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Sunday Morning Book Thread 01-03-2021

alnwick castle library 01.jpg
Alnwick Castle Library, Northumbria, England

Good morning to all you 'rons, 'ettes, lurkers, and lurkettes, wine moms, frat bros, crétins sans pantalon (who are technically breaking the rules). 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, and I can just hear the dog thinking "ok, that's the last photograph that idiot is going to take."



Pic Note:

Alnwick Castle is a castle and country house in Alnwick in the English county of Northumberland, home to the Percy family for over 700 years and remains a family home today for the 12th Duke and Duchess and their four children:

The library at Alnwick Castle contains over 14,000 books. Some of these form part of a collection started by the 9th Earl in the 16th century and recognised as one of the finest personal Renaissance libraries in England at the time.

Northumberland Estates also houses one of the largest private archives in the UK. It contains documentation on both Northumberland Estates and the Percy family over many centuries and the information contained is used in research by scholars from around the world.

Lots of stuff has been filmed at Alnwick, such as episodes of Downton Abbey and a couple of the Harry Potter movies.



It Pays To Increase Your Word Power®

20210103 book pic 05.jpg
Wow, that's really the bear's hair!




20210103 book pic 04.jpg



AbeBook's Most Expensive Sales of 2020

Thanks to Mike Hammer for tipping me to this, AbeBook's Most Expensive Sales of 2020:

2020 won't be remembered with much fondness. However, we had plenty of time to read, and some lucky people made notable and expensive additions to their collections. AbeBooks' most expensive sales of the year list features a book that is celebrated each year in Dublin, a map from 1482, a photography book published in 2019, a British secret service agent, some rampaging dinosaurs, a wondrous children's story and the last gunslinger.

The most expensive item was a copy of the novel Ulysses by James Joyce. What made this particular edition so special?

Published by John Lane The Bodley Head in 1936, this is a first edition bound in vellum. A fine copy with a near fine original slipcase. No. 69 of 100 numbered copies signed by Joyce, from of a total edition of 1,000. The Bodley Head's promotional announcement is laid in. It reads: "Final and definitive edition, James Joyce's Ulysses, together with much new appendix material containing documents relevant to the legal history of the book & an up-to-date bibliography of Mr. Joyce's works." Ulysses was first published in book form in 1922 by Sylvia Beach, famous for her Paris bookstore, Shakespeare and Company. Ulysses chronicles a day in the life of Leopold Bloom in Dublin. The novel's stream-of-consciousness narrative style makes it notoriously hard to read.

Not too difficult for the guy who bought it, presumably, since he shelled out $46,310 for it.

If you want a novel that's more accessible, try Dicken's 'A Christmas Carol', a copy of which sold for $27,700. Why so much?

A first edition from 1843 in near fine condition. This is the highest price ever paid for this title on AbeBooks. It was published by Chapman & Hall and contains illustrations by John Leech. Inspired by Dickens; concern for the poor, the story was an immediate success and helped to shape Christmas into the holiday it is today.

Which reminds me, Mrs. Muse and I recently saw the movie The Man Who Invented Christmas, a fictitious account of Dickens writing his famous Christmas Carol story. Various characters from the novel assume bodily form to interact with the author during the writing process. We thought it was very imaginative. And Christopher Plummer's portrayal of Ebenezer Scrooge should've gotten him an Oscar.

Other books on the list include a signed, first edition of Ian Fleming's James Bond novel Goldfinger, and a copy of Alice in Wonderland illustrated by Salvador Dali.

You can see the entire list here.



Who Dis:

who dis 20210103.jpg

(Last week's 'who dis' was the unmistakable Old Saint Nick.



Moron Recommendations

I had never heard of the "hillbilly sci-fi" genre, but moron commenter Doc Stange assures me that it is a thing:

I've discovered a 13 book series -- the sage of Bob's Saucer Repair -- a hillbilly science fiction series. It's funny and fun, and as you read through the series you see more of the deeper side of the character. There's a lot of caring and kindness in Bob, characteristics we could use more of these days. Author is Jerry Boyd, all books available on Amazon in Kindle form, also Kindle Unlimited, but I enjoyed them so much I bought them all in gratitude to Mr. Boyd.

More precisely, this is called the "Bob and Nikki" series, and the title of the first one is Bob's Saucer Repair. Each of the installments costs $2.99 on Kindle, or you can what Doc Strange did, and buy the whole lot all at once for $38.87.

___________

While I was looking at Bob's Saucer Repair, Amazon waved this one in front of me, The Forgotten: The Complete Trilogy by M.R. Forbes that looked like it might be interesting. In this universe the characters don't zip around the galaxy in hyperspace, or through wormholes, or using some kind of warp drive, but the ships just plod along at sub-light speeds, so it takes centuries and generations to get anywhere. Certainly not a new concept, but it does pose its own set of problems:

Sheriff Hayden Duke was born on the Pilgrim, and he expects to die on the Pilgrim, like his father, and his father before him.

That's the way things are on a generation starship centuries from home. He's never questioned it. Never thought about it. And why bother? Access points to the ship's controls are locked, the systems that guide her automated and out of reach. Life isn't perfect, but Hayden has all he needs to be content.

Until a malfunction forces his wife to the edge of the habitable zone to inspect the damage.

Until she contacts him, breathless and terrified, to tell him she found a body and it doesn't belong to anyone on board.

Until he arrives at the scene and discovers both his wife and the body are gone.

The only clue? A bloody handprint beneath a hosta that hasn't opened in hundreds of years.

Until now.

There are three books in this series, Forgotten, Forsaken, and Unforgiven. You can buy each separately, but the complete trilogy is selling for only 99 cents, so why would you not want to take advantage of that?

___________


20210103 book pic 07.jpg

8 In 897 A.D., "Pope Stephen VII set in motion a solemn trial of the late Pope Formosus... The corpse itself was dragged from the tomb where it had rested for eight months and, dressed again in its sacerdotal robes, was brought into the council chamber. There it was propped up in the throne that it had occupied in life while, in a parody of legal form, the "trial" went its blasphemous way.
The corpse was provided with a council, who wisely kept silent while Pope Stephen raved and screamed his insults at it."

-- from "The Bad Popes" by E.R. Chamberlin

Posted by: All Hail Eris, Iron Fist in Velvet Glove in Iron Gauntlet Clutching an Iron Mace at December 27, 2020 09:06 AM (Dc2NZ)

Erin did not specifically recommend The Bad Popes, but it looks like she'd been having a lot fun with it the past couple of weeks, so let's have a look at it. First published in 1963, Amazon calls The Bad Popes "a dramatic account of some of the most notorious figures of medieval and Renaissance history who ruled from the Eternal City."

E. R. Chamberlin examines the lives of eight of the most controversial popes to have ruled over the Holy See, from the reign of Pope Stephen VI, who had his predecessor exhumed, put on trial and thrown in the Tiber, in the ninth century, through to Pope Clement VII, the second Medici pope, whose failed international policy led to the Sack of Rome in 1527.

Some [popes] have been accused of murder, many have had mistresses, while others sold positions in the church to their followers or gave land and wealth to their illegitimate children.

The Bad Popes explains how during these six centuries the papal monarchy rose to its greatest heights, as popes attempted to assert not only their spiritual authority but also their temporal power, only for it to come crashing down.

The good news is that The Bad Popes can be purchased on Kindle for only $3.99.

___________

I read Tailspin by Bernard Connors about a suspect in the famous Sam Sheppard (that's Dr. Sam Sheppard!) murder case, Major James Call. Major Call was, if not a hero, at least an honorably serving Air Force combat veteran. His life fell apart when his wife died and he became a thief, burglar, robber, and murderer. In fact, he was an adrenaline junkie who drank too much, gambled too much, and was generally insubordinate before the death of his wife. The evidence linking him to the Sheppard murder is thin, basically that he was in the area at the time and did audacious things

Posted by: Anonosaurus Wrecks, Tyrannosaur Wrangler at December 27, 2020 09:54 AM (+y/Ru)

The Amazon blurb for Tailspin: The Strange Case of Major Call doesn't say much more than what Anonosaurus Wrecks already already mentioned, other than the author being a Former FBI agent. No e-book version appears to be available. Have you ever known anyone like Call, who appear normal and then suddenly they just kind of go off the deep end? It's kind of frightening to watch, because I always think, if it can happen to that other guy, then what's to stop it from happening to me?

___________

And then I saw another book with the same title that looked interesting: Tailspin: The People and Forces Behind America's Fifty-Year Fall--and Those Fighting to Reverse It, and the thing that caught me about it was the author, Steven Brill. Anybody else remember Steven Brill? Or his site, Brill's Content? Whatever happened with that? It was A Big Thing for about 6 months back in the early days of the interet, like 1998-2000, then poof, gone. Anyway, Tailspin, published in 2018, appears to be an attempt to diagnose and repair all of our latest woes:

In this revelatory narrative covering the years 1967 to 2017, Steven Brill gives us a stunningly cogent picture of the broken system at the heart of our society. He shows us how, over the last half century, America’s core values—meritocracy, innovation, due process, free speech, and even democracy itself—have somehow managed to power its decline into dysfunction. They have isolated our best and brightest, whose positions at the top have never been more secure or more remote.

The result has been an erosion of responsibility and accountability, an epidemic of shortsightedness, an increasingly hollow economic and political center, and millions of Americans gripped by apathy and hopelessness. By examining the people and forces behind the rise of big-money lobbying, legal and financial engineering, the demise of private-sector unions, and a hamstrung bureaucracy, Brill answers the question on everyone’s mind: How did we end up this way? Finally, he introduces us to those working quietly and effectively to repair the damages.

Is Brill a liberal or conservative? I've forgotten that, too. I have no idea if this book is any good. I just know that if you want to read it, the Kindle edition is $4.99.

___________


20210103 book pic 06.jpg



Books By Morons

I've mentioned the books for moron author and commenter 'Secret Squirrel' in the past. He's got a military comedy written in Shakesperian English, a military science fiction novel, and a children's book about hunting.

But he also is trying to crowdsource-fund a card game he has developed. He tells me:

Basically, I created a family friendly card game based on a WW2 theme. It’s called War Plan: RAINBOW 5. The game is for 2-5 players and the object is to collect 5 Campaign cards first. You destroy the other players using a series of cards.

There's a lot more info about the game, how to play it, the history behind it, etc, at the Kickstarter page. It sounds like a game that folks who hang out at this Smart Military Blog™ might be interested in.

___________

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

___________

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.



20210103 book pic 03.jpg
(click to enlarge)

Posted by: OregonMuse at 09:00 AM




Comments

(Jump to bottom of comments)

1 Hey there book people!

Posted by: All Hail Eris, Iron Fist in Velvet Glove in Iron Gauntlet Clutching an Iron Mace at January 03, 2021 09:00 AM (Dc2NZ)

2 Buster Keaton?

Posted by: CN at January 03, 2021 09:01 AM (ONvIw)

3 Tolle Lege
Nothing new yet stopped at used book store but nothing grabbed me.

Posted by: Skip at January 03, 2021 09:01 AM (Cxk7w)

4 Yes it's Buster, wish I would look at these things first

Posted by: Skip at January 03, 2021 09:03 AM (Cxk7w)

5 And I have that bookish problem every day. It's just something I've learned to live with. Probably have to deal with it for life.

Posted by: All Hail Eris, Iron Fist in Velvet Glove in Iron Gauntlet Clutching an Iron Mace at January 03, 2021 09:03 AM (Dc2NZ)

6 The Great Stone Face himself, Buster Keaton.

Posted by: Mary Poppins' Practically Perfect Piercing at January 03, 2021 09:03 AM (2JVJo)

7
Buster Keaton, reading about the clam's garters.

Hola!

Posted by: Krebs v Carnot: Epic Battle of the Cycling Stars (TM) at January 03, 2021 09:03 AM (pNxlR)

8 Thanks again to whoever recommended Ashenden. Kid2 was given my hardcopy and is enjoying it, except for the suspicion that this "Bond" precursor is really no fan of the ladies.

Posted by: CN at January 03, 2021 09:03 AM (ONvIw)

9 "I firmly believe the technique can cure cancer....This is, I am certain, the greatest story in the world -- far bigger than the atomic bomb, because this is the story of controlling human thought, freeing it for use -- and it is human thought that controls atomic energy. It is a story that must be spread, though, and spread fast....but dammit, Bob, right now the key to world sanity is in [L.] Ron Hubbard's head, and there isn't even an adequate written record!"

-- Astounding Science Fiction editor John W. Campbell, to Robert Heinlein

Posted by: All Hail Eris, Iron Fist in Velvet Glove in Iron Gauntlet Clutching an Iron Mace at January 03, 2021 09:04 AM (Dc2NZ)

10 Hello fellow book lovers! I want that library at Alnwick so much. Why, oh why, can't someone leave me a castle with a library like that?

Any rate, I recently re-read Stephen Kruiser's "Straight Outta Feelings: Political Zen in the Age of Outrage" (pub. 201 to see how it held up. He's talking about the 2016 campaign, and how he slowly got calmer while everyone else was going nuts. It's a funny book (he's a professional comedian). Aside from that - yes, there is value in reading it now; his thoughts on Twitter and the press are just as pertinent. And he's scary prescient about civil unrest. Can't wait to read what he publishes next.

Posted by: CarolinaGirl at January 03, 2021 09:05 AM (Kh9rg)

11 posted teh Nood

Posted by: Commissar Hrothgar at January 03, 2021 09:05 AM (87oRe)

12 He forgot "the cat's asshole".

Posted by: jbspry at January 03, 2021 09:05 AM (ATe9j)

13 Buster Keaton, one of my favorites. The last thing he'd be doing is read a book, he was illiterate.

Posted by: JuJuBee at January 03, 2021 09:05 AM (mNhhD)

14 Well, I didn't mean to make that smiley; it kinda works. The book (Straight Outta Feelings) was published in Two Thousand Eighteen.

Posted by: CarolinaGirl at January 03, 2021 09:06 AM (Kh9rg)

15 Just got Orwells Coming Up for Air.

I will report next week!

Posted by: rhennigantx at January 03, 2021 09:06 AM (5QBw6)

16
I guess that by bringing up the Gaxians, we've been given an "all clear" to conduct Vogon poetry readings in this space? Please advise.

Posted by: Krebs v Carnot: Epic Battle of the Cycling Stars (TM) at January 03, 2021 09:09 AM (pNxlR)

17 Trump will control Presidency in 2021, and beyond,
MMMMMMMWWAAAAAAAAAAAAA.
Make Book on that!

Posted by: Shamus and Claymore at January 03, 2021 09:10 AM (uSdpa)

18 I read Ready Player Two by Ernest Cline. The story begins several days after Ready Player One ends. Wade Watts has won the OASIS virtual contest and has inherited the vast fortune of James Holliday, the former head of GSS which runs OASIS. Watts also becomes the CEO of GSS.

Wade is forced on a new quest and Easter egg hunt. Unlike in Ready Player One, there are too many 90's and 00's cultural references, too much SJWing, and too much wokeness, especially with gender dysphoria. A disappointment after enjoying Ready Player One so much.

Posted by: Zoltan at January 03, 2021 09:10 AM (qb8uZ)

19 Greetings! I have been reading Nabokov's Pale Fire but had an unexpected spot of difficulty in my reading.

My book has a colossal mistake in it, specifically it is missing 30 pages. No, there's no big hole, it simply printed the same 30 pages twice, but kept the overall length the same. The page numbers jump from 92 to 128, go up the same amount, and repeat the series.

So I guess I have to find another copy. I was enjoying it, though.

Posted by: Ace-Endorsed Author A.H. Lloyd at January 03, 2021 09:10 AM (cfSRQ)

20 Alnwick is also the home of one of the largest second-hand bookstore in the UK, where the original "Keep Calm and Carry On" poster was found..

https://tinyurl.com/yaxs8txp

Posted by: I am the Shadout Mapes, the Housekeeper at January 03, 2021 09:10 AM (PiwSw)

21 I confess I have no idea what that Gaxian comic is about, or what a Gaxian even is, for that matter.

Posted by: squeakywheel at January 03, 2021 09:11 AM (T2vUn)

22
Buster Keaton, one of my favorites. The last thing he'd be doing is read a book, he was illiterate.
Posted by: JuJuBee


The oversized book, big print and outsized pencil are the tell.

Posted by: Krebs v Carnot: Epic Battle of the Cycling Stars (TM) at January 03, 2021 09:11 AM (pNxlR)

23 Morning all, Thanks OM!

Book update. Zoom conference with publisher, pushing the publication date a few weeks, into early April. I gather this sort of thing isn't uncommon, especially for this time of year, and even more especially because of covid yadda-yadda.

anyone have some handy, simple to use (for a simpleton like me) guidelines for indexing a history book....?

Take care all, happy reading, keep the faith....and have a happy, healthy, and prosperous new year.

Posted by: goatexchange at January 03, 2021 09:11 AM (HgBj4)

24 1929 would not be a good year for Keaton. He'd signed with MGM, who not only prevented him from performing the breathtaking stunts he'd done in the past, but shoved him into an ever-worsening series of lousy movies.

He was still married to Natalie Talmadge, of the famous movie Talmadge sisters, but it wasn't a happy marriage, and she would divorce him in 1932, taking his substantial fortune with her and cutting off his contact with their sons.

https://tinyurl.com/y7pg6sd5

Posted by: Mary Poppins' Practically Perfect Piercing at January 03, 2021 09:11 AM (2JVJo)

25 Apropos of nothing other than my disgust at losing an author I've enjoyed for years: Michael Connelly ....

Just finished his latest release, called "Law of Innocence".

The lawyer at the center of the tale reaches the part of the story where he's in voir dire, thinking about each prospective juror and, based on his sneaky researcher's staking out of the their cars as they arrive for jury duty, decides that he must somehow get the one person who has the Trump bumper sticker on his car, thrown out of the jury pool.

Because, you see, as he explains in the book, anyone who is a supporter of Trump is not interested in "truth", and the fact that they support a liar such as Trump indicates they would more likely than not be someone rigid in their concepts of "law and order" and therefore not easily swayed by his bullshit.

So, Connelly is dead to me as an author (always nice have my character impugned by some author I previously liked).

Don't bother.

Posted by: one of the quiet ones at January 03, 2021 09:12 AM (2k7BX)

26 The hen's eyebrows? Never heard of that one.

Posted by: dantesed at January 03, 2021 09:12 AM (88xKn)

27 And here I thought that Keaton wrote scripts.

Posted by: CN at January 03, 2021 09:12 AM (ONvIw)

28 New Year's Resolutions 1929


#7: Set aside 10 minutes to buy a can of Kiwi and a buffing cloth and spiff up my shoes.

Posted by: Muldoon at January 03, 2021 09:13 AM (m45I2)

29 I started the Liturgical Mysteries series by Mark Schweizer. I'm on Book 2: "The Baritone Wore Chiffon." Amusing who-dunnits. I enjoy the satirical insights into Episcopalian-world. But I find myself skimming over the parts where the main character is penning his own book.

Posted by: grammie winger at January 03, 2021 09:14 AM (gm3d+)

30 So I'm reading a book that is the clam's garters: "Astounding: John W. Campbell, Isaac Asimov, Robert A. Heinlein, L. Ron Hubbard, and the Golden Age of Science Fiction" by Alec Nevala-Lee. Highly recommended if you're into the early years of American SF. I got it as sort of a companion piece to Damon Knight's "The Futurians".

Posted by: All Hail Eris, Iron Fist in Velvet Glove in Iron Gauntlet Clutching an Iron Mace at January 03, 2021 09:14 AM (Dc2NZ)

31 anyone have some handy, simple to use (for a simpleton like me) guidelines for indexing a history book....?


Posted by: goatexchange at January 03, 2021 09:11 AM (HgBj4)

---
For mine I just had Word do it automatically to start with, and then manually edited it to correct its many mistakes.

I'm sure it's hit-or-miss (like everything else in the book) but unless one has the dough for a professional editor, it's the best one can do.

Posted by: Ace-Endorsed Author A.H. Lloyd at January 03, 2021 09:14 AM (cfSRQ)

32 I guess that by bringing up the Gaxians, we've been given an "all clear" to conduct Vogon poetry readings in this space? Please advise.
Posted by: Krebs v Carnot: Epic Battle of the Cycling Stars (TM) at January 03, 2021 09:09 AM (pNxlR)


Harrumpf!

Posted by: Paula Nancy Millstone Jennings at January 03, 2021 09:15 AM (PiwSw)

33 I ended the last year and started the new one by reading a book that's been on my shelves since picking it up at a book sale, The Leopard by Giuseppe De Lampedusa. It was the story of a larger than life Sicilian prince whose family, although still local royalty, was beginning a large decline in fortune (the author even inserts a line early in the book, from out of nowhere, into the narrative indicating that as the reader goes WTF) and how he, in his own way, prepares everything for that to happen painlessly. It was also, obliquely, a good description of what a harsh setting Sicily is and how ass kicking lawlessness is so prevalent. The next to last chapter covers the death of the Prince, long after the rest of the narrative occurred, and is probably the best literary treatment of dying I've read since Tolstoy. The author wrote this near the end of his life so obviously this was a familiar topic. I was impressed with how well written and translated this was and how well the narrative, a lot of which was internal reflections, flowed. I was really glad I read it.

Posted by: Captain Hate at January 03, 2021 09:15 AM (y7DUB)

34
I'm surprised that "the antelope's adenoids" didn't catch on

g'mornin, book-ish 'rons

Posted by: AltonJackson at January 03, 2021 09:15 AM (i0NjL)

35 IMdB lists Keaton as having 41 writing credits, I guess this was done via dictation? Too bad.

Posted by: CN at January 03, 2021 09:16 AM (ONvIw)

36
I confess I have no idea what that Gaxian comic is about, or what a Gaxian even is, for that matter.
Posted by: squeakywheel


It's all a putdown of the pretentious twit seated on the left who just had to "inclusively" write a children's book with a Gaxian contingent therein. Not unlike all the "some poor innocent child has two gender confused and mentally unstable parental units" books that "bravely" flooded the market in recent times.

Posted by: Krebs v Carnot: Epic Battle of the Cycling Stars (TM) at January 03, 2021 09:16 AM (pNxlR)

37 Buster Keaton, one of my favorites. The last thing he'd be doing is read a book, he was illiterate.
Posted by: JuJuBee at January 03, 2021 09:05 AM (mNhhD)


Not true:

https://tinyurl.com/y94gt5jz

Posted by: Mary Poppins' Practically Perfect Piercing at January 03, 2021 09:17 AM (2JVJo)

38 Grammie Winger, thanks to this thread, I went ahead and purchased the entire set of Schweizer's Liturgical Mysteries as a Christmas present to myself! I can't wait to start them ... I'm saving them as a treat once I finish the current two books I'm reading (He Leadeth Me and God through Binoculars.)

Posted by: CarolinaGirl at January 03, 2021 09:17 AM (Kh9rg)

39
#7: Set aside 10 minutes to buy a can of Kiwi and a buffing cloth and spiff up my shoes.
Posted by: Muldoon


You saw that, too!

Posted by: Krebs v Carnot: Epic Battle of the Cycling Stars (TM) at January 03, 2021 09:18 AM (pNxlR)

40 37: Thanks!

Posted by: CN at January 03, 2021 09:19 AM (ONvIw)

41 Campbell was not only an author (he wrote "Who Goes There?", better known as the adaptation "The Thing") but also the editor of the magazine Astounding Science Fiction, where he guided and fed ideas to young authors who would become some of SF's luminaries.

What's amazing to me is the high regard in which they all held L. Ron Hubbard as both an author and as a war hero. It was years before his compulsive lying and manias were exposed.

I was amazed (astounded!) to learn that Campbell worked closely with Hubbard on what was to become Dianetics, to the extent that he helped invent the practice of removing "engrams" on the road to becoming "clear" in the auditing process. Sound familiar?

Posted by: All Hail Eris, Iron Fist in Velvet Glove in Iron Gauntlet Clutching an Iron Mace at January 03, 2021 09:19 AM (Dc2NZ)

42 Yo them pants is fine on dat bitch yo!

Posted by: Cardi Bee at January 03, 2021 09:20 AM (jL8gj)

43 but dammit, Bob, right now the key to world sanity is in [L.] Ron Hubbard's head, and there isn't even an adequate written record!"



-- Astounding Science Fiction editor John W. Campbell, to Robert Heinlein

Posted by: All Hail Eris, Iron Fist in Velvet Glove in Iron Gauntlet
Clutching an Iron Mace at January 03, 2021 09:04 AM (Dc2NZ)
---
A while back I read A Piece of Blue Sky by Jon Atack. There are a few books on Scientology, but much of the other cite this one.

It's an interesting rabbit hole, but ultimately a very shallow one. Hubbard was a con man, and not a very good one, he just chose his marks with exceptional care. Targeting Hollywood was the key move - without it the thing would have been shut down years ago.

Posted by: Ace-Endorsed Author A.H. Lloyd at January 03, 2021 09:20 AM (cfSRQ)

44 New Year's Resolutions 1929


#7: Set aside 10 minutes to buy a can of Kiwi and a buffing cloth and spiff up my shoes.
Posted by: Muldoon at January 03, 2021 09:13 AM (m45I2)
--------
Just what I was thinking!

Posted by: Weasel at January 03, 2021 09:20 AM (MVjcR)

45
#9 (resolution for 1929): "Set aside some time to investigate disturbing rumors concerning the fundamental unsoundness of the stock market (note: REALLY do it this year!)"

Posted by: Krebs v Carnot: Epic Battle of the Cycling Stars (TM) at January 03, 2021 09:21 AM (pNxlR)

46 Carolina Girl - I think you'll enjoy them. The main character is a Chief of Police/ Church Organist. I learned that the author was an opera singer in real life. They're a fun read.

Posted by: grammie winger at January 03, 2021 09:21 AM (gm3d+)

47 Buster Keaton, one of my favorites. The last thing he'd be doing is read a book, he was illiterate.
Posted by: JuJuBee at January 03, 2021 09:05 AM (mNhhD)

That's why he has the large-print edition.

Posted by: Alberta Oil Peon at January 03, 2021 09:21 AM (mzC78)

48 I see CN got Buster Keaton! Hard to imagine when you see him in an old Twilight Zone or in the "Beach Party" films, but he was once young.

Posted by: Wolfus Aurelius at January 03, 2021 09:21 AM (rpbg1)

49 Not quite in time for this week's thread, but my short story, Uncle John's Legacy, will appear in the anthology, Ending Bigly: The Many Fates of Donald Trump, later this week.

In the meantime, I've been reading more technical books to research my book on Fields & Energy, and relaxing by reading The Fourth Turning and some Dresden Files novels.

The Fourth Turning is worth checking out. Recommended by Stephen K. Bannon, it describes an eighty-year cycle in history that culminates in a massive transformation. Previous such transformations have included the American Revolution, the Civil War, and World War II. We're just about due for another one.

Posted by: Hans G. Schantz at January 03, 2021 09:23 AM (6hzPX)

50 Holy moley good gaw d@mn / Pixy calls my lyrics spam
___

There are books that make us happy / There are books that make us blue / There are books that steal away the teardrops / As the sun beams steal away the dew

There are books that have a tender meaning / That the eyes of love alone will see / And the books that filled my heart with sunshine / Are the books that you read with me.

apologies to Jimmy Dorsey

WHAT DOES IT TAKE TO MAKE YOU SEE ME AS WORTHY, O PIXY MASTER? LET US SING AGAIN! virtually speaking


Posted by: mindful webworker
Happy Ten Lords a-Leaping Day
at January 03, 2021 09:23 AM (Vddbf)

51 So, Connelly is dead to me as an author (always nice have my character impugned by some author I previously liked).

Although not about Trump, Charles Stross and Richard Powers can eternally fuck off for lecturing me about climate change.

Posted by: Captain Hate at January 03, 2021 09:24 AM (y7DUB)

52 Not unlike all the "some poor innocent child has two gender confused and mentally unstable parental units" books that "bravely" flooded the market in recent times.
Posted by: Krebs v Carnot: Epic Battle
***
Thank you for the context of the joke. I don't read too much sci-fi, so I thought maybe I was missing some very specific reference to a Gaxian universe somewhere...(similar to any reference to Dr. Who--it goes right over my head!)

Posted by: squeakywheel at January 03, 2021 09:24 AM (T2vUn)

53 I am reading a fasinating book called " Excel 2019".

Posted by: Nevergiveup at January 03, 2021 09:24 AM (85Gof)

54 48 I see CN got Buster Keaton! Hard to imagine when you see him in an old Twilight Zone or in the "Beach Party" films, but he was once young.
Posted by: Wolfus Aurelius at January 03, 2021 09:21 AM (rpbg1)

Weren't we all?

Posted by: CN at January 03, 2021 09:25 AM (ONvIw)

55 I was impressed with how well written and translated this was and how well the narrative, a lot of which was internal reflections, flowed. I was really glad I read it.
Posted by: Captain Hate
**
I enjoyed this book, too, CH. Your summary is much better than one I would have written!

Posted by: squeakywheel at January 03, 2021 09:25 AM (T2vUn)

56 Waiting to see if I finally get a copy of Medieval Cities. First was shipped 12/2 and never showed. Got a refund and ordered another copy, which is in Las Vegas.

Posted by: Notsothoreau - look forward at January 03, 2021 09:26 AM (YynYJ)

57 Not quite in time for this week's thread, but my short story, Uncle John's Legacy, will appear in the anthology, Ending Bigly: The Many Fates of Donald Trump, later this week.

I have to stop reading this thread! I love all of Schantz's other books, and now I have to buy this one when it comes out.... my poor wallet.

Posted by: CarolinaGirl at January 03, 2021 09:26 AM (Kh9rg)

58
I've been reading a proposed book written by an uncle concerning his and my dad's youth in northern Wisconsin. What he wrote is plausible enough, but given that he got my dad's birth year wrong, I am reading it with an editor's eye and am making notes to communicate to him about his slipshod work.

Posted by: Krebs v Carnot: Epic Battle of the Cycling Stars (TM) at January 03, 2021 09:26 AM (pNxlR)

59 It's an interesting rabbit hole, but ultimately a very shallow one. Hubbard was a con man, and not a very good one, he just chose his marks with exceptional care. Targeting Hollywood was the key move - without it the thing would have been shut down years ago.
Posted by: Ace-Endorsed Author A.H. Lloyd at January 03, 2021 09:20 AM (cfSRQ)

He fooled a lot of SF writers and readers with his Dianetics, which seems to have a lot of elements from Rebirthing and other methods for clearing out mental junk. Heinlein and Asimov were skeptical when pressed by Campbell.

It's all part of the California Crazy nexus. At one point Crowleyite rocketeer Jack Parsons and L. Ron were roommates. Now that's a sitcom I'd watch.

Posted by: All Hail Eris, Iron Fist in Velvet Glove in Iron Gauntlet Clutching an Iron Mace at January 03, 2021 09:27 AM (Dc2NZ)

60 I was fortunate enough to get a private tour of Alnwick Castle with the castle archivist a little over 20 years ago. It was fascinating. The library is even more impressive in person.

Posted by: ChupaMe at January 03, 2021 09:27 AM (pgTr8)

61 46 Carolina Girl - I think you'll enjoy them. The main character is a Chief of Police/ Church Organist. I learned that the author was an opera singer in real life. They're a fun read.
Posted by: grammie winger at January 03, 2021 09:21 AM (gm3d+)

He keeps a 9MM under the bench seat of the organ!

Posted by: rhennigantx at January 03, 2021 09:28 AM (5QBw6)

62 Good morning!

Let's smile & be happy & strike fear in the hearts of killjoy leftists everywhere.

Posted by: NaCly Dog at January 03, 2021 09:28 AM (u82oZ)

63 What's amazing to me is the high regard in which
they all held L. Ron Hubbard as both an author and as a war hero. It
was years before his compulsive lying and manias were exposed.


Posted by: All Hail Eris, Iron Fist in Velvet Glove in Iron Gauntlet
Clutching an Iron Mace at January 03, 2021 09:19 AM (Dc2NZ)

---
Hubbard was famously prolific, cranking out material by the ream. In a field where copy is always over-promised and under-delivered, he was the rare author who exceeded expectations.

I will revise my earlier statement: Hubbard was an exception con man *in his element*. He knew how to flatter his target audience.

His war record is a great example of this - he was a total loser, faker, shirker and incomptent, but knew the system well enough to build a fake dossier for himself and play off it it, including a whopper of a story about being hideously wounded and recovering through Dianetics.

Posted by: Ace-Endorsed Author A.H. Lloyd at January 03, 2021 09:28 AM (cfSRQ)

64 Yay! Book Thread! I've been reading The Library Book which I think I heard about here. It's about the Los Angeles central library, the characters that inhabit it, and how it burned in 1986.

I think it drags a bit.

Posted by: Cybersmythe at January 03, 2021 09:28 AM (qDSku)

65
I am reading a fasinating book called " Excel 2019".
Posted by: Nevergiveup


"Word 2019" is better, just saying.

Posted by: Krebs v Carnot: Epic Battle of the Cycling Stars (TM) at January 03, 2021 09:29 AM (pNxlR)

66 I'm surprised they didn't include "the cat's meow".

Posted by: Captain Obvious, Laird o' the Sea at January 03, 2021 09:30 AM (fmcOr)

67 Nice Lieberry!

Those pants....poor dog.

The Who Dis is a democrat poll worker in Philly correcting votes in 1929. Some things never change.

Posted by: Hairyback Guy at January 03, 2021 09:30 AM (R/m4+)

68 So a couple of weeks ago I re-read Killoyle: An Irish Farce by Roger Boylan. It's set in the fictional Irish town of Killoyle and is ostensibly about Milo Rogers, a headwaiter at Spudorgan Hall, the town's big hotel, but also dives into the lives, loves and drunken escapades of various other town characters.

What makes the book unique, though, is that each page has footnotes. Not, mind you, footnotes explaining things, but footnotes in the voice of an unseen narrator who, in the book's conceit, is reading over your shoulder and jostling you at various points to make an observation or tell a joke.

This is the sort of thing you like or hate, so take a look at the preview before you decide whether or not to buy. I happen to like it, a lot.

https://tinyurl.com/yaycc26p

Posted by: Mary Poppins' Practically Perfect Piercing at January 03, 2021 09:32 AM (2JVJo)

69 Well, the acid flush of the coffee maker didn't make it run any faster. But it made a tasty cup of coffee.

Posted by: Alberta Oil Peon at January 03, 2021 09:32 AM (mzC78)

70 Come to think of it, the "Hen's Eyebrows" would make an excellent name for a pub....

Posted by: I am the Shadout Mapes, the Housekeeper at January 03, 2021 09:33 AM (PiwSw)

71 Seems like "the centipede's foldout" could easily be the "cat's pajamas" for our time.

So...

This Book Thread is the centipede's foldout!

Posted by: naturalfake at January 03, 2021 09:33 AM (dWwl8)

72 Clyde Bruckman and other writers wrote the scripts. Buster came up with gags. He barely could read or write. He was acutely self-conscious of this, and it caused problems for him at MGM.

Posted by: JuJuBee at January 03, 2021 09:33 AM (mNhhD)

73 Well, good morning fellow book threadists! The WWII novel is done, pending final feedback from beta readers! I finished up the notes on various matters historical (I always put notes and references in the back of my HF books, telling readers what I made up and what really-oh-truly-oh really happened.) Settled on a final title - My Dear Cousin: A Novel in Letters, although it's not all told in letters, it's about two thirds straight narrative. I should have the ebook/Kindle available by mid-January, and of course I'll send a message to OM when it's ready.
Now, I wish that I had as large a library as Alnwick Castle's library...

Posted by: Sgt. Mom at January 03, 2021 09:34 AM (xnmPy)

74 Thanks, AH. I was reading about that, and might give that Word feature a try.

Posted by: goatexchange at January 03, 2021 09:34 AM (EmXYv)

75
"The Bad Popes" by E.R. Chamberlin


I eagerly await the updated version in which Frankie the Commie gets his due.

Posted by: Krebs v Carnot: Epic Battle of the Cycling Stars (TM) at January 03, 2021 09:34 AM (pNxlR)

76 The Fourth Turning is worth checking out.
Recommended by Stephen K. Bannon, it describes an eighty-year cycle in
history that culminates in a massive transformation.

Posted by:Hans G. Schantz at January 03, 2021 09:23 AM (6hzPX)

---
I've long believed that history operates in century-long cycles that roughly correspond to the third generation. The first generation suffers through the crisis and works hard to rebuild a new framework. The second generation grows up in the shadow of that suffering, understanding the importance of stability. The third generation takes it for granted, focuses on its failures and work to undermine it often without knowing what will replace it.

I don't know about the "fourth" turning, but certainly you can draw lines at 1519, 1618, 1714, 1815, 1814 and...2016.

Note that several of those crises took 30 years (or more) to resolve, but what came out was vastly different from what came before.

Posted by: Ace-Endorsed Author A.H. Lloyd at January 03, 2021 09:34 AM (cfSRQ)

77 I enjoyed this book, too, CH. Your summary is much better than one I would have written!
Posted by: squeakywheel at January 03, 2021 09:25 AM (T2vUn)


I doubt that but I'm glad someone else here enjoyed it too. The Horde is very well read in a variety of areas.

Posted by: Captain Hate at January 03, 2021 09:35 AM (y7DUB)

78 Read Christopher Anvil's War Games compilation of stories. Great stuff.

I liked the humor and the ideas, but the last story had the aristocracy of Great Britain depend on useful technical advances for social status. But the higher you rose, the more you had to find advances to stay in your nobility slot.

Your children start two levels below your own highest status. Amusing, yet a look at a society with a positive feedback loop.

Great Britain was Great again, with the nobility trying hard to improve society.

Posted by: NaCly Dog at January 03, 2021 09:35 AM (u82oZ)

79 Hiya Bookies !

Posted by: JT at January 03, 2021 09:35 AM (arJlL)

80 I only bought a couple craft books this week. I saw a few 1930s patterns that I really liked and the books were very cheap, so I went for it.

After finishing 1914, I plan on rereading Cancer Ward.

One of the Solzhenitsyn short stories I read dealt with a declining Russian Orthodox faithful gathering for an Easter procession. They were met with the derision and disrespect of the young. It was moving insofar as we seemed to be headed in that direction.

Posted by: CN at January 03, 2021 09:36 AM (ONvIw)

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

It's cold and drizzly wet weather. Perfect reading weather for my taste.

Posted by: JTB at January 03, 2021 09:36 AM (7EjX1)

82 64 Yay! Book Thread! I've been reading The Library Book which I think I heard about here. It's about the Los Angeles central library, the characters that inhabit it, and how it burned in 1986.

I think it drags a bit.
Posted by: Cybersmythe at January 03, 2021 09:28 AM (qDSku)

I think the burning was to hide the fact almost all of the rare books had been stolen by employees.

Posted by: rhennigantx at January 03, 2021 09:36 AM (5QBw6)

83 Erin did not specifically recommend The Bad Popes,

ERIN ?

Does she hang with MULEY ?

Posted by: JT at January 03, 2021 09:36 AM (arJlL)

84
Come to think of it, the "Hen's Eyebrows" would make an excellent name for a pub....
Posted by: I am the Shadout Mapes, the Housekeeper


The Chicken's Lips will ask your lawyers to contact its lawyers.

Posted by: Krebs v Carnot: Epic Battle of the Cycling Stars (TM) at January 03, 2021 09:36 AM (pNxlR)

85 New Year's Resolutions 1929


#7: Set aside 10 minutes to buy a can of Kiwi and a buffing cloth and spiff up my shoes.
Posted by: Muldoon at January 03, 2021 09:13 AM (m45I2)
--------
Just what I was thinking!
Posted by: Weasel

You were gonna shine Muldoon's shoes ?

Posted by: JT at January 03, 2021 09:37 AM (arJlL)

86 Posted by: JT at January 03, 2021 09:37 AM (arJlL)
--------
Allow me to rephrase that.

Posted by: Weasel at January 03, 2021 09:38 AM (MVjcR)

87
Although not about Trump, Charles Stross and Richard Powers can eternally fuck off for lecturing me about climate change.
Posted by: Captain Hate at January 03, 2021 09:24 AM (y7DUB)


Charles Stross gives me a sad.

He's such a good and imaginative writer, who can tell a fun story, and yet...and yet...I get the feeling that the only reason he writes is to give his readers surreptitious brain injections of progressive nonsense to hasten Our Future Glorious Socialist Paradise.

Posted by: naturalfake at January 03, 2021 09:39 AM (dWwl8)

88 I love that library. It looks comfortable and almost has enough room for all my books.

Posted by: JTB at January 03, 2021 09:39 AM (7EjX1)

89 You were gonna shine Muldoon's shoes ?
Posted by: JT at January 03, 2021 09:37 AM (arJlL)

I hear he keep a few spare dimes in his pocket for tips!

Posted by: rhennigantx at January 03, 2021 09:39 AM (5QBw6)

90 Finished Allen Dean Foster's Relic last week. Was left wanting with the ending.

Posted by: BifBewalski AOS Moron on the road back home at January 03, 2021 09:39 AM (KoFQf)

91 I think the burning was to hide the fact almost all of the rare books had been stolen by employees.

Posted by: rhennigantx at January 03, 2021 09:36 AM (5QBw6)

---
Years ago I learned that Michigan State had a massive comic book collection and decided to see one of them.

Of course, you don't just "check out" a comic book, you go down to the basement vault, surrender your possessions and are seated at a plain wooden table with hard chair to read your book under the curator's watchful eye. It's like a scene from Citizen Kane.

Same with the works of H.P. Lovecraft, btw. So many were stolen they were treated as reference books and couldn't leave the main building.

Posted by: Ace-Endorsed Author A.H. Lloyd at January 03, 2021 09:40 AM (cfSRQ)

92 I'm surprised they didn't include "the cat's meow".
Posted by: Captain Obvious, Laird

or the Hippo's Hoobadabbas.

Posted by: JT at January 03, 2021 09:40 AM (arJlL)

93 I wonder if perhaps Hubbard's scientology nonsense didn't gain a bit of traction amongst his peers simply because "science", or scientific thinking had just had a huge run of spectacular successes during WWII, and there was a conceit that this method could be applied to the study of the human mind?

Posted by: Alberta Oil Peon at January 03, 2021 09:40 AM (mzC78)

94 Same with the works of H.P. Lovecraft, btw. So many were stolen they were treated as reference books and couldn't leave the main building.
Posted by: Ace-Endorsed Author A.H. Lloyd at January 03, 2021 09:40 AM (cfSRQ)

MSU had a massive theft in the 1970s, hence many things were moved to the Special Collections section.

Posted by: CN at January 03, 2021 09:41 AM (ONvIw)

95 It's cold and drizzly wet weather. Perfect reading weather for my taste.
Posted by: JTB

same here; mixed with snow flurries.

Posted by: JT at January 03, 2021 09:42 AM (arJlL)

96 Since last night was washed away in a tidal wave of booze, I am taking it easy today and getting back into The Reach of Rome. It's a history book framed as a fictionalized tour around the Empire during the reign of Trajan, following a coin as it travels from hand to hand. I like it a lot.

https://tinyurl.com/yd2aqasb

Posted by: Mary Poppins' Practically Perfect Piercing at January 03, 2021 09:42 AM (2JVJo)

97 29 I started the Liturgical Mysteries series by Mark Schweizer. I'm on Book 2: "The Baritone Wore Chiffon." Amusing who-dunnits. I enjoy the satirical insights into Episcopalian-world. But I find myself skimming over the parts where the main character is penning his own book.

Posted by: grammie winger at January 03, 2021 09:14 AM (gm3d+)


For me, that's the funny part. Because Konig can't write noir detective fiction worth a damn and it's so bad it's funny. Even his girlfriend thinks it's lousy and tells him so whenever she can.

I recommend the tenth in the series, Christmas Cantata. It's very sweet and touching and for once it lacks the bad noir writing subplot.

Posted by: OregonMuse, AoSHQ Thought Leader, Pants Monitor & Social Distancing Professional at January 03, 2021 09:43 AM (nDYME)

98 I thought the operative "cat" phrase was "the cat's pajamas".

Posted by: Alberta Oil Peon at January 03, 2021 09:43 AM (mzC78)

99 OK, folks, going to take a nap.

Hope you all have a lovely day.

Posted by: Mary Poppins' Practically Perfect Piercing at January 03, 2021 09:44 AM (2JVJo)

100
I wonder if perhaps Hubbard's scientology nonsense didn't gain a bit of
traction amongst his peers simply because "science", or scientific
thinking had just had a huge run of spectacular successes during WWII,
and there was a conceit that this method could be applied to the study
of the human mind?

Posted by: Alberta Oil Peon at January 03, 2021 09:40 AM (mzC7

---
There were 3 phases. The first was post-war when he sold it as SCIENCE and also how he cured his war wounds. Then he got busted for tax stuff and the whole thing started to come apart, so he reinvented himself as a religion and got a boost by all the weird cult stuff in the late 60s and into the 70s.

Phase 3 was Dianetics as "self help" with the commercials of the 80s.

Posted by: Ace-Endorsed Author A.H. Lloyd at January 03, 2021 09:44 AM (cfSRQ)

101 Bye MP4!

Posted by: I am the Shadout Mapes, the Housekeeper at January 03, 2021 09:44 AM (PiwSw)

102 I thought the operative "cat" phrase was "the cat's pajamas".
Posted by: Alberta Oil Peon

the Clam's beard.

Posted by: JT at January 03, 2021 09:45 AM (arJlL)

103 "I am reading a fasinating book called " Excel 2019".


I've got the prequel, "Office 2000".

Posted by: Cardi Bee at January 03, 2021 09:45 AM (jL8gj)

104 You were gonna shine Muldoon's shoes ?

When it comes to wit, I only wish I could shine Muldoon's shoes.

Posted by: Bob the Bilderberg at January 03, 2021 09:45 AM (qc+VF)

105 Posted by: Alberta Oil Peon at January 03, 2021 09:40 AM (mzC7
-----
Interesting thought. The Sapir-Whorf hypothesis enjoyed a lot of popularity post-war, so you may be on to something.

Posted by: Captain Obvious, Laird o' the Sea at January 03, 2021 09:46 AM (fmcOr)

106 Come to think of it, the "Hen's Eyebrows" would make an excellent name for a pub....
Posted by: I am the Shadout Mapes, the Housekeeper
The Chicken's Lips will ask your lawyers to contact its lawyers.
Posted by: Krebs v Carnot: Epic Battle of the Cycling Stars (TM) at January 03, 2021 09:36 AM (pNxlR)

Let me understand. You got the rooster, the hen and the chicken. The rooster goes with the chicken, so who is having sex with the hen? Somethings missing!

Posted by: Frank Costanza at January 03, 2021 09:47 AM (R/m4+)

107 G'morning, Horde.

Checkout the fireplace at the end of that library. See those two flowered chairs in front of it?

One of them is mine.

Posted by: creeper at January 03, 2021 09:47 AM (XxJt1)

108 Boy Jack Casssidy was in a whole lot of Columbo's...I mean he was great in them, but he did make a career of it.

Posted by: Nevergiveup at January 03, 2021 09:47 AM (85Gof)

109 as Mrs. JTB will tell you and the surrounding universe, I have taken the Dr. Seuss quote to heart.

Posted by: JTB at January 03, 2021 09:47 AM (7EjX1)

110 Let me understand. You got the rooster, the hen and the chicken. The rooster goes with the chicken, so who is having sex with the hen? Somethings missing!
Posted by: Frank Costanza at January 03, 2021 09:47 AM (R/m4+)

The henway, of course.

Posted by: Alberta Oil Peon at January 03, 2021 09:48 AM (mzC78)

111 oops, off sock

Posted by: Cardi Beep at January 03, 2021 09:48 AM (jL8gj)

112 re: Chamberlin, it's the Pope's Pantaloons! Highly recommended. That boy can write. I'm about a third of the way through.

Posted by: All Hail Eris, Iron Fist in Velvet Glove in Iron Gauntlet Clutching an Iron Mace at January 03, 2021 09:48 AM (Dc2NZ)

113 Creeper, how is one of those chairs yours?

Posted by: johnd01 - Office of the Fraudulent Elect at January 03, 2021 09:49 AM (TXvM3)

114 108 Boy Jack Casssidy was in a whole lot of Columbo's...I mean he was great in them, but he did make a career of it.
Posted by: Nevergiveup at January 03, 2021 09:47 AM (85Gof)

Shaun Cassidy's Dad, no?

Posted by: dantesed at January 03, 2021 09:49 AM (88xKn)

115 oops, off sock
Posted by: Cardi Beep at January 03, 2021 09:48 AM (jL8gj)

Cardi B socks are sticky, for a reason.

Posted by: Alberta Oil Peon at January 03, 2021 09:49 AM (mzC78)

116 I get the feeling that the only reason he writes is
to give his readers surreptitious brain injections of progressive
nonsense to hasten Our Future Glorious Socialist Paradise.



Posted by: naturalfake at January 03, 2021 09:39 AM (dWwl

---
Faith in politics has replaced faith in God for a lot of people and they show they are of The Elect through their hatred of the Unholy.

It's sad to see. Otherwise intelligent, humane people snap into BURN THE WITCH! mode when politics comes up. They imagine themselves the most thoughtful and compassionate people in the world (and often are in some circumstances), but then say really cruel and hateful things.

It's particularly sad in creative people who should be able to at least imagine another point of view.

Posted by: Ace-Endorsed Author A.H. Lloyd at January 03, 2021 09:49 AM (cfSRQ)

117 Good morning, Horde!
I am continuing on my binge readings of Ron Chernow's biographies. I finished Grant and Washington, now starting Hamilton.

Posted by: navybrat, at large at January 03, 2021 09:50 AM (w7KSn)

118 Boy Jack Casssidy was in a whole lot of Columbo's...I mean he was great in them, but he did make a career of it.
Posted by: Nevergiveup at January 03, 2021 09:47 AM (85Gof)

Shaun Cassidy's Dad, no?
Posted by: dantesed at January 03, 2021 09:49 AM (88xKn)

yes he was

Posted by: Nevergiveup at January 03, 2021 09:50 AM (85Gof)

119 Boy Jack Casssidy was in a whole lot of Columbo's...I mean he was great in them, but he did make a career of it.
Posted by: Nevergiveup at January 03, 2021 09:47 AM (85Gof)
-----
IIRR, he was the villain in the very first one.

Posted by: Captain Obvious, Laird o' the Sea at January 03, 2021 09:50 AM (fmcOr)

120 Someone here last week asked to identify a ghost story written by Nabokov, The Vane Sisters. As it happened I read it, the next to last short story he wrote, subsequently. It was well written about a person who knew a couple sisters, the first of which committed suicide after the author and her sister interceded to stop her from fucking around with a married man, and then started haunting the surviving sister. The narrator thought the surviving sister was loony tunes and eventually broke off communication with her until he was led, by the spirits of both sisters, to encounter the married man at the beginning of the story who told him the other sister had died. Hopefully my description makes sense because it was a convoluted narrative and one which the author had a difficult time getting the New Yorker to publish. In fact he criticized the editor for not catching that the first letter of each word of the last paragraph spelled out the sisters names, telling her he thought she was a better reader than that. Ya know, Vlad, sometimes you can be too clever by half.

Posted by: Captain Hate at January 03, 2021 09:50 AM (y7DUB)

121 Posted by: creeper at January 03, 2021 09:47 AM (XxJt1)

Beautiful library, but I think one of my favorite parts is the sketches of the children and the family pictures. It gives the place a "frequently used" look. It looks warm and not stagey.

Posted by: CN at January 03, 2021 09:50 AM (ONvIw)

122 or the Hippo's Hoobadabbas.

Or the Baboon's Badonkadonk. Which is really just an excuse to reask my willowed* question from a few days ago. Was that a word before the Toby Keith song or did he make it up out of whole cloth?

* Apparently my predictive keyboard is AoSHQ-aware. When I typed "willo," it offered the past tense as a choice.

Posted by: Bob the Bilderberg at January 03, 2021 09:51 AM (qc+VF)

123 I finished Paddy Chayefsky's "Altered States".

Dude should've written more novels. He has the clearest, cleanest prose that I think I've ever read. Plus, Bonus! Excellent on point and not showy vocabulary, which makes for memorable phrases.

Great set pieces. Esp, the one where Jessup regresses and goes running around the town. Crisp viewpoint writing that's marvelous.

Intelligent science characters talk and behave like intelligent science research characters.

The plot is about the same as the movie with some differences. Fun philosophical science fiction love story that's extremely well-written.
Check it out.

Posted by: naturalfake at January 03, 2021 09:51 AM (dWwl8)

124

Bee's Knees. I heard it came from the Be All and End All. It morphed into the Bee's Knees. But I'm not sure if that's really the case.

Posted by: TheQuietMan at January 03, 2021 09:51 AM (t8ef1)

125 mission earth was his pulpy series about aliens, gangsters, the rockacenters (what does that sound like,)

early stross was good until around the fuller memorandum, then he lost the point,

brill thinks that the problem is the tiny restraint on regulations that the reagan administration, and now trump introduced, he has no qualms with leviathan, in principle,

Posted by: bolivar de gris at January 03, 2021 09:52 AM (hMlTh)

126 Creeper, how is one of those chairs yours?


Posted by: johnd01 - Office of the Fraudulent Elect at January 03, 2021 09:49 AM (TXvM3)


All fireplace chairs are subject to claim by yours truly. It's a perk I demanded after two months without a fire and three incorrect chimney pipes. All your fireplace chairs are belong to me.

Posted by: creeper at January 03, 2021 09:52 AM (XxJt1)

127 >>Shaun Cassidy's Dad, no?


With Shirley Jones. Not sure who David's mother is/was.

Posted by: fly at January 03, 2021 09:52 AM (ATQUV)

128 Someone here last week asked to identify a ghost story written by Nabokov, The Vane Sisters.

That was me.

Thanks, Captain H!

Posted by: naturalfake at January 03, 2021 09:53 AM (dWwl8)

129 Shaun Cassidy's Dad, no?

Posted by: dantesed at January 03, 2021 09:49 AM (88xKn)

Bass player for JA/Hot Tuna.

Posted by: BignJames at January 03, 2021 09:53 AM (AwYPR)

130 Beautiful library, but I think one of my favorite
parts is the sketches of the children and the family pictures. It gives
the place a "frequently used" look. It looks warm and not stagey.

Posted by: CN at January 03, 2021 09:50 AM (ONvIw)



That's what makes those chairs so striking. Every other library in the world would have leather chairs. This one is just delightful.

Posted by: creeper at January 03, 2021 09:53 AM (XxJt1)

131 For me, that's the funny part. Because Konig can't
write noir detective fiction worth a damn and it's so bad it's funny.
Even his girlfriend thinks it's lousy and tells him so whenever she can.


Posted by: OregonMuse, AoSHQ Thought Leader, Pants Monitor Social Distancing Professional at January 03, 2021 09:43 AM (nDYME)

---
I enjoy it when writers take pot shots at bad writing. Waugh had a lot of fun with this.

Posted by: Ace-Endorsed Author A.H. Lloyd at January 03, 2021 09:54 AM (cfSRQ)

132 I read "In The Evening and the Morning" by Ken Follett. Seemed like there was more pornography that "Pillars of the Earth."

Posted by: JAS, former commenter at January 03, 2021 09:55 AM (JVCkA)

133 With Shirley Jones. Not sure who David's mother is/was.
Posted by: fly

Yoko

Posted by: JT at January 03, 2021 09:55 AM (arJlL)

134 Or the Baboon's Badonkadonk. Which is really just an excuse to reask my willowed* question from a few days ago. Was that a word before the Toby Keith song or did he make it up out of whole cloth?

* Apparently my predictive keyboard is AoSHQ-aware. When I typed "willo," it offered the past tense as a choice.
Posted by: Bob the Bilderberg at January 03, 2021 09:51 AM (qc+VF)
---

On a lark, I asked Wikipedia about Badonkadonk and was directed to a page about Buttocks. There's even a fine brace as illustration. But no derivation, alas.

Posted by: All Hail Eris, Iron Fist in Velvet Glove in Iron Gauntlet Clutching an Iron Mace at January 03, 2021 09:57 AM (Dc2NZ)

135 Posted by: Bob the Bilderberg at January 03, 2021 09:51 AM (qc+VF)

Trace Adkins, not Toby Keith.

Posted by: BignJames at January 03, 2021 09:57 AM (AwYPR)

136 I am currently reading The Lion, by Nelson DeMille and its very good.

Posted by: JT at January 03, 2021 09:57 AM (arJlL)

137 Or the Baboon's Badonkadonk. Which is really just an excuse to reask my willowed* question from a few days ago. Was that a word before the Toby Keith song or did he make it up out of whole cloth?

* Apparently my predictive keyboard is AoSHQ-aware. When I typed "willo," it offered the past tense as a choice.
Posted by: Bob the Bilderberg at January 03, 2021 09:51 AM (qc+VF)

I thought it was urban slang for many years?

Posted by: Alberta Oil Peon at January 03, 2021 09:57 AM (mzC78)

138 Charles Stross gives me a sad.

He's such a good and imaginative writer, who can tell a fun story, and yet...and yet...I get the feeling that the only reason he writes is to give his readers surreptitious brain injections of progressive nonsense to hasten Our Future Glorious Socialist Paradise.
Posted by: naturalfake at January 03, 2021 09:39 AM (dWwl


Stross completely turned my head around regarding the stupidity of manned space travel compared to pairing up AIs with the digitized nervous system of a lobster and sending them any fucking where. Also I thought it was hilarious how he has Is-Slum persisting way into the future. But he's remarkably dense in other areas and too fucking stupid to realize it.

Posted by: Captain Hate at January 03, 2021 09:58 AM (y7DUB)

139 Boy Jack Casssidy was in a whole lot of Columbo's...I mean he was great in them, but he did make a career of it.
Posted by: Nevergiveup at January 03, 2021 09:47 AM (85Gof)

Yup.....I remember him in a Night Gallery episode about the paralyzed athlete who thought his old lady was screwing his doctor.

Posted by: Hairyback Guy at January 03, 2021 09:58 AM (R/m4+)

140 Nice that the Altwick Library has guardrails, unlike the Death Star.

Posted by: All Hail Eris, Iron Fist in Velvet Glove in Iron Gauntlet Clutching an Iron Mace at January 03, 2021 09:58 AM (Dc2NZ)

141 Wondermark must be deplatformed. He spoke an unspeakable truth.

Posted by: Cat Ass Trophy at January 03, 2021 09:59 AM (25aKC)

142 I read "In The Evening and the Morning" by Ken Follett. Seemed like there was more pornography that "Pillars of the Earth."



Posted by: JAS, former commenter at January 03, 2021 09:55 AM (JVCkA)

---
Sex scenes are really a waste of time. Generally, the only noteworthy thing about sex between characters is that it happens, which does not require a great deal of description.

Because I grew up where such scenes were common, when I started what became The Vampires of Michigan 20 years ago, I had sex scenes in it. I mean vampires! Of course you have sex scenes.

When I picked it back up, those were the first things I cut out. I think it's much better as a result.

Posted by: Ace-Endorsed Author A.H. Lloyd at January 03, 2021 09:59 AM (cfSRQ)

143 Greetings:

My non-fiction Read of the Year was "The Age of Entitlement" by Christopher Caldwell.

I don't read fiction.

Posted by: 11B40 at January 03, 2021 10:00 AM (evgyj)

144 Trace Adkins, not Toby Keith.

They're different? I thought they were just two names for the same thing like "Norway" and "Finland."

Posted by: Bob the Bilderberg at January 03, 2021 10:00 AM (qc+VF)

145 I have entire worldbook and brittanica encyclopedia sets from the early 90s and not enough doors to prop open.

Posted by: Cat Ass Trophy at January 03, 2021 10:00 AM (25aKC)

146 29 ... "I started the Liturgical Mysteries series by Mark Schweizer. I'm on Book 2: "The Baritone Wore Chiffon." Amusing who-dunnits. I enjoy the satirical insights into Episcopalian-world. But I find myself skimming over the parts where the main character is penning his own book."

grammie, If you can stand it, don't miss the Chief' 'own' writing. It is funny stuff and sometimes combines with the main plot.

Schweizer passed away in 2019. I'm starting to reread all the books in order in his honor. They are a delight.

Posted by: JTB at January 03, 2021 10:00 AM (7EjX1)

147 Happy New Year dear readers and thanks om for another great book thread

Posted by: San Franpsycho at January 03, 2021 10:01 AM (EZebt)

148 I never knew

Ngaio Marsh was a dame.

Who names their kid
Ngaio ?

Posted by: JT at January 03, 2021 10:01 AM (arJlL)

149 Shirley Jones, the singer?
va va voom!

Posted by: navybrat, at large at January 03, 2021 10:02 AM (w7KSn)

150 Boy Jack Casssidy was in a whole lot of Columbo's...I mean he was great in them, but he did make a career of it.

Posted by: Nevergiveup at January 03, 2021 09:47 AM (85Gof)


There were a few actors who made multiple guest stars on Columbo like Patrick McGoohan. He did one which was a bit of a nod to the Prisoner TV show including the Be seeing you.

Posted by: TheQuietMan at January 03, 2021 10:02 AM (t8ef1)

151 Who names their kid
Ngaio ?

Posted by: JT at January 03, 2021 10:01 AM (arJlL)

We can do this all day.

Posted by: BignJames at January 03, 2021 10:02 AM (AwYPR)

152 Who names their kid
Ngaio ?
Posted by: JT at January 03, 2021 10:01 AM (arJlL)

Well, N'gawa was already taken.

Posted by: Tarzan at January 03, 2021 10:03 AM (mzC78)

153
I don't read fiction.
Posted by: 11B40 at January 03, 2021 10:00 AM (evgyj)

I used to read more fiction, now I'm much more discerning. When I was working I felt an obligation to read what some of my patients were touting or hiding, it was often illustrative. And that was my last great foray into modern poetry, one can't care for young depressed women without some knowledge of Sylvia Plath.

Posted by: CN at January 03, 2021 10:03 AM (ONvIw)

154 132 I read "In The Evening and the Morning" by Ken Follett. Seemed like there was more pornography that "Pillars of the Earth."

Posted by: JAS, former commenter at January 03, 2021 09:55 AM (JVCkA)

He does seem to throw a goodly amount of sport fucking into his books.

Posted by: rhennigantx at January 03, 2021 10:03 AM (5QBw6)

155 Snark aside, I do think Adkins' "Every Light in the House" is a great song. So credit where due.

Posted by: Bob the Bilderberg at January 03, 2021 10:03 AM (qc+VF)

156 There is a highway in GA named after Chet Atkins for some reason.

Posted by: Cat Ass Trophy at January 03, 2021 10:04 AM (25aKC)

157 Stross completely turned my head around regarding the stupidity of manned space travel compared to pairing up AIs with the digitized nervous system of a lobster and sending them any fucking where....
Posted by: Captain Hate at January 03, 2021 09:58 AM (y7DUB)

I know, right. So, much great, creative, out of the box thinking and so much sub-retard progressive ideation.

It's like Stross' mutant conjoined twin, Beauregard, who lives within his left armpit, takes over his brain from time to time to scribble socialist nonsense into his stories.

Posted by: naturalfake at January 03, 2021 10:06 AM (dWwl8)

158 We can do this all day.
Posted by: BignJames at January 03, 2021 10:02 AM (AwYPR)

Ngaio's given name was Edith, IIRC. Some people do choose strange names though. Kid1 went to college with a girl with a first name of O'Gordon. Can you imagine the mom who says "if it's a girl, I'd like the name O'Gordon?" She called herself Katie.

Posted by: CN at January 03, 2021 10:06 AM (ONvIw)

159

Barrel escape?

Posted by: naturalfake at January 03, 2021 10:06 AM (dWwl8)

160 156 Because they wouldn't in NYC?

Posted by: Skip at January 03, 2021 10:06 AM (Cxk7w)

161 I've long believed that history operates in century-long cycles that roughly correspond to the third generation. The first generation suffers through the crisis and works hard to rebuild a new framework. The second generation grows up in the shadow of that suffering, understanding the importance of stability. The third generation takes it for granted, focuses on its failures and work to undermine it often without knowing what will replace it.

Posted by: Ace-Endorsed Author A.H. Lloyd at January 03, 2021 09:34 AM (cfSRQ)

----

That's the pattern described in The Fourth Turning. The book specifically describes the characteristics of each generation in the cycle and how their characteristics evolve and influence the younger generations. You'd probably enjoy it.

Posted by: Hans G. Schantz at January 03, 2021 10:06 AM (6hzPX)

162 *fans naturalfake*

Posted by: creeper at January 03, 2021 10:07 AM (XxJt1)

163 There is a highway in GA named after Chet Atkins for some reason.

Aaaaaannd that's when the fight started. The correct question, of course, is why doesn't every state including Alaska and Hawaii have highways named for Chet Atkins.

Posted by: Bob the Bilderberg at January 03, 2021 10:07 AM (qc+VF)

164 Just finished "Sitometrion," a good one-year Bible reading plan/devotional/commentary.

Posted by: Slow Learner at January 03, 2021 10:08 AM (klu5V)

165 I am reading a fasinating book called " Excel 2019".
Posted by: Nevergiveup at January 03, 2021 09:24 AM (85Gof)

===

File > Open > Mouth function?

Posted by: San Franpsycho at January 03, 2021 10:08 AM (EZebt)

166 I am reading The Nesting Dolls which was mentioned in the morning report a few days ago. It is good.

Posted by: Quirky bookworm at January 03, 2021 10:09 AM (EbJ6H)

167 *fans naturalfake*
Posted by: creeper at January 03, 2021 10:07 AM (XxJt1)



Aaaaah...

Peel me a grape.

Posted by: naturalfake at January 03, 2021 10:09 AM (dWwl8)

168 Because they wouldn't in NYC?
Posted by: Skip at January 03, 2021 10:06 AM (Cxk7w)

Bill de Blasio is going to rename Fifth Avenue in honor of Cardi B. Henceforth, it will be known as "Wet Ass Parkway".

Posted by: Alberta Oil Peon at January 03, 2021 10:09 AM (mzC78)

169 Who names their kid
Ngaio ?
Posted by: JT at January 03, 2021 10:01 AM (arJlL)

Well, N'gawa was already taken.
Posted by: Tarzan

LOL!!!

Well done !

Posted by: JT at January 03, 2021 10:10 AM (arJlL)

170 Aaaaaannd that's when the fight started. The correct question, of course, is why doesn't every state including Alaska and Hawaii have highways named for Chet Atkins.


It roughly follows the chattahoochee, so it should have been named after Alan Jackson.

Posted by: Cat Ass Trophy at January 03, 2021 10:10 AM (25aKC)

171 That's the pattern described in The Fourth Turning.
The book specifically describes the characteristics of each generation
in the cycle and how their characteristics evolve and influence the
younger generations. You'd probably enjoy it.

Posted by: Hans G. Schantz at January 03, 2021 10:06 AM (6hzPX)

---
I might, or it might be just close enough to be terribly, terribly wrong and make me angry. Funny how that works out.

Posted by: Ace-Endorsed Author A.H. Lloyd at January 03, 2021 10:11 AM (cfSRQ)

172
Who wrote the novella about the hot twin sisters who ran a nail and hair extension salon and did blood letting as a side service? "The Vein Sisters", I believe it was called.

Posted by: Krebs v Carnot: Epic Battle of the Cycling Stars (TM) at January 03, 2021 10:12 AM (pNxlR)

173 Ah, phooey. Censoring of my comments has begun. So I'll leave it with you, Horde. Keep yer hand on it.

creep out

Posted by: creeper at January 03, 2021 10:12 AM (XxJt1)

174 Ngaio's given name was Edith, IIRC.

Did she change it after the premiere of All in the Family ?

Posted by: JT at January 03, 2021 10:12 AM (arJlL)

175 I see all of the Stand for the President Dr Jill Madam Queen of the USA inaugurations stand have been torn down.

Posted by: rhennigantx at January 03, 2021 10:12 AM (5QBw6)

176 Checked cable news rating last Tuesday. Fox had ONE show in the top 50 -- Tucker at #47.

Posted by: JM in Florida at January 03, 2021 10:13 AM (HCeRP)

177 For you country music fans here, a personal, worthless fact about me is that
Mark Sherrill, who co-wrote Ol' Red along with good many other
well-known country music songs over the years, is a very good friend of
mine.

Posted by: fly at January 03, 2021 10:14 AM (Us3pf)

178 Finally, I started The Starless Sea by Erin Morgenstern, the followup book to The Night Circus which I enjoyed a great deal and I think some other members of the Horde read; about which I'm interested in how people liked it (if people didn't like it I can deal with it). Anyway, even though I'm only at the beginning I can see that Morgenstern's ability to describe weird things happening to people effectively is undiminished. My daughter gave me this for Christmas 2019 and I figured it was time to read it; she read The Night Circus and I blasted her on Goodreads for rating it too low (as her father I reserve the right to call her an idiot) until we hashed it out that by listening to it as a recording, it wasn't a good way to experience it.

Posted by: Captain Hate at January 03, 2021 10:15 AM (y7DUB)

179 For the last few nights I've been watching Amazon's "El Cid which is superb. Do yourself a favor and watch it in Spanish with English subtitles. Not sure how long it will last, since Amazon killed its Zelda Fitzgerald show because SJWs demanded it.

Amazon recommended "Guernica" a movie about the town near and dear to my heart. Of course it's pure propaganda, but I imagined how funny it would be to show the quiet, small, peaceful Spanish village *cranking out massive amounts of weapons.* That's the part they always leave out, and I'd love a movie that showed the lathes turning away as crate after crate of guns is proofed and prepped for shipment. When the bombers show up, everyone would be like "well duh..."

So you'll never see that movie, but you can read about in my book.

Posted by: Ace-Endorsed Author A.H. Lloyd at January 03, 2021 10:15 AM (cfSRQ)

180 I see all of the Stand for the President Dr Jill Madam Queen of the USA inaugurations stand have been torn down.
Posted by: rhennigantx at January 03, 2021 10:12 AM (5QBw6)

Kind of makes you wonder if maybe Biden is about to admit the election was stolen on his behalf by "persons unknown", and that he will concede to Trump. (in order to avoid jail, or worse)

Posted by: Alberta Oil Peon at January 03, 2021 10:15 AM (mzC78)

181 144

Norway and Finland are nothing alike. Norway and Sweden is the joke you were going for.

Posted by: Asshoes at January 03, 2021 10:15 AM (Fcou9)

182 Per Wiki: "The origin of the name "Ngaio" is a Maori word which is the name of a flowering tree and also the name of an insect found in New Zealand."

Posted by: All Hail Eris, Iron Fist in Velvet Glove in Iron Gauntlet Clutching an Iron Mace at January 03, 2021 10:16 AM (Dc2NZ)

183
Checked cable news rating last Tuesday. Fox had ONE show in the top 50 -- Tucker at #47.
Posted by: JM in Florida


"They'll come back -- just you wait and see!"

-- Buggy Whip manufacturers, c 1910 and Fox News execs, c 2021.

Posted by: Krebs v Carnot: Epic Battle of the Cycling Stars (TM) at January 03, 2021 10:18 AM (pNxlR)

184 176 Checked cable news rating last Tuesday. Fox had ONE show in the top 50 -- Tucker at #47.
Posted by: JM in Florida at January 03, 2021 10:13 AM (HCeRP)

But there was an article a couple days ago that said Fox was the most watched cable news channel of 2020, except for that small dip in Nov when the orangeman was mad at them and told his followers to switch to Newsmax, who only saw a small increase in ratings. Because the orangeman is wildly unpopular and only like 10,000 people listen to him or something.

Posted by: Cat Ass Trophy at January 03, 2021 10:18 AM (25aKC)

185 108 Boy Jack Casssidy was in a whole lot of Columbo's...I mean he was great in them, but he did make a career of it.

Posted by: Nevergiveup at January 03, 2021 09:47 AM (85Gof)


Hold my beer.

Posted by: Patrick McGoohan at January 03, 2021 10:19 AM (nDYME)

186 So, Connelly is dead to me as an author (always nice have my character impugned by some author I previously liked).

Don't bother.
Posted by: one of the quiet ones at January 03, 2021 09:12 AM (2k7BX)

That's too damn bad. He wrote some great police procedurals with Harry Bosch, and now Connelly's gone to sh*t.

Posted by: JM in Florida at January 03, 2021 10:19 AM (HCeRP)

187 I am reading a fasinating book called " Excel 2019".
Posted by: Nevergiveup at January 03, 2021 09:24 AM (85Gof)

===

File > Open > Mouth function?
Posted by: San Franpsycho at January 03, 2021 10:08 AM (EZebt)

I am pretty much 100% Admin now in the Military.

Posted by: Nevergiveup at January 03, 2021 10:19 AM (85Gof)

188 Norway and Finland are nothing alike. Norway and Sweden is the joke you were going for.
Posted by: Asshoes at January 03, 2021 10:15 AM (Fcou9)

Naw. The joke is, you missed the joke.

Posted by: Alberta Oil Peon at January 03, 2021 10:19 AM (mzC78)

189 Cap'n Hate, I loved "The Night Circus" and have been meaning to read "The Starless Sea". Just put it in my library queue.

Posted by: All Hail Eris, Iron Fist in Velvet Glove in Iron Gauntlet Clutching an Iron Mace at January 03, 2021 10:19 AM (Dc2NZ)

190 176 Checked cable news rating last Tuesday. Fox had ONE show in the top 50 -- Tucker at #47.
Posted by: JM in Florida at January 03, 2021 10:13 AM (HCeRP)

1929 Resolution #19: Find a better class of audience.

Posted by: Faux Knews at January 03, 2021 10:19 AM (5QBw6)

191 Fox will hire Bill Kristol as an anchor that will turn things around just you watch.

Posted by: Asshoes at January 03, 2021 10:20 AM (Fcou9)

192 I plan on finishing up my 4th book of the year sometime today. So far in 2021, I've read Swords in the Mist by Fritz Leiber, Suspicion by Mike McQuay (book 2 in Isaac Asimov's Robot City series), A Heritage of Stars by Clifford D. Simak and am currently reading The Norby Chronicles by Janet and Isaac Asimov. Not bad for only three days into the new year!

Posted by: Lord Squirrel at January 03, 2021 10:20 AM (hQrcu)

193 A while back I asked the horde for the names of a few authors since I was never a reader and wanted to take it up instead of watching sportzbalz alla time. Some one recommended the Nero Wolfe series. I just finished my first one and loved it. Too Many Clients. Great writer and story teller. Thanks to whoever for the heads up.

Posted by: Cuthbert the Witless at January 03, 2021 10:20 AM (9dzlp)

194 Kind of makes you wonder if maybe Biden is about to
admit the election was stolen on his behalf by "persons unknown", and
that he will concede to Trump. (in order to avoid jail, or worse)

Posted by: Alberta Oil Peon at January 03, 2021 10:15 AM (mzC7

---
I am totally avoiding the news and politics, which is why you never see me during the week.

But it still follows me. I got a call yesterday and all I can say is that the scenario outlined to me was shocking, the sort of thing I'd call tin-foil-hat territory.

And yet this came from a seasoned political operator, a savvy and respected dude who knows people.
Which means either even the normal politicians have gone nuts or we are in for one hell of a ride. Wake me when it's over.

Posted by: Ace-Endorsed Author A.H. Lloyd at January 03, 2021 10:20 AM (cfSRQ)

195 Checked cable news rating last Tuesday. Fox had ONE show in the top 50 -- Tucker at #47.
Posted by: JM in Florida


Alienating 99.99999% of your audience is a sound business decision and will result in a massive increase in profits.

I see no way that this plan can go wrong.

Posted by: naturalfake at January 03, 2021 10:20 AM (dWwl8)

196 Boy Jack Casssidy was in a whole lot of Columbo's...I mean he was great in them, but he did make a career of it.

Posted by: Nevergiveup at January 03, 2021 09:47 AM (85Gof)

Hold my beer.
Posted by: Patrick McGoohan at January 03, 2021 10:19 AM (nDYME)

Yup your right. Culp and Cassidy appeared 3 times but McGoohan appeared 4 times as the killer.

Posted by: Nevergiveup at January 03, 2021 10:21 AM (85Gof)

197 ARRGGGH Pixy, this isn't spam!!!!

Dr Stange and All Hail Erin? [sic] ***** The novel's stream-of-consciousness narrative style makes it notoriously hard to read. ***** Not too difficult for the guy who bought it, presumably, since he shelled out $46,310 for it. ***** Hahaha. Like that copy is ever going to be read. Just like the mint condition Action comic/first Superman I saw at a ComiCon, under glass, with an armed guard. No gum-chewing dirty-fingered kid folding the cover back after paying 10¢. ***** Alice in Wonderland illustrated by Salvador Dali sounds... interesting. More like Burton's movie than John Tenniel's original illustrations, I'd wager. ***** Until he arrives at the scene and discovers both his wife and the body are gone. The only clue? A bloody handprint beneath a hatch that hasn't opened in hundreds of years. Until now. ***** Intriguing. Hatches that haven't been opened in hundreds of years are tight! (See: Chamber of Secrets) (also the set-up reminds me of TrekTOS The World is Hollow and I Have Touched the Sky.) ***** Thanks for the book thread post, OM. Best one this year.

If everything is spam, the trolls win.

Posted by: mindful webworker
Happy Ten Lords a-Leaping Day
at January 03, 2021 10:21 AM (Vddbf)

198 Kind of makes you wonder if maybe Biden is about to admit the election was stolen on his behalf by


Somebody realized that nobody was going to show up to the inauguration, and empty grandstands would be difficult optics to rectify with "the most votes ever, more popular than obama". So they are using Covid as an excuse for "We didn't want anyone at the inauguration in person anyway, but the crowds would have been a record if we did"

Posted by: Cat Ass Trophy at January 03, 2021 10:22 AM (25aKC)

199 Well, who needed paragraphization for readability anyway?

Posted by: mindful webworker
Happy Ten Lords a-Leaping Day
at January 03, 2021 10:22 AM (Vddbf)

200 PDT KILLS FAUX KNEWS

This Monday, Newsmaxs Greg Kelly Reports outdrew Fox News prime-time lead-in The Story with Martha MacCallum at 7 p.m. Eastern in the valued 25- to 54-year-old demographic.

Posted by: rhennigantx at January 03, 2021 10:22 AM (5QBw6)

201 Alienating 99.99999% of your audience is a sound business decision and will result in a massive increase in profits.

I see no way that this plan can go wrong.
Posted by: naturalfake at January 03, 2021 10:20 AM (dWwl8

Yup a real "Dicks" move..LOL...But the murdoch kids will be invited to all the right cocktail parties

Posted by: Nevergiveup at January 03, 2021 10:22 AM (85Gof)

202 Hard to imagine when you see him in an old Twilight Zone or in the "Beach Party" films, but he was once young.
Posted by: Wolfus Aurelius at January 03, 2021 09:21 AM (rpbg1)

Weren't we all?
Posted by: CN at January 03, 2021

***

Some actors, though, never seemed to have had a youth. John Hoyt and Ian Wolfe, for example.

Posted by: Wolfus Aurelius at January 03, 2021 10:23 AM (rpbg1)

203 Happy new year, bookies! Hang tough!

*******

Who Dis is Buster Keaton. Talented man, although for me, Harold Lloyd still comes first.

*******

I took a break from my Retief binge after finishing "Retief's Ransom." It's Retief, which means fun.

********

Well, FTS! Pixy won't let me review "Interesting Stories for Curious People," a collection of short essays on unusual subjects. It reads as if it were never edited. I had several examples, but Pixy says this reads like spam. How in the hell do you review a book without pointing out its flaws??!!

Posted by: Weak Geek at January 03, 2021 10:23 AM (Tr9/0)

204 188 Norway and Finland are nothing alike. Norway and Sweden is the joke you were going for.
Posted by: Asshoes at January 03, 2021 10:15 AM (Fcou9)

Naw. The joke is, you missed the joke.
Posted by: Alberta Oil Peon at January 03, 2021 10:19 AM (mzC7

ITS FUNNY CAUSE IF YOU SHOUTED THE JOKE HE WOULDNT HAVE MISSED IT

Posted by: Ben Rothliebergergler at January 03, 2021 10:23 AM (9dzlp)

205 This week I started the audiobook version of Ride the River, by Louis L'Amour, after seeing it recommended here last week. I read a number of Sackett books as a kid, and it's fun to revisit the family after all these years. I might go back and reread a couple more.

Posted by: DIY Daddio at January 03, 2021 10:23 AM (RJscS)

206 Yup a real "Dicks" move..LOL...But the murdoch kids will be invited to all the right cocktail parties

Posted by: Nevergiveup at January 03, 2021 10:22 AM (85Gof)

---
Only takes 1 generation to burn through what all the ones before them built.

Posted by: Ace-Endorsed Author A.H. Lloyd at January 03, 2021 10:23 AM (cfSRQ)

207
Has anyone here experience performing book repairs? If so, have you any experience using lightweight Japanese paper to repair torn pages?

Posted by: Krebs v Carnot: Epic Battle of the Cycling Stars (TM) at January 03, 2021 10:24 AM (pNxlR)

208 Kind of makes you wonder if maybe Biden is about to admit the election was stolen on his behalf by "persons unknown", and that he will concede to Trump. (in order to avoid jail, or worse)

1) That would take a level of self-awareness that we have never seen from Joe.

2) Kamala and/or Pelosi would arrange an "accident" for him first.

Posted by: Bob the Bilderberg at January 03, 2021 10:25 AM (qc+VF)

209 "We beat the trolls! We finally beat the bastards!"

*Looks out across the smoking ruin of a comment section...

"But at what price Dildo, at what price?"

Posted by: Cat Ass Trophy at January 03, 2021 10:25 AM (25aKC)

210 Some actors, though, never seemed to have had a youth. John Hoyt and Ian Wolfe, for example.
Posted by: Wolfus Aurelius at January 03, 2021 10:23 AM (rpbg1)
---

Or Wilfrid Hyde-White.

Posted by: All Hail Eris, Iron Fist in Velvet Glove in Iron Gauntlet Clutching an Iron Mace at January 03, 2021 10:25 AM (Dc2NZ)

211 Fox is a good reminder that most if not all so called conservative pundits are grifters. Some may believe in what they say but the first and foremost goal is earning a paycheck.

Posted by: Asshoes at January 03, 2021 10:26 AM (Fcou9)

212 97 ... "I recommend the tenth in the series, Christmas Cantata. It's very sweet and touching and for once it lacks the bad noir writing subplot."

OM, Absolutely! I read The Christmas Cantata twice a year. The way it deals with the life affirming power of music helps restore my soul.

Posted by: JTB at January 03, 2021 10:26 AM (7EjX1)

213 Bees knees are OK, I guess.

Posted by: Sasquatch Balls at January 03, 2021 10:26 AM (+S1Fy)

214 Has anyone here experience performing book repairs?

I use scotch tape to fix the torn pages of my kids books. The secret is to tape both sides.

Posted by: Cat Ass Trophy at January 03, 2021 10:27 AM (25aKC)

215 I've done repairs on book bindings. There is a special kind of tape called book binding tape. Kind of like sticky canvas.

Posted by: navybrat, at large at January 03, 2021 10:27 AM (w7KSn)

216 1) That would take a level of self-awareness that we have never seen from Joe.

2) Kamala and/or Pelosi would arrange an "accident" for him first.
Posted by: Bob the Bilderberg at January 03, 2021 10:25 AM (qc+VF)

I wasn't suggesting that he came to that realization on his own; more that he has been presented with an offer he can't refuse.

Posted by: Alberta Oil Peon at January 03, 2021 10:27 AM (mzC78)

217 Cap'n Hate, I loved "The Night Circus" and have been meaning to read "The Starless Sea". Just put it in my library queue.
Posted by: All Hail Eris, Iron Fist in Velvet Glove in Iron Gauntlet Clutching an Iron Mace at January 03, 2021 10:19 AM (Dc2NZ)


Thanks for the feedback. The people in my book group, some of which know my tastes very well, expected me to hate "The Night Circus" but I just found Morgenstern to be a superior writer in that genre. "The Starless Sea" starts out a bit disjointed but then comes together very quickly and I'm hooked with many many pages to go.

Posted by: Captain Hate at January 03, 2021 10:28 AM (y7DUB)

218 "But at what price Dildo, at what price?"

Posted by: Cat Ass Trophy at January 03, 2021 10:25 AM (25aKC)

Huh?

Posted by: CharlieBrown'sDildo at January 03, 2021 10:28 AM (xT2tT)

219 Well, fucking finally! I started this post at 8:20 a.m. CST.

Pixy, can I give examples now?

A ghost town "12 miles of Lawrence." "Elvis Pressley." "another side things." (That was on the back jacket.)

The publisher will hear from me if I can find an address.

Posted by: Weak Geek at January 03, 2021 10:28 AM (Tr9/0)

220 Has anyone here experience performing book repairs?

I use scotch tape to fix the torn pages of my kids books. The secret is to tape both sides.
Posted by: Cat Ass Trophy at January 03, 2021 10:27 AM (25aKC)

Isn't there some sort of adhesive tissue that can be pressed onto a torn page with an iron?

Posted by: Alberta Oil Peon at January 03, 2021 10:28 AM (mzC78)

221 191 Fox will hire Bill Kristol as an anchor that will turn things around just you watch.

Posted by: Asshoes at January 03, 2021 10:20 AM (Fcou9)


Yeah! And Rick Wilson as news director! That'll show those rubes!

Posted by: OregonMuse, AoSHQ Thought Leader, Pants Monitor & Social Distancing Professional at January 03, 2021 10:29 AM (nDYME)

222 Library schools can be helpful with book repairs.

Posted by: CN at January 03, 2021 10:29 AM (ONvIw)

223 oy Jack Casssidy was in a whole lot of Columbo's...I mean he was great in them, but he did make a career of it.
Posted by: Nevergiveup at January 03, 2021

***

Stage work too. He did the road company edition of Wait Until Dark playing Harry Roat Jr., the villain Alan Arkin embodied in the Audrey Hepburn movie. Dunno how good he was, though.

Posted by: Wolfus Aurelius at January 03, 2021 10:29 AM (rpbg1)

224
Somebody realized that nobody was going to show up to the inauguration ...
Posted by: Cat Ass Trophy


Likelihood that those attending any evening functions would have worn masks? Vanishingly small.

Likelihood that the MFM would have published any images of the revelers without masks? Even more vanishingly small.

Posted by: Krebs v Carnot: Epic Battle of the Cycling Stars (TM) at January 03, 2021 10:30 AM (pNxlR)

225 Heh, before I signed on here I looked up the origin to the term ' brass balls' because I became aware that the French game, Pentanque used brass balls back before they switched to steel balls.

The intertubes have a couple of different to explanations. One being it used to mean 'driving a hard bargain'.as opposed to being brave as it originated from the 3 brass balls hung by pawn shops.

The most accepted is that it evolved from the brass monkeys that were souvenirs from China /Japan. Past literature referred to various body parts freezing off the brass monkey though never mentioned balls.

Posted by: Mr. Meeseeks, Look at me at January 03, 2021 10:30 AM (2DOZq)

226 Stross completely turned my head around regarding the stupidity of
manned space travel compared to pairing up AIs with the digitized
nervous system of a lobster and sending them any fucking where.

Do you mean you agree that it's stupid to send people, or that you changed your opinion and think it's smart? Inquiring minds...

Posted by: pep at January 03, 2021 10:30 AM (v16oJ)

227 "Be open-minded, but not so open-minded that your brains fall out."

Groucho Marx, compartmentalist

Posted by: BackwardsBoy - Wi Fuct at January 03, 2021 10:30 AM (HaL55)

228 Has the anti troll character limit been increased? I haven't been short sheeted yet and I'm not deliberately editing text for brevity.

Posted by: Captain Hate at January 03, 2021 10:31 AM (y7DUB)

229 I wasn't suggesting that he came to that realization on his own; more that he has been presented with an offer he can't refuse.

By whom? Who on our side has both the goods and the guts to actually pull the (metaphorical, NSA Bob, metaphorical) trigger?

Posted by: Bob the Bilderberg at January 03, 2021 10:31 AM (qc+VF)

230 I'm reading "Minx 0.7a for dummies"

Good book but the revisions are starting to effect my reading. I've been at it for years but still on page 3 of 600.

Posted by: Somewhere South of I-80 at January 03, 2021 10:31 AM (uxUoN)

231 I planned by ending the old year by reading a pair of old Conan the Barbarian comics and then going to bed. But, it turned out that the second of the two comics I intended to read was the start of a 5-part Conan and Red Sonja crossover. And since I also had digital versions of the Red Sonja issues....Well, lets just say I ended up staying up a little later than expected. I mean, how can you put off artwork of the original girl in a chainmail bikini crossing swords with Conan and Belit? All in all, it was a good way to end the year.

Posted by: Castle Guy at January 03, 2021 10:31 AM (Lhaco)

232 Armor is almost a hillbilly SciFi book.

Western / Hillbilly

220/221

Posted by: Mr. Meeseeks, Look at me at January 03, 2021 10:31 AM (2DOZq)

233 Some one recommended the Nero Wolfe series. I just finished my first one and loved it. Too Many Clients. Great writer and story teller. Thanks to whoever for the heads up.
Posted by: Cuthbert the Witless

***

'Twasn't me, I think, but I'm glad you liked it. You have a great reading experience ahead of you. TMC is very good, but not the best of the Wolfes!

Posted by: Wolfus Aurelius at January 03, 2021 10:31 AM (rpbg1)

234 I left a book on my kitchen island, and it has mysteriously developed small holes of about the size made by canine teeth. I asked the dog, but he denies being involved.

Posted by: pep at January 03, 2021 10:32 AM (v16oJ)

235 Started rereading Stories from New Hampshire. Its a compilation of weekly short stories, newspaper articles actually, first published in the Manchester Union newspaper between 1970-72. The author was Eva Speare. She started writing them at age 94.

I bought this book on an unknown website called Amazon in 1995. Since it was out of print Amazon said it may take awhile for them to get it. A week later it showed up.

Posted by: Old Doc Beartooth at January 03, 2021 10:33 AM (vgGvZ)

236 Do you mean you agree that it's stupid to send people, or that you changed your opinion and think it's smart? Inquiring minds...
Posted by: pep at January 03, 2021 10:30 AM (v16oJ)


Stupid to send people because you have to expend too much energy in keeping us alive rather than collecting close up data.

Posted by: Captain Hate at January 03, 2021 10:33 AM (y7DUB)

237 A graphic representation comparing famous books and other documents.

https://bit.ly/38aVZ60

Posted by: Anonosaurus Wrecks, Tyrannosaur Wrangler at January 03, 2021 10:33 AM (+y/Ru)

238 I could name about 500 people I would nominate to launch on an interstellar probe. If you wanted to replace their nervous systems with a lobsters first, it would be a bonus.

Posted by: Cat Ass Trophy at January 03, 2021 10:33 AM (25aKC)

239 Someone last week rec'd Ride The River by Louis L'Amour so I went through my stack of books to read, well stacks actually and there is was. Echo Sackett, a 16 year old young lady, is the protagonist, which is unusual. Liked the book with unusual plot for L'Amour.

Posted by: Charlotte at January 03, 2021 10:34 AM (wyTqg)

240 I wouldn't use scotch tape on rare or expensive books as it will eventually become yellow and brittle, and it is acidic. There are special treatments for such, but I've never done those.
I actually know quite a bit about book binding, making the sets of folded pages, called quires, then attaching them with thread, then the cover. I've made my own books for music scores, hundreds of pages long. Designed covers, etc.

Posted by: navybrat, at large at January 03, 2021 10:35 AM (w7KSn)

241 Read down this far but without bread, milk and now no eggs a winter cannot be gotten through without French Toast I better slog through the snow and get needed supplies.
Wish me luck.

Posted by: Skip at January 03, 2021 10:35 AM (Cxk7w)

242 I remember seeing Buster Keaton on Candid Camera when I was a kid, I always wondered why people didn't recognize him.

Posted by: Tinfoilbaby at January 03, 2021 10:35 AM (z3Wsk)

243 Stupid to send people because you have to expend too much energy in keeping us alive rather than collecting close up data.
Posted by: Captain Hate at January 03, 2021 10:33 AM (y7DUB)

Except that you have to expend energy to stay alive right here on Earth, too.

Posted by: Alberta Oil Peon at January 03, 2021 10:35 AM (mzC78)

244 @228Conveniently ignoring the huge tumble it took in February.

Posted by: pep at January 03, 2021 10:36 AM (v16oJ)

245 By whom? Who on our side has both the goods and the guts to actually pull the (metaphorical, NSA Bob, metaphorical) trigger?
Posted by: Bob the Bilderberg at January 03, 2021 10:31 AM (qc+VF)


It doesnt matter. With Romney, Sassehole, and Murkowski, not to me ton probably warnock and ossoff, Biden will be president. No amount of evidence or Kracken will change that.

Posted by: Cat Ass Trophy at January 03, 2021 10:36 AM (25aKC)

246 Orporations are people, you guys! At least try to appear functionally literate.

Posted by: Fortcoins at January 03, 2021 10:36 AM (nV60k)

247 Hmm, another advantage to having gotten an older dog rather than a puppy! Lucy hasn't damaged any of my books. Can't say the same for my cat, unfortunately, who likes to use any accessible covers as scratching objects.

Posted by: empire 1 at January 03, 2021 10:37 AM (vluYu)

248 The most accepted is that it evolved from the brass monkeys that were souvenirs from China /Japan. Past literature referred to various body parts freezing off the brass monkey though never mentioned balls.
Posted by: Mr. Meeseeks, Look at me at January 03, 2021 10:30 AM (2DOZq)
------
I wouldn't make brass monkeys ride
In a one-horse open sleigh.
-- Yogi Yorgenson

Posted by: Captain Obvious, Laird o' the Sea at January 03, 2021 10:37 AM (fmcOr)

249 Liked the book with unusual plot for L'Amour.
Posted by: Charlotte at January 03, 2021

***

Believe it or not, he wrote one science-fiction novel (that I know of). The Haunted Mesa is from the '70s or '80s, and set in the present day. It gives an explanation of why the Anasazi peoples disappeared from the Southwest. As I recall it has a sort of X Files or The Invaders flavor to it.

Posted by: Wolfus Aurelius at January 03, 2021 10:37 AM (rpbg1)

250 Posted by: Kurt at January 03, 2021 10:31 AM (VMv9l)

fuck head as usual you selectively play with the numbers

as of 16JAN20 fox news corp was near 40 now it is near 30. but good show asshoe

Posted by: Nevergiveup at January 03, 2021 10:37 AM (85Gof)

251 Stupid to send people because you have to expend too much energy in keeping us alive rather than collecting close up data.

Posted by: Captain Hate

Agreed. Space tourism can be paid for by the individual.

Posted by: pep at January 03, 2021 10:37 AM (v16oJ)

252
Except that you have to expend energy to stay alive right here on Earth, too.
Posted by: Alberta Oil Peon


Aw, shit! Now the plan backed and funded by Bill Gates to replace all of our nervous systems with those of lobsters is out there in the open! Damn!

Posted by: Krebs v Carnot: Epic Battle of the Cycling Stars (TM) at January 03, 2021 10:38 AM (pNxlR)

253 245 @228Conveniently ignoring the huge tumble it took in February.

Posted by: pep at January 03, 2021 10:36 AM (v16oJ)

He's often wrong, never in doubt.

Posted by: BignJames at January 03, 2021 10:38 AM (AwYPR)

254 Stupid to send people because you have to expend too much energy in keeping us alive rather than collecting close up data.
Posted by: Captain Hate at January 03, 2021 10:33 AM (y7DUB)

That energy results in many ancillary discoveries that benefit mankind.

Posted by: Mr. Meeseeks, Look at me at January 03, 2021 10:38 AM (2DOZq)

255 >>I could name about 500 people I would nominate to launch on an interstellar probe.

I can think of more than that right now - except I'd not need 'interstellar' launchings - just a launch into the closest star...

By space cannon...

Posted by: Boswell at January 03, 2021 10:38 AM (w2LAm)

256 I could name about 500 people I would nominate to launch on an
interstellar probe. If you wanted to replace their nervous systems with a
lobsters first, it would be a bonus.
Yes, but we'd somehow have to figure out a way to upgrade Biden's nervous system to that of a lobster.

Posted by: pep at January 03, 2021 10:39 AM (v16oJ)

257 If you wanted to replace their nervous systems with a lobsters first, it would be a bonus.
Posted by: Cat Ass Trophy at January 03, 2021 10:33 AM (25aKC)


Kurt would be mocked by the lobsters.

Posted by: Captain Hate at January 03, 2021 10:39 AM (y7DUB)

258 Some actors, though, never seemed to have had a youth. John Hoyt and Ian Wolfe, for example.
Posted by: Wolfus Aurelius at January 03, 2021 10:23 AM (rpbg1)
---

Or Wilfrid Hyde-White.
Posted by: All Hail Eris, Iron Fist in Velvet Glove in Iron Gauntlet Clutching an Iron Mace

***

True! I just saw him in a Twilight Zone from '62 or so, and he looked even older than he does as Pickering in My Fair Lady.

Posted by: Wolfus Aurelius at January 03, 2021 10:39 AM (rpbg1)

259 245 @228Conveniently ignoring the huge tumble it took in February.

Posted by: pep at January 03, 2021 10:36 AM (v16oJ)

He's often wrong, never in doubt.
Posted by: BignJames at January 03, 2021 10:38 AM (AwYPR)

What's amazing is that dicks liike him and pelosi still don't understand google and the internet

Posted by: Nevergiveup at January 03, 2021 10:40 AM (85Gof)

260 If Fox's stok was up triple, good for them. At least they aren't lying about what they are anymore.

Posted by: Cat Ass Trophy at January 03, 2021 10:40 AM (25aKC)

261 My ski resort requires everyone to wear a mask while in line for and on the lift. And they are enforcing it. No mask no ride. It is retarded of course but it is the only way the county would let the resort operate so everyone is grudgingly playing along with the stupidity for fear of being shut down otherwise.

Posted by: Asshoes at January 03, 2021 10:41 AM (Fcou9)

262
Read down this far but without bread, milk and now no eggs a winter cannot be gotten through without French Toast I better slog through the snow and get needed supplies.
Wish me luck.
Posted by: Skip


Don't go all Donner party on us, Skip!

Posted by: Krebs v Carnot: Epic Battle of the Cycling Stars (TM) at January 03, 2021 10:41 AM (pNxlR)

263 And it is biased idiots like kurt who are fact checking for FB and twitter.

Posted by: Nevergiveup at January 03, 2021 10:41 AM (85Gof)

264 Now, Ulysses needed a 600 character limit.

Posted by: Anonosaurus Wrecks, Tyrannosaur Wrangler at January 03, 2021 10:41 AM (+y/Ru)

265 Hmm, another advantage to having gotten an older dog rather than a puppy! Lucy hasn't damaged any of my books. Can't say the same for my cat, unfortunately, who likes to use any accessible covers as scratching objects.
Posted by: empire 1 at January 03, 2021

***

I keep saying that when either of my current two cats passes on, there will be no more kittens, or Siberians, or white-and-black coats, and possibly no more boy cats. (I say it. Don't mean I'll actually follow through on it.)

Posted by: Wolfus Aurelius at January 03, 2021 10:41 AM (rpbg1)

266 229 Has the anti troll character limit been increased?

Posted by: Captain Hate at January 03, 2021 10:31 AM (y7DUB)


Yes.

Posted by: OregonMuse, AoSHQ Thought Leader, Pants Monitor & Social Distancing Professional at January 03, 2021 10:42 AM (nDYME)

267 That energy results in many ancillary discoveries that benefit mankind.
Posted by: Mr. Meeseeks, Look at me at January 03, 2021 10:38 AM (2DOZq)


I'm not saying abandon relatively short missions or weightless orbiting stations.

Posted by: Captain Hate at January 03, 2021 10:42 AM (y7DUB)

268 Finished Vanity Fair. Loved it! In the afterword, I learned there is/was a DIckens/Thackery rivalry (sort of like Beatles/Stones, I guess). Put me firmly on the Thackery side.

BignJames: I saw Hot Tuna do an acoustic duo set in Green Bay on a bitter cold February night. There were only about 50 of us there but they still put on a good show.

Posted by: Who knew at January 03, 2021 10:42 AM (SfO/T)

269 that cunt fauci is fighting with PDT again about the deaths supposedly due to covid.

Posted by: Nevergiveup at January 03, 2021 10:43 AM (85Gof)

270 228 In the last 6 months Fox Orporation Stock has gone up almost 50%
#206 capitalists seem to have a different view of Fox than you
Posted by: Kurt at January 03, 2021 10:31 AM (VMv9l)

Their one-year return is -19.3% says Bloomberg. At a market cap of almost $10 billion, Fox Corp is much bigger than their sh*tty little cable channel. But that channel's performance is tanking;

Posted by: JM in Florida at January 03, 2021 10:43 AM (HCeRP)

271 A Heritage of Stars by Clifford D. Simak is set in a post-apocalyptic future that describes the collapse of humanity in terms that strangely rhyme with today's situation. It wasn't due to war, but simply technology and government fusing into an unholy alliance that ultimately destroyed humanity's faith in technological solutions. They destroyed the world as a result, preferring barbarism to rule by the technocratic elite. Oddly, Simak placed way too much faith in the universities as being the repository of knowledge and wisdom (much like they were in the European Dark Ages). Other than that, he's pretty much spot on with his depictions of where we are now...

Posted by: Lord Squirrel at January 03, 2021 10:43 AM (hQrcu)

272 Lefties will never understand that the Right are individuals first and foremost ( that's fortunate for the Left) and that as individuals we don't change our individual positions because of what conventional wisdom might say or because of peer pressure of a foolish majority.

Posted by: Mr. Meeseeks, Look at me at January 03, 2021 10:45 AM (2DOZq)

273 Is the book fountain from in front of the Cincinnati Public Library main branch? It looks familiar...

Posted by: Rob Crawford at January 03, 2021 10:45 AM (naEeR)

274 BignJames: I saw Hot Tuna do an acoustic duo set in Green Bay on a bitter cold February night. There were only about 50 of us there but they still put on a good show.

Posted by: Who knew at January 03, 2021 10:42 AM (SfO/T)

Still touring, afaik!

Posted by: BignJames at January 03, 2021 10:45 AM (AwYPR)

275 Kurt is such a tool. In the last 6 months everything is up huge since 6 months ago we were in the middle of the WuFlu crash you dolt. Over the past year it is down 21% while the s&p500 is up 15%.

Posted by: Asshoes at January 03, 2021 10:46 AM (Fcou9)

276 A couple of weeks ago, someone mentioned a book about the history of alphabetization. I could've sworn I wrote it down, bun now can't find that note. Could somebody please refresh my memory?

Posted by: empire 1 at January 03, 2021 10:47 AM (vluYu)

277 kurt much like fauci who wants to count every old fat and sick person with multiple comorbidities as covid deaths.

Posted by: Nevergiveup at January 03, 2021 10:48 AM (85Gof)

278 There is a highway in GA named after Chet Atkins for some reason.

-
Atkins did a number of collaborations with Mark Knopfler of all people.

Posted by: Anonosaurus Wrecks, Tyrannosaur Wrangler at January 03, 2021 10:48 AM (+y/Ru)

279 I devour books.

Posted by: The Dog at January 03, 2021 10:48 AM (mNhhD)

280 Posted by: Mr. Meeseeks, Look at me at January 03, 2021 10:45 AM (2DOZq)

It's funny how the left has evolved into collectivists in terms of thought and behavior, back in the day they thought of themselves as free spirited individuals, even when they all acted alike. Now they're into being colonized by China and group think.

Posted by: CN at January 03, 2021 10:50 AM (ONvIw)

281 280 I devour books.
Posted by: The Dog at January 03, 2021 10:48 AM (mNhhD)

Just curious: how fast do you read? And how did you get that fast?

-- A Slowpoke

Posted by: JM in Florida at January 03, 2021 10:50 AM (HCeRP)

282 Looks like my library, except for all the books and shelves.

Posted by: FrodoB-
cause I am at January 03, 2021 10:51 AM (dQF3z)

283 Posted by: JT at January 03, 2021 10:01 AM (arJlL)

In case it hasn't been answered seriously, Maori name their girl children Ngaio. Marsh was from New Zealand and, according to a Kiwi I knew, part Maori.

Posted by: Polliwog the 'Ette at January 03, 2021 10:52 AM (1lKRm)

284 Kurt is not a tool. A tool is usually sharp and has a purpose.

Posted by: All Hail Eris, Iron Fist in Velvet Glove in Iron Gauntlet Clutching an Iron Mace at January 03, 2021 10:52 AM (Dc2NZ)

285 A tool is usually sharp and has a purpose.
Posted by: All Hail Eris, Iron Fist in Velvet Glove in Iron Gauntlet Clutching an Iron Mace at January 03, 2021 10:52 AM (Dc2NZ)
-----
*sob*

Posted by: Hammers at January 03, 2021 10:54 AM (fmcOr)

286 Kurt is not a tool. A tool is usually sharp and has a purpose.
Posted by: All Hail Eris, Iron Fist in Velvet Glove in Iron Gauntlet Clutching an Iron Mace

***

A tool can be blunt, like a hammer. But I agree: To be a tool, one must be useful.

Posted by: Wolfus Aurelius at January 03, 2021 10:54 AM (rpbg1)

287 by the way how in the hell are pelosi's and mcconnell's houses vandalized? Doesn't the Congress, police, and even the Secret Service have people to prevent that?

Posted by: Nevergiveup at January 03, 2021 10:55 AM (85Gof)

288 Looks like the Percys recovered after Shrewsbury somehow. Henry IV, Pt. 2.

Posted by: mnw at January 03, 2021 10:56 AM (Cssks)

289 Fox Bidness is still pretty good and hasnt gone left (yet). But even there the thinking is Chinese tariffs are bad and we need unfettered free trade cuz much Adam Smith. Which is theory is great if both sides are in an equal footing and both sides play by the same rules. But the capitalism at all costs crowd never seems to understand China does not play by the rules.

Posted by: Asshoes at January 03, 2021 10:57 AM (Fcou9)

290 The IDF declared Metulla, a city on the Israeli-Lebanese border, a closed military zone on Sunday afternoon.

Posted by: Nevergiveup at January 03, 2021 10:57 AM (85Gof)

291 207
Has anyone here experience performing book repairs? If so, have you any experience using lightweight Japanese paper to repair torn pages?
Posted by: Krebs v Carnot: Epic Battle of the Cycling Stars (TM) at January 03, 2021 10:24 AM (pNxlR)

I've used Lineco Archival Repair Tape with good results. No ironing needed. I did get a bone folder to burnish the tape down. As a bonus the bone folder makes a great shiv...

https://tinyurl.com/y7nq8lmp
https://tinyurl.com/y7nog9un




Posted by: I am the Shadout Mapes, the Housekeeper at January 03, 2021 10:58 AM (PiwSw)

292 Has the anti troll character limit been increased?

Posted by: Captain Hate at January 03, 2021 10:31 AM (y7DUB)

Yes.
Posted by: OregonMuse, AoSHQ Thought Leader, Pants Monitor & Social Distancing Professional at January 03, 2021 10:42 AM (nDYME)

But the "spam" filter seems to have been tightened.

Posted by: BurtTC at January 03, 2021 10:59 AM (oQ94s)

293 James Smithson, patron of the Smithsonian institution, was the illegitimate son of the 1st Duke of Northumberland.

Posted by: Captain Obvious, Laird o' the Sea at January 03, 2021 10:59 AM (fmcOr)

294 The book thread is the pigs elbows!

Posted by: Cannibal Bob - PHD Cannibal Studies at January 03, 2021 11:00 AM (Dz5W3)

295 empire 1: "A Place for Everything - The Curious History f Alphabetical Order" by Judith Flanders. It's sitting right here on top of my pile of Christmas books.

Posted by: Who knew at January 03, 2021 11:00 AM (SfO/T)

296 Pelosi's SF residence has 24 hr private security.
The event is a false flag.

Posted by: navybrat, at large at January 03, 2021 11:00 AM (w7KSn)

297 A place for everything by Judith Flanders might be the book you're thinking of empire 1

Posted by: Nckate at January 03, 2021 11:00 AM (c2XaW)

298 That last cartoon got me good. Maybe it's the idea of a children's book being so horrific that it drives the reader to suicide.

My sense of humor grows darker with each passing year.

Posted by: PabloD, booking agent for Aero Pinochet at January 03, 2021 11:01 AM (risNt)

299 297 Pelosi's SF residence has 24 hr private security.
The event is a false flag.
Posted by: navybrat, at large at January 03, 2021 11:00 AM (w7KSn)

It has to be all about Nancy, all the time.

Posted by: CN at January 03, 2021 11:01 AM (ONvIw)

300 Pelosi's SF residence has 24 hr private security.
The event is a false flag.
Posted by: navybrat, at large at January 03, 2021 11:00 AM (w7KSn)

Thanks...Makes sense to me

Posted by: Nevergiveup at January 03, 2021 11:01 AM (85Gof)

301 But the "spam" filter seems to have been tightened.

Posted by: BurtTC at January 03, 2021 10:59 AM (oQ94s)


Yes.

Posted by: OregonMuse, AoSHQ Thought Leader, Pants Monitor & Social Distancing Professional at January 03, 2021 11:02 AM (nDYME)

302 Thanks OM, the book thread is the Sheeps Tookus.

Posted by: Cannibal Bob - PHD Cannibal Studies at January 03, 2021 11:02 AM (Dz5W3)

303 OT, but there's a guy in my town whose house was hung with Trump banners and yard ringed with American flags. He removed much of it after the election, but in an act of cheerful defiance has put it all back up and then some, including a YUGE Trump face on his door:

https://tinyurl.com/y9k7l344

Posted by: All Hail Eris, Iron Fist in Velvet Glove in Iron Gauntlet Clutching an Iron Mace at January 03, 2021 11:02 AM (Dc2NZ)

304 I devour books.
Posted by: The Dog at January 03, 2021 10:48 AM (mNhhD)

Just curious: how fast do you read? And how did you get that fast?

-- A Slowpoke
Posted by: JM in Florida at January 03, 2021 10:50 AM (HCeRP)

I assumed that was supposed to be a joke, but the answer is, I think, some people truly do have the ability to devour books, and somehow retain what they read.

I think most people who are fast readers though, don't quite absorb what they're reading all that deeply.

Posted by: BurtTC at January 03, 2021 11:02 AM (oQ94s)

305 The inauguration will be the donkey's dick!

Posted by: Anonosaurus Wrecks, Tyrannosaur Wrangler at January 03, 2021 11:02 AM (+y/Ru)

306 Hence the fake blood?

Posted by: CN at January 03, 2021 11:03 AM (ONvIw)

307 Fauci should have been sued into destitution by the surviving offspring of AIDS victims. He is exhibit A of the lack of bureaucratic responsibility.

Posted by: Captain Hate at January 03, 2021 11:03 AM (y7DUB)

308 OK, I better bolt before OM slaps m balled headed. I cant help myself. Aways terrific OM. ThankS a million and happy new year.

Posted by: Cannibal Bob - PHD Cannibal Studies at January 03, 2021 11:04 AM (Dz5W3)

309 Just finished John Walsh book titled "Last Stands". Interestingly, it is about Last Stands. From Thermopylae to Choisun.

More a reflection on the why than the details. It left me wanting more details about each battle. I enjoyed it and have reached the conclusion that books involving geography as in motion over ground in a sequence, need maps. Which Kindle does not do legibly.

Posted by: Pete Bog at January 03, 2021 11:04 AM (bzrNB)

310 The inauguration will be the donkey's dick!
Posted by: Anonosaurus Wrecks, Tyrannosaur Wrangler at January 03, 2021 11:02 AM (+y/Ru)
------
The Giant Donkey Dong of Doom.

Posted by: Captain Obvious, Laird o' the Sea at January 03, 2021 11:04 AM (fmcOr)

311 287 Kurt is not a tool. A tool is usually sharp and has a purpose.
Posted by: All Hail Eris, Iron Fist in Velvet Glove in Iron Gauntlet Clutching an Iron Mace
***

A tool can be blunt, like a hammer. But I agree: To be a tool, one must be useful.
Posted by: Wolfus Aurelius at January 03, 2021 10:54 AM (rpbg1)
---

Kurt is merely dull.

Posted by: All Hail Eris, Iron Fist in Velvet Glove in Iron Gauntlet Clutching an Iron Mace at January 03, 2021 11:04 AM (Dc2NZ)

312 Checked cable news rating last Tuesday. Fox had ONE show in the top 50 -- Tucker at #47.

Posted by: JM in Florida at January 03, 2021 10:13 AM (HCeRP)


We did it!! -- Kathryn Murdoch

Posted by: TheQuietMan at January 03, 2021 11:05 AM (t8ef1)

313 the surviving offspring of AIDS victims

Um...

Posted by: Rob Crawford at January 03, 2021 11:05 AM (naEeR)

314
Bookish Problem #127

You step back and realize that there is no space on the bookshelf for the new book.

That, of course, leaves the Seuss solution...if it can be called a solution.

Posted by: Mike Hammer, etc., etc. at January 03, 2021 11:06 AM (l0Lgi)

315 Ahoy, bookfagz!

Posted by: Insomniac at January 03, 2021 11:06 AM (nakwk)

316 Greetings:

"Finnegan's Wake" is the Christmas present I give to people who pester me about their readings.

Present company excepted.

Posted by: 11B40 at January 03, 2021 11:06 AM (evgyj)

317
For math nerds with YouTube access, there is a decent series of mathematical topics put out by a guy who calls his product 3Blue1Brown. They are worth a watch. Apparently he has started a #lockdownmath series designed to reach high school students although, from having viewed one, they are pretty intensive. A bright student may find them appropriately challenging, however.

Whether our scout troop can meet in person again starting on January 11 is not now known, as what we may do is tied to what schools may do. In this state, to find that out you must read the latest government diktat regarding WuFlu. Here is its title --
Fourth Revision to the Twenty-Seventh Modification of the Declaration of a State of Emergency for the State of Delaware Due to a Public Health Threat (12/10/2020)


"Fourth Revision ... Twenty-Seventh Modification ..." just scream "solid SCIENCE!" and not "playing tennis without a net", don't they?

Posted by: Krebs v Carnot: Epic Battle of the Cycling Stars (TM) at January 03, 2021 11:06 AM (pNxlR)

318 Some homos have children.

Posted by: Captain Hate at January 03, 2021 11:07 AM (y7DUB)

319 surviving offspring of AIDS victims

Um...
Posted by: Rob Crawford at January 03, 2021 11:05 AM (naEeR)
-----
There were plenty of people who contracted AIDS via transfusions of tainted blood.

Posted by: Captain Obvious, Laird o' the Sea at January 03, 2021 11:07 AM (fmcOr)

320 Greetings:

Some children have homos ???

Posted by: 11B40 at January 03, 2021 11:07 AM (evgyj)

321 Who Knew and NC Kate -- Yes, that's the one. Thank both of you very much!

Posted by: empire 1 at January 03, 2021 11:07 AM (vluYu)

322 Floyd Little, the versatile running back who starred at Syracuse and for the Denver Broncos, has died after a long bout with cancer. He was 78.

Posted by: Nevergiveup at January 03, 2021 11:07 AM (85Gof)

323 30Posted by: All Hail Eris, Iron Fist in Velvet Glove in Iron Gauntlet Clutching an Iron Mace at January 03, 2021 09:14 AM (Dc2NZ)

Eris, you might enjoy Paul Malmont's "The Chinatown Death Cloud Peril" and "The Astonishing, the Amazing and the Unknown".
Most of those guys, plus some other pulp authors, in two very good novels.

Posted by: Sal at January 03, 2021 11:07 AM (KTdeA)

324 There was no blood, that was paint.
Also note that the spray paint is limited to the garage door, a relatively cheap item to replace. The spray paint didn't stain the bricks at all, looks like someone put a barrier up while spraying so as to spare the bricks.
False flag.

Posted by: navybrat, at large at January 03, 2021 11:08 AM (w7KSn)

325 Eris, you might enjoy Paul Malmont's "The Chinatown Death Cloud Peril" and "The Astonishing, the Amazing and the Unknown".
Most of those guys, plus some other pulp authors, in two very good novels.
Posted by: Sal at January 03, 2021 11:07 AM (KTdeA)
---

I loved "The Chinatown Death Cloud Peril"! Bought it for the title and teh pulpy cover and was pleasantly surprised.

Posted by: All Hail Eris, Iron Fist in Velvet Glove in Iron Gauntlet Clutching an Iron Mace at January 03, 2021 11:09 AM (Dc2NZ)

326 318
For math nerds with YouTube access, there is a decent series of mathematical topics put out by a guy who calls his product 3Blue1Brown. They are worth a watch. Apparently he has started a #lockdownmath series designed to reach high school students although, from having viewed one, they are pretty intensive. A bright student may find them appropriately challenging, however.

I prefer " Bikini Calculus."

Posted by: Fox2! at January 03, 2021 11:09 AM (qyH+l)

327


VOTE HARDER IN 2022

Posted by: The Senate at January 03, 2021 11:09 AM (r4bSV)

328 "Last Stands" author is Michael Walsh, not John.
That one looks good, I watched him being interviewed about it.

Posted by: navybrat, at large at January 03, 2021 11:10 AM (w7KSn)

329 A tool can be blunt, like a hammer. But I agree: To be a tool, one must be useful.
Posted by: Wolfus Aurelius
-------

I am assured by Insom that a tire iron is a useful management tool.

Posted by: Mike Hammer, etc., etc. at January 03, 2021 11:10 AM (l0Lgi)

330 I'm into my yearly re-read of Shelby Foote's Civil War Narrative.

I am also slowly reading 'The Pity of War' by Niall Ferguson on Zod's recommendation.

Posted by: Mark Andrew Edwards, shotguns solve problems at January 03, 2021 11:10 AM (d1uFV)

331 You are invited to worship with us:

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=vYB5behZzf8

Posted by: President-elect Emmie at January 03, 2021 11:11 AM (ofYez)

332 I prefer " Bikini Calculus."
Posted by: Fox2! at January 03, 2021 11:09 AM (qyH+l)

Kaloopy on the DistroTV app.

KBdaBear approved

Posted by: Mark Andrew Edwards, shotguns solve problems at January 03, 2021 11:11 AM (d1uFV)

333 Just finished John Walsh book titled "Last Stands". Interestingly, it is about Last Stands. From Thermopylae to Choisun.


Posted by: Pete Bog at January 03, 2021 11:04 AM (bzrNB)

---
One of the key contrasts between Nationalist and Republican troops in the Spanish Civil War was their willingness to fight against overwhelming odds, even to the point of being surrounded.

There were plenty of "Last Stands" in Spain, all of them by the Nationalists. The defense of the Alcazar set the tone early on, and was repeated many times. Oviedo in the north endured a siege for more than a year until Franco's troops cleared the area around it. Teruel was blasted almost flat and the Nationalists only surrendered when the Republic promised clemency to their bishop and commander (both of whom they treacherously killed). (con't)


Posted by: Ace-Endorsed Author A.H. Lloyd at January 03, 2021 11:11 AM (cfSRQ)

334 "For the Grace of God has appeared that offers salvation to all people. It teaches us to say "NO", to ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright and godly lives in this present age. "

Titus 2:11-12

Posted by: Marcus T at January 03, 2021 11:11 AM (JOV35)

335 Oh and I bought about 8 of 'The Shadow' pulps on Razorfist's recommendation

Posted by: Mark Andrew Edwards, shotguns solve problems at January 03, 2021 11:12 AM (d1uFV)

336 I'm into my yearly re-read of Shelby Foote's Civil War Narrative.

I am also reading that..slowly, but reading it

Posted by: Nevergiveup at January 03, 2021 11:12 AM (85Gof)

337 Has anyone here experience performing book repairs? If so, have you any experience using lightweight Japanese paper to repair torn pages?
Posted by: Krebs v Carnot: Epic Battle of the Cycling Stars (TM) at January 03, 2021 10:24 AM (pNxlR)

===

Well, I do happen to have my Bookbinding merit badge...

Posted by: San Franpsycho at January 03, 2021 11:12 AM (EZebt)

338 (con't)
Fighting to the end is something that has to become reflexive and the
GOP doesn't do it. Even Will Chamberlain, who claims to have coined the
term "wartime conservative" wanted Trump to give up weeks ago.

No,
you make the enemy fight for each desperate inch. Maybe you still
lose, but you wear them down in the process and create the spirit
necessary for ultimate victory.

These people don't understand that the only way an enemy will respect you is if you fight to the bitter end every time. Being a "good sport" or "reasonable" only earns their contempt.

Posted by: Ace-Endorsed Author A.H. Lloyd at January 03, 2021 11:13 AM (cfSRQ)

339 VOTE HARDER IN 2022
Posted by: The Senate at January 03, 2021 11:09 AM (r4bSV)

EABOD, today

Letting this country be colonized by China should see you all in prison, but instead, you'll get the cash. May you wake in torment, Senate.

Posted by: CN at January 03, 2021 11:13 AM (ONvIw)

340 330 A tool can be blunt, like a hammer. But I agree: To be a tool, one must be useful.
Posted by: Wolfus Aurelius
-------

I am assured by Insom that a tire iron is a useful management tool.
Posted by: Mike Hammer, etc., etc. at January 03, 2021 11:10 AM (l0Lgi)

Absolutely. Satisfaction guaranteed or your money back.

Posted by: Insomniac at January 03, 2021 11:14 AM (nakwk)

341 Fauci should have been sued into destitution by the surviving offspring of AIDS victims. He is exhibit A of the lack of bureaucratic responsibility.
Posted by: Captain Hate at January 03, 2021 11:03 AM (y7DUB)

One particular study used orphans to test some of the nastier early drugs. There are protocols in place, for how one does medical research on children.

Aaaand, needless to say, they weren't followed. There was really no one advocating for the children, and many of them died premature deaths as a result of these tests.

Fauci's agency did that. Fauci "benefitted" from the results. Literally killed children to make a name, and try to enrich himself with patents on drugs.

Posted by: BurtTC at January 03, 2021 11:14 AM (oQ94s)

342 I am also reading that..slowly, but reading it
Posted by: Nevergiveup at January 03, 2021 11:12 AM (85Gof)

Cool. Love to know what your thoughts are when you're done with it.

I find Foote to be my favorite Civil War author, even more so than Catton or MacPherson.

Posted by: Mark Andrew Edwards, shotguns solve problems at January 03, 2021 11:15 AM (d1uFV)

343 One additional thought: Franco always tried to rescue his garrisons, to the exclusion of every other consideration. He's been criticized by this, but it is why his army fought so tenaciously - they knew their commander would not let them die in vain.

The garrison of Teruel was almost entirely wiped out - the survivors were captured and some killed. But Franco didn't care, he drove his relief columns forward through blinding snow and as the last pockets were being crushed they could hear Nationalist guns firing and knew that Franco never gave up on them.

This business of tipping your hat and saying "well struck!" is great for 18th Century battles, but not in a political struggle to the death.

Posted by: Ace-Endorsed Author A.H. Lloyd at January 03, 2021 11:15 AM (cfSRQ)

344 Fauci's agency did that. Fauci "benefitted" from the results. Literally killed children to make a name, and try to enrich himself with patents on drugs.
Posted by: BurtTC at January 03, 2021 11:14 AM (oQ94s)

Wouldn't surprise me. These people tend to be sociopaths.

Posted by: Insomniac at January 03, 2021 11:16 AM (nakwk)

345 Just finishing off 'Madrid', Sansom. Entertaining enough, for bedtime reading. As much as anything else, it has made me aware of my ignorance regarding the Spanish civil war.

It is not a historical novel, really, but it is set in that time and place.

Having, in the last year, read 'Russka', I'm struck by the fact that a well-researched historical novel can certainly raise one's awareness of historical facts without 'research' per se.

Posted by: Mike Hammer, etc., etc. at January 03, 2021 11:16 AM (1vynn)

346 navybrat, at large at January 03, 2021 11:10 AM (w7KSn)

Oops. You are right. John is his Dad. And relevant to the book and musings on the title subject.

Posted by: Pete Bog at January 03, 2021 11:16 AM (bzrNB)

347 David Maliki is woke, BTW

Not on our side. Too bad, too. I liked Wondermark.

Posted by: Mark Andrew Edwards, shotguns solve problems at January 03, 2021 11:17 AM (d1uFV)

348 Ace-Endorsed Author A.H. Lloyd
---------

Yikes! I'm typing my mention of 'Madrid', as you are posting re Franco. Some sort of cosmic intersection....

Posted by: Mike Hammer, etc., etc. at January 03, 2021 11:18 AM (DMQdU)

349 Captain Hate,
Loved The Night Circus. I thought it was meticulously crafted, there were no glaring plot holes and the whole concept hung together beautifully. The visual world it created was enchanting.

Thanks for the heads-up on her other book.

Posted by: Sal at January 03, 2021 11:18 AM (KTdeA)

350 Having, in the last year, read 'Russka', I'm struck by the fact that a well-researched historical novel can certainly raise one's awareness of historical facts without 'research' per se.
Posted by: Mike Hammer, etc., etc. at January 03, 2021 11:16 AM (1vynn)

Is that the Edward Rutherfurd book?

Posted by: Mark Andrew Edwards, shotguns solve problems at January 03, 2021 11:18 AM (d1uFV)

351 Being a "sore loser" is only a problem when the rules of the game are clear and equally enforced. But if one side has already torn up the book and brags about it, openly fantasizes about the persecutions to come, only suckers or cowards try to "rise above the fray."

"Wait till next year" only works when their will BE a next year. Trump gets this, and he knows that if he loses at the end of the day, he will have spent every last ounce of blood and sweat fighting.

People will respect that. They will not respect politicians who could have done more, but sat on their hands.

And if things get really sporty, the "honorable gentlemen" will find themselves targeted by both sides.

Posted by: Ace-Endorsed Author A.H. Lloyd at January 03, 2021 11:18 AM (cfSRQ)

352 Shelby Foote's Civil War work should be on the books to have on a desert island list. You cannot pick up any volume without being educated and/or entertained.

Posted by: bill in arkansas at January 03, 2021 11:19 AM (I58tH)

353 Clams Garters Vol. 69

Posted by: TwentytwoLR at January 03, 2021 11:19 AM (XUXBL)

354 Get over here. Do you think that vaccine is just going to inject itself?

Posted by: Dr. R.R.R. Fauci at January 03, 2021 11:20 AM (W4eKo)

355 Fighting to the end is something that has to become reflexive and the
GOP doesn't do it.

The book cannot be read in today's political environment without being grist for some reflection on our Nation and the coming storm.

But it doesn't really get into that.

Posted by: Pete Bog at January 03, 2021 11:20 AM (bzrNB)

356 surviving offspring of AIDS victims
----------
Um...
Posted by: Rob Crawford at January 03, 2021 11:05 AM (naEeR)
-----
There were plenty of people who contracted AIDS via transfusions of tainted blood.
Posted by: Captain Obvious, Laird o' the Sea at January 03, 2021 11:07 AM (fmcOr)

Or more abundantly, IV drug users.

The percentages basically break down to about 70% gay men, 20 something % IV drug users, and whatever is left, women (who got it from categories A and B above), or mystery cases that are nearly always categories A and B above.

So yeah, there are children with it. And they make up some of the small single digit percentage cases that don't fall into categories A and B.

Posted by: BurtTC at January 03, 2021 11:20 AM (oQ94s)

357 Just finishing off 'Madrid', Sansom. Entertaining
enough, for bedtime reading. As much as anything else, it has made me
aware of my ignorance regarding the Spanish civil war.

Posted by: Mike Hammer, etc., etc. at January 03, 2021 11:16 AM (1vynn)

---
I know a book that could help you with that.

Posted by: Ace-Endorsed Author A.H. Lloyd at January 03, 2021 11:20 AM (cfSRQ)

358 Off to snarf some good bookage.

Later taters!

Posted by: All Hail Eris, Iron Fist in Velvet Glove in Iron Gauntlet Clutching an Iron Mace at January 03, 2021 11:21 AM (Dc2NZ)

359 "These people don't understand that the only way an enemy will respect you is if you fight to the bitter end every time. Being a "good sport" or "reasonable" only earns their contempt."

Being "reasonable" is an excuse for cowardice when the time-tested result is your maltreatment and enslavement.

Courage only takes one man with fortitude and righteousness.

Unfortunately we are living in an age where cowards permeate the field and are leading us to slaughter and servitude.

Never. Never will I follow or submit to such despotism and pusillanimity.

Posted by: Marcus T at January 03, 2021 11:21 AM (JOV35)

360 OM, your book thread is The Cat's Meow.

Posted by: Dr. Bone at January 03, 2021 11:22 AM (WOYcU)

361 Speaking of the 'The Night Circus', as a fan of the book, I wonder how much help Erin Morgenstern had with it.

Her follow up book took 8 years and does not seem to have the same, tight focus.

Posted by: Mark Andrew Edwards, shotguns solve problems at January 03, 2021 11:22 AM (d1uFV)

362
Absolutely. Satisfaction guaranteed or your money back.
Posted by: Insomniac
-------

The late night TV commercials almost write themselves...

"But wait ! Buy one Tire Iron now, and we'll send you two ! Order now and we'll include free shipping, a $10.95 value!"

Posted by: Mike Hammer, etc., etc. at January 03, 2021 11:22 AM (DMQdU)

363 Fauci's agency did that. Fauci "benefitted" from the results. Literally killed children to make a name, and try to enrich himself with patents on drugs.
Posted by: BurtTC at January 03, 2021 11:14 AM (oQ94s)

Wouldn't surprise me. These people tend to be sociopaths.
Posted by: Insomniac at January 03, 2021 11:16 AM (nakwk)

My fervent wish, for 2021, is the exposure of Fauci and Gates to be the monsters they are.

Posted by: BurtTC at January 03, 2021 11:22 AM (oQ94s)

364 CNN anchor Jake Tapper said on Sundays broadcast of State of the Union that reports of as many as 140 Republican House members and a handful of Republican senators planning to object to the certification of President-elect Joe Bidens Electoral College win on January 6 was an attempted bloodless coup.

These cint bastards say shit like this not recognizing the irony that they tried to a coup against PDT for 4 + years. FUCK YOU

Posted by: Nevergiveup at January 03, 2021 11:23 AM (85Gof)

365

look at us!

we define reasonable !!

Posted by: The GOPe at January 03, 2021 11:24 AM (r4bSV)

366 The absolute best meme for Wednesday!

https://bit.ly/385TFgO

Posted by: SandyCheeks at January 03, 2021 11:24 AM (T2vnY)

367 I know a book that could help you with that.
Posted by: Ace-Endorsed Author A.H. Lloyd
-------

Don't be a tease...let's have it.

Posted by: Mike Hammer, etc., etc. at January 03, 2021 11:24 AM (vOGqy)

368 Unfortunately we are living in an age where cowards permeate the field and are leading us to slaughter and servitude.


Posted by: Marcus T at January 03, 2021 11:21 AM (JOV35)

---
Yep, and the same "reasonable people" are already working up scathing columns against the Biden administration. They figure they have lots of fund-raising to do from their "withering criticism."

But that grift won't work any more. Guys like Chamberlain are dead to me. He's a Beltway lawyer who talks tough, nothing more. Not welcome in my trench.

Posted by: Ace-Endorsed Author A.H. Lloyd at January 03, 2021 11:24 AM (cfSRQ)

369 Saw Muldoon commented earlier. Still here? I read your how-to-limerick comments (some thread back there) and I thought you should collect that and post it, maybe as an "about" type page on your website, maybe as a preface in your next published collection. Except, you should re-write it so it's all in limerick form.

Posted by: mindful webworker
Happy Ten Lords a-Leaping Day
at January 03, 2021 11:25 AM (Vddbf)

370 Is that the Edward Rutherfurd book?
Posted by: Mark Andrew Edwards
------

Yes.

Posted by: Mike Hammer, etc., etc. at January 03, 2021 11:26 AM (vOGqy)

371 Don't be a tease...let's have it.

Posted by: Mike Hammer, etc., etc. at January 03, 2021 11:24 AM (vOGqy)

---
Seriously?

Long Live Death: The Keys to Victory in the Spanish Civil War. Link to my web page in my nic.

Posted by: Ace-Endorsed Author A.H. Lloyd at January 03, 2021 11:26 AM (cfSRQ)

372 Some homos have children.
Posted by: Captain Hate at January 03, 2021 11:07 AM (y7DUB)

Having obtained detailed information from many people with HIV, I can tell you there are very few of these men, over a certain age, who DON'T have children.

The younger ones? Yeah, they sometimes surprise me when I find they've never even had sex with a woman in their lives.

Posted by: BurtTC at January 03, 2021 11:26 AM (oQ94s)

373 This Mississippi lady had a dream that her husband cheated on her. So she got up, got a knife from the kitchen, and shanked him while he slept!

https://bit.ly/3naLJPN

Hit him back first taken to an extreme.

Posted by: Anonosaurus Wrecks, Tyrannosaur Wrangler at January 03, 2021 11:26 AM (+y/Ru)

374 bloodless coup.



These cint bastards say shit like this not recognizing the irony that they tried to a coup against PDT for 4 + years. FUCK YOU

Posted by: Nevergiveup at January 03, 2021 11:23 AM (85Gof)

---
Procedure specifically outlined in Constitution now = "Bloodless coup."

Okay...

Posted by: Ace-Endorsed Author A.H. Lloyd at January 03, 2021 11:27 AM (cfSRQ)

375 Sex scenes are really a waste of time.
Posted by: Ace-Endorsed Author A.H. Lloyd at January 03, 2021 09:59 AM (cfSRQ)

Thank you!!!. J.D. Robb's otherwise enjoyable Eve Dallas police procedurals are predictably slowed down by the hot sex between the detective and her husband, who is the epitome of every cat-lady romantic fantasy there is. (In fact, I think she may be having a bit of fun with that.)

I understand that she puts that in (sorry, phrasing!) for her romance crossover fans, but man, is it boring. I just skip it.

Posted by: Sal at January 03, 2021 11:27 AM (KTdeA)

376 Speaking of the Spanish Civil War, the Eyeties left behind lots of equipment and supplies when they left. Even though much of it was obsolete by WW2 standards, the Eyeties entered the big war pretty much exhausted from their African and Spanish adventures. Benito thought the war would be over in a few weeks when he entered the fray.

Posted by: Hairyback Guy at January 03, 2021 11:27 AM (R/m4+)

377 Posted by: Ace-Endorsed Author A.H. Lloyd at January 03, 2021 11:18 AM (cfSRQ)

This was brilliantly said. The likes of Romney and Toomey will be acceptable to neither side, and Romney will have destroyed any chance of taking another bite at the Presidential apple. Cruz will look heroic. The rise above the fray types are destroying themselves as there is no chance that "no fraud" occurred. They can't look ignorant anymore and they are therefore corrupt if not criminal.

Posted by: CN at January 03, 2021 11:27 AM (ONvIw)

378 Seriously?

Long Live Death: The Keys to Victory in the Spanish Civil War. Link to my web page in my nic.
Posted by: Ace-Endorsed Author A.H. Lloyd
-------

I'm supposed to already know this, aren't I?

*scurries off to link*

Posted by: Mike Hammer, etc., etc. at January 03, 2021 11:28 AM (1vynn)

379 The late night TV commercials almost write themselves...

"But wait ! Buy one Tire Iron now, and we'll send you two ! Order now and we'll include free shipping, a $10.95 value!"
Posted by: Mike Hammer, etc., etc. at January 03, 2021 11:22 AM (DMQdU)

Need that perfect gift for a special someone? Add one more Tire Iron to your order and we will include our proprietary non-slip grip cover technology with each one, a 50 dollar value, for only $19.99! But act now, this offer only lasts for the next 30 minutes!

Posted by: Insomniac at January 03, 2021 11:29 AM (nakwk)

380 OM, your book thread is The Cat's Meow.
Posted by: Dr. Bone at January 03, 2021 11:22 AM (WOYcU)

It's the Walrus' Pancreas!

Posted by: BurtTC at January 03, 2021 11:29 AM (oQ94s)

381 That's another thing: all the GOP controlled state legislatures held hearings, postured and then did...nothing.

You know, they didn't even have to award electors to Trump. They could have simply passed a concurrent resolution stating that since the popular vote was tainted, they were abstaining since the true result could not be known.

But no, they did hearings, sent out fund-raising letters and promise to totally fix things later on. Just not now. No, not now. Later.

Posted by: Ace-Endorsed Author A.H. Lloyd at January 03, 2021 11:29 AM (cfSRQ)

382 Biden has written a book.

Politics
Biden Releases Controversial New Memoir 'If I Rigged It'
January 1st, 2021 107

-
Courtesy the Babylon Bee.

Posted by: Anonosaurus Wrecks, Tyrannosaur Wrangler at January 03, 2021 11:29 AM (+y/Ru)

383 336 ... "I'm into my yearly re-read of Shelby Foote's Civil War Narrative."

I've read the three volumes several times. Besides the fine writing, I hear the words in that wonderful Shelby Foote educated drawl.

Posted by: JTB at January 03, 2021 11:29 AM (7EjX1)

384 Just not now. No, not now. Later.
Posted by: Ace-Endorsed Author A.H. Lloyd at January 03, 2021 11:29 AM (cfSRQ)

After we can safely go back to lining our pockets and cheap foreign labor.

Posted by: CN at January 03, 2021 11:31 AM (ONvIw)

385 Speaking of the Spanish Civil War, the Eyeties left behind lots of equipment and supplies when they left. Even though much of it was obsolete by WW2 standards, the Eyeties entered the big war pretty much exhausted from their African and Spanish adventures. Benito thought the war would be over in a few weeks when he entered the fray.
Posted by: Hairyback Guy at January 03, 2021 11:27 AM (R/m4+)

The single most inappropriately named war in history (beating out 100 Years War, and War Of the Roses).

Spanish Civil War featured Italians, Germans, Russians, and a bunch of overrated American pinko writers.

Not exactly a Civil War... which is a silly euphemism, in and of itself.

Posted by: BurtTC at January 03, 2021 11:32 AM (oQ94s)

386 This Mississippi lady had a dream that her husband cheated on her. So
she got up, got a knife from the kitchen, and shanked him while he
slept!


Sounds reasonable to me.

Posted by: Disney Luke Skywalker at January 03, 2021 11:32 AM (kOpft)

387
Speaking of the Spanish Civil War, the Eyeties left behind lots of
equipment and supplies when they left. Even though much of it was
obsolete by WW2 standards, the Eyeties entered the big war pretty much
exhausted from their African and Spanish adventures. Benito thought the
war would be over in a few weeks when he entered the fray.



Posted by: Hairyback Guy at January 03, 2021 11:27 AM (R/m4+)

---
Italy left several divisions' worth of artillery in Spain. It was just as if not more important than the air contribution.

Italy's problem was that they did not have the industrial base to rearm in the 1930s. Sending old WW I stocks in return for an ally was a smart play, but only if you can replace it with more modern stuff.

Their aircraft and tanks were basically only good for scrap, so that didn't really hurt them. The problem was they didn't get better stuff into large-scale production fast enough.

Posted by: Ace-Endorsed Author A.H. Lloyd at January 03, 2021 11:33 AM (cfSRQ)

388 how-to-limerick

-
First, get a gallon of Irish whiskey . . .

Posted by: Anonosaurus Wrecks, Tyrannosaur Wrangler at January 03, 2021 11:33 AM (+y/Ru)

389

There are many elected officials who do not understand the waves caused by the blatant steel and then lack of effort to stop or remidy it

noboby arrested

no pain points for the steelers

crud , people went to prison for trying to flimflam their kids into certain universities

Posted by: will choose a nic later at January 03, 2021 11:33 AM (r4bSV)

390
how many men here have had their wife pissed off at them for something they did in the wifes dream?



?

Posted by: will choose a nic later at January 03, 2021 11:34 AM (r4bSV)

391 383 Having "snowbirded" to the South, and now entrenched until March and then the desert, I have been asked "how do you understand them down there. They sound stupid" and on and on. I always recommend they listen to Shelby Foote.

Posted by: bill in arkansas at January 03, 2021 11:35 AM (I58tH)

392 Besides the fine writing, I hear the words in that wonderful Shelby Foote educated drawl.
Posted by: JTB at January 03, 2021 11:29 AM (7EjX1)
------
Shelby narrated a part of his own book, I believe "The Stars In Their Courses" section. Check it out under audiobooks.

Posted by: Captain Obvious, Laird o' the Sea at January 03, 2021 11:35 AM (fmcOr)

393 Not exactly a Civil War... which is a silly euphemism, in and of itself.

Posted by: BurtTC at January 03, 2021 11:32 AM (oQ94s)

---
It was very much a civil war. Outsiders intervened but the Spanish people decided the result.

Posted by: Ace-Endorsed Author A.H. Lloyd at January 03, 2021 11:35 AM (cfSRQ)

394 I've spent a lot of time examining and reading the lawsuits and accusations of electoral fraud. Most of those are material and substantive. There are many first hand accounts. There are voting records that show illegality. There are public records showing that people outside the state Legislatures unconstitutionally changed the rules. There are statistics, averages and bellwethers that have never been seen or breached before. Ever. My home district voted for Obama twice and Hillary. They voted for Trump by 55%.

This is not that hard to substantiate. It's not a bogeyman or some political misadventure. It's real and people know it. So the posture to declare this over or the act of troublemakers is even more curious. Anyone making those claims has clearly self identified as a miscreant, traitor, coward, idiot or subversive to our republic.

Posted by: Marcus T at January 03, 2021 11:35 AM (JOV35)

395 These cint bastards say shit like this not recognizing the irony that they tried to a coup against PDT for 4 + years. FUCK YOU
Posted by: Nevergiveup at January 03, 2021 11:23 AM (85Gof)

A lot of these "journalists" are just fanboys and/or grifters, but Jake is the real socialist deal. He recognizes what the past four years have been, but he's been in on the lies from the start.

Posted by: CN at January 03, 2021 11:36 AM (ONvIw)

396 Okay, time to go. Buy my book on the Spanish Civil War and you'll understand a lot of what's going on now.

This story has played out before.

Posted by: Ace-Endorsed Author A.H. Lloyd at January 03, 2021 11:37 AM (cfSRQ)

397 Greetings:

Yes, yes, "Last Stands" do tend to receive a certain romantic aggrandizement. But running and hiding are equally effective infantry tactics and should also be taught as in, "When the going gets tough, the touch get going, and the smart are already gone.".

Posted by: 11B40 at January 03, 2021 11:37 AM (evgyj)

398 392 Besides the fine writing, I hear the words in that wonderful Shelby Foote educated drawl.
Posted by: JTB at January 03, 2021 11:29 AM (7EjX1)
------
Shelby narrated a part of his own book, I believe "The Stars In Their Courses" section. Check it out under audiobooks.
Posted by: Captain Obvious, Laird o' the Sea at January 03, 2021 11:35 AM (fmcOr)

Endorsed. If you get any chance to listen to him, take it. I think he narrated something else, I'll need to check Audible to recall.

Posted by: Mark Andrew Edwards, shotguns solve problems at January 03, 2021 11:38 AM (d1uFV)

399 "Finnegan's Wake" is the Christmas present I give to people who pester me about their readings.

Present company excepted.
Posted by: 11B40 at January 03, 2021 11:06 AM (evgyj)


Dear God, receiving that would be sheer torture. I couldn't resist starting it even though I know there's no upside and I'd be bitching about babbling nonsense in short order. I don't even like Joyce that much compared to Proust but it would be sitting there like a ticking time bomb.

Posted by: Captain Hate at January 03, 2021 11:41 AM (y7DUB)

400 Had a mostly hellacious December at work, and need to dig myself out of some admin stuff I've been putting off and can put off no longer. Later H8Rs!

Posted by: Insomniac at January 03, 2021 11:41 AM (nakwk)

401 I'm here.

I like sex scenes in books. There. I said it.

Posted by: Sharon(willow's apprentice) at January 03, 2021 11:41 AM (sd8p8)

402 Endorsed. If you get any chance to listen to him, take it. I think he narrated something else, I'll need to check Audible to recall.
Posted by: Mark Andrew Edwards, shotguns solve problems at January 03, 2021 11:38 AM (d1uFV)

I tried doing Audible, and found I just couldn't get into the concept. Same with the Kindle... and not just because they're part of Bezos' evil empire.

Something about listening to the book, it doesn't take. If that makes any sense.

Posted by: BurtTC at January 03, 2021 11:41 AM (oQ94s)

403 It's the Walrus' Pancreas!

It's the Echidna's Kidneys!

Posted by: All Hail Eris, Iron Fist in Velvet Glove in Iron Gauntlet Clutching an Iron Mace at January 03, 2021 11:41 AM (Dc2NZ)

404 Posted by: 11B40 at January 03, 2021 11:37 AM (evgyj)

Both Thermopylae and the Alamo allowed for the greater victory. Running at that time would have likely resulted in ultimate defeat.

Posted by: Mr. Meeseeks, Look at me at January 03, 2021 11:42 AM (2DOZq)

405 One of the cool things about the Spanish Civil War (if you can call mass murder on both sides cool) was in the 60s, producers of war movies had a ready supply of WW2 Axis stuff. Spain, and sometimes Yugoslavia had rent-an- army or airforce. Spain was still flying ME109s and Heinkels.

Posted by: bill in arkansas at January 03, 2021 11:42 AM (I58tH)

406 Shelby Foote was a stateside officer during WWII. He went AWOL to visit his girlfriend and was reduced to the ranks. So he was a real person.

Posted by: Anonosaurus Wrecks, Tyrannosaur Wrangler at January 03, 2021 11:42 AM (+y/Ru)

407 I checked out the Shelby Foote trilogy in Audible. They amount to 5 solid days of listening.
I had the books at one time but they didn't make through a move.

Posted by: Brother Northernlurker just another guy at January 03, 2021 11:43 AM (lgiXo)

408 396 Okay, time to go. Buy my book on the Spanish Civil War and you'll understand a lot of what's going on now.

This story has played out before.
Posted by: Ace-Endorsed Author A.H. Lloyd at January 03, 2021 11:37 AM (cfSRQ)

our problem is that we have no organization and even less leadership. We're much more in the position of the French resistance after the nazi's took control.

Posted by: Tom Servo at January 03, 2021 11:43 AM (V2Yro)

409 I'm here.

I like sex scenes in books. There. I said it.
Posted by: Sharon(willow's apprentice) at January 03, 2021 11:41 AM (sd8p


Aren't you worried about damaging the spine?

Posted by: BurtTC at January 03, 2021 11:43 AM (oQ94s)

410 370 Is that the Edward Rutherfurd book?
Posted by: Mark Andrew Edwards
------

Yes.
Posted by: Mike Hammer, etc., etc. at January 03, 2021 11:26 AM (vOGqy)

I like Rutherfurd. Sarum is great. I bought his first books at EPCOT, oddly enough.

I found Russka depressing. Appropriately.

Posted by: Mark Andrew Edwards, shotguns solve problems at January 03, 2021 11:43 AM (d1uFV)

411 I'm reading "Soul of an Octopus."

It's surprisingly good. Octopuses are intelligent, complex creatures who have a sense of humor and play. They solve puzzles. They show emotion. They are creative tricksters.

Posted by: Nurse ratched at January 03, 2021 11:44 AM (U2p+3)

412 Captain Hate,
Loved The Night Circus. I thought it was meticulously crafted, there were no glaring plot holes and the whole concept hung together beautifully. The visual world it created was enchanting.

Thanks for the heads-up on her other book.
Posted by: Sal at January 03, 2021 11:18 AM (KTdeA)


You're welcome and thanks for the vivid description of The Night Circus.

Posted by: Captain Hate at January 03, 2021 11:44 AM (y7DUB)

413 We're much more in the position of the French resistance after the nazi's took control.
Posted by: Tom Servo at January 03, 2021 11:43 AM (V2Yro)

I don't like that comparison because most of the resistance were communists. A lot from the Spanish Civil War IIRC.

Posted by: Mr. Meeseeks, Look at me at January 03, 2021 11:45 AM (2DOZq)

414 Something about listening to the book, it doesn't take. If that makes any sense.
Posted by: BurtTC at January 03, 2021 11:41 AM (oQ94s)

I get it. I do a lot of driving sometimes, so I like audio books for those trips.

Posted by: Mark Andrew Edwards, shotguns solve problems at January 03, 2021 11:45 AM (d1uFV)

415 It's the Walrus' Pancreas!
------
It's the Echidna's Kidneys!
Posted by: All Hail Eris, Iron Fist in Velvet Glove in Iron Gauntlet Clutching an Iron Mace at January 03, 2021 11:41 AM (Dc2NZ)

The Buzzard's Gizzards!

Yes, we coulda gone with Lizards, but sometimes a rhyme is better when it's less tight.

Posted by: BurtTC at January 03, 2021 11:46 AM (oQ94s)

416 Oh and brace for dude on dude gay sex in The Sunless Sea. And some other things that can't be unread.

Fair warning.

Posted by: Mark Andrew Edwards, shotguns solve problems at January 03, 2021 11:47 AM (d1uFV)

417 Something about listening to the book, it doesn't take. If that makes any sense.
Posted by: BurtTC at January 03, 2021 11:41 AM (oQ94s)

I get it. I do a lot of driving sometimes, so I like audio books for those trips.
Posted by: Mark Andrew Edwards, shotguns solve problems at January 03, 2021 11:45 AM (d1uFV)

Part of the problem is I've gotten heavy subjects for the audio books I've downloaded. I think it would work much better with a piece of lighter fiction, like Michael Connolly murder books.

Posted by: BurtTC at January 03, 2021 11:48 AM (oQ94s)

418 Oh and brace for dude on dude gay sex in The Sunless Sea. And some other things that can't be unread.

Fair warning.
Posted by: Mark Andrew Edwards, shotguns solve problems at January 03, 2021 11:47 AM (d1uFV)

Barry O: I'm braced. Tell me more!!!!

Posted by: TheQuietMan at January 03, 2021 11:48 AM (t8ef1)

419 how many men here have had their wife pissed off at them for something they did in the wifes dream?



?
Posted by: will choose a nic later at January 03, 2021 11:34 AM (r4bSV)


Raises hand. It might be the dumbest thing I've ever endured.

Posted by: Captain Hate at January 03, 2021 11:49 AM (y7DUB)

420 On the subject of Word Power, what do you call a 60+ year old, 400lbs
male Karen employee who waddles around the convenience store at the fueling
station and bitches at everyone who isn't wearing a $.050 mask?

Posted by: Dr. Bone at January 03, 2021 11:49 AM (WOYcU)

421 What's going on?

Just returned from a brisk, morning constitutional with the delightful and athletic Mrs naturalfake.

Posted by: naturalfake at January 03, 2021 11:50 AM (dWwl8)

422 Greetings:

404: Both Thermopylae and the Alamo allowed for the greater victory. Running at that time would have likely resulted in ultimate defeat.

Posted by: Mr. Meeseeks, Look at me at January 03, 2021 11:42 AM (2DOZq)

Yup, it's tough to know when it's time to.

But what happens after the run or hide sometimes produces good outcomes, too.

Posted by: 11B40 at January 03, 2021 11:51 AM (evgyj)

423 > E. R. Chamberlin examines the lives of eight of the most controversial popes to have ruled over the Holy See

I'm innocent! Bitch set me up.

Posted by: Rodrigo Borgia at January 03, 2021 11:52 AM (2q9zZ)

424 Started Iris Johansen's newest Chaos last night and was half way through before I knew it. One of her better ones. Some predictable characters, feisty female CIA agent and super smart, super rich male lead, but story is interesting. Tighter dialog, more action.

Posted by: Sharon(willow's apprentice) at January 03, 2021 11:52 AM (sd8p8)

425 Morning Horde.

OM- thank you for the plug! It is much appreciated. As Oregon Muse stated, I have attempted to convince the woke crowds on kickstarter to fund my game- but with little success. But hey- if any moron is interested in a family friendly card game, check it out. I'm going to find a way to make it available to the masses without kickstarter.

Also- Mrs. Squirrel tells me that Amazon Prime is offering two free kindle books for JAN.

Posted by: Secret Squirrel at January 03, 2021 11:52 AM (yx0HS)

426 Posted by: will choose a nic later at January 03, 2021 11:34 AM (r4bSV)

Raises hand. It might be the dumbest thing I've ever endured.
Posted by: Captain Hate at January 03, 2021 11:49 AM (y7DUB)

Every marriage is a snowflake, look the same from a distance, but up close...

I think men more often than women, suffer for the pains and heartbreak their partners experienced before they came along.

Your wife thinks you're cheating on her? You've done nothing to suggest such a thing? Yeah, her previous partner did.

Sorry pal, that's your problem now.

Posted by: BurtTC at January 03, 2021 11:52 AM (oQ94s)

427 Skip, if you are here still, there is a copy of damnation of Stalin at alibris.com for $81

https://www.alibris.com/booksearch? mtype=B&keyword=Damnation+of+Stalin&hs.x=
0&hs.y=0&hs=Submit#

Posted by: Slash Buzz at January 03, 2021 11:53 AM (q9hLt)

428 Octopuses are intelligent, complex creatures who have a sense of humor and play.


Posted by: Nurse ratched at January 03, 2021 11:44 AM (U2p+3)


Especially while being grilled and served with a drizzle of good olive oil and a squirt of lemon on a bed of arugula.

Posted by: CharlieBrown'sDildo at January 03, 2021 11:54 AM (xT2tT)

429 We must have audio books on trips, b/c I hate to just drive long distances. Sometimes not even a challenging knitting project will keep me from whining like a five-year old.

He gets to pick, so we're usually listening to techno-thrillers of the Clive Cussler ilk (big fans of the Fargo books) or Louis L'Amour westerns.

Posted by: Sal at January 03, 2021 11:55 AM (KTdeA)

430 Posted by: CharlieBrown'sDildo at January 03, 2021 11:54
----------

Heh. Beat me to it.

Posted by: olddog in mo, uckfay ancercay at January 03, 2021 11:55 AM (ju2Fy)

431 Especially while being grilled and served with a drizzle of good olive oil and a squirt of lemon on a bed of arugula.

Posted by: CharlieBrown'sDildo at January 03, 2021 11:54 AM (xT2tT)

"arrooo-gala"...Martha Stewart's character in "Big Trouble".

Posted by: BignJames at January 03, 2021 11:58 AM (AwYPR)

432
Especially while being grilled and served with a drizzle of good olive oil and a squirt of lemon on a bed of arugula.
Posted by: CharlieBrown'sDildo at January

I stopped eating octopus for the very reason they're intelligent creatures.
Much more sentient that most of the humans I know.

And admit it, you'd just boil them in your fancy pot and call it "oui oui!"

Posted by: Nurse ratched at January 03, 2021 11:58 AM (U2p+3)

433 Has the anti troll character limit been increased?

Posted by: Captain Hate at January 03, 2021 10:31 AM (y7DUB)

Yes.
Posted by: OregonMuse, AoSHQ Thought Leader, Pants Monitor & Social Distancing Professional

601 ?

Posted by: JT at January 03, 2021 11:58 AM (arJlL)

434 We must have audio books on trips, b/c I hate to just drive long distances. Sometimes not even a challenging knitting project will keep me from whining like a five-year old.

He gets to pick, so we're usually listening to techno-thrillers of the Clive Cussler ilk (big fans of the Fargo books) or Louis L'Amour westerns.

Posted by: Sal at January 03, 2021 11:55 AM (KTdeA)

My preference is for music on long drives.

Often though my son puts on his headphones, and listens to his own player... so I can't turn on the vehicle's audio, because it would drown out his.

Alas, so I have learned to drive in silence.

Posted by: BurtTC at January 03, 2021 11:59 AM (oQ94s)

435 In case it hasn't been answered seriously, Maori name their girl children Ngaio. Marsh was from New Zealand and, according to a Kiwi I knew, part Maori.
Posted by: Polliwog the 'Ette

Thank you.

And thanks to Eris, aka Erin !

Posted by: JT at January 03, 2021 12:01 PM (arJlL)

436 Often though my son puts on his headphones, and listens to his own player... so I can't turn on the vehicle's audio, because it would drown out his.

Alas, so I have learned to drive in silence.
Posted by: BurtTC at January 03, 2021 11:59 AM (oQ94s)
this is me driving with my three kids. each one on their phone. I remind myself that it is basically the same as when i was a kid- head down, reading a book or playing my Gameboy.

Posted by: Secret Squirrel at January 03, 2021 12:01 PM (yx0HS)

437 Everyone waiting to pounce, when CBD posts the next thread.

Posted by: BurtTC at January 03, 2021 12:02 PM (oQ94s)

438 I stopped eating octopus for the very reason they're intelligent creatures.
Much more sentient that most of the humans I know.



I started eating them for the same reason.

Now, they're a major part of my Dolphin, Whale, Octopus Intelligence Boosting Sashimi Platter.

Yum!

Posted by: naturalfake at January 03, 2021 12:02 PM (dWwl8)

439 Oh and brace for dude on dude gay sex in The Sunless Sea. And some other things that can't be unread.
Fair warning.
Posted by: Mark Andrew Edwards, shotguns solve problems at January 03, 2021 11:47 AM (d1uFV)

Salton Sea > Sunless Sea

Posted by: Zombie Sonny Bono at January 03, 2021 12:03 PM (R/m4+)

440 Often though my son puts on his headphones, and listens to his own player... so I can't turn on the vehicle's audio, because it would drown out his.

Alas, so I have learned to drive in silence.
Posted by: BurtTC at January 03, 2021 11:59 AM (oQ94s)

this is me driving with my three kids. each one on their phone. I remind myself that it is basically the same as when i was a kid- head down, reading a book or playing my Gameboy.
Posted by: Secret Squirrel at January 03, 2021 12:01 PM (yx0HS)

My son is substantially impaired, intellectually. So it's a lifelong experience, as long as we're both here.

Hate to say it, but I do sometimes envy parents whose children grow up.

Posted by: BurtTC at January 03, 2021 12:03 PM (oQ94s)

441 Yum!

Posted by: naturalfake at January 03, 2021 12:02 PM (dWwl

No seal meat?

Posted by: CharlieBrown'sDildo at January 03, 2021 12:04 PM (xT2tT)

442 Ever try to read a book when your mind was somewhere else? Yah. Ain't gonna happen. You have to 'show up' to read.

Life, in general is about showing up. Whether it's for the moment you are reading, for being there for a loved one, for a coworker, or for a random stranger, show up.

Same as what's happening on January 6th. If you can't get to DC, 'show up' in other ways. Here are some things you can do: https://tinyurl.com/y9z3egog

The left wins because we don't 'show up'.

Posted by: RondinellaMamma, Goddess Elect, because if Biden can pretend he is president, I can pretend to be at January 03, 2021 12:04 PM (8/7u2)

443 I started eating them for the same reason.

Now, they're a major part of my Dolphin, Whale, Octopus Intelligence Boosting Sashimi Platter.

Yum!
Posted by: naturalfake at January 03, 2021 12:02 PM (dWwl


Too slimy for my taste.

I prefer grilled gorilla.

Posted by: BurtTC at January 03, 2021 12:04 PM (oQ94s)

444 I think men more often than women, suffer for the pains and heartbreak their partners experienced before they came along.

Your wife thinks you're cheating on her? You've done nothing to suggest such a thing? Yeah, her previous partner did.

Sorry pal, that's your problem now.
Posted by: BurtTC at January 03, 2021 11:52 AM (oQ94s)


In my case, my wife has this lionized portrait of her deceased father, who sounded like a worthless piece of shit responsible for every irritating aspect of her persona. Maybe I'm misreading things but I don't picture any scenario where I wouldn't have to break him.

Posted by: Captain Hate at January 03, 2021 12:05 PM (y7DUB)

445 Don't want to know what Kurt Eichenwald does with an Octopus.

Posted by: Mr. Meeseeks, Look at me at January 03, 2021 12:05 PM (2DOZq)

446 Naturalfake - try roasted bonobo if you're looking for a change of pace from seafood!

Posted by: PabloD, booking agent for Aero Pinochet at January 03, 2021 12:05 PM (risNt)

447 Especially while being grilled and served with a drizzle of good olive oil and a squirt of lemon on a bed of arugula.
Posted by: CharlieBrown'sDildo at January 03, 2021 11:54 AM (xT2tT)


Eating octopus is like chewing on a pencil eraser.

Posted by: OregonMuse, AoSHQ Thought Leader, Pants Monitor & Social Distancing Professional at January 03, 2021 12:06 PM (nDYME)

448 Nood

Posted by: Duke Lowell at January 03, 2021 12:07 PM (kTF2Z)

449 Sorry pal, that's your problem now.
Posted by: BurtTC at January 03, 2021 11:52 AM (oQ94s)

In my case, my wife has this lionized portrait of her deceased father, who sounded like a worthless piece of shit responsible for every irritating aspect of her persona. Maybe I'm misreading things but I don't picture any scenario where I wouldn't have to break him.
Posted by: Captain Hate at January 03, 2021 12:05 PM (y7DUB)


Yes, that's the other major problem with these things. Daddy issues. Of one sort or another.

My wife's father was long dead before I came along, but he was a raging alcoholic.

Yes, it was a big part of the marriage.

Posted by: BurtTC at January 03, 2021 12:07 PM (oQ94s)

450 okay i am being summoned by the kids to make pancakes.
Typically I will make "super pancakes" for each of the little squirrels.
Remember Uncle Buck? Well, maybe not a pizza sized pancake, but definitely a good foot across. I use froze berries (defrosted, of course) and the Costco bag of Krustaez ready to go dry mix.

You all have a great day, and thanks again Oregon Muse for the plug!

Posted by: Secret Squirrel at January 03, 2021 12:07 PM (yx0HS)

451 The centipede centerfold? Meh, I'd take a gander at it. Can't be much worse than Kurt's fascination with tentacle porn and flashing lights.

This week I read I, The Jury by Mickey Spillane (1947).

I'm not really a fan of the hard boiled detective genre, but I stumbled across in my dad's collection of books and lately Mike Hammer's (the Moron) quote about the Commies has been making the rounds here. That quote is not from I, The Jury.

There are more than 20 books in the series. Several have been made into movies, remakes, TV shows, a comic book series... and with the police being defunded and hamstrung, street justice may be about to make a big comeback. So, instructional.

Posted by: GnuBreed at January 03, 2021 12:08 PM (F0YaR)

452 No seal meat?
Posted by: CharlieBrown'sDildo at January 03, 2021 12:04 PM (xT2tT)





Not intelligent enough.

They're the ShihTzus of the Sea.

Posted by: naturalfake at January 03, 2021 12:08 PM (dWwl8)

453 Every marriage is a snowflake, look the same from a distance, but up close...



I think men more often than women, suffer for the pains and heartbreak their partners experienced before they came along.



Your wife thinks you're cheating on her? You've done nothing to suggest such a thing? Yeah, her previous partner did.



Sorry pal, that's your problem now.

Posted by: BurtTC at January 03, 2021 11:52 AM (oQ94s)
My brother's inlaws. ALL....ALL the women are that way, its been going on for 3 fucking generations. 3...fucking....generations. They are like a witches coven, and they drive the men in their life insane to where they want...WANT to go fuck something else because they are accused of it constantly to where they might as well. Its unbelievable. It started with granny hag getting cheated on, she poisoned her daughters, the daughters poisoned their daughters, etc. 3 fucking generations of women accusing their men of shit that was done to granny 60 fucking years ago.

Posted by: Berserker-Dragonheads Division at January 03, 2021 12:09 PM (9Om/r)

454 Q112 re: Chamberlin, it's the Pope's Pantaloons! Highly recommended. That boy can write. I'm about a third of the way through.
Posted by: All Hail Eris, Iron Fist in Velvet Glove in Iron Gauntlet Clutching an Iron Mace at January 03, 2021 09:48 AM (Dc2NZ)

I loved reading this book. He can write, indeed, and I'm reading another book of his now, called "Loot!", which is a history of antiquities going to museums around the world.

Posted by: Darrell Harris at January 03, 2021 12:09 PM (VsTMj)

455 Alnwick Castle Library. Wow that is beautiful. I could get lost in there for a long time.

Posted by: TheQuietMan at January 03, 2021 12:10 PM (t8ef1)

456 Yes, that's the other major problem with these things. Daddy issues. Of one sort or another.

My wife's father was long dead before I came along, but he was a raging alcoholic.

Yes, it was a big part of the marriage.
Posted by: BurtTC at January 03, 2021 12:07 PM (oQ94s)


One thing I've been very pleased with is the spouses of my two daughters. I really like both of them and I think the feeling is mutual.

Posted by: Captain Hate at January 03, 2021 12:13 PM (y7DUB)

457 Oregon Muee, sorry I missed this thread, but THANK YOU for all the years of wonderful Sunday Morning Book Threads

Posted by: Doctor Elect vmom - Defeat does not exist in this HQ at January 03, 2021 12:13 PM (nUhF0)

458 I think men more often than women, suffer for the pains and heartbreak their partners experienced before they came along.
Sorry pal, that's your problem now.
Posted by: BurtTC at January 03, 2021 11:52 AM (oQ94s)

Men are exactly the same. I've had a couple of friends who each married a divorced guy. For years, the men held off on having the kids they said they wanted because of the bad divorce, also used this as a reason to stay in rental housing (she might get it) etc. One was able to help the guy get over his loss of a bad marriage, the other moved on and found a better, more trusting marriage, and each have great kids and grandkids . The man who found himself divorced again became twice as bitter and didn't remarry again, is now living with his 90yo mom. He blamed the women for his state. So, no, men can make other women pay for their past relationships too

Posted by: CN at January 03, 2021 12:14 PM (ONvIw)

459 Men and their mommy issues are far more desperate and destructive than women and their daddy issues.

Posted by: Nurse ratched at January 03, 2021 12:16 PM (U2p+3)

460 Oregon Muee, sorry I missed this thread, but THANK YOU for all the years of wonderful Sunday Morning Book Threads
Posted by: Doctor Elect vmom - Defeat does not exist in this HQ

Seconded !

Posted by: JT at January 03, 2021 12:17 PM (arJlL)

461 Hiya Nurse !

Happy New Year !

Posted by: JT at January 03, 2021 12:18 PM (arJlL)

462 ps sorry for typos
geadache makes it hard to type

Posted by: Doctor Elect vmom - Defeat does not exist in this HQ at January 03, 2021 12:21 PM (nUhF0)

463 459: Each sex has its own parental issues, but I think men are just as likely to make a woman suffer for the behavior of her predecessor as men are. Some people can leave the past behind eventually, others cling out of a maladaptive self-defense, IMO. The man I referenced above is about my age and retired to "care for mom". From what I've heard this was not mom's idea at all, but he lived his life in fear of being taken advantage of and is extremely bitter. A mutual friend believes he still imagines the first wife will change and make things right. Maybe he just wants to punish her, who knows, but he ended where he is at age 64, from his own actions and fears.

Posted by: CN at January 03, 2021 12:25 PM (ONvIw)

464 "Beautiful library, but I think one of my favorite parts is the sketches of the children and the family pictures. It gives the place a "frequently used" look. It looks warm and not stagey."


Not to mention the fully stocked liquor cabinet on the right side of the photo. Nice little chess alcove behind it.

Posted by: Tuna at January 03, 2021 12:29 PM (gLRfa)

465 Looking at that photo of the beautiful library prompted me to read a little about the current Duke. One of his daughters is a mechanic and gunsmith. Interesting family. The duke was the younger brother who gained the title when his unmarried older brother had a heart attack at age 42 after wearing himself out with drugs and fast living.

Posted by: Tuna at January 03, 2021 12:55 PM (gLRfa)

466 Amazon is racking up the sales. Cha-Ching. Cha-Ching. Cha-Ching, Cha-Ching. So many great recommendations today.

Posted by: Tuna at January 03, 2021 01:12 PM (gLRfa)

467 Looks like I'm alone at the bottom of the thread. Sigh. Everybody is too busy reading I guess.

Posted by: Tuna at January 03, 2021 01:14 PM (gLRfa)

468 I'm not really a fan of the hard boiled detective genre, but I stumbled across in my dad's collection of books and lately Mike Hammer's (the Moron) quote about the Commies has been making the rounds here. That quote is not from I, The Jury.
-----

From, 'One Lonely Night'.

Posted by: Mike Hammer, etc., etc. at January 03, 2021 01:30 PM (bPH26)

469 I always understood the expression "the bee's knees" to be sort of a homophone of the phrase "the business". When you say someone or something is "the business" you are saying that are a hot item, the latest fad, etc.

Posted by: Chairman LMAO at January 03, 2021 01:31 PM (gDJlP)

470 467 Looks like I'm alone at the bottom of the thread. Sigh. Everybody is too busy reading I guess.
Posted by: Tuna at January 03, 2021 01:14 PM (gLRfa)

So what'cha reading Tuna? I'm finishing up my Solzhenitsyn binge. Then I'm not sure, some serious knitting and maybe something fun like an Agatha Christie before more historical stuff.

Posted by: CN at January 03, 2021 01:39 PM (ONvIw)

471 The Princess Casamassima

Do NOT read the book blurb. Do NOT read the interwebber "reviews" by the envious and incapable, posing and trying to convince you that they are superior to James. Read the book. (Sorry late to the thread: I was finishing the book.)

Posted by: Gilded at January 03, 2021 01:48 PM (BRkq2)

472 471: Reviews are indeed mixed.

Posted by: CN at January 03, 2021 01:56 PM (ONvIw)

473 "Who Dis is Buster Keaton. Talented man, although for me, Harold Lloyd still comes first."

Lloyd was very good. I saw "Safety Last" on the big screen, with a live organist, and my palms were sweating the whole time. And yes, that really was Harold Lloyd climbing up the side of a building in downtown Los Angeles. It's even more amazing when you consider that Lloyd was missing several fingers on his right hand, the result of an accident with a prop grenade.


Still, Keaton was head and shoulders above all of the other silent comics. Just look at his masterpiece "The General"; or the wildly imaginative "Sherlock Junior"; or the amazing use of closed-camera special effects in "The Playhouse", where Keaton creates an entire dancing chorus by himself; or the anarchy of films like "Cops" or "The Seven Chances".

Posted by: Nemo at January 03, 2021 01:59 PM (S6ArX)

474 Something about listening to the book, it doesn't take. If that makes any sense.

Posted by: BurtTC at January 03, 2021 11:41 AM


It makes perfect sense to me. I was afraid that listening to books would not work for me, so my first audio book was in the nature of an experiment. Fortunately, I found out that it does work for me.

Posted by: Cybersmythe at January 03, 2021 02:13 PM (qDSku)

475 @473 --

Nemo, I saw "The Freshman" to the accompaniment of a full-sized pipe organ. Oklahoma chapter of the American Theater Organ Society would put on a monthly showing of a silent movie. Saw "Steamboat Bill, Jr." that way, too.

More fun lost to COVID panic.

Posted by: Weak Geek at January 03, 2021 03:10 PM (Tr9/0)

476 472 A person who can read Solzhenitsyn could read and enjoy it. I was hoping to permit you the experience of seeing for yourself how the book unfolds.

Posted by: Gilded at January 03, 2021 03:44 PM (BRkq2)

477 476 472 A person who can read Solzhenitsyn could read and enjoy it. I was hoping to permit you the experience of seeing for yourself how the book unfolds.
Posted by: Gilded at January 03, 2021 03:44 PM (BRkq2)

I just may give it a try. Do you have an edition you prefer. Kindle is unreliable.

Posted by: CN at January 03, 2021 04:09 PM (ONvIw)

478 Regarding the series "Bob & Nikki" or "Bob's Saucer Repair", it's a fun read. It looked cartoonish when I first saw it, so I passed initially. But like any good series, you can't read just one. Great for light & casual reading that occasionally hints at universal truths.

Posted by: Doc Nova at January 03, 2021 05:59 PM (wukgQ)

479 I just may give it a try. Do you have an edition you prefer. Kindle is unreliable.
Posted by: CN at January 03, 2021 04:09 PM (ONvIw)

I don't like Kindle either. I see right now the pertinent Library of America 3-novel volume (1886-90) on Amazon for $8 (including shipping) (that's what I paid $12 for); a Penguin for 7.50 (including shipping); and a used Everyman edition that costs more than either. There are a couple of pages of notes (particularly foreign phrases) in the very back of the LoA. If I went with something other than LoA, I would not read the introduction until after, or they'll give more away and try to sound like they are smarter than James.

If you have a library handy, they will likely have it.

How to describe it? Political psychology. It reminds of certain Dickens works, the first half of "Charterhouse of Parma", and an answer to Dostoevsky's "Demons."

Posted by: Gilded at January 03, 2021 06:37 PM (BRkq2)

480
Buster's library was smaller but he never knew.

Posted by: Saf at January 03, 2021 06:59 PM (5IHGB)

481 Just cracked open the space opera anthology "Infinite Stars" and started Orson Scott Card's "Renegat" thinking eh, another Ender and Valentine Wiggin story, and immediately I'm drawn in. Card is just so effortlessly good.

Posted by: All Hail Eris, Iron Fist in Velvet Glove in Iron Gauntlet Clutching an Iron Mace at January 03, 2021 08:13 PM (Dc2NZ)

482 479 Thanks.

Posted by: CN at January 03, 2021 09:10 PM (ONvIw)

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