Sunday Morning Book Thread 10-25-2020

State Library of Victoria Melbourne AU 03.jpg

State Library of Victoria, Melbourne, Australia

Good morning to all you 'rons, 'ettes, lurkers, and lurkettes, wine moms, frat bros, crétins sans pantalon (who are technically breaking the rules), ghoulis, zombies, banshees, mummies, and the rest of you out there doing the 'monster mash'. 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, worn by this guy I hired as a babysitter after I saw his advertisement on Craigslist. Says he loves kids. Seems OK.

Pic Note:

It's bigger than I thought:

The State Library Victoria is the main library of the Australian state of Victoria. Located in Melbourne, it was established in 1854 as the Melbourne Public Library, making it Australia's oldest public library and one of the first free libraries in the world. It is also Australia's busiest library and, as of 2018, the fourth most-visited library in the world.

The library's vast collection includes over two million books and 350,000 photographs, manuscripts, maps and newspapers, with a special focus on material from Victoria, including the diaries of the city's founders, John Batman and John Pascoe Fawkner, the folios of Captain James Cook, and the armour of Ned Kelly.

So it's kind of like a museum, then.

This Ned Kelly fellow sounds interesting. Not only was he played by Mick Jagger in an eponymous 1970 movie, but a number of books have been written about him and his gang, including Ned Kelly by Peter FitzSimmons:

Love him or loathe him, Ned Kelly has been at the heart of Australian culture and identity since he and his gang were tracked down in bushland by the Victorian police and came out fighting, dressed in bulletproof iron armour made from farmers’ ploughs.

Historians still disagree over virtually every aspect of the eldest Kelly boy’s brushes with the law. Did he or did he not shoot Constable Fitzpatrick at their family home? Was he a lawless thug or a noble Robin Hood, a remorseless killer or a crusader against oppression and discrimination? Was he even a political revolutionary, an Australian republican channelling the spirit of Eureka?

...From Kelly’s early days in Beveridge, Victoria, in the mid-1800s, to the Felons’ Apprehension Act, which made it possible for anyone to shoot the Kelly gang, to Ned’s appearance in his now-famous armour, prompting the shocked and bewildered police to exclaim ‘He is the devil!’ and ‘He is the bunyip!’, FitzSimons brings the history of Ned Kelly and his gang exuberantly to life, weighing in on all of the myths, legends and controversies generated by this compelling and divisive Irish-Australian rebel.

This book is almost 900(!) pages long, so for the $12.99 asking price, you're getting a lot of reading.

It Pays To Increase Your Word Power®

In the late 1200s, a set of legal statutes enacted by King Edward I were recorded on a series of scrolls known as the Ragman Rolls. These records proved so lengthy that their name came to be used as a byword for any long, tedious process—and eventually became the word RIGMAROLE. pic.twitter.com/H5EvNfBhoG
— Haggard Hawks 📚🦅 (@HaggardHawks) October 23, 2020

Christians and Donald Trump

This was posted last week:

8 Reposted from last thread because about books and shit.

The Spiritual Danger of Donald Trump
30 Evangelical Christians on Justice, Truth, and Moral Integrity

What should Christians think about Donald Trump? His policies, his style, his personal life? Thirty evangelical Christians wrestle with these tough questions. They are Republicans, Democrats, and Independents. They don't all agree, but they seek to let Christ be the lord of their political views. They seek to apply biblical standards to difficult debates about our current political situation.

Vast numbers of white evangelicals enthusiastically support Donald Trump. Do biblical standards on truth, justice, life, freedom, and personal integrity warrant or challenge that support? How does that support of President Trump affect the image of Christianity in the larger culture? Around the world?

Many younger evangelicals today are rejecting evangelical Christianity, even Christianity itself. To what extent is that because of widespread evangelical support for Donald Trump?

Don't listen to this audiobook to find support for your views. Listen to it to be challenged - with facts, reason, and biblical principles;
-

Meanwhile, vote for Biden and Pelosi and you're golden.

Posted by: Anonosaurus Wrecks, Tyrannosaur Wrangler at October 18, 2020 09:03 AM (+y/Ru)

So I had to look this one up.

( *checks Amazon* )

OK, this is the book AW is referring to: The Spiritual Danger of Donald Trump: 30 Evangelical Christians on Justice, Truth, and Moral Integrity and it's edited by Ronald J. Sider

Oh no, I thought. Not Ron Sider.

I'm surprised he's still alive. He must be in his 80s by now. If you're not an evangelical or some other flavor of Protestant Christian, you probably don't have any idea who this guy is. Which is just as well. Sider is a liberal evangelical Christian author who has been wrong about, well, about pretty much everything. Just think Jimmy Carter on steroids, and you're close. Sider made his bones back in the 70s with his best-seller Rich Christians in an Age of Hunger: Moving from Affluence to Generosity, which claimed to be the "biblical" view of poverty and wealth, but, get this, uncritically accepted the fashionable collectivist (neo-Marxist) assumptions about economics. You know, things like the first world got rich by deliberately impoverishing the third world, and now we have to pay them lots of money. That sort of thing. It was watered down quite a bit to make it suitable for evangelical palettes, but that was the core. And the solution was for us, the USA, to give billions of dollars in relief to corrupt third-world sh*thole countries to alleviate poverty, conveniently forgetting the fact that that's precisely what we'd been doing for years, only it hadn't worked. The sh*thole countries were still sh*thole countries and the reason for that was most of the billions in aid money was channeled to the Swiss bank accounts of corrupt dictators. That was about the time when most of the experts were gradually coming to the conclusion that maybe we need to find a better solution for third-world poverty than to give tons of money to corrupt dictators, but Sider apparently didn't get the memo. In short, he was a copycat commie incapable of original thought. So it doesn't surprise me that he's now latched onto #OrangeManBad, because that doesn't require any original 5hought, either.

And the funny thing is, I've never heard of any of the "30 evangelicals" in Sider's book. Which I think is kind of weird, because, being a Christian, I am somewhat familiar with the culture, and who the movers and shakers are. So if there's a collection of articles written by 30 different Christian authors or ministers or whatever, I would think that I'd know some of them. Perhaps not all, but at least a few. But with Sider's book, I'm batting .000. It's as if he rounded up 30 of his buds for the sole purpose of getting them to talk trash about Trump. It's basically a CNN news program. Which makes Ron Sider the Christian version of Brian Stelter.

Browsing through the Amazon preview (no way am I buying this tripe), I'm thinking this could've been an interesting book if he had taken a different approach. That is, instead of presiding over an elaborate #OrangeManbad shaming ritual, Sider could've reached outside his little bubble and spoken with intelligent Christians who are Trump supporters and, oh, I don't know, maybe set up some kind of dialog. And then published both sides and let the reader compare and contrast and come to their own conclusions. But, as I said, Sider is not big on original thought. He prefers to lecture rather than to encourage thinking. I wonder how many Trump-supporting Christians he actually knows? My guess: zero.

And this is important, because the NeverTrumpers have broadened their attacks. It used to be "Trump is a bad person" and now they've upped the ante with "...and so are all of his supporters." So does Sider believe all of his fellow Christians who support Trump to be in a state of sin?

Not that I care what he thinks. But potentially slandering millions of his brothers in sisters in Christ, accusing them of bringing the gospel into disrepute, maybe that's something Sider should be caring about.

That's the point made by Samuel C. Smith, author of Among the Deplorables: Confessions of a Populist Evangelical. That is, them's fightin' words:

Rooted in his rural and populist evangelical past, Samuel C. Smith explains why most evangelicals like himself voted for Donald J. Trump. Through historical and theological analysis, Smith answers progressive evangelicals who have chosen to malign their brethren, accusing them, among other things, of harming the Christian gospel. This is a libel, Smith writes, “that cannot go unchallenged.”

Books like this aren't hard to find. Perhaps Prof. Sider should shell out $7.99 for the Kindle edition and educate himself.

Who Dis:

(Last week's 'who dis' was silent era actress Louise Brooks.

Halloween Reading

First up, a couple of weeks ago, I saw some recommendations for the classic Ghost Story by Peter Straub:

What was the worst thing you’ve ever done?

In the sleepy town of Milburn, New York, four old men gather to tell each other stories—some true, some made-up, all of them frightening. A simple pastime to divert themselves from their quiet lives.

But one story is coming back to haunt them and their small town. A tale of something they did long ago. A wicked mistake. A horrifying accident. And they are about to learn that no one can bury the past forever...

First published back in 1979.

And speaking of classics:

31 Halloween looms on the horizon and for those who relish a traditional ghost story I have some recommendations.

M. R. James (1862-1936) is one of the masters of the form. Start with his first collection "Ghost Stories of an Antiquary" (1904). If you enjoy it there are several more.

Russell Kirk (1918-1994) may be best remembered as a political philosopher but he was also a past master of the ghostly tale, often with a distinctly American twist. His short stories have been collected in several different volumes. The most recent collection is "Ancestral Shadows: An Anthology of Ghostly Tales" (2004). His novels "Old House of Fear) (1961), "A Creature of the Twilight" (1966) and "Lord of the Hollow Dark" (1979) are also well worth reading.

Gahan Wilson (1930-2019) is well known for his brilliant, whimsically ghoulish cartoons but he also wrote some excellent eerie stories. Find a copy of his collection "The Cleft and Other Odd Tales" (199 and you will enjoy some delicious chills.

Posted by: John F. MacMichael at October 18, 2020 09:15 AM (u5KMl)

The M. R. James books are old enough so they can be downloaded from Gutenberg.

I never knew Russell Kirk wrote novels. Old House of Fear is available on Kindle:

A founding father of the American conservative movement, Russell Kirk (1918–94) was also a renowned and bestselling writer of fiction.Old House of Fear, Kirk’s first novel, revealed this mastery at work. Its 1961 publication was a sensation, outselling all of Kirk’s other books combined, including The Conservative Mind, his iconic study of American conservative thought. A native of Michigan, Kirk set Old House of Fear in the haunted isles of the Outer Hebrides, drawing on his time in Scotland as the first American to earn a doctorate of letters from the University of St. Andrews. The story concerns Hugh Logan, an attorney sent by an aging American industrialist to Carnglass to purchase his ancestral island and its castle called the Old House of Fear. On the island, Logan meets Mary MacAskival, a red-haired ingénue and love interest, and the two face off against Dr. Edmund Jackman, a mystic who has the island under his own mysterious control.

Gahan Wilson's short compilation The Cleft and Other Odd Tales is available on Kindle for $7.99:

Gahan Wilson is one of the masters of macabre cartooning, ranked with Charles Addams, Edward Gorey, and Gary Larson. He is also a masterful storyteller. From the horror of "blot" to the gentle unease of "Campfire Story," from the classic oral-horror style of "The Marble Boy" to the science fiction scares of "It Twineth Round Thee in Thy Joy," the collection in The Cleft and Other Odd Tales shows Wilson at his very best.

Originally published in Playboy, Omni, and notable anthologies such as Again, Dangerous Visions, Wilson's short fiction is gathered here for the first time. The 24 stories are each accompanied by an original, full-page illustration done especially for this volume.

So, for my Halloween reading, I've never read Straub before, so I'll try Ghost Story, but before that, a Roger Zelazny novel I never heard of, A Night in the Lonesome October:

Loyally accompanying a mysterious knife-wielding gentleman named Jack on his midnight rounds through the murky streets of London, good dog Snuff is busy helping his master collect the grisly ingredients needed for an unearthly rite that will take place not long after the death of the moon. But Snuff and his master are not alone. All manner of participants, both human and not, are gathering with their ancient tools and their animal familiars in preparation for the dread night. It is brave, devoted Snuff who must calculate the patterns of the Game and keep track of the Players—the witch, the mad monk, the vengeful vicar, the Count who sleeps by day, the Good Doctor and the hulking Experiment Man he fashioned from human body parts, and a wild-card American named Larry Talbot—all the while keeping Things at bay and staying a leap ahead of the Great Detective, who knows quite a bit more than he lets on.

First published in 1993, it was Zelazny’s last book prior to his untimely death. Many consider it the best of the fantasy master’s novels. It has inspired many fans to read it every year in October, a chapter a day, and served as inspiration for Neil Gaiman’s brilliant story “Only the End of the World Again.”

Zelazny died in 1995 from kidney failure (secondary to colorectal cancer) at agr 58, far too young. He had a couple of children, one of whom writes crime fiction.

And one more from a lady I am acquainted with on Twitter:

Earlier, she had tweeted:

Ahhhh!!!! Note to self, do NOT read scary books while sitting in a dark room waiting for the toddler to fall asleep!!!!

Then:

I REALLY creeped myself out! Great book, but I need to read it with a light on!

So I asked what book she was reading:

The Southern Book Club’s Guide to Slaying Vampires. VERY good! I was not expecting it to creep me out like that.

So I'd say that's a pretty strong recommendation.

Here is the book she is referring to, The Southern Book Club's Guide to Slaying Vampires by Grady Hendrix, which has been describes as Steel Magnolias meets Dracula.

And if you want more suggestions, here is a list of the 100 greatest horror novels of all time. Compiled by some guy on the internet, so you know it's trustworthy.

Moron Recommendations

An anonymous lurker recommends Donald 'Dortmunder' Westlake's 'Parker' crime novels:

Under the pseudonym Richard Stark, Donald E. Westlake, one of the greats of crime fiction, wrote twenty-four fast-paced, hard-boiled novels featuring Parker, a shrewd career criminal with a talent for heists and a code all his own.

Parker, the ruthless antihero of Richard Stark’s eponymous mystery novels, is one of the most unforgettable characters in hardboiled noir. Lauded by critics for his taut realism, unapologetic amorality, and razor-sharp prose-style—and adored by fans who turn each intoxicating page with increasing urgency—Stark is a master of crime writing, his books as influential as any in the genre. The University of Chicago Press has embarked on a project to return the early volumes of this series to print for a new generation of readers to discover—and become addicted to.

Remember the Mel Gibson movie Payback? It's based on the first Parker novel, The Hunter:

In The Hunter, the first volume in the series, Parker roars into New York City, seeking revenge on the woman who betrayed him and on the man who took his money, stealing and scamming his way to redemption.

___________

Received an e-mail from another long-time lurker with a "biased" recommendation (his word), because the author his his brother, who recently retired and picked up again his interest in writing. His first book is a science fiction novel titled The Road From Antioch, which is intended to be the first of the 'Sodality Universe' series.

The pilgrim ship Antioch is destroyed just short of the New Vatican. Someone is stealing critical shipments in the Chemosh Empire. Two worlds of the Laanyr Clan Heer have been attacked. Small vessels are buzzing the Rivnyera World Ships. Who is behind these incidents? Terrorists? Rebels? The mysterious Cherek? Or someone else entirely? The nations of the Orion Arm must join forces and find the culprits. The investigation ranges from the space around the planet Ans to the fields of Inohr Dan Nool to the supposedly primitive planet of Cordwainer. Join an Admiral, a Catholic Sister, a Knight Militant, an Ensign, a Great Mind, an Inspector and a Herdmaster as they seek out the perpetrators of these odd occurrences.

The lurker also says:

He's already completed the second book "In the Markets of Tyre," which is undergoing proofreading, and is writing the third, tentatively titled "The Flight to Lystra." The book is space opera with a twist.

The Road From Antioch is $2.99 on Kindle. Also available in paperback

___________

Books By Morons

Lurker Mark Robbins has written a short book (he calls it a "pamphlet", but at nearly 110 pages, I think it's a bit more than that about getting control back from the government. Killing Deep States: How to Spread Freedom, inspired by Thomas Paine and Calvin Coolidge, addresses the problem that will always plague us, the growth of government and the subsequent reduction of freedom:

Governments have always been a problem. As Thomas Paine said almost 250 years ago, "government even in its best state is but a necessary evil " In this new century, we have the capability of tracking government in the same fashion that government tracks us. This pamphlet leans towards short processes that can be implemented using technology, and existing systems, to give free people control of their governments.

Mark says that his book "shares anecdotes that demonstrate government’s failures and, not infrequently, personal stupidity. It’s designed to be passed around easily."

It is available on paperback for $5.99.

___________

A long time lurking moron has self-published a kids' book, a book for birdwatchers and other nature lovers, called Meet the Fernan Friends:

We all know that birds fly south for the winter. Or do they? “Meet the Fernan Friends” introduces readers to some of the birds found at Fernan Lake in North America’s lush Inland Northwest. Children learn what the birds eat; which birds fly south for the winter, and which birds don’t; and why they do or do not make that seasonal journey. Written and Illustrated with easy-to-read descriptions and original photography transformed into whimsical characters, “Meet the Fernan Friends” is sure to appeal to new bird enthusiasts of all ages.

Fernan Lake is near Coeur d' Alene, Idaho. The photos I found are quite scenic.

___________

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

Posted by: OregonMuse at 09:03 AM

Comments

(Jump to bottom of comments)

1 Hello Pseudointellectual Posers!

Posted by: All Hail Eris, Xenomorph Queen at October 25, 2020 09:04 AM (Dc2NZ)

2 !

Posted by: JT at October 25, 2020 09:04 AM (arJlL)

3 Oh hey, firstiest!

Posted by: All Hail Eris, Xenomorph Queen at October 25, 2020 09:04 AM (Dc2NZ)

4 Beautiful library!

Posted by: Catherine at October 25, 2020 09:04 AM (qnR7V)

5 Nice try, JT!

Posted by: All Hail Eris, Xenomorph Queen at October 25, 2020 09:05 AM (Dc2NZ)

6 Morning!

Who dis is:

Eartha Kitt

Posted by: CN at October 25, 2020 09:05 AM (ONvIw)

7 Earth Kitt, of course.

Posted by: All Hail Eris, Xenomorph Queen at October 25, 2020 09:06 AM (Dc2NZ)

8
Who dis is Eartha Kitt?

Posted by: Hadrian the Seventh at October 25, 2020 09:06 AM (mht8P)

9 Tolle Legs
Still slogging my way through Peter Wilson's The Thirty Years War
At least into the war part now.

Posted by: Skip at October 25, 2020 09:06 AM (OjZpE)

10 Good Morning, Sunday Morning.

At last I know what pants to wear.

Posted by: Eeyore at October 25, 2020 09:06 AM (7X3UV)

11 Eartha Kitt

Posted by: JT at October 25, 2020 09:06 AM (arJlL)

12 Good morning fellow Book Threadists. Hope everyone had a great week of reading.

Posted by: JTB at October 25, 2020 09:07 AM (7EjX1)

13
A library in the town that now has its citizens locked in their homes under the strictest repressive regime for WuFlu anywhere in the (formerly) Free World?

Sorry, I'll pass ...

Posted by: Krebs v Carnot: Epic Battle of the Cycling Stars (TM) at October 25, 2020 09:07 AM (pNxlR)

14 Looks like a railway station. Thomas the train.

Posted by: grammie winger at October 25, 2020 09:07 AM (gm3d+)

15 Thanks, Eris !

Posted by: JT at October 25, 2020 09:09 AM (arJlL)

16 Hiya Grammie !

Posted by: JT at October 25, 2020 09:09 AM (arJlL)

17 Nothing from the Left suggests they are for religious freedom
Now back to your Sunday reading

Posted by: Skip at October 25, 2020 09:10 AM (OjZpE)

18 Hiya JT!

Posted by: grammie winger at October 25, 2020 09:11 AM (gm3d+)

19 Thanks to whoever recommended “Journey to the Imaginal Realm: a Reader’s Guide to J.R.R. Tolkien’s The Lord of the Rings” by Becca Tarnas. I really enjoyed her thoughtful musings on the characters and the history of Middle Earth.

Tolkien felt he did not invent the tale, but rather it unfolded before him as he wrote it. He had to keep writing to see what happened.

Posted by: All Hail Eris, Xenomorph Queen at October 25, 2020 09:12 AM (Dc2NZ)

20 I read Lord of Chaos, book six in the WOT series, by Robert Jordan. The story seems fragmented the first half of the book, as characters are scattered in various places. However, the second half brings many of them together to move the story forward. I'm enjoying the author's imagination used for plot, characters, and places.

Posted by: Zoltan at October 25, 2020 09:12 AM (XoDVn)

21 Harriet Tubman?

Posted by: BignJames at October 25, 2020 09:14 AM (AwYPR)

22 And this is important, because the NeverTrumpers have broadened their
attacks. It used to be "Trump is a bad person" and now they've upped the
ante with "...and so are all of his supporters." So does Sider believe
all of his fellow Christians who support Trump to be in a state of sin?
---
What you are seeing is the result of failed attempts at persuasion giving way to intimidation.

The cultural left was very successful for a long time in convincing people to go along with them, but as they've gotten more extreme (and made it clear that their "reasonable compromises" were merely interim stages to total communism), their powers of persuasion have failed.

So they look at the power they've accrued and start to think: "Screw it, let's just beat them into submission."

It shows you that on a certain level, they know they are losing, which makes them angry.

It's particularly telling that "evangelical Christians" are now doing this, since the core of Protestantism is a refusal to submit to any outside religious authority. Think your pastor is wrong? Found your own congregation.

Think your denomination is going sideways? Form a new one with like-minded folks.

It's a spectacularly weak play.

Posted by: Ace-Endorsed Author A.H. Lloyd at October 25, 2020 09:14 AM (cfSRQ)

23 "If you're not having fun, you're doing something wrong."

- Groucho Marx, comedian

Posted by: BackwardsBoy - Joe Biden killed my career at October 25, 2020 09:15 AM (HaL55)

24 I suspect Evangelicals voted for Trump as they are fond of the Constitution and rule of law, he came out as anti-abortion, and most of all because he admitted his personal errors, blamed himself for his failed marriages, and seems to have "turned it around". Sure, he's not St Paul caliber or St Augustine, but he seems to be "repentant". The day he brought out the family Bible and said "I won't let you down" helped.

Posted by: CN at October 25, 2020 09:15 AM (ONvIw)

25 Those pants are fine. I have to say though the brown shoes don't make it.

Posted by: Bozo Biden Love Child at October 25, 2020 09:16 AM (fbsBy)

26 I thought the Who Dis was the mayor of Chicago, but then I thought, nah, I didn't need to avert my eyes.

Posted by: pep at October 25, 2020 09:16 AM (v16oJ)

27 Eartha Kitt invites discussion of who's the best Catwoman.

Posted by: Ignoramus at October 25, 2020 09:16 AM (9TdxA)

28 With family issues I lost much interest in reading. However, interest in drinking has picked up!

Posted by: uncle handsy Joe at October 25, 2020 09:16 AM (JFO2v)

29 20
I read Lord of Chaos, book six in the WOT series, by Robert Jordan. The
story seems fragmented the first half of the book, as characters are
scattered in various places. However, the second half brings many of
them together to move the story forward. I'm enjoying the author's
imagination used for plot, characters, and places.

Posted by: Zoltan at October 25, 2020 09:12 AM (XoDVn)

----
Many years ago I tried to get into this, but couldn't.

I doubt that passage of time has made me any more patient. In fact, I'm sure of it. I know I have a huge backlog of classics I need to get to so if something contemporary that I would read purely for pleasure doesn't immediately get to me, I drop it.

Posted by: Ace-Endorsed Author A.H. Lloyd at October 25, 2020 09:16 AM (cfSRQ)

30 I REALLY creeped myself out! Great book, but I need to read it with a light on!

So THAT'S what I've been doing wrong. I thought I was going blind.

Posted by: pep at October 25, 2020 09:18 AM (v16oJ)

31 23 "If you're not having fun, you're doing something wrong."

- Groucho Marx, comedian
Posted by: BackwardsBoy - Joe Biden killed my career at October 25, 2020 09:15 AM (HaL55)

Is sex dirty? Only if you are doing it right!

Posted by: uncle handsy Joe at October 25, 2020 09:18 AM (JFO2v)

32 Also, I love pictures of happy children. I hear Hunter Biden does too, but probably in a different way.

Posted by: pep at October 25, 2020 09:18 AM (v16oJ)

33 That's it Eartha, knew the face and couldn't place it.

Posted by: Skip at October 25, 2020 09:18 AM (OjZpE)

34 Eartha Kitt? Ugh.

Her "Santa Baby" is the most overrated Christmas song ever.

Posted by: Mary Poppins' Practically Perfect Piercing at October 25, 2020 09:19 AM (2JVJo)

35 I suspect Evangelicals voted for Trump as they are
fond of the Constitution and rule of law, he came out as anti-abortion,
and most of all because he admitted his personal errors, blamed himself
for his failed marriages, and seems to have "turned it around". Sure,
he's not St Paul caliber or St Augustine, but he seems to be
"repentant". The day he brought out the family Bible and said "I won't
let you down" helped.

Posted by: CN at October 25, 2020 09:15 AM (ONvIw)

---
It's interesting that David French tried to argue that because Trump is *personally* pro-choice, one should overlook and discount his *official* support for the right to life. It's the perfect inversion of the fake Catholic position of being *personally* pro-life but voting to legalize any form of abortion on the table as well as government funding for it.

Again, they will not convince a single person, and their gross and blatant intellectual dishonestly may well cause fence-sitters to defect simply because they don't want to be associated with lying self-righteous pricks.

Posted by: Ace-Endorsed Author A.H. Lloyd at October 25, 2020 09:19 AM (cfSRQ)

36 I want to give a shout out to whomever Moron it was that recommended Heaven is for Real by Todd Burpo. It was a quick read, but it was an amazing story that left me absorbed all the way through. It was so touching and I also found myself laughing in a few places. It was an excellent book. So much so I read several passages to Mr. Black the other day, something I never do. Go look it up and spend a couple afternoons reading about this family's journey, through the near death of their 3 year old son, how they came to hear of their son's visions of Heaven, Jesus, John the Baptist and even Gabriel. I highly recommend it. So, a big thank you to whomever it was that mentioned it. I loved it.

Posted by: Lady in Black at October 25, 2020 09:19 AM (O+I8R)

37 34 Eartha Kitt? Ugh.

Her "Santa Baby" is the most overrated Christmas song ever.
Posted by: Mary Poppins' Practically Perfect Piercing at October 25, 2020 09:19 AM (2JVJo)

I think Walmart starts Xmas songs on Monday.

Posted by: uncle handsy Joe at October 25, 2020 09:19 AM (JFO2v)

38 With family issues I lost much interest in reading. However, interest in drinking has picked up!

Posted by: uncle handsy Joe at October 25, 2020 09:16 AM (JFO2v)

I too have lot interest in reading, due to depression. Heck, I can barely read the blog. I lost all of September and am on track to do the same in October. I wish I could read. There is the latest Doyle and Acton in my stack. I wish you well on your family matters, uncle handsy.

Posted by: grammie winger at October 25, 2020 09:20 AM (gm3d+)

39 It's interesting that David French tried to argue that because Trump is *personally* pro-choice, one should overlook and discount his *official* support for the right to life. It's the perfect inversion of the fake Catholic position of being *personally* pro-life but voting to legalize any form of abortion on the table as well as government funding for it.

Again, they will not convince a single person, and their gross and blatant intellectual dishonestly may well cause fence-sitters to defect simply because they don't want to be associated with lying self-righteous pricks.
Posted by: Ace-Endorsed Author A.H. Lloyd at October 25, 2020 09:19 AM (cfSRQ)

Diff in dead snake in road and dead nevertrumper??

skid marks in front of snake!

Posted by: uncle handsy Joe at October 25, 2020 09:21 AM (JFO2v)

40 Eartha Kitt invites discussion of who's the best Catwoman.

Posted by: Ignoramus at October 25, 2020 09:16 AM (9TdxA)

Julie Newmar...no contest.

Posted by: BignJames at October 25, 2020 09:21 AM (AwYPR)

41 27 Eartha Kitt invites discussion of who's the best Catwoman.
Posted by: Ignoramus at October 25, 2020 09:16 AM (9TdxA)
--

Old Skool:

1. Julie Newmar
2. Eartha Kitt
3. Lee Meriweather

New School:

1. Michelle Pfeiffer
2. Camren Bicondova

Halle Berry could have been a great Catwoman but that movie stank.

Posted by: All Hail Eris, Xenomorph Queen at October 25, 2020 09:22 AM (Dc2NZ)

42 And if I wasn't already in a bad mood, the fact that my local rag endorsed Stinkfinger because - in addition to some nebulous way he would be better at dealing with Kung Flu - he would restore dignity to the Oval Office, makes me want to drink until I pass out.

Dear God, I want Trump to win so these bastards choke on their rage.

Posted by: Mary Poppins' Practically Perfect Piercing at October 25, 2020 09:23 AM (2JVJo)

43 Never heard of Ron Sider. Of course, back in his day I was a medium-High Episcopalian, and later ACC, which is pretty borderline for Protestantism, but still...

On that note, one I unpacked this week and started on is The Personal Rule of Charles I, by Kenneth Sharpe. Massive (900+), and useful, but flawed. It is almost entirely devoted to the 1630s, with just a minimum outside that. (E.g., Cromwell doesn't feature at all.)

On the bright side it actually has a decent index, which I thought died after the 70s. And there is an immense amount of info. Sharpe is an irenist; he is clearly committed to painting no one black as the devil. All to the good.

OTOH, the writing and editing are weak. There are very many sentences missing a word - usually a preposition. Most of the time you can supply it, sometimes not. At best, it brings you up short, at worst, you're all "WTF does he mean?" Another bit of poor writing involves what Charles said to Queen Henrietta "on his deathbead". ??????? Charles, as is rather well known, did die on his deathbed. And Henrietta wasn't on the scaffold. Not clear what is meant there. (That is the worst slip.)

The other is that an awful lot is just thrown out, without background or explanation. So much of it comes down to a reference to something you'd have to go to the State Papers or someone's manuscript to understand.

I'm not going through it in order, but jumping around, topic to topic. (Knowing me, those interested will not be surprised that ship money is high on the list.)

But again, it does have it's virtues, like dispelling the myths about the Star Chamber. I'm hoping I can find some other books to pile with it, and get the balance. E.g., Rogers's Safeguard (which I just found).

Unpacking many boxes of books is an adventure in itself.

Posted by: Eeyore at October 25, 2020 09:23 AM (7X3UV)

44 'Morning Gang!
I just read the sidebar piece about Mitch McConnell's' health and I gotta say this is so simple I can't believe they actually wrote a piece on it. At 78 Mitch may or may not have had any cardiac procedures in the past but he's PROBABLY been put on blood thinners by his cardiologist, as most geriatrics are. The problem is that your body reacts differently from day to day so the actual thinning may be extremely variable. Most days you're fine and then another day you can bruise rather spectacularly from a strong breeze or a dirty look from your wife. I have personal experience as I have walked around looking like a car wreck victim for weeks after being greeted at my own front door by my dogs. Geriatrics aren't prone to this. Geriatrics on blood thinners are.

Posted by: MrObvious at October 25, 2020 09:23 AM (k+h+d)

45 I too have lot interest in reading, due to depression. Heck, I can barely read the blog. I lost all of September and am on track to do the same in October. I wish I could read. There is the latest Doyle and Acton in my stack. I wish you well on your family matters, uncle handsy.
Posted by: grammie winger at October 25, 2020 09:20 AM (gm3d+)

damn sox

Grammie fought depression and anxiety all my life. My guess is it is family related. Working out helps much.

Posted by: rhennigantx at October 25, 2020 09:23 AM (JFO2v)

46 “At the End of the World” by Charles Gannon is a novel set in the Ringo Zombieverse. It is surprisingly well-written story of a group of teenagers on a sort of “Outward Bound” sailing trip under the tutelage of their stern captain. The plague hits just as they round the Horn and their captain (who has been monitoring radio comms in secret) decides to put in at South Georgia Island. We learn that he was a veteran of the Falklands War and has a history at that inhospitable island. All hell breaks loose and the kids have to grow up in a hurry.

Posted by: All Hail Eris, Xenomorph Queen at October 25, 2020 09:24 AM (Dc2NZ)

47 Eartha Kitt? Ugh.

Her "Santa Baby" is the most overrated Christmas song ever.
Posted by: Mary Poppins' Practically Perfect Piercing at October 25, 2020 09:19 AM (2JVJo)

It's very annoying but I think Lennon and McCartney compete mightily for the most dogshit Christmas songs making me hit the presets on my car radio.

Posted by: Captain Hate at October 25, 2020 09:24 AM (y7DUB)

48 Book-related: I like to read in bed, but for years have been using an old table lamp on my nightstand. It started flickering and failing, so I've installed some nice wall sconces flanking each side of the bed. Let me tell you, it makes a huge difference. They can be positioned immediately above your head, the light is directly on the page, and they are on dimmers. They look great, to boot.

They were not the easiest installation I've done, in part because they were sloppily made, but once completed, they're aces. Get yourself a pair if you're a bed reader.

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

49 Cthulhu always calls collect.

Posted by: Dr. Varno at October 25, 2020 09:25 AM (vuisn)

50 Dear God, I want Trump to win so these bastards choke on their rage.
Posted by: Mary Poppins' Practically Perfect Piercing at October 25, 2020 09:23 AM (2JVJo)

It's amazing how cheap labor=dignity, isn't it?

Posted by: CN at October 25, 2020 09:26 AM (ONvIw)

51 Booken morgen horden!

started reading The Sctewtape Letters

also my nic is book related if anyobe hasn't cgecked it out

Posted by: vmom 2020 - Grow Up and Vote for Trump by Eddie Scarry at October 25, 2020 09:26 AM (nUhF0)

52 Books: I've finally put down Ford Madox Ford and have picked up Evelyn Waugh's Sword of Honour trilogy.

Refreshing! So fun to read. Love Waugh's writing style.

There are lots of similarities (so much so that I'm thinking of writing a monograph on it just for fun) but the biggest difference is that Waugh's work is much more spiritual and reflective than Ford's. Ford is an ageing Romantic who casts aside convention and tradition for love.

Yawn.

Waugh looks at that, but then goes deeper into the question of whether personal happiness is all it is cracked up to be. I can't help but wonder if Crouchback's ex (who is married four times) is a rebuttal to Ford's Sylvia, who remains married to Tietjens but cheats on him but manages to place the blame on her husband, who eventually retaliates by openly living with his mistress.

We're supposed to think that this is fine, that convention was too restrictive, but what if the relationship doesn't work out? That's what Waugh addresses - that if you think of marriage as just a love affair to be dropped the moment the initial passion fades *none of them* will last.

A bed-hopping society is a dying society.

Anyhow, Waugh's writing is so crisp and fun, moving from Ford to him is like going from a high-mileage Chevy is rush hour traffic to a Mercedes on an empty autobahn.

Posted by: Ace-Endorsed Author A.H. Lloyd at October 25, 2020 09:27 AM (cfSRQ)

53 Grammie fought depression and anxiety all my life. My guess is it is family related. Working out helps much.

Posted by: rhennigantx at October 25, 2020 09:23 AM (JFO2v)

I've been trying to walk but the wind keeps blowing me over. Lifetime here too. I keep looking for a magic pill. I'm sorry this dogs you too.

Posted by: grammie winger at October 25, 2020 09:27 AM (gm3d+)

54 On Ned Kelly, I recommend True History of the Kelly Gang, a novel by Australian writer Peter Carey, that won the 2001 Booker Prize.

Ned Kelly is huge down under because he represents a fundamental trait of the Australian character, the Irish Bushranger in perpetual opposition to Her Majesty's Authority. Kelly's Gang took over a town so he could publish his manifesto at the local newspaper shop, explaining why he rebelled. Then he took on a small government army in a suit of medieval armor he made. He survived only to be hung.

Kelly inspires the eldest brother in The Proposition, an Aussie movie I recommend.

There's also a movie with Heath Ledger in the title role. OK

Posted by: Ignoramus at October 25, 2020 09:27 AM (9TdxA)

55 It's very annoying but I think Lennon and McCartney compete mightily for the most dogshit Christmas songs making me hit the presets on my car radio.
Posted by: Captain Hate at October 25, 2020 09:24 AM (y7DUB)

Indeed they do and have the dubious honor oh also having written those messes

Posted by: CN at October 25, 2020 09:27 AM (ONvIw)

56 I too have lot interest in reading, due to depression. Heck, I can barely read the blog. I lost all of September and am on track to do the same in October. I wish I could read. There is the latest Doyle and Acton in my stack. I wish you well on your family matters, uncle handsy.
Posted by: grammie winger at October 25, 2020 09:20 AM (gm3d+)

Same here, grammie. There are a couple of books I finished because I was close to the end, but I've been so depressed because of this damned fake flu and other matters that I won't mention that some days I feel like taking a blowtorch to every book I have and burning the damned house to the ground.

And of course my writing is dead in the water, too. My book is right next to me as I type this, but all I want to do is just sit on the couch and tell everyone to fuck off and leave me alone.

And what's even worse than that? I can't discuss this depression with anybody. Either they coo, "I know, I'm sorry," which doesn't help, or, more often, you can see their eyes rolling back in their heads - "oh, not this shit again."

I'm not suicidal, not really, but I'm not loving life right now, either.

Posted by: Mary Poppins' Practically Perfect Piercing at October 25, 2020 09:28 AM (2JVJo)

57 They were not the easiest installation I've done, in part because they
were sloppily made, but once completed, they're aces. Get yourself a
pair if you're a bed reader.

Assuming, of course, that shelves represent little difficulty for you. If they do, hire someone.

Posted by: pep at October 25, 2020 09:28 AM (v16oJ)

58
Prayers for you, Grammie and MP4, that the dark clouds lift.

Posted by: Hadrian the Seventh at October 25, 2020 09:30 AM (mht8P)

59 Eartha Kitt? Ugh.

Her "Santa Baby" is the most overrated Christmas song ever.

Posted by: Mary Poppins' Practically Perfect Piercing at October 25, 2020 09:19 AM (2JVJo)

---
Hmmm, I don't know. That's a pretty odd category if you think about it.

"Overrated" implies that it's good, but not that good. Fair enough.

But given the number of objectively *awful* Christmas songs which perversely get high airplay, it's not that damning of a criticism.

Posted by: Ace-Endorsed Author A.H. Lloyd at October 25, 2020 09:30 AM (cfSRQ)

60 And what's even worse than that? I can't discuss this depression with anybody. Either they coo, "I know, I'm sorry," which doesn't help, or, more often, you can see their eyes rolling back in their heads - "oh, not this shit again."

I'm not suicidal, not really, but I'm not loving life right now, either.
Posted by: Mary Poppins' Practically Perfect Piercing at October 25, 2020 09:28 AM (2JVJo)

Do you have a good listener?

Posted by: CN at October 25, 2020 09:30 AM (ONvIw)

61 Don't know the Who Dis but it's a splendid example of RestingBitchFace.
You go, girl.

Posted by: Vlad the Impaler, whittling away like mad at October 25, 2020 09:31 AM (d6mdH)

62 *TOOT TOOOOT*

I figured out the killer and most of the circumstances in an Ellery Queen mystery!

The book was "The Spanish Cape Mystery," 1935 (one year before my dad was born). A gigolo is found dead on the grounds of a coastal mansion on a spit of land. Access is therefore limited. He was among the guests at the mansion, none of whom liked him -- or each other, at that.

What made me want to read this is that the guy was found wearing nothing but an opera cape. I wanted to know how circumspect the writing would be in that era. Pretty straightforward, it turns out. Of course, the phrase "making love" has a far different meaning today -- but that's our fault.

********

That Zelazny book sounds interesting. I'll watch for it. Reminds me of an issue of the great comic Planetary in which the main character, Elijah Snow, comes up against monsters that are well known in popular fiction. What he does to Dracula is memorable.

********

Who Dis is Eartha Kitt. Nothing against the woman, but after Julie Newmar, seeing Kitt as the Catwoman was a comedown.

Posted by: Weak Geek at October 25, 2020 09:31 AM (u/nim)

63 Santa Baby and Christmas Shoes are the worst Christmas songs ever recorded. Runner up prizes go to Dean Martin's Rudy the Red-Beaked Reindeer (hic) and a Beach Boys song I can't think of at the moment. Goes "I wanna meet Santa, the real, real Santa..."

Posted by: Lady in Black at October 25, 2020 09:31 AM (O+I8R)

64 OM,

Thanks, as always, for the book thread. It is a weekly delight. And that picture of the sweet little 'witch' is adorable.

Posted by: JTB at October 25, 2020 09:31 AM (7EjX1)

65 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Armour_of_the_Kelly_gang

Posted by: All Hail Eris, Xenomorph Queen at October 25, 2020 09:32 AM (Dc2NZ)

66 I give top shitty Christmas Song award to "And so this is Christmas". I detest that song.

Posted by: CN at October 25, 2020 09:32 AM (ONvIw)

67 I'm not suicidal, not really, but I'm not loving life right now, either.

Posted by: Mary Poppins' Practically Perfect Piercing at October 25, 2020 09:28 AM (2JVJo)

I think I'm where you're at. One day this will lift. I just wish it would hurry up. This is my prayer for you as well.

Posted by: grammie winger at October 25, 2020 09:33 AM (gm3d+)

68 Grammie, go to your library and look for the book I talked about @36. You'll love it and find it uplifting, I think.

Posted by: Lady in Black at October 25, 2020 09:33 AM (O+I8R)

69 It's very annoying but I think Lennon and McCartney compete mightily for the most dogshit Christmas songs making me hit the presets on my car radio.
Posted by: Captain Hate at October 25, 2020 09:24 AM (y7DUB)

I like "Happy Christmas (War Is Over)," but like Eine Kleine Nachtmusik, there needs to be a moratorium on playing it for about 30 years until it sounds fresh again.

McCartney's "Wonderful Christmastime" is, as you say, dogshit.

Harrison's "Ding Dong, Ding Dong" is as stupid as its title would lead you to believe.

The only good thing about Ringo's cover of "Winter Wonderland" is the stolen intro from Johnny Rivers' "Rockin' Pneumonia."

Posted by: Mary Poppins' Practically Perfect Piercing at October 25, 2020 09:33 AM (2JVJo)

70 I really am a ray of sunshine today, aren't I?

Posted by: Mary Poppins' Practically Perfect Piercing at October 25, 2020 09:34 AM (2JVJo)

71 Thank you Hadrian.

Posted by: grammie winger at October 25, 2020 09:34 AM (gm3d+)

72 They were not the easiest installation I've done, in
part because they were sloppily made, but once completed, they're aces.
Get yourself a pair if you're a bed reader.

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

---
There are lots of little things you can do to make reading/life so much more comfortable and once you do them, you slap yourself for not doing it sooner.

This summer I finally bought a Comfy Chair. I also got a side table.

Wow. Just wow. It is soooo cozy to sit in this and read until I doze. I'm now taking a nap almost daily. It's so relaxing in this stressful time.

In fact, I'm typing from this chair right now, with one of the cats sleeping contentedly on my feet.

Posted by: Ace-Endorsed Author A.H. Lloyd at October 25, 2020 09:34 AM (cfSRQ)

73 Not much reading this week - taken up with getting new siding installed, and the house repainted. The constant construction noise was not conducive to quiet contemplation ... but all done, now.
Still plowing through the Outlander series. Another author whom I wish could have been pruned ... 800 pages per volume, really?

Posted by: Sgt. Mom at October 25, 2020 09:34 AM (xnmPy)

74 Babylon Bee had a podcast this week (last week?) with Diana Pavlac Glyer, who writes about C. S. Lewis, J. R.R. Tolkein and the Inklings. She apparently has also won a Hugo

She has a book called Bandersnatch: C. S. Lewis, J. R. R. Tolkien, and the Creative Collaboration of the Inklings.

Never read it but she does do a good interview. (Ethan and Kyle don't always go after the newest "get", they seem to like to interview what they are interested in)

They also have a youtube channel, but this is the audio version

https://preview.tinyurl.com/y2zfzyg2

Posted by: Kindltot at October 25, 2020 09:34 AM (WyVLE)

75 Hey Eris, how was Ghost Ship?

Posted by: I am the Shadout Mapes, the Housekeeper at October 25, 2020 09:35 AM (PiwSw)

76
Grammie, go to your library and look for the book I talked about @36. You'll love it and find it uplifting, I think.

Posted by: Lady in Black at October 25, 2020 09:33 AM (O+I8R)

Thanks Lady in Black. I'll give it a try.

Posted by: grammie winger at October 25, 2020 09:35 AM (gm3d+)

77 Prayers for you, Grammie and MP4, that the dark clouds lift.
Posted by: Hadrian the Seventh

Seconded !

Posted by: JT at October 25, 2020 09:35 AM (arJlL)

78 Nice Lieberry!

Those pants. They remind me of someone......

The Who Dis is Mayor Groot reading up on Jewish Weather Controls and listening for the sound of gunfire in her city.

Posted by: Hairyback Guy at October 25, 2020 09:36 AM (Z+IKu)

79 Shad, it was intensely mediocre.

Posted by: All Hail Eris, Xenomorph Queen at October 25, 2020 09:36 AM (Dc2NZ)

80 I gotta admit this very weird Presidential race has cut significantly into my reading. Living through interesting times, and I think we're on the cusp of a major realignment of the parties, is very time consuming.

For my book group I'm plodding through On the Road and still can't understand what the big deal was about. Kerouac is even more annoying than the fucking hippies although didn't impact things nearly as much although maybe he let those shitheads think being an aimless deadbeat was a good life choice. I'll be glad to be done with it because we're reading The Moviegoer by Walker Percy next and I think when I initially read it I was too young and stupid to appreciate it. Other than that I didn't read much.

Posted by: Captain Hate at October 25, 2020 09:36 AM (y7DUB)

81 I've been intending to reread the Waugh trilogy, but haven't been able to find the middle volume yet. (3 copies of the first, though.)

What I always wish these Never Trump Protestants would do is address their attitude toward Henry VIII. If ever there was a Bad Orange Man, it was he. And he was not at all theologically aligned with them. But he promoted their cause, very effectively. Would they have aligned with the Catholic opposition?

Posted by: Eeyore at October 25, 2020 09:36 AM (7X3UV)

82 Anyone know where to find the Corsicana, TX police blotter to read?

Posted by: RI Red at October 25, 2020 09:37 AM (R+0Ve)

83 I've been trying to walk but the wind keeps blowing me over. Lifetime here too. I keep looking for a magic pill. I'm sorry this dogs you too.
Posted by: grammie winger at October 25, 2020 09:27 AM (gm3d+)

From personal experience, grammie, the problem with pills is that you keep having to take higher and higher doses to stay level.

And, in this rotten-to-the-core society, being on antidepressants is signaling to the police / Deep State that you're mentally unstable and your Constitutional rights need to be taken away.

FTS. I've been depressed on and off since about 1967. I might as well live with it.

Posted by: Mary Poppins' Practically Perfect Piercing at October 25, 2020 09:37 AM (2JVJo)

84 I love Sunday mornings with books and my local radio station's baroque program.

Posted by: All Hail Eris, Xenomorph Queen at October 25, 2020 09:37 AM (Dc2NZ)

85 Is the reason the 'who dis' is Eartha Kitt that Victoria State Library contains the diary of John Batman?

Posted by: jic at October 25, 2020 09:38 AM (edyG1)

86 It's hard to pick a favorite Christmas song since they get so overplayed at this time of year. You want to beg for mercy by late December. I might pick Coventry Carol, just because old, and not as well known, so less abused. Rather dark lyrics, though.

Posted by: pep at October 25, 2020 09:38 AM (v16oJ)

87
I'm not wearing pants.

Posted by: DB- just DB. at October 25, 2020 09:38 AM (iTXRQ)

88 An overly long sermon is RELIGMAROLE.

Posted by: Anonosaurus Wrecks, Tyrannosaur Wrangler at October 25, 2020 09:40 AM (+y/Ru)

89 Regarding evangelicals and PDT --

I know several members of a family who are evangelicals. One is rabidly anti-Trump because of the man's adultery. Others are solid Trump supporters.

I confess that Trump's history bothers me, too, but it seems to me that God has often chosen flawed people for His missions. And I do believe that Trump's ascension is God's work.

Posted by: Weak Geek at October 25, 2020 09:40 AM (u/nim)

90 I'm sure somebody got it, but that's Eartha Kitt.

Posted by: Wolfus Aurelius at October 25, 2020 09:40 AM (rpbg1)

91 What I always wish these Never Trump Protestants
would do is address their attitude toward Henry VIII. If ever there was a
Bad Orange Man, it was he. And he was not at all theologically aligned
with them. But he promoted their cause, very effectively. Would they
have aligned with the Catholic opposition?

Posted by: Eeyore at October 25, 2020 09:36 AM (7X3UV)

---
It's funny, but when I began converting to Catholicism, I began to reconsider all the period pieces about Henry VIII, and how they show him as flawed but try to find some redeeming values because he made England Protestant.

Now I watch the shows openly rooting against him. It's great fun.

Posted by: Ace-Endorsed Author A.H. Lloyd at October 25, 2020 09:40 AM (cfSRQ)

92 >>Kerouac is even more annoying than the fucking hippies Posted by: Captain Hate at October 25, 2020 09:36 AM (y7DUB)

Concur. I read enough Wm. Burroughs to get the gist, as well as the sense that his 'experiments' were pointless. He was arguably the smartest of a dumb set; Kerouac was probably the dumbest.

Posted by: Zod at October 25, 2020 09:40 AM (xK9An)

93 I love Sunday mornings with books and my local radio station's baroque program.
Posted by: All Hail Eris, Xenomorph Queen

If it ain't baroque, don't fix it.

Posted by: JT at October 25, 2020 09:40 AM (arJlL)

94 I confess that Trump's history bothers me, too, but it seems to me that
God has often chosen flawed people for His missions. And I do believe
that Trump's ascension is God's work.

Oh, boo hoo. Cry me a river.

Posted by: Salieri at October 25, 2020 09:41 AM (v16oJ)

95 Do you have a good listener?
Posted by: CN at October 25, 2020 09:30 AM (ONvIw)

No. I have a couple who say they are, but I can tell I bore them to tears.

And on another subject, here's the version of "Santa Baby" that I like, with Kellie Pickler. The arrangement is boss and her dress helps, too:

https://tinyurl.com/ych6s66s

Posted by: Mary Poppins' Practically Perfect Piercing at October 25, 2020 09:41 AM (2JVJo)

96 I agree, pep. Coventry Carol is one of my favorite Christmas songs. As is Some Children See Him.

Posted by: Lady in Black at October 25, 2020 09:42 AM (O+I8R)

97 "Many younger evangelicals today are rejecting evangelical Christianity, even Christianity itself."

Umm, so what are they evangelicals of then?

Posted by: Botched_Lobotomy at October 25, 2020 09:42 AM (lRrON)

98 I've been trying to walk but the wind keeps blowing
me over. Lifetime here too. I keep looking for a magic pill. I'm sorry
this dogs you too.
Posted by: grammie winger at October 25, 2020 09:27 AM (gm3d+)

It dogs everyone, Grammie Winger. I try to get out and help other people, it at least gives me something to do

Posted by: Kindltot at October 25, 2020 09:42 AM (WyVLE)

99 82 Anyone know where to find the Corsicana, TX police blotter to read?
Posted by: RI Red at October 25, 2020 09:37 AM (R+0Ve)

What? You mean they didn't have to call in the Feds? I am disappoint.

Posted by: I am the Shadout Mapes, the Housekeeper at October 25, 2020 09:43 AM (PiwSw)

100 Anyone know where to find the Corsicana, TX police blotter to read?
Posted by: RI Red
---
I believe you can request it by snail mail with a FOI request filled out in triplicate, make sure you don't forget to use the carbon paper. Don't forget the $10,000 fee and SASE. It should get to you in 6 to 8 months.

Posted by: lin-duh at October 25, 2020 09:43 AM (t43EN)

101
For my book group I'm plodding through On the Road
and still can't understand what the big deal was about. Kerouac is
even more annoying than the fucking hippies although didn't impact
things nearly as much although maybe he let those shitheads think being
an aimless deadbeat was a good life choice. I'll be glad to be done
with it because we're reading The Moviegoer by Walker Percy next
and I think when I initially read it I was too young and stupid to
appreciate it. Other than that I didn't read much.

Posted by: Captain Hate at October 25, 2020 09:36 AM (y7DUB)

---
I think a lot of the Important Books of the 20th Century owe their reputation solely to being somewhat innovative and/or unsual. Also: smutty.

Once the innovation became standard practice, they cease to stand out.

To put it another way: Citizen Kane basically needs subtitles to explain its greatness because the innovative camera use is now SOP for Hollywood.

Movies like Casablanca or Gone with the Wind stand on their own.

Posted by: Ace-Endorsed Author A.H. Lloyd at October 25, 2020 09:43 AM (cfSRQ)

102 And what's even worse than that? I can't discuss this depression with anybody.

"Oooooh! Poor dearie! Tell us, do. you. own. any. GUNNNNNNZZZZ???!!?11"
(5150 goon squad to the ready)

Rereading Arms of Krupp, last read in high school. Them krupps wuz all nertz! One had an epstein prototype pedo isle for boys in Capri (he comitted 'suicide' too); others out SS'd the SS working slaves to death. Nize babies.

Posted by: Banned at October 25, 2020 09:43 AM (oyAQ4)

103 Prayers for you, Grammie and MP4, that the dark clouds lift.

Seconded for all who need them. 2020 truly sucketh, to put it in Middle English. I find myself cursing at my laptop screen whenever I see some imbecile wearing an ID10T mask. "Take that stoopid commie face diaper OFF!"

Posted by: BackwardsBoy - Joe Biden killed my career at October 25, 2020 09:44 AM (HaL55)

104 2020 truly sucketh, to put it in Middle English.

Forsooth. It biteth the big one.

Posted by: pep at October 25, 2020 09:45 AM (v16oJ)

105 It's very annoying but I think Lennon and McCartney compete mightily for the most dogshit Christmas songs making me hit the presets on my car radio.
Posted by: Captain Hate

They should have written Let's Go Commie For Christmas.

Posted by: Anonosaurus Wrecks, Tyrannosaur Wrangler at October 25, 2020 09:45 AM (+y/Ru)

106 Mom passed this morning. She was 85 years old. Sisters and I are making arrangements for her funeral. We will celebrate her life by living ours fully and with joy in our hearts. Thanks to all who kindly prayed for her. Life is truly precious.

Posted by: Floridachick at October 25, 2020 09:45 AM (3NyJY)

107 The only good thing about Ringo's cover of "Winter Wonderland" is the stolen intro from Johnny Rivers' "Rockin' Pneumonia."

Posted by: Mary Poppins' Practically Perfect Piercing at October 25, 2020 09:33 AM (2JVJo)

That gets no play on the classic crock stations so I just listened to it. Not bad. Btw Johnny Rivers cribbed that intro from Henry Roeland Byrd, better known as Professor Longhair. Fess might have snagged it from an even older Nawlins pianist but he was considered the source by people like Dr. John and Allen Toussaint.

Posted by: Captain Hate at October 25, 2020 09:46 AM (y7DUB)

108 I know several members of a family who are
evangelicals. One is rabidly anti-Trump because of the man's adultery.
Others are solid Trump supporters.

I confess that Trump's history bothers me, too, but it seems to me
that God has often chosen flawed people for His missions. And I do
believe that Trump's ascension is God's work.

Posted by: Weak Geek at October 25, 2020 09:40 AM (u/nim)

---
I remember when my mother informed me that her principles prevented her from voting for Bob Dole because he left his first wife. He felt that was wrong so she was voting for Bill Clinton.

This caused me to completely lose my shit. I was young then, a new voter and couldn't understand how a reasonable person could find that logical. It was only later that I realized she was pretending to be reasonable and was the archetypal Yellow Dog Democrat.

We no longer discuss politics.

Posted by: Ace-Endorsed Author A.H. Lloyd at October 25, 2020 09:46 AM (cfSRQ)

109 106 Mom passed this morning. She was 85 years old. Sisters and I are making arrangements for her funeral. We will celebrate her life by living ours fully and with joy in our hearts. Thanks to all who kindly prayed for her. Life is truly precious.
Posted by: Floridachick at October 25, 2020 09:45 AM (3NyJY)

Prayers up.

Posted by: I am the Shadout Mapes, the Housekeeper at October 25, 2020 09:46 AM (PiwSw)

110 95: Dysthymia is a hard one.

I've never loved Eartha's voice, but those who love her seem to focus on her live performances.

Posted by: CN at October 25, 2020 09:47 AM (ONvIw)

111 >>105 It's very annoying but I think Lennon and McCartney compete mightily for the most dogshit Christmas songs making me hit the presets on my car radio. Posted by: Captain Hate

"...and so this is Christmas/and what have you done" is an absolute buzz-kill. Hate that song almost as much as Grandma Got Run Over...

Posted by: Zod at October 25, 2020 09:47 AM (xK9An)

112 56 what helps ?
just holla.

a. prayers ?
b. Dominoes, including lava cakes ?
c. inappropriate Hunter biden foot massage joke ?

Posted by: rusty shakleford at October 25, 2020 09:47 AM (yo76Z)

113 love Sunday mornings with books and my local radio station's GUNSLINGER HOUR ON KABC L A !

Posted by: Banned at October 25, 2020 09:47 AM (oyAQ4)

114 Halloween time, and yes, M.R. James is Da Man. "Oh, Whistle, and I'll Come to You, My Lad" is one of the creepiest stories ever set down in print. His short story "Casting the Runes" is the basis for the top-notch horror film Curse of the Demon, too.

And I know Stephen King is not thought of highly around here. But his early work -- Salem's Lot, The Shining, and the short stories in Night Shift -- are well-written and terrifying. The novelettes "The Mist" and "The Breathing Method" are superb stuff too.

Posted by: Wolfus Aurelius at October 25, 2020 09:47 AM (rpbg1)

115 Mom passed this morning. She was 85 years old.
Sisters and I are making arrangements for her funeral. We will celebrate
her life by living ours fully and with joy in our hearts. Thanks to all
who kindly prayed for her. Life is truly precious.

Posted by: Floridachick at October 25, 2020 09:45 AM (3NyJY)

My sincere condolences, Floridachick.

Posted by: grammie winger at October 25, 2020 09:47 AM (gm3d+)

116 Capt Hate I blame that also as the reason my reading has been curtailed.

Posted by: Skip at October 25, 2020 09:47 AM (OjZpE)

117 Posted by: Floridachick at October 25, 2020 09:45 AM (3NyJY)

Sorry for your loss. May her name be a blessing

Posted by: CN at October 25, 2020 09:48 AM (ONvIw)

118 Sincere prayers to you and your family, Floridachick. It's so very hard losing a parent. I lost mine 11 years ago. The sting lessens but never goes away. May your mom rest in peace.

Posted by: Lady in Black at October 25, 2020 09:48 AM (O+I8R)

119 I just finished Mexican Gothic by Silvia Moreno-Garcia. I have been on a horror book kick and this was recommended by a friend. It was ok, creepy, but the ending was silly. The Grady Hendrix book is up but I just got The Fisherman by John Langan. It is supposed to be very good. Kind of a ghostly story is all I was told. I had never read horror, except Stephen King, and I thought I would try the genre. So far, haven't found any that blew me away. I won't read graphic body horor, so I guess all the rest is just creepy atmospheric tales. I did read Ghost Story years ago and really loved it.

Posted by: megthered at October 25, 2020 09:48 AM (SM/op)

120 106
Mom passed this morning. She was 85 years old. Sisters and I are making
arrangements for her funeral. We will celebrate her life by living ours
fully and with joy in our hearts. Thanks to all who kindly prayed for
her. Life is truly precious.

Posted by: Floridachick at October 25, 2020 09:45 AM (3NyJY)

---
Please accept my condolences.

Posted by: Ace-Endorsed Author A.H. Lloyd at October 25, 2020 09:48 AM (cfSRQ)

121 Eartha Kitt? Ugh.

Her "Santa Baby" is the most overrated Christmas song ever.
Posted by: Mary Poppins' Practically Perfect Piercing at October 25, 2020

*
*

I seem to recall she was one of the earliest people to reject LBJ as "her president." Invited to the White House in '67, I think, she turned him down -- a shocking thing to do back then.

Posted by: Wolfus Aurelius at October 25, 2020 09:49 AM (rpbg1)

122 I believe you can request it by snail mail with a FOI request filled out in triplicate, make sure you don't forget to use the carbon paper. Don't forget the $10,000 fee and SASE. It should get to you in 6 to 8 months.
Posted by: lin-duh at October 25, 2020 09:43 AM (t43EN)

Lin-duh, I'm assuming some will have made bail by then. I'll just wait for the stories.

Posted by: RI Red at October 25, 2020 09:49 AM (R+0Ve)

123 Prayers up for you and your Mom, Floridachick.

Posted by: BackwardsBoy - Joe Biden killed my career at October 25, 2020 09:49 AM (HaL55)

124 ''Payback'' is not the first movie.based on that Westlake novel. See: late 60's ''Point Blank'' starring Lee Marvin and Angie Dickinson and costarring a veritable who's who of character actors. I happened to see it on TCM not long after I saw "Payback' and thought that the story line was mighty familiar.

Posted by: Tuna at October 25, 2020 09:50 AM (gLRfa)

125 My condolences, FloridaChick.

Posted by: All Hail Eris, Xenomorph Queen at October 25, 2020 09:51 AM (Dc2NZ)

126 Coming up to Halloween, so re-reading Something Wicked This Way Comes by Ray Bradbury, in which the first chapter is about as close to poetry as one can get in a fantasy book. The horde has been talking about scary books, but this one is frightening- what happens when you get your fondest wish granted? And yes the results are frightening.

Posted by: Charlotte at October 25, 2020 09:51 AM (6Lsms)

127 "Many younger evangelicals today are rejecting evangelical Christianity, even Christianity itself."

Umm, so what are they evangelicals of then?

Posted by: Botched_Lobotomy at October 25, 2020 09:42 AM (lRrON)

---
This is an attempt to blame falling church attendance on Orange Man Bad.

It's actually an indictment of the evangelical churches, though. Seriously, if the faith you are installing is so weak that a change in White House occupants causes massive apostasy, maybe the problem is the congregation's defective spiritual formation.

Posted by: Ace-Endorsed Author A.H. Lloyd at October 25, 2020 09:51 AM (cfSRQ)

128 This is out of thin air but one of the things that drives me crazy is an author that strings dialogue between two or more characters together without attributing any of the quotes to the character that actually said it. I'm currently dealing with that in an otherwise pretty good book.

Posted by: Notorious BFD at October 25, 2020 09:51 AM (EgshT)

129 I read Peter Staub's Ghost Story when it was fairly new, about 1980 or so. I was not impressed with it. It seemed another example of somebody with literary tastes (if not pretensions) slumming a bit in this fashionable little horror ghetto, don't y'know. Mainly it seemed slow and talky. I might give it another try . . . but other things I've tried by Straub, like Shadowlands (a more entertaining book by far), have left me unenthusiastic too.

Posted by: Wolfus Aurelius at October 25, 2020 09:52 AM (rpbg1)

130
First up, a couple of weeks ago, I saw some recommendations for the classic Ghost Story by Peter Straub:

They made a movie of it in 1981 with Fred Astaire and Douglas Fairbanks Jr.

Posted by: TheQuietMan at October 25, 2020 09:52 AM (w9D9u)

131 G'day from Melbourne (where the pic of the library is from). Pity we cant visit it because we have a hard left government here that has completely locked us down for over 3 months now. Everything is closed except for groceries and takeaway. Even hardware stores are only open for pick-up orders in the car park. We aren't allowed to visit family, and we have to wear masks EVERYWHERE outside the home - even if we go for a walk in park. Until 2 weeks ago we were only allowed outside for 1 hour per day (it's now 2 I think ?). Until last week we were not allowed to travel more than 5km (3 miles). We are now allowed to travel 25km (15miles). Our economy is in ruins. This is your future under Biden. Oh, and the icing on the cake...our hard left government has signed up for the China Belt-and-Road initiative.

Posted by: ggm at October 25, 2020 09:52 AM (wtMza)

132 I'm not suicidal, not really, but I'm not loving life right now, either.

Posted by: Mary Poppins' Practically Perfect Piercing at October 25, 2020 09:28 AM (2JVJo)

I've been through major mental depressions 3 times in my life. I can tell you through experience (for me anyway) that the best therapy is to immerse yourself in other peoples' problems and try to help them. A) It's a total distraction from your problems. B) You listen to other people's problems and you always end up thinking to yourself "Wow! By comparison my life doesn't even REMOTELY suck!" C) Shortly after you get thoroughly immersed in Other People's Problems you look up and realize your problems don't concern you anymore.

Posted by: MrObvious at October 25, 2020 09:52 AM (k+h+d)

133 >>one of the things that drives me crazy is an author that strings dialogue between two or more characters together without attributing any of the quotes to the character that actually said it. Posted by: Notorious BFD at October 25, 2020 09:51 AM (EgshT)

Cormac McCarthy, Zod is looking at you.

Posted by: Zod at October 25, 2020 09:52 AM (xK9An)

134 Another early modern (mostly) that I pulled out is J H Hexter's Reappraisals in History. I've cited him before; he's really a delightful and insightful historian. These are essays, partly about general topics of history, partly more specific. Among the latter is "The Myth of the Middle Class in Tudor England." This is an attack on the stock model of the middle class rising to power, encouraged by the Tudors, and displacing the aristocracy. This one is particularly prevalent as it is congenial to both Marxist and Whig historians. (And Hexter considers himself a Whig historian, ultimately.)

One of his points is that they play fast and loose with words - as he says, using them in a Pickwickian sense. Thus they end up defining ANY peer who loses his lands as a parvenu, and anyone who gains them, as bourgeois. Well, looking at the lineages, that ain't so. It's also wrong to believe that, in so far as it happened, it was something new; he goes back to the 12th C to show that.

One of his points has an appropriate parallel today. People do not try to make their way into the falling class, but into the rising one. Those merchants who did make good, moved onto the land and made their families into gentry. Sort of a parallel to the way white people today are identifying as black, it's a phenomenon which refutes their thesis. He's also extremely harsh on the attempts to identify the gentry with the bourgeoisie.

In many ways it resembles Lewis's OHEL volume; tearing down the models we've made of the past to try to see what really was going on. In Hexter's words, he is an extreme "splitter", opposed to "lumping". Lewis, though he didn't use those terms, is the same. And that's right up my alley. I used to attack "pattern history".

Anther good treatment is in "Factors in History", a term Hexter hates. One point he makes is that the divisions of history - economic, military, constitutional, etc - did not actually arise FROM their usefullness in study, but simply from the ways in which government (and other) departments filed their records.

I've got to find some more of my books on this area, and read seriously.

Posted by: Eeyore at October 25, 2020 09:53 AM (7X3UV)

135 ''Payback'' is not the first movie.based on that Westlake novel. See: late 60's ''Point Blank'' starring Lee Marvin and Angie Dickinson and costarring a veritable who's who of character actors. I happened to see it on TCM not long after I saw "Payback' and thought that the story line was mighty familiar.
Posted by: Tuna at October 25, 2020

*
*

Lee Marvin has always been my image of Parker. Gibson -- and Robert Duvall, who played the role in another adaptation in the '70s -- just don't cut it.

Posted by: Wolfus Aurelius at October 25, 2020 09:53 AM (rpbg1)

136 And I know Stephen King is not thought of highly around here. But his early work -- Salem's Lot, The Shining, and the short stories in Night Shift -- are well-written and terrifying. The novelettes "The Mist" and "The Breathing Method" are superb stuff too.

Posted by: Wolfus Aurelius at October 25, 2020 09:47 AM (rpbg1)

---
My wife likes his work a lot. I can't stand him.

Posted by: Ace-Endorsed Author A.H. Lloyd at October 25, 2020 09:53 AM (cfSRQ)

137 I confess that Trump's history bothers me, too, but it seems to me that God has often chosen flawed people for His missions. And I do believe that Trump's ascension is God's work.

-
My MIL's elderly friend came over yesterday to ask me for help with her cell phone (since I'm an IT genius). Anyway, she told me that she thought that God had chosen Trump to be president. Interesting because both MIL and her daughter, Mrs. Wrecks, hate OrangeManBad.

Posted by: Anonosaurus Wrecks, Tyrannosaur Wrangler at October 25, 2020 09:53 AM (+y/Ru)

138
Mom passed this morning. She was 85 years old. Sisters and I are making
arrangements for her funeral. We will celebrate her life by living ours
fully and with joy in our hearts. Thanks to all who kindly prayed for
her. Life is truly precious.

Posted by: Floridachick at October 25, 2020 09:45 AM (3NyJY)

Very sorry for your loss. My condolences to you and your family.

Posted by: TheQuietMan at October 25, 2020 09:53 AM (w9D9u)

139 grammie, I haven't been able to read/concentrate lately either. I just want the election over. It's supposed to rain all day and get down to 15 tonight. I did get a pot roast going in the crock pot. So yummy, even you could do it!

Posted by: Infidel at October 25, 2020 09:53 AM (2xZJI)

140 Posted by: Floridachick at October 25, 2020 09:45 AM (3NyJY)

Oh, Floridachick, I am so sorry.

I will pray a rosary for the repose of her soul.

Posted by: Mary Poppins' Practically Perfect Piercing at October 25, 2020 09:53 AM (2JVJo)

141 I can tell you through experience (for me anyway) that the best therapy is to immerse yourself in other peoples' problems and try to help them. A) It's a total distraction from your problems. B) You listen to other people's problems and you always end up thinking to yourself "Wow! By comparison my life doesn't even REMOTELY suck!" C) Shortly after you get thoroughly immersed in Other People's Problems you look up and realize your problems don't concern you anymore.
Posted by: MrObvious at October 25, 2020

*
*

So that's why AA works!

Posted by: Wolfus Aurelius at October 25, 2020 09:53 AM (rpbg1)

142 Lin-duh, I'm assuming some will have made bail by then. I'll just wait for the stories.
Posted by: RI Red
---
Bail? Um, yeah... I totally wasn't in charge of bail money...nope, not me. Not sure where it went... I also had nothing to do with "ballot stuffing" for the door prizes. Those people accidentally put their names in twice, ACCIDENTALLY! There was NO ill intent, none,

Posted by: lin-duh at October 25, 2020 09:54 AM (t43EN)

143 Floridachick, I am so sorry about your Mom, I hope that you have some happy memories of her. Hugs and prayers to you.

Posted by: Debby Doberman Schultz at October 25, 2020 09:54 AM (a4EWo)

144 I read enough Wm. Burroughs to get the gist, as well as the sense that his 'experiments' were pointless. He was arguably the smartest of a dumb set; Kerouac was probably the dumbest.
Posted by: Zod at October 25, 2020 09:40 AM (xK9An)

Burroughs was entertaining to me, especially listening to clips of him talking with that buzzy deadpan voice. Paul Bowles gets lumped in with them probably because he was a contemporary but honestly he was a universe of one. Once you read his short stories you'll never forget them. His biography is flat out weird too, including his lesbian wife, Jane, who makes Kaiser Wilhelm's family set up seem normal

Posted by: Captain Hate at October 25, 2020 09:54 AM (y7DUB)

145 97 "Many younger evangelicals today are rejecting evangelical Christianity, even Christianity itself."

Umm, so what are they evangelicals of then?
Posted by: Botched_Lobotomy at October 25, 2020 09:42 AM (lRrON)

Christian rock music?

Posted by: Roy at October 25, 2020 09:54 AM (Ti+Tv)

146 They should have written Let's Go Commie For Christmas.
Posted by: Anonosaurus Wrecks, Tyrannosaur Wrangler at October 25, 2020 09:45 AM (+y/Ru)

Interesting how rich celebs, heavily invested in capitalist portfolios, get richer off feeding socialist/communist youth with their tunes and platitudes. And the public somehow accepts these people as part of a movement.

Posted by: CN at October 25, 2020 09:54 AM (ONvIw)

147 73 Not much reading this week - taken up with getting new siding installed, and the house repainted. The constant construction noise was not conducive to quiet contemplation ... but all done, now.
Still plowing through the Outlander series. Another author whom I wish could have been pruned ... 800 pages per volume, really?
Posted by: Sgt. Mom at October 25, 2020 09:34 AM (xnmPy)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=43JQzq4FfF0

Posted by: rhennigantx at October 25, 2020 09:54 AM (JFO2v)

148 This is out of thin air but one of the things that drives me crazy is an author that strings dialogue between two or more characters together without attributing any of the quotes to the character that actually said it. I'm currently dealing with that in an otherwise pretty good book.
Posted by: Notorious BFD at October 25, 2020

*
*

Or no quote marks at all, like Cormac McCarthy. Or those introductory dashes instead of quotes that Euro authors use. Makes me claustrophobic.

Posted by: Wolfus Aurelius at October 25, 2020 09:55 AM (rpbg1)

149 106 Mom passed this morning. She was 85 years old. Sisters and I are making arrangements for her funeral. We will celebrate her life by living ours fully and with joy in our hearts. Thanks to all who kindly prayed for her. Life is truly precious.
Posted by: Floridachick at October 25, 2020 09:45 AM (3NyJY)

Floridachick, I am so sorry to hear this. From everything you've told us about her, she sounds like she was a lovely lady and staunch patriotic American by choice. A life well lived.

May God comfort and keep you and your family through this very difficult time.

Posted by: Marybeth at October 25, 2020 09:55 AM (4pK1/)

150 96 I agree, pep. Coventry Carol is one of my favorite Christmas songs. As is Some Children See Him.
Posted by: Lady in Black at October 25, 2020 09:42 AM (O+I8R)
_________

Something about the Coventry Carol gave me the creeps, as a kid. I mean the music - at the time, I didn't understand the lyrics, and didn't know what it was about. Which would have been the natural explanation - I am a firstborn son - but I know it wasn't.

Posted by: Eeyore at October 25, 2020 09:55 AM (7X3UV)

151 Condolences Florida chick!

Posted by: lin-duh at October 25, 2020 09:56 AM (t43EN)

152 Posted by: Floridachick at October 25, 2020 09:45 AM (3NyJY)

Many prayers coming your way.

Posted by: Infidel at October 25, 2020 09:57 AM (2xZJI)

153 Prayers up for the memory of Floridachick's mom.

Posted by: Captain Hate at October 25, 2020 09:57 AM (y7DUB)

154 >>Paul Bowles gets lumped in with them probably because he was a contemporary but honestly he was a universe of one. Once you read his short stories you'll never forget them. Posted by: Captain Hate at October 25, 2020 09:54 AM (y7DUB)

Very, very true.

Posted by: Zod at October 25, 2020 09:58 AM (xK9An)

155 Condolences, floridachick. And sympathies to all depressed.
I just don't read scary stories. My imagination is vivid enough. And real life is wierding me out.
I haven't been doing much light reading, either. Most reading is here. Much more enjoyable.
I like to keep up with the highs and lows of us Morons. Keeps me sane. Relatively.

Posted by: RI Red at October 25, 2020 10:00 AM (R+0Ve)

156 Capt Hate I blame that also as the reason my reading has been curtailed.
Posted by: Skip at October 25, 2020 09:47 AM (OjZpE)

It's really annoying but it is what it is.

Posted by: Captain Hate at October 25, 2020 10:00 AM (y7DUB)

157 One of his points is that they play fast and loose
with words - as he says, using them in a Pickwickian sense. Thus they
end up defining ANY peer who loses his lands as a parvenu, and anyone
who gains them, as bourgeois. Well, looking at the lineages, that ain't
so. It's also wrong to believe that, in so far as it happened, it was
something new; he goes back to the 12th C to show that.

Posted by: Eeyore at October 25, 2020 09:53 AM (7X3UV)

---
It was Churchill's History of the English-Speaking Peoples that made me aware of how much of a crock Tudor history was.

Protestant apologists claim that the abbeys and monasteries were places of wealth an idleness, where rich monks sat around doing nothing useful and praying all day, surrounded by gold chalices and crucifixes.

Churchill demolished the myth, pointing out that in practical terms, those lands were the welfare state of the time, where the poor could go to find bread and work. When the Church's lands were seized, they didn't go the poor, but to the rich, and the indigent now had no place to go other than the cities or indenture themselves on the great estates.

He's a wonderfully cynical English patriot.

Posted by: Ace-Endorsed Author A.H. Lloyd at October 25, 2020 10:00 AM (cfSRQ)

158 We aren't allowed to visit family, and we have to wear masks EVERYWHERE
outside the home - even if we go for a walk in park. Until 2 weeks ago
we were only allowed outside for 1 hour per day

What a nightmare. The left there Down Under is going to strip whatever right's y'all still have until there is nothing left.

Posted by: Notorious BFD at October 25, 2020 10:00 AM (EgshT)

159 So that's why AA works!

Posted by: Wolfus Aurelius at October 25, 2020 09:53 AM (rpbg1)

Yes, but sometimes you still need fighters up there to take out the enemy bombers....wait...what?

Posted by: TheQuietMan at October 25, 2020 10:00 AM (w9D9u)

160
I finished reading the second of three novels by Bernard Malamud, "The Fixer". ("The Natural" was the first one that I read, while I have now started on the third, "The Assistant".)

First, a review of my headspace as I read "The Fixer". If you are familiar with Mussorgsky's "Pictures at an Exhibition", you likely know #6: "Samuel" Goldenberg and "Schmuyle", sometimes referred to as "Two Polish Jews, Rich and Poor". It is an evocative piece, but ultimately unsettling, hectoring, and dissonant. This played in my head, over and over, throughout my reading of "The Fixer".

This is the story of a Ukrainian Jew, one Yakov Bov, who, dissatisfied, poor, and abandoned by his wife, leaves his Ukrainian shtetl for Kiev. A "fixer" in the sense that he performs small jobs to repair things, he finds better work and a small degree of an improved existence, eventually becoming a foreman for a brick factory owned by a non Jew because Yakov covered up his true origins and background. After having begun to purge thievery among the factory's workers, Yakov is accused by them, among others, of having ritually killed a young boy who ran with a crowd of boys that had vandalized parts of the factory and who he had chased off.

Yakov is arrested for the murder and, in the eyes of the townspeople, is doubly guilty for having concealed his true identity as a Jew. What follows is Yakov's travails while imprisoned, which goes on for years, and this constitutes the bulk of the work. It includes his faithless wife having returned, while he was imprisoned, to implore him to agree that the boy to whom she gave birth (from another man) was his son so that she and the boy would no longer be outcasts back in the shtetl.

Yakov's treatment in prison is every bit as gruesome as you might expect, given that the story is set in a time when persecution of Jews and pogorms were the norm in The Russian Empire (early 20th Century, pre-WWI). His case is delayed over and over and the story ends with him still imprisoned and not yet presented with the equivalent of a bill of indictment, despite having been imprisoned for years.

Acclaimed and awarded, "The Fixer" apparently drew upon the real life case of Menahem Mendel Beilis in the 1910s, which sparked a degree of international outrage at that time over the antisemitism that permeated the Russian Empire. As a literary work, "The Fixer" was a tough and dispiriting read, confirming as it did, that bigotry can be a most creative prejudice by providing tormentors with innumerable means and opportunities to make another human being's life miserable.

Posted by: Krebs v Carnot: Epic Battle of the Cycling Stars (TM) at October 25, 2020 10:00 AM (pNxlR)

161 BTW, for those who like cookbooks, consider the excellent Konemann series, "Culinaria." Outstanding, intelligent, beautiful books.

Posted by: Zod at October 25, 2020 10:01 AM (xK9An)

162 Rereading Arms of Krupp, last read in high school. Them krupps wuz all nertz! One had an epstein prototype pedo isle for boys in Capri (he comitted 'suicide' too); others out SS'd the SS working slaves to death. Nize babies.
Posted by: Banned at October 25, 2020 09:43 AM (oyAQ4)
________

I don't think it comes from that book, but I have run across a belief that other countries - even Britain - were actually importing armor from Krupp, pre-WWI. That's a misreading. The process of hardening the face of the armor plate was Krupp's improvement of the American Harvey system, but it was not kept a secret. Everyone was using it. (As had been true of Harvey.)

The whole super-secrecy about naval technology was fairly new. It starts in the 90s, perhaps because new players arose, including Germany, Japan, and us. In the days when Anglo-French rivalry was the thing (with Russia third) they were quite open about letting the other country's officers see what they had. Brassey's would print perfectly accurate designs of ships; much more accurate than those in Jane's in the 20th C.

Posted by: Eeyore at October 25, 2020 10:02 AM (7X3UV)

163 ''139 grammie, I haven't been able to read/concentrate lately either. I just want the election over.''

Say it again and hallelujah. I want it O.V.E.R. Please Lord hear my prayer that PDT wins handily with room to spare so we don't have to put up with Democrat voter fraud shenanigans.

Posted by: Tuna at October 25, 2020 10:02 AM (gLRfa)

164 I figured out the killer and most of the circumstances in an Ellery Queen mystery!

The book was "The Spanish Cape Mystery," 1935 (one year before my dad was born). A gigolo is found dead on the grounds of a coastal mansion on a spit of land. Access is therefore limited. He was among the guests at the mansion, none of whom liked him -- or each other, at that.

What made me want to read this is that the guy was found wearing nothing but an opera cape. I wanted to know how circumspect the writing would be in that era. Pretty straightforward, it turns out. Of course, the phrase "making love" has a far different meaning today -- but that's our fault.
. . .

Posted by: Weak Geek at October 25, 2020

*
*

Some folks call it the most "logically pure" EQ novel. It's also the first where Ellery, the Mr. Spock of his day, admits that the "human equation" means something to him -- the forerunner of the more human Ellery in the later books.

Have your read Chinese Orange Mystery? It also involves clothing, though in a totally different way.

I'll admit that I have now and then figured out (aka guessed) the solution to an EQ story. Three or four of the novels, and about as many of the short stories. Considering that they published stuff over 40-some years, that gives me very few points.

Posted by: Wolfus Aurelius at October 25, 2020 10:02 AM (rpbg1)

165 163 ''139 grammie, I haven't been able to read/concentrate lately either. I just want the election over.''

Say it again and hallelujah. I want it O.V.E.R. Please Lord hear my prayer that PDT wins handily with room to spare so we don't have to put up with Democrat voter fraud shenanigans.
Posted by: Tuna at October 25, 2020 10:02 AM (gLRfa)

Same.

Gosh, I thought I was the only one who couldn't concentrate on practically anything else.

Posted by: Marybeth at October 25, 2020 10:03 AM (4pK1/)

166
g'mornin', 'book-ish 'rons

Posted by: AltonJackson at October 25, 2020 10:04 AM (YAesX)

167 This is out of thin air but one of the things that
drives me crazy is an author that strings dialogue between two or more
characters together without attributing any of the quotes to the
character that actually said it. I'm currently dealing with that in an
otherwise pretty good book.

Posted by: Notorious BFD at October 25, 2020 09:51 AM (EgshT)

---
It's an overreaction to the former practice of identifying the speak on each and every line, even if it is obvious.

Waugh uses it frequently, but it's usually clear who is saying what.

He also does this delightful thing where he only quotes one side of the conversation, which lets you know it's one-sided and focuses on what you need to know.

One of the things I love about his style is that it is so economical. I think my own writing got better through reading him. One reason I revised Battle Officer Wolf was that I realized I was too wordy in a lot of places and was using the more conventional way of framing dialogue.

(The other reason was that were too many uncorrected errors.)

Posted by: Ace-Endorsed Author A.H. Lloyd at October 25, 2020 10:04 AM (cfSRQ)

168 Not to belabor the painfully obvious...

But Eartha's got a bad case of resting bitch face.

Posted by: browndog at October 25, 2020 10:04 AM (BgMrQ)

169 Eartha's also got 29 Cadillacs, and 29 sables from Saks.

Posted by: Zod at October 25, 2020 10:05 AM (xK9An)

170 @108 --

A.H., one of my grandmothers -- a Holiness Church member (no snakes) -- could not bring herself to vote for Reagan because he had been divorced.

And my college son, who's gone full socialist, often bombards me with anti-Trump articles. He calls Trump "a horrible person."

OTOH, he detests Biden. He wanted Sanders. He was so glad when he got his absentee ballot to see that it had several other choices.

Posted by: Weak Geek at October 25, 2020 10:05 AM (u/nim)

171 104 2020 truly sucketh, to put it in Middle English.

Forsooth. It biteth the big one.
Posted by: pep at October 25, 2020 09:45 AM (v16oJ)
________

Whan Orange Manne with his sinnes vile,
Hath striken every adult and chile....

Posted by: Eeyore at October 25, 2020 10:05 AM (7X3UV)

172 Burroughs was entertaining to me, especially listening to clips of him talking with that buzzy deadpan voice.

If you can find the Criterion Collection DVD of the silent movie Haxan, it's paired with a 1960s re-release called Witchcraft Through the Ages, to which Burroughs does narration.

Posted by: Mary Poppins' Practically Perfect Piercing at October 25, 2020 10:07 AM (2JVJo)

173 Cormac McCarthy, Zod is looking at you.

Posted by: Zod at October 25, 2020 09:52 AM (xK9An)

He does enjoy making his readers work, but I think it is worth it.

Posted by: CharlieBrown'sDildo at October 25, 2020 10:07 AM (xT2tT)

174 My other memory about Eartha Kitt is of her playing a gymnast who because of her small size and flexibility is recruited by Jim Phelps for the IM Force in a Mission: Impossible. Good casting.

And Julie Newmar is the top Catwoman, followed by Michelle Pfeiffer.

Posted by: Wolfus Aurelius at October 25, 2020 10:07 AM (rpbg1)

175 Condolences, FC. Bless her, bless you, and all her many loved ones.

Posted by: goatexchange at October 25, 2020 10:07 AM (HgBj4)

176 I finished "We," the Russian dystopian novel which set the tone for "1984" and "Brave New World." Personally, I'd skip it and read the latter two. I think the problem is that when your characters are basically meat-robots, the reader can't really care what happens to them. With 1984, I at least felt anxiety for Winston and Julia.

My next read is Sexual Personae by Camille Paglia. I normally don't read a lot of books by atheist, lesbian art professors, but I watched a video of a conversation between her and Jordan Peterson that was posted on YouTube and was impressed. I'm only a few pages in, but so far she's managed to work in some scathing criticism of modern feminists. Given my current pace of reading, I should finish it somewhere in the second term of Donald Trump Jr's presidency.

Posted by: PabloD, make commies fly again! at October 25, 2020 10:07 AM (qXPmL)

177 Gosh, I thought I was the only one who couldn't concentrate on practically anything else.
Posted by: Marybeth at October 25, 2020 10:03 AM (4pK1/)

Marybeth, I think we are all there. The not-knowing for sure is stressful.
Of course, life thereafter is going to have new challenges. Probably not a lot of time for light reading.

Posted by: RI Red at October 25, 2020 10:08 AM (R+0Ve)

178 136 And I know Stephen King is not thought of highly around here. But his early work -- Salem's Lot, The Shining, and the short stories in Night Shift -- are well-written and terrifying. The novelettes "The Mist" and "The Breathing Method" are superb stuff to.

The Breathing Method is one of my favorite of his short stories. I like a lot of King's books, pre accident. I think after his accident he went off the rails.
I just started reading horror this year. I think it is a response to the craziness of the world right now. I can read something and think "thank g-d that hasn't happened." Of course it is 2020 and we still have time.

Posted by: megthered at October 25, 2020 10:08 AM (SM/op)

179 So that's why AA works!
Posted by: Wolfus Aurelius at October 25, 2020 09:53 AM (rpbg1)

Oh HELLL No! AA works because you have a sponsor that has promised to beat you senseless if you even THINK about getting stupid again.

Posted by: MrObvious at October 25, 2020 10:08 AM (k+h+d)

180 The whole super-secrecy about naval technology was
fairly new. It starts in the 90s, perhaps because new players arose,
including Germany, Japan, and us. In the days when Anglo-French rivalry
was the thing (with Russia third) they were quite open about letting the
other country's officers see what they had. Brassey's would print
perfectly accurate designs of ships; much more accurate than those in
Jane's in the 20th C.

Posted by: Eeyore at October 25, 2020 10:02 AM (7X3UV)

---
It was new because technology was pretty flat before that.

There was almost no difference between the Man o' War of 1690 and 1810. The cannon changed a little, but otherwise they were pretty much the same - so much so that captured ships were simply incorporated into the fleet.

After 1850 technology really takes off and now there's a credible fear that your latest innovation could be used against you.

Posted by: Ace-Endorsed Author A.H. Lloyd at October 25, 2020 10:09 AM (cfSRQ)

181 So that's why AA works!
Posted by: Wolfus Aurelius

Had no idea until read The Forgotten Man that AA was a result of the Great Depression from 2 alcoholics who decided it had to stop.

Posted by: Skip at October 25, 2020 10:09 AM (OjZpE)

182 >>Whan Orange Manne with his sinnes vile,
Hath striken every adult and chile....
Posted by: Eeyore at October 25, 2020 10:05 AM (7X3UV)

John Derbyshire's Old English take on the Schwarzenegger election in CA is epic:

https://tinyurl.com/y5pj3wos

Posted by: Zod at October 25, 2020 10:09 AM (xK9An)

183 https://tinyurl.com/y3wysabj

A disgusting twitter post with lots of eXcellent comments following. Not a book but Worth a quick read.

Posted by: LASue at October 25, 2020 10:09 AM (Ed8Zd)

184 "Pseudointellectual Poser" Thank you All Hail Eris for the job title I didn't even know I needed.

Posted by: Who knew at October 25, 2020 10:10 AM (SfO/T)

185 All right, I need to go to Wal-Mart and see if they have any long underwear for sale on this cold, gloomy day.

Prayers for you all, and prayers for President Trump.

Posted by: Mary Poppins' Practically Perfect Piercing at October 25, 2020 10:10 AM (2JVJo)

186 I'm preaching this morning and just finished the PowerPoint. I don't like preparing powerpoint presentation.

Posted by: Northernlurker, still lurking after all these years at October 25, 2020 10:10 AM (lgiXo)

187 The Breathing Method is one of my favorite of his
short stories. I like a lot of King's books, pre accident. I think after
his accident he went off the rails.

I just started reading horror this year. I think it is a response to
the craziness of the world right now. I can read something and think
"thank g-d that hasn't happened." Of course it is 2020 and we still have
time.

Posted by: megthered at October 25, 2020 10:08 AM (SM/op)

---
I'm told that his best work was while he was a raging alcoholic and that as he sobered up, he became mediocre.

Then he got in the accident and went nuts.

Posted by: Ace-Endorsed Author A.H. Lloyd at October 25, 2020 10:10 AM (cfSRQ)

188 It's an overreaction to the former practice of identifying the speak on each and every line, even if it is obvious.

That was my thought, as well.

Posted by: Notorious BFD at October 25, 2020 10:10 AM (EgshT)

189 AoSHQ:

Come for the erudite and edumacated book discussion

Stay for the complaining about crappy Christmas songs.

Posted by: OregonMuse, AoSHQ Thought Leader, Pants Monitor & Social Distancing Professional at October 25, 2020 10:11 AM (ylJVZ)

190 A few Parker books have been made into movies; Westlake just wouldn't let the character be named Parker.

Near the end of his life, he relented, and thus we have "Parker."

From what I understand, it wasn't good.

Posted by: Weak Geek at October 25, 2020 10:11 AM (u/nim)

191 137 I confess that Trump's history bothers me, too, but it seems to me that God has often chosen flawed people for His missions. And I do believe that Trump's ascension is God's work.

-
My MIL's elderly friend came over yesterday to ask me for help with her cell phone (since I'm an IT genius). Anyway, she told me that she thought that God had chosen Trump to be president. Interesting because both MIL and her daughter, Mrs. Wrecks, hate OrangeManBad.
Posted by: Anonosaurus Wrecks, Tyrannosaur Wrangler at October 25, 2020 09:53 AM (+y/Ru)
__________

One of the reasons I don't dunk neocons as others do is an interview I heard with Norman Podhoretz, who has the best claim to be a neocon of anyone living. He compared Trump to King David, on just that sort of line. (He also said that Bill Kristol had lost his mind. Reflect on that. It's as if Lewis said that of Christopher Tolkein.)

Posted by: Eeyore at October 25, 2020 10:12 AM (7X3UV)

192 My wife detests "Santa Baby."

A song for sluts, she calls it.

Posted by: Weak Geek at October 25, 2020 10:12 AM (u/nim)

193 This is an attempt to blame falling church attendance on Orange Man Bad.
Posted by: Ace-Endorsed Author A.H. Lloyd at October 25, 2020 09:51 AM (cfSRQ)

True. But the blame lies with the fallen churches. What the Pope pushes today is social justice and socialism. His agenda has nothing to do with Catholicism or God at all.

Posted by: Botched_Lobotomy at October 25, 2020 10:13 AM (lRrON)

194 OTOH, he detests Biden. He wanted Sanders. He was so glad when he got his absentee ballot to see that it had several other choices.
Posted by: Weak Geek at October 25, 2020 10:05 AM (u/nim

That's the question I have - do trump-haters hate him so much that they'll vote for Biden to spite trump? I'm going to ask one of my friends if she'll just leave it blank instead.

Posted by: RI Red at October 25, 2020 10:14 AM (R+0Ve)

195 My next read is Sexual Personae by Camille Paglia. I normally don't read a lot of books by atheist, lesbian art professors, but I watched a video of a conversation between her and Jordan Peterson that was posted on YouTube and was impressed. I'm only a few pages in, but so far she's managed to work in some scathing criticism of modern feminists. Given my current pace of reading, I should finish it somewhere in the second term of Donald Trump Jr's presidency.
Posted by: PabloD, make commies fly again! at October 25, 2020 10:07 AM (qXPmL)

I'm working my way through it in dribs and drabs because her writing is just so dense with ideas that you often have to sit back and think about what you just read. Even intelligent libs were in awe of that when it came out, as she skewered the dumbfucks in her midst.

Imo she glamorizes the 60s too fucking much and blames things falling apart on drugs without understanding they were an integral part of things. I'm sure she had some very smart college advisors then who understood what a unique talent she was.

Posted by: Captain Hate at October 25, 2020 10:16 AM (y7DUB)

196 That's the question I have - do trump-haters hate him so much that they'll vote for Biden to spite trump?

Yes. That's the whole Biden campaign right there. No one is voting for Biden. They are voting against Trump.

Posted by: grammie winger at October 25, 2020 10:16 AM (gm3d+)

197 I am reading "Something Wicked This Way Comes" because I saw a quote from it and felt nostalgic for a well-written creepy story as opposedto the dreck I quit reading.

I second tge recommendation of "Ancestral Shadows" by Russell Kirk. The short stories stand alone but two are intertwined and so it's best to read them in order.

Posted by: NaughtyPine - now with extra naughtiness at October 25, 2020 10:16 AM (/+bwe)

198 So that's why AA works!
Posted by: Wolfus Aurelius

But you can't go wrong with a 40mm Bofors either
https://www.militaryfactory.com/armor/detail.asp?armor_id=786

Posted by: Skip at October 25, 2020 10:16 AM (OjZpE)

199 OTOH, he detests Biden. He wanted Sanders. He was so
glad when he got his absentee ballot to see that it had several other
choices.

Posted by: Weak Geek at October 25, 2020 10:05 AM (u/nim

That's the question I have - do trump-haters hate him so much that
they'll vote for Biden to spite trump? I'm going to ask one of my
friends if she'll just leave it blank instead.

Posted by: RI Red at October 25, 2020 10:14 AM

---

Had a life long democrat tell me that exact thing the other day, he was going to leave the President line blank on the ballot because he won't vote for Trump and he can't stand biden.

Posted by: Mr. Scott (Formerly GWS) at October 25, 2020 10:17 AM (JUOKG)

200 118 Sincere prayers to you and your family, Floridachick. It's so very hard losing a parent. I lost mine 11 years ago. The sting lessens but never goes away. May your mom rest in peace.

It is true that the sting never goes away, but the good memories come rushing back at odd moments, too. A song, or a place, or a news report will suddenly have me thinking of the old times, and I find myself saying quietly, "I love you, Dad."

Best wishes for you and your family, Floridachick.

Posted by: A Tabby Cat at October 25, 2020 10:17 AM (i44up)

201 A.H., one of my grandmothers -- a Holiness Church
member (no snakes) -- could not bring herself to vote for Reagan because
he had been divorced.

Posted by: Weak Geek at October 25, 2020 10:05 AM (u/nim)

---
I've noticed that there's a strain of Christianity that holds that their vote is really a spiritual endorsement for heaven and that if they vote for someone who is not as personally righteous as they are, it would be sinful.

Related to this is the notion that one's faith is a measure of one's spiritual worth, and by denouncing anyone with less purity, you assure your salvation. These are the people who leave a church because they are afraid a scandal will reflect badly on *them* personally.

I can't get behind either school of thought. All politicians are corrupt, and I've voting for things like tax rates and foreign policy, not sainthood. Given where I live, I'm often left voting for the least worst option.

Refusing to vote is also a choice, and I like how one has to acknowledge sin not just for what one has done, but for what one has failed to do.

Same with scandal. All churches will have them because we live in a fallen world. The proper response is to find out what happened, who did what, and take steps to make sure it is harder to happen in the future.

I get the impression that many of the David French evangelical types base their church attendance on whether the denomination is worth of *them.*

Posted by: Ace-Endorsed Author A.H. Lloyd at October 25, 2020 10:18 AM (cfSRQ)

202 confess that Trump's history bothers me, too, but it seems to me that God has often chosen flawed people for His missions. And I do believe that Trump's ascension is God's work.

-
My MIL's elderly friend came over yesterday to ask me for help with her cell phone (since I'm an IT genius). Anyway, she told me that she thought that God had chosen Trump to be president. Interesting because both MIL and her daughter, Mrs. Wrecks, hate OrangeManBad.
Posted by: Anonosaurus Wrecks, Tyrannosaur Wrangler at October 25, 2020 09:53 AM (+y

The catholic sermon in Austin last week was about the fact that God sometimes picks flawed people to do his work. It Was lovely

Posted by: LASue at October 25, 2020 10:18 AM (Ed8Zd)

203
May your mother rest in peace, Floridachick.

Posted by: Krebs v Carnot: Epic Battle of the Cycling Stars (TM) at October 25, 2020 10:19 AM (pNxlR)

204 The evil genius of the Covid-19 Governors was to shut down churches while championing BLM and Antifa mass protests.

Posted by: Skip at October 25, 2020 10:19 AM (OjZpE)

205 That's the question I have - do trump-haters hate him so much that they'll vote for Biden to spite trump?

Oh, absolutely. I have two family members that are a living testament to that. Neither one of them can articulate a single cogent point as to why they despise him...they just do. Never seen anything like it. It's all feelz-based.

Posted by: Notorious BFD at October 25, 2020 10:20 AM (EgshT)

206 FloridaChick, sincere condolences to you and your family.
Grammie and Poppins, you are not alone. Many of us are trudging through various forms of depression, and I second the idea of doing for others as a great distraction. It has helped me before. Sometimes, maintaining is a daily victory over the demons which try to bound our minds and souls.

Posted by: jax at October 25, 2020 10:21 AM (BYqLO)

207 I read T S Eliot's The Wasteland (https://www.poetryfoundation.org/ poems/47311/the-waste-land) yesterday.

And why, you may well ask, did this inveterate poetry-dodger (especially 20C poetry ever since 10th grade English (Richard Corey GAHHH!) ) do this odd thing?

Well, it is because of Spencer Klavan's Young Heretics podcasts (youTube and iTunes) which I cannot recommend too highly. With a regular (weekly?) podcast, he is helping us reclaim Western Culture (literature) from the swampy morass of identity politics, relativism, post-modern self-hate. It is fantastic. Each podcast moves the listener to discover treasure by reading it for himself.

It is ideal, absolutely ideal, to steer a book club's readings. So far I have looked into The Iliad, Plato's The Symposium, C S Lewis' The Abolition of Man, Aeschylus' The Persians, Isaiah.

https://www.youtube.com/ channel/UCgqj2go45P8ase0ISG1iwig

Posted by: sinmi at October 25, 2020 10:21 AM (A5IVt)

208 Floirdachick - I am very sorry. I lost my mother almost a year ago now and it is a hard thing to deal with, even when expected. I hope she was at peace when she passed.

Remember to take time for yourself to grieve, that is hard to do when dealing with the logistics of funeral arrangement and settling the estate.

Posted by: Dave in Fla at October 25, 2020 10:21 AM (5p7BC)

209 I have "Ghost Stories of an Antiquary" in my ebook library! Yay! I am going to read it today. A friend of mine recommended it earlier this year when I told him about my horror curiosity. He said to read some of the earlier horror and compare it with todays stories. I had forgotten it was in there.

Posted by: megthered at October 25, 2020 10:22 AM (SM/op)

210 Cormac McCarthy, Zod is looking at you.

Posted by: Zod at October 25, 2020 09:52 AM (xK9An)

He does enjoy making his readers work, but I think it is worth it.
Posted by: CharlieBrown'sDildo at October 25, 2020 10:07 AM (xT2tT)

Agreed but The Road was a page turner. My youngest daughter read it and said "Dad, you're not going to believe this..."

He used to have a blog in which he was responsive to readers' questions. Believe it or not he's a pretty funny guy.

Posted by: Captain Hate at October 25, 2020 10:23 AM (y7DUB)

211 Well, the Leaf Blower Wars have begun in my neighborhood. So much for a quiet Sunday morning.

Posted by: Notorious BFD at October 25, 2020 10:23 AM (EgshT)

212 I've been reading Children of Nazis by Tania Crasnianski. It is about how the children of big shot Nazis adapted to a post-Nazi world. Some, Himmler's and Goering's daughters, for example, lived to glorify their fathers and to enshrine them among the saints. Others rebelled, some turning religion becoming priests and even rabbis(!).

Generally, the Nazis seem to have been good, loving fathers with the notable exception of Josef Mengele and even he seems to have lived his son but was just too caught up in justifying his work to put up with any shit from his son.

There are some poignant scenes. The Kommadant of Auschwitz Rudolph Hoess lived on the grounds with his family who could see into the compound. One day his kids ask one of the household slaves to make Star of David armbands for them so they could play inmates. Dad wasn't happy when he came home but didn't punish anyone. He just removed the armbands and told them to not do it again.

All in all, an interesting look into a world of madness.

Posted by: Anonosaurus Wrecks, Tyrannosaur Wrangler at October 25, 2020 10:23 AM (+y/Ru)

213 The correct answer is a true Christian does not bother with worldly politics. duh.

Posted by: Balrog of Morgoth at October 25, 2020 10:23 AM (CLteG)

214
I'm not voting for Trump for saint. I'm voting for him because his "devout Catholic" opponent's party wants to expel religious belief from the public square.

Posted by: Hadrian the Seventh at October 25, 2020 10:23 AM (mht8P)

215 180 The whole super-secrecy about naval technology was
fairly new. It starts in the 90s, perhaps because new players arose,
including Germany, Japan, and us. In the days when Anglo-French rivalry
was the thing (with Russia third) they were quite open about letting the
other country's officers see what they had. Brassey's would print
perfectly accurate designs of ships; much more accurate than those in
Jane's in the 20th C.

Posted by: Eeyore at October 25, 2020 10:02 AM (7X3UV)

---
It was new because technology was pretty flat before that.

There was almost no difference between the Man o' War of 1690 and 1810. The cannon changed a little, but otherwise they were pretty much the same - so much so that captured ships were simply incorporated into the fleet.

After 1850 technology really takes off and now there's a credible fear that your latest innovation could be used against you.

Posted by: Ace-Endorsed Author A.H. Lloyd at October 25, 2020 10:09 AM (cfSRQ)
________

Up to a point. In sailing days, a far bigger factor was that ships didn't sink often, so every had the actual ships the enemy's designs in their service. However read the chapter on technology in Rogers's Command; there was more variation than you seem to think.

But the biggest problem with what you say is that it skips many decades. It was precisely the period 1850-1900 that they were so surprisingly open. And that was an era when design was changing very rapidly. A design of 1865 was FURTHER out of date in 1880 than was on of 1899 in 1914. Really.

Related to my earlier comments about Sharpe, Hexter, and Lewis, explanations of what happens in history are always simplifications, and full of red herrings. Sharpe is trying to show that, but not very well. The other two do so superbly. There's a reason I recommend English Literature in the 16th C more often than any other book. At least the intro "The New Learning and the New Ignorance" should be universal.

Posted by: Eeyore at October 25, 2020 10:24 AM (7X3UV)

216 I'm told that his best work was while he was a raging alcoholic and that as he sobered up, he became mediocre.

Then he got in the accident and went nuts.
Posted by: Ace-Endorsed Author A.H. Lloyd at October 25, 2020

*
*

I suppose that's possible. But his later novelettes "The Library Policeman," in which AA figures, and "The Langoliers" (ignore that silly TV movie made from it) are both excellent, and that would have been, I guess, after he stopped drinking.

Posted by: Wolfus Aurelius at October 25, 2020 10:24 AM (rpbg1)

217 I hope these super Trump haters are satisfied voting for a third party candidate or writing in a name. I think a bunch will be. Their fight isnt with policies , but personality.

Posted by: LASue at October 25, 2020 10:24 AM (Ed8Zd)

218 Well, the Leaf Blower Wars have begun in my neighborhood. So much for a quiet Sunday morning.
Posted by: Notorious BFD

We're expecting a hard freeze tonight. Must be that climate warming Biden was talking about.

Posted by: Anonosaurus Wrecks, Tyrannosaur Wrangler at October 25, 2020 10:25 AM (+y/Ru)

219 condolescences fc,

an early episode of reilly ace of spies, had reilly working for bluhm and voss (the naval counterpart to krupp) selling ships to the Russian navy, when we first see him, he's buying up stores in port arthur, since the russians had ignored the reports of japanese massing their forces,

Posted by: bolivar de gris at October 25, 2020 10:25 AM (hMlTh)

220 The only thing we haven't seen is Biden thrown in the back of a van like a sack of potatoes.

Posted by: Infidel

---
So, have we been upgraded or downgraded since we've gone from "deplorables" under Hillary to "chumps" under Biden?

Posted by: RoyalOil at October 25, 2020 10:25 AM (aO8Gd)

221 189 AoSHQ:

Come for the erudite and edumacated book discussion

Stay for the complaining about crappy Christmas songs.
Posted by: OregonMuse,
~~~
It IS a book thread, so: Stay for the hours enjoying Webster's Dictionary.

Posted by: socalcon at October 25, 2020 10:26 AM (Roy2Z)

222 The only thing we haven't seen is Biden thrown in the back of a van like a sack of potatoes.

Posted by: Infidel
-xx-
Search "Weekend at Biden's" political ad....

Posted by: lin-duh at October 25, 2020 10:27 AM (t43EN)

223 @164 --

Wolfus, I read "The Chinese Orange Mystery" last month for the second time. First time was as a teenager.

The EQ website I visit calls "The Dutch Shoe Mystery" the most logically pure EQ. Haven't read that one.

I think my next EQ will be "Calamity Town." The website praises it.

Posted by: Weak Geek at October 25, 2020 10:27 AM (u/nim)

224 I'm not voting for Trump for saint. I'm voting for
him because his "devout Catholic" opponent's party wants to expel
religious belief from the public square.

Posted by: Hadrian the Seventh
=====
I think they're fine with "belief." It's "practice" that gets them all iron-fisted.

Posted by: 2009Refugee at October 25, 2020 10:27 AM (8AONa)

225 "I love Sunday mornings with books and my local radio station's baroque program." All Hail Eris

You forgot the coffee. On Christmas music the best Christmas album of all time: Bruce Cockburn - Christmas

Posted by: Who knew at October 25, 2020 10:27 AM (SfO/T)

226 204 The evil genius of the Covid-19 Governors was to shut down churches while championing BLM and Antifa mass protests

Would we have even believed that they would shut down churches, schools and locked everyone down, 5 years ago? Even one year ago? And who would have believed that people would go along with it, willingly and happily, and informing on their neighbors. Now we know how the German people became entangled in the Nazi regime.

Posted by: megthered at October 25, 2020 10:29 AM (SM/op)

227 one of my grandmothers -- a Holiness Church member (no snakes) -- could not bring herself to vote for Reagan because he had been divorced.

did she vote for JFK ? Because he never divorced.

Posted by: runner at October 25, 2020 10:29 AM (zr5Kq)

228 178 136 And I know Stephen King is not thought of highly around here. But his early work -- Salem's Lot, The Shining, and the short stories in Night Shift -- are well-written and terrifying. The novelettes "The Mist" and "The Breathing Method" are superb stuff to.

The Breathing Method is one of my favorite of his short stories. I like a lot of King's books, pre accident. I think after his accident he went off the rails.
I just started reading horror this year. I think it is a response to the craziness of the world right now. I can read something and think "thank g-d that hasn't happened." Of course it is 2020 and we still have time.
Posted by: megthered at October 25, 2020 10:08 AM (SM/op)

His early writing is good but he just gets worse with age. The Stand is still one of my favorite novels. And that was written in his earlier days.

Posted by: Catch Thirty-Thr33 at October 25, 2020 10:29 AM (lJmmt)

229 They designed a prison just like that library.

Posted by: Weaning is hard at October 25, 2020 10:30 AM (2DOZq)

230 And I know Stephen King is not thought of highly around here. But his early work -- Salem's Lot, The Shining, and the short stories in Night Shift -- are well-written and terrifying. The novelettes "The Mist" and "The Breathing Method" are superb stuff too.

Posted by: Wolfus Aurelius at October 25, 2020 09:47 AM (rpbg1)

More accurately, Stephen King, the batshit crazy left-wing loon is not thought of highly around here. His writing, on the other hand, does get better reviews. Sometimes.

Posted by: OregonMuse, AoSHQ Thought Leader, Pants Monitor & Social Distancing Professional at October 25, 2020 10:30 AM (ylJVZ)

231 megthered,
Bingo!

Posted by: lin-duh at October 25, 2020 10:30 AM (t43EN)

232 I second tge recommendation of "Ancestral Shadows" by Russell Kirk. The short stories stand alone but two are intertwined and so it's best to read them in order.
Posted by: NaughtyPine - now with extra naughtiness at October 25, 2020

*
*

I first read some of Kirk's Gothic short stories in a collection I still have, The Surly Sullen Bell. On of them, "Sorworth Place," is very effective and was done with Richard Kiley in the lead on Night Gallery (NG adapted a lot of printed fiction). A long short story, "There's a Long, Long Trail A-Winding," is also very good.

I tried his "old dark house" novel, and I think I finished it, but I remember little about it except that he had his lead character notice and think approvingly several times about the "bare feet of Scottish girls," including those of the heroine. I wouldn't mind, but having that crop up three or four times in four chapters is odd, to say the least.

Posted by: Wolfus Aurelius at October 25, 2020 10:30 AM (rpbg1)

233 AW - sounds interesting but not sure if I would want to read that or not, not one to shy away from subject matter either.

Posted by: Skip at October 25, 2020 10:30 AM (OjZpE)

234 He was so glad when he got his absentee ballot to see that it had several other choices.

-
Kanye All the Way!

Posted by: Anonosaurus Wrecks, Tyrannosaur Wrangler at October 25, 2020 10:30 AM (+y/Ru)

235 years later, he's arrogant enough to try to mount a coup against lenin, but he makes a few key mistakes, the British version of the top men, only provide a tiny landing force at Archangel, (my people know the feeling) he trusted the head of the latvian guard, who was working for dzerzhinsky, the earlier decision, made the uprising fail, because felix was more fanatical in crushing the opposition, there's a lesson there,

Posted by: bolivar de gris at October 25, 2020 10:30 AM (hMlTh)

236 Scariest book I read was not fiction.

Posted by: runner at October 25, 2020 10:30 AM (zr5Kq)

237
I think they're fine with "belief." It's "practice" that gets them all iron-fisted.
Posted by: 2009Refugee at October 25, 2020 10:27 AM (8AONa)

__________

It's hostile separation of Church and State. Your religious beliefs aren't allowed to counter public policy. So bake that cake and abort that baby, or else.

Posted by: Hadrian the Seventh at October 25, 2020 10:31 AM (mht8P)

238 Today the Election Novena starts. Here's a link to the prayers (scroll down). I rather like the old-fashioned line "give You permission."

https://tinyurl.com/y4xubjau

Posted by: NaughtyPine - now with extra naughtiness at October 25, 2020 10:31 AM (/+bwe)

239 Catch Thirty-Thr33,
The Stand is a great read. McCormick had a similar book, "Swan Song" that was also really good.

Posted by: lin-duh at October 25, 2020 10:32 AM (t43EN)

240 You forgot the coffee. On Christmas music the best Christmas album of all time: Bruce Cockburn - Christmas
Posted by: Who knew at October 25, 2020 10:27 AM (SfO/T)

My vote for Best Christmas album of All Time would be Vince Guaraldi's A Charlie Brown Christmas.

Posted by: I am the Shadout Mapes, the Housekeeper at October 25, 2020 10:32 AM (PiwSw)

241 His early writing is good but he just gets worse with age. The Stand is still one of my favorite novels. And that was written in his earlier days.

Posted by: Catch Thirty-Thr33 at October 25, 2020 10:29 AM (lJmm

I agree about The Stand, if you're referring to the original edition. Later on, they put out a "revised" edition, wherein they tacked on a bunch of flab that had been left on the cutting room floor originally, and it's obvious why.

Posted by: OregonMuse, AoSHQ Thought Leader, Pants Monitor & Social Distancing Professional at October 25, 2020 10:33 AM (ylJVZ)

242 The Stand is still one of my favorite novels. And that was written in his earlier days.
Posted by: Catch Thirty-Thr33 at October 25, 2020

*
*

The Stand is like two novels in one: an apocalyptic SF novel in which the flu offs 99.7% of humanity, and then a religious fantasy novel in part two as the heroes battle Randall Flagg, the Dark Man. Good stuff, though.

Also The Dead Zone is SF, psi-power stuff, with a flavor of Greek tragedy. The USA Network TV series from the early 2000s did well by the character and was endlessly entertaining.

Posted by: Wolfus Aurelius at October 25, 2020 10:33 AM (rpbg1)

243 Best Christmas song: Baby Please Come Home
Best Christmas album: Phil Spector's Wall of Sound gang

Posted by: Ignoramus at October 25, 2020 10:34 AM (9TdxA)

244 And, by the way, the TX MoMe was a success, even if I didn't plan adequately for the weather! My first one, and with any luck I will go to more of them.

My instincts about the Horde (all good ones) were confirmed there.

My thanks to all those who put it on, and I hope to see y'all again next year!

(Now, back to the book thread...)

Posted by: Catch Thirty-Thr33 at October 25, 2020 10:34 AM (lJmmt)

245 Good morning!

I wonder who will murder who today? Our history now is like pulp fiction.

Posted by: humphreyrobot at October 25, 2020 10:34 AM (pB6Gt)

246 *Piers Morgan DROPS Brian Stelter after CNN cancels his interview*

Stelter mediasplains they had to cancel for a *newsmaker* -- the Executive Editor of AP.

So: AP covering for CNN to avoid the Hunter story. THAT ought to be an entertaining circle-jerk.

Posted by: socalcon at October 25, 2020 10:35 AM (Roy2Z)

247
They designed a prison just like that library.
Posted by: Weaning is hard at October 25, 2020 10:30 AM (2DOZq)

__________

Holmesburg Prison, Philadelphia.

Posted by: Hadrian the Seventh at October 25, 2020 10:35 AM (mht8P)

248 239 Catch Thirty-Thr33,
The Stand is a great read. McCormick had a similar book, "Swan Song" that was also really good.
Posted by: lin-duh at October 25, 2020 10:32 AM (t43EN)

I think Swan Song was by Robert McCammon, and it was really good.

Posted by: I am the Shadout Mapes, the Housekeeper at October 25, 2020 10:35 AM (PiwSw)

249 One of the 'today only' Kindle daily deals is Michael Crichton's "The Great Train Robbery". It's probably my favorite of his books and a departure from his sci-fi topics. Lots of fast action and some good insight into Victorian era society. For $1.99 it's a good deal.

I also love the film made from it starring Sean Connery and Donald Sutherland.

Posted by: JTB at October 25, 2020 10:35 AM (7EjX1)

250 I tried his "old dark house" novel, and I think I finished it, but I remember little about it except that he had his lead character notice and think approvingly several times about the "bare feet of Scottish girls," including those of the heroine. I wouldn't mind, but having that crop up three or four times in four chapters is odd, to say the least.

Posted by: Wolfus Aurelius at October 25, 2020 10:30 AM (rpbg1)

But that was my favorite part!

Posted by: Hunter Biden at October 25, 2020 10:35 AM (ylJVZ)

251 207 I read T S Eliot's The Wasteland (https://www.poetryfoundation.org/ poems/47311/the-waste-land) yesterday.

And why, you may well ask, did this inveterate poetry-dodger (especially 20C poetry ever since 10th grade English (Richard Corey GAHHH!) ) do this odd thing?

Well, it is because of Spencer Klavan's Young Heretics podcasts (youTube and iTunes) which I cannot recommend too highly. With a regular (weekly?) podcast, he is helping us reclaim Western Culture (literature) from the swampy morass of identity politics, relativism, post-modern self-hate. It is fantastic. Each podcast moves the listener to discover treasure by reading it for himself.

It is ideal, absolutely ideal, to steer a book club's readings. So far I have looked into The Iliad, Plato's The Symposium, C S Lewis' The Abolition of Man, Aeschylus' The Persians, Isaiah.

https://www.youtube.com/ channel/UCgqj2go45P8ase0ISG1iwig
Posted by: sinmi at October 25, 2020 10:21 AM (A5IVt)
________

He's very good. He lacks the old man's humor, but is more serious a reader. (He did inherit some of Andrew's attitudes.)

I do have some quibbles. One is his emphasis on Eliot's personal life. To do this with TSE, you really have to address the fact that he was completely opposed to that as a useful way to criticize literature. He went even farther than Lewis in this regard. (Normally, TSE and CSL are at loggerheads in this area and several others.)

Klavan also overemphasizes the "disillusionment" expressed. Eliot himself said that he may have expressed disillusionment for other people, but that was no part of his intention.

One other quibble is his statement that, in the Persian Women, the sympathy for the other side is unique. That may be true, of course, but surely to assert it would entail a level of cross-cultural learning which no one has. A parallel is the claim made that there is no non-western equivalent of courtly love. But it turns out there was at least one by, of all people, a Mahometan. (Book of the Dove.)

One thing I think would be useful would be some sort of truly multicultural institution, in which genuine representatives of the various traditions could communicate. This would be the opposite of the current pattern, in which the various cultures are "represented" by neo-Marxists who all agree with one another in following that Dead White Male.

Posted by: Eeyore at October 25, 2020 10:35 AM (7X3UV)

252 The Stand is an allegory of 2020. Except 99.7% of people live and Orangemanbad!...

Posted by: lin-duh at October 25, 2020 10:36 AM (t43EN)

253 I have never read The Stand. Everyone in my family has read it and says it's the best King novel ever. I have tried to read it three times and I get about 100 pages and it's so slow, I can't read it. I have too many other books that I actually want to read to have to slog through this one to get to the 'good part".

Posted by: megthered at October 25, 2020 10:37 AM (SM/op)

254 So, have we been upgraded or downgraded since we've gone from "deplorables" under Hillary to "chumps" under Biden?
Posted by: RoyalOil at October 25, 2020 10:25

I have elevated to the Orange Army. The can suck eggs.

Posted by: Infidel at October 25, 2020 10:38 AM (2xZJI)

255 Shadout Mapes,
I stand corrected.

Posted by: lin-duh at October 25, 2020 10:38 AM (t43EN)

256 Posted by: megthered at October 25, 2020 10:29 AM

Yes, the thought the Geman population of the late 1930s is a one off should be thrown out.

Posted by: Skip at October 25, 2020 10:38 AM (OjZpE)

257 So, have we been upgraded or downgraded since we've gone from "deplorables" under Hillary to "chumps" under Biden?
Posted by: RoyalOil at October 25, 2020 10:25 AM (aO8Gd)

Pretty much the same; more like what an arguably feminine person would call us versus a not smart fake man of the people.

Posted by: Captain Hate at October 25, 2020 10:39 AM (y7DUB)

258 Wolfus, I read "The Chinese Orange Mystery" last month for the second time. First time was as a teenager.

The EQ website I visit calls "The Dutch Shoe Mystery" the most logically pure EQ. Haven't read that one.

I think my next EQ will be "Calamity Town." The website praises it.
Posted by: Weak Geek at October 25, 2020

*
*

Chinese Orange is called by many a "locked-room" mystery, though it really isn't, not by John Dickson Carr standards. The strongly visual explication of the solution, though, would make an adaptation of it a pretty good film or TV movie. Think Alexis Denisof, "Wesley" on Angel, as Ellery, maybe.

Dutch Shoe, like a lot of their early mysteries, is unusual for the setting: a hospital.

Calamity Town is the first of the "Ellery as human being" stories. It's been suggested that EQ might have been inspired by the play Our Town, and that in turn, when Wilder did the screenplay for Hitchcock's Shadow of a Doubt, he could well have been thinking of EQ's Wrightsville.

Posted by: Wolfus Aurelius at October 25, 2020 10:39 AM (rpbg1)

259 Agreed on The Stand. He had a great way then of working the fantastical into a "normal" story. I'm not expressing that well.
And was it Carnak who wrote No Country For Old Men? The nonquotation dialog bugged the shit out of me. Luckily I had seen the movie first.

Posted by: RI Red at October 25, 2020 10:40 AM (R+0Ve)

260 Greetings, O Book Thread! Since this is the spooky season, I recommend the Silver John stories, some of which can be found online for free! https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Silver_John These are Applachian folk-tale style supernatural stories, very American in flavor. If you have ever heard "In the Pines", it's like that

Now back to writing!

Posted by: Sabrina Chase at October 25, 2020 10:40 AM (exg7Q)

261 I'm a bad man but it warm my cockles if Joe's last memories of his political life as the sun goes is being humiliated in the 2020 presidential election.

Posted by: Northernlurker, still lurking after all these years at October 25, 2020 10:40 AM (lgiXo)

262 in the interim, he was competing against vicker's zaharoff, a real blofeld type figure, seeing as fleming based bond partially on reilly, but it really goes to the wider point what was the point of the war, germany wasn't really going to invade the uk, these ridiculous alliances, were like dominoes, set off by a match in sarajevo, a whole generation was slaughtered in ypres, somme, et al, another was sundered by the loss, the cenotaph which opens burleighs sacred spaces, is Britains monument to their victory, the war brought forth lenin and stalin, and as a consequence mussolini and the control group in tokyo,

Posted by: bolivar de gris at October 25, 2020 10:40 AM (hMlTh)

263 back from walking doggeh
time to read the

Posted by: vmom 2020 - Grow Up and Vote for Trump by Eddie Scarry at October 25, 2020 10:40 AM (nUhF0)

264 thread

Posted by: vmom 2020 - Grow Up and Vote for Trump by Eddie Scarry at October 25, 2020 10:41 AM (nUhF0)

265 Was reading some family history last week and learned 4 new words:
Haybote - the right to take wood for fences and hedges
Firebote - the right to take wood for fires for the house and servants
Housebote - the right to take wood for repairs of the house
Carucate - the amount of land 8 oxen could plow in a season; roughly 120 acres.

The 1st three relate to the fact that the king owned all land in England.

The thing I'm curious about is how a homestead in the US became 160 acres and if it's tied to the carucate.

Posted by: RoyalOil at October 25, 2020 10:42 AM (aO8Gd)

266 I think we are in a state that has a lot of similarities to Athens and Sparta during the Peloponnesian War.

Posted by: Weaning is hard at October 25, 2020 10:42 AM (2DOZq)

267 Wolfus Aurelius, I read two of his novels and didn't like them as much as the short stories.

Here's a condensed version of his "Conservative Mind," btw. I could never find it in the library or afford a used copy.

https://tinyurl.com/y2fl9mfk

And here's the complete audiobook free in different formats:

https://tinyurl.com/y4fdseq4

Posted by: NaughtyPine - now with extra naughtiness at October 25, 2020 10:43 AM (/+bwe)

268 I have never read The Stand. Everyone in my family has read it and says it's the best King novel ever. I have tried to read it three times and I get about 100 pages and it's so slow, I can't read it. I have too many other books that I actually want to read to have to slog through this one to get to the 'good part".
Posted by: megthered at October 25, 2020

*
*

Maybe not the best, but it is solid. I had the same problem with Dashiell Hammett's The Maltese Falcon -- kept losing interest at the same point each time. Finally, after watching the movie again, I determined to read it through, and I'm glad I did.

King's technique is about the same we saw in Salem's Lot with his vampires in a small town: He gets you to know the main characters' lives before the terror -- in this case, the superflu -- comes along. Then he shows you how they react to it, to being alive when 99.7% of humanity is dead.

Posted by: Wolfus Aurelius at October 25, 2020 10:43 AM (rpbg1)

269 Huh, I thought it was 40 acres and a mule.

Posted by: Infidel at October 25, 2020 10:44 AM (2xZJI)

270 55 It's very annoying but I think Lennon and McCartney compete mightily for the most dogshit Christmas songs making me hit the presets on my car radio.
Posted by: Captain Hate at October 25, 2020 09:24 AM (y7DUB)

Indeed they do and have the dubious honor oh also having written those messes
Posted by: CN at October 25, 2020 09:27 AM (ONvIw

What's the duet with Der Bingle? And "Last Christmas" Or the kid buying shoes for his dying Momma.

Posted by: Huntsville Trash Pandas at October 25, 2020 10:44 AM (qyH+l)

271
I'm working my way through it in dribs and drabs
because her writing is just so dense with ideas that you often have to
sit back and think about what you just read. Even intelligent libs were
in awe of that when it came out, as she skewered the dumbfucks in her
midst.

Imo she glamorizes the 60s too fucking much and blames things
falling apart on drugs without understanding they were an integral part
of things. I'm sure she had some very smart college advisors then who
understood what a unique talent she was.

Posted by: Captain Hate at October 25, 2020 10:16 AM (y7DUB)

---
I read some of her stuff in college and have followed her since then as she bounces from liberal mag to liberal mag.

She has a keen wit, some fun insights, but she's also crazy, and it's the kind of crazy that can build a completely solid diagnosis of the symptoms and then recommend cleansing it with fire or balancing the humors.

She snipes at the left, damns them, and then keeps voting for them because she hates her parents or something. I see a lot of that in her contemporaries.

Posted by: Ace-Endorsed Author A.H. Lloyd at October 25, 2020 10:44 AM (cfSRQ)

272 106 Mom passed this morning. She was 85 years old. Sisters and I are making arrangements for her funeral. We will celebrate her life by living ours fully and with joy in our hearts. Thanks to all who kindly prayed for her. Life is truly precious.
Posted by: Floridachick at October 25, 2020 09:45 AM (3NyJY)

I am so sorry for your loss.

Posted by: OregonMuse, AoSHQ Thought Leader, Pants Monitor & Social Distancing Professional at October 25, 2020 10:44 AM (ylJVZ)

273 Huh, I thought it was 40 acres and a mule.
Posted by: Infidel
----
I think that's for reparations

Posted by: lin-duh at October 25, 2020 10:45 AM (t43EN)

274 And was it Carnak who wrote No Country For Old Men? The nonquotation dialog bugged the shit out of me. Luckily I had seen the movie first.
Posted by: RI Red at October 25, 2020 10:40 AM (R+0Ve)

I thought that book was kind of a page turner too, at least for me. I thought he made the characters distinctive enough that I didn't have a problem knowing who was talking

One of his biggest problems for me is using regional dialects, particularly in the Southwest, including words that aren't in an OED. Fortunately on line lookups have helped.

Posted by: Captain Hate at October 25, 2020 10:46 AM (y7DUB)

275 106 Mom passed this morning. She was 85 years old. Sisters and I are making arrangements for her funeral. We will celebrate her life by living ours fully and with joy in our hearts. Thanks to all who kindly prayed for her. Life is truly precious.
Posted by: Floridachick at October 25, 2020 09:45 AM (3NyJY)

Condolences.

Posted by: Northernlurker, still lurking after all these years at October 25, 2020 10:46 AM (lgiXo)

276 I say we change Earth Day to Eartha Day!

Are you with me?

Posted by: The Gipper Lives at October 25, 2020 10:46 AM (Ndje9)

277 Agreed on The Stand. He had a great way then of working the fantastical into a "normal" story. I'm not expressing that well.
And was it Carnak who wrote No Country For Old Men? The nonquotation dialog bugged the shit out of me. Luckily I had seen the movie first.
Posted by: RI Red at October 25, 2020

*
*

No, RI, that's a good way to explain it. King said he learned that trick from Richard Matheson's short stories: Change something about the world the reader knows, something fantastical, and then don't apologize for it or explain it. It just is. And then you proceed to tell your story. (Of course SK does explain about the superflu, but I think you see what I mean.)

Not Carnak -- that was Johnny Carson's character -- but Cormac McCarthy. Yes, No Country. I've only seen the film and read the book once. I might try both again.

Posted by: Wolfus Aurelius at October 25, 2020 10:47 AM (rpbg1)

278 Camile Paglia is one of a small number of people I'd like to meet. David Lee Roth is another. I remember reading a great interview with her around 1991. It may have been in Sports Illustrated; it was in some magazine you'd expect to find at a 2-week summer national guard training exercise. Paglia talked about liking to smoke cigars while watching football. I have to give props to that.

Posted by: SFGoth at October 25, 2020 10:47 AM (KAi1n)

279 By the way: The scariest short story I've ever read is Richard Matheson's "Crickets." It's in a collection called Shock II -- my paperback edition is from about 1964. There is a longer story there called "From Shadowed Places" that deals with witch doctor magic in a New York apartment; also very good. But "Crickets" will haunt you.

Posted by: Wolfus Aurelius at October 25, 2020 10:49 AM (rpbg1)

280 leftist don't read horror, they read history instead.

Posted by: humphreyrobot at October 25, 2020 10:50 AM (pB6Gt)

281 So, have we been upgraded or downgraded since we've gone from "deplorables" under Hillary to "chumps" under Biden?
Posted by: RoyalOil at October 25, 2020 10:25

They can go horsefuck.

Posted by: Mr Aspirin Factory, deplorable chump at October 25, 2020 10:51 AM (hGohp)

282 Posted by: SFGoth at October 25, 2020t subject 10:47 AM (KAi1n)

That's a great subject to discuss.

What two historic figures would you like to meet and have a discussion. ( can't pick Jesus ).

What two current living persons the same?

Posted by: Weaning is hard at October 25, 2020 10:51 AM (2DOZq)

283 My sincere condolences, Floridachick.
Posted by: grammie winger

Seconded

Posted by: JT at October 25, 2020 10:52 AM (arJlL)

284 FloridaChick: May the Peace of the Lord be with you and your entire family at this time. May she Rest In Peace for all eternity. Amen.

Posted by: MrObvious at October 25, 2020 10:52 AM (k+h+d)

285 The thing I'm curious about is how a homestead in the US became 160 acres and if it's tied to the carucate.
Posted by: RoyalOil at October 25, 2020 10:42 AM (aO8Gd

160 acres is a quarter section, which in turn is one mile square, or 640 acres. Which is a carucate plus an allowance for a house and outbuildings, a kitchen garden and land that's not plowable.

Posted by: Huntsville Trash Pandas at October 25, 2020 10:53 AM (qyH+l)

286 One other interesting moment from Children of Nazis. Himmler, Goebbels, and Martin Bormann believed that monogamy was wrong and that they had a duty to impregnate as many as possible to improve the species. Funny since none approached the Nazi ideal and all were just on step above circus sideshow freaks.

Posted by: Anonosaurus Wrecks, Tyrannosaur Wrangler at October 25, 2020 10:53 AM (+y/Ru)

287 Ghost Story is my favorite scary book. I especially enjoyed the very atmospheric scenes during and immediately after a snowstorm. I grew up in a snow belt along the shores of Lake Ontario. Straub really captured the isolation, fear, and dread that being snowed in a rural setting can engender. I tried other Straub books but never enjoyed any as much as Ghost Story.

Posted by: Grannysaurus Rex at October 25, 2020 10:53 AM (90LWK)

288 A number of relatives became Christians because of cancer.

But oh no
Not me
I am Roman.

Posted by: Desultory joe at October 25, 2020 10:55 AM (L9P9s)

289 Worst Christmas song....Bruce Springsteen..."Hungry Heart".

Posted by: BignJames at October 25, 2020 10:55 AM (AwYPR)

290 @282 Historic: Patton and my 2nd great grandfather. Current: Trump and Rush

Posted by: Eric at October 25, 2020 10:56 AM (4q3U3)

291 Wales, in new lockdown, puts books on no-can-sell list.
This really is the secobd Dark Ages

@FrPeterAnthony

It appears books are now considered non-essential items and banned from sale in Wales. In times of crisis and anxiety, the life of the soul, the mind and the imagination is even more essential! Human beings need more than food and loo roll to thrive and flourish!

https://twitter.com/FrPeterAnthony/status/
1319921307111272449

Posted by: vmom 2020 - Grow Up and Vote for Trump by Eddie Scarry at October 25, 2020 10:57 AM (nUhF0)

292 I think we are in a state that has a lot of similarities to Athens and Sparta during the Peloponnesian War.
Posted by: Weaning is hard at October 25, 2020 10:42 AM (2DOZq)

Reading VDH's A War Like No Other, recommended by NaClyDog for which I'm very grateful, he compares Athens to the US as far as having a global outlook that pissed off a lot of other countries. Under the Golden Scalpweasel and him changing to America First I'm appreciating that unlike what I would have previously.

There was a lot of self hatred among the Greeks as was borne out in the sheer brutality and length of the civil war. As whoever was ruling Persia, I think it was after Xerxes, said "those asshole Greeks could make us miserable if they stopped fighting each other."

Sometimes I think, counterintuitively, that our internal fights are paradoxically a source of strength.

Posted by: Captain Hate at October 25, 2020 10:57 AM (y7DUB)

293 I love Sunday mornings with books and my local radio station's baroque program." All Hail Eris

Are you listening to Robert Aubrey Davis? I used to detest him because he sounded kind of sissified, but it turns out he's really good at the music, and has a sense of humor to boot. One of the better hosts out there.

Posted by: pep at October 25, 2020 10:58 AM (v16oJ)

294 >>Worst Christmas song

Do they Know it's Christmas

Posted by: garrett at October 25, 2020 10:58 AM (4/v2p)

295 Weak Geek--

I also liked "The Chinese Orange Mystery" and "The Dutch Show Mystery" as well as most of the earliest EQ books. The two short story collections (Adventures of EQ and New Adventures) are good, too.

Although a lot of people like the Wrightsville books, I very definitely did not. They struck me less as mysteries and more as angsty soap operas. YMMV

Posted by: Art Rondelet of Malmsey at October 25, 2020 10:58 AM (fTtFy)

296 I just got called BAE. Long story but I don't know what that means.

Posted by: Brother Northernlurker just another guy at October 25, 2020 10:58 AM (lgiXo)

297 The other night, ace linked to a British program called "Garth Marenghi's Darkplace," which spoofs Stephen King. Episode Two is a parody of "Carrie" that I found hilarious (and funnier than the first episode ace linked to) If you like Monty Python type humor, you might enjoy it, although the sound quality leaves much to be desired:

https://tinyurl.com/yy3rxmkv

Posted by: Donna&&&&&V at October 25, 2020 10:59 AM (HabA/)

298 As whoever was ruling Persia, I think it was after Xerxes, said "those
asshole Greeks could make us miserable if they stopped fighting each
other."

IIRC, that was his son, Xerox.

Posted by: pep at October 25, 2020 10:59 AM (v16oJ)

299 Floridachick, I am so sorry for your loss.
More than anyone, our mothers live forever in our hearts.
Prayers and hugs.

Posted by: vmom 2020 - Grow Up and Vote for Trump by Eddie Scarry at October 25, 2020 11:00 AM (nUhF0)

300 Joe Biden was interviewed by Cardi B, an ex-hooker turned rapper.

She is married to some other rapper.

This other rapper was waving a gun at Trump supporters in LA yesterday and was detained by the police. Of course he was let go.

But it's the Proud (Poor) Boys who are the threat.

Posted by: Asshoes at October 25, 2020 11:00 AM (22mNy)

301 Land measurements in the us; remember before calculators , everyone for every day purposes used fractions, it was much easier. 1\2, 1\4, 1\8, 1\16 were the most common, it still shows in English system weights and measures.

A square mile officially has 640 acres. When the Midwest became part of America the new government surveyed everything and laid out a grid of square mile sections. 160 acres is a quarter section and is a big farm in horse drawn days. 40 acres is a quarter-quarter section and is sufficient for a small farm.
In most of the farm belt midwest, you can still see many of the gridlines of this 19th century surveying by calling up a map of all of the small county roads and farm roads, which were always on the property lines.

Posted by: Tom Servo at October 25, 2020 11:00 AM (CQ8KO)

302 Paglia talked about liking to smoke cigars while watching football. I have to give props to that.
Posted by: SFGoth at October 25, 2020 10:47 AM (KAi1n)

Camille, like Tammy Bruce, is a lezzo who has an aesthetic appreciation of men.

Posted by: Captain Hate at October 25, 2020 11:00 AM (y7DUB)

303 >>What two historic figures would you like to meet and have a discussion.

Helen of Troy and her younger Sister.

>>What two current living persons the same?

Kate Upton's Twins.

Posted by: garrett at October 25, 2020 11:01 AM (4/v2p)

304 Wolfus, you explained it better. The introduction of the fantastical just taken for granted.

Posted by: RI Red at October 25, 2020 11:01 AM (R+0Ve)

305 I'd like to know about the various guts of the new real Starship, even though it will never go to a star.

Posted by: humphreyrobot at October 25, 2020 11:01 AM (pB6Gt)

306 286 One other interesting moment from Children of Nazis. Himmler, Goebbels, and Martin Bormann believed that monogamy was wrong and that they had a duty to impregnate as many as possible to improve the species. Funny since none approached the Nazi ideal and all were just on step above circus sideshow freaks.
Posted by: Anonosaurus Wrecks, Tyrannosaur Wrangler at October 25, 2020 10:53 AM (+y/Ru)

The usual way. I've had more than a couple truly crazy schizophrenics due this via sperm donation. They make up grandiose stories and nothing is verified.

Posted by: CN at October 25, 2020 11:02 AM (ONvIw)

307 Worst Christmas song
Do they Know it's Christmas
Posted by: garrett at October 25, 2020 10:58 AM (4/v2p)

Christmas Time In The LBC......

Posted by: Jimmy Kimmel at October 25, 2020 11:03 AM (Z+IKu)

308 Posted by: grammie winger at October 25, 2020 09:20 AM (gm3d+)

uncle handsy and grammy, hugs

it has also been very hard fir me to get back into new books right now
just no attention span
maybe I should try priming the pump by rereading old faves

Posted by: vmom 2020 - Grow Up and Vote for Trump by Eddie Scarry at October 25, 2020 11:04 AM (nUhF0)

309 279
By the way: The scariest short story I've ever read is Richard Matheson's "Crickets." It's in a collection called Shock II
-- my paperback edition is from about 1964. There is a longer story
there called "From Shadowed Places" that deals with witch doctor magic
in a New York apartment; also very good. But "Crickets" will haunt you.
[i304
Wolfus, you explained it better. The introduction of the fantastical just taken for granted.

If you like that, try Mark Helprin's "A Winter's Tale". He's a fantastic writer, and uses a lot of magical realism. Apparently, lots of folks don't care for it because he can be wordy, but it fits my preferences very well.

Posted by: pep at October 25, 2020 11:05 AM (v16oJ)

310 I read a lot of Stephen King books when I was in my teens and early 20's but lost interest in horror as I got older - perhaps because the real world was more horrifying than any sort of demon conjured up by King.

Right now, roughly half of America wants to vote for a senile old coot, accepts that white people are born evil, believes a magical piece of cloth will protect them from a virus and thinks that everyone can have free healthcare and drive electric cars AND their taxes will go down. That's scarier than Randall Flagg in "The Stand."

Posted by: Donna&&&&&V at October 25, 2020 11:05 AM (HabA/)

311 Worst Christmas song:

Monster Mash

Posted by: Weaning is hard at October 25, 2020 11:05 AM (2DOZq)

312 The non-essential items ban seems like a total power thing. If you're in the store anyway, why not get the book or the tea kettle or the doormat? These purchases don't make you more infectious or quadruple your exposure. It's just vicious, like Whitmer banning the sale of plant seeds. I hate libs

Posted by: CN at October 25, 2020 11:06 AM (ONvIw)

313

The best Christmas song is Adeste fideles

Posted by: TheQuietMan at October 25, 2020 11:06 AM (WcG/v)

314 IIRC, that was his son, Xerox.

That dude was so high maintenance.

Posted by: Bandersnatch at October 25, 2020 11:06 AM (q2K0j)

315 In most of the farm belt midwest, you can still see many of the gridlines of this 19th century surveying by calling up a map of all of the small county roads and farm roads, which were always on the property lines.
Posted by: Tom Servo at October 25, 2020 11:00 AM (CQ8KO)

__

There was some lib who took a picture of all the "squares" while flying and asked if anyone knew what these were, on the Twatters. It was maybe a year or so ago. He got roasted for his stupidity. But it shows how so many people lack even the basic understanding of how the world works.

Posted by: Asshoes at October 25, 2020 11:06 AM (22mNy)

316 Sometimes I think, counterintuitively, that our internal fights are paradoxically a source of strength.
Posted by: Captain Hate at October 25, 2020 10:57 AM (y7DUB)
_________

Can be. Not are. It all depends on how it works out.

The trouble with all this is that you have a very large number of decisions working both with and against one another. And then time and chance happeneth to them all.

Posted by: Eeyore at October 25, 2020 11:06 AM (7X3UV)

317 . I hate libs
Posted by: CN at October 25, 2020 11:06 AM (ONvIw)

Pretty much says it all. But of course I hate them more

Posted by: Nevergiveup at October 25, 2020 11:07 AM (85Gof)

318 The reason the early King writing is better than the latter was fame: Before, he had an editor that that was willing to tell him he's not being paid per word.
After, no one could/would tell him to cut out the rambling BS.

Posted by: RoyalOil at October 25, 2020 11:07 AM (aO8Gd)

319 106 Mom passed this morning. She was 85 years old. Sisters and I are making arrangements for her funeral. We will celebrate her life by living ours fully and with joy in our hearts. Thanks to all who kindly prayed for her. Life is truly precious.
Posted by: Floridachick at October 25, 2020 09:45 AM (3NyJY)

Prayers for you and your family and for your mother who is in Gods Arms.

Posted by: megthered at October 25, 2020 11:07 AM (SM/op)

320 uncle handsy and grammy, hugs

it has also been very hard fir me to get back into new books right now

just no attention span

maybe I should try priming the pump by rereading old faves

Posted by: vmom 2020 - Grow Up and Vote for Trump by Eddie Scarry at October 25, 2020 11:04 AM (nUhF0)

----
That's why I went back to Ford Madox Ford and am now re-reading Waugh.

For bedtime reading, I have The Silmarillion.

Comfort food for the mind.

Posted by: Ace-Endorsed Author A.H. Lloyd at October 25, 2020 11:07 AM (cfSRQ)

321 304 Wolfus, you explained it better. The introduction of the fantastical just taken for granted.
Posted by: RI Red at October 25, 2020 11:01 AM (R+0Ve)

That's a great way to describe what makes Shirley Jackson's short story The Lottery so creepy.

Posted by: OregonMuse, AoSHQ Thought Leader, Pants Monitor & Social Distancing Professional at October 25, 2020 11:08 AM (ylJVZ)

322 2nd favorite Xmas song: O Come O Come Emmanuel.

Yeah, I like minor keys. What of it?

Posted by: pep at October 25, 2020 11:08 AM (v16oJ)

323 Not horror, but the Stephen King short story Quitters Inc is worth the read. It is memorable, to say the least.

Posted by: Splunge at October 25, 2020 11:08 AM (CQ8KO)

324 Worst Christmas song, AND Horde-friendly: "(You're) Having My Baby", by the incomparable Paul Anka.

Posted by: goatexchange at October 25, 2020 11:09 AM (HgBj4)

325 278 Camile Paglia is one of a small number of people I'd like to meet. David Lee Roth is another. I remember reading a great interview with her around 1991. It may have been in Sports Illustrated; it was in some magazine you'd expect to find at a 2-week summer national guard training exercise. Paglia talked about liking to smoke cigars while watching football. I have to give props to that.
Posted by: SFGoth at October 25, 2020 10:47 AM (KAi1n)

I'll take a pass on David Lee Roth (although I would have felt differently in 1982) but I'd like to meet Paglia too. She's a sharp, interesting person and she wouldn't be at all offended if you disagreed with her and argued with her.

Posted by: Donna&&&&&V at October 25, 2020 11:09 AM (HabA/)

326 314 IIRC, that was his son, Xerox.

That dude was so high maintenance.
Posted by: Bandersnatch at October 25, 2020 11:06 AM (q2K

He was just a copycat.

Posted by: OregonMuse, AoSHQ Thought Leader, Pants Monitor & Social Distancing Professional at October 25, 2020 11:09 AM (ylJVZ)

327 OM, you just hit it on the head.

Posted by: RI Red at October 25, 2020 11:09 AM (R+0Ve)

328 161 BTW, for those who like cookbooks, consider the excellent Konemann series, "Culinaria." Outstanding, intelligent, beautiful books.
Posted by: Zod at October 25, 2020 10:01 AM (xK9An)
---

Which, presumably, you gave to your cooking staff.

Posted by: All Hail Eris, Xenomorph Queen at October 25, 2020 11:09 AM (Dc2NZ)

329 Ghost Story is excellent. Straub's "Mystery" is also excellent.

The scariest book I ever read is "Song of Kali" by Dan Simmons.

The second scariest is "The Descent" (unrelated to the film of the same name) by Jeff Long.

Condolences to FloridaChick. The season of mists seems to be a common time for our loved ones to move on. Prayers for her peaceful rest.

Posted by: BlackOrchid_j9HX3 at October 25, 2020 11:10 AM (j9HX3)

330 If you like that, try Mark Helprin's "A Winter's Tale". He's a fantastic writer, and uses a lot of magical realism. Apparently, lots of folks don't care for it because he can be wordy, but it fits my preferences very well.
Posted by: pep at October 25, 2020 11:05 AM (v16oJ)

I enjoyed that book more than I thought I would; a rare pleasant surprise.

Posted by: Captain Hate at October 25, 2020 11:10 AM (y7DUB)

331 The two people I'd most like to meet now would be Norman Friedman and N A M Rogers, the two who would make me shut up and listen about ships. Bill James would be third.

Historically, tough call. Of course we assume there's no language barrier. I suppose Socrates and Aquinas would be high. More recently, pick one out of Lewis, Eliot, and Chesterton.

Posted by: Eeyore at October 25, 2020 11:10 AM (7X3UV)

332 That's a great way to describe what makes Shirley Jackson's short story The Lottery so creepy.
Posted by: OregonMuse, AoSHQ Thought Leader, Pants Monitor & Social Distancing Professional at October 25, 2020 11:08 AM (ylJVZ)

Yeah, The Lottery sticks in your head forever.

Posted by: Splunge at October 25, 2020 11:08 AM (CQ8KO)

I read that story when I was trying to quit smoking, so it hit quite close to home.

Posted by: Donna&&&&&V at October 25, 2020 11:11 AM (HabA/)

333 Mom passed this morning. She was 85 years old. Sisters and I are making arrangements for her funeral. We will celebrate her life by living ours fully and with joy in our hearts. Thanks to all who kindly prayed for her. Life is truly precious.
Posted by: Floridachick at October 25, 2020 09:45 AM

My condolences.

Posted by: NaughtyPine - now with extra naughtiness at October 25, 2020 11:11 AM (/+bwe)

334 'Its bigger then I thought'.... Thats not what my co-workers said

Posted by: Jeffery Toobin at October 25, 2020 11:12 AM (ozPhh)

335 And now, I have got to hit the lawn and leaves, hopefully for the last time as winter starts early here in Northern NH.
Later, readers, breeders,Morons. And may the Great Bail Bondsman be with you!

Posted by: RI Red at October 25, 2020 11:12 AM (R+0Ve)

336 Russell Kirk was an immense influence on me in my teens; only T S Eliot was a bigger one (outside ships, that is). I had only one girlfriend through HS, and she was extremely left wing. But she found that she liked Kirk.

Posted by: Eeyore at October 25, 2020 11:12 AM (7X3UV)

337 Read Lomsome Dove gizzion times guggling.

Posted by: humphreyrobot at October 25, 2020 11:13 AM (pB6Gt)

338 Lotta side topics today; must be the rain. Anyway, Murkowski will vote for Barrett, because she doesn't want to have to get a real job.
https://tinyurl.com/yxo9vx8w

Posted by: pep at October 25, 2020 11:13 AM (v16oJ)

339 I tell my NeverTrump acquaintances "You enjoy bitching about the sizzle, I'll be over here enjoying the steak".

Posted by: Vlad the impaler, whittling away like mad at October 25, 2020 11:13 AM (d6mdH)

340 I've long believed we should adopt a Shirley Jackson policy here. With a twist. Every year, on April 15, the 535 members of the House and Senate draw lots, and a bunch of taxpayers stone to death the "winner".

Posted by: Eeyore at October 25, 2020 11:14 AM (7X3UV)

341
I also liked "The Chinese Orange Mystery" and "The Dutch Show Mystery" as well as most of the earliest EQ books. The two short story collections (Adventures of EQ and New Adventures) are good, too.

Although a lot of people like the Wrightsville books, I very definitely did not. They struck me less as mysteries and more as angsty soap operas. YMMV
Posted by: Art Rondelet of Malmsey at October 25, 2020

*
*

The earlier stories were grand puzzles, yes. But the EQ cousins realized tastes in reading mysteries were changing, and they adapted Ellery as the years went by. The Wrightsville stories, at least the first two, were more about the people and Ellery's relations with them, though with a mystery element.

Ten Days' Wonder, though it is a Wrightsville, is a stronger mystery, and it was that development of Ellery as a relatable human that made possible the great work of Cat of Many Tails, the early serial killer novel.

Posted by: Wolfus Aurelius at October 25, 2020 11:14 AM (rpbg1)

342 John Derbyshire's Old English take on the Schwarzenegger election in CA is epic:

https://tinyurl.com/y5pj3wos
Posted by: Zod at October 25, 2020 10:09 AM (xK9An)
-----

Brilliant stuff!

His teethe bryght capt, his heer lyk helmet fixt
Grande master was he of lowe politycks.
Non intrest grupe had he disdaynd to schmuse,
Ne ATLA, CALPERS, Latynos, ne Jewes.

Posted by: All Hail Eris, Xenomorph Queen at October 25, 2020 11:15 AM (Dc2NZ)

343 me this week:

"The Long Hangover: Putin's New Russia and the Ghosts of the Past," by Shaun Walker.

If I were an average Russian who had lived through the '90s, I'd probably give Putin a thumb's up. Putin came to power the week before the millennium, which is easy to remember. At that time, the govt had defaulted on state pensions (which means ALL pensions), & the food markets had almost nothing for sale. The first thing Putin did was to use Russia's oil revenue to fix those two basic problems. (For conceptual purposes, imagine that our monthly Social Security checks simply stopped coming.)

Putin's efforts in Chechnya, Georgia, & Ukraine have all been successful, if viewed from the Russian standpoint.

Posted by: mnw at October 25, 2020 11:15 AM (Cssks)

344 Posted by: Vlad the impaler, whittling away like mad at October 25, 2020 11:13 AM (d6mdH)

Ha! That's a good one. I'll have to remember it.

Posted by: OregonMuse, AoSHQ Thought Leader, Pants Monitor & Social Distancing Professional at October 25, 2020 11:15 AM (ylJVZ)

345 261 I'm a bad man but it warm my cockles if Joe's last memories of his political life as the sun goes is being humiliated in the 2020 presidential election.
Posted by: Northernlurker, still lurking after all these years at October 25, 2020 10:40 AM (lgiXo)

----------

Too late. Biden had his last memories of his political life five years ago.

Posted by: Cicero (@cicero) at October 25, 2020 11:15 AM (wPVhA)

346 275 106 Mom passed this morning. She was 85 years old. Sisters and I are making arrangements for her funeral. We will celebrate her life by living ours fully and with joy in our hearts. Thanks to all who kindly prayed for her. Life is truly precious.
Posted by: Floridachick at October 25, 2020 09:45 AM (3NyJY)

My condolences. Losing your mom is hard at any age. It's very painful. Blessing and prayers for your family.

Posted by: Donna&&&&&V at October 25, 2020 11:16 AM (HabA/)

347 eartha kitt! the one true catwoman! she's the catwoman i remember as "oh, my!" from my childhood.

Posted by: Anachronda at October 25, 2020 11:16 AM (5br8a)

348 Wolfus, you explained it better. The introduction of the fantastical just taken for granted.
Posted by: RI Red at October 25, 2020 11:01 AM (R+0Ve)

That's a great way to describe what makes Shirley Jackson's short story The Lottery so creepy.
Posted by: OregonMuse, AoSHQ Thought Leader, Pants Monitor & Social Distancing Professional at October 25, 2020

*
*

Yes. If Jackson had *tried* for a creepy atmosphere and had written "Lottery" like an M. R. James story (much as I like his stuff), the short story would have fallen flat.

The example King used, though I don't know if it's really in an actual Matheson story, is a scene where children are playing on the floor with their new pet -- a baby dinosaur.

Posted by: Wolfus Aurelius at October 25, 2020 11:17 AM (rpbg1)

349 But the biggest problem with what you say is that it skips many
decades. It was precisely the period 1850-1900 that they were so
surprisingly open. And that was an era when design was changing very
rapidly. A design of 1865 was FURTHER out of date in 1880 than was on of
1899 in 1914. Really.

Posted by: Eeyore at October 25, 2020 10:24 AM (7X3UV)

---
I was making a sweeping generalization, which is by definition imprecise.

Technology was moving forward very quickly in those days, arguably faster than at any time before or since.

So the secrecy made sense.

Posted by: Ace-Endorsed Author A.H. Lloyd at October 25, 2020 11:18 AM (cfSRQ)

350 The only reason I don't think I'd like to meet and talk with Paglia in person is that maddening verbal tic of hers ("okay?") which shows up in interviews.

Posted by: Trimegistus at October 25, 2020 11:18 AM (QZxDR)

351 The scariest book I ever read is "Song of Kali" by Dan Simmons.

The second scariest is "The Descent" (unrelated to the film of the same name) by Jeff Long.

Oh good. I have both of these in my ebook library. People seem to be closet horror fans because I get lots of recommendations, usually in whispers.

Posted by: megthered at October 25, 2020 11:19 AM (SM/op)

352 Posted by: Wolfus Aurelius at October 25, 2020 11:17 AM (rpbg1)

Banality of evil. Terror is most effective when presented as built in to the day to day life.

I'm no ghost story reader, but with The Lottery, the terror was that the process was accepted and traditional.

Posted by: CN at October 25, 2020 11:20 AM (ONvIw)

353 Re: David Lee Roth (who acknowledges being Jewish), listen to his youtube interviews by Joe Rogan. DLR is a genius and I can listen to him talk all day (and he can talk all day).

Posted by: SFGoth at October 25, 2020 11:21 AM (KAi1n)

354 Are you listening to Robert Aubrey Davis? I used to detest him because he sounded kind of sissified, but it turns out he's really good at the music, and has a sense of humor to boot. One of the better hosts out there.
Posted by: pep at October 25, 2020 10:58 AM (v16oJ)
--

This was just my local classical station, but I love RAD! I've listened to his shows since forever, and he used to be part of (maybe still is) an arts show on TV about the DC arts scene.

Posted by: All Hail Eris, Xenomorph Queen at October 25, 2020 11:21 AM (Dc2NZ)

355 The Exorcist was a pretty frightening book.

Posted by: Weaning is hard at October 25, 2020 11:22 AM (2DOZq)

356 What two historic figures would you like to meet and have a discussion.

William T Sherman
E.B White

Today? that's harder.

T-Bone Burnett
Tom Wolfe

Making progress on Vanity Fair. Excellent! Pushing hard to finish Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire before Christmas 70% done per the kindle.

Posted by: Who knew at October 25, 2020 11:22 AM (SfO/T)

357 275 106 Mom passed this morning. She was 85 years old. Sisters and I are making arrangements for her funeral. We will celebrate her life by living ours fully and with joy in our hearts. Thanks to all who kindly prayed for her. Life is truly precious.
Posted by: Floridachick at October 25, 2020 09:45 AM (3NyJY)

prayers

Posted by: humphreyrobot at October 25, 2020 11:22 AM (pB6Gt)

358 I get paid to write, so I think I can say with authority that people who don't use quotation marks are being pretentious gits. They are deliberately working to avoid immersion so that the reader has to focus on how pretty their clever words are. Bah.

Now, as to the long stretches of un-attributed quotes, that's partly a problem of not giving the characters distinctive voices -- and perhaps of writing the story as a movie script in your head.

Posted by: Trimegistus at October 25, 2020 11:22 AM (QZxDR)

359 I arrived at the comic book genre rather late in life, and I have no interest in reading about "famous" characters.

So I've now completed three series: The Boys, Preacher, and just finished Watchmen.

I started Walking Dead some years ago, and quit fairly close to the same point at which I quit the teevee series. It just keeps going on and on and on.

Anyhoo, I like all three of the series above, and would like to continue in a similar vein, but not sure where to go with it.

Any recommendations?

Incidentally, both Preacher and The Boys have the same problem with their adaptations for live action. The chuckleheads who are running the stories have changed directions, I guess because they think they're smarter than the book writers, and what they are creating is garbage. I think they think they're being creative, but creative would have been sticking closer to the books and trying to tackle some bigger themes than the small minded show runners think are interesting.

Posted by: BurtTC at October 25, 2020 11:23 AM (hku12)

360 290 @282 Posted by: Eric at October 25, 2020 10:56 AM (4q3U3)

Great questions!

Me:
Historic: Reagan and my 2nd great grandfather (Irish peasant & murderer who was pronounced not guilty in court - how the heck did he manage that?)

Current: Rush and Prince Phillip (who should be an honorary Moron, just for his politically incorrect remarks)

Husband:
Historic: Winston Churchill and Reagan
Current: Trump, and he said no one else in the public eye today would be worth it after that

Posted by: Marybeth at October 25, 2020 11:23 AM (4pK1/)

361 One of the core tenets of Liberalism is "I already know everything." So, asking a Liberal to broaden his horizons and learn something different is like asking him to flap his arms and fly. He'll just look at you in puzzlement. "Why would I want to do that? I already know everything."

Posted by: BeckoningChasm at October 25, 2020 11:23 AM (l9m7l)

362 I've watched a couple of clips of David Lee Roth on Joe Rogan's podcast. Most rockers mellow as they age; DLR seems like he's still cranked up to 11 (whether naturally or due to actual crank). But he is certainly much more than a uni-dimensional 1980s rock star.

Posted by: PabloD, make commies fly again! at October 25, 2020 11:24 AM (qXPmL)

363 Good morning Hordemates.
I'm reading a series of books on urban warfare and low intensity conflicts.
I need a comedy next.

Posted by: Diogenes at October 25, 2020 11:24 AM (axyOa)

364 What two historic figures would you like to meet and have a discussion.

William T Sherman

Posted by: Who knew at October 25, 2020 11:22 AM (SfO/T)

I've got one more chapter to read of his memoir...guy knew his business.

Posted by: BignJames at October 25, 2020 11:25 AM (AwYPR)

365 Peter Straubs Ghost Story clocks in at 22 hrs for the audiobook. And that's good bang for your buck. Its a part of a 2 for 1 sale on audible so I'm getting that one and another TBD. Thanks for the recommendation!

Posted by: Mishdog at October 25, 2020 11:25 AM (miJF6)

366 Putin's efforts in Chechnya, Georgia, Ukraine have all been successful, if viewed from the Russian standpoint.

Posted by: mnw at October 25, 2020 11:15 AM (Cssks)

---
Future generations will note that the Dem-sponsored RUSSIA RUSSIA RUSSIA hysteria prevented a rapprochment based on realpolitik and common strategic goals.

For example, the US could trade a border adjustment in Ukraine (Crimea was never under an independent Ukraine) in exchange for the Russian enclave in East Prussia.

But no, we've got Max Boot arguing that Putin is worse than Stalin because he's a dipshit. That time Tucker hosted him was a timeless example of Never Trump stupidity.

Posted by: Ace-Endorsed Author A.H. Lloyd at October 25, 2020 11:26 AM (cfSRQ)

367 Hello everyone - OT - but I attended the MAGA rally party in Beverly Hills yesterday and it was epic. Amazingly enough, no one cursed us out and lots of honks with thumbs up from those driving by, in the belly of the beast. Amazing.

Posted by: IC at October 25, 2020 11:27 AM (a0IVu)

368 If you are looking for horror and don't like King, try F. Paul Wilson. The first (eight or so) Repairman Jack books are very decent.

Posted by: Kindltot at October 25, 2020 11:27 AM (WyVLE)

369 I read "The Descent" a couple times - great book. There was a movie by the same name that came out about 10 years ago by the same name and it could almost be a side-story. Apparently they are independently conceived works though. Long wrote a sequel "Deeper" - it featured Tea Party people and a Sarah Palin stand-in. It wasn't nearly as good because POLITICS. There's going to be a third book. I wonder if it's out yet.

Posted by: I Have Questions at October 25, 2020 11:27 AM (+v+zN)

370 Diogenes: can we safely assume you've given yourself a Nov. 3 deadline for finishing your reading homework? Because the practical exercise portion of that assignment may be coming up shortly....

Posted by: PabloD, make commies fly again! at October 25, 2020 11:27 AM (qXPmL)

371 @292
I think people are definitely being forced to pick a side, to the Left's general surprise and dismay

Posted by: artemis at October 25, 2020 11:27 AM (AwPyG)

372 350
The only reason I don't think I'd like to meet and talk with Paglia in
person is that maddening verbal tic of hers ("okay?") which shows up in
interviews.

Posted by: Trimegistus at October 25, 2020 11:18 AM (QZxDR)

---
Definitely a better writer than an interview.

Posted by: Ace-Endorsed Author A.H. Lloyd at October 25, 2020 11:28 AM (cfSRQ)

373 If you like that, try Mark Helprin's "A Winter's Tale". He's a fantastic writer,..
--------

Glad to see that mentioned, as this discussion put it in mind. IMHO, Helprin's writing crosses the line from 'a book' to 'literature'. The easy weaving of fantasy and reality seems natural, and his prose is beyond remarkable. The same might be said for 'Soldier of the Great War'.

Posted by: Mike Hammer, etc., etc. at October 25, 2020 11:28 AM (cGzEU)

374 His teethe bryght capt, his heer lyk helmet fixt

Grande master was he of lowe politycks.

Non intrest grupe had he disdaynd to schmuse,

Ne ATLA, CALPERS, Latynos, ne Jewes.

Posted by: All Hail Eris, Xenomorph Queen

Dang, you guys are good.

Posted by: pep at October 25, 2020 11:28 AM (v16oJ)

375 So I've now completed three series: The Boys, Preacher, and just finished Watchmen.

Well Burt did you ever watch The Dresden Files? It didn't last long but was ok.

The Good Omens miniseries was good, and on Shudder you can find a Gaiman anthology series, Likely Stories (oof I just checked and I no longer see that on Shudder for some reason).

I liked Preacher by the end mostly because of Cass (the actor was beyond great). The first season kind of pissed me off with the changes but I gave up and just stayed with it for Cassidy.

Posted by: BlackOrchid_j9HX3 at October 25, 2020 11:29 AM (j9HX3)

376 One thing which amuses me is how much 20th century spy fiction was inspired by World War I. That's partly because so much of the WWII stuff remained classified after the end of the war, so people like Fleming couldn't use all the good stuff they saw or did -- but they could use the cool stories the old guys had told them about the first round.

All that being said, I don't really buy Sidney Reilly as the inspiration for James Bond. Bond was pretty blatantly Fleming's self-insert character. They even wore the same clothes.

Posted by: Trimegistus at October 25, 2020 11:29 AM (QZxDR)

377 367 Hello everyone - OT - but I attended the MAGA rally party in Beverly Hills yesterday and it was epic. Amazingly enough, no one cursed us out and lots of honks with thumbs up from those driving by, in the belly of the beast. Amazing.
Posted by: IC at October 25, 2020 11:27 AM (a0IVu)

A MAGA party in Beverly Hills? LOL! That's great!

Posted by: Donna&&&&&V at October 25, 2020 11:29 AM (HabA/)

378 the Russian enclave in East Prussia.

Kaliningrad/Koenigsberg? There ain't been no Prussia in a long time, son.

Posted by: Bandersnatch at October 25, 2020 11:30 AM (q2K0j)

379 Ann Rice books have gotten me laid several times. It was an accident! The whole thing. For years.

Posted by: humphreyrobot at October 25, 2020 11:30 AM (pB6Gt)

380 A MAGA party in Beverly Hills? LOL! That's great!

Posted by: Donna&&&&&V at October 25, 2020 11:29 AM (HabA/)

It really was..Breitbart has pics of the scenes. There must have been at least 1000 of us. All sorts of ethnicities too. It was awesome.

Posted by: IC at October 25, 2020 11:31 AM (a0IVu)

381 Well dunno what's up with Long - nothing published since 2007 it seems. 13 years between books is a bit...Long.

Posted by: I Have Questions at October 25, 2020 11:31 AM (+v+zN)

382 "It's hard to pick a favorite Christmas song since they get so overplayed at this time of year."

Bach's Christmas Oratorio is a lovely work, and hardly overplayed. For something shorter and instrumental, try Archangelo Corelli's Christmas Concerto (opus 6, #

. Another lovely instrumental work is the Christmas section of Hindemith's suite from his opera "Mathis der Maler". I'm sure all of them are available on YouTube.

On the other hand, if I never hear "Jingle Bell Rock" again, it will be too soon.

Posted by: Brown Line at October 25, 2020 11:31 AM (S6ArX)

383 What impresses me about many of these libraries is how little space there is to hold books.

Posted by: Mr. Peebles at October 25, 2020 11:31 AM (gQyIA)

384 also wanted to mention that Gaiman is "re-imagining" the excellent Jim Henson anthology series The Storyteller... that should be good, am hopeful.

I don't mention his TV adaptation of American Gods because it utterly blew chunks and it angers me too much. POLITICS ruined that.

Posted by: BlackOrchid_j9HX3 at October 25, 2020 11:31 AM (j9HX3)

385 @282: I'd like to sit down with Thomas Jefferson and Benjamin Franklin but I'm pretty sure I couldn't hold up my end of the conversation.

Posted by: Cosda at October 25, 2020 11:31 AM (6r8Uq)

386 Banality of evil. Terror is most effective when presented as built in to the day to day life.

I'm no ghost story reader, but with The Lottery, the terror was that the process was accepted and traditional.

Posted by: CN at October 25, 2020 11:20 AM (ONvIw)

---
I don't read horror books. (I read Lovecraft and Poe because they're fun, not because they're scary).

That being said, the most disturbing book I ever started to read (did not finish) was Bloodlands. I got about halfway through it before the anguish was too much to take.

It was as though the sky darkened above me a little each time I opened it up.

Posted by: Ace-Endorsed Author A.H. Lloyd at October 25, 2020 11:32 AM (cfSRQ)

387 I'd like to sit down with Rod Brind'Amour and... talk hockey?

you know but also just to hang with him

and talk hockey!

Posted by: BlackOrchid_j9HX3 at October 25, 2020 11:32 AM (j9HX3)

388 Diogenes: can we safely assume you've given yourself a Nov. 3 deadline for finishing your reading homework? Because the practical exercise portion of that assignment may be coming up shortly....
Posted by: PabloD, make commies fly again! at October 25, 2020 11:27 AM (qXPmL)

Yes.
I consider it cramming for finals.

Posted by: Diogenes at October 25, 2020 11:33 AM (3kWeg)

389 385
@282: I'd like to sit down with ~~Thomas Jefferson~~ and Benjamin Franklin
but I'm pretty sure I couldn't hold up my end of the conversation.

You misspelled Alexander Hamilton.

Posted by: pep at October 25, 2020 11:33 AM (v16oJ)

390 Worst Christmas song
-----

Do they Know it's Christmas
Posted by: garrett at October 25, 2020 10:58 AM (4/v2p)

Eons ago I heard the Jackson Browne song, I think it's called "The Rebel Jesus," and listening to him drone on and on, I just thought "shut the F up, you stupid hippie."

Posted by: BurtTC at October 25, 2020 11:33 AM (hku12)

391 Hello everyone - OT - but I attended the MAGA rally party in Beverly Hills yesterday and it was epic. Amazingly enough, no one cursed us out and lots of honks with thumbs up from those driving by, in the belly of the beast. Amazing.
Posted by: IC

Nice !

And hiya IC !

Posted by: JT at October 25, 2020 11:34 AM (arJlL)

392 Paglia would be fine for a couple of hours. Her intensity would make her difficult to take for longer periods.

Funnily, I feel the same way about Trump. People with that level of energy run the people around them ragged.

Paglia herself once said something to the effect that she is not suicidal, she makes other people suicidal.

Posted by: Donna&&&&&V at October 25, 2020 11:34 AM (HabA/)

393 AN Lloyd, I like your description of David French. And I would add that he, and those like him, are quite literally Pharisees. Pharisee is not a specific religious faith but rather a style of religious faith, in which people set themselves up as More Moral, More Pure, and More Holy than any around them.
Pharisees spend all of their time and energy attacking members of their own faith, not unbelievers,because their only true goal is personal power and status inside the group. They enjoy making the group smaller, because it makes it easier for them to control.

Remember that of all types of people, Jesus in his teachings condemned the Pharisees of his day most of all, and said they would be condemned to hell. It wasn't because of their religious beliefs, which were the same as his. It was because of what they were doing with those beliefs, that is what damned them.I

Go To Hell, David French.

Posted by: Tom Servo at October 25, 2020 11:34 AM (CQ8KO)

394 Bach's Christmas Oratorio is a lovely work, and hardly overplayed. For
something shorter and instrumental, try Archangelo Corelli's Christmas
Concerto

Agree about Corelli, but it's not usually thought of as a carol, is it?

Posted by: pep at October 25, 2020 11:34 AM (v16oJ)

395 Definitely a better writer than an interview.

-
See also David Horowitz.

Posted by: Anonosaurus Wrecks, Tyrannosaur Wrangler at October 25, 2020 11:35 AM (+y/Ru)

396 Posted by: Ace-Endorsed Author A.H. Lloyd at October 25, 2020 11:32 AM (cfSRQ)

The Snyder book?

Posted by: CN at October 25, 2020 11:35 AM (ONvIw)

397 On the other hand, if I never hear "Jingle Bell Rock" again, it will be too soon.

Posted by: Brown Line at October 25, 2020 11:31 AM (S6ArX)

---
I was in band from elementary school through college.

If I never hear "Sleigh Ride" again I will die happy.

My family has been instructed that I hate that song. Played it every damn year and the french horn part was just the upbeats. When I switched to tuba for a change of pace I got to play...

...the downbeats.

It was always the 'safe' choice for the "Winter Concert (that's totally not related to Christmas at all)"

Hate that song.

Posted by: Ace-Endorsed Author A.H. Lloyd at October 25, 2020 11:35 AM (cfSRQ)

398 That being said, the most disturbing book I ever started to read (did not finish) was Bloodlands. I got about halfway through it before the anguish was too much to take.

It was as though the sky darkened above me a little each time I opened it up.
Posted by: Ace-Endorsed Author A.H. Lloyd at October 25, 2020 11:32 AM (cfSRQ)

I couldn't get through it either. That book makes you despair of the human race.

Posted by: Donna&&&&&V at October 25, 2020 11:35 AM (HabA/)

399 I like an obscure Christmas song called "Bring a torch, Jeanette, Isabella"
I like the tone and the words--to me it encapsulates Christmas

Posted by: artemis at October 25, 2020 11:35 AM (AwPyG)

400 374 His teethe bryght capt, his heer lyk helmet fixt
Grande master was he of lowe politycks.
Non intrest grupe had he disdaynd to schmuse,
Ne ATLA, CALPERS, Latynos, ne Jewes.
Posted by: All Hail Eris, Xenomorph Queen

Dang, you guys are good.
Posted by: pep at October 25, 2020 11:28 AM (v16oJ)

Yeah, you really need to bring your 'A' game here at the HQ. Me, I don't even bother getting into the arena. I know I'll be blown away.

Posted by: OregonMuse, AoSHQ Thought Leader, Pants Monitor & Social Distancing Professional at October 25, 2020 11:35 AM (ylJVZ)

401 So I've now completed three series: The Boys, Preacher, and just finished Watchmen.
-------------

Well Burt did you ever watch The Dresden Files? It didn't last long but was ok.

The Good Omens miniseries was good, and on Shudder you can find a Gaiman anthology series, Likely Stories (oof I just checked and I no longer see that on Shudder for some reason).

I liked Preacher by the end mostly because of Cass (the actor was beyond great). The first season kind of pissed me off with the changes but I gave up and just stayed with it for Cassidy.

Posted by: BlackOrchid_j9HX3 at October 25, 2020 11:29 AM (j9HX3)

Sorry, I meant I'm looking for other books. Not teevee shows.

Incidentally, I know "Good Omens" is a book, and I thought about digging in, but decided not to. Don't remember why.

Posted by: BurtTC at October 25, 2020 11:36 AM (hku12)

402 367 Hello everyone - OT - but I attended the MAGA rally party in Beverly Hills yesterday and it was epic. Amazingly enough, no one cursed us out and lots of honks with thumbs up from those driving by, in the belly of the beast. Amazing.
Posted by: IC at October 25, 2020 11:27 AM (a0IVu)
--

I saw photos of that. I would love for more of those Californians' voices to be heard.

Posted by: All Hail Eris, Xenomorph Queen at October 25, 2020 11:36 AM (Dc2NZ)

403 It really was..Breitbart has pics of the scenes. There must have been at least 1000 of us. All sorts of ethnicities too. It was awesome.
Posted by: IC at October 25, 2020 11:31 AM (a0IVu)

---------

All ethnicities?

I hope they didn't let in the Irish.

Posted by: Cicero (@cicero) at October 25, 2020 11:36 AM (wPVhA)

404
Yeah, you really need to bring your 'A' game here at the HQ. Me, I
don't even bother getting into the arena. I know I'll be blown away.

Says the master of ceremonies.

Posted by: pep at October 25, 2020 11:36 AM (v16oJ)

405 @389 385
@282: I'd like to sit down with Thomas Jefferson and Benjamin Franklin
but I'm pretty sure I couldn't hold up my end of the conversation.

You misspelled Alexander Hamilton.
*****
Hamilton and Aaron Burr would be another sit down.

Posted by: Cosda at October 25, 2020 11:37 AM (6r8Uq)

406 400 374 His teethe bryght capt, his heer lyk helmet fixt
Grande master was he of lowe politycks.
Non intrest grupe had he disdaynd to schmuse,
Ne ATLA, CALPERS, Latynos, ne Jewes.
Posted by: All Hail Eris, Xenomorph Queen

Claps and cheers for Eris!

Posted by: Donna&&&&&V at October 25, 2020 11:37 AM (HabA/)

407 Quelle surprise! Brian Stelter made a total ass of himself on NPR this morning! Interviewed by reliably-lefty Lulu Hispano-Suiza, he completely gassed the opportunity to say anything relevant to her questions, a couple of which were borderline actually interesting, like whether the media did itself any favors in going to war with Trump.

I hope Lulu had a good lie-down after the show, to recover from her brush with self-awareness. Anyway, Stelter made sure she didn't fall in.

Posted by: Ray Van Dune at October 25, 2020 11:37 AM (pinX9)

408 >>Eons ago I heard the Jackson Browne song, I think it's called "The Rebel Jesus," and listening to him drone on and on, I just thought "shut the F up, you stupid hippie." Posted by: BurtTC at October 25, 2020 11:33 AM (hku12)

Status of Jackson Browne's pimp-hand: strong.

Posted by: Zod at October 25, 2020 11:37 AM (xK9An)

409 403 It really was..Breitbart has pics of the scenes. There must have been at least 1000 of us. All sorts of ethnicities too. It was awesome.
Posted by: IC at October 25, 2020 11:31 AM (a0IVu)

---------

All ethnicities?

I hope they didn't let in the Irish.
Posted by: Cicero (@cicero) at October 25, 2020 11:36 AM (wPVhA)

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

Or the Dutch.

Posted by: No One of Consequence at October 25, 2020 11:38 AM (CAJOC)

410
Making progress on Vanity Fair. Excellent! Pushing hard to finish Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire before Christmas 70% done per the kindle.
Posted by: Who knew
--------

Ah. Thackery. You might want to give Trollope's 'Barset' series a go. Light and entertaining. I've read (?) 13 of his books.

This, in spite of the family having been engaged in a vote-buying scheme to defeat Trollope when he stood for office at Beverley, Yorkshire.

Posted by: Mike Hammer, etc., etc. at October 25, 2020 11:38 AM (cGzEU)

411 Hamilton and Aaron Burr would be another sit down.
Posted by: Cosda

Only not at the same time.

Posted by: MarkY at October 25, 2020 11:39 AM (vV8g8)

412 Posted by: IC at October 25, 2020 11:31 AM (a0IVu)

Was Kurt Schlichter there? His twitter feed is enjoyable.

Posted by: Donna&&&&&V at October 25, 2020 11:39 AM (HabA/)

413 That being said, the most disturbing book I ever started to read (did not finish) was Bloodlands. I got about halfway through it before the anguish was too much to take.

It was as though the sky darkened above me a little each time I opened it up.
Posted by: Ace-Endorsed Author A.H. Lloyd

Yes, that's a tear jerker, alright.

Posted by: Anonosaurus Wrecks, Tyrannosaur Wrangler at October 25, 2020 11:39 AM (+y/Ru)

414 "Sleigh Ride", the best part is the leather slap/whip crack. The Anderson gimmick.

Posted by: pawn at October 25, 2020 11:39 AM (Cfk8j)

415 I've watched a couple of clips of David Lee Roth on Joe Rogan's podcast. Most rockers mellow as they age; DLR seems like he's still cranked up to 11 (whether naturally or due to actual crank). But he is certainly much more than a uni-dimensional 1980s rock star.
Posted by: PabloD, make commies fly again! at October 25, 2020 11:24 AM (qXPmL)

Whatever one may think of Rogan, he sure does get people to talk to him.

I started listening to his conversation with Kanye... which isn't really much of a conversation. It's mostly Kanye, which isn't a bad thing!

Rogan steps out of the way and lets him talk.

Kanye says he believes it's his calling to be leader of the free world. He might be right.

Posted by: BurtTC at October 25, 2020 11:39 AM (hku12)

416 251 207 I read T S Eliot's The Wasteland (https://www.poetryfoundation.org/ poems/47311/the-waste-land) yesterday.

One thing I think would be useful would be some sort of truly multicultural institution, in which genuine representatives of the various traditions could communicate. This would be the opposite of the current pattern, in which the various cultures are "represented" by neo-Marxists who all agree with one another in following that Dead White Male.
Posted by: Eeyore at October 25, 2020 10:35 AM (7X3UV)

Like!!!

Posted by: sinmi at October 25, 2020 11:39 AM (A5IVt)

417 406 400 374 His teethe bryght capt, his heer lyk helmet fixt
Grande master was he of lowe politycks.
Non intrest grupe had he disdaynd to schmuse,
Ne ATLA, CALPERS, Latynos, ne Jewes.
Posted by: All Hail Eris, Xenomorph Queen

Claps and cheers for Eris!
Posted by: Donna&&&&&V at October 25, 2020 11:37 AM (HabA/)

It's Derbyshire, people! Zod linked to it above.

I ain't nowheres near that brillyant.

Posted by: All Hail Eris, Xenomorph Queen at October 25, 2020 11:39 AM (Dc2NZ)

418 Trump has just announced a 3rd rally in PA tomorrow in Allentown.

Posted by: Dave in Fla at October 25, 2020 11:41 AM (5p7BC)

419 So I click on Ace, breitbart, and some hunting/fishing forums and yoo toob... Google news feed top story... 1. Kelly ripas husband has a big penis. 2 Orange man bad. 3. Poor glaciers melting....

Posted by: Jeffery Toobin at October 25, 2020 11:41 AM (ozPhh)

420 I like an obscure Christmas song called "Bring a torch, Jeanette, Isabella"
I like the tone and the words--to me it encapsulates Christmas
Posted by: artemis
---------

One of my favorites also. It's also rather light and airy.

Posted by: Mike Hammer, etc., etc. at October 25, 2020 11:41 AM (cGzEU)

421 Eons ago I heard the Jackson Browne song, I think it's called "The Rebel Jesus," and listening to him drone on and on, I just thought "shut the F up, you stupid hippie." Posted by: BurtTC at October 25, 2020 11:33 AM (hku12)

Status of Jackson Browne's pimp-hand: strong.
Posted by: Zod at October 25, 2020 11:37 AM (xK9An)

I believe he also had an incident where he tried to bring a gun through airport security.

Rules are for little people.

Posted by: BurtTC at October 25, 2020 11:41 AM (hku12)

422 It's Derbyshire, people! Zod linked to it above.

I ain't nowheres near that brillyant.

You'd have gotten away with it. Rookie mistake.

Posted by: pep at October 25, 2020 11:42 AM (v16oJ)

423 Okay, I see a lot of folks are in some dark places so I thought I might lighten things up a tiny bit.

The best advice I can give is to create little spots of light in your life - happy moments, warm memories that shine out like streetlights in the darkness.

Build a string of them and bounce back and forth through time. Music is a great way to do this - a playlist of favorite songs that remind you of good things so when you hear them, you return to that good place.

Posted by: Ace-Endorsed Author A.H. Lloyd at October 25, 2020 11:42 AM (cfSRQ)

424 412 Posted by: IC at October 25, 2020 11:31 AM (a0IVu)

Was Kurt Schlichter there? His twitter feed is enjoyable.
Posted by: Donna&&&&&V at October 25, 2020 11:39 AM (HabA/)

I didn't even know anyone from BB was there..it was so crazy and there was dancing going on..bad dancing I might add but hey, we had fun.

Posted by: IC at October 25, 2020 11:42 AM (a0IVu)

425 Hamilton and Aaron Burr would be another sit down.
Posted by: Cosda

Hide the weapons!

Posted by: Anonosaurus Wrecks, Tyrannosaur Wrangler at October 25, 2020 11:42 AM (+y/Ru)

426 Historical person I want a talk with? Washington. It's a crying shame he never wrote a memoir, and so much of his character and ideas have been obscured by the clouds of hagiography and anti-hagiography that it's hard to know who he really was.

Posted by: Trimegistus at October 25, 2020 11:43 AM (QZxDR)

427 Yesterday was Shabbat.

Police officers enter PRIVATE HOMES to find Jewish gatherings in Monsey, New York:

"We came because we had a vehicle parking complaint. Then I look up and I see you have over 10 people in a crowd!"

https://t.co/hXsXpuKJeG

Posted by: Pray at October 25, 2020 11:43 AM (CZm2G)

428 And then there's always "All alone with Lonestar." That sets a completely different Christmas mood. We always sing it at the top of our lungs in the car.

Posted by: artemis at October 25, 2020 11:43 AM (AwPyG)

429 427 Yesterday was Shabbat.

Police officers enter PRIVATE HOMES to find Jewish gatherings in Monsey, New York:

"We came because we had a vehicle parking complaint. Then I look up and I see you have over 10 people in a crowd!"

https://t.co/hXsXpuKJeG
Posted by: Pray at October 25, 2020 11:43 AM (CZm2G)

Um, did they have a warrant?

Posted by: I am the Shadout Mapes, the Housekeeper at October 25, 2020 11:44 AM (PiwSw)

430 366 AHL

The Russian view of the U.S. (or "the West") offering to bargain over Ukraine would be: "Go to hell! This is none of your concern whatsoever."

After the Orange Revolution in Ukraine in 2014, the new Ukraine govt overplayed its hand very badly. So did the post-independence govt of Georgia, regarding South Ossetia. Putin's reaction to both situations was quite predictable.

'The West' has no credibility when it speaks about Russia's actions in eastern Ukraine & Crimea. Putin knows full well that these matters aren't very important to the U.S. or the EU.

Posted by: mnw at October 25, 2020 11:44 AM (Cssks)

431 Snowbirds, the human variety, fly south in winter for warmer weather. It makes sense birds would do that, but then I read it is more about their food supply than the weather. Insects, worms, grubs ... not easy to get in a frozen tundra ... seeds and nuts and plants may still be enough for some birds.

Posted by: illiniwek at October 25, 2020 11:44 AM (Cus5s)

432 Historic : Douglas MacArthur and Benjamin Franklin. MacArthur's West Point address is still the greatest speech in American history IMHO. Everyone should read it.

With Franklin you can cover a long period of first hand knowledge of the creation of America.

Current: Obama and Clinton. I'd read them both the riot act and more.

Posted by: Weaning is hard at October 25, 2020 11:45 AM (2DOZq)

433 It's the yoopers Christmas special.

Posted by: Archer at October 25, 2020 11:45 AM (OITw+)

434 I only recently started listening to Rogan, the whole spotify controversy. I think he is sufficiently redpilled now. Thats how I discovered Jordan Peterson too, I had only heard/read all the shit the media spews about him. If you want rockers that can talk, endlessly, and seem like they are on speed, listen to the ted Nugent one.

Posted by: KarlHungus at October 25, 2020 11:45 AM (ozPhh)

435 OT
But has everyone decided where they're going for the
"one video drop an hour" from the Chinese dude?
I'm watching NeonRevolt, but I'm willing to change.

Posted by: MarkY at October 25, 2020 11:45 AM (vV8g8)

436 Posted by: Pray at October 25, 2020 11:43 AM (CZm2G)

Um, did they have a warrant?
Posted by: I am the Shadout Mapes, the Housekeeper at October 25, 2020 11:44 AM (PiwSw)

Did Hitler have a warrant?

I can't believe what we're seeing in 2020.

Posted by: BurtTC at October 25, 2020 11:46 AM (hku12)

437 418
Trump has just announced a 3rd rally in PA tomorrow in Allentown.

Posted by: Dave in Fla at October 25, 2020 11:41 AM (5p7BC)

---
He has to win beyond the margin of fraud.

Fun Fact: The Spanish Civil War became all but inevitable when the Left stole the elections and then stole them again in 1936.

One of their first moves was to amnesty all the anarchists in prison for political violence.

I thought about writing something today for how we could get Civil War 2.0 using Spain as an example but it was too depressing.

So I bought bagels instead. Yummy bagels....

Posted by: Ace-Endorsed Author A.H. Lloyd at October 25, 2020 11:46 AM (cfSRQ)

438 Historical person I want a talk with? Washington. It's a crying shame he never wrote a memoir, and so much of his character and ideas have been obscured by the clouds of hagiography and anti-hagiography that it's hard to know who he really was.

If only he'd joined Facebook.

Posted by: Mr. Peebles at October 25, 2020 11:46 AM (gQyIA)

439 For Ryan George (Pitch Meeting Guy) fans:

If a Ghost Possessed Someone in 2020

https://youtu.be/X981Soxoxbg

Posted by: No One of Consequence at October 25, 2020 11:47 AM (CAJOC)

440 MacArthur's West Point address is still the greatest speech in American history IMHO. Everyone should read it.

It's great, but not better than Lincoln. Also, McArthur cribbed the most famous line "They have gone glimmering through the dreams of things that were", from Lord Byron. Still, the whole thing is pure poetry.

Posted by: pep at October 25, 2020 11:47 AM (v16oJ)

441 Posted by: mnw at October 25, 2020 11:44 AM (Cssks)

When the new Ukrainian government outlawed the Russian language I knew they shot themselves in the foot. It seemed almost intentional. Uncontrolled hatred can make you do stupid stuff.

Posted by: Weaning is hard at October 25, 2020 11:47 AM (2DOZq)

442 BTW, I've been worried about my sister's vote, since she is such a covid Karen. I was reassured this morning. She texted me that while she can't stand Trump, she is so frightened of what the D party has become it keeps her up nights, so she is going to vote for Trump -again.

I am not going to tell her she really should like Trump. A reluctant Trump vote counts just as much as an enthusiastic one. I'm just happy Trump is keeping a vote in WI. May other suburban GOP Karens come to the same conclusion.

Posted by: Donna&&&&&V at October 25, 2020 11:48 AM (HabA/)

443 Hey buckaroos,
Its Scamp Walker time again

Posted by: kactus at October 25, 2020 11:48 AM (efWJQ)

444 Rules are for little people.
Posted by: BurtTC

Robert Reich?

On Dateline the other night, the defense to the allegation of inappropriate whoopie making by a pastor and the church's musical director in a pickup was that each was too XXX sized to be able to make whoopie in such a pickup cab.

Posted by: Anonosaurus Wrecks, Tyrannosaur Wrangler at October 25, 2020 11:48 AM (+y/Ru)

445 >>I can't believe what we're seeing in 2020.
Posted by: BurtTC at October 25, 2020 11:46 AM (hku12)

Evolved antiviral gills. Mandatory sex change operations. Microchip implantation. Struggle sessions. Gun confiscation. Human barcode registration.

The future's so bright, I gotta wear shades.

Posted by: Zod at October 25, 2020 11:48 AM (xK9An)

446 Historic: Vincent Van Gogh, Samuel Pepys
Current: Donald Fagen, Dan Simmons

Posted by: I am the Shadout Mapes, the Housekeeper at October 25, 2020 11:49 AM (PiwSw)

447 I hope they didn't let in the Irish.

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

AAAAAAAAAAMEN

Posted by: Townsfolk from Blazing Saddles at October 25, 2020 11:49 AM (8YFRI)

448 Keep in mind that the incident in NY may be a false flag, to keep everyone in line.
there are not enough police officers in the world to police this, so they use a few high profile incidents and publicize them. In Australia, a beauty salon owner was fined and jailed to much fanfare and outrage. The internet sleuths discovered she was a crisis actor for the left, and that the salon had only just been set up.
A false flag for the media to use to scare everyone. The NY thing sounds too outrageous to be true.

Posted by: artemis at October 25, 2020 11:50 AM (AwPyG)

449 I can't believe what we're seeing in 2020.
Posted by: BurtTC at October 25, 2020 11:46 AM (hku12)

It seems very selective. Plenty of families in my area have large gatherings with impunity, 20 cars on the street, and no one shows up to break it up. But the orthodox seem to be a problem for Cuomo, and one few people will rally around.

Posted by: CN at October 25, 2020 11:50 AM (ONvIw)

450 the Russian enclave in East Prussia.

Kaliningrad/Koenigsberg? There ain't been no Prussia in a long time, son.
Posted by: Bandersnatch at October 25, 2020 11:30 AM (q2K0j)

Russia will not, under any circumstance, give up Kaliningrad. the only way to "adjust the borders" on that one is to conquer Russia....

Posted by: runner at October 25, 2020 11:50 AM (zr5Kq)

451 The Russian view of the U.S. (or "the West")
offering to bargain over Ukraine would be: "Go to hell! This is none of
your concern whatsoever."

After the Orange Revolution in Ukraine in 2014, the new Ukraine govt
overplayed its hand very badly. So did the post-independence govt of
Georgia, regarding South Ossetia. Putin's reaction to both situations
was quite predictable.

'The West' has no credibility when it speaks about Russia's actions
in eastern Ukraine Crimea. Putin knows full well that these
matters aren't very important to the U.S. or the EU.

Posted by: mnw at October 25, 2020 11:44 AM (Cssks)

---
Realpolitik doesn't care about your feelings.

Trump has put Putin behind the 8-ball. Again, absent Dem sabotage, the US could offer powerful incentives for some border changes.

I think Putin would be pragmatic to see the upside, but we'll never know.

Side note: You see tons of crap about how RUSSIA could roll right into the Baltics, but Poland's army actually outclasses Russian forces on that sector. Russia is overstretched in a bad way and Trump has been playing that up.

A border adjustment, de-escalation and lifting sanctions would be a win for Putin and everyone but Max Boot's weirdo MOAR WAR faction.

Posted by: Ace-Endorsed Author A.H. Lloyd at October 25, 2020 11:50 AM (cfSRQ)

452 On Dateline the other night, the defense to the allegation of inappropriate whoopie making by a pastor and the church's musical director in a pickup was that each was too XXX sized to be able to make whoopie in such a pickup cab.

Posted by: Anonosaurus Wrecks, Tyrannosaur Wrangler at October 25, 2020 11:48 AM (+y/Ru)

I saw 'em...and believed it.

Posted by: BignJames at October 25, 2020 11:50 AM (AwYPR)

453 When it comes to individual voters and how their particular faith affects their vote, I think there's a whole complex range of motivations; some good, some bad, some sensible, some not.

As the young'uns say: it's complicated.

But I think for politicians and their scribbler remoras, it's much simpler, and they profess whatever religious principles they believe will advance them personally.

In French's case, the "pious, preachy, above-it-all Evangelical who condemns the uncouth orange vulgarian at every turn" is what his paymasters want to promote, so that's the role this sad slumpback (as ace dubbed him) plays.

If whoever bankrolls the Dispatch told French to make an ostentatious conversion to some obscure form of African deism, he'd be dancing around a rock in a loincloth by morning, and displaying his matchless, selfless devotion to Obalongo, the Mighty Lion God.

Posted by: Yudhishthira's Dice at October 25, 2020 11:50 AM (XJipD)

454 dunno if this will help anyone else - listening to Gregorian Chants and it is very soothing

Posted by: vmom 2020 - Grow Up and Vote for Trump by Eddie Scarry at October 25, 2020 11:50 AM (nUhF0)

455 @359 --

Burt:

100 Bullets. Crime comic with this focus: What would you do if you were told that you could take revenge and not be caught? And you received an automatic pistol and 100 untraceable cartridges.

Criminal. Another crime comic, with mostly standalone story arcs.

Y the Last Man. Something kills ALL males on Earth but one guy. Not pornographic at all.

I could reel off more, but church is starting.

Posted by: Weak Geek at October 25, 2020 11:51 AM (u/nim)

456 Possibly my favorite line from McArthur:
The shadows are lengthening for me.
The twilight is here.
My days of old have vanished in tone and
tint.
They have gone glimmering through the dreams of things that were.
Their memory is one of wondrous beauty, watered by tears, and coaxed and
caressed by the smiles of yesterday.

Posted by: pep at October 25, 2020 11:51 AM (v16oJ)

457 Trump has just announced a 3rd rally in PA tomorrow in Allentown.

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

Is he looking for the Pennsylvania he never found?

Posted by: Billy Joel at October 25, 2020 11:52 AM (8YFRI)

458 Rules are for little people.
Posted by: BurtTC

Robert Reich?

On Dateline the other night, the defense to the allegation of inappropriate whoopie making by a pastor and the church's musical director in a pickup was that each was too XXX sized to be able to make whoopie in such a pickup cab.
Posted by: Anonosaurus Wrecks, Tyrannosaur Wrangler at October 25, 2020 11:48 AM (+y/Ru)

Did you see the one about the priest who was caught making whoopie on the Church altar with a couple "ladies" who like to video their escapades?

About the best thing one can say about this priest is at least he's not diddling kids.

Posted by: BurtTC at October 25, 2020 11:52 AM (hku12)

459 Robert Reich?

On Dateline the other night, the defense to the allegation of inappropriate whoopie making by a pastor and the church's musical director in a pickup was that each was too XXX sized to be able to make whoopie in such a pickup cab.
Posted by: Anonosaurus Wrecks, Tyrannosaur Wrangler at October 25, 2020 11:48 AM (+y/Ru)

Reich? Where's that moron with the tire irons? Reich will try to establish re-education camps

Posted by: CN at October 25, 2020 11:52 AM (ONvIw)

460 >>We don't want yellow cowards in the army. They should be killed off like flies. If not, they will go back home after the war, goddamn cowards, and breed more cowards. The brave men will breed more brave men. Kill off the goddamn cowards and we'll have a nation of brave men.

"Kill off the goddamn cowards and we'll have a nation of brave men." General Patton, signifying'.

Posted by: Zod at October 25, 2020 11:52 AM (xK9An)

461 Well, sittin here in a Dennys having the last breakfast before leaving Texas. Glad I don't get hangovers.

Posted by: Berserker-Dragonheads Division at October 25, 2020 11:53 AM (ZoM+o)

462 Posted by: vmom 2020 - Grow Up and Vote for Trump by Eddie Scarry at October 25, 2020 11:50 AM (nUhF0)

I love Gregorian chant. I wish I got to listen to it - in church. Instead I have to listen to the choir drone through "Take and Eat" and "On Eagle's Wings."

Posted by: Donna&&&&&V at October 25, 2020 11:53 AM (HabA/)

463 Burt:

100 Bullets. Crime comic with this focus: What would you do if you were told that you could take revenge and not be caught? And you received an automatic pistol and 100 untraceable cartridges.

Criminal. Another crime comic, with mostly standalone story arcs.

Y the Last Man. Something kills ALL males on Earth but one guy. Not pornographic at all.

I could reel off more, but church is starting.
Posted by: Weak Geek at October 25, 2020 11:51 AM (u/nim)

Thanks!

I'll check each of those out.

Posted by: BurtTC at October 25, 2020 11:53 AM (hku12)

464 This has become my annoyance with Christians.

We're in back alley knife fight Marxism. And Evil.

And christian radio is all:

"How the latest archeological find proves the miracle of the parting of the Red Sea!"

"What Ruth's life can teach us about non-violence!"

"These audio tapes will save your soul, that's why we're charging $19.95 for them!

I understand, they don't want to stain their soul with blood. So they'll just watch as we get jumped by 2 other guys. Maybe if we're lucky they'll shout a warning? But they won't lift a finger to save this Republic.

You are not supposed to forsake this world for the next. It's a sin. You were not put here to que up for Heaven. You were put here to be tested, to have your soul formed in the fires of trial and tribulation. Shirking from that will not get you to the next level, whatever that is.

So pick up a fricken rifle and fight Evil.

Posted by: Fenrisulven at October 25, 2020 11:53 AM (TNHVJ)

465 Kaliningrad/Koenigsberg? There ain't been no Prussia in a long time, son.

Posted by: Bandersnatch at October 25, 2020 11:30 AM (q2K0j)

---
There are still people alive who remember it existing so no, it's not that long ago.

Nothing is ever fixed. I was reliably informed all my life that the Arabs would never come to terms with Israel without solving "the Palestinian Question."

Oh, and the Soviet Union would be with us forever.

Turns out, not so much.

Posted by: Ace-Endorsed Author A.H. Lloyd at October 25, 2020 11:53 AM (cfSRQ)

466 Rules are for little people.
Posted by: BurtTC

Robert Reich?

Posted by: Anonosaurus Wrecks, Tyrannosaur Wrangler at October 25, 2020 11:48 AM (+y/Ru)

May wanna check this with AtC.

Posted by: Diogenes at October 25, 2020 11:54 AM (axyOa)

467 Random thought that everyone knows.

Luntz and Silver are saying that the polls can't possibly wrong again, and Biden is leading by 12.

If so, why is Biden campaigning in PA and not in TX? Aren't they claiming that TX is going blue? Why aren't they campaigning there?

Biden campaigning in Bucks yesterday exactly fits my analysis of the current state of the race.

Sorry for not talking about books

Posted by: Dave in Fla at October 25, 2020 11:54 AM (5p7BC)

468 Zod types 'signifyin,' and auto cucumber corrects to 'signifying.'

Autocucumber is not a soul brother.

I mean, brotha.

Posted by: Zod at October 25, 2020 11:54 AM (xK9An)

469 "Duty, Honor, Country" was also set to music. I played in a military band in the 60s and we did a lot of patriotic music. Pretty stirring. I was actually in a riot in Detroit at Cobo Hall where Nixon was addressing the VFW national convention.

We played out in front and there was a big protest by a bunch of hippies across the street. We got the conventioneer's so fired up that the hippies attacked the band and then all the Vets started a massive beat-down on the hippies. I got a split lip but I kept playing.

There was a picture on the front of the local paper the next day of our bass drum player whacking some long-hair over the head with his mallet.

Posted by: pawn at October 25, 2020 11:54 AM (Cfk8j)

470 Posted by: pep at October 25, 2020 11:51 AM (v16oJ)

The entire speech gives me tingles and makes me well up with American pride.

Posted by: Weaning is hard at October 25, 2020 11:55 AM (2DOZq)

471 Good morning y'all!

Posted by: tbodie at October 25, 2020 11:56 AM (Gjw1J)

472 Mexico will pay for the wall

Posted by: Kurt at October 25, 2020 11:56 AM (/hq2L)

473 467 Random thought that everyone knows.

Luntz and Silver are saying that the polls can't possibly wrong again, and Biden is leading by 12.

If so, why is Biden campaigning in PA and not in TX? Aren't they claiming that TX is going blue? Why aren't they campaigning there?

Biden campaigning in Bucks yesterday exactly fits my analysis of the current state of the race.

Sorry for not talking about books
Posted by: Dave in Fla at October 25, 2020 11:54 AM (5p7BC)

==========

If Biden is up by 12, he would be in Texas, South Carolina, and Montana focusing on getting as Democratic a Senate as possible.

Use his extreme popularity to drag those seeking to unseat incumbent Republican Senators over the line.

Hell, if he were up by five he should at least be making an appearance in Maine.

Posted by: TheJamesMadison, levelling Metropolis to save it at October 25, 2020 11:56 AM (LvTSG)

474 Who said horsefuck? Im sending a check to Ocala tomorrow for a horsefuck. This one's costing 10k. Runners!!!!!!

Posted by: Jake from State Farm at October 25, 2020 11:56 AM (dXn35)

475 I can't believe what we're seeing in 2020.
Posted by: BurtTC at October 25, 2020 11:46 AM (hku12)

It seems very selective. Plenty of families in my area have large gatherings with impunity, 20 cars on the street, and no one shows up to break it up. But the orthodox seem to be a problem for Cuomo, and one few people will rally around.
Posted by: CN at October 25, 2020 11:50 AM (ONvIw)

That's what is so horrifying, that this behavior on the part of Cummo and Co. is so familiar.

No, not everyone is going to be targeted, and the rules will NOT be equally applied. The arbitrariness, at least at first, is part of the terror.

And sure, go after marginalized groups, because fewer people will complain.

These people are monsters.

Posted by: BurtTC at October 25, 2020 11:57 AM (hku12)

476 Oh, and all my books are listed on my blog at My Works, if you're interested.

They're all masterpieces that will change your lives forever.

Be there or be square.

Posted by: TheJamesMadison, levelling Metropolis to save it at October 25, 2020 11:57 AM (LvTSG)

477 Crisis Moon was a goodbrecommwndation a few weeks back. I got the audiobook and it was pretty well done.

Posted by: Mishdog at October 25, 2020 11:57 AM (miJF6)

478 Bring a torch, Jeannette Isabella is representative of of a French medieval carole, very fun and happy. And a Carole originally was a dance.

Lullay lullay is much more english , very sad and very beautiful at the same time. Which makes it so haunting.

Posted by: Tom Servo at October 25, 2020 11:57 AM (CQ8KO)

479 mnw - I posted an analysis of FL early voting on the morning thread. Feel free to drop it over at Horserace if you want.

Posted by: Dave in Fla at October 25, 2020 11:58 AM (5p7BC)

480 artemis--

I also like "Jeanette Isabella." It was one of the Christmas carols we learned in high school French mumbly, mumbly years ago, and for some odd reason to this day I can only remember the French lyrics, not the English ones.

Same thing for "O Holy Night" which is "Minuit Chretien" in French. I think the French words are more intense and moving.

Posted by: Art Rondelet of Malmsey at October 25, 2020 11:58 AM (fTtFy)

481 Show of handa ..... all those glad they left Bucks County .

Posted by: Jake from State Farm at October 25, 2020 11:58 AM (dXn35)

482 On the way to and from the Texas MoMe, I listened to The Peloponnesian War by Donald Kagan, as recommended on this very book thread a couple of weeks ago.

I'm exhausted, but I'm home now so I can rest.

Posted by: Cybersmythe at October 25, 2020 11:58 AM (qDSku)

483 Somebody fart?.....oh, there's Kurt.

Posted by: BignJames at October 25, 2020 11:59 AM (AwYPR)

484 *****
Hamilton and Aaron Burr would be another sit down.
Posted by: Cosda at October 25, 2020 11:37 AM (6r8Uq)
------------

Steve Allen, on NPR, did a history series where he and two or three notables from a certain time period in history would sit at a round table and have a conversation. It was excellent.

Surely public TV has disappeared that inappropriate information.

Posted by: Braenyard at October 25, 2020 11:59 AM (CZm2G)

485 Little Drummer Boy is my favorite Christmas song.

Posted by: Weaning is hard at October 25, 2020 11:59 AM (2DOZq)

486 Did Hitler have a warrant?

I can't believe what we're seeing in 2020.
Posted by: BurtTC a

Did Hitler have a warrant?

Don't be stupid.Be a smarty

Come and join the Nazi Party.

Posted by: humphreyrobot at October 25, 2020 11:59 AM (pB6Gt)

487 Possibly my favorite line from McArthur:
The shadows are lengthening for me.
The twilight is here.
My days of old have vanished in tone and
tint.
They have gone glimmering through the dreams of things that were.
Their memory is one of wondrous beauty, watered by tears, and coaxed and
caressed by the smiles of yesterday.
Posted by: pep at October 25, 2020 11:51 AM (v16oJ)

Beats the hell out of "They wont have Ol Doug MacArthur to kick around anymore."

Posted by: Diogenes at October 25, 2020 11:59 AM (axyOa)

488 Why do we need to adjust Russian borders ? BTW, signing a treaty and creating a new country with new borders are two different scenarios, so I would not compare the two.

Posted by: runner at October 25, 2020 12:00 PM (zr5Kq)

489 And christian radio is all: "How the latest archeological find proves the miracle of the parting of the Red Sea!"

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

I don't mind that too much, what I mind are active Christian leaders who purport to be conservative but openly declare they won't vote for Trump because he curses too much. (e.g. John Piper)

I'm not even exaggerating here. This is literally their argument, once again being the stupid fucksticks who believe this is not really a binary election.

You take a guy who has made inroads into areas Christians have only dreamed about ,seeing success in areas such as Israel no longer being marginalized, unprecedented victories in the Pro-Life movement, promoting religious freedoms, but you can't vote for him because he said pussy.

I want to beat these fucking "Christian" idiots into a bloody pulp. They must be the quakers of our time (the quakers being the previous fucksticks who refused to support the american revolution).

Posted by: Two Weeks From Bitchslapping Christians Into Reality at October 25, 2020 12:00 PM (8YFRI)

490 I bring you news from the Biden campaign...

LID!

We now return you to your regularly scheduled book thread...

Posted by: Tami at October 25, 2020 12:00 PM (cF8AT)

491 Speaking of books on tape, "The Six Wives of Henry VIII" by Alison Weir is a good one. Listen to it doing yard work.

Posted by: Zod at October 25, 2020 12:00 PM (xK9An)

492 418 Trump has just announced a 3rd rally in PA tomorrow in Allentown.
Posted by: Dave in Fla at October 25, 2020 11:41 AM (5p7BC)

He needs to head home ASAP afterwards to see ACB's swearing-in. We need her on SCOTUS but quick!

Posted by: Marybeth at October 25, 2020 12:01 PM (4pK1/)

493 I understand, they don't want to stain their soul
with blood. So they'll just watch as we get jumped by 2 other guys.
Maybe if we're lucky they'll shout a warning? But they won't lift a
finger to save this Republic.

You are not supposed to forsake this world for the next. It's a
sin. You were not put here to que up for Heaven. You were put here to
be tested, to have your soul formed in the fires of trial and
tribulation. Shirking from that will not get you to the next level,
whatever that is.

So pick up a fricken rifle and fight Evil.

Posted by: Fenrisulven at October 25, 2020 11:53 AM (TNHVJ)

---
This is why I find the "Benedict Option" to be an exercise in physical and spiritual cowardice.

The entire premise is false: the Church didn't go into hiding when the barbarians attacked it *converted the barbarians.*

Often a powerful tool was the armed might to stop them, demonstrating that the Christian God was more real than their pagan ones.

These people act like Constantine I never happened, or that generations of armies didn't paint the chi-rho or cross on their shields to defend the culture they're now willing to let slide down the drain so long as they keep their hands clean.

Posted by: Ace-Endorsed Author A.H. Lloyd at October 25, 2020 12:01 PM (cfSRQ)

494 I finished "The Second World Wars" by Victor Davis Hanson.
I predict it will be regarded as the definitive reference book on the subject matter, now and in the future.

Posted by: navybrat, at home at October 25, 2020 12:01 PM (w7KSn)

495 @480
Ah, ah, beautiful is the mother
Ah, ah, beautiful is her son

Posted by: artemis at October 25, 2020 12:01 PM (AwPyG)

496 If so, why is Biden campaigning in PA and not in TX? Aren't they claiming that TX is going blue? Why aren't they campaigning there?

Biden campaigning in Bucks yesterday exactly fits my analysis of the current state of the race.

Posted by: Dave in Fla at October 25, 2020 11:54 AM (5p7BC)

___

Devil's advocate: He doesn't want to pull a Hillary and is focusing on winning what he has to win, without spiking the ball in the end zone.

Posted by: Asshoes at October 25, 2020 12:01 PM (22mNy)

497 I'm sure VIA and WD would be amenable to considering "Crabs for Christmas" a great holiday tune.

Posted by: pawn at October 25, 2020 12:01 PM (Cfk8j)

498 I bring you news from the Biden campaign...

LID!

We now return you to your regularly scheduled book thread...

Posted by: Tami at October 25, 2020 12:00 PM (cF8AT)

---
Apparently that campaign stop in Wilmington wore him out.

Posted by: Ace-Endorsed Author A.H. Lloyd at October 25, 2020 12:01 PM (cfSRQ)

499 Did you see the one about the priest who was caught making whoopie on the Church altar with a couple "ladies" who like to video their escapades?

-
Eh, 2020. What are you gonna do?

Posted by: Anonosaurus Wrecks, Tyrannosaur Wrangler at October 25, 2020 12:01 PM (+y/Ru)

500 You are not supposed to forsake this world for the next. It's a sin. You were not put here to que up for Heaven. You were put here to be tested, to have your soul formed in the fires of trial and tribulation. Shirking from that will not get you to the next level, whatever that is.

So pick up a fricken rifle and fight Evil.
Posted by: Fenrisulven at October 25, 2020 11:53 AM (TNHVJ)

I think that's the fundamental (excuse the pun) distinction. For a lot of these people, it IS about lining up for the next life. This one? Meh. Keep my hands clean, and I'll be rewarded. And in some cases, the very fact that I'm not touched by the evil all around me is somehow proof that I'm one of the chosen.

It's a very tempting thing.

But you know what they say about temptation.

Posted by: BurtTC at October 25, 2020 12:02 PM (hku12)

501 Treaty can be rescinded, or not followed. Trying to wrestle anything from Russia if foolhardy, and ...why do we need to do that again ? Because Sweden is uncomfortable ?

Posted by: runner at October 25, 2020 12:02 PM (zr5Kq)

502 He needs to head home ASAP afterwards to see ACB's swearing-in. We need her on SCOTUS but quick!
Posted by: Marybeth at October 25, 2020 12:01 PM (4pK1/)

___

Prezzies don't need to be present for scotus to be sworn in.

Posted by: Asshoes at October 25, 2020 12:02 PM (22mNy)

503 I like Alison Weir, but sometimes she gets a little too into the weeds, for me

Posted by: artemis at October 25, 2020 12:02 PM (AwPyG)

504 I'd be surprised to hear about a priest who isn't fucking someone vs a priest who is. I mean shit, these people are human, no way they go through life celibate.

Posted by: Asshoes at October 25, 2020 12:03 PM (22mNy)

505 These people are monsters.
Posted by: BurtTC at October 25, 2020 11:57 AM (hku12)

Yep, but it's not at all arbitrary. Cuomo wants to be perceived as tough on the fucking virus, and chooses a group no one will stand up for, including Reform and Conservative Jews. he gets his tough guy headline with no repercussions and life goes on for everyone else. The Orthodox get their playgrounds padlocked...crickets. My neighbors open the playgrounds themselves, no intervention.

Posted by: CN at October 25, 2020 12:04 PM (ONvIw)

506 461 Well, sittin here in a Dennys having the last breakfast before leaving Texas. Glad I don't get hangovers.
Posted by: Berserker-Dragonheads Division at October 25, 2020 11:53 AM (ZoM+o)
--

Hangovers get a case of the Berserkers!

Posted by: All Hail Eris, Xenomorph Queen at October 25, 2020 12:04 PM (Dc2NZ)

507 IBD has started a daily tracking poll. It's been in the Biden +5 range for the past few days.

Posted by: Asshoes at October 25, 2020 12:05 PM (22mNy)

508 Did Hitler have a warrant?

I can't believe what we're seeing in 2020.
Posted by: BurtTC a

Did Hitler have a warrant?

Don't be stupid.Be a smarty

Come and join the Nazi Party.
Posted by: humphreyrobot at October 25, 2020 11:59 AM (pB6Gt)

Remember when comparing someone to Hitler was considered to be a weak argument?

Ah, 2019, I miss you so.

Posted by: BurtTC at October 25, 2020 12:05 PM (hku12)

509 There was a picture on the front of the local paper the next day of our bass drum player whacking some long-hair over the head with his mallet.
Posted by: pawn at October 25, 2020 11:54 AM (Cfk8j)

That is epic!
The power of words and music.

Now in my head I have Glory Hallelujah going on full blast.

Posted by: Diogenes at October 25, 2020 12:06 PM (axyOa)

510 @507
IBD is lefty. A fun exercise is to choose a day when the stock market goes up substantially, and read what their "take" is.

Posted by: artemis at October 25, 2020 12:06 PM (AwPyG)

511 I'd like to see Cuomo or Murphy bust up a big Asian partay. Ain't gonna happen.

Posted by: CN at October 25, 2020 12:06 PM (ONvIw)

512 Steve Allen, on NPR, did a history series where he and two or three notables from a certain time period in history would sit at a round table and have a conversation. It was excellent.

Surely public TV has disappeared that inappropriate information.
Posted by: Braenyard at October 25, 2020 11:59 AM (CZm2G)
---

Meeting of Minds. Loved that show.

Posted by: All Hail Eris, Xenomorph Queen at October 25, 2020 12:07 PM (Dc2NZ)

513 488
Why do we need to adjust Russian borders ? BTW, signing a treaty
and creating a new country with new borders are two different
scenarios, so I would not compare the two.

Posted by: runner at October 25, 2020 12:00 PM (zr5Kq)

---
Borders are never permanent.

Pretending that the 1945 Yalta conference was divinely inspired and its lines can never change is silly.

In fact, Europe has already seen the lines move. Look at the Balkans.

The Kalingrad Enclave is a source of vulnerability as much as an advantage, and the Art of the Deal is about highlighting the negative costs of keeping it with the positive gains of getting rid of it.

Russia doesn't need to worry about European invasion, it needs to worry about Central Asia and China.

Posted by: Ace-Endorsed Author A.H. Lloyd at October 25, 2020 12:07 PM (cfSRQ)

514 These people are monsters.
Posted by: BurtTC at October 25, 2020 11:57 AM (hku12)

Yep, but it's not at all arbitrary. Cuomo wants to be perceived as tough on the fucking virus, and chooses a group no one will stand up for, including Reform and Conservative Jews. he gets his tough guy headline with no repercussions and life goes on for everyone else. The Orthodox get their playgrounds padlocked...crickets. My neighbors open the playgrounds themselves, no intervention.
Posted by: CN at October 25, 2020 12:04 PM (ONvIw)

New thread is up, but I mislabeled it as arbitrary. Should have said seemingly arbitrary, in that from the outside looking in, you could never be sure if you would be targeted or not.

From the inside looking out, yeah, I believe they are picking their targets intentionally.

Posted by: BurtTC at October 25, 2020 12:07 PM (hku12)

515 502 He needs to head home ASAP afterwards to see ACB's swearing-in. We need her on SCOTUS but quick!
Posted by: Marybeth at October 25, 2020 12:01 PM (4pK1/)

___

Prezzies don't need to be present for scotus to be sworn in.
Posted by: Asshoes at October 25, 2020 12:02 PM (22mNy)

I know that, but it's a huge victory for the country, and seeing him there supporting her swearing in would be nationally televised. Plus ACB seems to be a plus for him in polls.

Posted by: Marybeth at October 25, 2020 12:08 PM (4pK1/)

516 Cuomo is a benevolent monster.

Posted by: Mr Aspirin Factory, deplorable chump at October 25, 2020 12:08 PM (hGohp)

517 @512
they'd never do "Meeting of the Minds" now, because no one at NPR has any knowledge of history.

Posted by: artemis at October 25, 2020 12:08 PM (AwPyG)

518 nood^^^

Posted by: BignJames at October 25, 2020 12:08 PM (AwYPR)

519 RSBN link to NH rally...

https://tinyurl.com/y2xljval

Posted by: Tami at October 25, 2020 12:08 PM (cF8AT)

520 >>a history series

The cameraman who films Bettany Hughes' "Genius of the Ancient World" series is infatuated with Dr. Hughes' cleavage. This is reflected in the footage of the series.

Posted by: Zod at October 25, 2020 12:08 PM (xK9An)

521 505 These people are monsters.
Posted by: BurtTC at October 25, 2020 11:57 AM (hku12)

Yep, but it's not at all arbitrary. Cuomo wants to be perceived as tough on the fucking virus, and chooses a group no one will stand up for, including Reform and Conservative Jews. he gets his tough guy headline with no repercussions and life goes on for everyone else. The Orthodox get their playgrounds padlocked...crickets. My neighbors open the playgrounds themselves, no intervention.

Honest to G-D, doesn't anyone ever read a history book. How were these scum raised? Even being raised by wolves would have been better for them. Padlocking a playground? These people have no soul, they have been hollowed out by evil.

Posted by: megthered at October 25, 2020 12:08 PM (RwaXH)

522 521: It's all about money and power

Posted by: CN at October 25, 2020 12:10 PM (ONvIw)

523 >>Padlocking a playground? These people have no soul, they have been hollowed out by evil.
Posted by: megthered at October 25, 2020 12:08 PM (RwaXH)

Padlocking an empty playground? These people have no sense of humor, they have been dumbed by the times.

Posted by: Zod at October 25, 2020 12:10 PM (xK9An)

524 >>>So I bought bagels instead. Yummy bagels....
Posted by: Ace-Endorsed Author A.H. Lloyd at October 25, 2020 11:46 AM (cfSRQ)

With rich cream cheese?

Posted by: Braenyard at October 25, 2020 12:11 PM (CZm2G)

525 Luntz and silver on polls can't be wrong again: they're like the guy who made a bet with his friend, the aggie, on who would win a horse race in a movie they were watching. After he won he said " I'm sorry, I can't take your money, I cheated. I already saw this movie. ". But the aggie said "no, take it, so did i, but I didn't think he could do it twice."

Posted by: Tom Servo at October 25, 2020 12:11 PM (CQ8KO)

526 Honest to G-D, doesn't anyone ever read a history book. How were these scum raised? Even being raised by wolves would have been better for them. Padlocking a playground? These people have no soul, they have been hollowed out by evil.
Posted by: megthered at October 25, 2020 12:08 PM (RwaXH)
---

The press kids are oft compared to nerds jealous of red-blooded jocks, but these are the dumbest, most illiterate "nerds" ever.

Posted by: All Hail Eris, Xenomorph Queen at October 25, 2020 12:11 PM (Dc2NZ)

527 The only reason I don't think I'd like to meet and talk with Paglia in
person is that maddening verbal tic of hers ("okay?") which shows up in
interviews.

Posted by: Trimegistus at October 25, 2020 11:18 AM (QZxDR)

---
Definitely a better writer than an interview.
Posted by: Ace-Endorsed Author A.H. Lloyd at October 25, 2020 11:28 AM (cfSRQ)

She talks so fast I'm surprised she doesn't stutter. She may have seen a speech therapist at one time and maybe saying "ok" is a way to keep things from going haywire, as annoying as it might be.

Posted by: Captain Hate at October 25, 2020 12:14 PM (y7DUB)

528 "coming to the conclusion that maybe we need to find a better solution
for third-world poverty than to give tons of money to corrupt dictators"

One better "solution" for helping Africans done by some small churches was to fund water wells in small villages. One well with a structure set up to keep it clean, can really help communities where fresh and pure water can prevent a lot of disease ... along with some education on cleanliness.

My nephews still goes to Uganda every year, as a doctor and for Bible outreach. Their US church sells crafts the village the help produces. That's nice too, though something more marketable than crafts would be nice.

A couple other missionary types I knew both agreed, the place to help Africa is in Africa, not bringing them all here (invade the world invite the world globalism). Building sovereign state partnerships with liberty minded states is much better than submission to the globalists.

Posted by: illiniwek at October 25, 2020 12:15 PM (Cus5s)

529 I'm trying to recommend a horror comic, but the spam sentry is interfering!

Alan Moore's run on Swamp Thing. Several trade collections exist.

Also introduces John Constantine, who's become DC's pre-eminent supernatural specialist.

Posted by: Weak Geek at October 25, 2020 12:17 PM (23P8M)

530 Finally! I never faced this before.

Posted by: Weak Geek at October 25, 2020 12:18 PM (23P8M)

531 Dayum, that library pic. This thought, Moron inspired, immediately came to mind --

You don't come here for the books, do ya.

Posted by: GnuBreed at October 25, 2020 12:18 PM (Z4rgH)

532 BTW, the badly misnamed Lincoln Project put up anti-Trump billboards in Times Square. Wow, all those deeply conservative New Yorkers will vote for Biden now!

I'm happy they are so stupid they didn't think that maybe that money would be better spent in, I dunno, an actual swing state?

Posted by: Donna&&&&&V at October 25, 2020 12:26 PM (HabA/)

533 532 BTW, the badly misnamed Lincoln Project put up anti-Trump billboards in Times Square. Wow, all those deeply conservative New Yorkers will vote for Biden now!

I'm happy they are so stupid they didn't think that maybe that money would be better spent in, I dunno, an actual swing state?
Posted by: Donna&&&&&V at October 25, 2020 12:26 PM

Looks like the bulk of money went into their pockets and the pockets of their friends.

Posted by: Braenyard at October 25, 2020 12:28 PM (CZm2G)

534 A Night in the Lonesome October is my favorite October read. Probably best for those of a certain age who grew up with the classic monster movies, but a superb book in any case. If anyone wants to know more about who's who in the book, visit:
https://tinyurl.com/y35kxub3

Posted by: Ex-Copy Editor at October 25, 2020 12:28 PM (kk/iY)

535 dunno if this will help anyone else - listening to Gregorian Chants and it is very soothing
Posted by: vmom 2020
---------

Tallis Scholars: Allegri Miserere https://tinyurl.com/bccptxz

Different, of course, but Vaughan Williams, 'The Lark Ascending', what a remarkable violinist Iona Brown was: https://tinyurl.com/cwpjgz5

Posted by: Mike Hammer, etc., etc. at October 25, 2020 12:28 PM (cGzEU)

536 but I just got The Fisherman by John Langan. It is supposed to be very good...

Posted by: megthered at October 25, 2020 09:48 AM (SM/op)

Eh, not so much in my opinion.

I read "The Fisherman" a couple of months ago.

Basically, my problem with the book is that it's structured as a big ole Exposition Sandwich.

There's the, what I'm assuming is the original story, which is a long short story, split into two halves, just as the story gets interesting, then a YUGE glop of the Rancid Tuna Fish Salad of Exposition, which is roughly 4-5 times longer than the original story itself crammed in between the two halves.

The problem is that we don't need the exposition at all for the original story to work. The rumors and mystery of the Fisherman are much more interesting than the exposition story.

Too much exposition kills most horror stories anyway. Unless the reveal is short and occurs organically right during the climax.

Plus, the details of the original story and the exposition filler sometimes violate one another, which is just sloppy writing.

My guess is that some editor told him he had to stretch the story out and boy, did he.

There are some good individual scenes but overall, taken as a whole, meh.

My guess is that some people liked the way it sort of bastardizes parts of the Biblical creation story in a fairly original way.

I've tried not to be to specific about details cuz you may want to read "The Fisherman", and as always-

YMMV.

Posted by: naturalfake at October 25, 2020 12:31 PM (dWwl8)

537 That being said, the most disturbing book I ever started to read (did not finish) was Bloodlands. I got about halfway through it before the anguish was too much to take.

It was as though the sky darkened above me a little each time I opened it up.
Posted by: Ace-Endorsed Author A.H. Lloyd

At the risk of sounding disturbed, Bloodlands intrigued me (enjoyed isn't the right word) from beginning to end. It explained the mindset that produced Eastern European samizdat.

Posted by: Captain Hate at October 25, 2020 12:31 PM (y7DUB)

538 Meetin of Minds with host Steve Allen, Episode 1
Featuring: Teddy Roosevelt, Cleopatra, Thomas Paine, Saint Thomas Aquinas

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

Posted by: Braenyard at October 25, 2020 12:33 PM (CZm2G)

539 I bet yu that writers come here slumming and steal our ideas. Then yu murdered.

Posted by: humphreyrobot at October 25, 2020 12:35 PM (pB6Gt)

540 Yesterday, the sandhill cranes were pouring southward en masse over Amarillo, just ahead of the cold front. It's been interesting to live here in Texas, and witness the monarch migration I heard about growing up - as well as seeing all the raptors that hang out on the power lines all winter and scan the sere grass and mesquite for something small, furry and dinnerish.

We even briefly got a couple ravens, all outsize compared to the invasive grackles. They reminded me fondly of living in Fairbanks, and the ravens all winter with their feathers puffed against the cold and inquisitive greeting when I left the dining hall to see if I'd brought anything edible I could be persuaded to part with.
I miss the ravens, but I'll have to go northward with the snowbirds in the spring if I want to see them again. Fernan looks like a beautiful spot of earth to visit; thanks for the link!

Posted by: Not From Around Here at October 25, 2020 12:38 PM (wrzAm)

541 AHL et al

RE: "incentivizing Russia"

I don't think the Putin regime can ever be incentivized to give up even a square inch of the territory it now controls. The 1991 breakup of the USSR was extremely traumatic for both Russia's people AND its elites-- 14 of 15 Soviet republics declared independence. Only Russia itself did not.

I suggest that keeping what's left of Russia together is central to Putin's program, as in priority #1. To believe that Putin's regime can be "incentivized" to give up territory is to misread Putin, imo.

The best thing the U.S. and the EU could've done after the Orange Revolution would've been to IMMEDIATELY tell the new Ukraine govt:

"We can't help you. You're on your own vis a vis Russia. This is a harsh truth that we know you will find painful, but you should be under no illusions about it. Ukraine will have to accommodate Russia-- to find a modus vivendi with Russia. If you poke Russia with a sharp stick (as Russia sees it), you risk the dismemberment of Ukraine. The 82nd Airborne won't be dropping in to help you."

Posted by: mnw at October 25, 2020 12:41 PM (Cssks)

542 Did they really call a lid? I assume so, campaigning with him or calling a lid creates a hobbseian choice for them- which will result in the lowest rate of blood loss- no response or another set of diarrhea mouth gaffes.

Posted by: Farmer Bob at October 25, 2020 12:50 PM (7o4Oo)

543 Re Trump's character issues - I always think of the parable of the unjust judge. (Luke 18:1-7) God can use imperfect people to accomplish His purposes. I would love to have a more respectable, righteous occupant in the White House, but I believe the country is at a point where it's more important that we have a president of dubious character who will undo all the leftist damage than a morally upstanding president who allows the leftward drift to continue.

Posted by: Biancaneve at October 25, 2020 12:52 PM (hkMx0)

544 I finished "The Second World Wars" by Victor Davis Hanson
Posted by: navybrat, at home at October 25, 2020 12:01 PM

Glad you didn't say how it ended, I like surprises

Posted by: Skip at October 25, 2020 12:58 PM (OjZpE)

545 Ok I ordered Bloodlands.

Posted by: Yudhishthira's Dice at October 25, 2020 12:59 PM (XJipD)

546 At 57 I have read more books this year since March than I have probably read in my entire life. All fiction crime dramas which is also my favorite genre for movies and such.
They are fast reads, hard covers which I prefer are cheap at the local Wal-mart and the internet and TV has just been awful this year. I used to watch way to much sports and if one thing the BS this year has taught me is I have wasted a lot of time.
I started with a book by Michael Crichton (Dragon Teeth) loved it and will catch some more of his as I go along. I then switched to a few of the Memory Man serious books by David Baldacci as well as a few of the Lincoln Rhyme books by Jeffery Deaver which while silly are good stories.
I also read License to Lie by Sidney Powell which is not fiction on a tablet and while interesting and really upsetting it was a hard read for me due to all the legal jargon.

Posted by: Kirk at October 25, 2020 01:01 PM (fq7/e)

547 539 I bet yu that writers come here slumming and steal our ideas. Then yu murdered.
Posted by: humphreyrobot at October 25, 2020 12:35 PM (pB6Gt)

Oh, gracious no. If we wrote as fast as Robert E Howard or Zenna Henderson, or Lester Dent, maybe. But for those of us mere mortals who can't write that fast... heck, it took me 8 months to flesh out one set of ideas and get it written and proofed for tactical correctness and economic feasibility.

I come here for the book recommendations. And every week, walk away with a TBR list that only grows, not shrinks, and a fresh new round of samples on the kindle.

Posted by: Not From Around Here at October 25, 2020 01:01 PM (wrzAm)

548 I just started "The Return of Santiago" by Mike Resnick, which is the 2004 sequel to his 1986 novel, "Santiago: A Myth of the Far Future."

I read the original as a kid and loved it. It has a cool Space Western vibe, kind of like Firefly. I reread it as an adult and most recently reread it to my kids as a bedtime story over the course of a couple weeks. My eldest was riveted. I have high hopes for the sequel. If it lives up to my expectations, I'll be trying some other Resnick books for sure.

I read to my children almost every night and we've gotten through quite a few books (the entire Chrinicles of Prydain, by Lloyd Alexander, as well as a couple of Stainless Steel Rat novels by Harry Harrison, and several more age-appropriate junior fiction works). Right now we're getting through the "Wings of Fire" series, about a group of young dragons in a fantasy setting. It's not bad for kids' stuff. Each book seems to be written from the perspective of a different dragon in the group so you get an idea of how each of them thinks and feels. We're halfway through the second book and they are quick reads.

Posted by: Caiwyn at October 25, 2020 01:08 PM (VFCQN)

549 Caiwyn, I've enjoyed Mike Resnick's Weird West tales (The Buntline Special, The Doctor and the Kid, etc.), steampunk stories with cyborg Thomas Edison, zombie Johnny Ringo, and Geronimo is a shaman/wizard who keeps the U.S. from moving past the Mississippi.

Posted by: All Hail Eris, Xenomorph Queen at October 25, 2020 01:20 PM (Dc2NZ)

550 Seeing mentions of Russel Kirk and Roger Zelazny, sinc ei have complete fiction collections of each.

Old House Of Fear is a Gothic. Kirk's best horror work are his novelThe Lord of the Hollow Dark and his short story collections, the best of which is probably Watchers at the Straight Gate.

I have a more than complete Roger Zelazny collection, including several manuscripts, proofs, and his professional correspondence file. A Night in the Lonesome October is an amusing romp but not particularly horrific. Lord of Light is his great science fiction novel, while Nine Princes in Amber is great fantasy adventure fiction.

Some good horror collections to read:

H. P. Lovecraft's Blood Curdling tales of Horror and the Macabre
Joe R. Lansdale's By Bizarre Hands
Manly Wade Wellman's Worse Things Waiting
Clarke Ashton Smith's Out of Space and Time
Michael Shea's Polyphemus
and of course Stephen King's Night Shift, the one King to have if you're only reading one.

Posted by: Lawrence Person at October 25, 2020 01:33 PM (zPalU)

551 I don't understand any Christian feeling that Trump's character makes him a no-go.

You ain't electing him as your pastor, people.

Posted by: Tammy al-Thor at October 25, 2020 01:35 PM (+Y1q2)

552 Mom passed this morning. She was 85 years old. Sisters and I are making arrangements for her funeral. We will celebrate her life by living ours fully and with joy in our hearts. Thanks to all who kindly prayed for her. Life is truly precious.
Posted by: Floridachick at October 25, 2020 09:45 AM (3NyJY)

My condolences.

Posted by: Alberta Oil Peon at October 25, 2020 01:43 PM (EXqHx)

553 My wife detests "Santa Baby."

A song for sluts, she calls it.
Posted by: Weak Geek at October 25, 2020 10:12 AM (u/nim)

I have always regarded as a tongue-in-cheek poke at the naked greed and materialism exhibited by some people at Christmas.

Posted by: Alberta Oil Peon at October 25, 2020 01:58 PM (EXqHx)

554 The thing I'm curious about is how a homestead in the US became 160 acres and if it's tied to the carucate.
Posted by: RoyalOil at October 25, 2020 10:42 AM (aO8Gd)

Well, the land was surveyed in miles, and a square mile is 640 acres. Divide it by four, and you get 4 squares, each 160 acres. Which is about as much as one man can farm, lacking power machinery.

Posted by: Alberta Oil Peon at October 25, 2020 02:09 PM (EXqHx)

555 "A square mile officially has 640 acres. When the Midwest became part of America the new government surveyed everything and laid out a grid of square mile sections."
***
"In most of the farm belt midwest, you can still see many of the gridlines of this 19th century surveying by calling up a map of all of the small county roads and farm roads, which were always on the property lines."
Posted by: Tom Servo at October 25, 2020 11:00 AM (CQ8KO)

A perfectly square mile must, by definition, have exactly 640 acres, but the early surveys of the Northwest Territory and western lands likely rarely produced a perfectly square survey township or section. So a survey township of exactly 36 sections, or a section of exactly 640 acres, or even an acre of exactly 43,560 square feet (plus a smidgen) is a bit of an oversimplification, but you probably didn't want to get too deep into the details. I worked with those details for years and it's just possible someone here might be interested so....

In 1785 Congress adopted the Public Land Survey System (also known as the Rectangular Survey System) that sort of described the method used to survey most of the Northwest Territory and lands west. Sort of, because there were some discrepancies in the early surveys and there were also inconsistencies in surveying in Ohio and Indiana at least. For example, the Ohio lands had some 5 mile square townships, each with 25 sections in them, in some the land first surveyed.

The system used base lines and principal meridians to lay out a grid of congressional or survey townships (no necessary relationship to political townships) that, other than the Ohio Lands, were 6 miles square-roughly and generally. You can't lay out perfectly square township on the curved surface of the earth anyway, so the north lines of the townships had to be shorter than the south lines, offsets had to be used every once in awhile or things had to otherwise be jiggered to make it all come out more or less even. Also, surveying measurements in the late 18th century (when Ohio and Indiana began to be surveyed) weren't very accurate over long distances (they used a Gunter's chain and sometimes made corrections for inaccuracies and temperature variations) and property was often surveyed here and there in dribs and drabs with different surveys not necessarily being consistent, so lots of errors were introduced into the system.

Anyway, the Public Land Survey System called for land to first be divided into 6 mile square survey townships (also sometimes called congressional townships), and then for those townships to be subdivided into 36 one-mile square sections-again except for some of the Ohio Lands. Because of all the slop in the system and inaccurate measurements to boot, sizes of townships and sections all varied a bit.

Also, some land was granted or described prior to being surveyed under the system and so was not included in it. In Indiana for example, land outside the Public Land Survey System includes the George Rogers Clark Grant lands around Vincennes and Clarksville, the Michigan Road Grant lands roughly along USR 421, and Indian Reservation lands throughout the state-with lots of small bits around Fort Wayne, all of which were not described off of the Public Land Survey System and some of which are still outside the system.

So most of the US north of Kentucky and west of Ohio has a roughly square grid survey system imposed upon it. Inasmuch as this system was used as the descriptive basis for land grants, the early grants would have used township and range lines, section lines, and half and quarter section lines as property boundaries. Public roads would then follow the property lines in order to give road access to the landowners on both sides of the property line-Indiana had a legislative scheme in place for much of the 19th Century and part of the 20th Century that generally required new public roads to run along boundaries between different property owners (and taking equal widths of land from each property owner for the road). For this and other reasons, many early public roads followed township, range and sections lines. In theory this would create a public road system that would be a roughly rectangular grid of north and south roads and east and west roads.

Because of the slop and errors in the system and the need for an occasional offset to accommodate square survey townships and sections imposed on a curved surface, however, some of these roads have jogs of anywhere from a few yards to hundreds of yards. And, of course, more modern roads-say from about 1900-1920 or so-don't necessarily follow the township, range and section lines as other considerations determined their locations. So the midwest has a roughly rectangular system of older public roads with some discrepancies.

Posted by: Lawdawg at October 25, 2020 02:26 PM (6K2vl)

556 In thread upstairs link mentions Dostoyevsky, maybe next week should ask What First To read?

Posted by: Skip at October 25, 2020 02:29 PM (OjZpE)

557 Regarding Christians and Trump here's one by Catholic apologist/evangelical Jesse Romero:
https://www.amazon.com/Catholic-Vote-Trump-Republicans-Independents-ebook/dp/B086214Y47

Also a couple of good ghost stories are Horror Show and Mojo Hand by Hreg Kihn.

Posted by: Frank Lopez at October 25, 2020 03:14 PM (Fuq/v)

558 @555 --

Very interesting, Lawdawg. I grew up in rural SE Kansas, so I am familiar with the county road grid.

Surveying and cartography fascinate me. I am amazed that -- even with the errors you mentioned -- those 18th-century guys could do all that without ekectronic gear.

Posted by: Weak Geek at October 25, 2020 03:21 PM (u/nim)

559 If only autocorrect could catch typos.

Electronic.

Posted by: Weak Geek at October 25, 2020 03:22 PM (u/nim)

560 Regarding Christians and Trump here's one by Catholic apologist/evangelical Jesse Romero:
https://www.amazon.com/Catholic-Vote-Trump-Republicans-Independents-ebook/dp/B086214Y47

Also a couple of good ghost stories are Horror Show and Mojo Hand by Greg Kihn.

Posted by: Frank Lopez at October 25, 2020 03:29 PM (Fuq/v)

561 "Well, the land was surveyed in miles, and a square mile is 640 acres. Divide it by four, and you get 4 squares, each 160 acres."
Posted by: Alberta Oil Peon at October 25, 2020 02:09 PM (EXqHx)

In the late 18th Century and early to mid 19th Century the mile, for surveying purposes anyway, was a notational unit of measurement rather than something actually used to measure land.

The Public Land Survey System (PLSS) provided for a grid system of survey townships that were six miles square, with those survey townships described as being some number of ranges east or west (here range is a linear unit of measurement 6 miles long) of a principal meridian and some number of townships (yes, a survey township was a term describing an area of land roughly 6 miles square, and a township was a term describing a linear unit of measurement of 6 miles-confusing isn't it) north or south of a specific baseline-all of these distances and areas are rough for reasons explained in my post above. So a survey township described as being township 2 north and Range 3 west of the Second Principal Meridian would be a roughly 6 square mile square of land located between 6 and 12 miles north of the baseline and 12 to 18 miles west of the Second Principal Meridian, or somewhere in southwest Indiana. No special identification of the baseline is needed as there is, so far as I know, one baseline for each principal meridian. If you know the location of the relevant principal meridian and baseline you can roughly figure where real estate is located based on its PLSS description-I have a state map with a PLSS overlay that allows he to locate land within less than a quarter mile based on its PLSS description-it's not accurate, but it can be useful at times. BTW, there is an area of Ohio where the instructions provided to the original surveyors were a bit unclear and so the surveyors described the survey townships as being x ranges north or south of the baseline and x townships east of the principal meridian.

In the 18th and early to mid 19th Century, the 16.5-foot rod was the unit of measurement for surveys-a mile was much too long to be a useful unit of measurement. No one had a measuring stick a mile long and making a measurement device that long during the period (like a piece of rope) would have been subject to so many problems (like stretching or sagging) as to be worthless.

Survey measurements at that time were made with a Gunter's chain-the ones I've seen were 4 rods, or 66 feet long and I believe that was the standard length. At 16.5 feet to the rod (also sometimes called a perch or a pole), a mile would be 320 rods or 80 chains. The use of rods and chains as units of survey measurement, BTW, affected all kinds of land measurement, in Indiana at least. So, for example, old county roads were frequently 2 rod (33 feet) or sometimes 4 rod (66 feet) wide, while railroad right-of-way was occasionally 4 rod (66 feet) or more commonly 6 rod (99 feet) wide.

Of course Gunter's chains were also subject to all sorts of inaccuracies. Wear in the link on the inside where they joined would make the chain longer over time, while the surveyor's failure to pull a sagging chain taut or straighten out kinks in the chain or allow for unevenness in the ground could shorten the measurement. And obstacles like trees, watercourses and steep rises and dips could also affect measurements.

Posted by: Lawdawg at October 25, 2020 04:06 PM (6K2vl)

562 Weak Geek; yes, it's amazing that the early surveyors weren't more inaccurate than they were. Kansas would have been surveyed after Indiana and Ohio, and so surveyors there could have learned from the teething problems experienced by the earlier surveyors. They would also have had somewhat better equipment and mostly flatter land.

I think the main thing that prevented more problems than we see is that for most property line surveying I've seen the object is to reconstruct the survey that produced the relevant property description rather than determine with absolute certitude where the described line actually should be. So as long as property lines were established by a common survey those lines will be the same even if the descriptions aren't truly accurate in distances or directions. All errors would be common to the descriptions of both properties, and so not a problem for the owners.

Problems come up where you have a boundary line between two properties that is described for each property off of different surveys. Unless those surveys are reasonably recent, the two different surveys-and therefore the two different descriptions of the same boundary line-likely won't exactly agree.

This problem doesn't come up often between normal property owners in Indiana as the township, range and section lines were commonly surveyed off of a single survey that was thereafter followed by other surveyors and boundary lines between properties in the same section (the more common circumstance) were likely to also have one original survey with following surveys following the first one.

I represented state agencies in real estate litigation for nearly 20 years and because our projects sometimes ran for miles and miles we would have to resolve boundary discrepancies where a boundary line between two property owners was described inconsistently based on different surveys. Where there was an overlap, or for that matter a void or gore, where two owners thought they each owned the same piece of real estate I have my agency buy it from both of them to avoid disputes.

Anyway, as you can probably tell, I find this topic fascinating and have written several books on it and related topics like railroad and road rights-of-way and riparian and littoral rights.

Posted by: Lawdawg at October 25, 2020 04:29 PM (6K2vl)

563 Lawdawg, you probably know that the western boundary of the "pan" of Oklahoma wasn't set until the 1930s.

Littoral -- I've heard the term but can't define it. Pays to increase your word power.

Posted by: Weak Geek at October 25, 2020 04:58 PM (u/nim)

564 As usual I come very late to the Book Thread.

However, I do have a couple of comments and recommendations for anyone who reads this far down. I would like to second the recommendations for the work of Manly Wade Wellman made by Sabrina Chase @260 and by Lawrence Person @550. I love his stories of John, the wanderer with the silver strung guitar who encounters strange things in the high hill country. I have a very tattered paperback of "Who Fears the Devil?" which collects those stories and which I treasure. There was a reprint of it about 10 years ago but it is now out of print and used copies are going for very steep prices. Would to heaven some intelligent and enterprising publisher would get it back into print.

There are a couple of recent and reasonably priced Wellman collections available from Shadowridge Press. "Worse Things Waiting" 2018 (mentioned by Mr. Person above) and "Lonely Vigils" 2020. These are large, good quality paperbacks at $19.99 each. These titles were originally published by Carcosa back in the '70s.

Also, since there were multiple recommendations of Roger Zelazny's "A Night in the Lonesome October", I will just mention that it was illustrated by none other than Gahan Wilson.

Posted by: John F. MacMichael at October 25, 2020 05:51 PM (u5KMl)

565 https://www.goodreads.com/.../458960.Haunted_Heartland

Was reading this book, while working late, the only one in the office, during a thunder storm.......scared the deal out of myself......

Posted by: Cathy at October 25, 2020 06:18 PM (YJDiN)

566 "A Night in the Lonesome October" is an entertaining read. Not a horror story, but I can't quite say what genre it fits in which, honestly, can be said of most of Zelazny's writing.

Posted by: aelfheld at October 25, 2020 06:32 PM (Zy9Yy)

567 I recently rediscovered Rex Stout's Nero Wolfe books, and have exhausted my future MiL's collection of 20-some novels. I know he wrote a total of 70 stories, including novelettas or whatever, but some are out of print.
Moving on to Ngaio Marsh soon. It's great escapism from the political.

Posted by: Miley, the Duchess at October 25, 2020 07:20 PM (f1Vqw)

568 Weak Geek; Littoral rights as a legal term refers to the rights a property owner who owns land abutting a lake would normally have-effectively the same as riparian rights but for a lake rather than a river or stream-of course the actual rights depend on both the body of water and whether or not it is navigable-those rights also vary tremendously from state to state-water law out west is very different than the same in the midwest. Most legal writers nowadays use the term riparian to encompass the abutting owner's rights on both lakes and flowing streams or rivers, but with lawyers it pays to be technically correct or you invite stupid arguments. Fewer stupid arguments is one of the reasons I happy to be semi-retired.

The more common use of littoral today is to refer to near coast ship warfare.

Not surprised about Oklahoma. Movie and TV westerns-including the eponymous musical-had led me to believe some parts of Oklahoma weren't settled until somewhat recently. Bits and pieces of the old west survived longer than we might think; Wyatt Earp didn't die until 1929, so he lived long enough to have seen himself portrayed in at least one film-Wild Bill Hickok in 1923, although I don't know if Earp ever actually saw the film. Sunset is a not half bad film with a fictional Wyatt Earp coming to Hollywood to advise a Charlie Chaplin type studio owner on a movie western starring Tom Mix. James Garner played Earp (his second movie in that role) and Bruce Willis played Mix.

Posted by: Lawdawg at October 25, 2020 07:58 PM (6K2vl)

569 As for Manly Wade Wellman and Silver John; for the present at least a 1972 film about him is available here:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QwS46mr2kHc

Posted by: Lawdawg at October 25, 2020 08:08 PM (6K2vl)

570 Highly recommend "Mao: The Untold Story" by Jung Chang and Jon Halliday.

Xi learned so much from Mao! "China asshole" is Mao's story retold. He was, with Stalin and Pol Pot, one of the most evil men of modern times.

Even the current threatening of Taiwan and India concurrent with suppression of an ethnic minority - at the same time - is a Mao play from the 50's and 60's. Before it was the Tibetans though.

A big book but very interesting and engaging.

Posted by: Whitehall at October 26, 2020 02:20 AM (VCmVi)

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