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Sunday Morning Book Thread 08-09-2020

blackwell books london 02.jpg
Blackwell's Books, Oxford, UK


Good morning to all you 'rons, 'ettes, lurkers, and lurkettes, wine moms, frat bros, crétins sans pantalon (who are technically breaking the rules), and the rest of you winos, wine aunts, lushes, imbibers, tipplers, dipsomaniacs and other assorted drunks. Welcome once again to the stately, prestigious, internationally acclaimed and high-class Sunday Morning Book Thread, a weekly compendium of reviews, observations, snark, witty repartee, hilarious bon mots, and a continuing conversation on books, reading, spending way too much money on books, writing books, and publishing books by escaped oafs and oafettes 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 just scream out "racism!" and "cultural appropriation!"



Pic Note:

This is the "Norrington Room" of Blackwell's, which contains 160,000 books on > 3 miles of shelf space. It was named after Sir Arthur Lionel Pugh Norrington, publisher and President of Trinity College at Oxford.


It Pays To Increase Your Word Power®

( *Tarl Cabot sagely nods* )




20200809 book pic 01.jpg



Have We Reached Peak Woke?

Every time I think we have, something else comes along to prove me wrong. This is why I'm encouraged by the upcoming publication of The Elven Inquisition: A Woke Fairy Story by Steven Wiley. Here's the Amazon blurb:

Elf privilege. Marginalized mermaids. Woke trolls. Pumpkin fairy reparations...

Welcome to the chaotic kingdom of Fantasmagoria, where an inquisition for absolute equity rages and the masses combat all forms of social injustice by any means necessary. Elves are burned at the stake for suggesting there is a biological difference between mermaids and goblins. Djinns are executed for granting capitalistic wishes. Vampires are tortured to death for insensitive jokes made five hundred years ago.

Finbar Finneban is a well-intentioned faun employed by the kingdom newspaper. At work, Finbar is made to censor, ensure staff diversity, and write virtuous articles on the inquisition. Problem is, Finbar resents the inquisition. He hates the victimology, identity politics, and cancellation culture. More than anything, he hates the madness of crowds. The question is: can he, and the kingdom, survive them?

Of course, there have been any number of serious anti-woke books published, and even novels making fun of the woke-ist mindset. But when I look at the other books Mr. Wiley has written, The Fairytale Chicago of Francesca Finnegan and The Imagined Homecoming of Icarus Isakov, and note the adjective used to describe them is 'absurdist', and there's no indication that he's a right-wing ideologue, I have to wonder if "normal" (i.e. generally moderate or non-political) people are starting to take notice of woke-ist ideology and policy proscriptions and have decided that they don't much care for it. Because the woke-ists can only hide behind anodyne truisms such as "black lives matter" or "women are people, too" for only so long before the perniciousness of the real agenda becomes too obvious to ignore.

In other words, perhaps normal people are getting 'woke', but not in the way the woke-ists would want.

If so, this is a very healthy trend, and I hope it continues.



Who Dis:

mystery reader gary cooper.jpg


(Last week's 'who dis' was iconic actress Olivia DeHavilland, who passed away a few days ago at age 104. I thought this piece about her wising up to communism was a good read:



Moron Recommendations

As I read The Glass Bees and it's prescient look at nanotechnology, I can only wonder about engineering a virus for control. Junger takes aim at technocrats and the ethics of their work and power.

Posted by: CN at August 02, 2020 09:14 AM (ONvIw)

OK, I looked up The Glass Bees and it does sound interesting:

In The Glass Bees, the celebrated German writer Ernst Jünger presents a disconcerting vision of the future. Zapparoni, a brilliant businessman, has turned his advanced understanding of technology and his strategic command of the information and entertainment industries into a discrete form of global domination. But Zapparoni is worried that the scientists he depends on might sell his secrets. He needs a chief of security, and Richard, a veteran and war hero, is ready for the job. However, when he arrives at the beautiful country compound that is Zapparoni's headquarters, he finds himself subjected to an unexpected ordeal. Soon he is led to question his past, his character, and even his senses...

Electronic copies are not available, only paperback and hardcover editions.

The author's bio sounds like he led quite a life:

Ernst Jünger (1895-199 was born in Heidelberg and early on developed a fascination with war. As a teenager, he ran away to join the French Foreign Legion, then enlisted in the German Army of the first day of World War I. Jünger’s first book, Storm of Steel, provided a graphic account of his experiences. Jünger kept his distance from the Nazis, and his 1939 novel On the Marble Cliffs presented an allegorical account of the destructive nature of Hitler’s rule. One of the most controversial of twentieth-century German writers, Jünger was the recipient of numerous literary prizes, and continued his career as a writer until his death at the age of 102.


___________

84 I'm reading "Faster" by Neal Bascomb. It's the true story about an ex-pat American heiress who basically starts what would be today's equivalent of an F1 team. She works w/French car maker Delahaye to build the car, and assembles a team to take on the German powerhouses of the late thirties. The two German are backed by the Nazis, and the story has the David/Goliath theme about it. It's very interesting, but to this point the writing is flat; I feel like I'm reading a series of newspaper stories. I'll stick with it to the end, but it's getting a little chore-ish to read.


Posted by: Brave Sir Robin at August 02, 2020 09:38 AM (7Fj9P)

Here's the Amazon blurb:

They were the unlikeliest of heroes. Rene Dreyfus, a former top driver on the international racecar circuit, had been banned from the best European teams—and fastest cars—by the mid-1930s because of his Jewish heritage. Charles Weiffenbach, head of the down-on-its-luck automaker Delahaye, was desperately trying to save his company as the world teetered toward the brink. And Lucy Schell, the adventurous daughter of an American multi-millionaire, yearned to reclaim the glory of her rally-driving days.

As Nazi Germany launched its campaign of racial terror and pushed the world toward war, these three misfits banded together to challenge Hitler’s dominance at the apex of motorsport: the Grand Prix. Their quest for redemption culminated in a remarkable race that is still talked about in racing circles to this day—but which, soon after it ended, Hitler attempted to completely erase from history.

Faster: How a Jewish Driver, an American Heiress, and a Legendary Car Beat Hitler's Best may or may not be an interesting read, but the description makes it sounds like it has all of the ambiguities and subtle nuances of a made-for-TV movie. I'll wait until it hits the bargain bin.

I like the cover, though. I'll give them that. It has a nice sort of retro feel to it:

20200809 book pic 02.jpg

___________

283 I just finished Mao: The Untold Story, upon recommendation some weeks back in the book thread. It is an intense, laborious read and took me quite a while to get through it, but it was excellent. I highly recommend it if you want to delve into the full-on nightmare he brought upon China (and a Communist Party that is still ruling the country with an iron fist). It was informative as to how Russia was so intricately tied to spreading Communism in China in those early years. It was heartbreaking, unbelievable and horrifying. I was particularly nauseated near the end to read about the accolades showered upon Mao's rule by Nixon and Kissinger, but perhaps it was just diplomacy. I'd rather believe that than believe our government was blind to Mao's ruthless dictatorship. Anyway, very good book and thanks to the Moron who recommended it.

Posted by: Lady in Black at August 02, 2020 11:00 AM (O+I8R)

I really need to read Mao: The Untold Story. As I've read all 3 volumes of Solzhenitsyn's Gulag Archipelago, I think it is my duty to do so. And if you want to see something really heartbreaking, unbelievable and horrifying, scan through the Amazon reviews for this book, and you see rat bastard commiest actually *defending* their idol like he was some kind of great benefactor for the people of China. And if Holocaust deniers have acquired a deservedly scummy reputation, why not these scummy Maoists?

And I think the first thing Trump needs to do on Monday Morning is call a press conference and announce that the United States is officially recognizing Taiwan. Throwing one of our allies under the bus back in the 70s was a despicable thing to do, and screw Kissinger's realpolitiking. Some things just shouldn't be done.

___________

A long-time lurker notified me of a book self-published by a doctor friend of his:

The author (full disclosure) is a very conservative close friend of mine. We’ve been climbing partners for 20 years. He is a retired physician, triple-certified in emergency medicine, dermatology, and cosmetic surgery. Well published in his field. He is a brilliant guy, very contrarian, and a brutal critic of the Left.

He has recently completed a book, choosing to self-publish so he’d have total content-control, and I served as an editor for him as a favor. This work is a blistering critique of the various deeply corrupt aspects of the American medical profession. It is the most gripping thing I’ve read in non-fiction in perhaps a decade. It is wonderfully readable, has powerful reviews by a number of high-profile physicians and medical professionals, is thoroughly documented, and is frankly stunning in its arguments. I’ve been through it nine times as it developed into its final form and I never once got bored.

He has chosen to offer it free on a variety of platforms. It was just released, and as this is a spur of the moment idea of mine this morning, I have not yet told him I am sending you the link about it. I have no idea really what kind of marketing he has in place, but I know AoS and the Book Thread readers would really benefit from hearing about it. Though Robert is extremely conservative, he has chosen not to make his politics explicit in the book (though sharp readers will surely be able to detect it). The book is simply about the corrupt monetization of industry processes and practices. The title “Butchered by Healthcare” is deliberately unsubtle...

Just read the opening few paragraphs about losing two patients and you’ll be hooked.


The book is subtitled What to Do About Doctors, Big Pharma, and Corrupt Government Ruining Your Health and Medical Care and can be downloaded FREE at this link: https://dl.bookfunnel.com/4kliod8a9z. Glancing through it, it does not have nice things to say about medicine and, in particular, the pharmaceutical industry. It sounds like a book that will be enlightening or depressing. Or both.

___________




20200809 book pic 04.jpg



Books By Morons

A.H. Lloyd tells me his long-awaited book on the Spanish Civil War is now available on Amazon, in both paperback and kindle. His e-mail to me includes this hat tip:

Much of its topics were honed in discussions on the book thread, and I gained some excellent information as a result of those exchanges, which I was able to cite as a source. I hope the Horde enjoys it and I thank them for all their input and encouragement.

( *ahem* ) SmartMilitaryBlog™ ( *ahem* )

Few wars are more shrouded in myth than the Spanish Civil War. For decades, histories have focused on politics at the expense of studying the military lessons of this pivotal conflict. This book provides a welcome addition to the growing body of work that examines the war as a military rather than political event...The book includes a detailed chronology, helpful maps, and a short illustrated guide to the tanks and aircraft involved in the conflict. As part of his wide-ranging analysis, the author is perhaps the first historian to develop a methodology that explains Franco's strategic thinking. Franco's shrewd but cautious strategy is contrasted with the Republican leadership's many failures, and the book chronicles how the Republic squandered its many advantages and thereby lost the war. Long Live Death provides a new way of understanding the Spanish Civil War, making it important to dedicated historians as well as casual readers wishing to learn more about the topic.

Long Live Death: The Keys to Victory in the Spanish Civil War is available on Kindle for $4.99. Also paperback.


20200809 book pic 05.jpg

___________

A hitherto unknown lurkette author decloaked this week to tell me she has published a new novel, Shark Season: One woman's comic adventures in the media world, where everyone gets cancelled, which she describes as "chick lit for the right", but assures me that quite a few men have enjoyed it:

Set in the presidential election year of 2016, when everyone who was anyone absolutely knew Hillary would be president, the novel tells of the adventures of a young woman of blue collar background but high class aspiration who navigates the palace intrigues of cable news powerhouse Siren News and of the Starkadders, the family that owns it. Fun and timely, especially knowing what we know now.

The Amazon blurb goes into a lot more detail. And the Kindle price is only $2.99.


___________


So that's all for this week. As always, book thread tips, suggestions, bribes, insults, threats, ugly pants pics and moron library submissions 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.




20200809 book pic 03.jpg

Posted by: OregonMuse at 08:55 AM




Comments

(Jump to bottom of comments)

1 More books than a stick can be shaken at.

Posted by: eleven at August 09, 2020 08:57 AM (XTyi0)

2 Still re-reading John Ringo and Eric Flint's 1632 series. On Book 5 now. Had intended to do only the first 3 but got interested in it again.



Posted by: Vic at August 09, 2020 08:57 AM (mpXpK)

3 Gary Cooper?

Posted by: CN at August 09, 2020 08:57 AM (ONvIw)

4 I had tea with the Sheriff of Nottingham about 30 years ago.

Posted by: rhennigantx at August 09, 2020 08:59 AM (JFO2v)

5 Gary Cooper, yes.

Posted by: PubliusII at August 09, 2020 08:59 AM (NCsa7)

6 Good morning fellow Book Threadists. I hope everyone had an enjoyable week of reading.

Posted by: JTB at August 09, 2020 09:00 AM (7EjX1)

7 Those pants are fine. I am wearing a pair just like them right now.

Posted by: freaked at August 09, 2020 09:00 AM (Tnijr)

8 Mornin', all! Does anyone remember the name of the movie where Gary Cooper played a Quaker father? I saw it as a child, and it was the first I ever heard of the general use of thee and thy and thou.

Posted by: Catherine at August 09, 2020 09:01 AM (GefLR)

9 hiya

Posted by: JT at August 09, 2020 09:01 AM (arJlL)

10 My next Junger book, on it's way, is The Forest Passage. It is, according to a review on Amazon, keeping your individuality in a surveillance state and battling against "artificial consensus". Sounds timely.

Posted by: CN at August 09, 2020 09:02 AM (ONvIw)

11 Grace: Oh, he's very popular Ed. The sportos, the motorheads, geeks, sluts, bloods, wastoids, dweebies, dickheads - they all adore him. They think he's a righteous dude.

Posted by: SMOD at August 09, 2020 09:02 AM (X5CsJ)

12 Gary Cooper

Posted by: JT at August 09, 2020 09:03 AM (arJlL)

13 It's not often one gets lessons in grammar from a lumberyard sign. Well done.

Posted by: pep at August 09, 2020 09:04 AM (v16oJ)

14 Mornin', all! Does anyone remember the name of the movie where Gary Cooper played a Quaker father? I saw it as a child, and it was the first I ever heard of the general use of thee and thy and thou.

Posted by: Catherine at August 09, 2020 09:01 AM (GefLR)

Family Persuasion?

Posted by: BignJames at August 09, 2020 09:05 AM (X/Pw5)

15 Tolle Lege
Past halfway in Prager's Rational Bible Exodus, can't recommend it enough.
Also bought Bernard Cornwell's Sharpe's Trafalgar but not starting it until done Exodus.

Posted by: Skip at August 09, 2020 09:05 AM (OjZpE)

16 14: Friendly Persuasion

Posted by: CN at August 09, 2020 09:07 AM (ONvIw)

17 Will be getting Lloyd's book, been waiting to read it.

Posted by: Skip at August 09, 2020 09:07 AM (OjZpE)

18 As I mentioned last week, I started reading "The Gun Seller" by Hugh Laurie. Still haven't finished (part of that if because life and part due to my reading pacing), but it is pretty darn good, lots of plot twists, and a decidedly Brit background. I tend to forget that he was a full on Brit before he turned into Dr House!

Amazon Kindle

Posted by: Commissar Hrothgar -YOU are all in this together!- at August 09, 2020 09:09 AM (eTZoJ)

19 I'm continuing to enjoy "The Count of Monte Cristo". But at over 1,300 pages, it's not a job, it's a career. Glad I got a nicely bound hardcover edition.

Posted by: JTB at August 09, 2020 09:09 AM (7EjX1)

20 #8 - The movie you're thinking of was "The Friendly Persuasion".
A family named "Starkadder"... Bet you anything that Ms Sinisterra is a fan of "Cold Comfort Farm."
Nothing much for me in reading this week; working my way through Charles Allen's "Tales from the South China Sea" about life in Malaya during the 20ies and 30ies, and into World War II. I've got about four chapters in to a new project, partly set in that world.
As for Luna City #9, still waiting on the final cover. Hope to have the ebook up by next week or the week after. Y'all in the book thread will be about the first to know when it goes live...

Posted by: Sgt. Mom at August 09, 2020 09:09 AM (xnmPy)

21 And after the Spanish Civil War ended, Franco became one of the Dirty Dozen.

Posted by: JT at August 09, 2020 09:09 AM (arJlL)

22 Morning all

Posted by: Nevergiveup at August 09, 2020 09:09 AM (85Gof)

23 14: Friendly Persuasion

Posted by: CN at August 09, 2020 09:07 AM (ONvIw)

I was close, but no cee-gar.

Posted by: BignJames at August 09, 2020 09:09 AM (X/Pw5)

24 Pants!


Crap, I knew I forgot something......

Posted by: Muad'dib at August 09, 2020 09:10 AM (cKm0l)

25 An ANTICHTHON is a hypothetical Earth-like planet, hidden from view on the opposite side of the Sun.

-
Are things any less crazy over there? Because I could relocate.

Posted by: Anonosaurus Wrecks, Tyrannosaur Wrangler at August 09, 2020 09:10 AM (+y/Ru)

26 Thanks, horde! I don't think I ever knew the name, but scenes from Friendly Persuasion still pop up in my mind 29 years later.

Posted by: Catherine at August 09, 2020 09:11 AM (GefLR)

27 > Still re-reading John Ringo and Eric Flint's 1632 series. On Book 5 now. Had intended to do only the first 3 but got interested in it again.

I enjoyed the first 10 or so of those, but it seems like they started phoning them in later. So be forewarned.

Posted by: Chief Justice John Roberts at August 09, 2020 09:11 AM (unn44)

28 Morning Captain !

Posted by: JT at August 09, 2020 09:11 AM (arJlL)

29 Hey everyone!

Thanks for the plug!

As always in the post-publication phase, I'm torn between a desire to do nothing but zone out and the need to fill up the space with more writing.

I think part of the seduction about starting something new is that the early stages of writing a book are really fun. You can noodle around, not really care much about it, and it's only when the plot starts getting complex, continuity becomes an issue, etc. that the stress comes in.

Anyhow, I hope you all enjoy it and thanks to those of you who contacted me with additional information (you know who you are, and yes, you're in the bibliography).

Posted by: Ace-Endorsed Author A.H. Lloyd at August 09, 2020 09:11 AM (cfSRQ)

30 Those Auto Union pre-war racecars were awesome. A huge amount of power going to skinny bias ply tires. That was real racing.

Posted by: freaked at August 09, 2020 09:12 AM (Tnijr)

31 I read a book this week because the power was out for two days. That's a really shameful comment on how easily I'm distracted by electricity.

Anyway, it was A Clockwork Orange. It's so good it made me want to go back in time, learn Russian and Cockney rhyming slang, and write about a dystopian future.

Also it reminded me a lot of the Now Times.

Posted by: Bandersnatch at August 09, 2020 09:12 AM (q2K0j)

32 Are things any less crazy over there? Because I could relocate.

Posted by: Anonosaurus Wrecks, Tyrannosaur Wrangler at August 09, 2020 09:10 AM (+y/Ru)

---
During the late 90s I began to wonder if the actual, serious Earth was destroyed in a nuclear exchange and we're just the parody version.

Change my mind.

Posted by: Ace-Endorsed Author A.H. Lloyd at August 09, 2020 09:13 AM (cfSRQ)

33 Book related but also political: it will come as no surprise whatsoever that Gaylord is not performing on his $65M book contract. Yup, you read that right. He was advanced $65m for a book on which he's 2 years behind, if he's started it at all. He has a history of exactly this. I doubt very much whether he ever completed anything of significance, other than trashing this country.
https://tinyurl.com/y5hpmrd3

Posted by: pep at August 09, 2020 09:13 AM (v16oJ)

34 Booken morgen horden

Posted by: vmom 2020 grammar nazi and write supremacist at August 09, 2020 09:13 AM (J8nVw)

35 Hiya Morgan !

Posted by: JT at August 09, 2020 09:14 AM (arJlL)

36 Those Auto Union pre-war racecars were awesome. A huge amount of power going to skinny bias ply tires. That was real racing.

Posted by: freaked at August 09, 2020 09:12 AM (Tnijr)

---
Guys would wreck, get thrown from the vehicle, and run back to it, get in and try to stay in the race.

Crazy.

Posted by: Ace-Endorsed Author A.H. Lloyd at August 09, 2020 09:14 AM (cfSRQ)

37 Other than a warrior and a writer, Ernst Jünger was also a philosopher, a respected entomologist and a junkie. In a class that I held for GP doctors about aging, I showed a picture of him along with his friend Albert Hoffman, the Swiss chemist that discovered LSD. I put a caption that read: Both these two men drugged themselves for their entire lives. Both passed the 100 mark.

Posted by: Myollnir at August 09, 2020 09:14 AM (/VSJg)

38 A couple of days ago, "Flint", one of my favorite Louis L'Amour books was on Kindle Daily Deals. It's worth having a copy on the Paperwhite. It's a pleasant reread.

Posted by: JTB at August 09, 2020 09:14 AM (7EjX1)

39 Posted by: pep at August 09, 2020 09:13 AM (v16oJ)

It was just a payoff for services rendered. I doubt the money came from the publisher at all, unless it's owned by Gates/Soros.

Posted by: CN at August 09, 2020 09:15 AM (ONvIw)

40 Family Persuasion?
Posted by: BignJames at August 09, 2020 09:05 AM (X/Pw5)

Friendly Persuasion

Red thou givist me a pain!

Posted by: rhennigantx at August 09, 2020 09:15 AM (JFO2v)

41 Early race car drivers and early aviators didn't flirt with danger, they had an intense, ongoing physical relationship.

Posted by: Ace-Endorsed Author A.H. Lloyd at August 09, 2020 09:15 AM (cfSRQ)

42 I just finished reading an awesome book. _Barbary General_, about a figure from American history I'd never heard of before: William Eaton.

When the Marines fought on the "shores of Tripoli" in the Barbary War they weren't under the command of any Naval officer, but instead the US Consul to Tunis, William Eaton. He was a Revolutionary War veteran who had a remarkable gift for languages and foreign cultures. Served as a scout in the early Indian wars, then got a consular post to North Africa and learned multiple dialects of Arabic. Understood local political dynamics very well and was one of the architects of the Barbary campaign.

One of my favorite moments is his confrontation with the renegade Scotsman who commanded the Bey of Tripoli's fleet. Eaton told the renegade that if he didn't get hanged by American or British authorities, he'd track him down and do it personally.

HIGHLY recommended.

Posted by: Trimegistus at August 09, 2020 09:15 AM (jbmxH)

43 30 years ago this past week, I discovered the joys of RED STORM RISING. To this day it is one of my favorite novels, if not my favorite of all time.
I learned a great deal from it, and it may sound strange, but as I read it as a teenager (did I just say that?), the most important lesson from it was: intrigue. Intrigue and "setting the table" for everything to follow matters. Patience. Not everything is an action movie where the shots begin at the first frame. Buildup first; it makes the nastiness and brutality to follow all the more intense.
Dated? A throwback to the 1980s? Screw it, I don't care, I still love it...way, way too much for my own good.

Posted by: Catch Thirty-Thr33 at August 09, 2020 09:16 AM (ejsiI)

44
More books than a stick can be shaken at.
Posted by: eleven at August 09, 2020 08:57 AM (XTyi0)


More books than at which you can shake a stick.

Posted by: Kindltot at August 09, 2020 09:17 AM (WyVLE)

45
g'mornin' book-ish 'rons

Posted by: AltonJackson at August 09, 2020 09:18 AM (beNfa)

46 I downloaded a Dorothy L. Sayers book that I can't remember reading before, although I'm sure I have. It's a Lord Peter Wimsey book called "The Five Red Herrings." If it had not been for the fact that I adore Lord Wimsey, I would have stopped reading by now. It's one of those mysteries where one must figure out and remember 12 different train schedules and where they depart from and where they go to. And whose bicycle is whose. Also, to this point Lord Peter has been anything but whimsical.

Posted by: grammie winger at August 09, 2020 09:19 AM (4EyHE)

47 27 I enjoyed the first 10 or so of those, but it seems like they started phoning them in later. So be forewarned.





Posted by: Chief Justice John Roberts at August 09, 2020 09:11 AM (unn44)




The first time I read them in the dead tree books I stopped at 1635: The Canon Law. I notice they were getting slow and repetitive.

Posted by: Vic at August 09, 2020 09:19 AM (mpXpK)

48 >> He was advanced $65m for a book on which he's 2 years behind, if he's started it at all.

Bill Ayers must've been busy lately.

Posted by: Chief Justice John Roberts at August 09, 2020 09:19 AM (unn44)

49 41 Early race car drivers and early aviators didn't flirt with danger, they had an intense, ongoing physical relationship.
Posted by: Ace-Endorsed Author A.H. Lloyd at August 09, 2020 09:15 AM (cfSRQ)

I think Hemingway said the autoracing and bullfighting were the only real sports, the other things are pastimes.

Posted by: rhennigantx at August 09, 2020 09:19 AM (JFO2v)

50 Someone, somewhere, had to be the first person to say "more than you can shake a stick at." I wonder who it was, and if they realized what an immortal phrase they'd just invented.

Posted by: Trimegistus at August 09, 2020 09:20 AM (jbmxH)

51 30 years ago this past week, I discovered the joys
of RED STORM RISING. To this day it is one of my favorite novels, if
not my favorite of all time.

I learned a great deal from it, and it may sound strange, but as I
read it as a teenager (did I just say that?), the most important lesson
from it was: intrigue. Intrigue and "setting the table" for everything
to follow matters. Patience. Not everything is an action movie where
the shots begin at the first frame. Buildup first; it makes the
nastiness and brutality to follow all the more intense.

Dated? A throwback to the 1980s? Screw it, I don't care, I still love it...way, way too much for my own good.

Posted by: Catch Thirty-Thr33 at August 09, 2020 09:16 AM (ejsiI)

---
It was good in parts. I binge-read it when it came out, and I was already playing the wargames (Third World War: Battle for Germany), but a re-read exposed the poor writing style.

One thing that really stood out: the NATO commander didn't get a name until the book was almost over and only a passing reference to his identity.

It felt like 400 pages in he realized "oh shit, I've been calling him by his title the whole book! Too late to add it, I'll just tack it in."

He came up with some interesting plots, but his writing was pretty poor.

Not fit to bring Waugh his evening Madeira.

Posted by: Ace-Endorsed Author A.H. Lloyd at August 09, 2020 09:20 AM (cfSRQ)

52 37 Other than a warrior and a writer, Ernst Junger was also a philosopher, a respected entomologist and a junkie. In a class that I held for GP doctors about aging, I showed a picture of him along with his friend Albert Hoffman, the Swiss chemist that discovered LSD. I put a caption that read: Both these two men drugged themselves for their entire lives. Both passed the 100 mark.
Posted by: Myollnir at August 09, 2020 09:14 AM (/VSJg)

He had an "interesting life". Not in attempt to defend the practice, but other people who tried LSD include Feynman, Cary Grant, Francis Crick, and Steve Jobs.

It's an incredibly stupid thing to do and the results can be devastating. Out of all the drug abuse I've seen, acid and synthetic acid, are the worst.

Posted by: CN at August 09, 2020 09:20 AM (ONvIw)

53 > The first time I read them in the dead tree books I stopped at 1635: The Canon Law. I notice they were getting slow and repetitive.

I went on for a while, but started becoming more selective about the "and" author ("Eric Flint and Joe Blow").

Then I realized that I basically just didn't care about any of those people any more.

Posted by: Rodrigo Borgia at August 09, 2020 09:21 AM (unn44)

54 Mornin', folk,

Back from the grocery!

Last week I was re-reading Stephen King's 1980s novel Roadwork, one of 5 he published as "Richard Bachman." I have the collection of the first 4 from 1985. It contains the novel about a school shooting/hostage situation, called Rage, that he has disavowed in recent years.

Roadwork is a non-genre novel about a 40-year-old man whose house and business are about to be plowed under by a turnpike extension, and his reactions to that, some of them vigorous and violent. I'd read it when I bought the collection 35 years ago, but didn't remember much about it.

This time I found it too depressing to get through -- at least right now.

I've switched over to a re-read of Larry McMurtry's Streets of Laredo, the sequel to Lonesome Dove.

Posted by: Wolfus Aurelius at August 09, 2020 09:21 AM (rpbg1)

55 Giving politicians money for books is just another way to get around campaign law limits. It is a fraud.

Posted by: Vic at August 09, 2020 09:21 AM (mpXpK)

56 My word for the day is Eudaemonia: good living or human flourishing.


I am still gnawing away at the Cordwainer Smith anthology. The writing, even the action scenes, are very static. It is quite odd.

Posted by: Kindltot at August 09, 2020 09:21 AM (WyVLE)

57 The wife is reading "I'll Be Gone in the Dark" by Michelle McNamara, about the Golden State Killer. She's enjoying it but says if you've seen the recent HBO documentary you won't need to read the book.

Posted by: BignJames at August 09, 2020 09:22 AM (X/Pw5)

58 3 Gary Cooper?
Posted by: CN at August 09, 2020 08:57 AM (ONvIw


You are correct, ma'am!

Posted by: OregonMuse, AoSHQ Thought Leader, Pants Monitor & Social Distancing Professional at August 09, 2020 09:22 AM (mWQzz)

59 55 Giving politicians money for books is just another way to get around campaign law limits. It is a fraud.
Posted by: Vic at August 09, 2020 09:21 AM (mpXpK)

Now even Lt. Col Bearclaw is getting a seven figure contract.

Posted by: CN at August 09, 2020 09:22 AM (ONvIw)

60 A couple of days ago, "Flint", one of my favorite Louis L'Amour books was on Kindle Daily Deals. It's worth having a copy on the Paperwhite. It's a pleasant reread.
Posted by: JTB

My fave L'Amour book is Last of the Breed.

Posted by: JT at August 09, 2020 09:23 AM (arJlL)

61 David Crockett, in his "Tour to North and Down East" , wrote of one place at which he stayed, 'This was a temperance house, and there was nothing to treat a friend to that was worth shaking a stick at.

1834

Posted by: rhennigantx at August 09, 2020 09:23 AM (JFO2v)

62 rhennigantx Also mountain climbing but heard he really didn't say it too.

Posted by: Skip at August 09, 2020 09:23 AM (OjZpE)

63 CN: I'd love to know more about why acid is dangerous. It's always one of the "harmless" drugs that drug-legalization people talk about. Is it the immediate danger of disconnecting from reality, or are there some long-term effects?

Posted by: Trimegistus at August 09, 2020 09:23 AM (jbmxH)

64 31 I read a book this week because the power was out for two days. That's a really shameful comment on how easily I'm distracted by electricity.

Anyway, it was A Clockwork Orange. It's so good it made me want to go back in time, learn Russian and Cockney rhyming slang, and write about a dystopian future.

Also it reminded me a lot of the Now Times.
Posted by: Bandersnatch at August 09, 2020 09:12 AM (q2K0j)

I had a copy with a glossary, thankfully, but when I began taking Russian classes years ago, the slang truly clicked.

I'll never forget our Russian tutor pulling out a series of pictures in one class, with Russian words for the picture beneath them...one was a cow. Once I transliterated to "Korova", I burst out laughing in class (the Korova Milkbar immediately came to mind).

Posted by: Catch Thirty-Thr33 at August 09, 2020 09:24 AM (ejsiI)

65 I like to check out new Gutenberg listings and found this from 1919, "The Tank Corps". It's about the development of tanks and their use thru WWI. Since it's 100 years old it's uncorrupted by time and modern PC. I mentioned earlier on the EMT it's referral to Male and Female tanks.

It took a while to sort out how they were to be used. Scared the crap out of the Germans though.

Anyway if you are interested in early tank history, it's free!

https://tinyurl.com/yyomc6mp

Posted by: freaked at August 09, 2020 09:24 AM (Tnijr)

66 60
A couple of days ago, "Flint", one of my favorite Louis L'Amour books
was on Kindle Daily Deals. It's worth having a copy on the Paperwhite.
It's a pleasant reread.

Posted by: JTB



My fave L'Amour book is Last of the Breed.

Posted by: JT at August 09, 2020 09:23 AM (arJlL)

Flint is one of my favorites too, along with the first 3 Sackett books.

Posted by: Vic at August 09, 2020 09:24 AM (mpXpK)

67 I downloaded a Dorothy L. Sayers book that I can't remember reading before, although I'm sure I have. It's a Lord Peter Wimsey book called "The Five Red Herrings." If it had not been for the fact that I adore Lord Wimsey, I would have stopped reading by now. It's one of those mysteries where one must figure out and remember 12 different train schedules and where they depart from and where they go to. And whose bicycle is whose. Also, to this point Lord Peter has been anything but whimsical.
Posted by: grammie winger at August 09, 2020


*
*

Grammie, during my DLS period (about age 14-15), I gave up on that one. Strong Poison is good; Have His Carcase is fascinating if overly concerned with characters' movements; and Whose Body?, her first novel, is interestingly plotted and shows Lord Peter at his most, shall we say, elfin.

Posted by: Wolfus Aurelius at August 09, 2020 09:24 AM (rpbg1)

68 I've switched over to a re-read of Larry McMurtry's Streets of Laredo, the sequel to Lonesome Dove.
Posted by: Wolfus Aurelius at August 09, 2020 09:21 AM (rpbg1)

Was not that the prequel. The sequel I believe was called Return to LD!

Posted by: rhennigantx at August 09, 2020 09:25 AM (JFO2v)

69 On the Kindle, I read Qualify by Vera Nazarian. This is the first book in a four-book series. In 2047 the Earth is headed for destruction by an asteroid. Descendants of ancient Atlantis return form the stars to rescue a tiny percent of the Earth's population. They offer a world-wide competition to 12-18 year olds to qualify for a spot on a ship. It's qualify or die. The book's premise and the excitement of the story is enough to overcome some SJW themes and the too many lines of teenage girls drooling over hunky guys. A very good YA book.


I also read The Elegant Universe: Superstrings, Hidden Dimensions, and the Quest for the Ultimate Theory. The book was made into a Nova special on PBS, which I have not seen; but I will be sure to search out and watch. The book gives a history of man's attempts to understand the universe in which he lives. It also tries to explain, for the layman, string, superstring and M-theory as of 2003 when this edition was published. Even if hard to grasp, always an interesting subject for me.

Posted by: Zoltan at August 09, 2020 09:25 AM (LgeOV)

70 55
Giving politicians money for books is just another way to get around campaign law limits. It is a fraud.


The publishing company appears to expect a book. Barry's never been in the private sector. They expect results.

Posted by: pep at August 09, 2020 09:25 AM (v16oJ)

71 BTW, I already have it on my Kindle 10.

Posted by: Vic at August 09, 2020 09:25 AM (mpXpK)

72 I'm listening to an Audible version of The Narnia Chronicles with notable British actors narrating.
Kenneth Branaugh did The Magician's Nephew. Michael York did The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe.
Right now I'm listening to Prince Caspian with Vanessa Redgrave.
They've all been great.

Posted by: Brother Northernlurker just another guy at August 09, 2020 09:25 AM (lgiXo)

73 During the late 90s I began to wonder if the actual,
serious Earth was destroyed in a nuclear exchange and we're just the
parody version.

Change my mind.
Posted by: Ace-Endorsed Author A.H. Lloyd at August 09, 2020 09:13 AM (cfSRQ)


We shifted timelines and Flight 370 stayed behind

Posted by: Kindltot at August 09, 2020 09:26 AM (WyVLE)

74 He had an "interesting life". Not in attempt to defend the practice, but other people who tried LSD include Feynman, Cary Grant, Francis Crick, and Steve Jobs.

It's an incredibly stupid thing to do and the results can be devastating. Out of all the drug abuse I've seen, acid and synthetic acid, are the worst.
Posted by: CN at August 09, 2020 09:20 AM (ONvIw)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8Zc840NVpqU

Posted by: Catch Thirty-Thr33 at August 09, 2020 09:26 AM (ejsiI)

75 Nick book store!

Those pants seem to talk to me.

The Who Dis is a young Joe Biden learning the facts of life on his wedding day.

Posted by: Hairyback Guy at August 09, 2020 09:26 AM (Z+IKu)

76 > Dated? A throwback to the 1980s? Screw it, I don't care, I still love it...way, way too much for my own good.

Clancy's writing career was an unrecognized casualty of the end of the Cold War, IMO.

He was really, really good at doing Russians, but (IMO) never managed to make the various villains he used in his later books convincing.

I think my "Oh, COME ON!" moment with Clancy was when he had the various factions in the Middle East agree to put the Pope in charge to keep the peace.

Yeah, no. Neither the Muzzies nor the Jews are gonna be down with that, Tom. Not to mention the Orthodox and the forty-seven flavors of non-Catholic "Eastern" rites.

Sorry.

That said, his early books are still very enjoyable to read. I reread The Hunt for Red October not long ago, and it held up pretty well.


Posted by: Rodrigo Borgia at August 09, 2020 09:26 AM (unn44)

77 Now even Lt. Col Bearclaw is getting a seven figure contract.

Posted by: CN at August 09, 2020 09:22 AM (ONvIw)

---
He'll have to undergo a classification review.

Fun fact: DoD is right now making everyone redo their classification training. Among the lessons is the reminder that "whistleblowers" are not immune from prosecution for releasing classified information.

Someone's getting a hammer ready.

Posted by: Ace-Endorsed Author A.H. Lloyd at August 09, 2020 09:26 AM (cfSRQ)

78 Posted by: Wolfus Aurelius at August 09, 2020 09:24 AM (rpbg1)



I loved all the books that you mentioned. Kindle had a daily deal on this one, and I could not for the life of me remember reading it. I'm glad I did not start with this particular book. I don't think I would have continued with the series, which is overall delightful.

Posted by: grammie winger at August 09, 2020 09:27 AM (4EyHE)

79 Trying to read Heinlein's The Number of the Beast, but not digging it. Tried several times before and never could get into it, but I've been on a Heinlein jag and this one was in the bookcase and never read, so I thought I'd try again. Still don't dig it.

Also having fun paging through a used book called "The Mining Camps Speak" by Beth and Bill Sagstetter. It's a guide to exploring old mining ghost towns of the west, with lots of pictures of the types of items you might find, what they look like in situ and what they originally looked like. I love exploring old places so it's right up my alley, but like most specialty books of local interest it has its flaws. Far too many pictures are re-used, some of them more than twice. And the authors obsessively use the word "old" to the point where I have to wonder if either of them stopped even once to re-read what they were writing.

Whe you're writing about things that will be found in long-abandoned places, the "old" is inferred. Endless sentences like "When in old mining camps you're likely to find old tin cans near the old kitchen areas which once held an old...." yadda yadda yadda. Still a cool book though.

Posted by: Guy Smiley at August 09, 2020 09:27 AM (FtO5h)

80 In Landscape and Memory Schama narrated how Guzton Borglum's plans for Mount Rushmore were based on an even more spectacular historical plan of Dinocrates to carve all of Mount Athos into an image of Alexander the Great, with a new city created resting on his right hand. Alex disposed of that pipe dream by asking where the food was supposed to come from to feed the city high on a mountain but was impressed enough with his penchant for grandiose vision to hire him on as a city planner to lay out Alexandria. Also Dinocrates first got the Macedonian ruler's attention in a crowd by taking all his clothes off and oiling his body, which must have been cut and ripped. Alex must have been in a benevolent mood because I can think of a few ways to illustrate the downside of making an unexpected and unwanted spectacle out of oneself.

Posted by: Captain Hate at August 09, 2020 09:27 AM (y7DUB)

81 "What Every Young Mother Should Know"? I'll say he's a comedian.

Posted by: t-bird at August 09, 2020 09:28 AM (/2aWP)

82 Anybody remember the nonfiction novel from the early Eighties, _The Third World War_, by General Sir John Hackett and a bunch of other NATO commanders? It's kind of a precursor to Red Storm Rising, but (as one might expect of a book written by General Sir Commanding General) the focus is very high-level and strategic -- although there are vignettes of troops in the field and civilians bearing up.

The premise is the basic Russkies surge west, trying to grab as much of Europe as they can before the NATO allies can push back. Culminates with two limited nuclear strikes, at which point the people of Russia kick out the Commies who got them into this mess.

At the time I thought that last element was utter fantasy, but in retrospect General Sir General nailed it.

Posted by: Trimegistus at August 09, 2020 09:29 AM (jbmxH)

83 I've been slowly going through Alan Lee's "The Hobbit Sketchbook". It's in the same approach as the earlier LOTR Sketchbook but differs since the Hobbit movies could draw (no pun intended) on matter from the first trilogy. So there was a bit less experimentation. But the explanations on why he approached things in certain ways is still interesting. And there is a bit of how he makes the drawings and paintings, materials and techniques used.

I have a very nice lighted magnifying glass and it's getting a workout while I study the sketches to try to understand how Lee achieved certain effects.

Posted by: JTB at August 09, 2020 09:29 AM (7EjX1)

84 When I clicked on the pants link, I could've SWORN it said ButterF**k.

Posted by: JT at August 09, 2020 09:30 AM (arJlL)

85 The neighbor lady used to own a bookstore until finances and her macular degeneration forced her to sell it.
She has been listening to CDs of books from the library, so I decided to get her an MP3 player to try out instead, especially since she could get books from Audible and Libravox.

The ScanDisk player I got her is OK because it has actual buttons to push, but it is not ideal since it relies on visual readouts to access various files.


Does anyone have a suggestion for an MP3 player for someone mostly blind?

Posted by: Kindltot at August 09, 2020 09:31 AM (WyVLE)

86 Long Live Death: The Keys to Victory in the Spanish Civil War

-
I tried watching Guernica on Amazon Prime but couldn't make it past the first few minutes. Apparently, the "Republicans" were all living and sharing in peaceful eternal sunshine when Franco and the Nationalists arose like Godzilla from the sea bring death and destruction with them.

Posted by: Anonosaurus Wrecks, Tyrannosaur Wrangler at August 09, 2020 09:31 AM (+y/Ru)

87 Back Porsche at the lumber yard? Ty Webb?

Posted by: klaftern at August 09, 2020 09:31 AM (RuIsu)

88 I"m reading 'The Nickel Boys" by Colson Whitehead. It won the Pulitzer for Literature, his second. I really enjoy his writing - he's got a real gift and is very observant and insightful, and although race figures in his work, it isn't (for the most part) the dominant issue.

"Zone One" was a terrific apocalyptic zombie novel; it wasn't until a few pages before the end that he revealed the race of the narrator.

Posted by: vivi at August 09, 2020 09:31 AM (11H2y)

89 That said, his early books are still very enjoyable
to read. I reread The Hunt for Red October not long ago, and it held up
pretty well.







Posted by: Rodrigo Borgia at August 09, 2020 09:26 AM (unn44)

---
Clancy's strength was writing a re-cap of a wargame he played with Larry Bond and making it interesting.

Beyond that, he was terrible.

He tried to push the envelope on creativity and his writing got better, but one read him for the storyline, not the characters or quality of prose.

Jack Ryan was a total Mary Sue. Once he became the go-to protagonist, I checked out.

Posted by: Ace-Endorsed Author A.H. Lloyd at August 09, 2020 09:31 AM (cfSRQ)

90 79
Trying to read Heinlein's The Number of the Beast, but not digging it.
Tried several times before and never could get into it, but I've been on
a Heinlein jag and this one was in the bookcase and never read, so I
thought I'd try again. Still don't dig it.


Posted by: Guy Smiley at August 09, 2020 09:27 AM (FtO5h)



That was about the time his brain tumor was getting the best of him. I thought that book was not his best work.

Posted by: Vic at August 09, 2020 09:31 AM (mpXpK)

91 > Apparently, the "Republicans" were all living and sharing in peaceful eternal sunshine

George Orwell had first-hand experience with the Spanish "Republicans".

That's where Animal Farm and 1984 came from.

Posted by: Rodrigo Borgia at August 09, 2020 09:32 AM (unn44)

92 Now even Lt. Col Bearclaw is getting a seven figure contract.

Posted by: CN at August 09, 2020 09:22 AM (ONvIw)

---
He'll have to undergo a classification review.

Fun fact: DoD is right now making everyone redo their classification training. Among the lessons is the reminder that "whistleblowers" are not immune from prosecution for releasing classified information.

Someone's getting a hammer ready.
Posted by: Ace-Endorsed Author A.H. Lloyd

And getting lessons from CBD !

Posted by: JT at August 09, 2020 09:32 AM (arJlL)

93 I liked the cartoon of the monks making illuminated manuscripts. One of the (few) good things on Amazon Prime was a documentary on Gutenberg and the development of printing. I'm always interested in how someone develops a new technology for something, and this is perhaps the greatest example. Just the methods for making individual letters required many insights. But I digress. I was unaware that the first run of Bibles was done on both parchment and vellum (either/or), and that at least some were also illuminated in the margins.

Posted by: pep at August 09, 2020 09:33 AM (v16oJ)

94 Will look forward to ALH's book. Having spent a bit of time in Madrid and Spain it is hard find unbiased sources on the subject - easier to bash Franco and move on I suppose. Atrocities abounded though, which is one reason I don't people really want a replay here.

Posted by: Heart of Darkness at August 09, 2020 09:33 AM (MCp+H)

95 "What Every Young Mother Should Know"? I'll say he's a comedian.
Posted by: t-bird

Chapter 5

LaQuan or T'shawn

The mimetics of baby names

Posted by: Mimetical Miklos at August 09, 2020 09:33 AM (QzkSJ)

96 Great post, as always.

Posted by: Buck Throckmorton at August 09, 2020 09:33 AM (d9Cw3)

97 Just finished Alone at Dawn, the story of posthumously-awarded MoH recipient John Chapman. It may well be one of the most incredible accounts of bravery and self-sacrifice I've ever encountered. I was totally blown away. I started doing some interwebz surfing after reading the book and there is actually recorded footage of Chapman's ordeal. I'm a bit unclear as to whether this was captured by the AC-130H that was on station in support or from a drone. In any event I found both the book and the video profoundly moving.

Here's the link to the vid - https://tinyurl.com/y38bqrew

Posted by: Notorious BFD at August 09, 2020 09:33 AM (EgshT)

98 Finished Kim Strassel's (of WSJ) book "Resistance at all Costs" about the left's relentless attacks on Trump. She shows in detail that (1) the haters in the congress and the media have thrown away tradition and standards due to TDS and (2) by doing so, they did far worse than anything Trump did. Excellent accounting but it ends in November 2019.

And these damaged institutions ARE the new normal.

Posted by: FloridaMan at August 09, 2020 09:33 AM (uG03k)

99 He was advanced $65m for a book on which he's 2 years behind, if he's started it at all. He has a history of exactly this. I doubt very much whether he ever completed anything of significance, other than trashing this country.
https://tinyurl.com/y5hpmrd3
Posted by: pep at August 09, 2020 09:13 AM (v16oJ

Bill Ayers must be getting really lazy in his old age.

Posted by: Tom Servo at August 09, 2020 09:34 AM (V2Yro)

100 During the late 90s I began to wonder if the actual,
serious Earth was destroyed in a nuclear exchange and we're just the
parody version.

Change my mind.
Posted by: Ace-Endorsed Author A.H. Lloyd at August 09, 2020 09:13 AM (cfSRQ)

We shifted timelines and Flight 370 stayed behind
Posted by: Kindltot

That's when the Democrats and the Republicans switched positions on blacks.

Posted by: Anonosaurus Wrecks, Tyrannosaur Wrangler at August 09, 2020 09:34 AM (+y/Ru)

101 Thanks, horde! I don't think I ever knew the name, but scenes from Friendly Persuasion still pop up in my mind 29 years later.
Posted by: Catherine

Like the one where he would make a turkey noise and the Germans would lift their heads up and he'd shoot them ?

Posted by: JT at August 09, 2020 09:34 AM (arJlL)

102 It was good in parts. I binge-read it when it came out, and I was already playing the wargames (Third World War: Battle for Germany), but a re-read exposed the poor writing style.

One thing that really stood out: the NATO commander didn't get a name until the book was almost over and only a passing reference to his identity.

It felt like 400 pages in he realized "oh shit, I've been calling him by his title the whole book! Too late to add it, I'll just tack it in."

He came up with some interesting plots, but his writing was pretty poor.

Not fit to bring Waugh his evening Madeira.
Posted by: Ace-Endorsed Author A.H. Lloyd at August 09, 2020 09:20 AM (cfSRQ)

You may think the writing is poor (I respectfully disagree but also take into consideration I was still in HS when I read it) but I would contend compared to today's time, where writing has corroded in all things to just about nothing, as people care less and less and less about words and language, it's positively Shakespearean.

Another thing that grabbed me was that not only was the SACEUR not named until the very end, but many of the Russians were not one-dimensional, especially the senior officers (Alekseyev and Andreyev come to mind immediately).

And I still hate Bob Toland. Especially as an adult re-reading the book. (Bloody name-dropper and someone who got to where he was not through competency but "netoworking"...and I utterly despise that word and concept.)

Posted by: Catch Thirty-Thr33 at August 09, 2020 09:34 AM (ejsiI)

103 I was unaware that the first run of Bibles was done on both parchment
and vellum (either/or), and that at least some were also illuminated in
the margins.


And of course I should have said paper or vellum.

Posted by: pep at August 09, 2020 09:36 AM (v16oJ)

104 I need to check out the Spanish civil war book up above. I know about the war, but I admit I never have read anything in-depth like that on the subject.

Posted by: Catch Thirty-Thr33 at August 09, 2020 09:36 AM (ejsiI)

105 Does anyone have a suggestion for an MP3 player for someone mostly blind?
Posted by: Kindltot at August 09, 2020 09:31 AM (WyVLE)

Alexa plays music by voice commands. Kindle Fire now has Alexa.

Posted by: rhennigantx at August 09, 2020 09:36 AM (JFO2v)

106 I've switched over to a re-read of Larry McMurtry's Streets of Laredo, the sequel to Lonesome Dove.
Posted by: Wolfus Aurelius at August 09, 2020 09:21 AM (rpbg1)

Was not that the prequel. The sequel I believe was called Return to LD!
Posted by: rhennigantx at August 09, 2020


*
*

No, this takes place some years after the events in LD. Gus's passing is mentioned, Lorena (the whore he rescued) is married to another of the characters from the first novel, etc.

Posted by: Wolfus Aurelius at August 09, 2020 09:36 AM (rpbg1)

107 the tiny piano tuning hammer is called The Lt. Col Bearclaw hammer.

Not just a donut.

Posted by: humphreyrobot at August 09, 2020 09:36 AM (pB6Gt)

108 Fun fact: DoD is right now making everyone redo their classification training. Among the lessons is the reminder that "whistleblowers" are not immune from prosecution for releasing classified information.

Someone's getting a hammer ready.
Posted by: Ace-Endorsed Author A.H. Lloyd

========================

When I was undergoing FBI background checks, one to the first questions I was asked was: Have you had any contact with the media? It was that serious.

But, of course, that was before Trump

Posted by: FloridaMan at August 09, 2020 09:36 AM (uG03k)

109 Trying to read Heinlein's The Number of the Beast, but not digging it.

Tried several times before and never could get into it, but I've been on

a Heinlein jag and this one was in the bookcase and never read, so I

thought I'd try again. Still don't dig it.


Posted by: Guy Smiley at August 09, 2020 09:27 AM (FtO5h)

Pournelle said that the worst thing to happen to Heinlein was he got too big for an editor. It was all downhill after The Moon is a Harsh Mistress. He got sucked into the 60's-70's zeitgeist and it was all over.

Posted by: WOPR - Clown World Timeline Thinks This Timeline is Insane at August 09, 2020 09:36 AM (J70i0)

110 I've switched over to a re-read of Larry McMurtry's Streets of Laredo, the sequel to Lonesome Dove.
Posted by: Wolfus Aurelius at August 09, 2020 09:21 AM (rpbg1)

Was not that the prequel. The sequel I believe was called Return to LD!
Posted by: rhennigantx at August 09, 2020 09:25 AM (JFO2v)


They made that into a tv small miniseries iirc. It wasn't nearly as good as the original, of course, and I think it ended when Newt's mother died. But it provided some perspective on how the young Gus and Call got to where they did including dealing with some weird politicians (imagine that).

Posted by: Captain Hate at August 09, 2020 09:37 AM (y7DUB)

111 98 - Willowed from previous thread:

The "Aliens" franchise is an extended metaphor for the Democrat party.

They are soul-less beings mindlessly and exclusively focused self-perpetuation and expansion through destruction.

They are mindless beings bent on destruction and death of all other life-forms.

They stealthily invade and hide in other life forms until they burst through, reveal themselves, and destroy the host without a thought.

They continue destroying all other life until they take over.

Republicans absolutely must retake the House.

That or nuke it from orbit. It's the only way to be sure.

Posted by: vivi at August 09, 2020 09:37 AM (11H2y)

112 Stalled on everything this week. Trying to close tabs, but the Morning Report adds 50 per day. I may have to say the hell with it and leave some articles unread.

Posted by: Weak Geek at August 09, 2020 09:37 AM (u/nim)

113 2 Still re-reading John Ringo and Eric Flint's 1632 series. On Book 5 now. Had intended to do only the first 3 but got interested in it again

=====
Vic,
I've read many in that series and AFAIK Ringo is not involved in it. Am I wrong?

Posted by: Vlad the Impaler, whittling away like mad at August 09, 2020 09:37 AM (d6mdH)

114 That was about the time his brain tumor was getting the best of him. I thought that book was not his best work.
Posted by: Vic at August 09, 2020


*
*

When that came out in 1980 or so, all my fellow fans and I thought RAH had lost it completely. Then he came roaring back in '82 with Friday, and maintained his storytelling skills right to the end.

Posted by: Wolfus Aurelius at August 09, 2020 09:38 AM (rpbg1)

115 I tried watching Guernica on Amazon Prime but
couldn't make it past the first few minutes. Apparently, the
"Republicans" were all living and sharing in peaceful eternal sunshine
when Franco and the Nationalists arose like Godzilla from the sea bring
death and destruction with them.

Posted by: Anonosaurus Wrecks, Tyrannosaur Wrangler at August 09, 2020 09:31 AM (+y/Ru)

---
Wow, just watched the trailer.

Nice use of Spanish pistols. They got the Ju-52s right, which is nice.

Did they show any footage of the *three* major arsenals in the town cranking out weapons? Because that kind of demolishes the "small, peaceful" town thing.

I mean, if you describe it as "the heart of Spain's small-arms industry, famed for pistols and submachineguns," you lose a lot of the moral outrage, no?

Posted by: Ace-Endorsed Author A.H. Lloyd at August 09, 2020 09:38 AM (cfSRQ)

116 Long Live Death: The Keys to Victory in the Spanish Civil War



-

I tried watching Guernica on Amazon Prime but couldn't make it past
the first few minutes. Apparently, the "Republicans" were all living
and sharing in peaceful eternal sunshine when Franco and the
Nationalists arose like Godzilla from the sea bring death and
destruction with them.

Posted by: Anonosaurus Wrecks, Tyrannosaur Wrangler at August 09, 2020 09:31 AM (+y/Ru)


Maybe the only war where the losing side wrote the histories (or at least the version that would be taught) and lied through their teeth about it like commies do

Posted by: TheQuietMan at August 09, 2020 09:39 AM (Nyx5N)

117 Seems to me a replay of the Spanish civil war could be a senerio of a ACWII ( American Civil War II)

Posted by: Skip at August 09, 2020 09:39 AM (OjZpE)

118 97 Just finished Alone at Dawn, the story of posthumously-awarded MoH recipient John Chapman. It may well be one of the most incredible accounts of bravery and self-sacrifice I've ever encountered. I was totally blown away. I started doing some interwebz surfing after reading the book and there is actually recorded footage of Chapman's ordeal. I'm a bit unclear as to whether this was captured by the AC-130H that was on station in support or from a drone. In any event I found both the book and the video profoundly moving.

Here's the link to the vid - https://tinyurl.com/y38bqrew
Posted by: Notorious BFD at August 09, 2020 09:33 AM (EgshT)

As an aside:

Never forget that about 70% of MoH recipients receive the medal posthumously.

Posted by: Catch Thirty-Thr33 at August 09, 2020 09:39 AM (ejsiI)

119 It goes without saying, that my book takes a sledgehammer to the Guernica myth.

And Antony Beevor, who gets a special call-out for being a lying prick.

Posted by: Ace-Endorsed Author A.H. Lloyd at August 09, 2020 09:39 AM (cfSRQ)

120 No, this takes place some years after the events in LD. Gus's passing is mentioned, Lorena (the whore he rescued) is married to another of the characters from the first novel, etc.
Posted by: Wolfus Aurelius at August 09, 2020 09:36 AM (rpbg1)

ok I read it could not remember order

Posted by: rhennigantx at August 09, 2020 09:40 AM (JFO2v)

121 congrats to AH Llloyd on the new book!

Posted by: vmom 2020 grammar nazi and write supremacist at August 09, 2020 09:41 AM (J8nVw)

122 60 ... "My fave L'Amour book is Last of the Breed."

Hi JT,
I really enjoyed Last of the Breed, especially the way L'Amour hinted at what was going to happen after the book ended. My only gripe, and it's a small one, is I got tired of him mentioning how cold Joe Mack was and if he would ever get warm again. After a few hundred iterations of that, it got annoying.

I really should get a hardcover edition since it's one of the L'Amour books I reread every few years.

Posted by: JTB at August 09, 2020 09:41 AM (7EjX1)

123 Best Forgotten Book-

"Following the Equator" by Mark Twain.

Worth it if only for his description of trying to surf in Hawaii.

If only there were a picture of an older Sam Clemens attempting to Hang Ten.

Posted by: Surf and Miklos up at August 09, 2020 09:41 AM (QzkSJ)

124 At the time I thought that last element was utter fantasy, but in retrospect General Sir General nailed it.

Posted by: Trimegistus at August 09, 2020 09:29 AM (jbmxH)

I remember that book. I tried to read it a few times but considered it somewhat of a slog. The limited nuke strikes were an interesting addition.

Posted by: WOPR - Clown World Timeline Thinks This Timeline is Insane at August 09, 2020 09:42 AM (J70i0)

125 "Christendom Destroyed":

From Martin Luther to the end of the Thirty Years War in 1648-- a period of appx 120 yrs.

It was the golden age of The Four Horsemen. War, Famine, & Pestilence were a package deal: 3 for the price of one.

Posted by: mnw at August 09, 2020 09:42 AM (onMq7)

126 I would LOVE to be in that monastery book club!

Posted by: vmom 2020 grammar nazi and write supremacist at August 09, 2020 09:42 AM (J8nVw)

127 Seems to me a replay of the Spanish civil war could be a senerio of a ACWII ( American Civil War II)

Posted by: Skip at August 09, 2020 09:39 AM (OjZpE)

---
My book isn't very long, and I think a lot of Morons will benefit from the chronology and historical summary at the start.

Short version: The Spanish left stole an election, then stole it some more, then began killing political opponents openly.

The Republic was dead by March 1936. The Army was trying to stave off total societal collapse.

And yes, the "autonomous collectives" popped up all over Republican Spain.

Posted by: Ace-Endorsed Author A.H. Lloyd at August 09, 2020 09:42 AM (cfSRQ)

128 Glad to see that Lloyd's book is out; I've just ordered a copy. If I like it well enough, I will order several and give them to all my kids ;-)
"Apparently, the "Republicans" were all living and sharing in peaceful
eternal sunshine when Franco and the Nationalists arose like Godzilla
from the sea bring death and destruction with them."
In real life, of course, Spain in the spring of 1936 was like the South Side of Chicago - the streets were a free-fire zone; arson and vandalism were the order of the day. You know how Lefties like to boo and riot and smash things when their side loses? In 1936 they WON the damn election - however narrowly - and still went on to boo and riot and smash things.
The government couldn't, or wouldn't, do anything about it (just like the Democratic Machine in Chicago) and frankly it's hard to blame the general for saying, "Enough of this sh!t."

Posted by: Annalucia at August 09, 2020 09:42 AM (S6ArX)

129 bookfunnel.is nrw to me

Posted by: vmom 2020 grammar nazi and write supremacist at August 09, 2020 09:43 AM (J8nVw)

130 63 CN: I'd love to know more about why acid is dangerous. It's always one of the "harmless" drugs that drug-legalization people talk about. Is it the immediate danger of disconnecting from reality, or are there some long-term effects?
Posted by: Trimegistus at August 09, 2020 09:23 AM (jbmxH)

There is the immediate danger (related to the hallucinations but also to changes in BP and heart rate), but there are also potentially permanent consequences from the possible seizures, strokes and toxicity and persistent hallucinations.

I understand it's chic to minimize these possibilities, but if you'd seen these patients, you wouldn't be tempted to mess with it.

My earliest experience with the dangers of hallucinogens come from a friends siblings who gave it a go. Two of them got very involved and used it at East Lansing parties. The brother told everyone he was certain he would be able to overcome solid objects and rode his motorcycle into a train. The sister, a grad student at the time, wound up in the hospital due to a prolonged trip. Her perceptions were permanently changed and she spent the rest of her life nuttily insisting that Since John Lennon's death, Boz Scaggs became God in his place.

The internet sites are full of info about the dangers of hallucinogens, but there are also plenty of people willing to minimize this. While some geniuses may have used it, most people did not become "enlightened" by choosing to hallucinate.

Posted by: CN at August 09, 2020 09:43 AM (ONvIw)

131 I like that girl in the painting. I wish I had a girl like that.

Morning, 'rons and 'ronettes.

Not reading anything this week. I'm in one of those moods where I just want to take a match and burn down Stately Poppins Manor.

Posted by: Mary Poppins' Practically Perfect Piercing at August 09, 2020 09:43 AM (2JVJo)

132 And Antony Beevor, who gets a special call-out for being a lying prick.
Posted by: Ace-Endorsed Author A.H. Lloyd


Who would trust anybody with a name like "Beevor' anyway?

Posted by: Miklos, rhetorically asking at August 09, 2020 09:43 AM (QzkSJ)

133 congrats to AH Llloyd on the new book!

Posted by: vmom 2020 grammar nazi and write supremacist at August 09, 2020 09:41 AM (J8nVw)

---
Thanks!

Posted by: Ace-Endorsed Author A.H. Lloyd at August 09, 2020 09:43 AM (cfSRQ)

134 I loved all the books that you mentioned. Kindle had a daily deal on this one, and I could not for the life of me remember reading it. I'm glad I did not start with this particular book. I don't think I would have continued with the series, which is overall delightful.
Posted by: grammie winger at August 09, 2020


*
*

The funny thing is that I don't have any of them on my bookshelf. Someone gave me a complete collection of her short stories, and I've dipped into that from time to time, but I don't have any other DLS books. Ellery Queen and Rex Stout, yes, but not DLS.

Now that we've seen how the 1920s looked in Downton Abbey, it's easier to picture what rooms and clothing and cars looked like in the Wimsey tales.

Posted by: Wolfus Aurelius at August 09, 2020 09:44 AM (rpbg1)

135 I've been reading a book discussed here last week, Noir by Christopher Moore. I'm enjoying it partly because of the wise patter. I haven't finished so I may be judging unfairly but I'm annoyed by the apparently pointless change in narrators.

Posted by: Anonosaurus Wrecks, Tyrannosaur Wrangler at August 09, 2020 09:44 AM (+y/Ru)

136 I like that girl in the painting. I wish I had a girl like that.


That's Jesse's Girl.

Posted by: Miklos "Rick" Springfield, as Seen on TV at August 09, 2020 09:44 AM (QzkSJ)

137 126
I would LOVE to be in that monastery book club!


I had the same thought, but then remembered that without modern eyeware, I'm pretty blind. Also, I like to eat and be warm, and prefer my underwear not to be of the horsehair variety.

Posted by: pep at August 09, 2020 09:45 AM (v16oJ)

138 100 During the late 90s I began to wonder if the actual,
serious Earth was destroyed in a nuclear exchange and we're just the parody version.

Change my mind.
Posted by: Ace-Endorsed Author A.H. Lloyd at August 09, 2020 09:13 AM (cfSRQ)

"There is a theory which states that if ever anyone discovers exactly what the Universe is for and why it is here, it will instantly disappear and be replaced by something even more bizarre and inexplicable.

There is another theory which states that this has already happened." - Douglas Adams

Posted by: Tom Servo at August 09, 2020 09:45 AM (V2Yro)

139 And Antony Beevor, who gets a special call-out for being a lying prick.


Posted by: Ace-Endorsed Author A.H. Lloyd at August 09, 2020 09:39 AM (cfSRQ)

I read/listened to Ryan's and Beevor's books on Market-Garden. Beevor tells a lot of the same anecdotes from Ryan's book. Beevor does hit Montegomery and Horrocks more than Ryan did.

Posted by: WOPR - Clown World Timeline Thinks This Timeline is Insane at August 09, 2020 09:45 AM (J70i0)

140 More books than at which you can shake a stick.
Posted by: Kindltot at August 09, 2020 09:17 AM (WyVLE)

*awards Kindletot with shiny bookmark of merit*

Posted by: vmom 2020 grammar nazi and write supremacist at August 09, 2020 09:45 AM (J8nVw)

141 Downloading What to Do About Doctors, Big Pharma, and Corrupt Government Ruining Your Health and Medical Care
tl;dr Good book, lousy tool to download to Kindle tablet.

Skimmed a bit of the book and it looks worthwhile.
Recommend against using the BookFunnel app to try to install and read on a Kindle Fire tablet. The instructions are a pain in the butt and the app installed the file into the wrong folder so that the Kindle app couldn't see it. Followed the troubleshooting instructions and it turned out that the BookFunnel app couldn't read it either and that there was no way to fix it. Downloaded the .pdf version to read on my computer. Works fine.


Posted by: secdroid at August 09, 2020 09:46 AM (33NcR)

142
Maybe the only war where the losing side wrote
the histories (or at least the version that would be taught) and lied
through their teeth about it like commies do


Posted by: TheQuietMan at August 09, 2020 09:39 AM (Nyx5N)

---
Partly it had to do with World War II. Franco got help from the Bad Guys which made him a Bad Guy. Truman wanted him toppled but the Cold War made that impractical.

Interestingly, Eva Peron's visit was a really big deal because it opened up critical trade - particularly beef imports - for Franco's otherwise embargoed country.

Posted by: Ace-Endorsed Author A.H. Lloyd at August 09, 2020 09:46 AM (cfSRQ)

143 One of the more interesting movies about the Spanish Civil War is Dragon Rapide, (named after the plane that took Franco from the Canaries to Morocco)
It is the story of the Generals saying "go" on the uprising

Get the subtitled version. It is in Spanish.

Posted by: Kindltot at August 09, 2020 09:47 AM (WyVLE)

144 Audible had Sandman, which I read years ago. It does not hold up. Neverwhere and American Gods are much better.

Posted by: BourbonChicken at August 09, 2020 09:47 AM (LxTcq)

145 I think part of the seduction about starting something new is that the early stages of writing a book are really fun. You can noodle around, not really care much about it, and it's only when the plot starts getting complex, continuity becomes an issue, etc. that the stress comes in.

In the very early stages of the Burton-Taylor Cleopatra, the director was Ruben Mamoulian, who, due to a combination of his own dilatoriness and the awful weather conditions in England, ended up filming only about 10 minutes of footage, blowing through hundreds of thousands of dollars before being booted off the project.

At the time, a studio memo went out that ran something along the lines of "Mamoulian loves to prepare for a movie and will spend months and months in pre-production if you let him. But the moment you tell him to start shooting, he will hate you for the rest of his life."

Posted by: Mary Poppins' Practically Perfect Piercing at August 09, 2020 09:47 AM (2JVJo)

146 Gary Cooper, yes.
Posted by: PubliusII at August 09, 2020 08:59 AM (NCsa7)

He has a death grip on that book.

Posted by: Alberta Oil Peon at August 09, 2020 09:47 AM (H0W8E)

147 Tarl Cabot? Holy crap that is a book series that will blow the minds of the SJWs

Posted by: Eric at August 09, 2020 09:48 AM (a2F+C)

148 An inside personal snippet on a recent book about the founding of CNN, "Up All Night," by Lisa Napoli.

Napoli contacted me about a year ago regarding my book on my father, who'd developed the precursor to CNN and who had hired Roger Ailes as well as Reese Schonfeld, CNN's first president. I provided her with a number of primary source documents to help her research.

Predictably, she completely omitted the actual origin story and wrote, also predictably, a hagiography of Turner and Schonfeld. Her book included more tedious attacks on Ailes, the Left's eternal boogeyman.

I bothered to write her a short note calling out her inadequate and jaundiced journalism. Obviously I heard nothing back.

Posted by: Dan Smoot's Apprentice at August 09, 2020 09:49 AM (H8QX8)

149 Worth it if only for his description of trying to surf in Hawaii.


It wasn't Following the Equator, but Twain wrote of his travel to Hawaii (the Sandwich Islands) somewhere else.

My favorite bit was about him watching girls surf without clothes and how maybe he had misplaced their clothes while he was watching.

Posted by: Bandersnatch at August 09, 2020 09:49 AM (q2K0j)

150 I downloaded a Dorothy L. Sayers book that I can't remember reading
before, although I'm sure I have. It's a Lord Peter Wimsey book called
"The Five Red Herrings." If it had not been for the fact that I adore
Lord Wimsey, I would have stopped reading by now. It's one of those
mysteries where one must figure out and remember 12 different train
schedules and where they depart from and where they go to. And whose
bicycle is whose. Also, to this point Lord Peter has been anything but
whimsical.

Posted by: grammie winger at August 09, 2020



*

*



Grammie, during my DLS period (about age 14-15), I gave up on that one. Strong Poison is good; Have His Carcase is fascinating if overly concerned with characters' movements; and Whose Body?, her first novel, is interestingly plotted and shows Lord Peter at his most, shall we say, elfin.

"Unnatural Death" is pretty good, too (why would someone murder an elderly woman who was going to die soon, anyway?), and "Busman's Honeymoon" (Wimsey and Harriet discover a body in their honeymoon cottage) isn't too bad.

Posted by: wethal101@hotmail.com at August 09, 2020 09:49 AM (ZzVCK)

151 It goes without saying, that my book takes a sledgehammer to the Guernica myth.

And Antony Beevor, who gets a special call-out for being a lying prick.


Posted by: Ace-Endorsed Author A.H. Lloyd at August 09, 2020 09:39 AM (cfSRQ)


Sounds good. I'll have to get a copy.

Posted by: TheQuietMan at August 09, 2020 09:49 AM (Nyx5N)

152 136 I like that girl in the painting. I wish I had a girl like that.


That's Jesse's Girl.

==

Where do I find a woman like that?

Posted by: vmom 2020 grammar nazi and write supremacist at August 09, 2020 09:50 AM (J8nVw)

153 History is NOT just "the lies told by the victors." It is also "the delusions of the vanquished."

It's been thousands of years since "history is [was] written by the victors." You'd need to go back to the Romans.

You could fill up a huge library with recent history written by the losers.

Speaking of losers, why doesn't Claire McCaskill STFU?

Posted by: mnw at August 09, 2020 09:50 AM (onMq7)

154 The wife is reading "I'll Be Gone in the Dark" by Michelle McNamara, about the Golden State Killer. She's enjoying it but says if you've seen the recent HBO documentary you won't need to read the book.
Posted by: BignJames at August 09, 2020 09:22 AM (X/Pw5)


I flipped through that in the bookstore, but didn't buy it. It didn't grab me and also I couldn't get Patton Oswalt's fat, smug dickhole of a face out of my mind.

I would recommend Bill James' The Man From The Train.

https://tinyurl.com/y3uaou87

Posted by: Mary Poppins' Practically Perfect Piercing at August 09, 2020 09:51 AM (2JVJo)

155 Where do I find a woman like that?

Posted by: vmom 2020 grammar nazi and write supremacist at August 09, 2020 09:50 AM (J8nVw)

I'll play along with the charade.

Posted by: WOPR - Clown World Timeline Thinks This Timeline is Insane at August 09, 2020 09:51 AM (J70i0)

156 Book related but also political: it will come as no surprise whatsoever that Gaylord is not performing on his $65M book contract. Yup, you read that right. He was advanced $65m for a book on which he's 2 years behind, if he's started it at all. He has a history of exactly this. I doubt very much whether he ever completed anything of significance, other than trashing this country.
https://tinyurl.com/y5hpmrd3
Posted by: pep at August 09, 2020 09:13 AM (v16oJ)


I can't imagine anything intelligent emerging from Gaylord.

Posted by: Captain Hate at August 09, 2020 09:52 AM (y7DUB)

157 (AP) - A fire inside a police union building led authorities in
Portland, Oregon, to declare a riot and force protesters away from the
offices as violent demonstrations continue in the city that had hoped
for calm after federal agents withdrew more than a week ago.

Three
officers were hurt, including two who were taken to a hospital, during
efforts to clear a crowd of several hundred people outside the Portland
Police Association building late Saturday, police said in a statement.
The two hospitalized officers have since been released.






Wait a minute. I thought it was Trump "stormtroopers" that were the reason for all of the peaceful protests "intensifying". Now they're gone and it's still violent demonstrations going on? Minitrue is going to have to work overtime to explain that one away

Posted by: TheQuietMan at August 09, 2020 09:52 AM (Nyx5N)

158 I'd rather believe that than believe our government was blind to Mao's ruthless dictatorship. Anyway, very good book and thanks to the Moron who recommended it.

Posted by: Lady in Black



What is instructive (if one dedicates the time) is a comparison of Nixon's and Kissinger's accounts.

Nixon actually wrote informative and honest accounts from his perspective. It was part of his program of rehabilitation.

Kissinger's accounts of the same personalities and events is more self serving. The good part is that you can read both and come to an independent understanding.

Posted by: Miklos,who does such things at August 09, 2020 09:52 AM (QzkSJ)

159 like to read a book about other countries' history books.

Then we can dish out even less $ to them. Especially our own .

Posted by: humphreyrobot at August 09, 2020 09:52 AM (pB6Gt)

160 The publishing company appears to expect a book. Barry's never been in the private sector. They expect results

=====
There are thousands of Dem hacks who would be slaveringly eager to ghostwrite it. Whenever the pressure gets too hot Gaylord can just finger one (down Reggie!).

Posted by: Vlad the Impaler, whittling away like mad at August 09, 2020 09:53 AM (d6mdH)

161 I haven't been able to concentrate on anything "heavy" recently, so over the last few weeks I've been reading the "Familiar Tales" and "Constable Nick" books.

Both are fun, light reading, though Familiar Tales 7 and 8 should be read in reverse order. Will probably re-read both, and thanks to whoever recommended them.

Posted by: empire 1 at August 09, 2020 09:53 AM (ZfWeT)

162 Clancy's writing career was an unrecognized casualty of the end of the Cold War, IMO.

He was really, really good at doing Russians, but (IMO) never managed to make the various villains he used in his later books convincing.

I think my "Oh, COME ON!" moment with Clancy was when he had the various factions in the Middle East agree to put the Pope in charge to keep the peace.

Yeah, no. Neither the Muzzies nor the Jews are gonna be down with that, Tom. Not to mention the Orthodox and the forty-seven flavors of non-Catholic "Eastern" rites.

Sorry.

That said, his early books are still very enjoyable to read. I reread The Hunt for Red October not long ago, and it held up pretty well.


Posted by: Rodrigo Borgia at August 09, 2020 09:26 AM (unn44)

Somebody didn't care for The Sum of All Fears...

I think you're right. For me, I seriously bogged down reading Clear and Present Danger. There were other novels I liked, but the early stuff like The Hunt For Red October and Red Storm Rising were great. I'd still rank them top five on my list.

Another thing, in full disclosure, when I ran into them, I had decided at that point that reading fictional work was not my thing, and in any case it was not geared to me. Elementary and middle school libraries and book orders offered nothing useful and it all seemed completely geared towards girls anyway. Fantasy never did anything for me and as much as I loved and revere my fourth grade teacher, she spent many an afternoon nailing the coffin shut on any patience I had for fantasy by reading us books from The Chronicles of Narnia. (Then personally throwing the coffin into the grave, shoveling the dirt on it, and even chiseling and mounting the headstone.)

So when I blundered into people who had read, say, The Hunt For Red October (this being right after the movie came out), I was curious and eventually took a swing at it. This was a pathway to some novels that I truly enjoyed and broke things open for me in a whole new way. If not for this, I probably would stick with reading nonfictional items and even reference material as I always had. Therefore, there's this aspect which I believe has me firmly welded, emotionally, to those days 30 years ago when I was scrounging for the next few minutes to knock out another chapter of Red Storm Rising or squeezing in another "day" of The Hunt For Red October.

Posted by: Catch Thirty-Thr33 at August 09, 2020 09:53 AM (ejsiI)

163 I read/listened to Ryan's and Beevor's books on
Market-Garden. Beevor tells a lot of the same anecdotes from Ryan's
book. Beevor does hit Montegomery and Horrocks more than Ryan did.


Posted by: WOPR - Clown World Timeline Thinks This Timeline is Insane at August 09, 2020 09:45 AM (J70i0)

---
Beevor recycles the Guernica lies and argues that the Germans clearly wanted to wreck the town because not a single bomb hit the bridge.

This guy is supposed to be a military historian and he thinks Ju-52s are capable of precision strikes.

He also recycled the hilariously inflated casualty figure (1,800 dead in a town of 5,000) before admitting that yeah, maybe it was only 300.

Um, quite the disparity there, guy.

Beevor also left out the Popular Front forcing re-votes in conservative provinces and then fixing the elections so that the left won all the seats, giving them a 2/3 majority. He just doesn't mention it, but he knew it happened because when he writes about the 'parliamentary coup' where Azana is put in charge, he only gives the vote count, which is lop-sided because the conservatives refused to vote at all in protest.

It's that dishonest slight of hand that destroys his credibility.

Oh, and he also claims Spain was a backward nation because the Spanish Inquisition, not because oh, I don't know, they had a GLOBAL EMPIRE and 300 years of wars to defend it. That kind of wears a country down.

Total prick.

Posted by: Ace-Endorsed Author A.H. Lloyd at August 09, 2020 09:53 AM (cfSRQ)

164 Hi JT,
I really enjoyed Last of the Breed, especially the way L'Amour hinted at what was going to happen after the book ended. My only gripe, and it's a small one, is I got tired of him mentioning how cold Joe Mack was and if he would ever get warm again. After a few hundred iterations of that, it got annoying.

I really should get a hardcover edition since it's one of the L'Amour books I reread every few years.
Posted by: JTB

For me, it just re-iterated HOW COLD it was !

We've ALL been cold at one time or another, but not like that, nor, under those circumstances.

Hiya JTB and regards to Mrs. JTB.

Posted by: JT at August 09, 2020 09:54 AM (arJlL)

165 *awards Kindletot with shiny bookmark of merit*
Posted by: vmom 2020 grammar nazi and write supremacist at August 09, 2020 09:45 AM (J8nVw)


Jordan Peterson is the master of the dangling participle.

He is natters along, making points and logical analyses, and *clonk* my internal editor has to reword what he just said.


Having said that, I would like to thank my parents, various teachers, Mark Twain and H. L. Menken for making me the stylistic hot mess that I am today.


Posted by: Kindltot at August 09, 2020 09:55 AM (WyVLE)

166 Anyone else see the picture of Tiger Woods arriving at the PGA Championship Thursday wearing a Thin Blue Line American Flag as a face mask? He's been wearing it on the course as a neck warmer several times.

He has been golf with PDT several times and does not back away or apologize for it. I think he is a patriot.

Posted by: xa4 nasal radiator at August 09, 2020 09:55 AM (xkudx)

167 Just going to make a brief appearance (I'm not going to be able to stick around: got too much to do at the new Casa del Cop).

An neat little book I came across is The Rambling Soldier by Roy Palmer. Published in 1977, it is a compilation of songs, contemporary illustrations, and excerpts from letters and memoirs depicting life in the British Army in the point of view of the enlisted men from about 1700 to 1900. Outstanding book and highly recommended if the subject matter is of interest. Rating 5.0/5.

I've been looking forward to A.H.Loyd's book and definitely plan on getting a copy. Outside the scope of his book, but Franco sent an infantry division to Russia to assist the German's (it consolidated the most militant of his officers and placated Hitler). The Blue Division actually had a commendable combat record and the Germans thought so highly of the Spaniards that they gave them a platoon of Tiger tanks in late 1942. To give such a high-value tank to an allied military was extremely unusual. The motto of the Blue Division was "Long Live Death!"

Posted by: Retired Buckeye Cop is now an engineer at August 09, 2020 09:56 AM (pJWtt)

168 More books than at which you can shake a stick.
Posted by: Kindltot at August 09, 2020 09:17 AM (WyVLE)


Or a bat !

Posted by: JT at August 09, 2020 09:57 AM (arJlL)

169 He has been golf with PDT several times and does not back away or apologize for it. I think he is a patriot.
Posted by: xa4 nasal radiator at August 09, 2020 09:55 AM (xkudx)

Wasn't his father in the military?

Posted by: Catch Thirty-Thr33 at August 09, 2020 09:57 AM (ejsiI)

170 I'm reading a book about neuroplasticity called The Brain that Changes Itself.
Apparently people who have had feet or legs amputated can feel orgasms in their missing feet, which produces a bigger sensation of orgasm.
Perhaps this accounts for foot fetishes.
I won't say more because nobody will read this anyway.

Posted by: Northernlurker, still lurking after all these years at August 09, 2020 09:58 AM (lgiXo)

171 I'm a huge fan of Das Boot, a 1981 German flick about a U-boat tour of duty in WWII.

So I started watching last year's German mini-series of the same name. Talk about pissing on the Pieta.

It's now got brave lesbians in the French resistance. And evil American war profiteers. And little underwater. I gave up. I can only imagine where it went.

Posted by: Ignoramus at August 09, 2020 09:58 AM (9TdxA)

172
It wasn't Following the Equator, but Twain wrote of his travel to Hawaii (the Sandwich Islands) somewhere else.

My favorite bit was about him watching girls surf without clothes and how maybe he had misplaced their clothes while he was watching.
Posted by: Bandersnatch


Pics or it didn't happen.

Rules are rules.

Posted by: Miklos, who does not in fact make the rules at August 09, 2020 09:58 AM (QzkSJ)

173 The internet sites are full of info about the dangers of hallucinogens, but there are also plenty of people willing to minimize this. While some geniuses may have used it, most people did not become "enlightened" by choosing to hallucinate.
Posted by: CN at August 09, 2020 09:43 AM (ONvIw)

you make some good observations. I knew several people back in the day who did it, and observed how they reacted. First off, the effects appear to mimic acute schizophrenia; second, it seems to lay bare every facet of the mind experiencing it, even the most hidden. I saw some people who had a strong sense of identity, strong personalities for whom it did act as a mind expander. I saw others who didn't appear flawed, but for whom it acted as a mind shredder, and they were never the same again. The thing is, no one one knows where they'll fall until they go through it, and no, it is definitely not worth the risk.

my own private little theory, which of course is worth what I payed for it, is that it isn't the drug itself which wrecks people, but rather the power of all the secret hidden and broken little pieces of the psyche which are empowered and given free reign while they're under the drugs effect. Some people go up that mountain, and are never able to find themselves again once they come back down.

Posted by: Tom Servo at August 09, 2020 09:59 AM (V2Yro)

174 grammie, I left a comment for you at the end of the EMT

Posted by: vmom 2020 grammar nazi and write supremacist at August 09, 2020 09:59 AM (J8nVw)

175 Interestingly, Eva Peron's visit was a really big deal because it opened up critical trade - particularly beef imports - for Franco's otherwise embargoed country.
Posted by: Ace-Endorsed Author A.H. Lloyd at August 09, 2020 09:46 AM (cfSRQ)


Spain has fallen to the charms of Evita!
She can do what she likes, it doesn't matter much-
She's a New World Madonna with a golden touch;
She filled a bullring - forty-five thousand seater -
But if you're prettier than General Franco, that's not hard!

Posted by: Mary Poppins' Practically Perfect Piercing at August 09, 2020 09:59 AM (2JVJo)

176 Preemptive thanks to AH Lloyd for making some sense out of the Spanish Civil War about which Orwell thoroughly confused me, which was probably part of his point.

Posted by: Captain Hate at August 09, 2020 10:00 AM (y7DUB)

177 I would recommend Bill James' The Man From The Train.

https://tinyurl.com/y3uaou87

Posted by: Mary Poppins' Practically Perfect Piercing at August 09, 2020 09:51 AM (2JVJo)

I'm casually familiar w/the story...thanks for the book tip.

Posted by: BignJames at August 09, 2020 10:00 AM (X/Pw5)

178 H. L. Menken for making me the stylistic hot mess that I am today.


Posted by: Kindltot


Do you also write poetry in your underwear, and love sonnets stark naked?

Posted by: Miklos, recalling a famous line of Mencken's at August 09, 2020 10:00 AM (QzkSJ)

179 One of the more interesting movies about the Spanish
Civil War is Dragon Rapide, (named after the plane that took Franco
from the Canaries to Morocco)
It is the story of the Generals saying "go" on the uprising

Get the subtitled version. It is in Spanish.


Posted by: Kindltot at August 09, 2020 09:47 AM (WyVLE)

---
I will keep an eye out for it. Amazon's only option is region 2 undubbed.

Was there a North American release?

Posted by: Ace-Endorsed Author A.H. Lloyd at August 09, 2020 10:01 AM (cfSRQ)

180 My interest in life, especially frontier life, in the 18th century continues. So I've been rereading parts of "A Pilgrim's Journey" by Mark A. Baker. The chapters describe how he learns to recreate the life of a longhunter based on research and hard won experience. Yeah, the topic fascinates me but Baker's writing is enjoyable even as it's instructive. I think I value the attitudes as much as the techniques. I have both volumes and they were worth the cost.

Posted by: JTB at August 09, 2020 10:01 AM (7EjX1)

181 Anyone else see the picture of Tiger Woods arriving at the PGA Championship Thursday wearing a Thin Blue Line American Flag as a face mask? He's been wearing it on the course as a neck warmer several times.

He has been golf with PDT several times and does not back away or apologize for it. I think he is a patriot.
Posted by: xa4 nasal radiator

Sure, he played a few extra holes but basically a good guy.

Posted by: Anonosaurus Wrecks, Tyrannosaur Wrangler at August 09, 2020 10:01 AM (+y/Ru)

182 For you Spygate enthusiasts you might want to turn on Maria Bartiromo.

Posted by: JackStraw at August 09, 2020 10:01 AM (ZLI7S)

183 I ordered A.H. Lloyd's book, and was then shown a recommendation for a new trilogy by Rick Atkinson. Atkinson wrote the WWII trilogy starting with An Army at Dawn, which was excellent. Only the first book of the new trilogy is out, (entitled The British are Coming), but if it's as good as his other trilogy, it should be well worth reading.

Posted by: pep at August 09, 2020 10:02 AM (v16oJ)

184 One quick follow-up, if A.H.Loyd's book is a print-on-demand, could he please give a hard cover option? I prefer hardbacks to paperbacks.

Posted by: Retired Buckeye Cop is now an engineer at August 09, 2020 10:02 AM (pJWtt)

185 If you're interested in the Spanish civil war, don't miss Soldiers of Salamis, by Xavier Cercas, one of best books I read in this century. Mon really about the war but a great book however.

Posted by: Myollnir at August 09, 2020 10:02 AM (/VSJg)

186 blackwell's books?

Is it run by a disheveled, surly irishman named Bernard?

Posted by: Warai-otoko at August 09, 2020 10:02 AM (6FeV1)

187 Mostly what I'm reading this week is Receiving Antennas It's pretty good. Not as much of a page-turner as Lex and Yacc but vastly better than Circuit Design and Simulation

Posted by: Cybersmythe at August 09, 2020 10:02 AM (edlKR)

188 Good morning
Thanks to someone on the book thread i just finished "an oblique approach" by david drake and eric flint.
I found it to be a fun read, so much so Im on book 2 of the series.
so thanks to whoever that was.

Posted by: harley at August 09, 2020 10:03 AM (2EU+/)

189 Mon = not

Posted by: Myollnir at August 09, 2020 10:03 AM (/VSJg)

190 For you Spygate enthusiasts you might want to turn on Maria Bartiromo.
Posted by: JackStraw

I would LOVE to turn on Maria Bartiromo !

Posted by: JT at August 09, 2020 10:03 AM (arJlL)

191 Sure, he played a few extra holes


Posted by: Anonosaurus Wrecks


heh

Posted by: Miklos, with a Sunday kind of chuckle at August 09, 2020 10:03 AM (QzkSJ)

192 > Tarl Cabot? Holy crap that is a book series that will blow the minds of the SJWs

If I'm remembering right, Norman did some master-level trolling a few years ago when he signed up to present at Wiscon (an extreme feminist science fiction convention).

They didn't accept. Heh.


Posted by: Rodrigo Borgia at August 09, 2020 10:03 AM (unn44)

193 Twain's Hawaii section was added to the end of Roughing It, but I admit that I never finished Following the Equator, I only could find book one and stopped looking.

Posted by: Kindltot at August 09, 2020 10:03 AM (WyVLE)

194 my own private little theory, which of course is worth what I payed for it, is that it isn't the drug itself which wrecks people, but rather the power of all the secret hidden and broken little pieces of the psyche which are empowered and given free reign while they're under the drugs effect. Some people go up that mountain, and are never able to find themselves again once they come back down.
Posted by: Tom Servo at August 09, 2020 09:59 AM (V2Yro)

There are people who have spent most of their lives institutionalized due to their mind expanding experiments. As for the geniuses who used it, well how often do they say " I really did stupid dangerous shit". It's a very unpredictable thing.

Posted by: CN at August 09, 2020 10:03 AM (ONvIw)

195 For L'Amour my favorite is still "Down The Long Hills".

My Mom read it to me and my siblings during long car rides. Woman should have been a voice actress.

When she read it I was about the same age as the main character likely why it stuck with me so long.

Posted by: Big V Caffeinated at August 09, 2020 10:04 AM (IAtY2)

196 So I started watching last year's German mini-series of the same name. Talk about pissing on the Pieta.

-
I agree.

Posted by: Anonosaurus Wrecks, Tyrannosaur Wrangler at August 09, 2020 10:04 AM (+y/Ru)

197 we all have genetic kinkeyness. For myself I must have mint tea poured upon my buttocks while lavishing and avoiding commas.

Posted by: humphreyrobot at August 09, 2020 10:04 AM (pB6Gt)

198 Was there a North American release?
Posted by: Ace-Endorsed Author A.H. Lloyd at August 09, 2020 10:01 AM (cfSRQ)


YouTube is where I saw it

Posted by: Kindltot at August 09, 2020 10:04 AM (WyVLE)

199 I would recommend Bill James' The Man From The Train.

https://tinyurl.com/y3uaou87

Posted by: Mary Poppins' Practically Perfect Piercing at August 09, 2020 09:51 AM (2JVJo)

I'm casually familiar w/the story...thanks for the book tip.

Posted by: BignJames at August 09, 2020 10:00 AM (X/Pw5)


It is very well written, which is an accolade I almost never give to true crime books.

Posted by: Mary Poppins' Practically Perfect Piercing at August 09, 2020 10:04 AM (2JVJo)

200 Wait a minute. I thought it was Trump "stormtroopers" that were the reason for all of the peaceful protests "intensifying". Now they're gone and it's still violent demonstrations going on? Minitrue is going to have to work overtime to explain that one away
Posted by: TheQuietMan at August 09, 2020 09:52 AM (Nyx5N)

I know of people in the area that will INSIST that all of this is true and has referred to federal officers defending federal property from vandalism and attack as "Trump's SS".

Posted by: Catch Thirty-Thr33 at August 09, 2020 10:04 AM (ejsiI)

201 113 Vic,

I've read many in that series and AFAIK Ringo is not involved in it. Am I wrong?

Posted by: Vlad the Impaler, whittling away like mad at August 09, 2020 09:37 AM (d6mdH)

He is listed as the main author on all of the books I have but with a co-author. It seems to me that he did very little if any of the writing and the co-author did most of it or all of it.

Posted by: Vic at August 09, 2020 10:05 AM (mpXpK)

202 > Pics or it didn't happen.


That's what old issues of National Geographic are for.

Posted by: Rodrigo Borgia at August 09, 2020 10:05 AM (unn44)

203 Twain's Hawaii section was added to the end of Roughing It


Yeah, I thought that's where it was but Roughing It is such a dog's breakfast of mixed tones and styles that I couldn't be sure where it fit in.

Posted by: Bandersnatch at August 09, 2020 10:05 AM (q2K0j)

204 t wasn't Following the Equator, but Twain wrote of his travel to Hawaii (the Sandwich Islands) somewhere else.



My favorite bit was about him watching girls surf without clothes
and how maybe he had misplaced their clothes while he was watching.

Posted by: Bandersnatch at August 09, 2020 09:49 AM (q2K0j)

---
Correction: Twain observed the girls swimming naked and helpfully gathered up all their clothes and *sat on them* in order to keep them safe.

Because he's such a nice, thoughtful guy.

Posted by: Ace-Endorsed Author A.H. Lloyd at August 09, 2020 10:05 AM (cfSRQ)

205 Ignoramus thanks for the warning, Das Boot along with Full Metal Jacket are in my top 10 War movies.

Posted by: Skip at August 09, 2020 10:06 AM (OjZpE)

206 For myself I must have mint tea poured upon my buttocks while lavishing and avoiding commas.

Posted by: humphreyrobot


If it's cold tea, that's perfectly normal, but if it's hot, you're a freak.

Posted by: pep at August 09, 2020 10:06 AM (v16oJ)

207 blackwell's books?

Is it run by a disheveled, surly irishman named Bernard?
Posted by: Warai-otoko at August 09, 2020 10:02 AM (6FeV1)


That was a wonderful show. Too bad it lost its way near the end.

Posted by: Mary Poppins' Practically Perfect Piercing at August 09, 2020 10:06 AM (2JVJo)

208 141 Downloading What to Do About Doctors, Big Pharma, and Corrupt Government Ruining Your Health and Medical Care
tl;dr Good book, lousy tool to download to Kindle tablet.

==

I picked the "email it to me as .mobi" which I then forwarded to my kindle email
that works for me (shows up in documents)

Posted by: vmom 2020 grammar nazi and write supremacist at August 09, 2020 10:07 AM (J8nVw)

209 Do you also write poetry in your underwear, and love sonnets stark naked?
Posted by: Miklos, recalling a famous line of Mencken's at August 09, 2020 10:00 AM (QzkSJ)


No, but I will fight you to the death over the requirement to doublespace after a period, and the destructive nature of using nearly the right word.

Posted by: Kindltot at August 09, 2020 10:08 AM (WyVLE)

210 I love how lefties are constantly congratulating themselves on how "transgressive" their work is. But when someone transgresses their own tightly-defined rules, it's cancel time!

Posted by: Trimegistus at August 09, 2020 10:08 AM (jbmxH)

211 He is listed as the main author on all of the books I have but with a co-author. It seems to me that he did very little if any of the writing and the co-author did most of it or all of it.
Posted by: Vic at August 09, 2020 10:05 AM (mpXpK)


Hey, it's a living.

Posted by: James "Your Co-Author Name Here" Patterson at August 09, 2020 10:08 AM (2JVJo)

212 Posted by: Tom Servo at August 09, 2020 09:59 AM

Bravo Sir, I think you nailed it

Posted by: Skip at August 09, 2020 10:08 AM (OjZpE)

213 Spain has fallen to the charms of Evita!

She can do what she likes, it doesn't matter much-

She's a New World Madonna with a golden touch;

She filled a bullring - forty-five thousand seater -

But if you're prettier than General Franco, that's not hard!

Posted by: Mary Poppins' Practically Perfect Piercing at August 09, 2020 09:59 AM (2JVJo)

---
Funny how they had to change the lyric for the movie.

It was on my mind because my youngest is a huge fan of Hamilton and I said "if you like political musicals, you'll love Evita."

It was not what she was expecting, but she enjoyed the film. Madonna was too old for the part, but the rest of the cast was good.

"Peron's Latest Flame" is the best song on the album.

Posted by: Ace-Endorsed Author A.H. Lloyd at August 09, 2020 10:09 AM (cfSRQ)

214 Posted by: Tom Servo at August 09, 2020 09:59 AM (V2Yro)

If the drug allows these bits of the brain to run wild, then it's the drug.

Posted by: CN at August 09, 2020 10:10 AM (ONvIw)

215 "I'll put off reading Lolita for six more years until she turns 18."

- Groucho Marx, part-time literary genius

Posted by: BackwardsBoy - Mask Rebel at August 09, 2020 10:10 AM (HaL55)

216 A couple of days ago, "Flint", one of my favorite Louis L'Amour books was on Kindle Daily Deals. It's worth having a copy on the Paperwhite. It's a pleasant reread.

One of his best books. I always enjoy L'Amour's writing but some of it is far better than others. And yes, Down The Long Hills is another.

Posted by: Christopher R Taylor at August 09, 2020 10:11 AM (KZzsI)

217 I suppose I'd better take a shower. I'm meeting a friend today to help me work through my writer's block and plot problems. I really, really don't want to go. I wish I could just stay home instead. I'm not in the mood to drive an hour away.

I also wish I hadn't bought my ticket to the NoVa MoMe, because I don't want to go there, either.

Hope you all have a lovely day.

Posted by: Mary Poppins' Practically Perfect Piercing at August 09, 2020 10:11 AM (2JVJo)

218 I'm working on the Electronics Engineers' Handbook, Second Edition. The best part is about waveguides, because witchcraft.

Posted by: klaftern at August 09, 2020 10:11 AM (RuIsu)

219 Oh, and he also claims Spain was a backward nation because the Spanish Inquisition, not because oh, I don't know, they had a GLOBAL EMPIRE and 300 years of wars to defend it. That kind of wears a country down.

Total prick.
Posted by: Ace-Endorsed Author A.H. Lloyd at August 09, 2020 09:53 AM (cfSRQ)

I'm looking forward to reading your book, just ordered a copy! Historically, I think it's clear that the Napoleonic Wars wrecked Spain, and that it never recovered. The Peninsular campaign was Grand and Glorious for the English who waged it, but it didn't do much good for the Spaniards who were caught between 2 large armies. Spain's New World Empire crumbled quickly after that, as they no longer had the military force capable of keeping it, and their economy collapsed along with the Empire, and they became a poor European Backwater.

How anyone could say that their problems were due to religious issues hundreds of years earlier is ridiculous. All of Europe had religious wars. The Inquisition is well known today, but Spain was probably one of the more stable parts of Europe at the time of those wars because of it.

Posted by: Tom Servo at August 09, 2020 10:11 AM (V2Yro)

220 Around the time of the frenzy for legalizing weed in the US, I recall seeing some papers by doctors in Europe about health risk associated with marijuana. They got almost no play in this country. Apparently if you make a movie like Reefer Madness and mock all the critics of dangerous drugs, you never have to consider those dangers ever again.

Posted by: Trimegistus at August 09, 2020 10:11 AM (jbmxH)

221 At the time I thought that last element was utter fantasy, but in retrospect General Sir General nailed it.
Posted by: Trimegistus at August 09, 2020 09:29 AM (jbmxH)

I think I remember reading that book.

He ended the book with after the Third World War if any tin horn despot got outta hand that the United Nations would simply neutron bomb his ass and his family's asses and replace him with someone more agreeable.

Posted by: Hairyback Guy at August 09, 2020 10:12 AM (Z+IKu)

222 I'm less than halfway through Arthur Hailey's Detective and it has turned into a slog.

I'll see it through though, just to see how he nails the perp.

Early in the book, he has an affair with a stunningly Beeyootiful woman.

And, ain't that always the way ?

How come nobody ever has an affair with an Uggo ?

"She was so ugly, she could give an aspirin a headache" OR "She was so ugly, she could make an onion cry "

Posted by: JT at August 09, 2020 10:14 AM (arJlL)

223 Now that AH Lloyd has made some sense out of the Spanish Civil War maybe he can do the same for the Peloponnesian war since I'm at the end of the summer of the sixth year and they still seem to be randomly beating the fuck out of each other. The only thing that makes sense is the Persian king saying I'm glad those assholes are at each others throats instead of attacking me.

Posted by: Captain Hate at August 09, 2020 10:14 AM (y7DUB)

224 He ended the book with after the Third World War if any tin horn despot
got outta hand that the United Nations would simply neutron bomb his ass
and his family's asses and replace him with someone more agreeable.


I have the book but haven't read it. I guess I will. Here, the bomb has the role of the deus ex machina. It really doesn't matter what events preceded it, it makes all things come out the same way.

Posted by: pep at August 09, 2020 10:14 AM (v16oJ)

225 Funny how they had to change the lyric for the movie.

It was on my mind because my youngest is a huge fan of Hamilton and I said "if you like political musicals, you'll love Evita."

It was not what she was expecting, but she enjoyed the film. Madonna was too old for the part, but the rest of the cast was good.

"Peron's Latest Flame" is the best song on the album.
Posted by: Ace-Endorsed Author A.H. Lloyd at August 09, 2020 10:09 AM (cfSRQ)


The original 1976 concept album, with Julie Covington as Evita and Colm Wilkinson as Che was the best version of the score, IMO. Covington was offered the role for the London production (which eventually went to lyricist Tim Rice's lover Elaine Paige), but refused both because of the vocal demands and also because she hated Eva Peron and refused to portray her on stage every night.

And now goodbye.

Posted by: Mary Poppins' Practically Perfect Piercing at August 09, 2020 10:14 AM (2JVJo)

226 Posted by: Tom Servo at August 09, 2020 09:59 AM

Bravo Sir, I think you nailed it
Posted by: Skip

That's high praise from a carpenter.....

Posted by: JT at August 09, 2020 10:15 AM (arJlL)

227 that is a really awkward

How come nobody ever has an affair with an Uggo ?

The girl in Red Harvest, Hammet describes as being somewhat pretty but flawed, which I thought was interesting because yeah, every girl in a book is always sizzling hot

Posted by: Christopher R Taylor at August 09, 2020 10:16 AM (KZzsI)

228 deus ex ...The video game?

Posted by: humphreyrobot at August 09, 2020 10:16 AM (pB6Gt)

229
How anyone could say that their problems were
due to religious issues hundreds of years earlier is ridiculous. All of
Europe had religious wars. The Inquisition is well known today, but
Spain was probably one of the more stable parts of Europe at the time of
those wars because of it.

Posted by: Tom Servo at August 09, 2020 10:11 AM (V2Yro)

---
Beevor is one of those delightful Brits who are open anti-Catholic bigots. He throws in slurs against priests, nuns, devout old ladies that fully earn him the title of "prick."

No serious historian would do that. You want to talk about the Church's cultural influence, fine, but saying that Spanish priests were bad because they were poor, and ill-educated just reveals you to be a jerk. Why is poverty a bad thing for celibate clergy? It's an insult that doesn't even work.

Same with him saying that 30,000 priests were "otherwise unemployable." What the hell?

I know its generally poor form to rip on other historical authors, but this is a gauntlet I'm happy to take up.

Posted by: Ace-Endorsed Author A.H. Lloyd at August 09, 2020 10:17 AM (cfSRQ)

230 223
Now that AH Lloyd has made some sense out of the Spanish Civil War maybe
he can do the same for the Peloponnesian war since I'm at the end of
the summer of the sixth year and they still seem to be randomly beating
the f*** out of each other.
The only thing that makes sense is the
Persian king saying I'm glad those assholes are at each others throats
instead of attacking me.


I think that's most of human history.

Posted by: pep at August 09, 2020 10:17 AM (v16oJ)

231 CN was just thinking of this, your walking on a street on hot day and finish a glass bottle of water you throw the bottle away on street okjr trash, same person at night and. Bottle was a fifth, bottle might go through the nearest window.
Was it the alcohol that did it or did that break down that person's concept of right or wrong?

Posted by: Skip at August 09, 2020 10:17 AM (OjZpE)

232 Chris Wallace ripping Nancy for not getting a deal with Trump. Nancy won't answer whether the Ds will sue to block Trump's EOs, because they're in a box. Trump won't have to negotiate with Nancy. Art of the deal, baby!

Blue states will get bupkis. So the extreme shutdowns by D governors will bite their states in the ass, hard, with depressed tax revenues.

Posted by: Ignoramus at August 09, 2020 10:17 AM (9TdxA)

233 There are people who have spent most of their lives institutionalized due to their mind expanding experiments. As for the geniuses who used it, well how often do they say " I really did stupid dangerous shit". It's a very unpredictable thing.
Posted by: CN at August 09, 2020 10:03 AM (ONvIw)


One of the few dumb fucking things I didn't do in college was acid. I think what ultimately kept me from doing it was thinking that some dickweed chemist could really fuck things up and there'd be no way to know.

Posted by: Captain Hate at August 09, 2020 10:19 AM (y7DUB)

234
The original 1976 concept album, with Julie
Covington as Evita and Colm Wilkinson as Che was the best version of the
score, IMO. Covington was offered the role for the London production
(which eventually went to lyricist Tim Rice's lover Elaine Paige), but
refused both because of the vocal demands and also because she hated Eva
Peron and refused to portray her on stage every night.



And now goodbye.

Posted by: Mary Poppins' Practically Perfect Piercing at August 09, 2020 10:14 AM (2JVJo)

---
I used to have a cassette of the Broadway cast with Mandy Patinkin as Che, and it was veeeerrrry disco.

I like the newer mix.

Posted by: Ace-Endorsed Author A.H. Lloyd at August 09, 2020 10:19 AM (cfSRQ)

235 85 ... "Does anyone have a suggestion for an MP3 player for someone mostly blind?"

Kindltot,
Check out the National Library Service for the blind. It's part of the Library of Congress. I believe they furnish the player and the books, all for free.

Posted by: JTB at August 09, 2020 10:19 AM (7EjX1)

236 I thought the video game Deus Ex was one of the most clever and well-written ones made. It was the first with a really interesting, thought-provoking story mixed in with great action. The sequels really missed the boat and the game play.

Posted by: Christopher R Taylor at August 09, 2020 10:19 AM (KZzsI)

237 > How come nobody ever has an affair with an Uggo ?


Horatio Hornblower's wife is described as...less than attractive.

If I remember right, she was his landlady's daughter, and an incident occurred when he had been at sea for a long, long time. Alcohol might have also been involved.

Then his honor compelled him to marry her under the "you break it, you bought it" rule of the time.

Posted by: Rodrigo Borgia at August 09, 2020 10:20 AM (unn44)

238 Well that was interesting.

Posted by: JackStraw at August 09, 2020 10:20 AM (ZLI7S)

239 220 Around the time of the frenzy for legalizing weed in the US, I recall seeing some papers by doctors in Europe about health risk associated with marijuana. They got almost no play in this country. Apparently if you make a movie like Reefer Madness and mock all the critics of dangerous drugs, you never have to consider those dangers ever again.
Posted by: Trimegistus at August 09, 2020 10:11 AM (jbmxH)

My guess is many of the younger (<45) peeps with the bad cases of Whuflu are smokers, vapers, mj users.

Posted by: rhennigantx at August 09, 2020 10:21 AM (JFO2v)

240 You want to talk about the Church's cultural influence, fine, but saying that Spanish priests were bad because they were poor, and ill-educated just reveals you to be a jerk. Why is poverty a bad thing for celibate clergy? It's an insult that doesn't even work.

And that vow of poverty thing...

Posted by: Captain Hate at August 09, 2020 10:22 AM (y7DUB)

241 I thought the video game Deus Ex was one of the most clever and well-written ones made. It was the first with a really interesting, thought-provoking story mixed in with great action. The sequels really missed the boat and the game play.
Posted by: Christopher R Taylor

that's right baby....First generation gamers.

Posted by: humphreyrobot at August 09, 2020 10:22 AM (pB6Gt)

242 One of the few dumb fucking things I didn't do in college was acid. I think what ultimately kept me from doing it was thinking that some dickweed chemist could really fuck things up and there'd be no way to know.
Posted by: Captain Hate at August 09, 2020 10:19 AM (y7DUB)

I would like to try DMT but the stuff they use to make it (roots and leaves) naturally kills your GI tract for days.

Posted by: rhennigantx at August 09, 2020 10:22 AM (JFO2v)

243 Now that AH Lloyd has made some sense out of the
Spanish Civil War maybe he can do the same for the Peloponnesian war
since I'm at the end of the summer of the sixth year and they still seem
to be randomly beating the fuck out of each other. The only thing that
makes sense is the Persian king saying I'm glad those assholes are at
each others throats instead of attacking me.

Posted by: Captain Hate at August 09, 2020 10:14 AM (y7DUB)

---
Sure.

"Those guys, over there? Ionians. Also, rich jerks.

We're Dorians. Descended from Heracles. Born to kill. Those guys need a good thrashing.

Let's do this thing."

Posted by: Ace-Endorsed Author A.H. Lloyd at August 09, 2020 10:23 AM (cfSRQ)

244 Horatio Hornblower's wife is described as...less than attractive.

If I remember right, she was his landlady's daughter, and an incident occurred when he had been at sea for a long, long time. Alcohol might have also been involved.


Basically Maria fell hopelessly in love with him, and while he never admits it to himself, he loves her too. He's not exactly swarmed with prospects and yeah he slept with her so he felt compelled by honor to marry her. And she's at best plain and described as "coarse" but she's a real sweetheart and a brave girl.

After she dies (spoiler alert) his next wife is similar to General Wellsley (Wellington) who was no great looker either.

Posted by: Christopher R Taylor at August 09, 2020 10:23 AM (KZzsI)

245 My freshman-year roommate smoked pot most evenings, and dropped acid every other week.

He's now the chair of the physics department at a major university.

Posted by: Ignoramus at August 09, 2020 10:23 AM (9TdxA)

246 With the Trump EO if you make $100,000 a year you just got a $7,650 tax cut. If you make $100,001 a year you get nothing.

Im old enough to remember when Republican presidents didnt do class warfare. Good times.

And an added bonus for anyone who has rentals, your tenants no longer have to pay rent. Good luck with that.

Posted by: Asshoes at August 09, 2020 10:23 AM (wkJ52)

247 220 Around the time of the frenzy for legalizing weed in the US, I recall seeing some papers by doctors in Europe about health risk associated with marijuana. They got almost no play in this country. Apparently if you make a movie like Reefer Madness and mock all the critics of dangerous drugs, you never have to consider those dangers ever again.
Posted by: Trimegistus at August 09, 2020 10:11 AM (jbmxH)

You should try sending those studies to Michael Berry. He is obsessed with the idea of legalizing pot because, I guess to him, it will solve everything. And if you disagree with him on this issue, the only logical conclusion is that you're an idiot. (To him, anyway.)

Try calling into his show when he is talking about how legalizing pot would be the most wonderful thing to happen to the country with any opposing viewpoint or information and he responds, more or less: "You're stupid. You're stupid. You're stupid. You're stupid. You're stupid. You're stupid. You're stupid. You're stupid. You're stupid. You're stupid. You're stupid." (How he ever got a law degree with such debate tactics is beyond my ability to comprehend.)

I find such attitudes common among the pro-loser crowd.

Posted by: Catch Thirty-Thr33 at August 09, 2020 10:24 AM (ejsiI)

248 The internet sites are full of info about the dangers of hallucinogens, but there are also plenty of people willing to minimize this. While some geniuses may have used it, most people did not become "enlightened" by choosing to hallucinate.
Posted by: CN at August 09, 2020 09:43 AM (ONvIw)


I 'dropped' a few times many years ago, back when I was young and stupid. I greatly regret doing so.

Also weed. I wished I had never touched the stuff.

Posted by: OregonMuse, AoSHQ Thought Leader, Pants Monitor & Social Distancing Professional at August 09, 2020 10:24 AM (mWQzz)

249 A.H., you magnificent son of a bitch, I bought your book!

Now I just have to get around to reading it.

Posted by: PabloD says start up the rotors at August 09, 2020 10:24 AM (kcmgW)

250 Got Lloyd's book on Kindle App, but it's in the cue to read.

Posted by: Skip at August 09, 2020 10:26 AM (OjZpE)

251 My guess is many of the younger (<45) peeps with the bad cases of Whuflu are smokers, vapers, mj users.

Posted by: rhennigantx at August 09, 2020 10:21 AM (JFO2v)


Surprise! One of the things that makes WuFlu worse, as in pneumonia worse, is a history of pot smoking.

And that bit of information never gets talked about or reported on ever.

Posted by: Kindltot at August 09, 2020 10:26 AM (WyVLE)

252 I was particularly nauseated near the end to read about the accolades showered upon Mao's rule by Nixon and Kissinger, but perhaps it was just diplomacy. I'd rather believe that than believe our government was blind to Mao's ruthless dictatorship. Anyway, very good book and thanks to the Moron who recommended it.

Posted by: Lady in Black at August 02, 2020 11:00 AM (O+I8R)


Late to the thread, and maybe there's already been a healthy discussion of this already, but if there hasn't been one published yet, there needs to be a book written about how Kissinger is one of the great evils of our time.

The man single-handedly changed the way America does foreign policy, removing any sense of moral purpose to what we do, and is instrumental in the twin monumental failures of these past 50 years.

Namely, the complete fusterclucking of our policy in the middle east, creating enemies where we had none, and basically ruining any chance we MIGHT have of being a peace broker... if such a thing was ever even possible.

And second of course, is the complete and utter failure of our attempts to cozy up to Chi Nah. We're not going to rehash all that. It might be the thing that destroys us, ultimately.

I don't know if Kissinger was straight up evil, or just a complete and total idiot.

Posted by: BurtTC at August 09, 2020 10:26 AM (hku12)

253 One of my favorite lines from Evita, while she's touring Italy:

Evita: "They called me a whore! They actually called me a whore!"

Italian Dignitary: "It's an easy mistake; they still call me an Admiral and I haven't been to the sea in years."

Posted by: Tom Servo at August 09, 2020 10:26 AM (V2Yro)

254 And that vow of poverty thing...

Posted by: Captain Hate at August 09, 2020 10:22 AM (y7DUB)

---
It's weird to argue that the Church stole all the wealth and then deride the priests for being poor, no?

I've got a passage early on that outlines the many and varied ways the Republic tried to stomp the Catholic Church to death.

This included attacking church buildings, cemetaries and outlawing religious schools.

Why yes, the early stages of this were very much like what's happening here today. Glad you noticed!

Posted by: Ace-Endorsed Author A.H. Lloyd at August 09, 2020 10:26 AM (cfSRQ)

255 My guess is many of the younger (
Posted by: rhennigantx
=======
Actually in Europe they were giving Wuflu patients nicotine patches to help with the flu.
Apparently nicotine has some benefit of blocking it.

Posted by: Harley at August 09, 2020 10:26 AM (M/Wbj)

256 I've read many in that series and AFAIK Ringo is not involved in it.

Posted by: Vlad the Impaler, whittling away like mad at August 09, 2020 09:37 AM (d6mdH)

One of the brats read a few of those...Flint writes with a bunch of different people, but Ringo doesn't seem to be one of them

Posted by: CharlieBrown'sDildo at August 09, 2020 10:27 AM (xT2tT)

257 I recall seeing some papers by doctors in Europe about health risk associated with marijuana. They got almost no play in this country.

Yeah its not safe to ingest for recreational purposes, especially to smoke. Its not deadly but there are dangers and problems with it (particularly for those with mental instability) but even whispering that gets yellback of hateful condemnation and denial by the potheads who insist its healthy and wonderful and never wrong.

I mean, drinking alcohol has dangers, that doesn't make it evil or something nobody should ever do, but its stupid to utterly reject the possibility that it might be dangerous.

The worst danger I saw was that rolling your own joints and smoking the had like ten times the cancer danger of tobacco. I don't know how proper or extensive the test was but its something to consider. Its just not safe to deliberately suck burning material and smoke into your lungs, no matter what it is.

Posted by: Christopher R Taylor at August 09, 2020 10:27 AM (KZzsI)

258 Italian Dignitary: "It's an easy mistake; they still call me an Admiral and I haven't been to the sea in years."

Posted by: Tom Servo at August 09, 2020 10:26 AM (V2Yro)

---
"Signora Peron, it's an easy mistake. I'm still called an admiral, yet I gave up the sea long ago!"

Posted by: Ace-Endorsed Author A.H. Lloyd at August 09, 2020 10:27 AM (cfSRQ)

259 246 With the Trump EO if you make $100,000 a year you just got a $7,650 tax cut. If you make $100,001 a year you get nothing.

Im old enough to remember when Republican presidents didnt do class warfare. Good times.

And an added bonus for anyone who has rentals, your tenants no longer have to pay rent. Good luck with that.

Posted by: Asshoes at August 09, 2020 10:23 AM (wkJ52)

This is the United States. It is built on envy, hatred, and resentment. Americans love to lie to themselves about how much they love success and achievement. In fact, the opposite is true: Americans HATE success and achievement.

This development should not shock you.

Posted by: Catch Thirty-Thr33 at August 09, 2020 10:27 AM (ejsiI)

260 I won't say more because nobody will read this anyway.

Posted by: Northernlurker, still lurking after all these years at August 09, 2020 09:58 AM (lgiXo)

I roomed with some paras and quads, and a couple of them told me the same thing. They said it is weird, but nice.

Posted by: CharlieBrown'sDildo at August 09, 2020 10:29 AM (xT2tT)

261 > And second of course, is the complete and utter failure of our attempts to cozy up to Chi Nah.

Playing them off against the Sovs was analogous to allying with Stalin against Hitler.

Sometime you have to do shit in wartime that you wouldn't do otherwise.

I mean, it worked, in that the Soviet Union no longer exists.

Now we have to deal with China, but it bought us 40 years.


Posted by: Rodrigo Borgia at August 09, 2020 10:29 AM (unn44)

262 Well that was interesting.


I didn't see it all but the gist from what I did see is that everyone has agreed that it's Comey's time under the bus.

Does that comport with the rest of your thinking?

Posted by: Bandersnatch at August 09, 2020 10:30 AM (q2K0j)

263 231 CN was just thinking of this, your walking on a street on hot day and finish a glass bottle of water you throw the bottle away on street okjr trash, same person at night and. Bottle was a fifth, bottle might go through the nearest window.
Was it the alcohol that did it or did that break down that person's concept of right or wrong?
Posted by: Skip at August 09, 2020 10:17 AM (OjZpE)

Does alcohol lower your inhibitions, yes? Maybe fuck with your aim, definitely?

On a similar note, one disease that alters your perceptions is dementia. A lady at my synogogue was a paragon of virtue, kind, generous, and a model for teachers (even hated the unions). When dementia kicked in, I had the pleasure of seeing her in the hospital after she was transferred from her assisted living due to violence against staff and patients. She was profane, aggressive, and dangerous despite her age. The disease broke down her sense of right and wrong and changed her mind forever.

I have seen patients come in drunk and violent, and wake up perfect gentlemen. I have seen unmedicated bipolars and schizophrenics do the same.

The brain is very complex as it is and subject to traumatic changes. I'm not sure why people are bound and determined to "unleash" the negative possibilities and suffer the consequences.

Posted by: CN at August 09, 2020 10:30 AM (ONvIw)

264 259

I know. But the GOP used to not be in that camp. I guess those days are over.

Posted by: Asshoes at August 09, 2020 10:30 AM (wkJ52)

265 Surprise! One of the things that makes WuFlu worse, as in pneumonia worse, is a history of pot smoking.

And that bit of information never gets talked about or reported on ever.
Posted by: Kindltot at August 09, 2020 10:26 AM (WyVLE)


There are a lot of potheads in positions of influence who don't want one fucking bad thing to be said about it. Peter B Lewis was one of them.

Posted by: Captain Hate at August 09, 2020 10:30 AM (y7DUB)

266 I think Nixon, a fervent anti-communist, recognized that to make China accountable, required bringing it into the world as a partner. Today, it might still temper its actions to remain an economic partner. Before, it was seen as rogue because it had nothing to lose.
It now uses its economic strength, albeit less than the US even tho it is 4 times as large in population, but is still constrained.
Sure China CCP is deceitful and aggressive, and we must remain vigilant, but it now has something to lose.

Posted by: Lurking Guy at August 09, 2020 10:31 AM (Rs1MW)

267 All arguments are all or nothing. Moderation is a quaint notion.

Posted by: klaftern at August 09, 2020 10:31 AM (RuIsu)

268 Finally pushed my way through 'The Case of Charles Dexter Ward' in my HP Lovecraft collection. The ending of the story was really cool. Unfortunately the first 3/4 of the story were mind-numbingly dull. A dry, almost clinical recalling of events long-past. I could barely make it through a couple pages per sitting. But the ending almost made up for it.

After that I moved on to 'The Color of Outer Space.' It was easier to read, but less interesting. At least CCDW had an antagonist who you could hope would get some comeuppance. COS was just a litany of bad things happening to unfortunate people...

Posted by: Castle Guy at August 09, 2020 10:31 AM (Lhaco)

269 And second of course, is the complete and utter failure of our attempts to cozy up to Chi Nah.

If we had not done the "most favored nation" thing it would not be so much a problem. Why on earth anyone thought this was a sane or productive act I cannot even conceive.

Posted by: Christopher R Taylor at August 09, 2020 10:31 AM (KZzsI)

270 The worst danger I saw was that rolling your own
joints and smoking the had like ten times the cancer danger of tobacco.
I don't know how proper or extensive the test was but its something to
consider. Its just not safe to deliberately suck burning material and
smoke into your lungs, no matter what it is.

Posted by: Christopher R Taylor at August 09, 2020 10:27 AM (KZzsI)

---
I know a number of people who have found it very helpful.

The key is that they don't smoke it but instead use regular, measured doses, treating it like medicine.

Posted by: Ace-Endorsed Author A.H. Lloyd at August 09, 2020 10:32 AM (cfSRQ)

271 I heard that marijuana plants tend to pick up heavy metals from the soil and when smoked you get a good dose of that in your system.
Not sure if true or not

Posted by: Harley at August 09, 2020 10:32 AM (M/Wbj)

272 Ah Lloyd
Not only congratulations on the new book but I ordered my dead tree copy a few minutes ago.
I'm pumped to read it.

The idea of a second earth, opposite this one hidden by the sun has been around a while.
There was a movie about it years ago.
Don't recall the title but it was discovered when early satellites spotted it.
An expedition was launched and IIRC it was our evil twin.

Posted by: Winston, dreg of society at August 09, 2020 10:32 AM (d9Irc)

273 Mnuchin is making it clear that the fight is over Nancy wanting $1 trillion for a bailout of the states. Trump and Mnuchin won't go over $150B.

I used to think that Mnuchin was a nerd. He's actually the Ballz. He's financed major movies as a side project, and has a hawt Scottish actress wife.

Posted by: Ignoramus at August 09, 2020 10:33 AM (9TdxA)

274 After that I moved on to 'The Color of Outer Space.'
It was easier to read, but less interesting. At least CCDW had an
antagonist who you could hope would get some comeuppance. COS was just a
litany of bad things happening to unfortunate people...

Posted by: Castle Guy at August 09, 2020 10:31 AM (Lhaco)

---
The Dunwich Horror is great and highly filmmable. I'm surprised no one has done it, and with current CGI you could make the 'invisible thing' really cool.


Posted by: Ace-Endorsed Author A.H. Lloyd at August 09, 2020 10:34 AM (cfSRQ)

275 Now that AH Lloyd has made some sense out of the Spanish Civil War maybe he can do the same for the Peloponnesian war since I'm at the end of
the summer of the sixth year and they still seem to be randomly beating the f*** out of each other.

-----------


This is what happens to men when their wimmenz organize to withhold all sex. Blame that conniving Lysistrata.

Posted by: Cicero (@cicero) at August 09, 2020 10:34 AM (wPVhA)

276 Obama did a payroll tax cut too, in 2010. Unlike Trump, his payroll cut had no income limit. Everyone got it.

This is fucking infuriating.

Posted by: Asshoes at August 09, 2020 10:34 AM (wkJ52)

277 "I know. But the GOP used to not be in that camp. I guess those days are over."


What are you pissed about? Trump's EO didn't raise taxes on those making 100,000 a year.

Posted by: lowandslow at August 09, 2020 10:34 AM (4thlk)

278 The idea of a second earth, opposite this one hidden by the sun has been around a while.

There was a movie about it years ago.

Don't recall the title but it was discovered when early satellites spotted it.

An expedition was launched and IIRC it was our evil twin.

Posted by: Winston, dreg of society at August 09, 2020 10:32 AM (d9Irc)

--
Did Spock have a beard there?

Hope you like the book.

Posted by: Ace-Endorsed Author A.H. Lloyd at August 09, 2020 10:35 AM (cfSRQ)

279 I would recommend Bill James' The Man From The Train.

https://tinyurl.com/y3uaou87

Posted by: Mary Poppins' Practically Perfect Piercing at August 09, 2020 09:51 AM (2JVJo)

I'm casually familiar w/the story...thanks for the book tip.

Posted by: BignJames at August 09, 2020 10:00 AM (X/Pw5)

It is very well written, which is an accolade I almost never give to true crime books.
Posted by: Mary Poppins' Practically Perfect Piercing at August 09, 2020 10:04 AM (2JVJo)


I've mentioned this book here before. James is the guy who basically created the stat nerds in baseball. He's not one himself, but his followers are. That's not his fault.

What he is though, is a great writer. Whatever the subject, he's able to write with clarity and humor... I would say one of the most generous writers I've ever read, giving the reader what we need to understand what he's saying.

The story of the Man From the Train is compelling, no matter what, but here is James using analytical skills he's honed over the years writing about baseball, to a subject that one wouldn't think would be compatible with his style. But there it is. You're riveted to the end, and his conclusions (and that of his daughter, who did a lot of the work on the book), are compelling, whether he is correct or not.

Posted by: BurtTC at August 09, 2020 10:35 AM (hku12)

280 >>I didn't see it all but the gist from what I did see is that everyone has agreed that it's Comey's time under the bus.

>>Does that comport with the rest of your thinking?

I think that was the plan even while the coup attempt was going on. Everyone trying to make Comey and the FBI the fall guys for everything.

What was really interesting was that Lindsey Graham just declassified the briefing the FBI gave the Senate Intel Committee back in 2018. The FBI told the SIC that they had no reason to believe the Steele dossier was fake when in fact the FBI had know from early 2017 that the dossier was made up of "bar talk" and jokes.

Posted by: JackStraw at August 09, 2020 10:35 AM (ZLI7S)

281 -
Are things any less crazy over there? Because I could relocate.
Posted by: Anonosaurus Wrecks, Tyrannosaur Wrangler at August 09, 2020 09:10 AM (+y/Ru)

It's a world of manly men doing manly deeds.

Posted by: Fox2! at August 09, 2020 10:36 AM (qyH+l)

282 Did Spock have a beard there?

--------

Yes. But strangely, Obama did not.

Posted by: Cicero (@cicero) at August 09, 2020 10:36 AM (wPVhA)

283 I 'dropped' a few times many years ago, back when I was young and stupid. I greatly regret doing so.

Also weed. I wished I had never touched the stuff.
Posted by: OregonMuse, AoSHQ Thought Leader, Pants Monitor & Social Distancing Professional at August 09, 2020 10:24 AM (mWQzz)

Maybe they can get you to make PSAs.

I honestly never tried it. The brother and sister act, especially hearing the sister who was my contemporary describe the event with the brother, stopped any possibility. The dad wept uncontrollably on the anniversary of that night (yahrtzeit) and on the boy's birthday. Against police advice, he went to the scene.

Posted by: CN at August 09, 2020 10:36 AM (ONvIw)

284 Last read Prager's Rational Bible Genesis, Lot's daughters get his tanked to have relations with him, our first account alcohol is dangerous.

Posted by: Skip at August 09, 2020 10:37 AM (OjZpE)

285 I used to think that Mnuchin was a nerd. He's actually the Ballz. He's financed major movies as a side project, and has a hawt Scottish actress wife.
Posted by: Ignoramus

=======
Yes for a goofy looking guy he sure has a hot wife
Also I like watching movies and seeing the secretary of the treasury's name in the credits

Posted by: Harley at August 09, 2020 10:37 AM (M/Wbj)

286 https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10551-019-04181-0. I am surprised this study doesn't get more recognition. It's how political corruption detracts from company value.

Posted by: jeff at August 09, 2020 10:37 AM (eeyFM)

287 Lloyd: the pic you're thinking of is "Doppleganger" and it was made by the immortal Gerry and Sylvia Anderson.

Posted by: Trimegistus at August 09, 2020 10:37 AM (jbmxH)

288 Apparently nicotine has some benefit of blocking it.
Posted by: Harley at August 09, 2020 10:26 AM (M/Wbj)


Nicotine is a vasodiolator and it acts on capillaries and on aveoli, which helps with the pneumonia side of thigs.

WuFlu seems to trigger for coagulation factors in the blood that act as a sort of block on the virus (it is complex and I don't understand it so I won't try to shovel my ignorance on you, just that the coagulation factors seem to grab the viral "spikes" and immobilize the virus) and the result is tiny blood clots. The researchers think this is the cause for COVID toes, which is where blood is blocked from extremities like toes in severe cases, and the typical bilateral pneumonia. Micro-embolisms in the tight capillaries in the extremities and in the lungs would block blood flow and is proposed as the cause the pneumonia.

They are also dosing patients with Cialis which is also a vasodialator, as well as trying some anti-coagulant factors

Posted by: Kindltot at August 09, 2020 10:38 AM (WyVLE)

289 I have to take a break now for mass, hope to be back later.

Thank you for all the support and purchases.

If I can make a further request:

PLEASE RATE THE BOOK.

Naturally I'd like five stars, but these really help not just with sales but with exposure.

I've written a brutal takedown on leftist myths so PLEASE do reviews. I'm up against NYT "bestsellers," so every bit helps.

Spanish Civil War is such a narrow topic that this is one area where the facts can actually get through to people, so lots of positive reviews will push the liberal garbage aside and help get the word out.

So please please please don't forget to click the "recommend" because that will drive other curious readers into finding the truth about Spain.

Posted by: Ace-Endorsed Author A.H. Lloyd at August 09, 2020 10:39 AM (cfSRQ)

290 "I think that was the plan even while the coup attempt was going on. Everyone trying to make Comey and the FBI the fall guys for everything."

I still remember the early days, when the original reason for "Impeachment!!!!" and congressional investigations was because Trump fired Comey because the Russians told him to.

Every now and then some Never Trumper will still spout off about how "wrong" it was for Trump to fire Comey. Even after it's become clear he was the most corrupt FBI director in the nation's histrory.

btw - "Signora Peron..." lol, I was pleased I got so close off the top of my head!"

Posted by: Tom Servo at August 09, 2020 10:40 AM (V2Yro)

291 277

Relatively speaking it did. Making just $1 over $100k negates a $7650 tax cut that someone making $100k got. That is Democrat type bullshit. I guess $100k a year is rich now. Someone making $101k and Bill Gates are the same.

Posted by: Asshoes at August 09, 2020 10:40 AM (wkJ52)

292 288 holy crap! That ain't ignorance in my book

Posted by: Harley at August 09, 2020 10:41 AM (M/Wbj)

293 284 Last read Prager's Rational Bible Genesis, Lot's daughters get his tanked to have relations with him, our first account alcohol is dangerous.
Posted by: Skip at August 09, 2020 10:37 AM (OjZpE)

But were they hot?

Posted by: Insomniac - Ex Cineribus Resurgo at August 09, 2020 10:41 AM (NWiLs)

294 This is the "Norrington Room" of Blackwell's, which contains 160,000 books on > 3 miles of shelf space
______

And I feel as if I've boxed them all in the past two weeks. With still more to do. (Taking a short break.)

What bugs me is that there are a few I haven't seen yet. I KNOW I've got them.

Moving on the 24th.

Posted by: Eeyore at August 09, 2020 10:42 AM (LMs+g)

295 The payroll tax cut by EO is actually a deferral. Trump will make permanent forgiveness a campaign issue. It's shameless vote buying, but fuck it.

Posted by: Ignoramus at August 09, 2020 10:43 AM (9TdxA)

296 I know a number of people who have found it very helpful.

The key is that they don't smoke it but instead use regular, measured doses, treating it like medicine.
Posted by: Ace-Endorsed Author A.H. Lloyd at August 09, 2020 10:32 AM (cfSRQ)

A lot of plants containing very helpful chemicals, are not so helpful in their completeness. And dosage is key. You wouldn't ingest your Yew tree, but taxol, can be great chemo. So can arsenic. You just don't do this stuff at home.

Posted by: CN at August 09, 2020 10:43 AM (ONvIw)

297 I know a number of people who have found it very helpful.

It annoys me a great deal that people find something like pot or tobacco and instead of trying to find some useful medicinal or edible use for them, instead we use them to get ripped and have fun.

I mean, fun is fine but couldn't something more constructive and productive be found? Its only pretty recently that anyone has tried to use pot in a medical manner.

Posted by: Christopher R Taylor at August 09, 2020 10:43 AM (KZzsI)

298 The internet sites are full of info about the dangers of hallucinogens, but there are also plenty of people willing to minimize this. While some geniuses may have used it, most people did not become "enlightened" by choosing to hallucinate.

Posted by: CN at August 09, 2020 09:43 AM (ONvIw)


There are researchers who would love to be able to study the effects of drugs like MDMA on people with trauma, and what little there is suggests it can be quite helpful.

I'm rather agnostic on the subject.

The problem is, there's a strong anti-drug attitude about some substances, that aren't any more substantiated than the pro-drug zealots.

I certainly would NOT want research to be prohibited though, just because people who took things they bought on the street had nasty effects. Seems to me there would be ways to determine how to more safely test for benefits. That's what the FDA is for, I thought.

Posted by: BurtTC at August 09, 2020 10:43 AM (hku12)

299 Just ordered your book, AH Lloyd. It damn sight better be good, at least better than volume 2 of Dead Souls which Gogol had the right idea by burning the manuscripts when some unfortunately escaped the flames.

Posted by: Captain Hate at August 09, 2020 10:43 AM (y7DUB)

300 82 Anybody remember the nonfiction novel from the early Eighties, _The Third World War_, by General Sir John Hackett and a bunch of other NATO commanders? It's kind of a precursor to Red Storm Rising, but (as one might expect of a book written by General Sir Commanding General) the focus is very high-level and strategic -- although there are vignettes of troops in the field and civilians bearing up.

The premise is the basic Russkies surge west, trying to grab as much of Europe as they can before the NATO allies can push back. Culminates with two limited nuclear strikes, at which point the people of Russia kick out the Commies who got them into this mess.

At the time I thought that last element was utter fantasy, but in retrospect General Sir General nailed it.
Posted by: Trimegistus at August 09, 2020 09:29 AM (jbmxH)

I do remember this book. The war took place from August 4-20, 1985. (Perhaps the most horrifying aspect of the book? Peanut Jimmuh is a two-termer.)

It was a strange book, I thought. The Soviets basically march down the whole length of the Iron Curtain into Europe as you stated, but even then, at some point, their logistics take a beating (shock), they withdraw, and then, at the last moment, to show they mean business, they take out Birmingham. To which the US and UK nuke Minsk and as you said, not only is that a critical rail head for Soviet re-supply, it set off a chain reaction which essentially destroyed the USSR.

I blundered into a copy 20 years later, in August 2005, in a used bookstore in AK, and bought it for peanuts and read it that month. I still got it.

(Harold Coyle's Team Yankee was a ripoff of this, and was basically The Third World War in textbook form. No compelling characters to speak of. That made it hard to read.)

And, if I'm not mistaken, Sir John Hackett had the book published in 1977, but as when you put a date on something, it lends at least the veneer of prophecy, I am sure sales picked up as August 1985 drew closer. (And I was in Germany at the time, I was not involved in NEO operations that month...) Indeed, the Stars and Stripes that month, one Sunday, published a piece on the book above the fold in the newspaper, discussing it.

Posted by: Catch Thirty-Thr33 at August 09, 2020 10:43 AM (ejsiI)

301 284 Last read Prager's Rational Bible Genesis, Lot's daughters get his tanked to have relations with him, our first account alcohol is dangerous.
Posted by: Skip at August 09, 2020 10:37 AM (OjZpE)

Second account, I think: Noah, getting off the ark, gets drunk and gets nekkid and his sons don't like it one bit.

Posted by: Tom Servo at August 09, 2020 10:43 AM (V2Yro)

302 Hiya Book Thread!
Ah, Dunn Lumber. Local chain I have spent FAR too much money at. House restoration is expensive. They are a good bunch.
I see some good recommendations this week! It is appropriate this Smart Military Blog has some Smart Military Authors. Now we need someone to do the urban combat and hobo safari guides.
On the history side of things, does anyone have recommendations for early Chinese history? As in before the Wall got built sort of thing. I saw a documentary on the ancient preserved corpses they keep finding and it was fascinating.

Posted by: Sabrina Chase at August 09, 2020 10:44 AM (exg7Q)

303 You just don't do this stuff at home.


You know Commenter is right here, right?

Posted by: Bandersnatch at August 09, 2020 10:44 AM (q2K0j)

304 The payroll tax cut by EO is actually a deferral. Trump will make permanent forgiveness a campaign issue.

This is straying a long ways from books but the latest spin from the left is TRUMP IS GETTING RID OF MEDICAID AND SOCIAL SECURITY!!!!!! Because, you see, they are paid for by the payroll tax. So cutting that means cutting the other!

I mean... I guess I understand they had to come up with something to counter that press conference but its pretty pathetic stuff.

Posted by: Christopher R Taylor at August 09, 2020 10:45 AM (KZzsI)

305 Try Larry Bond's Red Phoenix about the second Korean War set in the late 80's

I enjoy the Characters and the book was written before the Gulf War, so no stealth Fighters or Bombers

Posted by: Patrick from Ohio at August 09, 2020 10:45 AM (dKiJG)

306 "Relatively speaking it did."


Bullshit, you really think those making 100 grand whining that they didn't get a payroll tax break is a winning argument? Were you bitching last week that the SS and Medicare tax was to high for those making that kind of money?

Posted by: lowandslow at August 09, 2020 10:45 AM (4thlk)

307
I think Nixon, a fervent anti-communist, recognized that to make China accountable, required bringing it into the world as a partner.

Posted by: Lurking Guy at August 09, 2020 10:31 AM


there an old saying on Vulcan: "Only Nixon can go to China"

Posted by: Spock at August 09, 2020 10:45 AM (beNfa)

308 >>I still remember the early days, when the original reason for "Impeachment!!!!" and congressional investigations was because Trump fired Comey because the Russians told him to.

>>Every now and then some Never Trumper will still spout off about how "wrong" it was for Trump to fire Comey. Even after it's become clear he was the most corrupt FBI director in the nation's histrory.


Yea, but the Senate Intel briefing by the FBI took place in 2018, long after Comey was gone.

Posted by: JackStraw at August 09, 2020 10:45 AM (ZLI7S)

309 BTW, while throwing out a bunch of NRs, I came across two from 1969. Keeping those, and hope I find a few more. It was immeasurably better then. I thought from the minute O'Sullivan handed over the reins that Lowry was destroying it. (Technically O'Sullivan was not in charge. But he was. His handling of the Chinese corruption cover, and the Left/Media "racism" outcry, was superb.)

Posted by: Eeyore at August 09, 2020 10:46 AM (LMs+g)

310 269 And second of course, is the complete and utter failure of our attempts to cozy up to Chi Nah.

If we had not done the "most favored nation" thing it would not be so much a problem. Why on earth anyone thought this was a sane or productive act I cannot even conceive.
Posted by: Christopher R Taylor at August 09, 2020 10:31 AM (KZzsI

No One Anticipated Xi.

(And why can't MFN be withdrawn?)

Posted by: Catch Thirty-Thr33 at August 09, 2020 10:46 AM (ejsiI)

311 AH Lloyd, I just purchased a paperback copy of your book. I look forward to reading it.
Now back to peruse the comments.

Posted by: Old Blue at August 09, 2020 10:47 AM (VNmG1)

312 Insomniac -CBD had that painting up a few weeks ago ( must have been on 3rd July as I had off on a weekday)

Posted by: Skip at August 09, 2020 10:47 AM (OjZpE)

313 305 Try Larry Bond's Red Phoenix about the second Korean War set in the late 80's

I enjoy the Characters and the book was written before the Gulf War, so no stealth Fighters or Bombers
Posted by: Patrick from Ohio at August 09, 2020 10:45 AM (dKiJG)

Excellent book. And as much as I enjoyed Red Phoenix, I LOVED Vortex.

Posted by: Catch Thirty-Thr33 at August 09, 2020 10:48 AM (ejsiI)

314 Grandpa!

Posted by: runner at August 09, 2020 10:48 AM (IEZgB)

315 No, seriously, lots of resemblance. Exspecially in profile.

Posted by: runner at August 09, 2020 10:49 AM (IEZgB)

316 295

Nobody seriously thinks any of the deferrals will be paid back. This goes for car loan deferrals, rent, mortgages, payroll taxes, etc. they are freebies paid for by sucker tax payers and people who play by the rules. We are about 2.5 into 3rd world territory these days.

Posted by: Asshoes at August 09, 2020 10:49 AM (wkJ52)

317 304

Medicare not Medicaid.

Posted by: Asshoes at August 09, 2020 10:50 AM (wkJ52)

318 A.H. Lloyd, I added your book to the cart. I'll complete the purchase soon.

Amazon automatically recommended me Beevor's "The Battle For Spain". I take it that you do not recommend it? (ducks)

Posted by: Catch Thirty-Thr33 at August 09, 2020 10:51 AM (ejsiI)

319 I certainly would NOT want research to be prohibited though, just because people who took things they bought on the street had nasty effects. Seems to me there would be ways to determine how to more safely test for benefits. That's what the FDA is for, I thought.
Posted by: BurtTC at August 09, 2020 10:43 AM (hku12)

I wouldn't want research prohibited either. As I mentioned a moment ago. Arsenic is deadly, but measured and monitored it's a life saver. The Brits are researching LSD compounds and their effects on seratonin, so it's not prohibited.

Posted by: CN at August 09, 2020 10:51 AM (ONvIw)

320 I find it both humorous and encouraging that Pelosi and Schumer both miscalculated so badly on this Stimulus 2 - Congressional Boogaloo. Anyone who paid even the slightest amount of attention knew that Trump was going to sign an EO if Congress did nothing; he kept saying so over and over. Also, it didn't take a rocket scientist to figure out that it would be a huge boost to Trump to let him play the hero who sends money to working class Americans across the country. Likewise, it's pretty obvious that now McConnell has even less reason to compromise, because now Congressional action is an afterthought.

Any rational person in Pelosi and Schumer's shoes would have taken this account and realized "hmm, we don't have a lot of leverage, we better take what we can get and claim victory." But NoooOOOOOoooo, they had to show how "tough" they could be, and in so doing hand an easy victory to their bete noire.

Posted by: Tom Servo at August 09, 2020 10:52 AM (V2Yro)

321 Bullshit, you really think those making 100 grand whining that they didn't get a payroll tax break is a winning argument? Were you bitching last week that the SS and Medicare tax was to high for those making that kind of money?
Posted by: lowandslow at August 09, 2020 10:45 AM (4thlk)

I say we live in a society based on envy, hatred and resentment and people come out and prove me right. It never fails.

One day we will learn that envy, hatred and resentment are just fucking stupid...

Posted by: Catch Thirty-Thr33 at August 09, 2020 10:53 AM (ejsiI)

322 A lot of plants containing very helpful chemicals, are not so helpful in their completeness. And dosage is key. You wouldn't ingest your Yew tree, but taxol, can be great chemo. So can arsenic. You just don't do this stuff at home.
Posted by: CN at August 09, 2020 10:43 AM (ONvIw)


One of the sneakiest things Slick did, which is really saying something for that pervert, was on his way out the door order the EPA to set unbelievably restrictive limits on arsenic in drinking water, figuring the public school educated dimwits would go OMG poison GWB must comply. As you point out arsenic in low doses is healthy. Plus it's an element so you can't get rid of it.

Posted by: Captain Hate at August 09, 2020 10:54 AM (y7DUB)

323 This is fucking infuriating.

Posted by: Asshoes at August 09, 2020 10:34 AM (wkJ52)


The graduated income tax must make you scream in fury then.


Posted by: Kindltot at August 09, 2020 10:54 AM (WyVLE)

324 Now that AH Lloyd has made some sense out of the
Spanish Civil War maybe he can do the same for the Peloponnesian war

-
The Peloponnesian War? Make sense out of Portland!

Posted by: Anonosaurus Wrecks, Tyrannosaur Wrangler at August 09, 2020 10:54 AM (+y/Ru)

325 "Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it."

Posted by: runner at August 09, 2020 10:55 AM (IEZgB)

326 Other than the state bailout money Dems got everything they wanted. More UE forever, rent moratorium and student loan forgiveness. Where they fucked up was letting Trump take credit for it. But they still got Trump to spend another gazillion dollars on welfare. And the right is treating this like some big win.

Posted by: Asshoes at August 09, 2020 10:55 AM (wkJ52)

327 And second of course, is the complete and utter failure of our attempts to cozy up to Chi Nah.

Playing them off against the Sovs was analogous to allying with Stalin against Hitler.

Sometime you have to do shit in wartime that you wouldn't do otherwise.

I mean, it worked, in that the Soviet Union no longer exists.

Now we have to deal with China, but it bought us 40 years.


Posted by: Rodrigo Borgia at August 09, 2020 10:29 AM (unn44)


An interesting thought experiment to ask, and many have, is whether we should have just let Hilter have his way in Russia.

Concentrated and focused on saving the West, and just let Russia fend for itself.

Would the world have been better off if we had?

We'll never know.

The China thing though, starts with the premise that cozying up to them had ANY positive effect, other than lining the pockets of the proto-globalists. Frankly, I don't see it.

Posted by: BurtTC at August 09, 2020 10:55 AM (hku12)

328 The Peloponnesian War? Make sense out of Portland!



But is it worth it?

Posted by: runner at August 09, 2020 10:55 AM (IEZgB)

329 Nicotine is a vasodiolator

Posted by: Kindltot at August 09, 2020 10:38 AM (WyVLE)

I think it is actually a vasoconstrictor.

Posted by: CharlieBrown'sDildo at August 09, 2020 10:55 AM (xT2tT)

330 I've never taken a drug (recreationally) and only taken the ones I've been prescribed after due diligence. Always had a phobia about drugs. My hero as a kid was Sherlock Holmes, and I was intensely interested in maintaining alertness. Ironically, of course, because Holmes took opium (or something), which I did not realize.

Posted by: Dan Smoot's Apprentice at August 09, 2020 10:55 AM (H8QX8)

331
I used to like Clancy's books until they emerged from the purely clandestine to more "public". Also, Clancy has an annoying reverence for the omnicompetence of the military.

Posted by: Hadrian the Seventh at August 09, 2020 10:56 AM (mht8P)

332 If you're missing out on church services these days, I'd like to invite you to join me and our small-town congregation:

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=eOsOIbXZmAE

I'm having to attend remotely myself since Polis strengthened the mask mandate and wearing a mask for extended periods gives me bronchitis. I'll return when I find a face shield or some other workable alternative.

Posted by: Emmie at August 09, 2020 10:56 AM (4JM5Y)

333 The library remains closed. They've finally figured out that people can return books, but they are still acting like the Wuhan Flu covers everything with radioactive poison death and everything has to be done with multiple levels of bio-isolation and separation as if we're handling samples of the deadliest material on earth.

The problem is, nobody was allowed to return books. So people could (through this ridiculous procedure) check out books, but kept them. For months now, people have been taking books out and not taking them back. All the people who checked out books before the library shut down cannot take them back.

So they have fewer and fewer books. You can go put holds on books, but they're never coming back.

Posted by: Christopher R Taylor at August 09, 2020 10:57 AM (KZzsI)

334 One of the sneakiest things Slick did, which is really saying something for that pervert, was on his way out the door order the EPA to set unbelievably restrictive limits on arsenic in drinking water, figuring the public school educated dimwits would go OMG poison GWB must comply. As you point out arsenic in low doses is healthy. Plus it's an element so you can't get rid of it.
Posted by: Captain Hate at August 09, 2020 10:54 AM (y7DUB)

I don't know if I'd say it was healthy, but for people with a certain leukemia, its life saving

Posted by: CN at August 09, 2020 10:57 AM (ONvIw)

335 325 "Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it."
Posted by: runner at August 09, 2020 10:55 AM (IEZgB)

And those who do remember the past are condemned to watch everyone else repeat it.

Posted by: Tom Servo at August 09, 2020 10:57 AM (V2Yro)

336 It's an odd recommendation, but Norwegian Wood by Lars Mytting is a really good book. It is about the Scandinavian way of using firewood. There are lots of stories by old timers about heating with wood. The reviews at Amazon explain it better than me., but it's just a relaxing book to read.

Posted by: Notsothoreau at August 09, 2020 10:57 AM (YynYJ)

337 No sense can be made from the Portlandonnesian War.

Maybe a crack of the 100 Years War that lasted 106 years.

Posted by: Skip at August 09, 2020 10:58 AM (OjZpE)

338 Nicotine is a vasodiolator

Posted by: Kindltot at August 09, 2020 10:38 AM (WyVLE)

I think it is actually a vasoconstrictor.
Posted by: CharlieBrown'sDildo at August 09, 2020 10:55 AM (xT2tT)


I think this is correct. People with Raynaud's syndrome shouldn't smoke.

Posted by: Captain Hate at August 09, 2020 10:58 AM (y7DUB)

339 On the history side of things, does anyone have recommendations for early Chinese history? As in before the Wall got built sort of thing. I saw a documentary on the ancient preserved corpses they keep finding and it was fascinating..
Posted by: Sabrina Chase

In Taiwan I saw a tortoise shell with old writing believed to be 5000 years old.

The museum mostly had treasures taken before/ during WW 2 from China. A book about the museum might be a good stepping stone

Posted by: humphreyrobot at August 09, 2020 10:58 AM (pB6Gt)

340 Ironically, of course, because Holmes took opium (or something), which I did not realize.

Both cocaine and opium. Oddly, he took cocaine to relax his extremely overactive mind when he didn't have a case to work on. Not sure how coke was supposed to help.

Posted by: Christopher R Taylor at August 09, 2020 10:58 AM (KZzsI)

341 306

Its cute you think $100k is rich in 2020. In 2008 Obama campaigned on taxing the so called rich. That was anyone making $200k or more a year. 12 years later Trump has defined rich as $100k, even as inflation adjusted $200k from 2008 is more like $300k in 2020.

But hey man, all good. Tax those rich assholes into oblivion. They must be punished for success am I right comrade?

Posted by: Asshoes at August 09, 2020 10:58 AM (wkJ52)

342
I don't know if I'd say it was healthy, but for people with a certain leukemia, its life saving
Posted by: CN at August 09, 2020 10:57 AM (ONvIw)

----------

Sola dosis facit venenum

Posted by: Hadrian the Seventh at August 09, 2020 10:59 AM (mht8P)

343 I think it goes without saying that no matter where you live, someone with 100,000 a year of income needs help less than someone who makes less.

Posted by: Christopher R Taylor at August 09, 2020 11:00 AM (KZzsI)

344 Saw that the 2020 libertarian presidential nominee was bitten by a potentially rabid bat.

Posted by: Piratepatch at August 09, 2020 11:01 AM (h8meQ)

345 This is the United States. It is built on envy, hatred, and resentment. Americans love to lie to themselves about how much they love success and achievement. In fact, the opposite is true: Americans HATE success and achievement.

This development should not shock you.
Posted by: Catch Thirty-Thr33 at August 09, 2020 10:27 AM (ejsiI)

=======
Liar.
You're talking about Democrats. A species distinct from Americans.

Posted by: Vlad the Impaler, whittling away like mad at August 09, 2020 11:01 AM (d6mdH)

346 "I say we live in a society based on envy, hatred and resentment and people come out and prove me right. It never fails"


Are you talking about me? I'm not the one whining that the EO is unfair because those making a 100 grand didn't get a payroll tax break. I could care less if the EO tax break went to those making a million a year, it's you guys that this cut off seems to bother.

Posted by: lowandslow at August 09, 2020 11:01 AM (4thlk)

347 Not much on the reading front, although I'm about halfway through Ian Toll's "Pacific Crucible". Good read so far. I've also queued up his second in the series and I've pre-ordered the third.

Posted by: Old Blue at August 09, 2020 11:02 AM (VNmG1)

348 But hey man, all good. Tax those rich assholes into oblivion. They must be punished for success am I right comrade?
Posted by: Asshoes at August 09, 2020 10:58 AM (wkJ52)

Your whining here suggests that your personal ox is being gored.

Posted by: Alberta Oil Peon at August 09, 2020 11:02 AM (cLd25)

349 I certainly would NOT want research to be prohibited though, just because people who took things they bought on the street had nasty effects. Seems to me there would be ways to determine how to more safely test for benefits. That's what the FDA is for, I thought.
Posted by: BurtTC at August 09, 2020 10:43 AM (hku12)

I wouldn't want research prohibited either. As I mentioned a moment ago. Arsenic is deadly, but measured and monitored it's a life saver. The Brits are researching LSD compounds and their effects on seratonin, so it's not prohibited.
Posted by: CN at August 09, 2020 10:51 AM (ONvIw)


Yes, thank you for the clarification. I didn't mean to say that research was prohibited, but it looks like I did.

I believe there are some who are doing it here too, in the U.S. It just isn't getting funded like other drug studies are, because there's a lot of push-back against doing any research against the usefulness of various "street" drugs.

But yeah, people are doing the research where they can.

Posted by: BurtTC at August 09, 2020 11:02 AM (hku12)

350 SS Bennies are not getting cut. So that money has to come from somewhere. Borrow it or tax from somewhere else. Payroll tax cuts without corresponding benefit cuts are a sham. But I guess poll well. We are so fucked in some many ways.

Posted by: Asshoes at August 09, 2020 11:02 AM (wkJ52)

351 342
I don't know if I'd say it was healthy, but for people with a certain leukemia, its life saving
Posted by: CN at August 09, 2020 10:57 AM (ONvIw)

----------

Sola dosis facit venenum
Posted by: Hadrian the Seventh at August 09, 2020 10:59 AM (mht8P)


To a great degree. The chemo arsenic still has some toxic side effects, but these beat the alternative.

Posted by: CN at August 09, 2020 11:03 AM (ONvIw)

352 Ironically, of course, because Holmes took opium (or something), which I did not realize.


Cocaine, a seven percent solution.

Coca-Cola had cocaine. It was a prescription. Drug stores started having lunch counters because if you had to drink a Coke you might want a burger.

Posted by: Bandersnatch at August 09, 2020 11:03 AM (q2K0j)

353 329 Nicotine is a vasodiolator

Posted by: Kindltot at August 09, 2020 10:38 AM (WyVLE)

I think it is actually a vasoconstrictor.
Posted by: CharlieBrown'sDildo at August 09, 2020 10:55 AM (xT2tT)

Alcohol is a vasodilator. Nicotine is a vasoconstrictor.

Posted by: Insomniac - Ex Cineribus Resurgo at August 09, 2020 11:04 AM (NWiLs)

354 If 2020 were a book I wouldn't read it because it wouldn't be realistic enough. Like sure, that would really happen. Rabid bat bites candidate - come on man! there was already this bat flu. What is it with bats and this author?

Posted by: Piratepatch at August 09, 2020 11:04 AM (h8meQ)

355 OM,

Thanks, as always, for the book thread.
I found the "these pants" selection charming. I like the idea of making an Arabian Princess costume for a little girl. A more innocent time. (Yes, I like the idea of the 20-something in the outfit, as well.)

And I like that illustration of the two Victorian/Edwardian (?) ladies poring through all those heavy reference books. The one in the foreground looks pretty determined.

Posted by: JTB at August 09, 2020 11:04 AM (7EjX1)

356 A H Lloyd: Forwarded the link to a friend who is likely to buy it.

For me, there is no way I can until I get through with the move. After that, we'll have some $$, so will do so then. But can you get it from someone other than Amazon? I closed my account there, and do not want to give them anything.

Posted by: Eeyore at August 09, 2020 11:04 AM (LMs+g)

357 I would highly recommend everyone who is interested in the Spygate issue to listen to a recording of the Maria Bartiromo show from this morning. Not just the piece about the FBI lying to the Senate Intel Committee but the explosive interview with Steven Schrage and how Stefan Halper was involved with setting up both General Flynn and Carter Page.

Incredible stuff.

Posted by: JackStraw at August 09, 2020 11:05 AM (ZLI7S)

358 345

Trump told anyone earning more than $100k to fuck off. Obama did a payroll tax cut 10 years ago with no income cut off.

But go on.....

Posted by: Asshoes at August 09, 2020 11:05 AM (wkJ52)

359 "I find it both humorous and encouraging that Pelosi and Schumer both miscalculated so badly on this Stimulus 2 - Congressional Boogaloo."

Wile E Coyote meets the Road Runner. Meep Meep MothaFuckas

Posted by: Ignoramus at August 09, 2020 11:05 AM (9TdxA)

360 Both cocaine and opium. Oddly, he took cocaine to relax his extremely overactive mind when he didn't have a case to work on. Not sure how coke was supposed to help.
Posted by: Christopher R Taylor at August 09, 2020 10:58 AM (KZzsI)

Could have been a paradoxical effect, like the standard medications for ADHD.

Posted by: Insomniac - Ex Cineribus Resurgo at August 09, 2020 11:05 AM (NWiLs)

361 I read a V. S. Pritchett short story about a middle aged college lecturer estranged from his father who visits him just as a company he built is closing down because of bankruptcy. Needless to say they're two very different people with different perspectives on everything. When I was younger I thought Pritchett was a good writer who mostly appealed to old farts. Now that I'm an old fart that judgement is being realized.

Posted by: Captain Hate at August 09, 2020 11:06 AM (y7DUB)

362 "This is the United States. It is built on envy, hatred, and resentment. "

I don't believe that at all. Nothing can be "built" on those things. They exist as universal aspects of human nature, more or less. Less in America, I'd say.

Posted by: Ordinary American at August 09, 2020 11:06 AM (H8QX8)

363
Is there anything more stupid and useless than StatCast. "That homer had a launch angle of 33.87 degrees, an exit velocity of 103.375 mph and travelled 335 feet, 4 33/64 inches!" Big deal, it's one run.

Posted by: Hadrian the Seventh at August 09, 2020 11:07 AM (mht8P)

364 Could have been a paradoxical effect, like the standard medications for ADHD.

Its possible. Doyle trained as a doctor, so he had some understanding of how drugs affected people.

Posted by: Christopher R Taylor at August 09, 2020 11:07 AM (KZzsI)

365 Could have been a paradoxical effect, like the standard medications for ADHD.
Posted by: Insomniac - Ex Cineribus Resurgo at August 09, 2020 11:05 AM (NWiLs)

Yep.

Posted by: CN at August 09, 2020 11:07 AM (ONvIw)

366 Currently reading the second of a trilogy by Patrick Rothfuss. The kingkiller chronicles starts with The Name of the Wind and is followed by The Wise Man's Fear. The third is not yet published. It's a pretty cool story of a man's journey through his life in search of the beings/demons that killed his family. In ancient times, from a boy with a traveling show troupe, a street urchin, a magic university student, to an assassin's school. That's where I'm at now and he's still only seventeen YO. As told by him when much older as he chronicles his life to a scribe for prosperity. Quite good.

Posted by: sawhorse at August 09, 2020 11:08 AM (ARGoY)

367 Tom Servo,

That is a good observation. My first husband took a lot of it. I had one dose of the stronger stuff and didn't like it. Light doses were entertaining as you found everything funny. No flashbacks or hallucinations for me.

Posted by: Notsothoreau at August 09, 2020 11:08 AM (YynYJ)

368 @352
In The Man with the Twisted Lip, Watson has to pull Holmes out of an opium den.

Posted by: artemis at August 09, 2020 11:08 AM (AwPyG)

369 Alcohol is a vasodilator. Nicotine is a vasoconstrictor.
Posted by: Insomniac - Ex Cineribus Resurgo at August 09, 2020 11:04 AM (NWiLs)


Huh. I did not know that.

I thought they said the dinosaurs evolved into birds. But I guess it makes sense, there aren't too many more things in this world more unhealthy to us than cigs and booze. Just like dinosaurs were.

Posted by: BurtTC at August 09, 2020 11:08 AM (hku12)

370 People use to hide in the trunk and go to the Drive inn.

Can't we do this to Amazon except when the link is here?

Posted by: humphreyrobot at August 09, 2020 11:08 AM (pB6Gt)

371 "Trump told anyone earning more than $100k to fuck off. Obama did a payroll tax cut 10 years ago with no income cut off.
"



Well you can your time brooding about how unfair life is because of this or let it go, your choice.

Posted by: lowandslow at August 09, 2020 11:08 AM (4thlk)

372 Even worse than the payroll tax bullshit is the rent moratorium which is being ignored mostly. As of today, nobody has to pay rent anymore. Sit back and think of what that means.

Posted by: Asshoes at August 09, 2020 11:09 AM (wkJ52)

373 Alcohol is a vasodilator. Nicotine is a vasoconstrictor.

Posted by: Insomniac - Ex Cineribus Resurgo

Lena Dunham is a penisoconstrictor.

Posted by: Anonosaurus Wrecks, Tyrannosaur Wrangler at August 09, 2020 11:10 AM (+y/Ru)

374 I think a lot of the cut had to do with the fact that it's been well-publicized that the wealthy were taking advantage of the bailouts, and that doesn't play well
Trump knows how to read the room

Posted by: artemis at August 09, 2020 11:10 AM (AwPyG)

375 As of today, nobody has to pay rent anymore. Sit back and think of what that means.
Posted by: Asshoes at August 09, 2020 11:09 AM (wkJ52)

Is that right? No rent at all, total forgiveness?

Posted by: Ordinary American at August 09, 2020 11:11 AM (H8QX8)

376 In The Man with the Twisted Lip, Watson has to pull Holmes out of an opium den.

Holmes was on a case there, but its never clear if he was indulging or not. It seems likely.

Even worse than the payroll tax bullshit is the rent moratorium which is being ignored mostly.

I think its expiring but yeah, that and even worse the "no evictions" order. Really? Banning evictions? You CANNOT throw someone off your property??

Is there anything more stupid and useless than StatCast.

I know they are trying to make the game more exciting but almost none of the new stats are meaningful.

Posted by: Christopher R Taylor at August 09, 2020 11:12 AM (KZzsI)

377 Is there anything more stupid and useless than StatCast. "That homer had a launch angle of 33.87 degrees, an exit velocity of 103.375 mph and travelled 335 feet, 4 33/64 inches!" Big deal, it's one run.
Posted by: Hadrian the Seventh at August 09, 2020 11:07 AM (mht8P)


This is why I think baseball won't ever really die. Because the stat nerds get off on these things.

You don't REALLY need players for it, it doesn't even matter who wins or loses games or championships. No need to put humans on a field where they can cough on each other, and catch the China creepin crud.

No, just do computer simulations. Then the nerds can sit around in their circles, and jerk themselves to the numbers.

Posted by: BurtTC at August 09, 2020 11:12 AM (hku12)

378 350 SS Bennies are not getting cut. So that money has to come from somewhere. Borrow it or tax from somewhere else. Payroll tax cuts without corresponding benefit cuts are a sham. But I guess poll well. We are so fucked in some many ways.
Posted by: Asshoes at August 09, 2020 11:02 AM (wkJ52)

But it doesn't have to come from somewhere, haven't you been paying attention recently? It can easily come from nowhere, we just have the Fed write another trillion dollar check to the treasury, and voila! there it is! We might hit $10 trillion in new money created that way just this year, and no one is complaining. No one is even mentioning it.

Oh yeah, there will be some hellacious long term consequences of this, but we've crossed that rubicon now, there's no turning back. In the long run we're all dead, anyways.

Posted by: Tom Servo at August 09, 2020 11:12 AM (V2Yro)

379 375

Eviction moratorium. If you dont pay rent you cannot be evicted. So who in their right mind will pay a cent of rent anymore?

Posted by: Asshoes at August 09, 2020 11:12 AM (wkJ52)

380 I won't say more because nobody will read this anyway.
Posted by: Northernlurker, still lurking after all these years at August 09, 2020 09:58 AM


True

Posted by: Cybersmythe at August 09, 2020 11:13 AM (edlKR)

381

I went to the Barnes and Noble site. The main page is mostly all down with the struggle books and the Mary Trump book. Intercourse them

Posted by: TheQuietMan at August 09, 2020 11:13 AM (QL3mJ)

382 I thought they said the dinosaurs evolved into birds. But I guess it makes sense, there aren't too many more things in this world more unhealthy to us than cigs and booze. Just like dinosaurs were.
Posted by: BurtTC at August 09, 2020 11:08 AM (hku12)

Everyone knows the dinosaurs were massive boozehounds and chainsmokers.

Posted by: Insomniac - Ex Cineribus Resurgo at August 09, 2020 11:13 AM (NWiLs)

383 I think I'll go clean up the flower beds before lunch with the family. Pulling weeds can be therapeutic.

Posted by: CN at August 09, 2020 11:14 AM (ONvIw)

384 ''I find it both humorous and encouraging that Pelosi and Schumer both miscalculated so badly on this Stimulus 2 - Congressional Boogaloo."

Wile E Coyote meets the Road Runner. Meep Meep MothaFuckas''

Pretty funny when they've seen him in action for almost 4 years now and they thought he would fold and walk away from the table?

Posted by: Tuna at August 09, 2020 11:14 AM (gLRfa)

385 Even worse than the payroll tax bullshit is the rent moratorium which is being ignored mostly. As of today, nobody has to pay rent anymore. Sit back and think of what that means.
Posted by: Asshoes at August 09, 2020 11:09 AM (wkJ52)


Of all the things people voluntarily do in this world, that make absolutely no sense to me as to why anyone would CHOSE to do it, I think landlord is right up there with heroin user..

And boat owner.

Posted by: BurtTC at August 09, 2020 11:15 AM (hku12)

386 367 Tom Servo,

That is a good observation. My first husband took a lot of it. I had one dose of the stronger stuff and didn't like it. Light doses were entertaining as you found everything funny. No flashbacks or hallucinations for me.
Posted by: Notsothoreau at August 09, 2020 11:08 AM (YynYJ)

I've heard, but have no firsthand knowledge, that there's a big difference between naturals like "shrooms" and synthetics (eg LSD).

Posted by: Insomniac - Ex Cineribus Resurgo at August 09, 2020 11:15 AM (NWiLs)

387 I went to the Barnes and Noble site. The main page is mostly all down with the struggle books and the Mary Trump book.

Goodreads hasn't been as bad but yeah they are always down with the struggle as well. And I wonder, are readers really interested in that? Is that what readers really want? I know some do but I think honestly that most really woke people only pretend at reading like Obama carrying that one radical book around for 3 years as a prop.

I think they might be book buyers because it helps with their cosplay around others to pretend intellectualism and literacy. But do they really read?

Posted by: Christopher R Taylor at August 09, 2020 11:16 AM (KZzsI)

388 334
One of the sneakiest things Slick did, which is really saying something
for that pervert, was on his way out the door order the EPA to set
unbelievably restrictive limits on arsenic in drinking water, figuring
the public school educated dimwits would go OMG poison GWB must comply.
As you point out arsenic in low doses is healthy. Plus it's an element
so you can't get rid of it.

Posted by: Captain Hate at August 09, 2020 10:54 AM (y7DUB)



I don't know if I'd say it was healthy, but for people with a certain leukemia, its life saving

Posted by: CN at August 09, 2020 10:57 AM (ONvIw)


The levels were so low they could not be measured with existing instrumentation. The new regs were unimplementable and therefore unenforceable. And the MFM made a big deal out of Bush killing them.

Posted by: Vic at August 09, 2020 11:17 AM (mpXpK)

389 I thought they said the dinosaurs evolved into birds. But I guess it makes sense, there aren't too many more things in this world more unhealthy to us than cigs and booze. Just like dinosaurs were.
Posted by: BurtTC at August 09, 2020 11:08 AM (hku12)

Everyone knows the dinosaurs were massive boozehounds and chainsmokers.
Posted by: Insomniac - Ex Cineribus Resurgo at August 09, 2020 11:13 AM (NWiLs)


Obligatory:

https://tinyurl.com/y5hqtudo

Posted by: BurtTC at August 09, 2020 11:17 AM (hku12)

390 Heroin? No thanks. If there was a list of drugs I'd be willing to try it would probably be weed, psylocibin (did I spell that right?) and MDMA.

Posted by: Insomniac - Ex Cineribus Resurgo at August 09, 2020 11:17 AM (NWiLs)

391 "Eviction moratorium. If you dont pay rent you cannot be evicted. So who in their right mind will pay a cent of rent anymore?"


People that know right from wrong and people that don't want to be homeless when the moratorium ends.

Posted by: lowandslow at August 09, 2020 11:18 AM (4thlk)

392 >>I've heard, but have no firsthand knowledge, that there's a big difference between naturals like "shrooms" and synthetics (eg LSD).

True.

Posted by: JackStraw at August 09, 2020 11:18 AM (ZLI7S)

393 I think this latest twist is more evidence that the "deadly flu" was an op. It seems that it was to provide the "cover" for a wide variety of Dem goals, and one of the main ones was to bail out blue states that aren't solvent.

Posted by: artemis at August 09, 2020 11:18 AM (AwPyG)

394 https://tinyurl.com/y5hqtudo
Posted by: BurtTC at August 09, 2020 11:17 AM (hku12)

Hah! That's EXACTLY the cartoon I had in mind.

Posted by: Insomniac - Ex Cineribus Resurgo at August 09, 2020 11:19 AM (NWiLs)

395 27 > Still re-reading John Ringo and Eric Flint's 1632 series. On Book 5 now. Had intended to do only the first 3 but got interested in it again.

I enjoyed the first 10 or so of those, but it seems like they started phoning them in later. So be forewarned.

Posted by: Chief Justice John Roberts at August 09, 2020 09:11 AM (unn44)

I got into them 10 or so years ago, but they're incredibly uneven, especially the co-wrote entries. There's also goddamn many of them I gave up trying to even figure out which ones I wanted to read.

Posted by: Jeff Weimer at August 09, 2020 11:19 AM (fpng3)

396 I think its expiring but yeah, that and even worse the "no evictions" order. Really? Banning evictions? You CANNOT throw someone off your property??"

Nothing is being reported more badly than that at the moment. The MSM completely misunderstand the orders, and team Trump plays along with them because it makes him look like he's doing a lot more than he actually is.

Evictions come out of property contract law, which is all State Law, which EO's have no power over. What the EO affects are people who live in housing administered under HUD guidelines (frex Section and I think also any rental properties which currently have FHA loans outstanding on them. (a small subset of rental properties nationwide) Other than those specific cases, there is no "eviction moratorium" unless it has been set up under State Law.

Posted by: Tom Servo at August 09, 2020 11:19 AM (V2Yro)

397

Boats are fun AND expensive. No such thing as a cheap boat. As long as you understand the expensive part they are fun. But too many people are either cheap or cant afford proper boat maintenance so they are never fun.

Posted by: Asshoes at August 09, 2020 11:20 AM (wkJ52)

398 I see some good recommendations this week! It is appropriate this Smart
Military Blog has some Smart Military Authors. Now we need someone to do
the urban combat and hobo safari guides.


Sabrina,

Total Resistance:

Swiss Army guide to Guerrilla Warfare and Underground Operations

by Major H. von Dach

Posted by: Kindltot at August 09, 2020 11:20 AM (WyVLE)

399 If there was something out there that would reduce stress and anxiety and make me feel actually happy for a little while, I would gladly take it.

Posted by: Insomniac - Ex Cineribus Resurgo at August 09, 2020 11:20 AM (NWiLs)

400 As you point out arsenic in low doses is healthy. Plus it's an element so you can't get rid of it.

Bush rescinded the order when he came to office. I got a mangy hippie at the door begging for signatures to stop his evil act of adding more arsenic to water, but I told him the exact amounts and how much was considered safe (like 1000 times as much) and how much it would cost to do the change for no good reason, and then to kindly F off and never come back.

I signed up to OSPIRG and donated to them in the early 1990s. Back then, the organization was pretty basic environmentalist, things we all can agree with: help pick up trash on the roadways, they were behind the bottle bill in Oregon that put a deposit on cans to return them (first in the nation), etc. Nice stuff.

Over the years they got crazier and crazier and the people working at it more hideous and bizarre. I finally got them to stop bothering me after a few years.

Posted by: Christopher R Taylor at August 09, 2020 11:20 AM (KZzsI)

401 = 8 )

Posted by: Tom Servo at August 09, 2020 11:20 AM (V2Yro)

402 Best strategy with a boat is to make friends with somebody who owns one.

Posted by: Insomniac - Ex Cineribus Resurgo at August 09, 2020 11:21 AM (NWiLs)

403 Insom,

The natural stuff seems to be leass intensive. I'm probably not a good choice to review this because I didn't care for most of it. I've had peyote and psilocybin. I have a really strong core, emotionally and mentally, so the drugs didn't change that. Mostly, I like smoking pot until I got bored with it. Still have no interest in it. When they legalized pot, they should not have legalized edibles. It takes too long to come onto it and people take too much. It will wear off but can be frightening when you deal with it.

Posted by: Notsothoreau at August 09, 2020 11:21 AM (YynYJ)

404 I've heard, but have no firsthand knowledge, that there's a big difference between naturals like "shrooms" and synthetics (eg LSD).


Shrooms once, LSD maybe five times. Felt more out of control and regretted more of what I did on shrooms.

Both were scary in the way that they were in charge of the length and direction of the trip.

Posted by: Bandersnatch at August 09, 2020 11:21 AM (q2K0j)

405 Moratorium applies to any property funded by a federally backed loan including fha, va, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. Which did pretty much every mortgage in the country. Very few loans are funded in house directly by lenders.

Posted by: Asshoes at August 09, 2020 11:22 AM (wkJ52)

406
OH, NO, NOT THE GLASS BEES!

NOT THE GLASS BEES!

AAAAAHHHHH!

OH, THEY'RE IN MY EYES! MY EYES!

AAAAHHHHH! AAAAAGGHHH!

Posted by: Nicholas Cage, Hollywood Book Reviewer at August 09, 2020 11:22 AM (dWwl8)

407 Finished reading two books - free at fadedpage.com

The Searchers
Out of the Night

Both are worth reading.

Posted by: 13times at August 09, 2020 11:23 AM (zFiFy)

408 Evictions come out of property contract law, which is all State Law, which EO's have no power over.

Yeah but a lot of cities and some states have had the rule for a while now, and its crazy. Property owners have basically one way of protecting their property from renters, and that's to be able to kick them out. What some renters do to property is almost inconceivable.

Posted by: Christopher R Taylor at August 09, 2020 11:23 AM (KZzsI)

409 >>Best strategy with a boat is to make friends with somebody who owns one.

Such a well known strategy it has it's own acronym, OP boats, aka Other People's boat.

Posted by: JackStraw at August 09, 2020 11:23 AM (ZLI7S)

410 And for those people who wish Trump would executive-order all the mask nonsense away, just remember that the state of emergency is what allows him to be bullet-proof on these types of executive orders. He's calling their bluff, and making them suffer for it (as usual)
The argument for me is whether it was worth it, in the first place. I think the take-over of that stabilization fund from the fed is big--apparently that used to be a slush fund for the bad guys, and now its Trumps slush fund.

Posted by: artemis at August 09, 2020 11:24 AM (AwPyG)

411 "While some geniuses may have used it, most people did not become "enlightened" by choosing to hallucinate." Posted by: CN

Native Americans (which ones?) that were big on enlightenment via peyote ... did not get enlightened beyond the stone age ... but then they are now glamorized as being in touch with nature or some such.


Did Shakespeare or Einstein types get their enlightenment from any special drugs? Not that I know of. I have heard that (some?) people do better on an IQ test after a beer or two, which I'd attribute to stress relief. But there may be some level of drugs/alcohol/other that does remove certain mental barriers ... stress, pain, or other.

Posted by: illiniwek at August 09, 2020 11:25 AM (Cus5s)

412 Pot would do it for you. But one hit only and a variety for fun, not medicinal. Pot is very good for getting you through boring times and doing physical labor. Not something to do when you need to be mentally sharp.

Posted by: Notsothoreau at August 09, 2020 11:25 AM (YynYJ)

413 There are boat "clubs" too, where you pay a monthly fee and have access to a variety of boats. I don't know how well that works, though.

Posted by: artemis at August 09, 2020 11:25 AM (AwPyG)

414 336 ... "It's an odd recommendation, but Norwegian Wood by Lars Mytting is a really good book"

Notsothoreau,

Thanks for mentioning this book. Just placed an order for it. Traditional ways of using wood are an interest for me. Coincidentally, I've been watching some YT videos about the importance and huge number of uses for birch, both today and historically. Fascinating stuff.

Posted by: JTB at August 09, 2020 11:26 AM (7EjX1)

415 Heroin? No thanks. If there was a list of drugs I'd be willing to try it would probably be weed, psylocibin (did I spell that right?) and MDMA.
Posted by: Insomniac - Ex Cineribus Resurgo at August 09, 2020 11:17 AM (NWiLs)


Most people I know who are/were hooked on heroin had/have something of a suicidal streak to them. Even if they don't know it.

Meth users... as best I can glean, because they will NOT ever tell you the truth, are trying to fix their brains.

Weed users, for the most part, are trying to numb the pain and anxiety.

So yeah, I don't think I've ever met a heroin user who was trying to "get better" by using it.

Posted by: BurtTC at August 09, 2020 11:26 AM (hku12)

416 So, I completely missed the window for youthful enjoyment, exploration, adventure and indiscretion. Please tell me it isn't all just drudgery, responsibility and burden the rest of the way.

Posted by: Insomniac - Ex Cineribus Resurgo at August 09, 2020 11:26 AM (NWiLs)

417 If you want to see some funny shit check out YouTube videos of boat launches. Holy shit there are a lot of retards out there. I discovered long ago paying for a slip is money very well spent to avoid dealing with that non sense.

Posted by: Asshoes at August 09, 2020 11:26 AM (wkJ52)

418 There seems to be this odd connection between booze and writing where most great authors were drunken sots. Some of Chandler's most powerful writing is in The Long Goodbye when he writes about a drunken author, and there's segments of the author's work which is pretty obviously Chandler free forming when completely blasted. Its haunting.

Posted by: Christopher R Taylor at August 09, 2020 11:27 AM (KZzsI)

419 ''Currently reading the second of a trilogy by Patrick Rothfuss. The kingkiller chronicles starts with The Name of the Wind and is followed by The Wise Man's Fear. The third is not yet published.''

Waiting patiently for book 3. It's been years And years now. Probably why I've given up reading multi volume sagas until they are completed. Another example is Jim Butcher, who started a rather entertaining fantasy series about 5 years ago which I don't think he's ever going to get back to.

Posted by: Tuna at August 09, 2020 11:27 AM (gLRfa)

420 I think it is actually a vasoconstrictor.
Posted by: CharlieBrown'sDildo at August 09, 2020 10:55 AM (xT2tT)


Crap, you are right.

So why did it make my symptoms of allergen triggered bronchitis go away?
I'd get into a moldy area and have to take a smoke to make the wheezes go away?

Posted by: Kindltot at August 09, 2020 11:28 AM (WyVLE)

421 Here are my thoughts on the use of marijuana:

Sorry, what were we discussing?

Posted by: attila the annoying at August 09, 2020 11:28 AM (w7KSn)

422 Boats are fun AND expensive. No such thing as a cheap boat. As long as you understand the expensive part they are fun. But too many people are either cheap or cant afford proper boat maintenance so they are never fun.
Posted by: Asshoes at August 09, 2020 11:20 AM (wkJ52)


I hate water, so the fun part is not going to do it for me.

And I'm cheap as F, so if I ever DID own a boat, I'd be the guy who never takes it out because something's always wrong with it.

Posted by: BurtTC at August 09, 2020 11:28 AM (hku12)

423 I will not read any Fantasy book where the lead is a Female unless she is a Wizard or Has Supernatural Strength, It's too unbelievable for a Woman to be swinging a heavy sword around in Full armor.

I was reading Spellmonger: Court Wizard where the female wizard is confronted by the God Of Love, she studied Sex Magic and she has married and the God kept saying that she could have had a career and now she has to listen to her Husband and how Terrible her life will be, and she countered with when I am sick or dying will my career hold my Hand?

Very UnSJW

I also liked in SpellMonger Necromancer that a Wizard goes on a dangerous mission to impress a girl and she still puts him in the Friend Zone so he Leaves the town and she doesn't understand why he left, I will be upset if the author makes her gay.

Posted by: Patrick from Ohio at August 09, 2020 11:28 AM (dKiJG)

424 The poison expert I listened to said the reason arsenic has to be gradually introduced over time is because your body will immediately vomit up any large dose of heavy metal.
so that's good to know.

Posted by: artemis at August 09, 2020 11:28 AM (AwPyG)

425 412 Pot would do it for you. But one hit only and a variety for fun, not medicinal. Pot is very good for getting you through boring times and doing physical labor. Not something to do when you need to be mentally sharp.
Posted by: Notsothoreau at August 09, 2020 11:25 AM (YynYJ)

As with many people who suffer from anxiety, my mind goes in a multitude of directions all at once, all the time, and usually working every permutation of an act or event that will lead to a bad outcome. Being able to shut that off, even if just for an hour or two, would be a Godsend like you wouldn't believe.

Posted by: Insomniac - Ex Cineribus Resurgo at August 09, 2020 11:28 AM (NWiLs)

426 JTB,

You will really enjoy the book! I'm still working my way through it but it is such fun to lose yourself in it. I've heated and cooked with wood a lot and I miss it. I seem to have forgotten all that time spent lugging firewood around

Posted by: Notsothoreau at August 09, 2020 11:29 AM (YynYJ)

427 Best investment is put the boat on land....Turn it upside down ....Build into and lease out.

Posted by: humphreyrobot at August 09, 2020 11:29 AM (pB6Gt)

428
During the late 90s I began to wonder if the actual, serious Earth was destroyed in a nuclear exchange and we're just the parody version.

Change my mind.
Posted by: Ace-Endorsed Author A.H. Lloyd


Farnham's Freehold

Posted by: Bertram Cabot, Jr. at August 09, 2020 11:29 AM (aKsyK)

429 I have heard that (some?) people do better on an IQ test after a beer or two, which I'd attribute to stress relief.

A small amount of alcohol can help relax and in the case of stuff like wine is good for a troubled stomach. But we're human so we always take it too far. What's good in small amounts must be GREAT in larger, right? And for some of us at least, the chemistry in our brains breaks down alcohol differently and we end up liking it way too much.

Posted by: Christopher R Taylor at August 09, 2020 11:30 AM (KZzsI)

430 Property owners have basically one way of protecting their property from renters, and that's to be able to kick them out. What some renters do to property is almost inconceivable.
Posted by: Christopher R Taylor at August 09, 2020 11:23 AM (KZzsI)

as a property owner, the key is all in Tenant Selection. As a part time (and small time) landlord, I've gotten to know the ups and downs of it fairly well. I've learned to *never* advertise, and only to mention the availability to current tenants who I know and trust, and then I will only take a new tenant who comes in with a strong personal recommendation from an existing one. If anyone who I don't know or don't like inquires, I just say "oh I'm sorry, it's not ready yet, I've been busy, ask again in about a month." NEVER put a sign up, that is begging for trouble.

with good tenants, being a landlord is one of the easiest jobs in the world. With bad ones, it's a nightmare. I haven't had to do an eviction in years.

Posted by: Tom Servo at August 09, 2020 11:31 AM (V2Yro)

431 "So that money has to come from somewhere. "
Posted by: Asshoes

Maybe you can write a book about it and we can discus it here.

Posted by: freaked at August 09, 2020 11:32 AM (Tnijr)

432 Thanks for the free book ... "Butchered by Healthcare". His opening quote


"Every surgeon carries within himself a small cemetery, where from time to time he goes to pray -- a place of bitterness and regret, where he must look for an explanation for his failures." RENE LERICHE, LA PHILOSOPHIE DE LA CHIRURGIE, 1951

There is a lesson for life in general there ... where the world we hoped for from Sunday School days, faces the stark reality of "infiltrated institutions", and neighbors that not follow any golden rules, other than "he who is most devious takes your gold".


Many good doctors out there, but corruption of systems overwhelms/buries good intentions.

Posted by: illiniwek at August 09, 2020 11:32 AM (Cus5s)

433 Boats are like cars. You buy a pos it will always be broken. You spend some money upfront and keep it well maintained it will run well. Problem is people will buy a $15K boat because it is all they can afford then when that first $500maintenance issue comes up they have no money. and not fixing the $500 issue causes a $2500 issue to develop. And that boat never sees the water again.

Posted by: Asshoes at August 09, 2020 11:32 AM (wkJ52)

434 420 I think it is actually a vasoconstrictor.
Posted by: CharlieBrown'sDildo at August 09, 2020 10:55 AM (xT2tT)

Crap, you are right.

So why did it make my symptoms of allergen triggered bronchitis go away?
I'd get into a moldy area and have to take a smoke to make the wheezes go away?
Posted by: Kindltot at August 09, 2020 11:28 AM (WyVLE)

It also clogs/deadens the alveoli in your lungs, slows down or paralyzes the cilia in your lungs, and reduces air exchange, so you were probably getting less of the offending substance, and reducing your reactivity to it as well. The cilia become more active when you stop smoking, which is why you cough like a mother when you quit.

Posted by: Insomniac - Ex Cineribus Resurgo at August 09, 2020 11:32 AM (NWiLs)

435 asshoe, I can't tell if you are pissed that Trump put a ceiling on his EO, or if you are pissed that he did what the Dems were going to do anyways and stole the credit.

One is an odd attitude in light of the other. Are you mad at the pandering to the poorest working in the economy, or are you mad that it might work?

Posted by: Kindltot at August 09, 2020 11:33 AM (WyVLE)

436 Currently reading the second of a trilogy by Patrick Rothfuss. The kingkiller chronicles starts with The Name of the Wind and is followed by The Wise Man's Fear. The third is not yet published.''

Waiting patiently for book 3. It's been years And years now. Probably why I've given up reading multi volume sagas until they are completed. Another example is Jim Butcher, who started a rather entertaining fantasy series about 5 years ago which I don't think he's ever going to get back to.
Posted by: Tuna at August 09, 2020 11:27 AM (gLRfa)

I will go to my Grave saying KingKiller is crap, absolutely NOTHING HAPPENS in the books, he hints at stuff but nothing happens

I am glad someone here recommended SPELLMONGER

Posted by: Patrick from Ohio at August 09, 2020 11:34 AM (dKiJG)

437 I think OM forgot that we voted no on trolls.

Posted by: artemis at August 09, 2020 11:34 AM (AwPyG)

438 Ironically, of course, because Holmes took opium (or something), which I did not realize.

Both cocaine and opium. Oddly, he took cocaine to relax his extremely overactive mind when he didn't have a case to work on. Not sure how coke was supposed to help.
Posted by: Christopher R Taylor

It loosened him up for the Swing Dancing......

Posted by: JT at August 09, 2020 11:34 AM (arJlL)

439 I ordered that book about Mao. I will use it to counterbalance the Main Stream Media's reporting habits on China (donning of kneepads to swallow Commie sperm).
I am currently reading another book about China called "Shantung Compound" by Langdon Gilkey about the rounding up /interment in camps of Westerners by the Japanese when they invaded China.

All groups (Germans, Brits, Americans , etc, rich and poor) were thrown together and had to adjust to concentration camp life.
Spoiler alert, the opium addicts life actually improved in the prison camp since he could no longer abuse opium.

Posted by: The Walking Dude at August 09, 2020 11:34 AM (cCxiu)

440 430

I own a couple of rentals and have had really good tenants myself. One of my tenants is leaving and I am seriously considering selling. This eviction moratorium scares me. I bought this property 8 years ago so it has more than doubled in value, may be time to just say fuck it and move on. But I am earning close to 25% net ROI on it yearly for doing virtually no work and that is tough to give up.

Posted by: Asshoes at August 09, 2020 11:35 AM (wkJ52)

441 I think OM forgot that we voted no on trolls.

Posted by: artemis at August 09, 2020 11:34 AM (AwPyG)

Huh! I had no idea that Ace converted this place to a democracy!

Posted by: CharlieBrown'sDildo at August 09, 2020 11:35 AM (xT2tT)

442 The poison expert I listened to said the reason
arsenic has to be gradually introduced over time is because your body
will immediately vomit up any large dose of heavy metal.
so that's good to know.


Posted by: artemis at August 09, 2020 11:28 AM (AwPyG)


If the next VP the DNC/BLM pick for Biden reads that, I'm sure it will be noted...And acted on.

Posted by: Colin at August 09, 2020 11:35 AM (gws6j)

443 Insom,

I would urge you to avoid even the milder psychedelics like psilocybin. It's tricky stuff and could cause you damage. And you have to be careful with pot these days. I had a friend on the medicinal stuff and it is designed to knock out pain. It is not fun stuff to smoke. But there are varieties for light hearted stuff. If you try any edibles, know that it takes a hapf hour to come onto it. You want to take very small amounts until you onow how it affects you. My first husband had a difficult childhood and I can't say if the drug experimenting helped or not. But pot is very good for wasting a day focusing on nothing.

Posted by: Notsothoreau at August 09, 2020 11:35 AM (YynYJ)

444 For those interested, here is an article by Steven Schrage, the guy who was just on with Bartiromo, blowing up Stefan Halper and giving even more details on the origins of the Carter Page and Mike Flynn frame jobs and the Steele involvement. This article was released just as Schrage was giving his interview.

The involvement of the UK in this scandal are becoming more clear.

https://tinyurl.com/y56v683l

Posted by: JackStraw at August 09, 2020 11:36 AM (ZLI7S)

445 If 2020 were a book I wouldn't read it because it wouldn't be realistic enough. Like sure, that would really happen. Rabid bat bites candidate - come on man! there was already this bat flu. What is it with bats and this author?

This is kind of a frustration for authors, because the level of absurdity, coincidence, or unlikelihood can only go so far in a novel, but in reality is unlimited. Nobody would believe a book about 2020 in 2019, you just couldn't get away with it.

There's even a rule about coincidences, you can get away with so many but no more or readers start to roll their eyes and dislike it. In that, truth is indeed much stranger than fiction, but also its unfair to writers.

Posted by: Christopher R Taylor at August 09, 2020 11:36 AM (KZzsI)

446 435

All of it. It is more welfare and class warfare rhetoric paid for by printing money. When Dems do it we get mad. When our side does it we should get mad too.

Posted by: Asshoes at August 09, 2020 11:37 AM (wkJ52)

447 Tom Servo that is great advice. My brother runs a business that hires a lot of hourly wage people, and he says the same thing--he asks the good workers if they know someone who's looking.

Posted by: artemis at August 09, 2020 11:37 AM (AwPyG)

448 'As with many people who suffer from anxiety, '

Pot might make you more anxious. Best to take with booze and cocaine, and maybe a Valium to take the edge off.

Posted by: freaked at August 09, 2020 11:38 AM (Tnijr)

449 No, just do computer simulations. Then the nerds can sit around in their circles, and jerk themselves to the numbers.
Posted by: BurtTC at August 09, 2020 11:12 AM


I see you've heard of baseball sim leagues.

Posted by: Cybersmythe at August 09, 2020 11:38 AM (edlKR)

450 Not a chance in hell I would advertise a rental to the general public.

Posted by: Mr Aspirin Factory at August 09, 2020 11:38 AM (0W6jN)

451 @445
Exactly, Chris. although I'm going to be first in line when Trump writes a book to explain what the heck happened, here.

Posted by: artemis at August 09, 2020 11:39 AM (AwPyG)

452
Pot might make you more anxious. Best to take with booze and cocaine, and maybe a Valium to take the edge off.
Posted by: freaked at August 09, 2020 11:38 AM (Tnijr)

Why are you trying to kill me? What did I ever do to you?

Posted by: Insomniac - Ex Cineribus Resurgo at August 09, 2020 11:39 AM (NWiLs)

453 The problem with taking drugs to deal with mental issues like anxiety or depression is that they don't actually make it go away, they just make you less aware of it. Its still there you just dont feel it as much. Ask anyone who's tried to drink away the pain of heartbreak: you still are heartbroken, you just don't care as much about it for a short time.

Posted by: Christopher R Taylor at August 09, 2020 11:39 AM (KZzsI)

454 Anyone in the SE...besides me..feel the quake this morning?....Little after 8 a.m. Centered in Sparta, NC.
5.1, which is pretty big around here.

Posted by: BignJames at August 09, 2020 11:39 AM (X/Pw5)

455 If there was something out there that would reduce
stress and anxiety and make me feel actually happy for a little while, I
would gladly take it.
Posted by: Insomniac - Ex Cineribus Resurgo at August 09, 2020 11:20 AM (NWiLs)



Ketamine. It will seriously mess your brain up if you abuse it too. And you will still have your original issues when you stop taking it.

Posted by: Kindltot at August 09, 2020 11:39 AM (WyVLE)

456 >>Boats are like cars. You buy a pos it will always be broken. You spend some money upfront and keep it well maintained it will run well. Problem is people will buy a $15K boat because it is all they can afford then when that first $500maintenance issue comes up they have no money. and not fixing the $500 issue causes a $2500 issue to develop. And that boat never sees the water again.

Rule of thumb for boats, particularly salt water boats, is expect to spend between 10% to 20% of the purchase price on annual maintenance. The bigger the boat the closer to 20% you get and often it will be more.

Posted by: JackStraw at August 09, 2020 11:39 AM (ZLI7S)

457 No, just do computer simulations. Then the nerds can sit around in their circles, and jerk themselves to the numbers.
Posted by: BurtTC at August 09, 2020 11:12 AM

I see you've heard of baseball sim leagues.
Posted by: Cybersmythe at August 09, 2020 11:38 AM (edlKR)


It's like the so-called dark web. I know it exists, but I never want to know where they meet, and I CERTAINLY don't want to hear any details on what they do at their gatherings.

Posted by: BurtTC at August 09, 2020 11:40 AM (hku12)

458 "Why are you trying to kill me? What did I ever do to you?"

I figured you were smart enough to never take my advice.

Posted by: freaked at August 09, 2020 11:40 AM (Tnijr)

459 My tenant in question who is leaving has been renting from me for 4 years. It was a Craigslist ad. In that ad I was specific with what the criteria was, needed $x income, 700 or higher fico, no criminal record, verifiable income. No pets. And made it abundantly clear you need all that to be considered, no exceptions. And she has never so much been a day late with rent and an added bonus she is handy and fixes things on her own. Single middle aged woman with high income. A dream come true for a landlord.

Posted by: Asshoes at August 09, 2020 11:41 AM (wkJ52)

460 I see you've heard of baseball sim leagues.

I used to play in one. We started in 1939 with a selection of teams to draft from, and went through season after season against each other. The game was originally called Radio Baseball, and became Diamond Mind I think. It was fun but the latest iterations started to take the new stats too seriously and it changed how the game simulated.

We got to the late 60s and got tired of playing 154 games a season after a while. The draft was fun though. I got Ted Williams and later Carl Yastrzemski. We didn't have the Yankees as a team to draft from, it was mostly the teams who rarely did well like the Reds and the Indians, Detroit, etc.

Posted by: Christopher R Taylor at August 09, 2020 11:42 AM (KZzsI)

461 Posted by: Notsothoreau at August 09, 2020 11:35 AM (YynYJ)

Again, I've heard but have no first hand knowledge, that the modern strains of cannabis are insanely potent. However, the inside of my mind is an extremely troubled place, and SSRIs only go so far.

Posted by: Insomniac - Ex Cineribus Resurgo at August 09, 2020 11:42 AM (NWiLs)

462 I wouldn't be surprised if the "bit by rabid bat" is a ploy, because it fits the dem narrative so neatly.

It might be that instead of the usual hoping that the Libertarian candidate pulls Republicans, they may be worried she will pull Dems this time (see also: massive efforts to keep Kanye off the ballot)

Posted by: artemis at August 09, 2020 11:42 AM (AwPyG)

463 'As with many people who suffer from anxiety, '

Pot might make you more anxious. Best to take with booze and cocaine, and maybe a Valium to take the edge off.
Posted by: freaked at August 09, 2020 11:38 AM (Tnijr)


That might work, but the hangovers are atrocious.

Here, have some Oxy. No really, it's from a doctor I know, so it's safe.

Posted by: BurtTC at August 09, 2020 11:43 AM (hku12)

464 Since the lockdown, my WWII and Korean War library has increased substantially. I really want to thank many here on this thread for some most excellent suggestions. I was even able to pick up three books that were out of print, but were in excellent condition.

Posted by: Old Blue at August 09, 2020 11:44 AM (VNmG1)

465 455 If there was something out there that would reduce
stress and anxiety and make me feel actually happy for a little while, I
would gladly take it.
Posted by: Insomniac - Ex Cineribus Resurgo at August 09, 2020 11:20 AM (NWiLs)


Ketamine. It will seriously mess your brain up if you abuse it too. And you will still have your original issues when you stop taking it.
Posted by: Kindltot at August 09, 2020 11:39 AM (WyVLE)

I have no illusion that any pharmaceutical, sanctioned or non-sanctioned, is a cure. They can only reduce symptoms, or let you forget about them for a little while.

Posted by: Insomniac - Ex Cineribus Resurgo at August 09, 2020 11:44 AM (NWiLs)

466 Rule of thumb for boats, particularly salt water boats, is expect to spend between 10% to 20% of the purchase price on annual maintenance.

I read a lot of sea novels and one of the things that stands out is that they spend every day, each day, fixing and maintaining the boat at least in some small way. Most of it is cordage because of the miles of ropes etc (I know, they're sheets on a sailing ship but work with me here). But they are always and forever patching and sanding and adjusting ad working with the masts. And there's the heavy stuff that's done at the dock when they come back from a long voyage.

Boats are not like cars, they require constant attention. You can get by for years without fixing anything at all on a new car, even though you ought to.

Posted by: Christopher R Taylor at August 09, 2020 11:45 AM (KZzsI)

467 Anyone in the SE...besides me..feel the quake this morning?....Little after 8 a.m. Centered in Sparta, NC.
5.1, which is pretty big around here.

--

We felt it too, BignJames! I'm in the Reidville area and was freaked out, actually. Our windows rattled and the floors and walls shook a bit. Very strange experience. I have to say it's the most strong tremor I've ever felt. I was surprised to learn how far away the epicenter was.

Posted by: Lady in Black at August 09, 2020 11:45 AM (O+I8R)

468 I figured you were smart enough to never take my advice.
Posted by: freaked at August 09, 2020 11:40 AM (Tnijr)

Well, looks like you figured right!

Though for a "smart" person, I'm pretty fucking dumb.

Posted by: Insomniac - Ex Cineribus Resurgo at August 09, 2020 11:45 AM (NWiLs)

469 'You can get by for years without fixing anything at all on a new car, even though you ought to.'

You don't have to worry about you car sinking, at least in most cases.

Posted by: freaked at August 09, 2020 11:46 AM (Tnijr)

470 I read one book on internment camps in China of civilians in WWII, don't remember the title.

Posted by: Skip at August 09, 2020 11:46 AM (OjZpE)

471 Again, I've heard but have no first hand knowledge, that the modern strains of cannabis are insanely potent. However, the inside of my mind is an extremely troubled place, and SSRIs only go so far.
Posted by: Insomniac - Ex Cineribus Resurgo at August 09, 2020 11:42 AM (NWiLs)


I'm going to recommend a book. It's a short read, and might be exactly what you are looking for:

"The Body Keeps the Score," by Bessel van der Kolk.

Posted by: BurtTC at August 09, 2020 11:49 AM (hku12)

472 "I find it both humorous and encouraging that Pelosi and Schumer both miscalculated so badly on this Stimulus 2 - Congressional Boogaloo."

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tN5KIUNfYGA

Posted by: Myollnir at August 09, 2020 11:49 AM (/VSJg)

473 There's an earthquake expert at Cal Tech called Dr. Kate, and she gets to tell us the details about every earthquake when it happens.
Interestingly, how it feels depends a lot on the "type" of earthquake, but I can't remember the details.
She did say that the epicenter is not a "bulls-eye", the epicenter is like the place at the edge of a piece of paper when you take it in your hands to tear it in two.
Really interesting.

Posted by: artemis at August 09, 2020 11:50 AM (AwPyG)

474 If there was something out there that would reduce stress and anxiety and make me feel actually happy for a little while, I would gladly take it.
Posted by: Insomniac - Ex Cineribus Resurgo

(Hands Insom a Happy Face tire iron.....)

Posted by: JT at August 09, 2020 11:52 AM (arJlL)

475 Its been about 18 hours since the MOAB came. Democrats are still speechless.

Posted by: Menack at August 09, 2020 11:54 AM (buTO7)

476 It might be that instead of the usual hoping that
the Libertarian candidate pulls Republicans, they may be worried she
will pull Dems this time (see also: massive efforts to keep Kanye off
the ballot)
Posted by: artemis at August 09, 2020 11:42 AM (AwPyG)


Jo Jorgensen put out a tweet last month that sounded like she was being "Biden without the Dementia" candidate, so that may be a serious concern

As usual it was walked back and blamed on a staffer when the screaming from the ranks got loud.

So . . . Still Biden without the Dementia.

Who is the Greenie this cycle? Is there one?

Posted by: Kindltot at August 09, 2020 11:54 AM (WyVLE)

477 @insom- Be careful, I used to know a shroom grower. Yep, its shorter acting than LSD (4-6 hours) vs 8-12 hours but be careful. He had lots of stories (some funny, most were terrifying) of people who took too many at once.
Ever consider poppies? Back in the day I had another friend who ordered breadseed poppy seeds in the mail. They are the poppyseeds which are on bagels. Same plant they get opium from. And poppyseeds on bagels can make you flunk a opiate drug test.
Anyway, it was legal to order these things in his state. He planted them (a whole shitload) and he cut the tops off (unripe seed capsules) and dried them. He did not score the capsules to extract the opium, he merely dried the whole top of the flower (unripe seed capsule) and let a few go to seed to plant the next year.
Up to that point it was technically legal. (you need to check your state laws)

Then he would make a strong cup of tea out (water temp when brewing < 180 F) of it and drink it. At this point it became illegal but his rationale is they would have to catch him brewing and drinking the tea.
Now it is addictive if you drink too much too often. But he would do this 1 or 2 days a week and he never seemed to have a problem with it.
Be prepared to couch surf all day if you do this. You ain't going far and don't be operating machinery or driving.

Posted by: The Walking Dude at August 09, 2020 11:55 AM (cCxiu)

478 L. Bob Rife would like to give Junger a namshub

Posted by: Anna Puma at August 09, 2020 11:55 AM (HxjrY)

479 I spend between $8-10k a year to own my boat including maintenance/repairs, insurance, slip rental, detailing, and off season storage. And another $1000-2000 for gas depending on gas prices.

Not a ton of money but money that most new boat owners do not properly account for and are shocked to realize is needed.

Posted by: Asshoes at August 09, 2020 11:55 AM (wkJ52)

480 I see you've heard of baseball sim leagues.

Posted by: Cybersmythe at August 09, 2020 11:38 AM (edlKR)

It's like the so-called dark web. I know it exists, but I never want to know where they meet, and I CERTAINLY don't want to hear any details on what they do at their gatherings.
Posted by: BurtTC at August 09, 2020 11:40 AM


Baseball sim leagues are what my wife did for most of the 2000's. It's kind of like a cross between D-and-D and "Strat-O-Matic". The seasons would last for like 20 minutes and then the offseason where everybody's doing their roleplaying stuff would go on for weeks.

For a while, there, they were trying to do fantasy leagues based upon the sim league, but that turned out to meta even for them.

I'll shut up about it, now, to save your sanity. It's already too late for me.

Posted by: Cybersmythe at August 09, 2020 11:55 AM (edlKR)

481 >>Boats are not like cars, they require constant attention. You can get by for years without fixing anything at all on a new car, even though you ought to.

In my experience, sailboats more than power boats. There's always something to fix on a sailboat and like cost the amount grows as the boat gets bigger.

Posted by: JackStraw at August 09, 2020 11:56 AM (ZLI7S)

482 The Dunwich Horror is great and highly filmmable. I'm surprised no one has done it, and with current CGI you could make the 'invisible thing' really cool.


Posted by: Ace-Endorsed Author A.H. Lloyd at August 09, 2020 10:34 AM (cfSRQ)



Hollywood's way ahead of you!

"The Dunwich Horror" came out in 1970.

Lovecraft and hippies! A match made in...uh...Hollywood.

If your expectations are low enough, say, as low as the movie's budget, you might enjoy it.

Posted by: naturalfake at August 09, 2020 11:56 AM (dWwl8)

483 I read one book on internment camps in China of civilians in WWII, don't remember the title.
Posted by: Skip

"You been here four year now"

Posted by: JT at August 09, 2020 11:57 AM (arJlL)

484 Jill Biden on CBS this am. A soft ball, nay a "T" ball, interview. If hubby is elected she is going to change the world.

Posted by: Javems at August 09, 2020 11:57 AM (fk9y/)

485 I'm going to recommend a book. It's a short read, and might be exactly what you are looking for:

"The Body Keeps the Score," by Bessel van der Kolk.
Posted by: BurtTC at August 09, 2020 11:49 AM (hku12)

Ordered.

Posted by: Insomniac - Ex Cineribus Resurgo at August 09, 2020 11:58 AM (NWiLs)

486 I'll admit that the Spanish Civil War doesn't interest me much, but I'm going to buy it on Kindle anyway, to support the author, a fellow Spartan.

Posted by: fly at August 09, 2020 11:58 AM (2M/TV)

487 Re: Boats

I've got an old bass boat that I enjoy, but my family takes the canoe (with a little trolling motor for ease of use if needed) and crappy little kayaks out more than anything these days.

Kayaks, even cheapo ones, are a lot of fun and freedom on a lake. Lots of fun fishing from one, too, and even a feisty little bream will pull and turn you.

Posted by: Charles Darwin - Pop quiz: What does COVID and homelessness have in common politically? at August 09, 2020 11:58 AM (9UHPJ)

488 Funny all this talk about drugs. I'm sitting here looking at 3 pounds of weed and a half pound of cubensis mushrooms. And I don't even really like them. Was just bored during quarantine and its kind of like cash.

Posted by: Menack at August 09, 2020 11:59 AM (buTO7)

489 "It's kind of like a cross between D-and-D and "Strat-O-Matic". The
seasons would last for like 20 minutes and then the offseason where
everybody's doing their roleplaying stuff would go on for weeks."
I think this is the story of the horde

Posted by: artemis at August 09, 2020 11:59 AM (AwPyG)

490 (Hands Insom a Happy Face tire iron.....)
Posted by: JT at August 09, 2020 11:52 AM (arJlL)

Beating some stupid people would make me feel a little better temporarily...

Posted by: Insomniac - Ex Cineribus Resurgo at August 09, 2020 11:59 AM (NWiLs)

491 Thus far nobody has done a really great Lovecraft film but there have been some pretty decent ones. Part of the problem is that much of what Lovecraft describes cannot be understood or depicted by human device so you can't really do a visual in a film.

Posted by: Christopher R Taylor at August 09, 2020 11:59 AM (KZzsI)

492 "It's kind of like a cross between D-and-D and "Strat-O-Matic". The
seasons would last for like 20 minutes and then the offseason where
everybody's doing their roleplaying stuff would go on for weeks."

I think this is the story of the horde

Posted by: artemis at August 09, 2020 11:59 AM


I had to laugh because it is so true.

Posted by: Cybersmythe at August 09, 2020 12:01 PM (edlKR)

493 Goodreads hasn't been as bad but yeah they are
always down with the struggle as well. And I wonder, are readers really
interested in that? Is that what readers really want? I know some do
but I think honestly that most really woke people only pretend at
reading like Obama carrying that one radical book around for 3 years as a
prop.



I think they might be book buyers because it helps with their cosplay around others to pretend intellectualism and literacy. But do they really read?

Posted by: Christopher R Taylor at August 09, 2020 11:16 AM (KZzsI)


It's really sad that they want to shove their leftist politics down everyone's throat. In my old neighborhood there was a really nice Barnes within walking distance. Great selection of books and magazines. I used to go there often and would rather buy from them than Amazon but they've decided they no longer want my business either

Posted by: TheQuietMan at August 09, 2020 12:01 PM (ru+Ca)

494 CBD HAS A NOOD

Posted by: Skip, the guy who says NOOD at August 09, 2020 12:02 PM (OjZpE)

495 Skrelnik.

Posted by: Olaf at August 09, 2020 12:02 PM (jy6Rj)

496 Jill Biden on CBS this am. A soft ball, nay a "T" ball, interview. If hubby is elected she is going to change the world.

I think she sees herself as Mrs Wilson, running things while Joe is off in a diaper eating paint chips.

I wish there was a good, accurate series of books set in the early 20th century. I read a book series of baseball-related mysteries by Troy Soos that were pretty good but they were a progressive understanding of the events (Sacco and Vanzetti were good guys misused by the system!). I mean, it wasn't strong in the books but the one voice of politics and wisdom was a hard left radical.

Posted by: Christopher R Taylor at August 09, 2020 12:03 PM (KZzsI)

497 Damn, I hate to be the drug expert . My friend was a parapalegic. He was taking medicinal pot to control leg spasms. It works better than valium. I have a lot of experience with pot and hash but I did not like taking even one hit of his stuff. I don't enjoy being drugged out.

And opium tea. Second husband had the circulation stop in his hips and the joints died. It was extremely painful. He had a friend make him opium tea. You can make it from the entire plant but it can be destroyed if it gets too hot. He said it killed the pain immediately. The friend did gardening work on Vashon island. She would talk them into planting opium poppies, then she would collect the plants as they died back. If I were in serious pain, I would try it.

Posted by: Notsothoreau at August 09, 2020 12:03 PM (YynYJ)

498 Oh and do not buy a boat with a loan!!!!! It is like a second mortgage at really high interest rates. Save up and pay with cash. Buy a 5-10 year old well maintained boat. The depreciation curve is yuugely steep for the first 5 years the. Then quickly flattens. Well maintained boats will last forever and since 2005ish and newer, just have more marketing gimmick stuff in them. The quality of rude, power etc hasnt changed much for what they typical weekend boater needs. Buying new is really a waste of money.

Posted by: Asshoes at August 09, 2020 12:03 PM (wkJ52)

499 Posted by: BurtTC at August 09, 2020 11:40 AM

Baseball sim leagues are what my wife did for most of the 2000's. It's kind of like a cross between D-and-D and "Strat-O-Matic". The seasons would last for like 20 minutes and then the offseason where everybody's doing their roleplaying stuff would go on for weeks.

For a while, there, they were trying to do fantasy leagues based upon the sim league, but that turned out to meta even for them.

I'll shut up about it, now, to save your sanity. It's already too late for me.
Posted by: Cybersmythe at August 09, 2020 11:55 AM (edlKR)


Heh, there's a scene in one of those goofy Judd Apatow movies, where the wife thinks her husband is cheating on her, so she follows him.

Turns out he's doing some version of fantasy baseball. I don't remember exactly what they were playing, but yeah.

Posted by: BurtTC at August 09, 2020 12:03 PM (hku12)

500 We felt it too, BignJames! I'm in the Reidville area and was freaked out, actually. Our windows rattled and the floors and walls shook a bit. Very strange experience. I have to say it's the most strong tremor I've ever felt. I was surprised to learn how far away the epicenter was.

Posted by: Lady in Black at August 09, 2020 11:45 AM (O+I8R)

I was in the garage, sitting on the pu tailgate having coffee and a smoke...got a pretty good shake.

Posted by: BignJames at August 09, 2020 12:04 PM (X/Pw5)

501 The book/publishing people are true believers--they're not virtue signaling. they honestly have an alternate view of reality.

Which is why if you want to be published by New York, your story has to be one that would appeal to a Manhattanite

Posted by: artemis at August 09, 2020 12:05 PM (AwPyG)

502 >>Oh and do not buy a boat with a loan!!!!! It is like a second mortgage at really high interest rates.

And like a second mortgage depending on the type of boat the interest is tax deductible.

Those marinas full of 6 and 7 figure boats aren't all bought with cash.

Posted by: JackStraw at August 09, 2020 12:06 PM (ZLI7S)

503 "Jill Biden on CBS this am. A soft ball, nay a "T" ball, interview. If hubby is elected she is going to change the world."



She may think she is but if Joe wins the Democrats in charge are going to sideline her faster then they sideline Joe. Joe's just a way for the leftists in charge to take power, they ain't sharing that power with Jill.

Posted by: lowandslow at August 09, 2020 12:06 PM (4thlk)

504 It's really sad that they want to shove their leftist politics down everyone's throat.

That might just be it. I think most people who work at bookstores are pretty hard left types who want to push their coffee shop politics on everyone. Several of the book store owners I know have military backgrounds and are not at all left wing, but the people who want to work at a bookstore seem to be the worst sort.

Posted by: Christopher R Taylor at August 09, 2020 12:07 PM (KZzsI)

505
Hollywood's way ahead of you!



"The Dunwich Horror" came out in 1970.



Lovecraft and hippies! A match made in...uh...Hollywood.



If your expectations are low enough, say, as low as the movie's budget, you might enjoy it.



Posted by: naturalfake at August 09, 2020 11:56 AM (dWwl


And Sandra Dee. In a role that was really out of her usual work

Posted by: TheQuietMan at August 09, 2020 12:08 PM (ru+Ca)

506 I have no doubt if Sock Puppet Biden is elected the world will change, not a doubt in the world.

2nd Call for NOOD

Posted by: Skip, the guy who says NOOD at August 09, 2020 12:08 PM (OjZpE)

507 I refuse to leave the book thread. Its like a security blanket. All is well with the world when surrounded by books.

Posted by: Christopher R Taylor at August 09, 2020 12:10 PM (KZzsI)

508 I'm going to have to leave the thread as it's Sunday. The dogs get their road trip to the woods. They had breakfast and are starting to agitate for me to get going.

Posted by: Notsothoreau at August 09, 2020 12:12 PM (YynYJ)

509 Several of the book store owners I know have
military backgrounds and are not at all left wing, but the people who
want to work at a bookstore seem to be the worst sort.
Posted by: Christopher R Taylor at August 09, 2020 12:07 PM (KZzsI)


My favorite bookstore in Salem is Escape Fiction.

Posted by: Kindltot at August 09, 2020 12:13 PM (WyVLE)

510 My favorite bookstore in Salem is Escape Fiction.

Best book store in town, absolutely. Great owner too. Roberts Books on the coast I think is probably the best place in Oregon although he's fallen on hard times and its not as great as it once was

Posted by: Christopher R Taylor at August 09, 2020 12:15 PM (KZzsI)

511 I refuse to leave the book thread. Its like a security blanket. All is well with the world when surrounded by books.

Posted by: Christopher R Taylor at August 09, 2020 12:10 PM


Well, if you include audio books, I have been listening to an Audible Original called "The Space Race." It's okay, but hardly what I would call compelling. I find that to be true with a lot of the "Audible Originals" which, honestly, are less books or stories than they are audio plays.

Since I'm not driving 12 hours a week to and from work, I don't listen to nearly as many audio books as I used to, so I'm focused on shorter works.

Posted by: Cybersmythe at August 09, 2020 12:16 PM (edlKR)

512 @509
My favorite bookstore is run by a sweet little old lady who acts like the librarians described by the commentator up thread. the flu is deadly poison, hangs in the air, and you have to wear gloves to do a curb-side pick up of brand new books

Like I said, leftists have an alternate reality that's head scratching.
Oh--and she's worried she'll go out of business.

Posted by: artemis at August 09, 2020 12:18 PM (AwPyG)

513 If you were choosing an audio book narrator, would you choose the one whose voice is perfect but who seems a little flaky, or the one whose voice is almost perfect and seems efficient and on the ball?

Posted by: artemis at August 09, 2020 12:20 PM (AwPyG)

514 I find that a very odd or distinctive voice distracts me from the book. I downloaded an audio book of Sharpe's Rifles which is read by this squeaky voiced mouse of a Brit and its very distracting and inappropriate for the story and tone of the books. Hearing a high tenor voice speak the lines of Harper and Sharpe just doesn't work.

I prefer really great readers with a mellifluous, resonant voice for most books.

Posted by: Christopher R Taylor at August 09, 2020 12:30 PM (KZzsI)

515 More books than a stick can be shaken at.
Posted by: eleven at August 09, 2020 08:57 AM (XTyi0)

More books than at which you can shake a stick.
Posted by: Kindltot
-----------

More books than, at which, you can shake a stick.

Posted by: Mike Hammer, etc., etc. at August 09, 2020 12:31 PM (WZ5i4)

516 Good morning All and thank you for another always awesome SMBT! I finished the audiobook of Michael Connelly s latest titled Fair Warning. It is the third Jack McEvoy versus a serial killer book. Jack is not my favorite Connelly character but I enjoy everything Connelly writes. The book has an interesting what-if plot concerning what happens if someone hacks these DNA heritage sites and puts a name to your DNA. Fair Warning does include my literary crush, ex-FBI agent Rachel Walling. Am I strange or do any of you develop crushes on fictional characters?

Posted by: SuperMayorSuperRonNirenberg at August 09, 2020 12:32 PM (/Hc9U)

517 I'm back!

At mass our first prayer intention was to protect the Church during its ongoing persecution.

Make of that what you will.

Posted by: Ace-Endorsed Author A.H. Lloyd at August 09, 2020 12:34 PM (cfSRQ)

518 Am I strange or do any of you develop crushes on fictional characters?

Supposedly Dorothy Sayers fell so in love with Lord Peter Wimsey she felt she couldn't write him any more.

Posted by: Christopher R Taylor at August 09, 2020 12:35 PM (KZzsI)

519 486
I'll admit that the Spanish Civil War doesn't interest me much, but I'm
going to buy it on Kindle anyway, to support the author, a fellow
Spartan.


Posted by: fly at August 09, 2020 11:58 AM (2M/TV)

---
Go Green!*

*That being said,if MSU allows James Madison College to change its name, I'm done with the place.

Posted by: Ace-Endorsed Author A.H. Lloyd at August 09, 2020 12:36 PM (cfSRQ)

520 And like a second mortgage depending on the type of boat the interest is tax deductible.



Those marinas full of 6 and 7 figure boats aren't all bought with cash.

Posted by: JackStraw at August 09, 2020 12:06 PM (ZLI7S)

---
A boat is a hole in the water into which you pour money.

Alternatively, it is a horse that can sink.

My parents had one and it was a constant burden on their finances. Eventually they had to sell it.

But they were happy while it lasted.

I think part of the attaction is the "boating lifestyle," which is relaxed and speaks of easy money.

Of course a lot of people are stretched thin, and then decide that they can't give it up so find themselves losing a lot more than the dumb boat.

Not a fan.

Posted by: Ace-Endorsed Author A.H. Lloyd at August 09, 2020 12:40 PM (cfSRQ)

521 Ernst Jünger's life was interesting. He benefited from the Nazi regime while at the same time (mostly) holding it at arm's length. His "On the Marble Cliffs" is hard to find, so I'm posting a link to my review of it:

https://bookcents.blogspot.com/2018/08/on-marble-cliffs-by-ernst-junger.html

Posted by: dwight at August 09, 2020 12:41 PM (/8JN4)

522 I am reading "The Order" by Daniel Silva. My friend gave it to me. Total fiction. A page-turner for sure. But serious bullshit. E.g. the hippy Mass (tamborines and guitar) is going to save the Roman Catholic Church.

Posted by: JAS at August 09, 2020 12:47 PM (R0nQm)

523 Several of the book store owners I know have
military backgrounds and are not at all left wing, but the people who
want to work at a bookstore seem to be the worst sort.
Posted by: Christopher R Taylor
----------

One of my favorite used book stores was owned by Russ Parsons (USA, Ret.). Russ was a good friend of Stormin' Norman, was the best man at his wedding, and is mentioned in Schwarzkopf's book, 'It Doesn't Take A Hero'.

Russ was a great guy, and liked to sit around and talk in the bookstore. I found a nice leather-bound 1927 copy of 'The Works of Voltaire' at his shop.

As I was checking out, he looked at it wistfully and said, 'I almost kept that for myself'.

Posted by: Mike Hammer, etc., etc. at August 09, 2020 12:47 PM (WD9ZA)

524 If you're bothered by typos and such in public domain books, try https://standardebooks.org/ . They don't have as many books as Gutenberg, but they're proofread better, and they have modern quote marks and such. And free, of course. I've been grabbing their P. G. Wodehouse books as they're released, and they seem well done. I've signed up to help edit for them.

Another good source is https://www.mobileread.com/. Lots of obscure and well-know public domain books, and usually well proofed and formatted. And if you use Calibre, there's a forum for it and the author is there often and is very helpful.

Posted by: Ex Copy Editor at August 09, 2020 12:48 PM (vRtyU)

525 Just checking in the the estimate Book Thread to say I am enjoying David Wong's latest, "Futuristic Violence and Fancy Suits".

It begins with our young trailer park heroine, Zoey Ashe, being hunted by a surgically augmented cannibalistic serial killer, who is broadcasting his thrill kill on the internet. She is saved in the nick of time by a mysterious man who claims that Zoey is now heir to her biological father's vast fortune and estate in Tabula Ra$a, a new city that looks "like the Blade Runner universe is holding a Mardi Gras parade". It's Vegas on acid and angel dust, and everybody and everything is jacked into the web. Her new "savior" needs her to physically access the vault in which her father left his last will and testament. Zoey is under near-constant assault in this neon libertarian metropolis, and daddy's goon squad can't be trusted.

I'm only a little ways in, but if you liked Wong's "John Dies at the End" and "This Book is Full of Spiders", this will probably be your bag too.

Posted by: All Hail Eris, She-Wolf of the 'Ettes 'Ettes at August 09, 2020 01:04 PM (Dc2NZ)

526 If you were choosing an audio book narrator, would you choose the one whose voice is perfect but who seems a little flaky, or the one whose voice is almost perfect and seems efficient and on the ball?

Posted by: artemis at August 09, 2020 12:20 PM


I don't know, to be perfectly honest. I do know that my to favorite narrators are Bronson Pinchot and Khristine Hvam.

Posted by: Cybersmythe at August 09, 2020 01:15 PM (edlKR)

527 As I was checking out, he looked at it wistfully and said, 'I almost kept that for myself'.

Like being a car dealer, you want to keep all the classics but have to sell some to stay in business.

Posted by: Christopher R Taylor at August 09, 2020 01:17 PM (KZzsI)

528 If you're bothered by typos and such in public domain books, try https://standardebooks.org/

I'll definitely take a look. I really appreciate Gutenberg but the formatting and such is atrocious in many of the books, so much so I feel like editing a bunch and posting them.

Posted by: Christopher R Taylor at August 09, 2020 01:19 PM (KZzsI)

529 If you're bothered by typos and such in public domain books, try https://standardebooks.org/ . They don't have as many books as Gutenberg, but they're proofread better, and they have modern quote marks and such. And free, of course. I've been grabbing their P. G. Wodehouse books as they're released, and they seem well done. I've signed up to help edit for them.

Another good source is https://www.mobileread.com/. Lots of obscure and well-know public domain books, and usually well proofed and formatted. And if you use Calibre, there's a forum for it and the author is there often and is very helpful.
Posted by: Ex Copy Editor at August 09, 2020 12:48 PM


Oh, no! More free books I don't have time to read.

Posted by: Cybersmythe at August 09, 2020 01:19 PM (edlKR)

530 Yeah, I think I agree that the narrator's voice is the main concern.

Posted by: artemis at August 09, 2020 01:21 PM (AwPyG)

531 *scrolls up*

My, what a long strange tr1p today's Book Thread is.

Posted by: All Hail Eris, She-Wolf of the 'Ettes 'Ettes at August 09, 2020 01:21 PM (Dc2NZ)

532 It's been my experience that a lot of boating people are coincidentally drinking people, too

Posted by: artemis at August 09, 2020 01:24 PM (AwPyG)

533 Interesting pic of Gary Cooper considering this quote of his:

"I haven't read a half a dozen books in my life."

In that case, a rare photo indeed. Like the title, too. "What every young mother should know". Ha!

By the way, got the quote off of IMDB. Great website.

Posted by: RobertM at August 09, 2020 01:28 PM (lEqw+)

534 362 "This is the United States. It is built on envy, hatred, and resentment. "

I don't believe that at all. Nothing can be "built" on those things. They exist as universal aspects of human nature, more or less. Less in America, I'd say.
Posted by: Ordinary American at August 09, 2020 11:06 AM (H8QX

What you "believe" is immaterial; it's the truth. Don't believe me? Read the next thread. And try paying attention to government and society.

(I hate it more than you know but the only way to deal with things is to grasp the truth.)

Posted by: Catch Thirty-Thr33 at August 09, 2020 01:31 PM (ejsiI)

535 I do know that my to favorite narrators are Bronson Pinchot and Khristine Hvam.

I never cared much for Pinchot as an actor, but I agree, he is a top notch narrator.

Posted by: SuperMayorSuperRonNirenberg at August 09, 2020 01:32 PM (/Hc9U)

536 48 >> He was advanced $65m for a book on which he's 2 years behind, if he's started it at all.

Bill Ayers must've been busy lately.
Posted by: Chief Justice John Roberts at August 09, 2020 09:19 AM

That's called "a slow fat pitch across the plate". Exactly my thought!

Posted by: Moonbeam at August 09, 2020 01:34 PM (qe5CM)

537 ''I do know that my to favorite narrators are Bronson Pinchot and Khristine Hvam. ''

Scott Brick is also a tier one narrator.

Posted by: Tuna at August 09, 2020 01:34 PM (gLRfa)

538 Well its time for me to go. Keep reading everyone. I shall leave you on a shameless plug of one of my books.

Old Habits is a fantasy novel about a thief named Stoce who is hired to steal some gems. He stores them in a safe spot until its time to turn them over, and comes back to find that they're all gone -- picked up with all the other rocks in the pile and used as ballast in a ship! His own guild of criminals is after him, thinking he kept the gems, and he flees the city, chasing the ship that the stones were kept on.

In a strange land, he finds that his gems have been at least in part discovered and seized by the local Baron. Stoce heads to the castle to recover them and becomes caught up in a plot to overthrow the castle in a coup attempt, a mad wizard, enraged city guards, a troublesome paladin, and much more. Will our hero find the gems, or will he find something even better?

"As I read Old Habits, I kept flashing on Heinlein - Taylor's fiction be-bops along with an easy wit and droll connivance that hark back to 'the Dean.'"
-Anna

"I thoroughly enjoyed how Mr. Taylor casually worked magic into everyday life while keeping it unexpected and, at times, terrifying. Unlike high fantasy where you are awash with elves, dwarves, dragons, and other mythical creatures, this story has only mention of them. It was interesting to hear about them while still being firmly planted in an all-human environment."
-Caty M

"It has an air of mystery and intrigue as both character and audience come into scenes together.
The humor is entertaining keeping the characters relatable."
-D Villa-Smith
"Who doesn't love a scoundrel character that finds he has a good heart under the cynical view of life early experiences gave him. A full fantasy world with thieves, assasins, knights and evil mages with plenty of plot turns to keep things interesting."
-Teresa

Old Habits is available in print and ebook format.

https://www.kestrelarts.com/old-habits

Posted by: Christopher R Taylor at August 09, 2020 01:35 PM (KZzsI)

539 79 Trying to read Heinlein's The Number of the Beast, but not digging it.

I doubt then that you will reach a point where you do dig it. I read the whole thing and wanted to kick myself afterwards! I found it to be a self-indulgent mess.

Posted by: SuperMayorSuperRonNirenberg at August 09, 2020 01:40 PM (/Hc9U)

540 Been traveling and now spent the last hour reading through the comments for the day. Thanks to everyone who posted, but my bank account is now less than it was before I started reading this thread. I imagine I am not the only one this happens to.
Read The Pursuit by Thomas Perry about a tracking down a hired killer. The protagonist of the story- the guy hired to track down the bad guy- sounds like he would fit in well with the horde. This is one of the books I have read that I wish there was a sequel since I would like to see the protagonist in action again.

Posted by: Charlotte at August 09, 2020 01:44 PM (0TrBh)

541 So they have fewer and fewer books. You can go put holds on books, but they're never coming back.
Posted by: Christopher R Taylor at August 09, 2020 10:57 AM (KZzsI)

so weird
our local library lets people return books in the outside bin then puts them in "quarantine" for several days before checking them in
still over the top, imo, but at least there's a process

Posted by: vmom 2020 grammar nazi and write supremacist at August 09, 2020 01:46 PM (J8nVw)

542 I doubt Tarl Cabot would understand the word. He never struck me as very book-smart.

Posted by: Matt Harris at August 09, 2020 01:57 PM (dJUXM)

543 519: Dolley Madison College! It was the unofficial name anyway.

Posted by: billy plays bagpipes at August 09, 2020 02:13 PM (ONvIw)

544 521: He survived it. But they did send his son to a place where he was sure to be killed. So I'm not sure you could call that a benefit. Plus he was implicated in the Graf Staffenberg business. He was dishonorably discharged, could have been killed had he not been a celeb.

Posted by: CN at August 09, 2020 02:18 PM (ONvIw)

545 Update: Long Live Death is now the #1 New Release in Spain in Portugal History, #3 Best Seller in that category.

You guys are awesome.

Posted by: Ace-Endorsed Author A.H. Lloyd at August 09, 2020 02:53 PM (cfSRQ)

546 "Another example is Jim Butcher, who started a rather entertaining fantasy series about 5 years ago which I don't think he's ever going to get back to.
Posted by: Tuna at August 09, 2020 11:27 AM (gLRfa)"

Butcher just released "Peace Talks" and "Battle Ground" will be out Sept. 29. Unlike some authors, he hasn't given up.

Posted by: gingeroni at August 09, 2020 02:54 PM (/XPvv)

547 Trying to read Heinlein's The Number of the Beast, but not digging it.

I doubt then that you will reach a point where you do dig it. I read the whole thing and wanted to kick myself afterwards! I found it to be a self-indulgent mess.

Posted by: SuperMayorSuperRonNirenberg at August 09, 2020 01:40 PM


The Pursuit of the Pankara, only recently released, tells the same basic story with the same set of characters as more of a straight adventure story. It's okay, which puts it miles ahead of The Number of the Beast.

Posted by: Cybersmythe at August 09, 2020 03:07 PM (edlKR)

548 CBD HAS A NOOD

E_I_E_I_O !

Posted by: JT at August 09, 2020 03:19 PM (arJlL)

549 Blow off Amazon, buy your books at www.biblio.com

Posted by: dacama at August 09, 2020 03:35 PM (CT2ag)

550 We'd know if an Antichthon existed before we even checked because the gravity of another Earth like planet hiding from us would be detected in the orbits of the inner planets before we even had satellites to check. Moreso when we're doing multiple gravity assists to get things into the inner solar system.

Posted by: DaveM at August 09, 2020 03:40 PM (WWC3Y)

551 One more, and I stop posting.
Re: Long live the death.
As an Italian, I love the Savoia Marchetti on the cover. I will buy the book if only for that.
Long live Porco Rosso!

Posted by: Myollnir at August 09, 2020 03:56 PM (/VSJg)

552 "368 @352
In The Man with the Twisted Lip, Watson has to pull Holmes out of an opium den."

Actually, Watson is there at the request of a friend to pull her husband out of the opium den. Holmes is there uncover as part of an investigation and reveals himself to Watson.

At another point in the Canon, Watson talks about how he helped Holmes quit using drugs, specifically cocaine and morphine. Watson explains this was Holmes way of coping with the boredom when he had no good cases to work on. When Holmes had a good mystery in hand, he did not need any drugs. He got high on investigation and deduction.

The one exception to this was Holmes smoking. He saw nicotine as an aid to his mental processes; famously referring to one challenge as "...a three pipe problem."

Posted by: John F. MacMichael at August 09, 2020 04:15 PM (u5KMl)

553 #466 "I read a lot of sea novels and one of the things that stands out is that they spend every day, each day, fixing and maintaining the boat at least in some small way. "

That was the reality of any sailing ship. Dana, in his classic "Two Years Before the Mast", talks about hearing people who had never gone to sea wonder what the sailors had to do onboard once their ships had left port. Dana describes the constant hard work that went into keeping a ship seaworthy.

Posted by: John F. MacMichael at August 09, 2020 04:24 PM (u5KMl)

554 Captain Hate
Very late to the thread, but I read it all.

The best explanation of the Peloponnesian War is A War Like No Other: How the Athenians and Spartans Fought the Peloponnesian War

After that book, I finally understood why, what, how, and when. Very clear to understand, after decades of confusion.

Posted by: NaCly Dog at August 09, 2020 04:45 PM (u82oZ)

555 How about reading Thucydides?

Posted by: Myollnir at August 09, 2020 06:10 PM (/VSJg)

556 Went looking for "Long live Death" and found it available on Kindle Unlimited.
\

Posted by: RetiredBALProgrammer at August 09, 2020 07:30 PM (x4NQT)

557 Dana, in his classic "Two Years Before the Mast", talks about hearing people who had never gone to sea wonder what the sailors had to do onboard once their ships had left port.

Great book, I recommend it to everyone. Rough time of it he had, though wow. The description of Spanish California alone is worth the price of admission.

Posted by: Christopher R Taylor at August 09, 2020 07:42 PM (KZzsI)

558 That pic up top might be where I bought a book once!

Posted by: GWB at August 09, 2020 08:43 PM (1XOEC)

559 "Few wars are more shrouded in myth than the Spanish Civil War. For decades, histories have focused on politics at the expense of studying the military lessons of this pivotal conflict... Long Live Death provides a new way of understanding the Spanish Civil War, making it important to dedicated historians as well as casual readers wishing to learn more about the topic. "

After the defeat of the Republicans (Godless Commies) in the Spanish Civil War the surviving Republicans fled to France.
The French authorities hurriedly settled them into refugee\internment camps in southern France.
When the Nazis took over that area during WW2 they loaded the conveniently concentrated Communists into boxcars and shipped them east. An estimated 10% survived.



Posted by: waepnedmann at August 09, 2020 09:19 PM (175fM)

560 Captain Hate
Very late to the thread, but I read it all.

The best explanation of the Peloponnesian War is A War Like No Other: How the Athenians and Spartans Fought the Peloponnesian War

After that book, I finally understood why, what, how, and when. Very clear to understand, after decades of confusion.
Posted by: NaCly Dog at August 09, 2020 04:45 PM (u82oZ)

555 How about reading Thucydides?
Posted by: Myollnir at August 09, 2020 06:10 PM (/VSJg)


First thing first: I'm reading Thucydides and he's as confusing as hell. He jumps all over the place time wise and I'm having a bitching hard time figuring out which provincial group is which and why they're aligned with one side or the other. Thucydides is real good at recalling memorable speeches when one side or the other, but it usually tends to be the Athenians, rally the citizens by calling them a bunch of losers who deserve every fucking thing by being gutless. So there's that.

Thanks NaCly Dog, I reserved it at the library. All recs are appreciated from the Horde.

Posted by: Captain Hate at August 09, 2020 11:26 PM (y7DUB)

561 John Weimer:
"Still re-reading John Ringo and Eric Flint's 1632 series. On Book 5 now. Had intended to do only the first 3 but got interested in it again.

I enjoyed the first 10 or so of those, but it seems like they started phoning them in later. So be forewarned.

Posted by: Chief Justice John Roberts at August 09, 2020 09:11 AM (unn44)

I got into them 10 or so years ago, but they're incredibly uneven, especially the co-wrote entries. There's also goddamn many of them I gave up trying to even figure out which ones I wanted to read."
--------------------------
Ringo has nothing to do with the series. May be thinking of David Weber who co-wrote the second book.
My local library has (the last time I looked) 16 out of 23 in the series. That total does not count short story anthologies or fanfic. Yes, fanfic. Somewhat akin to the Grateful Dead's concert recording philosophy, Baen has a website for the series, and publishes content from it as "The Grantville Gazette"
I read them as I bump into them, browsing, with sometimes 6 months or more between. I know there are 23 because I looked it up and keep a checklist. I dis this after I 'd checked out a previously read book.
The writing varies in quality, but nothing I'd call bad. Pedantic at times, but that's not surprising when a number of the authors are history teachers. Most of them are fairly exciting adventure tales.

Posted by: buddhaha at August 10, 2020 01:08 AM (fiLt1)

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