fact, but I am a fan of Aretha. I do think her best record was not
"Respect" but "I never Loved a Man....".

Here is a cool portion of the documentary "Muscle Shoals" about that recording.

https://tinyurl.com/yacvrezr

Posted by: Javems at September 02, 2018 11:16 AM (cSfOv)

237 Well, off to church.

Be well, horde.

Posted by: Blake - used bridge salesman at September 02, 2018 11:16 AM (WEBkv)

238 did my senior project, a documentary, on the Blackfoot river a few years prior to the movie coming out.
Did you get one of those "Studies" degrees in fly fishing? Because I want one of those. And a new Thomas and Thomas.
Posted by: Fritz at September 02, 2018 10:41 AM (ANJe6)

Hah. I got my BS degree in fly fishing prior to University. Kinda goes with growing up river rafting in Montana.

Posted by: Beartooth at September 02, 2018 11:16 AM (kXSmR)

239 This talk about Tsar Nicolas, his queen and Rasputin has that Boney M song running through my head--not a good way to begin Sunday.

Ra, ra Rasputin, lover of the Russian Queen.

Posted by: Northernlurker, but call me Teem at September 02, 2018 11:16 AM (nBr1j)

240 I've heard about Topsy the elephant. Edison, you sadist. And we name schools after him.

Posted by: Weak Geek at September 02, 2018 10:25 AM

Thomas Edison was never personally involved. Topsy was a liability, so the owners decided to kill her. Hanging her in front of a paying audience was considered cruel and inhumane, so they decided to electrocute her. IIRC they also poisoned her before and had a backup plan to strangle her.

The local Edison Electric supplied electrical hook-up and the Edison film company filmed the portion in which the elephant was electrocuted, but that is the only Edison link.

Posted by: NaughtyPine at September 02, 2018 11:17 AM (/+bwe)

241 And just for the record OM, I have never worn short like those fruity ones.

I did however once hear of a young woman who played the piccolo with her genitals and called it the flute of the womb.

Posted by: Muldoon at September 02, 2018 11:18 AM (mvenn)

242 My two favorite Hein lein 'juveniles' yare "Star Beast" and "Tunnel in the Sky"
Posted by: Lurking Cynic at September 02, 2018 11:08 AM (S1Kso)

"Tunnel in the Sky" and "Time for the Stars" are probably my favorites although I like most of them. "Star Beast" and "Have Spacesuit, Will Travel" are at the bottom of my list. Although, "Star Beast" has the subversive little bit where the boy is afraid to be alone with the girl lest his reputation be sullied.

Posted by: WOPR - Nationalist at September 02, 2018 11:19 AM (J70i0)

243
I did however once hear of a young woman who played the piccolo with her genitals and called it the flute of the womb.
Posted by: Muldoon at September 02, 2018 11:18 AM (mvenn)

Did she have a contract with a record labia?

Posted by: Northernlurker, but call me Teem at September 02, 2018 11:19 AM (nBr1j)

244 The thing that strikes me about Nickolas, is how monumentally unqualified he was for the job he held. He was, by all accounts a decent man, in his personal dealings, and in his devotion to his family.

He had no business leading a country.

Why, you'd almost think this notion of heredity in politics is a bad thing.

Almost.

Anyhoo, Nick was not so much duped by Rasputin as his wife was, and in many ways she wore the pants in the family.
Posted by: BurtTC at September 02, 2018 11:12 AM (cY3LT)

Yes to all this. The Revolution was gonna happen anyway; Winik's Great Upheaval made that clear when Catherine put her planned liberalization on hold because of being scared shitless by the French Revolution going completely feral. And the pressure kept building...

Posted by: Captain Hate at September 02, 2018 11:19 AM (y7DUB)

245 235
Unfortunately this is "piss on anyone who just died" week.
Posted by: Bandersnatch at September 02, 2018 11:15 AM (fuK7c)

McCain absolutely earned it. With interest. And then some.

Posted by: rickl at September 02, 2018 11:19 AM (sdi6R)

246 Well, shit. Forsyth, not Forsythe.

And me a copy editor.

Ten demerits.

Posted by: Weak Geek at September 02, 2018 11:19 AM (UQij2)

247 Robert K Massie, who is a fine writer, and has written on a variety of subjects, has two on the subject of the Romanov family.

The first, which is a classic, is called Nicholas and Alexandra. I cannot recommend it highly enough.

The second, called The Romanovs: The Final Chapter, tells of the exhumation of the bones of the family, found in 1991. It's a sad conclusion to the story, and maybe a necessary one, for those who needed some closure. I do wonder, if they had been found today, with Putin on the ritz, rather than in '91, when the Rooskies were kinda sorta trying to be a decent folk, would they have been handled in secrecy? With less care?

Who knows. Perhaps God was looking down and said they had suffered enough. The family are considered saints in the Russian Orthodox Church today.

Posted by: BurtTC at September 02, 2018 11:20 AM (cY3LT)

248 215
Vic, yes I've read many of Flynn's books. First was Memorial Day and I
was hooked. What a loss his death was. I understand someone has taken up
the Rapp character.

Posted by: Old Dude at September 02, 2018 11:01 AM (LGXGf)

Yep, but I haven't tried any of them yet. those kind of things never work out well.

Posted by: Vic We Have No Party at September 02, 2018 11:20 AM (mpXpK)

249 The local Edison Electric supplied electrical hook-up and the Edison film company filmed the portion in which the elephant was electrocuted, but that is the only Edison link.

Point of curiosity. Link I just read confirms this and says that it took place a decade after the current wars.

Now, if Edison "won" the current war, how is it that ten years later an Edison plant is supplying the AC to kill Topsy?

When and why did he convert?

Posted by: Bandersnatch at September 02, 2018 11:20 AM (fuK7c)

250 "Paint faster, Simon!"
Posted by: Muldoon at September 02, 2018 11:11 AM (mvenn)

Hahaha....now that's funny!

Posted by: Hairyback Guy at September 02, 2018 11:21 AM (EoRCO)

251 It was a good story. It was good because it was powerful, and true, and had short sentences. Like mine.

Posted by: Some Old Guy in a Boat at September 02, 2018 11:09 AM (2dzsA)

---
One of my favorite Scott Fitzgerald quotes is: "Hemingway never sent anyone running for a dictionary."

Posted by: A.H. Lloyd at September 02, 2018 11:21 AM (cfSRQ)

252 Muldoon: There's always sitting in a tall tree while the buff huffs and puffs circling the tree for a few hours. Plenty of time to paint.

'Course carrying the easel and all in your panicked climb could prove difficult.

(See: 'Death in the Tall Grass' by Peter Hathaway Capstick")

Posted by: Lurking Cynic at September 02, 2018 11:21 AM (S1Kso)

253 Oh that crazy Boney M

https://youtu.be/SYnVYJDxu2Q

Posted by: Anna Puma (HQCaR) at September 02, 2018 11:21 AM (fGI92)

254 They completely miscast Flynn's American Assassin movie. Worst casting of a book to movie film evah.

Posted by: Lancelot Link Secret Agent Chimp at September 02, 2018 11:22 AM (2DOZq)

255 That's respectful. Unfortunately this is "piss on anyone who just died" week.
Posted by: Bandersnatch at September 02, 2018 11:15 AM (fuK7c)

Well most would have been happy to let McCain go quietly except McCain and the establishment decided to make it political. To paraphrase AtC, I'm not making the rules, just following them.

Posted by: WOPR - Nationalist at September 02, 2018 11:22 AM (J70i0)

256 McCain absolutely earned it. With interest. And then some.

Of course. But I doubt Aretha was in charge of the invites to hers. Good girl, sang good songs.

Posted by: Bandersnatch at September 02, 2018 11:23 AM (fuK7c)

257 I assuming you survived and the Buffalo did not. But, it would have made a funny post if you had written, "I stood fast against a charging Cape Buffalo for a few, short, happy seconds, and then was run over and crushed mercilessly. I then had many, long, unhappy years of rehab before I could feed myself.

*****

Pro Tip: Always,, always look for the cleverly played sock.

Posted by: Muldoon at September 02, 2018 11:23 AM (mvenn)

258 It may appeal to you aesthetically, but is there any actual evidence that it works in practice? Is it just another gimmick by someone trying to sell their investment snake oil advice?

Posted by: Steve and Cold Bear at September 02, 2018 10:08 AM (/qEW2)

Sorry, SaCB, I was out running....or as much running as my crap knees will allow.

I find the Golden Mean esthetically pleasing as do you. That's why we dental types often use it in our restorations.

But, as a Magic Bullet for stock trading?....eh, there are no magic bullets.

As an indicator of the boundaries within which a particular stock might move, it seems pretty good.

In and of itself to use as your only trading tool? No, I wouldn't do that.

I know people who use it as one of their main tools, who are very successful, consistent traders. And they recommended her book, so I'm reading it and will test drive it's use.

Not finished reading it, but the general dealio seems to be-

1) Get a Fibonacci trading tool. ex: it's free on ToS from TDA. And ToS is free to join.

2) Select a stock use the tool to generate Fib. ratios based on the highest high and lowest low for daily times during a certain period.

3) The tool will draw lines corresponding to certain Fib ratios that should tell you more or less where support and resistance are.

The ratios of 1.618 and 1.272 seem the most useful.

If the above idea appeals to you, test drive her book.

But, for God's sake don't take my advice on this:

1) I'm a moron.

2) I'm a moron who has not made a million or even close trading stocks.

In any event, the whole Golden Mean thing is just very cool its own self.

Posted by: naturalfake at September 02, 2018 11:23 AM (9q7Dl)

259 As for books, the local theater is doing "Age of Innocence", so I thought I'd read a non-depressing Edith Wharton book. Settled on "Summer" in which the main characters have at least a shred of hope for happiness. The reviews of the upcoming McCarter production focus on the white male patriarchy crap. And crap it is as I recall it was Countess Olenska's grandmother who held her purse strings, at least in the US. But everything must look oppressive, right? And where does "white" come into Wharton? It's not like she wrote about black characters. Usually her ladies (and Mr Frome) are done in by their own choices.

Posted by: CN at September 02, 2018 11:24 AM (Bx2+B)

260

I did however once hear of a young woman who played the piccolo with her genitals and called it the flute of the womb.

Posted by: Muldoon at September 02, 2018 11:18 AM (mvenn)

Did she have a contract with a record labia?
THIS is why I frequent this place!*wipes tears from eyes*

Posted by: Old Dude at September 02, 2018 11:24 AM (LGXGf)

261 The second, called The Romanovs: The Final Chapter, tells of the exhumation of the bones of the family, found in 1991. It's a sad conclusion to the story, and maybe a necessary one, for those who needed some closure. I do wonder, if they had been found today, with Putin on the ritz, rather than in '91, when the Rooskies were kinda sorta trying to be a decent folk, would they have been handled in secrecy? With less care?

Who knows. Perhaps God was looking down and said they had suffered enough. The family are considered saints in the Russian Orthodox Church today.
Posted by: BurtTC at September 02, 2018 11:20 AM (cY3LT)

Putin is more tsar than commie. Plus, he's been encouraging the Orthodox church, within the limits he sets of course. I figure they would have been handled the same.

Posted by: WOPR - Nationalist at September 02, 2018 11:25 AM (J70i0)

262 @240 --

Naughty Pine, thank you for that info.

Seriously -- HANGING an ELEPHANT??!! Now there's an idea that never should have been offered.

Somewhere there are descendants of those men. Wonder whether that lineage was kept a family secret.

Yes, I do wonder about such things.

Posted by: Weak Geek at September 02, 2018 11:26 AM (UQij2)

263 I got The Smear by Sharyl Attkisson and Spring Moon by Bette Bao Lord from the library. Will start them tonight after work.

Posted by: NaughtyPine at September 02, 2018 11:26 AM (/+bwe)

264 Man Cave : Fail

No stereo.

Posted by: garrett at September 02, 2018 11:26 AM (YPGNN)

265 Edison demonstrated the killing power of AC on a horse at his laboratory.

Posted by: Lancelot Link Secret Agent Chimp at September 02, 2018 11:27 AM (2DOZq)

266 "The ratios of 1.618 and 1.272 seem the most useful."

The ratio of the perfect rectangle in design, 1.618 to one.

Posted by: Javems at September 02, 2018 11:28 AM (cSfOv)

267 Just finished Jutland 1916. For details of the battle, this is a very good book. It was by a British author, but he seemed even handed. He does support Jellicoe almost wholeheartedly.

This is the third WWI book I've read recently. The other two dealt with the battle to varying degrees. Conclusion, the Germans won a slight tactical victory and avoided being annihilated by the larger British fleet. However, the blockade remained and strategically, the British emerged with the win.
Posted by: WOPR - Nationalist at September 02, 2018 11:14 AM (J70i0)

I think what the British lost during that war, was a belief in their invincibility at sea. Lost it, and really, never got it back.

And then the Bismark came along, and pretty much destroyed the concept of the British Navy as a thing.

Posted by: BurtTC at September 02, 2018 11:28 AM (cY3LT)

268 I did however once hear of a young woman who played the piccolo with her genitals and called it the flute of the womb.
Posted by: Muldoon at September 02, 2018 11:18 AM (mvenn)

Uh, point of order: The piccolo was played by some little man in a boat.

You're welcome.

Posted by: OregonMuse, AoSHQ Thought Leader & Contributing Editor, Vanity Fair Magazine at September 02, 2018 11:29 AM (I3yXU)

269 WOPR - ah, but that little bit is redeemd by including the stuff about the girl divorcing her parents. Besides, this was clearly written for a juvenile audience at a time when to have the boy and girl be anything less than circumspect in their behavior would do the book.

Heinlein's editor was a prude. She made Heinlein change his preferred ending to Podkayne. His original ending had her dying at the end - a fitting and just result. The editor forced him to save her.

Posted by: Lurking Cynic at September 02, 2018 11:29 AM (S1Kso)

270 Posted by: BurtTC at September 02, 2018 11:20 AM (cY3LT)

Putin is more tsar than commie. Plus, he's been encouraging the Orthodox church, within the limits he sets of course. I figure they would have been handled the same.
Posted by: WOPR - Nationalist at September 02, 2018 11:25 AM (J70i0)

Possibly. Or some oligarch would have found them, and sold them on the open market to the highest bidder.

Posted by: BurtTC at September 02, 2018 11:29 AM (cY3LT)

271 Currently reading "Fifty Ways to Kill a Redundant Elephant" by Willie Croakit

So far I'm on Chapter 32 and none of them have worked yet.

Posted by: Muldoon at September 02, 2018 11:30 AM (mvenn)

272 Why, you'd almost think this notion of heredity in politics is a bad thing

Oh, you suck!

Mo-o-o-o-o-om, some deplorables being mean to me!

Posted by: Chelsea! at September 02, 2018 11:30 AM (9q7Dl)

273 Edison demonstrated the killing power of AC on a horse at his laboratory.
Posted by: Lancelot Link Secret Agent Chimp at September 02, 2018 11:27 AM (2DOZq)

Well, it must have been damn cold in that room to kill that horse....

Posted by: JoeF. at September 02, 2018 11:30 AM (NFEMn)

274 261
Putin is more tsar than commie. Plus, he's been encouraging the Orthodox church, within the limits he sets of course. I figure they would have been handled the same.
Posted by: WOPR - Nationalist at September 02, 2018 11:25 AM (J70i0)

Nowadays the Russians have Orthodox priests blessing rockets before launch. That would have been unthinkable a few decades ago.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rUkyGFNxcG0

Posted by: rickl at September 02, 2018 11:30 AM (sdi6R)

275 Labia Mavelick*, AMP Visionaire is not amused by these jokes...

*Her name was also spelled Lebia Maverick or Lebia Mavelick. Asamiya-san whilst writing the occult punk series Silent Mobius chose some interesting character names as we had Katsumi Liqueur who is half-French and Kiddy Pfenil from Australia.

Posted by: Anna Puma (HQCaR) at September 02, 2018 11:31 AM (fGI92)

276 Never cared for Aretha, I much prefer Sarah Vaughn, Carmen MacRae, and (!) Julie London. I think Whitney's voice out shone Franklin by a light year.
Posted by: CN at September 02, 2018 11:02 AM (Bx2+B)

Nothing beats Aretha's classic Atlantic Records stuff. Her later work--"Freeway of Love", "Who's Zooming Who?"--was pure 80's tripe....
Posted by: JoeF. at September 02, 2018 11:06 AM (NFEMn)

I never considered her voice beautiful I considered it powerful.

Posted by: Anonymous White Male at September 02, 2018 11:31 AM (9BLnV)

277 Otherwise known as "The Golden Ratio"

Posted by: Javems at September 02, 2018 11:32 AM (cSfOv)

278 Posted by: Some Old Guy in a Boat at September 02, 2018 11:09 AM (2dzsA)

---
One of my favorite Scott Fitzgerald quotes is: "Hemingway never sent anyone running for a dictionary."

Posted by: A.H. Lloyd at September 02, 2018 11:21 AM (cfSRQ)

That whole era of American writers, I could take or leave.

I am curious though, was F'n Scott being snotty with that statement, or just good clean fun?

Posted by: BurtTC at September 02, 2018 11:32 AM (cY3LT)

279 Interviewer: So, Mrs. Elephant, how did your husband die? I heard he was hung.

Mrs. Elephant (blushing): Well, yes, yes he was, but that's beside the point....

Posted by: Muldoon at September 02, 2018 11:32 AM (mvenn)

280 The Romanovs--and a few of their attendants-- were all shot to ribbons in the basement of the farmhouse were they were being held. The czarina and her daughters had jewels sown into their corsets, so Bolshevik bayonets finished the job.

Russia has always been a brutal, semi-barbaric place.

Posted by: JoeF. at September 02, 2018 11:34 AM (NFEMn)

281 Perhaps we should be thankful in Footfall no reference to Topsy was made.

Posted by: Anna Puma (HQCaR) at September 02, 2018 11:34 AM (fGI92)

282 The book thread on labia's a hit
And should be -- think about it
Comparative literature
Rendered in miniature
Goes by the acronym "clit"

Posted by: Bandersnatch at September 02, 2018 11:34 AM (fuK7c)

283 @271 --

You should have quit with Chapter 11.

Church time. Bye for now!

Posted by: Weak Geek at September 02, 2018 11:34 AM (UQij2)

284 276: I'll easily concede it was powerful. Vaughan's was beautiful.

Posted by: CN at September 02, 2018 11:35 AM (Bx2+B)

285 In 2014, CNN released a poll a couple of days before Joni Ernst election showing her opponent up by 6 points. She won by almost 9. In the same year, all but on late poll showed Pat Roberts losing in Kansas. He won by 10.8.

Has a republican ever led in the polling like this and lost ??

It's almost like the polls are BS

Posted by: REDACTED at September 02, 2018 11:35 AM (7rpiB)

286 Well, it must have been damn cold in that room to kill that horse....

Posted by: JoeF.

*****

Heh.

Posted by: Muldoon at September 02, 2018 11:36 AM (mvenn)

287 Posted by: BurtTC at September 02, 2018 11:12 AM (cY3LT)

Yes to all this. The Revolution was gonna happen anyway; Winik's Great Upheaval made that clear when Catherine put her planned liberalization on hold because of being scared shitless by the French Revolution going completely feral. And the pressure kept building...
Posted by: Captain Hate at September 02, 2018 11:19 AM (y7DUB)

Catherine realized it was all illusion. All of it. The Russian people were only controlled in small pockets here and there, and the notion that it has ever been ONE empire is vanity on the part of the so-called rulers.

Posted by: BurtTC at September 02, 2018 11:36 AM (cY3LT)

288 282 The book thread on labia's a hit
And should be -- think about it
Comparative literature
Rendered in miniature
Goes by the acronym "clit"
Posted by: Bandersnatch at September 02, 2018 11:34 AM (fuK7c)

...aaaaand Muldoon now has *serious* competition, and no mistake.

Posted by: OregonMuse, AoSHQ Thought Leader & Contributing Editor, Vanity Fair Magazine at September 02, 2018 11:37 AM (I3yXU)

289 This isn't about a book but it is about writing of a sort: rewriting history. Netflix has a pretty good series called History's Greatest Hoaxes (Loch Ness Monster, Piltdown Man, Alien Autopsy, etc). The shows are pretty good, although a whole hour long episode on whether or not Papillon was real seems pointless like it was the producer's favorite movie or something.

But when they got to the Piltdown Man the rewriting began in earnest. They covered the hoax pretty well, but when the psychologists and historians began talking about why it was believed suddenly out came the rewrites.

See, the "discovery" was in 1912 and was endorsed by every major museum and anthropologist at the time. But the show claimed that this was accepted and praised because the British Empire was "in decline" and that they were "desperate for national pride" and so on.

But in 1912, the British Empire was at its height, controlling all of the world's oceans and a third of the entire planet's surface -- the greatest and largest empire in human history. They had no problems with pride or empire, they were not feeling any insecurity whatsoever.

These experts did, in an offhand way, reluctantly admit that yes, this was the missing link they all hoped for and that it was accepted at least in part because of evolutionists thinking this proved their theories, but then they went on to hammer the British Empire/English pride thing about 80 times more to make sure you ignored the point.

It was frustrating because you can tell they really didn't want to admit that these eminent and world-leading scientists bought into a hoax out of confirmation bias and hope that it solved the problems with their theories.

Posted by: Christopher R Taylor at September 02, 2018 11:38 AM (39g3+)

290 Nowadays the Russians have Orthodox priests blessing rockets before launch. That would have been unthinkable a few decades ago.

Putin is big on Russian culture and tradition, and rewriting Russian history (Stalin is enjoying a resurgence in Russia now -- he wasn't such a bad guy!). So yeah, no surprise he likes the Orthodox Church in the same way Mob bosses loved Roman Catholic services.

Posted by: Christopher R Taylor at September 02, 2018 11:40 AM (39g3+)

291
Edison demonstrated the killing power of AC on a horse at his laboratory.
Posted by: Lancelot Link Secret Agent Chimp

Well, it must have been damn cold in that room to kill that horse....
Posted by: JoeF.

Must have been a female horse.

Posted by: Bertram Cabot, Jr. at September 02, 2018 11:40 AM (IqV8l)

292 Why does that leather recliner have wheels on the front, and where do I get one like that? It would go great in my living room. Classic styling but not too over the top (my house is a 1909 farmhouse-ey style)

Posted by: Heresolong at September 02, 2018 11:41 AM (spsWF)

293 Seriously -- HANGING an ELEPHANT??!! Now there's an idea that never should have been offered.

Somewhere there are descendants of those men. Wonder whether that lineage was kept a family secret.

Yes, I do wonder about such things.
Posted by: Weak Geek at September 02, 2018 11:26 AM

Well, electrocution was considered much more humane than hanging or shooting.

In the Depression, a Michigan bank robber shot a man and because that was a capital crime under federal law, Michigan had to execute him. The death penalty had been outlawed since the 1800s - IIRC making it the first English speaking territory to do so - after a horrific hanging of a man who did not die right away.

The only option was to hang him. Ohio offered to lend the use of their electric chair, but a federal judge would not permit it. Hanging was seen as so horrible that the guilty man tried to commit suicide by slitting his wrists - and was given transfusions to save his life.

Posted by: NaughtyPine at September 02, 2018 11:43 AM (/+bwe)

294 urethra franklin was always meh, to me. whatever. the "guests" at her sendoff is all i need to know. almost as vomit inducing as juan's traveling medicine show.

Posted by: chavez the hugo at September 02, 2018 11:43 AM (KP5rU)

295 Why does that leather recliner have wheels on the front, and where do I get one like that?

Mine has a lawnmower engine hitched to the back wheels.

Posted by: Bandersnatch at September 02, 2018 11:43 AM (fuK7c)

296 To get back on the book theme, speaking of Hemingway:

I think I can pinpoint the inflection point of me becoming a conservative. In college I took a literature course because I needed the credits and it fit my schedule at the time. The professor did a review of a Hemingway short story and found phallic symbolism in every single damn thing in the book. The tree? Phallic. The ski poles? Definitely phallic. The long winding path disappearing into the forest? Phallic, duh.

Oddly enough the only thing she didn't find phallic was a character who I believe was named Dick.

I think that's when it occurred to me that lefties are basically FOS and humorless.

Posted by: Muldoon at September 02, 2018 11:44 AM (mvenn)

297 Conclusion, the Germans won a slight tactical victory and avoided being annihilated by the larger British fleet. However, the blockade remained and strategically, the British emerged with the win.

-
Similar to the Coral Sea. The Japanese won in the sense that they inflicted more damage but strategically it was all American.

Posted by: Anonosaurus Wrecks, Tyrannosaur Wrangler at September 02, 2018 11:44 AM (H5yHT)

298 Today in history: Japs surrender.

https://preview.tinyurl.com/y8pnpxvr

Posted by: Infidel at September 02, 2018 11:45 AM (PhT3S)

299 @117
Although Filkins makes a concerted effort not to interject his opinions into his stories, It is hard to avoid coming to the conclusion based on this book that the Arabs understand only "force - force, pride and saving face", and that they are not suited to governing themselves via democracy, only to being ruled by a despot. Some of the Iraqi characters say as much.
----------------------------

If you want a good understanding of the Arab mindset, read Arabs at War. It's a big, thick doorstopper book that analyzes every single war that an Arab nation has fought in from the end of World War 2 up through the first Gulf War (it was written before the second Gulf War).

Posted by: junior at September 02, 2018 11:46 AM (e7Q0v)

300 That whole era of American writers, I could take or leave.

I am curious though, was F'n Scott being snotty with that statement, or just good clean fun?

Posted by: BurtTC at September 02, 2018 11:32 AM (cY3LT)

---
Well, it's funny because it's true.

I have a thing for writers of that era. I'm not a huge Hemingway fan, but I did enjoy A Farewell to Arms.

I actually read all four books of Ford Maddox Ford's series on World War I (Parade's End). Very different from the prevailing myth of troops hunkered down in trenches for years on end. They did rotations, and so you'd do a couple of weeks at the line, then go back to rest areas - it became kind of a routine.

HBO did a production on it and Benedict Cumberbatch was actually perfect for the role of the protagonist.

Posted by: A.H. Lloyd at September 02, 2018 11:46 AM (cfSRQ)

301 254
They completely miscast Flynn's American Assassin movie. Worst casting of a book to movie film evah.Lancelot
Yeah, it was really a bad movie. To me, a close second was casting little Tommy Cruise as Jack Reacher. Only saw the first iteration. Just couldn't watch the second installment.

Posted by: Old Dude at September 02, 2018 11:46 AM (LGXGf)

302 Took one of the grandsons to the town library to get some books and videos. Out of curiosity I asked if they had any Three Investigators book. They did but we couldn't find it on the shelves.

The Three Investigators books are stories similar to the Hardy boys books. They center around Jupiter Jones and his two friends as they solve mysteries.The investigators are early teens and their HQ is an old travel trailer buried in the back of a junk yard.

The books are great for getting late grade schoolers interested in reading. I still remember the name of the first book my 4th grade teacher read to us called The Green Ghost.

Posted by: Beartooth at September 02, 2018 11:46 AM (kXSmR)

303 I may have to use this notion in real life:

Husband: "Why is the thermostat set at 65 degrees?

Wife: "It seemed warm in here."

Husband: "Well, it's cold enough to kill a horse!"

Posted by: Muldoon at September 02, 2018 11:46 AM (mvenn)

304 the guilty man tried to commit suicide by slitting his wrists - and was given transfusions to save his life.

-
Reverse of the old Vietnam dictum, in order to destroy this man we had to save him.

Posted by: Anonosaurus Wrecks, Tyrannosaur Wrangler at September 02, 2018 11:47 AM (H5yHT)

305 296: I've been rethinking Hemingway due to his Castro love. Didn't care about his philandering ways or stupid bullfighting machismo, but watching executions, no. I've never been able to separate the artist from the person to that degree.

Posted by: CN at September 02, 2018 11:48 AM (Bx2+B)

306 Anyone interested in the start of Aretha Franklin's career should watch either of two documentaries on the Muscle Shoals recording studio. IIRC she had originally signed as a gospel singer with Columbia who couldn't figure out WTF to do with her. So she signed with Atlantic who sent her to Muscle Shoals with all these white country boys. The session started miserably with everyone at everyone else's throats, with Aretha's ex husband being a major POS. Finally they were doodling around hoping the Muse would intercede when Spooner Oldham plays this riff on electric piano and Aretha starts singing and the band joins in on what became "I Ain't Never Loved Another" and it was off to the races.

Posted by: Captain Hate at September 02, 2018 11:48 AM (y7DUB)

307 To me, a close second was casting little Tommy Cruise as Jack Reacher. Only saw the first iteration. Just couldn't watch the second installment.

The first film was pretty good despite being the worst case of miscasting since Woody Allen played James Bond in the original Casino Royale. But the story was good and he portrayed Reacher well as a person if not a physical man.

The second film was a disappointment.

Posted by: Christopher R Taylor at September 02, 2018 11:51 AM (39g3+)

308 305
296: I've been rethinking Hemingway due to his Castro love. Didn't care
about his philandering ways or stupid bullfighting machismo, but
watching executions, no. I've never been able to separate the artist
from the person to that degree.

Posted by: CN at September 02, 2018 11:48 AM (Bx2+B)

---
I think his earlier work was better and he was also a better human being when he did that work.

Posted by: A.H. Lloyd at September 02, 2018 11:51 AM (cfSRQ)

309 I don't think Hemingway was ever 'a better human being'.

Posted by: Lurking Cynic at September 02, 2018 11:53 AM (S1Kso)

310 302 Bear, I remember the Three Investigators! Didn't read themuntil HS, my friend had a collection.

Posted by: votermom pimping NEW Moron-authored books! at September 02, 2018 11:53 AM (CE6iV)

311 I think Hemingway was a good enough writer, but the praise and fawning over the guy has always frustrated me. Everything he did that they claim to love, Dashiell Hammett did better in my opinion, and he did it without pretentious literary aspirations or annoying faux masculinity. Hammett was just who he was, he didn't play a character in public to feel more manly. He didn't feel like his books had to Say Something Important, he just wanted to tell a story.

Posted by: Christopher R Taylor at September 02, 2018 11:54 AM (39g3+)

312 I actually read all four books of Ford Maddox Ford's series on World War I (Parade's End).

Is it good?

I had heard of Ford in connection with Hemingway, but never read him. I assumed they were friends. However, I just read "A Moveable Feast", Hemingways memoires of 20s Paris written from notes and memories in the 50s.

I had always avoided looking at Ford when I could and I always held my breath when I was near him in a closed room, but this was the open air and the fallen leaves blew along the sidewalks from my side of the table past his, so I took a good look at him, repented, and looked across the boulevard. The light was changed again and I had missed the change. I took a drink to see if his company had fouled it, but it still tasted good".

The gist of the story is that Ford thinks he has slighted a passer-by, a poet named Belloc, who turns out later to have been Alestair Crowley.

Posted by: Bandersnatch at September 02, 2018 11:54 AM (fuK7c)

313 Hello all you oafs! I've long wanted a sci fi author to write what it sounds like Sawyer did with Calculating God, and I'm glad its out there. The premise is pretty solid and its ridiculous for every sci fi author ever to presume every alien race is utterly a-religious.

He sounds like a Crichton type of author from the reviews and info I can find: he picks a social or scientific trend and writes a book about it and its impact, which is a genre I enjoy. Hopefully he's not as wordy as Crichton.

I noticed that Calculating God won a Nebula award; I bet it never would today. Probably would be met with hatred and derision.

Posted by: Christopher R Taylor at September 02, 2018 10:51 AM (39g3+)

When I read "The Illustrated Man" a couple of weeks ago, one of the stories was titled,

"The Man".

Basically, it was a story of Earth dudes landing on a planet, where Jesus had apparently shown up. So, everybody's faith was tested in different ways.

They never used the Name "Jesus". It was always "you mean, He is here?" sort of thing,

but even so, I thought "Wow, this story would never be written today. and if so, never published."

Unfortunately, it's not one of Bradbury's better stories. It has that lousy episode of "The Twilight Zone" dealio of "Now, dear reader, you are about to learn a lesson." that afflicts the lesser Ray Bradbury stories.

The more I reread him, the more I'm convinced that Bradbury was a fine YA and youth writer.

And not so much, except on rare occasion a writer for adults.

Posted by: naturalfake at September 02, 2018 11:56 AM (9q7Dl)

314 I actually read all four books of Ford Maddox Ford's series on World War I (Parade's End). Very different from the prevailing myth of troops hunkered down in trenches for years on end. They did rotations, and so you'd do a couple of weeks at the line, then go back to rest areas - it became kind of a routine.

HBO did a production on it and Benedict Cumberbatch was actually perfect for the role of the protagonist.

Posted by: A.H. Lloyd at September 02, 2018 11:46 AM (cfSRQ)

I saw the show, I thought it was BBC, but whatever. HBO, BBC, same difference.

I guess it was well done, but it was all melodrama to me. I couldn't keep track of who was whom, or why it mattered that this person or that was doing whatever. In the end it was about a guy who fell in love with a girl, and then a war happened. And eventually, they got together.

Oh, spoiler. They get together in the end.

Posted by: BurtTC at September 02, 2018 11:57 AM (cY3LT)

315 @189 Lt. Sean Brady braked the Jeep to a stop, his vehicle was one of many queued up to cycle through a checkpoint. Figuring it would take a while, he killed the motor and again wondered what kind of strings had been pulled to get him this assignment, all he knew was orders had come down from SHAFE detaching him personally from the 3rd Armored Division to escort a few VIPs. He had complained loud and hard about being yanked out of combat until he had met the people he was assigned to escort.

"How long do you figure the wait?" Diana sitting in the front passenger seat asked.
------------------------------

Does Diana know how to use a lasso?

:p

Also, Brits queue. Americans line up. Brits have armoured divisions. Americans have armored divisions.

Posted by: junior at September 02, 2018 11:58 AM (e7Q0v)

316 Thought for the day: Trump is the William Shatner of politics.

Posted by: Anonosaurus Wrecks, Tyrannosaur Wrangler at September 02, 2018 11:58 AM (H5yHT)

317 I've been rethinking Hemingway due to his Castro love.

I have seen that and Hem's supposed glee at Che executions only here in the John Birch book thread.

Hemingway loved Cuba, but left after Castro took power and never returned.

Where does this "Castro love" come from?

Posted by: Bandersnatch at September 02, 2018 11:58 AM (fuK7c)

318 Putin is big on Russian culture and tradition, and rewriting Russian history (Stalin is enjoying a resurgence in Russia now -- he wasn't such a bad guy!). So yeah, no surprise he likes the Orthodox Church in the same way Mob bosses loved Roman Catholic services.
Posted by: Christopher R Taylor at September 02, 2018 11:40 AM (39g3+)

I don't think most of the Mob bosses "loved" the Roman Catholic Church. Italians and Sicilians have a long tradition of anti-clericalism. But they had to play along to keep up appearances. So they went to Mass and had their kids baptized into the Faith.

I think the "Russian" Orthodox Church has a much more culturally powerful pull on Russians.

Posted by: JoeF. at September 02, 2018 11:59 AM (NFEMn)

319 305: I can buy that.

Posted by: CN at September 02, 2018 12:00 PM (Bx2+B)

320 I had always avoided looking at Ford when I could and I always held my breath when I was near him in a closed room, but this was the open air and the fallen leaves blew along the sidewalks from my side of the table past his, so I took a good look at him, repented, and looked across the boulevard. The light was changed again and I had missed the change. I took a drink to see if his company had fouled it, but it still tasted good".

The gist of the story is that Ford thinks he has slighted a passer-by, a poet named Belloc, who turns out later to have been Alestair Crowley.
Posted by: Bandersnatch at September 02, 2018 11:54 AM (fuK7c)

Good grief, I just want to punch everybody.

What a bunch of middle school drama queens.

Posted by: BurtTC at September 02, 2018 12:01 PM (cY3LT)

321
Wish I could participate in the Book Thread more often but between going to Mass, the long drive home and shopping in between it's usually too late.

Posted by: Hadrian the Seventh at September 02, 2018 12:01 PM (LsBY9)

322 I think the "Russian" Orthodox Church has a much more culturally powerful pull on Russians.

Its possible, the mafia was as bad a bunch of scumbag thugs as any street gang, they just had a veneer of culture and nice clothes to make them seem more respectable.

Unfortunately the Russian Orthodox Church (as opposed to Greek, and what the USA has) was so compromised under Soviet rule in an effort to survive as an organization I'm not sure how much Christian is left. Like the other European state churches, I think its just cultural now.

Posted by: Christopher R Taylor at September 02, 2018 12:02 PM (39g3+)

323 My wife says "chucker", she's from Baltimore

I say "chunker", I'm from rural east TX

Posted by: REDACTED at September 02, 2018 12:03 PM (7rpiB)

324 309
I don't think Hemingway was ever 'a better human being'.

Posted by: Lurking Cynic at September 02, 2018 11:53 AM (S1Kso)

---
I'm sure he was better than someone, but what I meant was that he had a clear decline in personality over his lifetime.

And yes, I think he's overrated, but still a decent read.

Regarding Ford Mattox Ford, he's not the easiest to read and the fourth book is a real slog. Tons of interior monologues and I found myself skipping ahead from time to time because it was so repetitive.

But the first three books were quite amusing and he does a lot of misdirection with his writing - like you think something's going to happen, but it doesn't, and it makes sense that it doesn't, so it's not like you feel he's just being a jerk.

There's a lot of dark humor in it as well, plausible absurdity I guess you could call it. He's similar in theme to Evelyn Waugh but the writing is more Victorian (because he was much older).

I may go and take a second read now that I think about it. One thing that's nice is that specializing in Great War British authors makes you seem ultra-snooty when dealing with literary types. Whenever I deal with some book snob, I'll mention Ford and that always throws them for a loop.

Posted by: A.H. Lloyd at September 02, 2018 12:03 PM (cfSRQ)

325 between going to Mass, the long drive home and shopping in between it's usually too late.

You missed the killing of the elephant, but the leftovers are still warm.

Posted by: Bandersnatch at September 02, 2018 12:03 PM (fuK7c)

326 've been rethinking Hemingway due to his Castro love. Didn't care
about his philandering ways or stupid bullfighting machismo, but
watching executions, no. I've never been able to separate the artist
from the person to that degree.

Posted by: CN at September 02, 2018 11:48 AM (Bx2+B)

Castro assumed power in 1959 and Hemingway blew his own brains out in 1961--a lot of people were enchanted with Fidel in the beginning. Who knows what he would have thought a few years later? I mean, former lefties John Dos Passos and John Steinbeck ended up as right-wingers during the '60's....

Posted by: JoeF. at September 02, 2018 12:04 PM (NFEMn)

327 I remember a Hemingway parody in National Lampoon. I don't remember who wrote it and I can't find it on the internet, but it was something like this:

I remember a bartender in Barcelona named Manual that made the best Martini's I ever drank. I grabbed him and told him, "Look, you either give me your recipe for your Martini or I'll break this bottle over your head!" "Oh, Papa, please don't beat me! I tell you secret. After I make Martini I unzip my pants and shake a few drops of peepee from my penis." God, he could make a great Martini. Crack your skull wide open.

Posted by: Anonymous White Male at September 02, 2018 12:04 PM (9BLnV)

328 Heinlein's editor was a prude. She made Heinlein
change his preferred ending to Podkayne. His original ending had her
dying at the end - a fitting and just result. The editor forced him to
save her.

Posted by: Lurking Cynic at September 02, 2018 11:29 AM (S1Kso)

The Kindle version has the original ending.

Posted by: Vic We Have No Party at September 02, 2018 12:04 PM (mpXpK)

329 Disaster in Texas!

EVACUATE THE STATE! A semi-truck loaded with Axe body spray caught fire and exploded in Texas

Posted by: Anonosaurus Wrecks, Tyrannosaur Wrangler at September 02, 2018 12:05 PM (H5yHT)

330 The only Hemingway I've ever read and enjoyed is "The Old Man and the Sea", and I will gladly reread it at the drop of a hat.

Posted by: Lurking Cynic at September 02, 2018 12:06 PM (S1Kso)

331 Good grief, I just want to punch everybody.

What a bunch of middle school drama queens.

That's the problem I have with a lot of what is considered "great literature," they behave like 13-year-old girls, with everything FRAUGHT WITH MEANING and DEEPLY IMPORTANT. Its like that scene in American Beauty where the teenage chump films a piece of trash blowing in the wind and its supposed to be some work of art so transcendent and meaningful that the girl falls in love with him.

Its a plastic bag. In the wind. Its not art. Its just trash.

Posted by: Christopher R Taylor at September 02, 2018 12:06 PM (39g3+)

332 Its possible, the mafia was as bad a bunch of scumbag thugs as any street gang, they just had a veneer of culture and nice clothes to make them seem more respectable.

Unfortunately the Russian Orthodox Church (as opposed to Greek, and what the USA has) was so compromised under Soviet rule in an effort to survive as an organization I'm not sure how much Christian is left. Like the other European state churches, I think its just cultural now.
Posted by: Christopher R Taylor at September 02, 2018 12:02 PM (39g3+)

Cultural pull can be stronger than faith. But at this point, it's all a blend. Many people will not leave their Church even if they stop believing in God.

Posted by: JoeF. at September 02, 2018 12:07 PM (NFEMn)

333 “this is a quote - on the ipad - with dashes/hyphens ‘n shit”

let’s see if it is 500 server error bait.

yep... didn’t work.

now here it is filtered through charset.org

Posted by: retropox at September 02, 2018 12:08 PM (8h9kC)

334 The Russian Orthodox Church was always and arm of the state. Always.

In fact, the czars abolished the office of Patriarch for a long time so they could exercise greater control. When the Orthodox Church made slight changes to the liturgy, those who didn't go along were persecuted as enemies of the state.

That's why there was no Reformation in Russia - the secret police either killed dissidents or deported them to Siberia.

So there's nothing new in Putin getting cozy with the Church and the Church backing the government.

Posted by: A.H. Lloyd at September 02, 2018 12:09 PM (cfSRQ)

335 chump films a piece of trash blowing in the wind and its supposed to be some work of art so transcendent and meaningful that the girl falls in love with him.

Its a plastic bag. In the wind. Its not art. Its just trash.
Posted by: Christopher R Taylor at September 02, 2018 12:06 PM (39g3+)

Which was parodied wonderfully in "Not Another Teen Movie."

Posted by: Pug Mahon,Turkey Volume Guessing Man! at September 02, 2018 12:09 PM (qZUUD)

336 American Beauty: what an over-rated, nihilistic piece of crap that movie was. Right down there with Sideways.

Posted by: Old Dude at September 02, 2018 12:09 PM (LGXGf)

337 >>EVACUATE THE STATE! A semi-truck loaded with Axe body spray caught fire and exploded in Texas

Chaldean teens hardest hit.

Posted by: garrett at September 02, 2018 12:09 PM (YPGNN)

338 Vic - the original is also in one of the omnibus Heinlein collections after his death. The conflict with the editor was discussed.

Posted by: Lurking Cynic at September 02, 2018 12:10 PM (S1Kso)

339
I always wanted to punch Ford in the face when I was near him in a closed room. I yearned to punch him in the face twice. Once for Ford and once for the other Ford, though not so much for Mattox.

Posted by: naturalfake at September 02, 2018 12:11 PM (9q7Dl)

340 Kitty Flanagan has a new book ... on rules for life. She reviews her own book here (actually satire on Jordan Peterson)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_-NonVtxyAk

Posted by: illiniwek at September 02, 2018 12:11 PM (Cus5s)

341 Good grief, I just want to punch everybody.

What a bunch of middle school drama queens.
------------------------------
That's the problem I have with a lot of what is considered "great literature," they behave like 13-year-old girls, with everything FRAUGHT WITH MEANING and DEEPLY IMPORTANT. Its like that scene in American Beauty where the teenage chump films a piece of trash blowing in the wind and its supposed to be some work of art so transcendent and meaningful that the girl falls in love with him.

Its a plastic bag. In the wind. Its not art. Its just trash.
Posted by: Christopher R Taylor at September 02, 2018 12:06 PM (39g3+)

I started reading Walter Lippmann's "Drift and Mastery," and I have yet to get to the book. I'm such a slow reader, and I need to read the preface, written by some guy in 1985. The book itself was written in... 1913, I think.

So it turns out Lippmann was a socialist back then! Wasn't everybody?

By everybody, I mean the so-called elites, who seemed to pride themselves on mashing together with each other, and so Lippmann was this brilliant young journalist back then, who was just the best! So of course everyone who was anyone in journalism needed to meet him, and this preface is rattling off names I never heard of before.

It's funny. Here were are, more than 100 years later, and none of it matters. Really. None of it.

Trump said "grab her pu**y," and McCain plays mean girl funeral snubbing games.

Same as it ever was.

Posted by: BurtTC at September 02, 2018 12:13 PM (cY3LT)

342 >>I always wanted to punch Ford in the face

I know. That monkeyman can get on your nerves.

Posted by: Zaphod at September 02, 2018 12:13 PM (YPGNN)

343 Reading Fodor's guide to Israel in preparation for a pilgrimage in October.

Posted by: roamingfirehydrant at September 02, 2018 12:14 PM (THS4q)

344 American Beauty: what an over-rated, nihilistic piece of crap that movie was. Right down there with Sideways.
Posted by: Old Dude at September 02, 2018 12:09 PM (LGXGf)

It had it's moments. I actually thought Kevin Spacey's character was sympathetic. Bit yeah, they made it conform to all the over-the-top Hollywood stereotypes about Middle Class America.

And OF COURSE, that idiotic ending....

Posted by: JoeF. at September 02, 2018 12:14 PM (NFEMn)

345 HA. got you, you Apple piece of crap.

it’s the latest update to the ipad.

running the text through the charset.org sit allowed it to post.

whoever pisted that site above, my eternal thanks.

. . . and this one wouldnot post until I converted the apostrophe in the second line

Posted by: retropox at September 02, 2018 12:14 PM (8h9kC)

346 >>Reading Fodor's guide to Israel in preparation for a pilgrimage in October.

Can you bring me back a Hot Female IDF Soldier?

Posted by: garrett at September 02, 2018 12:15 PM (YPGNN)

347 American Beauty: what an over-rated, nihilistic piece of crap that movie was. Right down there with Sideways.

Posted by: Old Dude at September 02, 2018 12:09 PM (LGXGf)

Crash won the Oscar for best picture in 2006. It is hard to imagine how awful the rest of the field must have been.

Posted by: cool breeze at September 02, 2018 12:15 PM (UGKMd)

348 EVACUATE THE STATE! A semi-truck loaded with Axe body spray caught fire and exploded in Texas

Chaldean teens hardest hit.
Posted by: garrett at September 02, 2018 12:09 PM (YPGNN)

LOL

Posted by: JoeF. at September 02, 2018 12:15 PM (NFEMn)

349 317: I was reluctant to accept this, but after some research it seems they enjoyed each other's company and even went fishing together. He praised the "precious" Cuban revolution and Castro said Hemingway would always be welcome there.

He was quite able to separate a man from his deeds, and went to bat for Ezra Pound who lost his mind after WWII and was pro Nazi anti-semite

Posted by: CN at September 02, 2018 12:16 PM (Bx2+B)

350 Here's what looks to me like a balanced view of Hemingway/Castro:

https://bit.ly/2wBNL3R

Posted by: Bandersnatch at September 02, 2018 12:16 PM (fuK7c)

351 American Beauty: what an over-rated, nihilistic piece of crap that movie was. Right down there with Sideways.
Posted by: Old Dude at September 02, 2018 12:09 PM (LGXGf)

Sideways if funny as about a 5 minute skit of Paul Giamatti ranting about wine. Not worth a whole movie though.

Posted by: BurtTC at September 02, 2018 12:17 PM (cY3LT)

352 even a single apostrophe from the ipad update

11 point 4 point 1

crashes pixy.

Posted by: retropox at September 02, 2018 12:17 PM (8h9kC)

353 I read For Whom the Bell Tolls in high school and quite liked it. I knew nothing of politics. Now the scene in which Pilar tells Robert about how great Pablo was before he became a drunk and would go into villages and execute people is haunting.

Posted by: Anonosaurus Wrecks, Tyrannosaur Wrangler at September 02, 2018 12:17 PM (H5yHT)

354 I was reluctant to accept this, but after some research it seems they enjoyed each other's company and even went fishing together.

They met in person only once and talked about fishing.

Posted by: Bandersnatch at September 02, 2018 12:18 PM (fuK7c)

355 The only Hemingway I've ever read and enjoyed is "The Old Man and the Sea", and I will gladly reread it at the drop of a hat.

Posted by: Lurking Cynic at September 02, 2018 12:06 PM

I guess because I've been around the area so much in my life "Islands in the Stream" connected with me the most.

The movie adaptation was horrible.

Posted by: Forgot My Nic at September 02, 2018 12:18 PM (LOgQ4)

356 2006 nominees:

Crash
Good night and Good Luck
Munich
Capote
Brokeback Mountain

There were no winners that year - all losers

Posted by: Lurking Cynic at September 02, 2018 12:20 PM (S1Kso)

357 I was reluctant to accept this, but after some research it seems they enjoyed each other's company and even went fishing together. He praised the "precious" Cuban revolution and Castro said Hemingway would always be welcome there.

He was quite able to separate a man from his deeds, and went to bat for Ezra Pound who lost his mind after WWII and was pro Nazi anti-semite
Posted by: CN at September 02, 2018 12:16 PM (Bx2+B)

No. Pound was committed after WWII because he was an enemy of the State, not because he lost his mind. Read Secrets of the Federal Reserve by Eustace Mullins.

Posted by: Anonymous White Male at September 02, 2018 12:20 PM (9BLnV)

358 Hemingway loved Cuba, but left after Castro took power and never returned.

Where does this "Castro love" come from?
Posted by: Bandersnatch at September 02, 2018 11:58 AM (fuK7c)

There is a claim he watched some of the executions, with sang froid and a highball. Granted, he was a liar when it had to do with how macho he was, but I'd be interested to know one way or the other.

Posted by: Kindltot at September 02, 2018 12:20 PM (2K6fY)

359 I guess because I've been around the area so much in my life "Islands in the Stream" connected with me the most.

The movie adaptation was horrible.
Posted by: Forgot My Nic at September 02, 2018 12:18 PM (LOgQ4)

And the song by Kenny Rogers and Dolly Parton is stunningly bad.

Posted by: Pug Mahon,Turkey Volume Guessing Man! at September 02, 2018 12:20 PM (qZUUD)

360 I always wanted to punch Ford in the face when I was near him in a closed room. I yearned to punch him in the face twice. Once for Ford and once for the other Ford, though not so much for Mattox.

Posted by: naturalfake at September 02, 2018 12:11 PM (9q7Dl)

Agreed. Mattox was alright in my book.

The two Fords though... right in the kisser!

And don't get me started on Johnny Two Step. What a pretentious twit he was. Get an American name, you poser.

Posted by: BurtTC at September 02, 2018 12:21 PM (cY3LT)

361 I saw the show, I thought it was BBC, but whatever. HBO, BBC, same difference.

I guess it was well done, but it was all melodrama to me. I
couldn't keep track of who was whom, or why it mattered that this person
or that was doing whatever. In the end it was about a guy who fell in
love with a girl, and then a war happened. And eventually, they got
together.

Oh, spoiler. They get together in the end.

Posted by: BurtTC at September 02, 2018 11:57 AM (cY3LT)

---
A lot of the book doesn't make sense in a contemporary context. For example, we don't have landed aristocracy any more, but in Edwardian England, it was still a thing and people wondered if it would survive.

So much tradition was breaking down and the war accelerated that.

The main character is an ultra-traditionalist (his hobby is correcting the dictionary!) and yet his wife cheats on him constantly. He's not even sure if he's the biological father of his son and heir.

He meets a suffragette who he finds alluring, but can't bring himself to either leave his wife or commit adultery. I think he's also Catholic, which was an issue back then. (Or I'm conflating it with Waugh - these guys do run together sometimes.)

That may seem stupid or boring in our current moral environment, but there was a time when divorce was a serious scandal.

Ford does a good job capturing that world and making a certain amount of fun of it. But if you don't know the culture he was writing in, a lot of the meaning is lost.

I guess it's like anything else - if you get into a period, you can get more out of the writing from the time. The issues they were debating, stuff like that.

Posted by: A.H. Lloyd at September 02, 2018 12:21 PM (cfSRQ)

362 Sunday greetings all. Lightening yesterday evening killed the power to my A/C & second floor with all the bedrooms. Hot muggy weather last night & all this week. Friends and family out of town. Electric company appears to out of town too, no answer. Sorry to write a book about all that;^[ but please pray fo me.

Posted by: BebeDahl at September 02, 2018 12:22 PM (yNyJy)

363 #347Crash won the Oscar for best picture in 2006. It is hard to imagine how awful the rest of the field must have been. Cool Breeze

https://tinyurl.com/yc3zxtrz
Truly a forgettable lot.

Posted by: Old Dude at September 02, 2018 12:24 PM (LGXGf)

364 2006 nominees:

Crash
Good night and Good Luck
Munich
Capote
Brokeback Mountain

There were no winners that year - all losers
Posted by: Lurking Cynic at September 02, 2018 12:20 PM (S1Kso)

The only one of those I saw was Brokeback. I had to. Really.

It's pure tripe. Subject matter has nothing to do with it being such a piece of garbage. Well, it does, but still. It's a dumb movie.

I'm curious about Munich though. It's Spielberg, and it's got Jew revenge. How bad can it be?

Posted by: BurtTC at September 02, 2018 12:25 PM (cY3LT)

365 There were no winners that year - all losers

Good lord, they actually nominated Brokeback Mtn for a best film Oscar? That piece of crap? Capote might have been the only good movie in the bunch. Some years are just worse than others.

Posted by: Christopher R Taylor at September 02, 2018 12:25 PM (39g3+)

366 I guess because I've been around the area so much in my life "Islands in the Stream" connected with me the most.

The movie adaptation was horrible.
Posted by: Forgot My Nic at September 02, 2018 12:18 PM (LOgQ4)

And the song by Kenny Rogers and Dolly Parton is stunningly bad.

-
I.don't care for Thousand Island dressing.

Posted by: Anonosaurus Wrecks, Tyrannosaur Wrangler at September 02, 2018 12:26 PM (H5yHT)

367 Why is it that Tesla's greatest gift to his peers was the polyphase alternating current electric motor, but "we" can't put out an electric automobile, - in his name, - that is worth two shits?

Elon Musk is a clown fart.

Posted by: Fritz at September 02, 2018 12:27 PM (ANJe6)

368 357: He was pretty nutty, had a first breakdown in the 1920s. Yes he was an enemy of the state, and a fascist and KKK loving bastard, but that and mental illness are not mutually exclusive

Posted by: CN at September 02, 2018 12:27 PM (Bx2+B)

369 I don't know why anyone would be surprised that Hemingway would like Castro. I mean, we're talking about a guy who was pretty blatantly on the "loyalist" (that is, Soviet-dominated) side of the Spanish Civil War.

Commissars and executions all over the place.

Franco was no saint, but the Reds taking Spain would have been a nightmare.

Posted by: A.H. Lloyd at September 02, 2018 12:28 PM (cfSRQ)

370 Spectator.org has an article up comparing McCain with the late Jeremiah Denton, who was also a PoW in Vietnam after being shot down, and served as a Republican senator from Alabama.

McCain does not come off well in the comparison.

Instapundit has the link.

Posted by: junior at September 02, 2018 12:29 PM (e7Q0v)

371 Posted by: BurtTC at September 02, 2018 11:57 AM (cY3LT)

---
A lot of the book doesn't make sense in a contemporary context. For example, we don't have landed aristocracy any more, but in Edwardian England, it was still a thing and people wondered if it would survive.

So much tradition was breaking down and the war accelerated that.

The main character is an ultra-traditionalist (his hobby is correcting the dictionary!) and yet his wife cheats on him constantly. He's not even sure if he's the biological father of his son and heir.

He meets a suffragette who he finds alluring, but can't bring himself to either leave his wife or commit adultery. I think he's also Catholic, which was an issue back then. (Or I'm conflating it with Waugh - these guys do run together sometimes.)

That may seem stupid or boring in our current moral environment, but there was a time when divorce was a serious scandal.

Ford does a good job capturing that world and making a certain amount of fun of it. But if you don't know the culture he was writing in, a lot of the meaning is lost.

I guess it's like anything else - if you get into a period, you can get more out of the writing from the time. The issues they were debating, stuff like that.
Posted by: A.H. Lloyd at September 02, 2018 12:21 PM (cfSRQ)

Yes, that's the story. And the reason I didn't get into it, wasn't because none of it made sense, it's because none of it matters! It's not a question of not understanding the context of the era, it's that so much of the context is unimportant nonsense. People being people. Being miserable because that's what people do.

And yes, there was a whole Catholic thing, but it was the wife (at least in the miniseries) who was Catholic, and it turned out her priest was a spy or something. And he was executed for it.

So yeah, it had that going for it.

Posted by: BurtTC at September 02, 2018 12:30 PM (cY3LT)

372 Book nerds!

Posted by: Ogre at September 02, 2018 12:31 PM (UxMDQ)

373 I have located the Ur-source for the Hemingway loved Che executions story.

Che isn't in it, btw.

https://bit.ly/2oxFr0L

A guy who worked for George Plimpton claims that Plimpton told him the story. Papa knew where executions were held daily and they went out to watch.

The only quote attributed to Hemingway is "you have to see this", which a journalist might say to another.

There's nothing about relish, nor approval. Nor Che. The story claims daiquiris but why not, they were all drunks.

Posted by: Bandersnatch at September 02, 2018 12:31 PM (fuK7c)

374 Different take on Edison, The Languages of Edisons Light by Charles Bazerman. Little odd, but interesting
To understand how rhetoric works in technology, one cannot do better than to start with the American inventor Thomas Alva Edison and the incandescent light bulb. He portrays Edison, both the individual and the corporation, as a self-conscious social actor whose rhetorical groundwork was crucial to the technology's material realization and success.

Posted by: EdmundBurkesShade at September 02, 2018 12:32 PM (UzNxx)

375 Why is it that Tesla's greatest gift to his peers was the polyphase alternating current electric motor, but "we" can't put out an electric automobile, - in his name, - that is worth two shits?

But it accelerates really fast! And it has a 5,000 no 2,000 no 150 no 30 mile range! And it looks neat. And check out all these features! FEATURES....

The limits are on present technology, and may never be overcome. Until we can make a long term, heavy storage battery that re-charges in minutes rather than hours, and lets you drive more than to the store and back each day with a load of kids... its always just going to be a technological curiosity.

It makes me laugh very hard watching shows where people insist, insist that gasoline power is going away and the future is all electric. No, its not. The future has "been electric" for about 100 years and it still keeps not happening.

Posted by: Christopher R Taylor at September 02, 2018 12:32 PM (39g3+)

376 The only quote attributed to Hemingway is "you have to see this", which a journalist might say to another.

There's nothing about relish, nor approval. Nor Che. The story claims daiquiris but why not, they were all drunks.

Sounds like more of Hemingway's "no, I'm all butch, look at me doing manly things!" act

Posted by: Christopher R Taylor at September 02, 2018 12:34 PM (39g3+)

377 @356 2006 nominees:

Crash
Good night and Good Luck
Munich
Capote
Brokeback Mountain

There were no winners that year - all losers
-------------------------

I think that's the year The Incredibles was released. But as an animated movie, it was limited to the animation ghetto award.

It was easily better than any of the movies up for Best Picture.

Posted by: junior at September 02, 2018 12:34 PM (e7Q0v)

378 Had a book of Hemingway's short stories on the shelf for decades. (Finally gave it to one of my sons.) "Fifty Grand" is truly a tale for every 'ron and 'ette.

Posted by: BJM at September 02, 2018 12:34 PM (aK1N4)

379 I'm curious about Munich though. It's Spielberg, and it's got Jew revenge. How bad can it be?

It's not at all bad. Period 70s shit. Jew revenge. Eric Bana in the lead, then unknown Daniel Craig in the ensemble.

And the movie wisely asks but does not presume to answer the question, now that we've murdered all the murderers are we just murderers too?

Posted by: Bandersnatch at September 02, 2018 12:35 PM (fuK7c)

380 [ . . . ]Its like that scene in American Beauty where the
teenage chump films a piece of trash blowing in the wind and its
supposed to be some work of art so transcendent and meaningful that the
girl falls in love with him.

Its a plastic bag. In the wind. Its not art. Its just trash.
Posted by: Christopher R Taylor at September 02, 2018 12:06 PM (39g3+)

I saw something similar, just, but it was a bright yellow shopping back with red logos on it blowing down the street.

"Pikachu, I see you!"

Posted by: Kindltot at September 02, 2018 12:35 PM (2K6fY)

381 368 357: He was pretty nutty, had a first breakdown in the 1920s. Yes he was an enemy of the state, and a fascist and KKK loving bastard, but that and mental illness are not mutually exclusive
Posted by: CN at September 02, 2018 12:27 PM (Bx2+B)

See, this is why I've written off (pun intended) that whole era of writers.

I can't keep straight which one of them was a commie in his youth (most of them), which were anti-Semites their whole lives (lots of them?), which were crazy (again, most?), which of them cheated and lied and were miserable wretches of human vanity (gosh, I'm sensing a pattern here)...

It all comes off as narcissistic nonsense.

So to hell with them.

Posted by: BurtTC at September 02, 2018 12:36 PM (cY3LT)

382 I'm curious about Munich though. It's Spielberg, and it's got Jew revenge. How bad can it be?

It's not at all bad. Period 70s shit. Jew revenge. Eric Bana in the lead, then unknown Daniel Craig in the ensemble.

And the movie wisely asks but does not presume to answer the question, now that we've murdered all the murderers are we just murderers too?
Posted by: Bandersnatch at September 02, 2018 12:35 PM (fuK7c)

Good movie. Solid acting. Some boobs. A cringe-inducing scene involving Al Green's "Let's Stay Together" and a superfluous final image of the Twin Towers in the background like that's connected to Munich '72.

Posted by: JoeF. at September 02, 2018 12:38 PM (NFEMn)

383 See, this is why I've written off (pun intended) that whole era of writers.

Even Dashiell Hammett was a red. His long affair with super commie playwright Lillian Hellman was the biggest influence, I suspect he would have been largely apolitical although his early work with the Pinkerton's breaking up strikes probably soured him on anti communism.

But as long as it doesn't come up in their writing, or they overcome the stupid with skill and quality, I can put up with it. Nearly every creator is a scumbag, its best not to know their background.

Posted by: Christopher R Taylor at September 02, 2018 12:39 PM (39g3+)

384 Why is it that Tesla's greatest gift to his peers
was the polyphase alternating current electric motor, but "we" can't put
out an electric automobile, - in his name, - that is worth two shits?

Elon Musk is a clown fart
Posted by: Fritz at September 02, 2018 12:27 PM (ANJe6)

It runs on DC. The ghost of Edison laughs.

Posted by: Kindltot at September 02, 2018 12:40 PM (2K6fY)

385 Yes, that's the story. And the reason I didn't get
into it, wasn't because none of it made sense, it's because none of it
matters! It's not a question of not understanding the context of the
era, it's that so much of the context is unimportant nonsense. People
being people. Being miserable because that's what people do.

And yes, there was a whole Catholic thing, but it was the wife (at
least in the miniseries) who was Catholic, and it turned out her priest
was a spy or something. And he was executed for it.

So yeah, it had that going for it.

Posted by: BurtTC at September 02, 2018 12:30 PM (cY3LT)

---
It didn't matter to you, but it obviously spoke to other people.

I interpreted the execution of the priest as dark satire on wartime paranoia. "Oh no, a Catholic priest who'd spent a lot of time before the war in Germany! He must be a spy!"Ever read or watch "Brideshead Revisited"? Not a lot happens in that book either, but it's a terrific read (and the miniseries is brilliant).

Posted by: A.H. Lloyd at September 02, 2018 12:42 PM (cfSRQ)

386 I'm curious about Munich though. It's Spielberg, and it's got Jew revenge. How bad can it be?

-----------------------------------------
It's not at all bad. Period 70s shit. Jew revenge. Eric Bana in the lead, then unknown Daniel Craig in the ensemble.

And the movie wisely asks but does not presume to answer the question, now that we've murdered all the murderers are we just murderers too?
Posted by: Bandersnatch at September 02, 2018 12:35 PM (fuK7c)

I'm pretty sure that's why I never watched it. At the time they were raving about the film, and the emphasis seemed to be on the notion that they were no better than the Pali scum.

I guess I forgot that aspect of it.

Here's the answer, for those who need it. The athletes at Munich were not combatants in a war. They were athletes.

The Palis who got what was coming to them, got what was coming to them. The Israelis who executed their duties were doing just that.

I have no doubt that killing anyone takes a toll on the human psyche. It might make one wonder if one is no better than the common thug killer, but it does NOT make it so. It's another casualty of war. The good guys not believing themselves to be the good guys.

Posted by: BurtTC at September 02, 2018 12:42 PM (cY3LT)

387 RE: American Beauty.

I loathed that movie. Watching it was torture. Still, there were a few (unintentionally) hilarious scenes. The camera dude (who filmed the garbage bag) told a story at one point about finding a homeless guy who died of hypothermia who still had a smile frozen on his face.

Now let's think about this - how does he know the cause of death? Maybe the guy drank himself to death, or overdosed. Maybe he had a heart attack. Did he perform an autopsy?

No, it had to be exposure because the US is awful and leaves people to die on the street. What a piece of crap. I wonder who Kevin Spacey was buggering in his trailer while it was being filmed.

Posted by: A.H. Lloyd at September 02, 2018 12:47 PM (cfSRQ)

388 I have no doubt that killing anyone takes a toll on the human psyche. It might make one wonder if one is no better than the common thug killer, but it does NOT make it so. It's another casualty of war. The good guys not believing themselves to be the good guys.

I agree. As a culture, we've gotten too far on the pendulum. It used to be that killing someone who needed killing (or was just in the way, or inconvenient, or getting 'above their station') was proper and anyone who doubted themselves was considered a moral coward and a wretch to be shunned by society.

But we've swung too far, to the point that killing a horrendous evil monster has people wracked with self doubt and there's never, ever the voice pointing out how this was important and necessary.

We've gone too far in society in the name of compassion and humanity to where its harming humanity and lacking in compassion.

Posted by: Christopher R Taylor at September 02, 2018 12:47 PM (39g3+)

389 If I want to concern myself w/ angst over Israeli's killing Palis I'll do so through the fictional Gabriel Allon via Daniel Silva.

I notice Hollywood hasn't shown much interest in that series. Wonder why?

Posted by: Lurking Cynic at September 02, 2018 12:48 PM (S1Kso)

390 Posted by: BurtTC at September 02, 2018 12:30 PM (cY3LT)

---
It didn't matter to you, but it obviously spoke to other people.

Posted by: A.H. Lloyd at September 02, 2018 12:42 PM (cfSRQ)

Yes, obviously.

Here's my thing though, the whole British upper class stuff... here we are in the 21st century, and the Brits have decided to abandon all hope of being Great. It's a lost cause, probably forever doomed to the dustbin of history.

So in another 100 years, when they're looking back on the second decade of this century, either the muzzies will be in charge then, or the secular Euros will have slaughter them all, and made Europe white again. And the British upper class will be a distant memory, much like the french aristocracy disappeared entirely, early in the 19th.

Posted by: BurtTC at September 02, 2018 12:49 PM (cY3LT)

391 Had Tesla's plan succeeded we would all be flying around in electric cars powered by wireless AC current. As it is we get stupid radio commercials sponsered by the Imperia Federal Government.

Posted by: freaked at September 02, 2018 12:49 PM (UdKB7)

392 Tying into the same thoughts on killing the killer, I can't help but remember the line from Batman Begins. Ra's Al Ghul is supposed to be a monster but he's right, criminals do thrive on the indulgence of society's understanding.

In my first novel (to bring this to books and writing again on topic), I have my main character explain why he executed a criminal. One of the reviews I got complained that I was "forcing right wing politics on the death penalty" on the reader. But it wasn't that at all.

It was the protagonist explaining to a confused onlooker what happened and why. It was about justice, not vengeance.

Posted by: Christopher R Taylor at September 02, 2018 12:49 PM (39g3+)

393 Jeebuz, people. I said the movie "asks but does not answer" the question. There's no moral equivelancy in it.

It has lots of satisfying track down the murderers and kill them all over the world.

Posted by: Bandersnatch at September 02, 2018 12:50 PM (fuK7c)

394 As it is we get stupid radio commercials sponsered by the Imperia Federal Government.

And TV advertisements for... electric cars. Not any particular car, not any specific company just, electric cars. Ain't they great! And so new! Don't be old fashioned!

Posted by: Christopher R Taylor at September 02, 2018 12:51 PM (39g3+)

395 Jeebuz, people. I said the movie "asks but does not answer" the question. There's no moral equivelancy in it.

It has lots of satisfying track down the murderers and kill them all over the world.
Posted by: Bandersnatch at September 02, 2018 12:50 PM (fuK7c)

Yes, my point is, when the film came out, that was the emphasis I was seeing from reviewers, so it turned me off the film.

I can take your word for it, that it was NOT the point of the film, but it sure was the point being made by our betters in the media.

Posted by: BurtTC at September 02, 2018 12:54 PM (cY3LT)

396 So in another 100 years, when they're looking back
on the second decade of this century, either the muzzies will be in
charge then, or the secular Euros will have slaughter them all, and made
Europe white again. And the British upper class will be a distant
memory, much like the french aristocracy disappeared entirely, early in
the 19th.

Posted by: BurtTC at September 02, 2018 12:49 PM (cY3LT)

---
They haven't disappeared, though. They no longer wield much political power, but they're still around.

Some have gone full-on looney, but others are just as reactionary as they ever were. It's kind of like the birth rate and religion - most Europeans don't have kids and don't have religion, but a small minority have both and THEY are the ones that will ultimately run the place.

Part of what's going on right now is the ruling class desperately trying to keep everyone else in line until it's too late. They're failing bigly. Italy is just the latest domino to fall. The UK is teetering and it's telling to me how they are propping up the zombie "conservative" government just to prevent the populists (led by some aristocrats) at bay.

None of that makes a story from a century ago irrelevant. In fact, I think it makes it more pressing because it exposes the self-doubt and the root causes for the subsequent decline. You can't cure a disease until you know more about it.

Posted by: A.H. Lloyd at September 02, 2018 12:55 PM (cfSRQ)

397 Posted by: Bandersnatch at September 02, 2018 12:50 PM (fuK7c)

If it asks and doesn't answer with a resounding "No!", at least in this case, then it certainly *is* indulging in moral equivalence.

Posted by: Polliwog the 'Ette at September 02, 2018 12:55 PM (phT8I)

398 I read several of the Rapp books and while they were pretty good, my patience with 900-page bookstops is waning over time. Almost all of them could have been edited down significantly or broken into multiple books and the ones that would not are extremely rare and so well written you don't notice the length (Confessions of Al Capone, as a recent example). I just like to read but I don't want a book to take up 12 days of my time.

Posted by: Christopher R Taylor at September 02, 2018 12:57 PM (39g3+)

399 Oh, btw, nerds. There's been a nood for a while that none of the cool kids told us about.

Posted by: Bandersnatch at September 02, 2018 12:58 PM (fuK7c)

400 even a single apostrophe from the ipad update

11 point 4 point 1

crashes pixy.
Posted by: retropox at September 02, 2018 12:17 PM

Yes. We know. For at least a year.
Turn "Smart Punctuation" off.
As was mentioned in 116.

Posted by: Chuck C at September 02, 2018 12:58 PM (YTxkQ)

401 Did I miss the corgi call for the open thread?

Posted by: Polliwog the 'Ette at September 02, 2018 12:59 PM (phT8I)

402 Posted by: BurtTC at September 02, 2018 12:49 PM (cY3LT)

---
They haven't disappeared, though. They no longer wield much political power, but they're still around.

Some have gone full-on looney, but others are just as reactionary as they ever were. It's kind of like the birth rate and religion - most Europeans don't have kids and don't have religion, but a small minority have both and THEY are the ones that will ultimately run the place.

Part of what's going on right now is the ruling class desperately trying to keep everyone else in line until it's too late. They're failing bigly. Italy is just the latest domino to fall. The UK is teetering and it's telling to me how they are propping up the zombie "conservative" government just to prevent the populists (led by some aristocrats) at bay.

None of that makes a story from a century ago irrelevant. In fact, I think it makes it more pressing because it exposes the self-doubt and the root causes for the subsequent decline. You can't cure a disease until you know more about it.
Posted by: A.H. Lloyd at September 02, 2018 12:55 PM (cfSRQ)

Are there any french titles left? Nobility and peerage and all that?

That's what I meant by it's disappeared.

I am aware the Brits still have theirs. My prediction though, is that they'll be gone entirely, soon enough.

Posted by: BurtTC at September 02, 2018 01:00 PM (cY3LT)

403 384 Why is it that Tesla's greatest gift to his peers
was the polyphase alternating current electric motor, but "we" can't put
out an electric automobile, - in his name, - that is worth two shits?

Elon Musk is a clown fart
Posted by: Fritz at September 02, 2018 12:27 PM (ANJe6)

It runs on DC. The ghost of Edison laughs.
Posted by: Kindltot at September 02, 2018 12:40 PM (2K6fY)

The Tesla runs on DC. Washington, DC that is.

Posted by: Insomniac at September 02, 2018 01:00 PM (NWiLs)

404 Oh, btw, nerds. There's been a nood for a while that none of the cool kids told us about.
Posted by: Bandersnatch at September 02, 2018 12:58 PM (fuK7c)

Meh. Same as it is every week. Close this thread down long before it's needed.

Which is generally my cue to get on with my day.

Posted by: BurtTC at September 02, 2018 01:04 PM (cY3LT)

405 Hi, Morons.

Better late than never.

This week I finished Ben Coes's Bloody Sunday, as usual, highly recommended.

I started Joshua, which has great reviews on Amazon and was also recommended by a friend. This one is billed as a modern-day tale of Jesus.

Also have Annie's Bones halfway finished. I was about 50 pages into Joshua when Annie's Bones came into my clutches from the libary. I believe there were more than 400-some peeps ahead of me, so I had to see what all the fuss was about.

Maddeningly, it's about a loser of a guy who was last seen with a hoity-toity socialite college gal who went missing. I still can't figure out what's compelling me to keep reading the slim volume -- neither character is very sympathetic, so I'm left to believe that it's the mystery of what happened more than 40 years ago since there's nothing to implicate or exonerate the sad sack. YMMV

Posted by: SandyCheeks at September 02, 2018 01:07 PM (ihzOe)

406 Posted by: Jake Holenhead at September 02, 2018 09:41 AM (vpcGp)

You owe it to yourself to look up the episode on Tesla by Glenn Beck's HIStory series (on YouTube?). Absolutely fascinating. Tesla said electricity would ultimately be available through the air, much like wi-fi, and the only thing stopping it would be the greed of the power company!

Posted by: SandyCheeks at September 02, 2018 01:11 PM (ihzOe)

407 356 2006 nominees:

Crash
Good night and Good Luck
Munich
Capote
Brokeback Mountain

There were no winners that year - all losers
Posted by: Lurking Cynic at September 02, 2018 12:20 PM (S1Kso)
----------------------------------

Oddly enough, I have seen all of them.
"Capote" was BY FAR the best --- beautifully crafted all around. P S Hoffman and WhatshisnameGary'sson Cooper were wonderful in it.

Crash and BB Mtn were silly soap operas, though the former had a couple of good performances.
GN and GL was the usual gliberal bore.

Munich, despite the touch of moral illiteracy, was good.

But yeah, whoever said The Incredibles should have been nominated and won is right.

The problem with Capote is that (1) it was a too-small-audience flick and (2) it might not be as good if you don't know who Capote was and haven't read, or at least heard about, In Cold Blood.

To get back to books, In Cold Blood remains the best true-crime novel I've ever read. Dreiser's An American Tragedy is a close second. But they are very different.

Posted by: Margarita DeVille at September 02, 2018 01:13 PM (0jtPF)

408 The problem with Capote is that (1) it was a too-small-audience flick and (2) it might not be as good if you don't know who Capote was

I think if I saw a real clip of Capote now I'd think he wasn't as good as Phillip Seymour Hoffman.

He was part of the Zeitgeist, a guy on the Merv Griffin show when I was a kid. PSH nailed it.

Posted by: Bandersnatch at September 02, 2018 01:16 PM (fuK7c)

409 408

I think if I saw a real clip of Capote now I'd think he wasn't as good as Phillip Seymour Hoffman.....

Posted by: Bandersnatch at September 02, 2018 01:16 PM (fuK7c)
----------------------

Your comment about Capote being part of the Zeitgeist --- well, that's why I think the movie is too topical to be a classic.
I don't know how it would resonate with people who are clueless about the man and In Cold Blood.

Posted by: Margarita DeVille at September 02, 2018 01:24 PM (0jtPF)

410 Reading The Foreign Legion: Complete History of the French Foreign Legion.

Only one hundred pages into the book. Legion was used to get rid of undesirable foreign actors flooding into France. English sent their flotsam to Australia, while the French plunged theirs in the hinterlands of Morocco's deserts and Atlas mountains.

Posted by: 13times at September 02, 2018 02:53 PM (K3B2k)

411 "Anyhoo, does anyone else out there find these delicious "Easter Eggs" in their readings? Things an author puts in to signal he is of the body which ironically gut the novel.
BTW The Jack Reacher novel does the same thing in Echo Burning. I thought after reading that one, that some one needs to kick Jack Reacher's ass."

---------

One would have to be a real jerk to write some corrective samizdat in the margins and then put the books in various Little Free Libraries where your Easter turds-in-the-punchbowl can offend all the right people....

Posted by: ARealJerk at September 02, 2018 03:41 PM (TZhVH)

412 "Where the Red Fern Grows is a good book, and you should read it."
Argh, no, I absolutely deny this. It is a terrible book -- formulaic, contrived, and written atrociously badly. So badly, in fact, that I could not avoid noticing how bad it was when I was only 13 years old.
If you're looking for a good YA book about dogs, read Old Yeller or its sequel. Both of which were well-written and enjoyable.

Posted by: Robert Hobart at September 02, 2018 04:17 PM (a2NGm)

413 201
Anything to recommend? I've read all of Clancy's stuff and I'm tiring of the current crop of thriller writers with the exception of Jason Matthews. Liked Brad Thor's novels but then he jumped on the anti-Trump train.
Posted by: Old Dude at September 02, 2018 10:47 AM (LGXGf)

Wish Vince Flynn was still alive. It would be interesting to see what Mitch Rapp thought of the Trump era.
Posted by: Soona at September 02, 2018 10:55 AM (Fs5vw)

Try Ben Coes!

Posted by: SandyCheeks at September 02, 2018 05:15 PM (ihzOe)

414 the oculus, best buy vr what is vr, samsung virtual reality
headset

Posted by: oculus headset at September 03, 2018 02:22 PM (/KcjM)

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