Support




Contact
Ace:
aceofspadeshq at gee mail.com
CBD:
cbd.aoshq at gee mail.com
Buck:
buck.throckmorton at protonmail.com
joe mannix:
mannix2024 at proton.me
MisHum:
petmorons at gee mail.com
Powered by
Movable Type





Sunday Morning Book Thread 03-21-2021

Bbiblioteca vallicelliana rome italy 02.jpg
Biblioteca Vallicelliana, Rome, Italy

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, which don't actually look like pants. They look like some other article of clothing she just grabbed to put on because she was in a hurry and it was dark.



Pic Note:

Because Italy doesn't have enough libraries:

The Biblioteca Vallicelliana is a library in Rome, Italy. The library is located in the Oratorio dei Filippini complex built by Francesco Borromini in Piazza della Chiesa Nuova.

The library holds about 130,000 volumes of manuscripts, incunabula, and books. In this number about 3,000 manuscripts written in Latin, Greek, among them Bible of Alcuin from the 9th century, lectionary from the 12th century etc. The library holds documents from the time of the Reformation and Counter-Reformation.

The library was first established in 1565.



Next Sunday Is International De-Lurk Day

I hope you lurkers and lurkettes are have some kick-ass book reviews ready to go for next week. And don't worry, we won't laugh at you. Much.


It Pays To Increase Your Word Power®

I think we've all known guys like this:

20210321 book pic 01.jpg
Which is mighty shelfish of him.




20210321 book pic 04.jpg



Death By Government

This one has been sitting in my "in" basket for a few months now. I don't remember where I first saw it, but it seems particularly appropriate now. I'm referring to the book I'm from the Government and I'm Here to Kill You: The True Human Cost of Official Negligence by David Hardy.

The blurb is depressing. Not that it will come as a shock to anyone who hangs out here:

Gallup recently found that forty-nine percent of Americans believe that the government poses “an immediate threat to the rights and freedoms of ordinary citizens.” I’m from the Government and I’m Here to Kill You, written by a former federal attorney, shows that even the forty-nine percent have no idea how bad things really are. Rights and freedoms are not the only things at stake; all too often government imperils the very lives of those it supposedly serves. Federal employees have, with legal impunity, blown up a town and killed six hundred people, released staggering amounts of radioactive contamination and lied about the resulting cancer, allowed people to die of an easily treated disease in order to study their deaths, and run guns to Mexican drug cartels in hopes of expanding agency powers. Law enforcement leaders have ordered their subordinates to commit murder. Medical administrators have “cooked the books” and allowed patients to die, while raking in plump bonuses. Federal prosecutors have sent Americans to prison while concealing evidence that proved their innocence.

I’m from the Government documents how we came to this pass: American courts misconstrued and expanded the old legal concept of sovereign immunity, “the king can do no wrong.” When Congress attempted to allow suits against the government, the legislators used vague language that the courts construed to block most lawsuits. The result is a legal system that allows official negligence to escape legal consequences and paradoxically punishes an agency if it tries to secure public safety. I’m from the Government ends with proposals for legal reforms that will hold the government and its servants accountable when they inflict harm on Americans.

I didn't think my opinion of government could get any lower, but somehow... it has.

Amazon suggested this: Guilt by Accusation: The Challenge of Proving Innocence in the Age of #MeToo by Alan Dershowitz, whom I guess was accused of sexual harassment a while back. I know nothing about the substance or credibility of the accusations but, in this book, Dershowitz

...provides an in‑depth analysis of the false accusations against him, alongside a full presentation of the exculpatory evidence that proves his account, including emails from his accuser and an admission of his innocence from her lawyer, David Boies.

OK, he dinduit. Fair enough. But he also

...examines current attitudes toward accusations of sexual misconduct, which are today, in the age of #MeToo, accepted as implicit truth without giving the accused a fair chance to defend themselves and their innocence, and suggests possible pathways back to a society and legal system in which due process is respected above public opinion and the whims of social media mobs.

If the legal travails of Alan Dershowitz or the metal shavings thrown by the #MeToo panic into the gears of our legal system is something that is of interest to you, of if you just like reading FREE books, this one is for you. Because the Kindle edition is currently listed at $0.00.



Who Dis:

who dis 20210321.jpg

(Last week's 'who dis' was actress Jan Sterling.



Misunderstood Phrases

This is pretty funny:



20210321 book pic 03.jpg

I have one, but it's not nearly as good. When I was a wee lad and my parents took me to Mass, the priest would sometimes announce that he would read a selection from something called "The Axe of the Apostles". I never knew what this was. I mean, the gospels I was familiar with from religion class and also the epistles, but I never heard nothing about no "axe" or why the apostles needed one. I knew the vision I had in my head of a bunch of guys in biblical garb swinging a hostaet wasn't correct, but I knew if I raised the question with my parents, they would think I was just being a smart ass.


20210321 book pic 06.jpg



Moron Recommendations

212 Starting a new Richard Matheson short story compilation: Backteria & Other Improbable Tales.

Matheson was a top writer in the 50s and 60s. He wrote I am Legend and a slew of original Twilight Zone episodes.

This is my second compilation of his. He wrote many pieces for mystery, sci-fi and horror zines.

If you enjoy imaginative, well-written short stories, check him out.

The two books I have were under $10 on Kindle.

Posted by: mot at March 14, 2021 10:30 AM (jad3h)

The Kindle edition Backteria & Other Improbable Tales is a reasonably priced $6.99.

And if you want to read more of his short stories, you can get the Penguin Classics edition of The Best of Richard Matheson for only $4.99. It includes 'Nightmare at 20,000 feet' which was made into a classic Twilight Zone episode, and 'Duel', which was Steven Spielberg's first full-length movie (I remember watching it when they first showed it on TV on ABC's Tuesday Movie of the Week and it had me on the edge of my seat the whole time).

___________

235 I'd like to recommend "Pugilist at Rest", by Thom Jones. This book was a finalist for The National Book Award in 1991. The book is actually a series of short stories, of somewhat autobiographical reflections. A former boxer and Viet Nam veteran, among other things. The stories are real and raw. From the flap:

"Jones's stories -whether set in the combat zones of Vietnam or the brittle social milieu of an elite new England college, whether recounting the poignant last battles of an alcoholic ex-fighter or the visions of an American wandering lost in Bombay in the aftermath of an epileptic fugue-are fueled by an almost brutal vision of the human condition, in a world without mercy or redemption. Physically battered, soul sick, and morally exhausted, Jones's characters are yet unable to concede defeat: his stories are infused with the improbable grace of the spirit that ought to collapse, but cannot."

Posted by: Brave Sir Robin at March 14, 2021 10:38 AM (7Fj9P)

This sounds like a light-hearted, happy, optimistic book that will pick you right up when you're feeling low. The author sounds like quite the phenom, though:

Thom Jones made his literary debut in The New Yorker in 1991. Within six months his stories appeared in Harper's, Esquire, Mirabella, Story, Buzz, and in The New Yorker twice more. "The Pugilist at Rest" - the title story from this stunning collection - took first place in Prize Stories 1993: The O. Henry Awards and was selected for inclusion in Best American Short Stories 1992.

If stories were drinks, Jones' would not be those little froo-froo drinks with paper umbrellas and fruit in them, they'd be straight shots from a bottle you keep in the bottom drawer of a battered old desk.

Jones actually has several collections of stories, including The Pugilist at Rest and Night Train.

___________

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.



20210321 book pic 02.jpg
(Say what?)

Posted by: OregonMuse at 09:00 AM




Comments

(Jump to bottom of comments)

1 1st?

Posted by: InspiredHistoryMike at March 21, 2021 09:01 AM (x8Q/V)

2 Hot Coffee...Saga of the Forgotten Warrior

Posted by: qmark at March 21, 2021 09:01 AM (emnp2)

3 Tolle Lege

Posted by: Skip at March 21, 2021 09:01 AM (Cxk7w)

4 Well into The Battle of North Africa by W.G.F Jackson, and enjoying it, but then the subject is a favorite.

Posted by: Skip at March 21, 2021 09:03 AM (Cxk7w)

5 WTFO??

Posted by: rhennigantx at March 21, 2021 09:05 AM (yrol0)

6 th!

Posted by: Biden's Dog at March 21, 2021 09:05 AM (fupSC)

7 Hugh Jackman (aka Wolverine)!


What do I win?

Posted by: pookysgirl, is into pop culture.... sometimes at March 21, 2021 09:06 AM (XKZwp)

8 Shelvy > Shelfer

Posted by: San Franpsycho at March 21, 2021 09:07 AM (EZebt)

9 reading Black Coral, the second in the Underwater Investigation Unit by Andrew Mayne. Good, east reading.

Posted by: iandeal at March 21, 2021 09:07 AM (Z6loK)

10 I can't believe I beat Skip, certainly can't consider myself a lurker now.
Recent read:
'Log of the Centurion', about Ansons voyage around the world 1740-43.
England was at war with Spain, and intent was to loot Spanish South America and their annual treasure galleon. The book by Leo Heaps is written around the log of Philip Saumarez, who started as 3rd lieutenant on the flagship, captained another while rounding cape horn, rose to 2nd in command.

Fleet started with 6 warships & 2 small store ships. Only the flagship completed the trip, 3 turned back,1 shipwreck and others essentially fell apart.

Posted by: InspiredHistoryMike at March 21, 2021 09:07 AM (x8Q/V)

11 And finished, atleastthetext and some links I can get easily is The Deep Rig by Patrick M. Byrne.
Strange as never seen anything like it, and not possible with a printed book is video and text documents linked straight from the ebook. My YouTube is giving me issues to any link to that I couldn't see, but many go to other sites so I could read or see them.
In the book he names the shooter of Ashlii as well as a link to a video that thinks it was a set up and Ashii wasn't killed.

Posted by: Skip at March 21, 2021 09:09 AM (Cxk7w)

12 Baby Got Books!

Posted by: All Hail Eris, Sans-Culottes (except for the Book Thread) at March 21, 2021 09:10 AM (Dc2NZ)

13 Beautiful library. Nothing else good to say this morning as I watch our country burn to the ground. What's left of it, anyway.

Posted by: Lady in Black at March 21, 2021 09:11 AM (O+I8R)

14 A gray pantsuit is perfect for any occasion. I would wear that to a barbeque at the White House after I am President of the United States MUH HA HA HA HAAAA!

Posted by: Kamala's Community Chest at March 21, 2021 09:11 AM (ghcm9)

15 I read The Remains of the Day by Kazuo Ishiguro. This is the story of Mr. Stevens, the butler of Darlington Hall for over thirty years. On a motoring journey to western England in 1956, Stevens reflects back on what it is to be a perfect butler, on his life of service, and of love lost which was never fully expressed. The book seemed very repetitive to me. In his look back, he finds his life and that of Lord Darlington, his long-time employer, is found wanting. Winner of the Booker Prize, but not my cup of tea.

Posted by: Zoltan at March 21, 2021 09:11 AM (qb8uZ)

16 The Axe of the Apostles

Old Onion headline:

Black Community in Lockdown Over Ask Murderer

Posted by: rhennigantx at March 21, 2021 09:11 AM (yrol0)

17 I remember hearing about fighting Vietnamese gorillas on the Plane of Jars.

Posted by: All Hail Eris, Sans-Culottes (except for the Book Thread) at March 21, 2021 09:12 AM (Dc2NZ)

18 The book about federal incompetence isn't news to anyone in the military.

If you want a humorous take on the Obama-Biden Administration's (SWIDT?) botched response to the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, grab a copy of my Three Weeks with the Coasties: A Tale of Disaster and also an Oil Spill.

Before the spill, the Coast Guard had the highest respect of any branch of the service. The reason is obvious - they don't do any unpleasant killing stuff, they most rescue people. As the lies piled up, their "trust" rating was cut in half and it was interesting watching the leftist lunatics peddling conspiracy theories that they were owned by BP. That's what you get for telling transparent lies. Biden makes a cameo, btw.

Posted by: Ace-Endorsed Author A.H. Lloyd at March 21, 2021 09:12 AM (llXky)

19 Well France did have some very good bacon when I was last there. Especially in the South so in that kinda like the States.

Posted by: Big V Caffeinated at March 21, 2021 09:15 AM (6Pqz7)

20 Read several books this week (short ones). Up to 21 for the year. Currently reading Reborn by F. Paul Wilson. It's part of his Secret History of the World series, which span a couple of dozen books divided into different series. Generally pretty good cosmic horror story. It all started from his book The Keep, which is a very weird vampire story involving those wacky Nazis.

I also have some Robert E. Howard sitting in my queue to be read. Kull: Exile of Atlantis and The Savage Tales of Solomon Kane.

Posted by: Lord Squirrel at March 21, 2021 09:16 AM (hQrcu)

21 Nice Bilbotecho!

Those pants.....are not pants.

The Who Dis is how Bruce Springsteen thinks he looks.

Posted by: Hairyback Guy at March 21, 2021 09:16 AM (R/m4+)

22 "Quote me as saying I was misquoted."
- Groucho Marx, truth-teller

Posted by: BackwardsBoy - Psychos Rule! No, really. They're in charge now. at March 21, 2021 09:16 AM (HaL55)

23 I'm still chugging through Livy, and we're now up to the War with Hannibal.

Moved by the same impulse that made me read up on the Spanish Civil War, I'm diving into the fall of the Manchu Empire and subsequent civil war. I picked up a bunch of Osprey books and will likely add more.

Love those Osprey monographs - a great way to pick up information in easy to use servings.

Posted by: Ace-Endorsed Author A.H. Lloyd at March 21, 2021 09:16 AM (llXky)

24 11 Cont. ( didn't want to get Pixy mad)
But he does show how the election was rigged and didn't take that much to do it but a lot of failures or helping by many others including officials to pull it together.
His story is he was one of those with Gen Flynn who tried to get electronic vote fraud out as the attack and get President Trump to use the EO to investigate 6 counties and not Rudy's court cases.
He has no good view of Rudy in this election. He is sure China meddling in the election with electronic, printed fake ballots and cash.

Posted by: Skip at March 21, 2021 09:17 AM (Cxk7w)

25 Centurion cont'

Book has lots of interesting details on preparations, "recruitment", the very difficult voyage ( took 3 full months to round tip of South America ) and adventures fighting Spain and in China.

Capture of Spanish Galleon brought enough gold and treasure equivalent to almost 1/3 of the Royal Navy budget at the time. But more than half of the fleets crew did not survive.

Posted by: InspiredHistoryMike at March 21, 2021 09:18 AM (x8Q/V)

26 The Who Dis is how Bruce Springsteen thinks he looks.

Posted by: Hairyback Guy at March 21, 2021 09:16 AM (R/m4+)


Early thread winner contender.

Posted by: OregonMuse, AoSHQ Thought Leader, Pants Monitor & Social Distancing Professional at March 21, 2021 09:19 AM (oYDBu)

27 I'm reading some Ken Follett..."Pillars of the Earth"...just meh so far. I read some of his stuff years ago and thought it pretty good...now it seems pretty formulaic.

Posted by: BignJames at March 21, 2021 09:19 AM (AwYPR)

28 27 I'm reading some Ken Follett..."Pillars of the Earth"...just meh so far. I read some of his stuff years ago and thought it pretty good...now it seems pretty formulaic.
Posted by: BignJames at March 21, 2021 09:19 AM (AwYPR)

much sportfucking in this one

Posted by: rhennigantx at March 21, 2021 09:20 AM (yrol0)

29 Thems some odd looking pants.

Posted by: Jewells45 at March 21, 2021 09:20 AM (nxdel)

30 Posted by: Zoltan at March 21, 2021 09:11 AM (qb8uZ)

I loved the Merchant Ivory Films. I don't think I read Remains of the Day but I did read a couple books they made into films. I did read A Room with a View, Howard's End
I need to give Remains of the Day a try. I love the film. People read so much symbolism into that movie that it makes me wonder if I missed half of it or if they are full of shit. Anyway, it was a great film.
I recall Anthony Hopkins commenting on the role one time. I wont get it right because it was a long time ago and I can't find the clip. But he said something like if a real English Butler was doing his job properly, any room he was in would feel more empty than if no on was in it at all. Anyway, it was something like that.

Posted by: Quint at March 21, 2021 09:21 AM (4Mvym)

31 He has no good view of Rudy in this election. He is
sure China meddling in the election with electronic, printed fake
ballots and cash.

Posted by: Skip at March 21, 2021 09:17 AM (Cxk7w)

---
The problem is that once core trust is destroyed, any story gains credibility.

I'm bored with talking about the election, but since it came up, my Official Take is: what Trump did or did not do is irrelevant since the fix was in. If he filed a million perfect lawsuits they would all have been dismissed - which is exactly what happened. Think about it: a 6-3 "conservative" majority and the president can't even get 'standing.'

Posted by: Ace-Endorsed Author A.H. Lloyd at March 21, 2021 09:22 AM (llXky)

32 "Remains of the Day" was made into a movie with Anthony Hopkins as the butler. The lord of the manor was a Nazi sympathizer, which causes the butler to question why he's enabling him, IIRC.

Posted by: Ignoramus at March 21, 2021 09:23 AM (ZHVt1)

33 I just did light reading this week. I like Ellen Byerrum's Crimes of Fashion mysteries, and this was "Lethal Black Dress", in which an obnoxious t.v. personality is killed by the poisonous green silk lining of her evening gown.

Esquire Magazine - The History of Paris Green: https://tinyurl.com/mjct2jm3


Its use in interior design: https://tinyurl.com/65jsh3e2


Paris Green dye and its history of death: https://tinyurl.com/3cxy88bw

I'm on to Byerrum's next book, "Masque of the Red Dress", written in 2016, and alas there are digs at the Trump presidency and The Russians. Why must they inject politics and ruin even the most inane fun?

Posted by: All Hail Eris, Sans-Culottes (except for the Book Thread) at March 21, 2021 09:23 AM (Dc2NZ)

34 In Kindergarten I recall singing the Star Spangled Banana.

What's a spangle?

Posted by: Ignoramus at March 21, 2021 09:24 AM (ZHVt1)

35 Thems some odd looking pants.
I always wondered how a coat would fit as pants, like the morning after a classic bender when the grass growing outside makes way too much noise for your hangover.

Posted by: BackwardsBoy - Psychos Rule! No, really. They're in charge now. at March 21, 2021 09:24 AM (HaL55)

36
Capture of Spanish Galleon brought enough gold
and treasure equivalent to almost 1/3 of the Royal Navy budget at the
time. But more than half of the fleets crew did not survive.

Posted by: InspiredHistoryMike at March 21, 2021 09:18 AM (x8Q/V)

---
Imagine the distortion of that influx of wealth on the Spanish economy. Now imagine writing a book about the origins of the Spanish Civil War and leaving that bit out and putting the full blame on the Catholic Church. If you can, you have something in common with Anthony Beevor.

Posted by: Ace-Endorsed Author A.H. Lloyd at March 21, 2021 09:24 AM (llXky)

37 11 & 24 He also has a very high opinion of Sidney Powell and makes me feel she will be ready for Dominion if the sue her.

Posted by: Skip at March 21, 2021 09:25 AM (Cxk7w)

38 I am still re-reading "The Jewish War" and I am struck by something. Who the eff was financing the insurgents?

We tend to think most everyone was dirt poor. I don't think so. Where are the nationalists getting the money for weapons, etc?

Posted by: JAS, AoSHQ addict at March 21, 2021 09:25 AM (2BZBZ)

39 In keeping w/our host's request from last week for book reommendations (my top 10, or so)
Escape From Reason, Frances Schaeffer. (see also CS Lewis, Miracles; Os Guiness, Dust of Death); The Glory and the Dream, William Manchester. ; The March of Folly, Barbara Tuchman.; Lee's Lieutenants, Douglas Southall Freeman.; The Secrets of Consulting, Gerald M Weinberg.; Blink and The Tipping Point, Malcolm Gladwell.; Cordelia's Honor, Lois McMaster Bujold; Early Autumn, Robert A Parker.; How to Read A Book, Mortimer Adler; Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance, Robert Pirsig; Dynamics of Spiritual Life, Richard Lovelace

Posted by: yara at March 21, 2021 09:25 AM (N7mou)

40 Posted by: Quint at March 21, 2021 09:21 AM (4Mvym)

I watched the movie last night because I read a review that this was the rare instance where the movie was better than the book; and it was.

Posted by: Zoltan at March 21, 2021 09:26 AM (qb8uZ)

41 Not much reading this week - too taken up with renovating the front bedroom and cleaning up what last month's week-long deep freeze left of my garden. Did pick up Diana Galbadon's "Voyager" every night before going to sleep for another go at making it through her collection of paperback bricks known as the Outlander series...

Posted by: Sgt. Mom at March 21, 2021 09:27 AM (xnmPy)

42 but this week i'm reading the Dawlish Chronicles, and listening to the Great Battles on Great Courses.

Posted by: yara at March 21, 2021 09:27 AM (N7mou)

43 I am still re-reading "The Jewish War" and I am struck by something. Who the eff was financing the insurgents?



We tend to think most everyone was dirt poor. I don't think so. Where are the nationalists getting the money for weapons, etc?





Posted by: JAS, AoSHQ addict at March 21, 2021 09:25 AM (2BZBZ)

---
Ancient warfare generally paid for itself and if you did it right, generated a tidy profit. Killing people and taking their stuff on an individual basis is a crime, but when enough do it, it becomes war.

Posted by: Ace-Endorsed Author A.H. Lloyd at March 21, 2021 09:27 AM (llXky)

44 I'm rereading To Lose a Battle:France 1940 by Alistair Horne. Written in 1969, it holds up well today. France had the largest Army in the world, with better tanks than the Germans. But no good leadership, Air Force, or smart people in power.

But this time I am focusing on the politics before the war and how that directly led to the defeat and occupation of France by real, honest-to-God Nazis. I got how the military screwed up.

This is the third of his France trilogy, and now I want to get his book about the Franco-Prussian Was and the other one about Verdun.

He is a facile writer to read, and has good insights. He tells illuminating stories to buttress his narrative.

Posted by: NaCly Dog at March 21, 2021 09:27 AM (u82oZ)

45 I thought both Kazuo Ishiguro's book "Never Let Me Go" and the film version were very good. The book is slow, with quiet revelations about the reason for the lives of these young people.

Posted by: All Hail Eris, Sans-Culottes (except for the Book Thread) at March 21, 2021 09:28 AM (Dc2NZ)

46 I'm still working on The Things We Cannot Say by Kelly Fimmer. It's actually a good book I just seem to always have something come up that prevents me from spending some time on it. Nicer weather means more yard work, less reading.

Posted by: Jewells45 at March 21, 2021 09:29 AM (nxdel)

47 Posted by: Ace-Endorsed Author A.H. Lloyd at March 21, 2021 09:12

Interesting book, it's on my shelf.

Posted by: Infidel at March 21, 2021 09:30 AM (E0OEG)

48 Sorry, Kelly Rimmer, not Fimmer.

Posted by: Jewells45 at March 21, 2021 09:30 AM (nxdel)

49 Finished "The Last Battle", by Stephen Harding. I'm pretty much a WWII history nut, and I had never heard of this story before. An ad hoc group of US GIs with a single Sherman tank teams up with Austrian Resistance and Wehrmacht soldiers to defend French VIPS held prisoner in a medieval castle in the Tyrol Mountains from attack by a Waffen SS battle group sent to execute them. On the last day of the War in Europe, yet. Fascinating story, and would make a heckuva movie!

Posted by: That Deplorable SOB Van Owen at March 21, 2021 09:30 AM (bAe71)

50 I'm almost at the end of Volume 2 of Proust's Remembrance of Things Past, the Moncrief/Kilmartin translation that was published in 1982 and I got as an intro offer for joining a book club (do they still have those?). I started it in July 2019 so obviously this is something I just pick up when I'm in a certain mood, whatever mood that is because I made a lot of headway recently. It's a very biting social commentary on salon type people, most of which are arrogant fops. What isn't explained is how young Marcel's presence is so valued. He comes from a good but not elite family and he's obviously intelligent while having no tangible accomplishments. He's very neurotic about trim and obsesses on his main squeeze being a lezzo, which she somehow tolerates. That said it's hilarious if you can figure out just wtf is being talked about.

Posted by: Captain Hate Won't Forget Ashli Babbitt at March 21, 2021 09:30 AM (y7DUB)

51 I thought both Kazuo Ishiguro's book "Never Let Me Go" and the film version were very good.

God, that was a depressing movie.

Posted by: Jewells45 at March 21, 2021 09:31 AM (nxdel)

52 I remember my father teaching me to tie a necktie. I never asked him why it was called a "foreign hand".

Posted by: SFGoth at March 21, 2021 09:32 AM (4Qoor)

53 My little sis said Teach His Own until about 30. Then I told her To each his own!

Posted by: rhennigantx at March 21, 2021 09:34 AM (yrol0)

54 That Deplorable SOB Van Owen

Was that POW group from Colditz? Glad this story is getting more prominence.

Posted by: NaCly Dog at March 21, 2021 09:34 AM (u82oZ)

55 I'm rereading To Lose a Battle:France 1940 by Alistair Horne.
Written in 1969, it holds up well today. France had the largest Army in
the world, with better tanks than the Germans. But no good leadership,
Air Force, or smart people in power.


One wonders if the collapse was due to the overall societal trauma of WWI or the fact that so many of their promising military types were killed then. Probably some of both.

Posted by: pep at March 21, 2021 09:34 AM (v16oJ)

56 "With all these things, take up the Sword of the Spirit--or the Axe of the Apostles, if your heart inclines towards hafted weapons--so that you may stand firm against the evil one."

--Not Paul

Posted by: .87c at March 21, 2021 09:34 AM (TDP3i)

57 hiya

Posted by: JT at March 21, 2021 09:35 AM (arJlL)

58 But this time I am focusing on the politics
before the war and how that directly led to the defeat and occupation of
France by real, honest-to-God Nazis. I got how the military screwed
up.


Posted by: NaCly Dog at March 21, 2021 09:27 AM (u82oZ)

---
France in the 1930s was almost as screwed up as Spain. In fact, if the Spanish Republic had performed better, I think the revolution might have spread to France and there would have been a general European war to stop Communism in 1937 or 38. Certainly the Republic's leadership was hoping that would happen because militarily they were utterly incompetent.

The Ebro offensive was really just to buy time, credibility and hope that Spain would be part of a larger war.

Posted by: Ace-Endorsed Author A.H. Lloyd at March 21, 2021 09:36 AM (llXky)

59 Put on the full armor of God (or maybe a flak jacket), so that you can take your stand against the devil's schemes.

Not More Paul

Posted by: rhennigantx at March 21, 2021 09:37 AM (yrol0)

60 He also has a very high opinion of Sidney Powell and makes me feel she will be ready for Dominion if the sue her.
Posted by: Skip at March 21, 2021 09:25 AM (Cxk7w)


I hope so. I took some shit here for teeing off on American Thinker for caving to Dominion and issuing a groveling retraction because Thomas Lifson is pals with some of the cobs. Fuck that. He doesn't mean shit to me. We need fighters like Sidney Powell to tell Dominion to fuck off. Sorry but it's not time to play nice nice with Big Brother.

Posted by: Captain Hate Won't Forget Ashli Babbitt at March 21, 2021 09:38 AM (y7DUB)

61 pep

Both, but much more. Communists and Leftists galore made for a lack of proper focus.

Posted by: NaCly Dog at March 21, 2021 09:38 AM (u82oZ)

62 I'm in my usual state of despair because I've completely run out of bookshelf space. It does occur to me that I'd be very happy to move into the library shown at the beginning of the post. It may not have adequate shower facilities, but it's a small price to pay.

Posted by: pep at March 21, 2021 09:39 AM (v16oJ)

63 I am currently reading the most eye opening and important book filled with citations that I have ever read. This is a must read.
The Transgender-Industrial Complex by Scott Howard
> inb4Nazi
We live in a Marxist Corporatist Totalitarian Country who own our kids and pumps Commie propaganda out 24/7/365.

Posted by: Patrick Bateman's Video Tape Return Service at March 21, 2021 09:40 AM (Y8OTr)

64 62 I'm in my usual state of despair because I've completely run out of bookshelf space. It does occur to me that I'd be very happy to move into the library shown at the beginning of the post. It may not have adequate shower facilities, but it's a small price to pay.
Posted by: pep at March 21, 2021 09:39 AM (v16oJ)

The man that runs this place is expert in shelving!

Posted by: rhennigantx at March 21, 2021 09:40 AM (yrol0)

65 Centurion 3 of 3,

Book has me wanting to read some more on "Ansons Voyage".
Captain Obvious has already recommended 2 Patrick O'Brian novels and 'The Golden Ocean' will probably be the second O'Brian that I read. ( I started on Aubrey/Maturin somewhere in the middle, and decided to wait before I eventually continue)

The 1st written version of the story, 'A voyage round the world' by Richard Walter who was Chaplain on the Centurion, is freely available on Archive.org I don't expect it's easy reading, but experience says you will get used to ff and f's being s and odd spellings after a bit.

Posted by: InspiredHistoryMike at March 21, 2021 09:41 AM (x8Q/V)

66 Pep:

Need shelving advice? You've come to the right place!

I just added some more books to my collection and was able to justify pulling some of the non-book family pictures off of the shelves. I view non-book items on bookshelves as an abomination.

Posted by: .87c at March 21, 2021 09:41 AM (TDP3i)

67 Ace-Endorsed Author A.H. Lloyd

Well, France had no Franco, focused on logistics and winning. Lots of different governments, since Parliamentarian governments in a fractured country do not lead to consistency, or common sense.

But yes, your book illustrated why Spain was a mess. Horne shows very well why France could not capitalize on it's investments.

Posted by: NaCly Dog at March 21, 2021 09:41 AM (u82oZ)

68 I watched the movie last night because I read a
review that this was the rare instance where the movie was better than
the book; and it was.

Posted by: Zoltan at March 21, 2021 09:26 AM (qb8uZ)

They happens for sure. The movie Jaws was way better than the book. The movie "All the Pretty Horses" was an abomination in my opinion. It might have been the worst movie adaption of a novel ever, at least imo opinion and limited knowledge. The one story I can't pick sides on is Lonesome Dove. The series was as good as you can possibly get. But the book was equally as good if not better. That one is a tie in my view.

Posted by: Quint at March 21, 2021 09:42 AM (4Mvym)

69 rhennigantx

I was giving ace a bit of grief on his shelves, and he snapped back at me: "My shelves are bomb-proof. " The "Champ" was left unsaid, thankfully.

Posted by: NaCly Dog at March 21, 2021 09:43 AM (u82oZ)

70 One wonders if the collapse was due to the overall societal trauma of WWI or the fact that so many of their promising military types were killed then. Probably some of both.
Posted by: pep at March 21, 2021 09:34 AM (v16oJ)

Yup....prior to WW1, the French Army's SOP was that their infantry in the attack and their fighting spirit would carry the day. This got chewed up in the trenches and the French, when WW2 broke out, had a defensive mindset which the new tactics of combined arms and maneuver used by the Germans won the day.

Posted by: Hairyback Guy at March 21, 2021 09:44 AM (R/m4+)

71 The Axe of the Apostles was reputedly carried by Bartholomew on his journey to evangelize in India and then dropped out of history until it reappeared in the Kievan Rus, where St. Olaf is said to have wielded it in battle against the Pulverites, an obscure sect of heretics whose doctrine was that the Eucharist could only be consumed after being ground very finely. The Axe was said to have been buried with Olaf but none know where.

Posted by: bear with asymmetrical balls, making things up as I go at March 21, 2021 09:44 AM (H5knJ)

72 Next Sunday Is International De-Lurk Day

When is Big-Bewbed Lurkettes Day ?

Posted by: JT at March 21, 2021 09:44 AM (arJlL)

73 The Power of the Narrative Compels You!

During my rereading of Pratchett's Discworld novels, Witches Abroad (1991?) keeps coming up as holding up quite well for 20+ years old.

Posted by: mustbequantum at March 21, 2021 09:45 AM (MIKMs)

74 Well, France had no Franco, focused on logistics and
winning. Lots of different governments, since Parliamentarian
governments in a fractured country do not lead to consistency, or common
sense.


Posted by: NaCly Dog at March 21, 2021 09:41 AM (u82oZ)

----
It's interesting how wargames about the fall of France have to include "your leadership is really dumb" rules to make it possible to repeat history. The other prominent example of this is the US Civil War, where the Union player has to be straitjacketed lest Richmond fall in 1862.

Posted by: Ace-Endorsed Author A.H. Lloyd at March 21, 2021 09:45 AM (llXky)

75 I just read that being a "shelver" is a bad thing.

Posted by: JAS, AoSHQ addict at March 21, 2021 09:46 AM (2BZBZ)

76 Anybody read Richard Russo's Straight Man? It's a pretty good satire of academia in some fictitious state kollidge branch in central Pennsylvania. Russo seems like a regular guy version of John Irving with the same type of humor, at least what I remember from Garp which I apparently liked more than others in the Reading Horde.

Anyway it's a book group selection that's enjoyable.

Posted by: Captain Hate Won't Forget Ashli Babbitt at March 21, 2021 09:47 AM (y7DUB)

77 They happens for sure. The movie Jaws was way better
than the book.


Posted by: Quint at March 21, 2021 09:42 AM (4Mvym)

---
Other movies better than the books: Gone with the Wind, Last of the Mohicans, MASH. The novelization of Star Wars is hideous.

Posted by: Ace-Endorsed Author A.H. Lloyd at March 21, 2021 09:48 AM (llXky)

78 Good morning, very late to the thread today.... I love reading everyone's take on Paul's advice about the full armor! And the Axe of the Apostles - that reminds me of the scene from one of the Little House books where Pa won the Town Charades by walking in with two potatoes on an ax. It was the "Commentators on the Acts." (groan) ... Anyway, I'm halfway through "The Lost for Words Bookshop" by Stephanie Butland. It is a booklover's dream - the protagonist works in a bookshop, much of the plot revolves around books, and of course a lot of the setting is a bookshop. If you've ever had a tragedy in your life, and escaped through books - you'll relate to the protagonist. Can't wait to see how it ends.

Posted by: Carolina Girl at March 21, 2021 09:48 AM (Kh9rg)

79 72 Next Sunday Is International De-Lurk Day

When is Big-Bewbed Lurkettes Day ?
Posted by: JT at March 21, 2021 09:44 AM (arJlL)


**pics please**

Posted by: rhennigantx at March 21, 2021 09:48 AM (yrol0)

80 I just added some more books to my collection and was able to justify
pulling some of the non-book family pictures off of the shelves. I view
non-book items on bookshelves as an abomination.

Right there with you. My wife feels differently, so we end up with shelves packed with books and photos and random objects placed in front of them.
It's all about the purity of purpose, damn it!

Posted by: pep at March 21, 2021 09:49 AM (v16oJ)

81 Ace-Endorsed Author A.H. Lloyd

Seen that in a number of games. ISTR the Europa series gets around it with a Surprise turn and rules on Combined Arms effectiveness that favors the Germans.

Methamphetamine use by the Germans is not covered, AFAIK.

Posted by: NaCly Dog at March 21, 2021 09:49 AM (u82oZ)

82 Leadership was a problem, but the Fwench had become convinced of Hitler's inevitability.

Posted by: San Franpsycho at March 21, 2021 09:49 AM (EZebt)

83 That said it's hilarious if you can figure out just wtf is being talked about.


==

Sid you get to the part about Madeleines ?....but yeah, what is he talking about.

Posted by: runner at March 21, 2021 09:50 AM (zr5Kq)

84 Morning Horde!

Posted by: Jak Sucio at March 21, 2021 09:50 AM (jvt6t)

85 pep

My solution is she has her bookshelves and display areas, and I have my bookshelves.

Had to buy a bigger house.

Posted by: NaCly Dog at March 21, 2021 09:50 AM (u82oZ)

86 Yup....prior to WW1, the French Army's SOP was that
their infantry in the attack and their fighting spirit would carry the
day. This got chewed up in the trenches and the French, when WW2 broke
out, had a defensive mindset which the new tactics of combined arms and
maneuver used by the Germans won the day.

Posted by: Hairyback Guy at March 21, 2021 09:44 AM (R/m4+)

---
Another issue was that French aircraft kept "mysteriously" ending up in Spain. The Germans used Spain as a proving ground for the Luftwaffe, rotating in crews and pilots to gain combat experience while keeping the number of actual aircraft low.

The French never organized a system, so the pilfering of their already understrength air force only made matters worse.

Posted by: Ace-Endorsed Author A.H. Lloyd at March 21, 2021 09:51 AM (llXky)

87 Mohicans, MASH. The novelization of Star Wars is hideous.
Posted by: Ace-Endorsed Author A.H. Lloyd at March 21, 2021 09:48 AM (llXky)


I liked them when I was nine. I would never attempt them now.

Posted by: Mr Aspirin Factory at March 21, 2021 09:51 AM (89T5c)

88 Ken Follett..."Pillars of the Earth"

-
Mrs. Wrecks' boss thought the two best books ever written were Pillars of the Earth and Lonesome Dove.

Posted by: Anonosaurus Wrecks, Tyrannosaur Wrangler at March 21, 2021 09:51 AM (VVEnO)

89 "I view non-book items on bookshelves as an abomination." - 87c

I couldn't agree more. Why, oh why do people put vases, tchotchkes, miscellaneous geegaws, and other junk on bookshelves?

(If I go to someone's house and they don't have books I silently judge them.)

Posted by: Carolina Girl at March 21, 2021 09:52 AM (Kh9rg)

90 Na Cly Dog,
No, most had been at Buchenwald or Dachau. They included Daladier, Reynaud, Gamelin, and even DeGaulle's sister. Some were such bitter political rivals that they wouldn't even speak to each other when finally rescued.

Posted by: That Deplorable SOB Van Owen at March 21, 2021 09:52 AM (bAe71)

91 I'm still working on The Things We Cannot Say by Kelly Rimmer. It's actually a good book I just seem to always have something come up that prevents me from spending some time on it. Nicer weather means more yard work, less reading.
Posted by: Jewells45 at March 21, 2021 09:29 AM (nxdel)

I bought that on your recommendation and my fourteen-year-old grabbed it before I could start it. She is really enjoying it!

I've been mainly reading physics stuff lately. Homeschool moms get to have all the fun, right?

Posted by: Catherine -- who generally doesn't curse. at March 21, 2021 09:52 AM (eO5wY)

92 On phrase is:

A HS English teacher had a poster, some 29 years ago.

What is mind? No matter. What is matter? Never mind.

It wasn't until years later that I figured out what it was about.

In trying to recall what I was reading at the time when I figured it out, I came across this book review might interest some.

https://tinyurl.com/phmkcukk

Posted by: 4 at March 21, 2021 09:53 AM (KnJdm)

93 If I go to someone's house and they don't have books I silently judge them
That's not fair. They may have poor eyesight. Instead, you should pity them and talk to them as if they were children.
Then judge them.

Posted by: pep at March 21, 2021 09:53 AM (v16oJ)

94 Physics is phun.

Posted by: JAS, AoSHQ addict at March 21, 2021 09:54 AM (2BZBZ)

95 Other movies better than the books: Gone with the Wind, Last of the Mohicans, MASH. The novelization of Star Wars is hideous.


Posted by: Ace-Endorsed Author A.H. Lloyd at March 21, 2021 09:48 AM (llXky)

I loved The Last of the Mohicans as likely most here did. But it is a bit sad many average folks who like the movie still couldn't tell you the name of the war lol.I haven't read the book MASH. I have heard that Hawkeye Pierce in the book was very patriotic. I could be wrong about that but I did hear that.

Posted by: Quint at March 21, 2021 09:54 AM (4Mvym)

96 If I go to someone's house and they don't have books I silently judge them
That's not fair. They may have poor eyesight.


==

right ? they might be blind ?

Posted by: runner at March 21, 2021 09:55 AM (zr5Kq)

97 or, OR...no arms.

Posted by: runner at March 21, 2021 09:55 AM (zr5Kq)

98 Finished "The Last Battle", by Stephen Harding.

-
One thing I found interesting was the wine allowance. When there were just three celebrity French prisoners, they got 100 bottles of wine per month.

Posted by: Anonosaurus Wrecks, Tyrannosaur Wrangler at March 21, 2021 09:55 AM (VVEnO)

99 The one story I can't pick sides on is Lonesome Dove. The series was as good as you can possibly get. But the book was equally as good if not better. That one is a tie in my view.
Posted by: Quint at March 21, 2021 09:42 AM (4Mvym)


McMurtry was involved in the miniseries filming so it gets even harder to separate one from the other. The film version was so well cast and compellingly presented that it led me to read the book so for me the tie goes to the miniseries. Plus McMurtry started it to be an anti western and it achieved a life of its own.

Oddly All the Pretty Horses was the first McCarthy I read and the book I liked least. Cormac should never write about romance. Ever.

Posted by: Captain Hate Won't Forget Ashli Babbitt at March 21, 2021 09:55 AM (y7DUB)

100 7 Hugh Jackman (aka Wolverine)!

What do I win?

Posted by: pookysgirl, is into pop culture.... sometimes at March 21, 2021 09:06 AM (XKZwp)


My heartiest congratulations. I think this is your first win.

Posted by: OregonMuse, AoSHQ Thought Leader, Pants Monitor & Social Distancing Professional at March 21, 2021 09:56 AM (oYDBu)

101 I'm waiting for the woke assassin who only does woke assassinations......uh movie.

Posted by: humphreyrobot at March 21, 2021 09:56 AM (/yxci)

102 That Deplorable SOB Van Owen

Thanks.
Right. I did not hear all of that story. Another tale to look up.

Posted by: NaCly Dog at March 21, 2021 09:56 AM (u82oZ)

103 At least in the book MASH, you didn't have Col. Blake leave to star in a bomb TV show.

Posted by: JAS, AoSHQ addict at March 21, 2021 09:57 AM (2BZBZ)

104 Seen that in a number of games. ISTR the Europa
series gets around it with a Surprise turn and rules on Combined Arms
effectiveness that favors the Germans.


Posted by: NaCly Dog at March 21, 2021 09:49 AM (u82oZ)

---
GDW did a small game on France that solved the problem in an interesting way. Before starting, the German player had to pick one of three objectives: Paris, the channel coast, or penetrating the Maginot Line. Having to cover the channel coast, forces the Allies to thin their line to the point that other strategies become viable. Its a good, short game.

I do think another part that gets short shrift is air power. A lot of wargames are ground-centric, and a mechanic that showcases how concentrated bombing/strafing could break up whole units would go a long way to recreating the situation.

Posted by: Ace-Endorsed Author A.H. Lloyd at March 21, 2021 09:57 AM (llXky)

105 Pep and Runner - ok, I make allowances for the blind. I'm not cruel!

And besides, we can listen to their audiobooks. They better have audio books. If they don't have audiobooks, then can we judge them?

Posted by: Carolina Girl at March 21, 2021 09:57 AM (Kh9rg)

106 I couldn't agree more. Why, oh why do people put vases, tchotchkes, miscellaneous geegaws, and other junk on bookshelves?

(If I go to someone's house and they don't have books I silently judge them.)
Posted by: Carolina Girl

Hear! Hear!

My wife would do home visits for each of her (elementary) students. She knew even before she walked into the homes which families had reading materials and those that didn't.

It explained a great deal.

Posted by: Tonypete at March 21, 2021 09:58 AM (Rvt88)

107 I'm waiting for the woke assassin who only does woke assassinations......uh movie.

Posted by: humphreyrobot at March 21, 2021 09:56 AM (/yxci)

death by lecture?

Posted by: BignJames at March 21, 2021 09:58 AM (AwYPR)

108 Have a great day, everyone. Love the chatting on books.

OregonMuse, thank you for another is a stellar series of book threads.

Posted by: NaCly Dog at March 21, 2021 09:58 AM (u82oZ)

109 William James - Principles of Psychology

It's big. It's interesting, not the least of which for its discussion of early experimental works and the history of the field. And its available as an ebook at Project Gutenberg, for those interested in that sort of thing.

https://tinyurl.com/24b6yzr3

Posted by: 4 at March 21, 2021 09:59 AM (KnJdm)

110 Having zipped through the first stories of the Silver Age Flash, I returned to "The Scarlatti Inheritance."

Turns out that I had stopped just before a key development. I'm nearer to the end of the story than I realized.

This isn't the longest that it's taken me to finish a book. I took maybe three years to finish "The Dogs of War." I kept rereading the beginning. It was also the first book in which I didn't skip ahead a few pages, read several chapters, then force myself to return to where I had skipped.

*************

I disposed of a bunch of comics at the used-book store but couldn't resist wandering into the shelves. Glad I did -- I scored a copy of "Gray Lensman," the third book in the Lensman series. I've read the first one and the one that follows "Gray," so now I can fill the gap.

***********

Heh -- I actually am wearing pants now. Still skipped the photo. Any other heretics like me out there?

Posted by: Weak Geek at March 21, 2021 09:59 AM (J9wig)

111 That's great Catherine! Hope she enjoys! We need to set a date again to meet up. Email me. It's my nic at yahoo dot com.

Baby update. Water broke at 10:30 last night. At 5 this morning still only dilated to 1 cm. Sheesh that boy is taking his time! Contractions are getting stronger now hopefully some progress.

I'm off to run errands and do some chores. Have a great day all!

Posted by: Jewells45 at March 21, 2021 09:59 AM (nxdel)

112 Okay. One on the things I read in the last coupla weeks was Mel Torme's biography.

Never liked the guy, never disliked him, he was just there.
Never understood the hoopla about his voice, either.
He was (for lack of a better term) fuck buddies with Ava Gardner. He was supposed to meet with her, but got invited to a movie premier by Virginia Mayo, so he made up a BS excuse to Ava and she found out about it and dropped him. "I can't be with a liar" she said.
Mel should've been shot at dawn.

Posted by: JT at March 21, 2021 09:59 AM (arJlL)

113 LeBron injured

yes, I exist

Posted by: God at March 21, 2021 10:00 AM (6iURM)

114 At least in the book MASH, you didn't have Col. Blake leave to star in a bomb TV show.
Posted by: JAS, AoSHQ addict at March 21, 2021 09:57 AM (2BZBZ)


That set the stage for the Chevy Chase abomination.

Posted by: Captain Hate Won't Forget Ashli Babbitt at March 21, 2021 10:01 AM (y7DUB)

115 At least in the book MASH, you didn't have Col. Blake leave to star in a bomb TV show.
Posted by: JAS, AoSHQ addict at March 21, 2021 09:57 AM (2BZBZ)

"Hello Larry" did have a great opening theme song.

The fat guy on the show was in "Mean Streets" if I remember right. He's the one that didn't pay the Mooks.

Posted by: Hairyback Guy at March 21, 2021 10:01 AM (R/m4+)

116 My wife would do home visits for each of her (elementary) students. She
knew even before she walked into the homes which families had reading
materials and those that didn't.

My daughter attends a church which holds its services in a black church of long standing. As a result, many of their charitable efforts go to local residents. The new one is to collect children's books for a few of the local kids who need them. The only problem is that we have many Dr. Seuss books, and I don't want to cause unnecessary trauma. What to do?


Posted by: pep at March 21, 2021 10:01 AM (v16oJ)

117 I liked them when I was nine. I would never attempt them now.

Posted by: Mr Aspirin Factory at March 21, 2021 09:51 AM (89T5c)

---
I'm specifically referring to the novelization of the original Star Wars. Empire was okay but Jedi is actually a good read. It has an expanded take on the Emperor's rise that fueled my Man of Destiny series rewrite of the prequels.

I think Jedi is not only the best novelization but overall the best movie in the entire series. Empire is great, but if Jedi truly sucked, the franchise would have disappeared.

Posted by: Ace-Endorsed Author A.H. Lloyd at March 21, 2021 10:01 AM (llXky)

118 Finally, Pixy relents!

After three drafts.

I think the secret is not to mention money.

But I want to add this: "Dogs of War" cost me a quarter.

Posted by: Weak Geek at March 21, 2021 10:01 AM (J9wig)

119 Cormac should never write about romance. Ever.

Posted by: Captain Hate Won't Forget Ashli Babbitt at March 21, 2021 09:55 AM (y7DUB)

Agreed. I did like the book though. There were themes that spoke to me, including the ending. I thought the movie botched the entire meaning of the novel and certainly the ending. I have been hard on the movie for years so I might just watch it again to make sure I am not slagging it worse than it deserves. But I do think it deserves to be slagged really badly.

Posted by: Quint at March 21, 2021 10:02 AM (4Mvym)

120 113 LeBron injured

yes, I exist
Posted by: God at March 21, 2021 10:00 AM (6iURM)

Twisted ankle? Thought you hit people with bolts of lightning.

Posted by: dantesed at March 21, 2021 10:02 AM (88xKn)

121 The other prominent example of this is the US Civil War, where the Union player has to be straitjacketed lest Richmond fall in 1862.
Posted by: Ace-Endorsed Author A.H. Lloyd

One example is Abtietam where McClellan managed to barely eek out a draw despite vastly out numbering the Confederates and having Lee's plans.

Posted by: Anonosaurus Wrecks, Tyrannosaur Wrangler at March 21, 2021 10:04 AM (VVEnO)

122 Take that, you motherless program.

Posted by: Weak Geek at March 21, 2021 10:04 AM (J9wig)

123 LeBron injured

yes, I exist
Posted by: God

Twisted ankle? Thought you hit people with bolts of lightning.
Posted by: dantesed

I'm stockpiling my smiting materials. There's a big one coming.

Posted by: God at March 21, 2021 10:04 AM (Rvt88)

124 About halfway thru Two Years Before The Mast and liking it. Rec'd by a few here. One of the great things about this book thread is that I probably wouldn't have ever picked this book to read on my own.

Posted by: Charlotte at March 21, 2021 10:04 AM (/cO/2)

125 yes, I exist
Posted by: God at March 21, 2021 10:00 AM (6iURM)

Twisted ankle? Thought you hit people with bolts of lightning.
Posted by: dantesed

That was Zeus, strictly a minor leaguer.

Posted by: God at March 21, 2021 10:05 AM (VVEnO)

126 I have been hard on the movie for years so I might just watch it again to make sure I am not slagging it worse than it deserves. But I do think it deserves to be slagged really badly.
Posted by: Quint at March 21, 2021 10:02 AM (4Mvym)


Movies of books you really liked are almost doomed to be disappointments because you have mental ideas which are sure to be visually realized differently if not partially excluded by editing.

Posted by: Captain Hate Won't Forget Ashli Babbitt at March 21, 2021 10:06 AM (y7DUB)

127 Gentlemen, it's not the size of the boobs on the 'ette, it's the 'ette.

Posted by: Duncanthrax at March 21, 2021 10:06 AM (DMUuz)

128 120 113 LeBron injured

yes, I exist
Posted by: God at March 21, 2021 10:00 AM (6iURM)

Twisted ankle? Thought you hit people with bolts of lightning.
Posted by: dantesed at March 21, 2021 10:02 AM (88xKn)

tread lightly, my child

Posted by: God at March 21, 2021 10:06 AM (6iURM)

129 The Cormac McCarthy book "No Country for old Men" is not worth reading if you already like the movie in my opinion. Unlike the other McCarthy stuff I have read, that one reads like a screen play. I don't recall the book adding much at all that the movie didn't show.

Pileggi's Wiseguy reads like a screen play too. But that is because the movie Goodfellas was pretty much a straight adaption of the book. Both were good so it is difficult to say which was better. I mean sure, of course the movie was better but that was because it took all the book offered and added some great performances.

Posted by: Quint at March 21, 2021 10:06 AM (4Mvym)

130 I was a Shelfer in my younger days. I would eat dinner at a friend's home at 5 and go home for dinner at my house by 6.
Should I actually be a shamed of that? Am I going to be cancel now?

Posted by: sidney at March 21, 2021 10:07 AM (7/kmB)

131 Mel Torme was banging Ava Gardner?
What sort of clownworld time-line is this???

Posted by: PabloD, boop/bop/beep at March 21, 2021 10:07 AM (792+X)

132 And its available as an ebook at Project Gutenberg, for those interested in that sort of thing.

Posted by: 4 at March 21, 2021 09:59 AM (KnJdm)

---
Speaking of good ebooks, Hathi Trust has the Two Sieges of Vienna by the Turks. It's a translation of a German book by the Earl of Ellsmere and it's fun reading. Great story of both the 1529 and 1683 sieges in that wonderfully erudite English manner (you know, the sly asides and observations).

Posted by: Ace-Endorsed Author A.H. Lloyd at March 21, 2021 10:08 AM (llXky)

133 Had fun this morning. Off to church now - everyone have a good day!

Posted by: Carolina Girl at March 21, 2021 10:08 AM (Kh9rg)

134 I don't want to cause unnecessary trauma. What to do?

Posted by: pep at March 21, 2021 10:01 AM (v16oJ)

Cause unnecessary trauma. No one is well-served by mollycoddling.

Posted by: 4 at March 21, 2021 10:08 AM (KnJdm)

135 About halfway thru Two Years Before The Mast and liking it.
That is a great book. It's so interesting to hear the description of what is now LA and SF, but then was essentially wild pasturage. If you decide you like it, I highly recommend reading some of Melville's other works, i.e. not Moby Dick (which you should already have read at least a half-dozen tims). I particularly enjoyed Omoo and Typee, but Redburn and White Jacket are also very good.

Posted by: pep at March 21, 2021 10:08 AM (v16oJ)

136 Gentlemen, it's not the size of the boobs on the 'ette, it's the 'ette.
Posted by: Duncanthrax at March 21, 2021 10:06 AM (DMUuz)

Boobs have 'ettes?

Posted by: 4 at March 21, 2021 10:10 AM (KnJdm)

137 That was Zeus, strictly a minor leaguer.
Posted by: God at March 21, 2021 10:05 AM (VVEnO)

true but Hera could suck the barnacles of a boat

he had that going for him

Gunga Galunga

Posted by: God at March 21, 2021 10:10 AM (6iURM)

138 Ace attempted to install a shelfer himself.

Posted by: Weasel at March 21, 2021 10:10 AM (MVjcR)

139 Take that, you motherless program.
Posted by: Weak Geek

I ask Google embarrassing dirty questions just to check the program.

I ask google, What are you wearing?

Posted by: humphreyrobot at March 21, 2021 10:10 AM (/yxci)

140 I have to reverse the Chesterton thing. Other wise *all* I would read were books I've read before.

Posted by: Polliwog the 'Ette at March 21, 2021 10:10 AM (1lKRm)

141 fuck it

Off, god dammit, off

Posted by: God at March 21, 2021 10:11 AM (6iURM)

142 Movies of books you really liked are almost doomed
to be disappointments because you have mental ideas which are sure to be
visually realized differently if not partially excluded by editing.

Posted by: Captain Hate Won't Forget Ashli Babbitt at March 21, 2021 10:06 AM (y7DUB)

not doubt there, very well made point. There is something about that movie that really bothers me. I think they warped the entire meaning of the book, that is what stung. Anyway, I probably should do a reread and check the flick again since I have droned on about this one a few times before.

Posted by: Quint at March 21, 2021 10:12 AM (4Mvym)

143 German player had to pick one of three objectives: Paris, the channel coast, or penetrating the Maginot Line.

-
French battle cry was "Cry Havoc, and let slip the frogs of war!"

Posted by: God at March 21, 2021 10:12 AM (VVEnO)

144 Thanks A. H. Lloyd.

But I think it was madness to fight the Romans. They "played" for keeps.

Want to be killed and your wife and children sold into slavery? Go right ahead.

Posted by: JAS, AoSHQ addict at March 21, 2021 10:13 AM (2BZBZ)

145 when you see some new boobs, never allow yourself to look at more new boobs until you see some old ones

Posted by: God at March 21, 2021 10:13 AM (6iURM)

146 I read Dominion, How The Christian Revolution Changed The World, by Tom Holland, which was recommended in this soace last Sunday as a result of a mention by Donna the Queen of the Ampersandians.

A tremendous read and I highly recommend.

Also still reading The Secret Language of Cells by Dr. Jon Lieff, which details just how complicated even the simplest biological processes are. Dr. Lieff is very close to postulating sentience/intelligence at the cellular, and possibly molecular level, and without overtly stating it, he is also proving that the human body is an irreducibly complex system, which no less an expert as Darwin himself said would destroy the theory of evolution by natural selection acting on random mutations.

Posted by: Sharkman at March 21, 2021 10:13 AM (71oH5)

147 Ava lost her virginity to 5'2" Mickey Rooney, who was a stealth swordsman in Hollywood.

Posted by: Ignoramus at March 21, 2021 10:13 AM (ZHVt1)

148 I started reading Anna Puma's book, and the little that I read was VERY good, but I had to set it aside for later to give it the attention that it deserves.

Posted by: JT at March 21, 2021 10:13 AM (arJlL)

149 Pretty face with "come hither" eyes? Size of the boobs are irrelevant.

Posted by: JAS, AoSHQ addict at March 21, 2021 10:14 AM (2BZBZ)

150 Finally I reached the point in Thucydides where Brasidas was killed. He was the first Spartan leader who was presented approvingly, for which major props to Thucydides since Brasidas was responsible for his fall from grace. The Spartan was particularly good at getting the locals to turn on the Athenians either by carrots or sticks (probably more the latter). Anyway he reversed the inertia of the civil war particularly in Thrace and VDH considered him an early version of Castro, which was an odd but surely spot on comparison.

Posted by: Captain Hate Won't Forget Ashli Babbitt at March 21, 2021 10:16 AM (y7DUB)

151 Also still reading The Secret Language of Cells by Dr. Jon Lieff, which
details just how complicated even the simplest biological processes are.
Dr. Lieff is very close to postulating sentience/intelligence at the
cellular, and possibly molecular level, and without overtly stating it,
he is also proving that the human body is an irreducibly complex system,
which no less an expert as Darwin himself said would destroy the theory
of evolution by natural selection acting on random mutations.

I started that one, but TBH, so far it just seems like a laundry list of all the things that cells can do, which appears to be everything. I'm accustomed to dry scientific literature, but so far, it's pretty boring. I hope it improves.

Posted by: pep at March 21, 2021 10:17 AM (v16oJ)

152 131 Mel Torme was banging Ava Gardner?
What sort of clownworld time-line is this???

Posted by: PabloD, boop/bop/beep at March 21, 2021 10:07 AM (792+X)


And not only that, Torme stood her up. Can you imagine?

That's a dick move. Literally.

Posted by: OregonMuse, AoSHQ Thought Leader, Pants Monitor & Social Distancing Professional at March 21, 2021 10:17 AM (oYDBu)

153 100 7 Hugh Jackman (aka Wolverine)!

What do I win?

Posted by: pookysgirl, is into pop culture.... sometimes at March 21, 2021 09:06 AM (XKZwp)

My heartiest congratulations. I think this is your first win.
Posted by: OregonMuse, AoSHQ Thought Leader, Pants Monitor & Social Distancing Professional at March 21, 2021 09:56 AM (oYDBu)

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

You should throw in the pants from the link

Posted by: No One of Consequence at March 21, 2021 10:17 AM (CAJOC)

154 Finished Raymond Khoury's "Empire of Lies".
Pretty good alt-history -- "What if the Ottoman Empire conquered Europe and was a world power today?" Some time travel thrown in too.

Alt-history fans might want to check out clearinghouse uchronia dot net

Posted by: Dr. Varno at March 21, 2021 10:17 AM (vuisn)

155
g'mornin', book-ish 'rons

Posted by: AltonJackson at March 21, 2021 10:17 AM (T6ju8)

156 I took a philosophy course in college, which had a number of books which we were assigned to read. One of these books was Kuhn's The Structure of Scientific Revolutions. For whatever reason, I never did the reading assignments, but I bought the books and I kept them.

A few years ago, I read Kuhn's book because I figured I ought to at some point. It was a pretty good read. I found it interesting and not nearly as radical as I've heard other people describe. So, I have to disagree with what it says on the sign in the photo of Mr. Crowder, although I have no interest in trying to convince anyone of that.

Yes, I know it's a photoshop.

Posted by: Cybersmythe at March 21, 2021 10:17 AM (17UTy)

157 Pep, I have books stacked in front of books and on top of yet more books. Requires demolition of a book wall sometimes to get what I want.

Posted by: Weak Geek at March 21, 2021 10:18 AM (J9wig)

158 All this judgement about tchotchkes is making me feel unsafe.

I have an Incan fertility statue, an image of Ishtar, and a Cthulhu plushie on my bookshelves, and I think they add a touch of whimsy.

You people!

Posted by: All Hail Eris, Sans-Culottes (except for the Book Thread) at March 21, 2021 10:18 AM (Dc2NZ)

159 Also just started reading A Time for Trumpets by Charles B. Macdonald, which is a 850 page book about the Battle of the Bulge. Vastly detailed but without any maps at all (seriously, dude, 50 demerits for this failing) the author gets down to the individual private soldier level, which is great.

Finally, reading Children of Ruin by Adrian Tchaikovsky, which is the sequel to Children of Time. Both are about the evolution of sentient BASKETBALL-SIZED SPIDERS!!!!! and that species' interactions with the last surviving humans. Not for the faint of heart/persons who have to have a man kill spiders for them. Very creative story.

Posted by: Sharkman at March 21, 2021 10:18 AM (71oH5)

160 Just saw Showtime is producing a miniseries abou the "January 6 Insurrection". Not just a movie, a miniseries.

Posted by: Stinky Wizzleteats at March 21, 2021 10:19 AM (AlYYP)

161 French battle cry was "Cry Havoc, and let slip the frogs of war!"

You're thinking of Mel Torme 'The Velvet Frog"

Posted by: Beatgirl at March 21, 2021 10:20 AM (a1s18)

162 Just saw Showtime is producing a miniseries abou the "January 6 Insurrection". Not just a movie, a miniseries.

Posted by: Stinky Wizzleteats at March 21, 2021 10:19 AM (AlYYP)

can't wait

Posted by: BignJames at March 21, 2021 10:20 AM (AwYPR)

163 All this judgement about tchotchkes is making me feel unsafe.



I have an Incan fertility statue, an image of Ishtar, and a Cthulhu
plushie on my bookshelves, and I think they add a touch of whimsy.



You people!

We had a guy install built-ins in our library, but in the very middle are some alcoves appropriate for such items. The largest one, though, was custom built for a beautiful old brass and wood pan balance rescued from a dumpster when the local university was transitioning to digital balances. It's the centerpiece, and looks gorgeous there, IMHO.

Posted by: pep at March 21, 2021 10:21 AM (v16oJ)

164 One of the books I read this week is Clifford D. Simak's Grotto of the Dancing Deer and other Stories. It has a short story that is very prophetic of today's times. "Day of Truce" (1962) tells the story of a suburban neighborhood overrun by Punks who are allowed to maim/destroy/kill 364 days a year with no interference from the police. In fact, if a resident in a stronghold does complain, THEY are the ones who get in trouble with the cops. Sound familiar? Only one day a year do the Punks agree to a day of truce and the people in the neighborhood all sit down and break bread together. Of course, the Punks being the scum that they are, they seek to undermine the truce so that they can bypass the stronghold defenses. Simak was very clairvoyant in many ways about the breakdown in urban society.

Posted by: Lord Squirrel at March 21, 2021 10:23 AM (hQrcu)

165 You're thinking of Mel Torme 'The Velvet Frog"
Posted by: Beatgirl

Hiya Beatgirl !

Posted by: JT at March 21, 2021 10:24 AM (arJlL)

166 87 Mohicans, MASH. The novelization of Star Wars is hideous.
Posted by: Ace-Endorsed Author A.H. Lloyd at March 21, 2021 09:48 AM (llXky)


I liked them when I was nine. I would never attempt them now.
Posted by: Mr Aspirin Factory

Tried to read Splinter of the Mind's Eye after I saw Star Wars back in the day. Even at that age it was unreadable.

Posted by: mot at March 21, 2021 10:24 AM (jad3h)

167 Killing people and taking their stuff on an individual basis is a crime, but when enough do it, it becomes war.
Posted by: Ace-Endorsed Author A.H. Lloyd

The sole reason Alexander was Great was that he was good at killing people and taking their stuff.

Posted by: Anonosaurus Wrecks, Tyrannosaur Wrangler at March 21, 2021 10:24 AM (VVEnO)

168 Howdy JT!

Posted by: Beatgirl at March 21, 2021 10:26 AM (a1s18)

169 We had a guy install built-ins in our library, but in the very middle are some alcoves appropriate for such items. The largest one, though, was custom built for a beautiful old brass and wood pan balance rescued from a dumpster when the local university was transitioning to digital balances. It's the centerpiece, and looks gorgeous there, IMHO.
Posted by: pep at March 21, 2021 10:21 AM (v16oJ)
---
That sounds beautiful!

Posted by: All Hail Eris, Sans-Culottes (except for the Book Thread) at March 21, 2021 10:26 AM (Dc2NZ)

170 All this judgement about tchotchkes is making me feel unsafe.

Joanie loves tchotchke ?

Posted by: JT at March 21, 2021 10:26 AM (arJlL)

171 Just saw Showtime is producing a miniseries abou the "January 6 Insurrection". Not just a movie, a miniseries.

Posted by: Stinky Wizzleteats

The Longester Day?

Posted by: Anonosaurus Wrecks, Tyrannosaur Wrangler at March 21, 2021 10:26 AM (VVEnO)

172 So its going to be like white housevdawn and olympus has falling tikes

I dont remember how kagan treated brasidaa i do remember he thought thucydides had demagogured cleon at the expense of his man pericles.

Posted by: Alien covenant was worse at March 21, 2021 10:26 AM (hMlTh)

173 Before I made my First Communion, I would watch people at church take Communion and hear the priest murmuring what I thought was "Bonnie and Christ" before he gave them the Host. I was very puzzled as to what Bonnie had to do with anything.

Posted by: Donna&&&&&V at March 21, 2021 10:28 AM (HabA/)

174 For a good laugh at Mel Torme's expense, watch the MST3K version of "Girls' Town" sometime. Mel plays one of the bad guys, and Paul Anka is the good guy. Far and away one of the best MST3Ks, imho.

Posted by: PabloD, boop/bop/beep at March 21, 2021 10:28 AM (792+X)

175 158 All this judgement about tchotchkes is making me feel unsafe.

I have an Incan fertility statue, an image of Ishtar, and a Cthulhu plushie on my bookshelves, and I think they add a touch of whimsy.

You people!
Posted by: All Hail Eris, Sans-Culottes (except for the Book Thread) at March 21, 2021 10:18 AM (Dc2NZ)


Oh, I've seen pics of *your* library. Your book shelves are full of bric-a-brac, doodads, antiques and curios.

Posted by: OregonMuse, AoSHQ Thought Leader, Pants Monitor & Social Distancing Professional at March 21, 2021 10:28 AM (oYDBu)

176 Just saw Showtime is producing a miniseries abou the "January 6 Insurrection". Not just a movie, a miniseries.

Posted by: Stinky Wizzleteats at March 21, 2021 10:19 AM (AlYYP)
---

I condemn the horrific violence* of the riots.

*this phrase must be uttered by all, especially Republicans, when discussing the "riots".

Posted by: All Hail Eris, Sans-Culottes (except for the Book Thread) at March 21, 2021 10:28 AM (Dc2NZ)

177 Simak was very clairvoyant in many ways about the breakdown in urban society.
Posted by: Lord Squirrel at March 21, 2021 10:23 AM (hQrcu)


Simak was one of my sci-fi faves and hugely under appreciated.

Posted by: Captain Hate Won't Forget Ashli Babbitt at March 21, 2021 10:29 AM (y7DUB)

178 I assume someone has already mentioned this... Dersh has been accused of being an Epstein Island hopper, by the same gal who is the main accuser of Bonny Prince Andy.

I've heard him offer circular reasoning about why he says he's not guilty, and she's lying, and it basically comes down to she won't accuse him in a manner that exposes herself to legal action.

That's his proof that she's lying, because if she won't expose herself to him in court, she must not be telling the truth, and he can totally prove it you guys.

Sure, Dersh. Sure.

Posted by: BurtTC at March 21, 2021 10:29 AM (oQ94s)

179 173 Before I made my First Communion, I would watch people at church take Communion and hear the priest murmuring what I thought was "Bonnie and Christ" before he gave them the Host. I was very puzzled as to what Bonnie had to do with anything.
Posted by: Donna&&&&&V at March 21, 2021 10:28 AM (HabA/)
---

She rode shotgun when Jesus was knocking over moneylenders' tables.

Posted by: All Hail Eris, Sans-Culottes (except for the Book Thread) at March 21, 2021 10:29 AM (Dc2NZ)

180 Brian Dennehy is going to play the Capitol rotunda in the upcoming Showtime series.

Posted by: PabloD, boop/bop/beep at March 21, 2021 10:29 AM (792+X)

181 Re: the French in WW II. DeGaulle had written a pretty good book on armored and combined arms tactics between the wars. It wasn't as good as Patton's or Rommel's works but a fair assessment. Like a similar work by Eisenhower he was told to STFD, STFU and as Ike did, did.
I think the French pretty much gave up in the face of coherent tactics and intelligent use of force. Spain was important as a proving ground but the Germans took the best lessons.

Posted by: Winston, GOPe, not one dime, not one vote at March 21, 2021 10:30 AM (z985I)

182 160 Just saw Showtime is producing a miniseries abou the "January 6 Insurrection". Not just a movie, a miniseries.

Posted by: Stinky Wizzleteats at March 21, 2021 10:19 AM (AlYYP)


Oh no, you have to be lying!

Please tell me you're lying, and all will be forgiven, even now.

Posted by: OregonMuse, AoSHQ Thought Leader, Pants Monitor & Social Distancing Professional at March 21, 2021 10:30 AM (oYDBu)

183 Shit tadoo.

Later, BookHorde !

Posted by: JT at March 21, 2021 10:31 AM (arJlL)

184 Greetings:

My thanks to the fellow Book Threader who recommended "CW2" by Heath Layne a couple of weeks back.

I don't read much fiction but this story tracked so closely to my 1969 in you know where that I easily could have thought it a memoir instead.

Again, my thanks.

Posted by: 11B40 at March 21, 2021 10:31 AM (evgyj)

185 Before I made my First Communion, I would watch people at church take Communion and hear the priest murmuring what I thought was "Bonnie and Christ" before he gave them the Host. I was very puzzled as to what Bonnie had to do with anything.
Posted by: Donna&&&&&V

Similar to: May the force be with you. *And with your Spirit*

Hurrah for us sinners.

Deliver us from Eagles.

etc., etc. My brothers and I still can't get through Mass without a chuckle.

Posted by: Tonypete at March 21, 2021 10:31 AM (Rvt88)

186 176 Just saw Showtime is producing a miniseries abou the "January 6 Insurrection". Not just a movie, a miniseries.

Posted by: Stinky Wizzleteats at March 21, 2021 10:19 AM (AlYYP)
---

I condemn the horrific violence* of the riots.

*this phrase must be uttered by all, especially Republicans, when discussing the "riots".
Posted by: All Hail Eris, Sans-Culottes (except for the Book Thread)

Violence. The whole thing struck me as nothing more than a college crowd charging the field and tearing down the goalposts. Everything else is hyperbole.

Posted by: mot at March 21, 2021 10:32 AM (jad3h)

187 Simak was one of my sci-fi faves and hugely under appreciated.
Posted by: Captain Hate Won't Forget Ashli Babbitt at March 21, 2021 10:29 AM (y7DUB)
As far as I'm concerned, Simak is the OG of Grandmasters of Science Fiction. I've been reading him a lot lately, and I'm convinced he may have been a time traveler from 2020 or something (maybe an alternate 2020). He is astoundingly on point with much of his social commentary.

Posted by: Lord Squirrel at March 21, 2021 10:32 AM (hQrcu)

188 In the book "M*A*S*H," Frank Burns is in only one chapter, and the Swamp denizens carried sidearms and used them, to shoot out the tires of a chaplin's Jeep.

I've read that book many times. The movie, I saw once.

Posted by: Weak Geek at March 21, 2021 10:32 AM (J9wig)

189 Just saw Showtime is producing a miniseries abou the "January 6 Insurrection". Not just a movie, a miniseries.

-
Saving Public Pelosi.

Posted by: Anonosaurus Wrecks, Tyrannosaur Wrangler at March 21, 2021 10:34 AM (VVEnO)

190 I think the French pretty much gave up in the face
of coherent tactics and intelligent use of force. Spain was important as
a proving ground but the Germans took the best lessons.

Posted by: Winston, GOPe, not one dime, not one vote at March 21, 2021 10:30 AM (z985I)

---
The impact of air power was greater than anyone thought at the time. Air superiority was useful in World War I but mostly for recon. The armies were protected by trenches, and any kind of precision attack would force the flimsy aircraft to expose themselves to ground fire, which was often fatal.

By the mid-30s, aircraft are more durable, and in Spain the Germans developed new tactics for sustained air attacks. This included launching deeper strikes on depots, railyards, etc. If you break up the second eschalon, the first will crumble. The collapse of the Republican front in 1938 prefigures what happened in France two years later.

Posted by: Ace-Endorsed Author A.H. Lloyd at March 21, 2021 10:35 AM (llXky)

191 Because France's intervention was always on the down-low, without any plan of collecting lessons learned, none of this made its way to the leadership.

Germany, Italy and Russia made a point of retaining their knowledge for future use. Well, Russia started to, then shot everyone they sent there because Stalin was convinced they'd all become Trostskyists.

Posted by: Ace-Endorsed Author A.H. Lloyd at March 21, 2021 10:37 AM (llXky)

192 Well, I finished "Dominion" and can't sing it's praises highly enough. You all are going to get bored with me referring to it in comments because I was so impressed with it. I have never been particularly drawn to ancient Roman history, but after I finished "Dominion" I bought Holland's "Rubicon" which is about the fall of the Roman Republic and I found that gripping too. Now I'm reading another Nero Wolfe mystery - the mysteries are like having sorbet between heavy courses to clear your palate. Heavy-duty epics broken up by fatass on 35th Street figuring out another murder.

Posted by: Donna&&&&&V at March 21, 2021 10:37 AM (HabA/)

193 For me the misunderstood phrase from my childhood was from the Our Father:

I could swear they were saying "Hollywood be thy name."

Posted by: Infidel de Manahatta at March 21, 2021 10:38 AM (IEbz8)

194 In the book "M*A*S*H," Frank Burns is in only one
chapter, and the Swamp denizens carried sidearms and used them, to shoot
out the tires of a chaplin's Jeep.



I've read that book many times. The movie, I saw once.

Posted by: Weak Geek at March 21, 2021 10:32 AM (J9wig)

---
The book is over-the-top. It's so farcical that they had to tone it down or no one would see it. That's why I find it obnoxious.

Posted by: Ace-Endorsed Author A.H. Lloyd at March 21, 2021 10:39 AM (llXky)

195 Mmmmmmmm, bacon!

"France is Bacon" goes quite a way to explaining why everyone from the Romans to the Prussians/Germans were so eager to invade and despoil France.

"Not only relatively easy to defeat, but also delicious!!" -- Frederick the Great (probably).

Posted by: Sharkman at March 21, 2021 10:39 AM (x2B79)

196 Ava lost her virginity to 5'2" Mickey Rooney, who was a stealth swordsman in Hollywood.
Posted by: Ignoramus at March 21, 2021 10:13 AM (ZHVt1)

More recently, they say David Spade was the Ladykiller in Hollowood. Settin' 'em up and knockin' them down.

However... I'm not so sure that wasn't just his pals making it sound more than it was. Could just be, any dude who wasn't gay was going to get some, because newsflash, these gals in Hollowood were never paragons of virtue.

Ava lost her virginity to Rooney? Maybe. I kinda expect there are very very very few of them who show up there who weren't already mauled by some jerk kid in their hometown... or someone in their own household.

Posted by: BurtTC at March 21, 2021 10:39 AM (oQ94s)

197 I called it the delta house stunt

Burleighs sacred places shows how devastating the battle field losses were to france a supposed victor of the wars, add to that the lack of confidence in the blum govt the backwash of the whole dreyfus kerfluffle from half a century earlier.

Posted by: Alien covenant was worse at March 21, 2021 10:39 AM (hMlTh)

198 Speaking of adaptations, the greatest book-film adaptation is unquestionably Brideshead Revisited. Almost nothing is left out of the story, which features one of the greatest casts ever assembled.

And it also preserves Waugh's prose, which is unusual. It is probably the only adaptation where if you watch it, you literally do not need to read the book. It's all there.

Posted by: Ace-Endorsed Author A.H. Lloyd at March 21, 2021 10:41 AM (llXky)

199 The Epoch Times had an article on security during the "insurrection". I learned* that each branch of government has its own police force (makes sense -- balance of powers and all), which is why Trump (executive) couldn't send over reinforcements to protect Congress (legislative). They have their own, and that police chief tried a few days before the even to beef up security but was denied.

It's a good article worth digging up. My swiss cheese brain can't remember the details.

*This was undoubtedly known by most here but was a new and interesting thing to me

Posted by: All Hail Eris, Sans-Culottes (except for the Book Thread) at March 21, 2021 10:42 AM (Dc2NZ)

200 Violence. The whole thing struck me as nothing more than a college crowd charging the field and tearing down the goalposts. Everything else is hyperbole.
Posted by: mot at March 21, 2021 10:32 AM (jad3h)

A daytime panty raid. Without panties. At least I hope not.

Posted by: BurtTC at March 21, 2021 10:42 AM (oQ94s)

201 Good morning, all.
Learned a new word: incunabula.

Terrific post, Mr Muse, thank you.

Posted by: Flyover at March 21, 2021 10:44 AM (Rbu5d)

202 In westerns, good guy kills bad guy for trying to kill another or an endangered species, you can take their shit especially if you are like away far away from towns or black tops.

Posted by: humphreyrobot at March 21, 2021 10:44 AM (/yxci)

203 Ava lost her virginity to Rooney? Maybe. I kinda
expect there are very very very few of them who show up there who
weren't already mauled by some jerk kid in their hometown... or someone
in their own household.

Posted by: BurtTC at March 21, 2021 10:39 AM (oQ94s)

---
Early Hollywood was less decadent - you want working stiffs and the like who saw it as a job, nothing more. They didn't think they had unique insights on the world or anything, they were just making money.

Rooney had a serious notch count, which makes his bashful Andy Hardy routine even more amusing.

Posted by: Ace-Endorsed Author A.H. Lloyd at March 21, 2021 10:44 AM (llXky)

204 Okay. One on the things I read in the last coupla weeks was Mel Torme's biography.

Never liked the guy, never disliked him, he was just there.
Never understood the hoopla about his voice, either.
He was (for lack of a better term) fuck buddies with Ava Gardner. He was supposed to meet with her, but got invited to a movie premier by Virginia Mayo, so he made up a BS excuse to Ava and she found out about it and dropped him. "I can't be with a liar" she said.
Mel should've been shot at dawn.
Posted by: JT at March 21, 2021 09:59 AM (arJlL)


Yeah, short, kinda goofy looking, nice voice but no better than ten thousand other guys.

No particular reason Mel Torme should be famous.

I guess guys same as gals can fuck their way to the top in Hollywood, if they connect naughty bits with the right person.

Posted by: naturalfake at March 21, 2021 10:45 AM (dWwl8)

205 No particular reason Mel Torme should be famous.


Posted by: naturalfake at March 21, 2021 10:45 AM (dWwl

---
I think he also wrote songs.

Posted by: Ace-Endorsed Author A.H. Lloyd at March 21, 2021 10:46 AM (llXky)

206 I think the French pretty much gave up in the face of coherent tactics and intelligent use of force. Spain was important as a proving ground but the Germans took the best lessons.
Posted by: Winston, GOPe, not one dime, not one vote at March 21, 2021 10:30 AM (z985I)

Also: demographics. The French birthrate started falling in the mid-19th century and WWI had a disastrous effect. They lost as many men as the Germans - but Germany had a much bigger population. There was a very real fear in France in 1940 that if they fought the Krauts again, they'd run out of young men.

Posted by: Donna&&&&&V at March 21, 2021 10:47 AM (HabA/)

207 205 No particular reason Mel Torme should be famous.

Posted by: naturalfake
---
I think he also wrote songs.
Posted by: Ace-Endorsed Author A.H. Lloyd

Wasn't that Barry Manilow ?

Posted by: Tonypete at March 21, 2021 10:48 AM (Rvt88)

208 The Axe was said to have been buried with Olaf but none know where.

Posted by: bear with asymmetrical balls, making things up as I go



If you read your comment in Michael Palin's "Reading About The Holy Hand Grenade of Antioch" Voice, it's pretty damn funny.

Posted by: Sharkman at March 21, 2021 10:49 AM (x2B79)

209 @194 --

Really? Seemed to me that the movie used much of the book, except for the crucifixion of Shaking Sammy and the appearance of Roger the Dodger. And all of the trip back home.

I was never in the service, so I don't know how much a needed surgeon could get away with.

Posted by: Weak Geek at March 21, 2021 10:49 AM (J9wig)

210 The Outside calls. See you later, Book People.

Posted by: All Hail Eris, Sans-Culottes (except for the Book Thread) at March 21, 2021 10:50 AM (Dc2NZ)

211
I was never in the service, so I don't know how much a needed surgeon could get away with.

Posted by: Weak Geek at March 21, 2021 10:49 AM (J9wig)

---
I didn't say the movie was realistic, just that it was less over the top.

Posted by: Ace-Endorsed Author A.H. Lloyd at March 21, 2021 10:52 AM (llXky)

212 Degaulle was the one who understood this new generation of warfare, the rest were fighting the last war.

Posted by: Alien covenant was worse at March 21, 2021 10:55 AM (hMlTh)

213 I mentioned this famous SF short story yesterday.
For those who've never read it. It's like a funhouse mirror version of our times:


I used to think that short story, "The Marching Morons" was a hilarious satire.

Now that I'm living it -

Not so funny.

Ah! Here it is online, if you're interested:

https://www.gutenberg.org/files/51233/51233-h/51233-h.htm

Posted by: naturalfake at March 21, 2021 10:55 AM (dWwl8)

214 I always laughed at "The Pros from Dover."

Posted by: JAS, AoSHQ addict at March 21, 2021 10:55 AM (2BZBZ)

215 I ask Google embarrassing dirty questions just to check the program.

I ask google, What are you wearing?
Posted by: humphreyrobot at March 21, 2021 10:10 AM (/yxci)

I heard a discussion Elon Musk was having at some event a couple years ago, and he was asked what worried him the most about the future, and he said A.I.

Said nothing else was even close, because a bunch of people are playing around with this stuff, making incredible advances in short periods of time, and there doesn't seem to be any overarching agreement regarding how to keep the intelligence from turning into, basically, Skynet.

Given what he does, I took his concern as reasonable and probably closer than we think.

Posted by: BurtTC at March 21, 2021 10:55 AM (oQ94s)

216 Greetings:

Me, I'm a bit surprised that "The Age of Entitlement" by Christopher Caldwell hasn't yet shown up on this Thread.

Posted by: 11B40 at March 21, 2021 10:56 AM (evgyj)

217 Degaulle was the one who understood this new generation of warfare, the rest were fighting the last war.

Posted by: Alien covenant was worse at March 21, 2021 10:55 AM (hMlTh)

---
They were also older than dirt. The French Army was led by men in their late 60s early 70s. Not exactly innovators.

Posted by: Ace-Endorsed Author A.H. Lloyd at March 21, 2021 10:56 AM (llXky)

218 Damn, Italy's libraries have libraries.

Posted by: Berserker-Dragonheads Division at March 21, 2021 10:57 AM (9Om/r)

219 I'ma just leave this here:

https://tinyurl.com/7tamk4wu

Posted by: Yudhishthira's Dice at March 21, 2021 10:57 AM (Uh2oA)

220 I guess guys same as gals can fuck their way to the top in Hollywood, if they connect naughty bits with the right person.
Posted by: naturalfake at March 21, 2021 10:45 AM (dWwl

Historically speaking, it's very odd that people today expect actors to be moral exemplars, when throughout history, people thought the exact opposite. Romans looked down their noses at actors. Shakepeare's "respectable" writing consisted of his sonnets, not his plays. Actresses were considered barely one step up from whores during the Restoration and even into the 19th century. Hollywood changed the perception, I guess, because it made the stars larger than life. But did the actual character of performers change? I'm not suggesting that all actors are immoral, but the profession as a whole has always been regarded with suspicion. Before the 20th century, it would have been laughable to put actors on a moral pedestal or take their political opinions seriously.

Posted by: Donna&&&&&V at March 21, 2021 10:57 AM (HabA/)

221 I'm waiting for the woke assassin who only does woke assassinations......uh movie.

Posted by: humphreyrobot



There is an hilarious little movie called Mr. Right starring Anna Kendrick and Sam Rockwell in which Rockwell plays an assassin who has a change of heart and decides to start killing the people who hire him, rather than the intended victims. Anna K. of course falls in love with him.

Posted by: Sharkman at March 21, 2021 10:58 AM (x2B79)

222 I'ma just leave this here:

https://tinyurl.com/7tamk4wu
Posted by: Yudhishthira's Dice at March 21, 2021 10:57 AM (Uh2oA)

Like the screenshot someone posted recently, their streaming service had a banner for one series: Who Kill Jeffrey Epstein, and right next to it was a banner for a series on Hillory Clinton.

Posted by: BurtTC at March 21, 2021 11:00 AM (oQ94s)

223 Posted by: Donna&&&&&V at March 21, 2021 10:57 AM (HabA/)

Judge Roy Bean would like a word w/you.

Posted by: BignJames at March 21, 2021 11:00 AM (AwYPR)

224 News agencies here, unable to justify using 'UK/South African/ Brazilian variants' but not 'Wuhan flu' are now using the scientific names for all of the variants. Chyron here this a.m. is using 'B1.1.7' and 'P.1' variant case counts. That's really going to help ordinary people (including myself in that category) track things, isn't it? BTW, I have a cousin who spent a fair bit of time in Red China and his former contacts there tell him they call it the Wuhan Flu there!

Posted by: andycanuck at March 21, 2021 11:01 AM (iDvKn)

225 Good morning, ya'll. Still wending my way through "Geronino: Leadership Strategies of an American Warrior" by Coach Mike Leach. It's an interesting blend of biography and self-help textbook, so the layout of the book doesn't really allow you to get into a groove unless you ignore the sidebars and then come back to them at a later time. . .which reduces your full understanding of the material. I'm not sure if that's by accident or design but the effect is that it forces one to slow down and actually think about what's just been read. Leach can be a polarizing guy for many, but I see him as totally fitting in with the Horde. Another of his books, "Swing Your Sword: Leading the Charge in Football and Life" is a great read which I highly recommend.

Posted by: Bert G at March 21, 2021 11:01 AM (sAW0o)

226 I'm waiting for the woke assassin who only does woke assassinations......uh movie.
Posted by: humphreyrobot


Hollywood's done variations on that over the years.

"The Last Supper" and "The Hunt"(which sorta flipped the script on that) are examples.

Posted by: naturalfake at March 21, 2021 11:02 AM (dWwl8)

227 This one:

https://tinyurl.com/eeh4vta2

Posted by: BurtTC at March 21, 2021 11:03 AM (oQ94s)

228 Just saw Showtime is producing a miniseries abou the "January 6 Insurrection". Not just a movie, a miniseries.

This will include the AOC rape scene, and the liberation of several hundred congress critters, dressed like holocaust victims, by the Hollywood beautiful Amazon Wymen SWAT team in a spectacular Michael Bay directed orgy of explosions and death.

Obviously this is all based on live witness accounts.

Posted by: Reuben Hick at March 21, 2021 11:03 AM (csnU0)

229 The Last of the Mohicans is another movie that is way better than the book, I think

Posted by: artemis at March 21, 2021 11:04 AM (AwPyG)

230 Okay, a lot of talk about the TX Mo me. Where in TX and is there a website or email to sign up?

Maybe, just maybe I'll let y'all have the privilege of meeting me.

Posted by: Justsayin' at March 21, 2021 11:04 AM (Fs5vw)

231 Obviously this is all based on live witness accounts.

Posted by: Reuben Hick at March 21, 2021 11:03 AM (csnU0)

I picture Nanzi, geared up, leading the counter attack w/a giant gavel.

Posted by: BignJames at March 21, 2021 11:05 AM (AwYPR)

232 There is an hilarious little movie called Mr. Right starring Anna Kendrick and Sam Rockwell in which Rockwell plays an assassin who has a change of heart and decides to start killing the people who hire him, rather than the intended victims. Anna K. of course falls in love with him.
Posted by: Sharkman at March 21, 2021 10:58 AM (x2B79)

It might be impossible for Anna Kendrick and Sam Rockwell to be in something together and it not be great.

The screenplay was a Max Landis thing, so when the redlettermedia boys got to doing a catch-up show, they mentioned the title, and that was basically it. A cute little dis on their part, but if they didn't watch the movie, they missed a fun little romp.

Posted by: BurtTC at March 21, 2021 11:06 AM (oQ94s)

233 Who Kill Jeffrey Epstein, and right next to it was a banner for a series on Hillory Clinton.
Posted by: BurtTC at March 21, 2021 11:00 AM (oQ94s)

I have a screenshot I will share at some point, from Amazon Prime... it has the Eddie Murphy comedy classic "Coming to America" under the heading "Black History Month."

Because I'm sure we all remember the time when an African prince and his zany footman went undercover in Queens to find him a bride, and their misadventures became a journey of self-discovery that altered the course of the Zumundan statecraft forged by his straitlaced father.

Posted by: Yudhishthira's Dice at March 21, 2021 11:07 AM (Uh2oA)

234 That soviet fella who defected told a story of how he was giving a class to NATO officers and posed this question: 1st, 2nd and 3rd Battalion are on the attack. The 1st is bogged down with little casualties, the 2nd is making little progress and is taking heavy losses and the 3rd has broken thru and is making deep penetration. Who do you swing your reserves to including your heavy mortar support? Most answered the 2nd, since they were hard pressed. He said No! support the breakthru....attack! attack! attack! was the Soviet doctrine.

Posted by: Hairyback Guy at March 21, 2021 11:07 AM (R/m4+)

235 The Last of the Mohicans is another movie that is way better than the book, I think
You take that back! I get that Cooper isn't for everyone, but I really like his stuff. You do have to prepare for a slower pace, though.

Posted by: pep at March 21, 2021 11:07 AM (v16oJ)

236 >>I also have some Robert E. Howard sitting in my queue to be read. Kull: Exile of Atlantis and The Savage Tales of Solomon Kane.

I don't remember the Kull tales being especially great, but I loved the Solomon Kane stories!

I read 'The Pirate Ship 1660-1730' from Osprey Publishing. Books like that don't need a glossary, they need a couple pages of labeled diagrams. Here is a schematic picture of this type of ship; this term applies to this particular item; and this type of rigging looks like this...It needs a lot of diagrams, all one place, for easy cross-referencing and comparison. Trying to figure out ship categories and rigging just from reading through the text was......not very helpful.

Posted by: Castle Guy at March 21, 2021 11:07 AM (Lhaco)

237 >>5 No particular reason Mel Torme should be famous.


He's got a lot more writing credits than Sinatra.

Also. A better voice.

Posted by: garrett at March 21, 2021 11:07 AM (m5RhX)

238 Before the 20th century, it would have been laughable to put actors on a moral pedestal or take their political opinions seriously.
Posted by: Donna&&&&&V at March 21, 2021 10:57 AM (HabA/)

Its still laughable! Unfortunately, that doesn't stop people from doing it.

Posted by: LASue at March 21, 2021 11:07 AM (Ed8Zd)

239 Nancy Pelosi is insane. I mean clinically so. Don't people notice.

The org chart of America Inc. has Biden, Kamala and Pelosi at the top. Holy Shit Batman!

And here we are making fun of France facing Hitler.

Posted by: Ignoramus at March 21, 2021 11:08 AM (ZHVt1)

240 Would you , as a singer, rather be called 'Old Blue Eyes' or 'The Velvet Fog'?

No brainer if you ask me.

Posted by: garrett at March 21, 2021 11:08 AM (m5RhX)

241 Hollywood changed the perception, I guess, because
it made the stars larger than life.

Posted by: DonnaV at March 21, 2021 10:57 AM (HabA/)

---
Romans considered actors unfit for military service. That meant they didn't even get to vote.

It's been the same throughout history. How did things change? I think decadence, mass media and World War II. A lot of Hollywood did go to war, like Jimmy Stewart, Clark Gable, etc. That gave actors credibility and they've been coasting on it ever since.

Posted by: Ace-Endorsed Author A.H. Lloyd at March 21, 2021 11:08 AM (llXky)

242 Hurrah for us sinners.

Deliver us from Eagles.

etc., etc. My brothers and I still can't get through Mass without a chuckle.

Lead Us Snot into temptation

always wondered what snot had to do with sinning

Posted by: lurker preparing for next Sunday at March 21, 2021 11:08 AM (RfCjr)

243 This will include the AOC rape scene, and the liberation of several hundred congress critters, dressed like holocaust victims, by the Hollywood beautiful Amazon Wymen SWAT team in a spectacular Michael Bay directed orgy of explosions and death.

Obviously this is all based on live witness accounts.
Posted by: Reuben Hick at March 21, 2021 11:03 AM (csnU0)

Some sort of swelling baroque music playing over the muffled sounds of explosions in the background, with silent screams of congresscritters in the foreground... all playing is super slow motion.

Posted by: BurtTC at March 21, 2021 11:08 AM (oQ94s)

244 That was a neat little film.

Posted by: Alien covenant was worse at March 21, 2021 11:08 AM (hMlTh)

245 Also. A better voice.
Concur.

Posted by: pep at March 21, 2021 11:09 AM (v16oJ)

246 Federal employees have, with legal impunity, blown up a town and killed six hundred people, released staggering amounts of radioactive contamination and lied about the resulting cancer, allowed people to die of an easily treated disease in order to study their deaths, and run guns to Mexican drug cartels in hopes of expanding agency powers. Law enforcement leaders have ordered their subordinates to commit murder. Medical administrators have “cooked the books” and allowed patients to die, while raking in plump bonuses. Federal prosecutors have sent Americans to prison while concealing evidence that proved their innocence.
------

...and imported Kudzu.

Posted by: Mike Hammer, etc., etc. at March 21, 2021 11:09 AM (kXPT5)

247 Some sort of swelling baroque music playing over the muffled sounds of
explosions in the background, with silent screams of congresscritters in
the foreground... all playing is super slow motion.


In a world.....

Posted by: pep at March 21, 2021 11:10 AM (v16oJ)

248 No particular reason Mel Torme should be famous.
-----------

He's got a lot more writing credits than Sinatra.

Also. A better voice.
Posted by: garrett at March 21, 2021 11:07 AM (m5RhX)

In the long long history of pop music, songwriters have never gotten their due, while the singers are remembered forever.

Snottra, as far as I know, never wrote jack. Why would he.

Posted by: BurtTC at March 21, 2021 11:10 AM (oQ94s)

249 ...and imported Kudzu.

Posted by: Mike Hammer, etc., etc. at March 21, 2021 11:09 AM (kXPT5)

Gave Tenn. the TVA...gave us, SC, kudzu.

Posted by: BignJames at March 21, 2021 11:12 AM (AwYPR)

250 @235

I just don't like the way all the good guys get it in the end. Too Greek, for me. The movie fixes that.

Posted by: artemis at March 21, 2021 11:12 AM (AwPyG)

251 Jaws is another one where the movie is better. And The Godfather.

YMMV

Posted by: artemis at March 21, 2021 11:12 AM (AwPyG)

252 >>Snottra, as far as I know, never wrote jack. Why would he.


I think he may have a credit or two for that awful album he put out with his kid...but, yeah -
Guy had no musical chops beyond singing OK.

Been waiting for Cancel Culture to hit on those old shows where he goes all Porgy and Bess while taling to The Count.

Posted by: garrett at March 21, 2021 11:13 AM (uh73j)

253 and there doesn't seem to be any overarching agreement regarding how to keep the intelligence from turning into, basically, Skynet.

Considering that our current systems can't even give a decent 48 hour weather forecast, make strange purchasing recommendations, AWOL on managing power distribution systems inability to deal with edge cases (which there are many and often serious), and terrible at medicine, AI can probably be trusted to bake a pizza and do low-risk things like make advertising decisions and conjure up blogposts.

The future is augmented intelligence and anomaly detection.

Posted by: Reuben Hick at March 21, 2021 11:13 AM (DkFt0)

254 France is bacon...
------

'America', as heard by child:

Land where my fathers died,
Land of the pills inside,
From every mountain side
Let Freedom ring.

Posted by: Mike Hammer, etc., etc. at March 21, 2021 11:13 AM (++ggZ)

255 Wait till they try and explain that those ids are also clusters of similar variations with God knows what levels of confidence .

Posted by: Jean at March 21, 2021 11:13 AM (Xih1H)

256 Heavy-duty epics broken up by fatass on 35th Street figuring out another murder.

Posted by: Donna&&&&&V



There is a great UToob video of Tom Holland talking about Dominion with NT Wright, who is talking about his own Paul, A Biography:

https://youtu.be/nlf_ULB26cU

Thanks for the recommendation of Dominion. I loved it.

Posted by: Sharkman at March 21, 2021 11:14 AM (71oH5)

257 @242

For seattle fans:

"For thine is the Kingdome. . . "

Posted by: artemis at March 21, 2021 11:14 AM (AwPyG)

258 >>In the long long history of pop music, songwriters have never gotten their due


"It's not enough just to write, sing and perform them (songs)."

"A guy needs a lot of Fringe to make it in this biz."

Posted by: Neil Diamond at March 21, 2021 11:14 AM (uh73j)

259 Speaking of France, that be Jean Valjean.

Posted by: LASue at March 21, 2021 11:14 AM (Ed8Zd)

260 Been waiting for Cancel Culture to hit on those old shows where he goes all Porgy and Bess while taling to The Count.
His classic Fly Me to the Moon was done with Basie.

Posted by: pep at March 21, 2021 11:14 AM (v16oJ)

261 There is a great UToob video of Tom Holland talking about Dominion with NT Wright, who is talking about his own Paul, A Biography:

https://youtu.be/nlf_ULB26cU

Thanks for the recommendation of Dominion. I loved it.
Posted by: Sharkman at March 21, 2021 11:14 AM (71oH5)

Mine arrives tomorrow. Thanks in advance for the re recommendation.

Posted by: LASue at March 21, 2021 11:15 AM (Ed8Zd)

262 Did anyone read "The Exorcist?"

Posted by: JAS, AoSHQ addict at March 21, 2021 11:15 AM (2BZBZ)

263 >>His classic Fly Me to the Moon was done with Basie.


Sinatra at the Sands has a bunch of it (Basie Band).

The Basie Band set from that recording session is fantastic, btw.

Posted by: garrett at March 21, 2021 11:15 AM (uh73j)

264 Some sort of swelling baroque music playing over the muffled sounds of
explosions in the background, with silent screams of congresscritters in
the foreground... all playing is super slow motion.

In a world.....
Posted by: pep at March 21, 2021 11:10 AM (v16oJ)

This thing would practically write itself. Cut in snippets of Sandy Cortez, an honest barmaid, just wanted to make a difference, went to Washington, saw the corruption, spoke out... and then, and THEN... kaboom, smash, crash... the horror. The... HORror.

Posted by: BurtTC at March 21, 2021 11:16 AM (oQ94s)

265 It Might as Well be Swing is, imo, Frank's Best LP.

Posted by: garrett at March 21, 2021 11:16 AM (uh73j)

266 I dont remember how kagan treated brasidaa i do remember he thought thucydides had demagogured cleon at the expense of his man pericles.
Posted by: Alien covenant was worse at March 21, 2021 10:26 AM (hMlTh)


Cleon did a good job of recapturing some of Brasidas's prior conquests when he was off elsewhere but got badly snookered on his return, realizing incredibly outsized losses before both of them fell.

Posted by: Captain Hate Won't Forget Ashli Babbitt at March 21, 2021 11:16 AM (y7DUB)

267 If we're talking fat TV detectives... Look, Wolfe's a ponce. I'm a Cannon man, through and through.

Posted by: Yudhishthira's Dice at March 21, 2021 11:16 AM (Uh2oA)

268 Did anyone read "The Exorcist?"

Posted by: JAS, AoSHQ addict at March 21, 2021 11:15 AM (2BZBZ)

Yeah...never saw the movie.

Posted by: BignJames at March 21, 2021 11:16 AM (AwYPR)

269 And sequins, lots of sequins.

Posted by: Liberace at March 21, 2021 11:16 AM (2BZBZ)

270 Guilt by accusation. I was accused of a crime committed by a person I once knew in a group of boys that got stoned, broke into a church and trashed the place destroying an old Organ with an axe.
The event happened long after I had stopped being in that group and while I was overseas in the Marines. I did not do it.
I told these people that and was then hit with, "Guilt by association" I once knew this person in High school who did the deed there fore I was still guilty.
All the people with God in their back pocket came after me until I was finally fired by a supervisor in another department who was a preacher.
Guilt by either are reason to persecute even though no crime was committed.
This has always been so.

Posted by: obsidian at March 21, 2021 11:17 AM (7+yqP)

271 Reading Tana French. First book was about a detective losing his mind and his partner. Second seems to be about a normal man rendered unnormal by a beating getting sane again. Nice dense writing which stops just short of obtuse.

Posted by: MissouriTravelor at March 21, 2021 11:17 AM (rs93E)

272 >>If we're talking fat TV detectives...


Jake and the Fatman.

You don't get much fatter than that guy.

Posted by: garrett at March 21, 2021 11:17 AM (uh73j)

273 >>In the long long history of pop music, songwriters have never gotten their due


"It's not enough just to write, sing and perform them (songs)."

"A guy needs a lot of Fringe to make it in this biz."
Posted by: Neil Diamond
-----

"It costs a lot of money to look this cheap" - Dolly Parton

Posted by: Mike Hammer, etc., etc. at March 21, 2021 11:17 AM (vyAx2)

274 You know I bet Huge Jackedman actually does read. He just kind of gives off that vibe.

Posted by: Christopher R Taylor at March 21, 2021 11:18 AM (KZzsI)

275 In a lot of wargames the attack on Pearl Harbor requires special rules to give the Japanese even a chance of being as successful as they were in real history. A few games just start in mid-December 1941 to avoid the whole issue.

By the way, the "Drachinifels" YouTube channel had a very interesting series of episodes about the recovery and salvage operations in Pearl Harbor after the attack.

The mention of trapped sailors still tapping on the hulls a week later actually gave me nightmares.

Posted by: Trimegistus at March 21, 2021 11:18 AM (QZxDR)

276 Hugh Jackman?

I still love "Kate and Leopold."

Posted by: Liberace at March 21, 2021 11:20 AM (2BZBZ)

277 Did anyone read "The Exorcist?"
Posted by: JAS, AoSHQ addict at March 21, 2021 11:15 AM (2BZBZ)


Yes. Hard to find in it's original version outside of a used book store though.

The new and improved version by Willy "The Will" Peter "The Peter" Blatty doesn't improve things IMO.

Posted by: naturalfake at March 21, 2021 11:20 AM (dWwl8)

278 Been waiting for Cancel Culture to hit on those old shows where he goes all Porgy and Bess while taling to The Count.

Posted by: garrett at March 21, 2021 11:13 AM (uh73j)

It's interesting that cancel culture hasn't seemed to hit the music biz yet. Is there a reason it hasn't?

Certainly not because there isn't ripe territory to be mined.

Posted by: BurtTC at March 21, 2021 11:20 AM (oQ94s)

279 This border thing is exactly just like the book, The UnTeleported Man.

The Mexicans, the poorest ones believed the coyotes and the dems.

Posted by: humphreyrobot at March 21, 2021 11:21 AM (/yxci)

280 Here's a story from Rublcon which makes me think Athens in the first century BC had become sort of the San Francisco of the ancient world. When the ruthless Roman general was outside the walls of Athens, after putting down rebellions throughout Greece, the response of the Athens was - to taunt the Romans, and make up rude songs about there. Sulla had an unfortunate complexion - ruddy to the point of being purple and he broke out in white botches when he got pissed off, so the Greeks said he looked like a mulberry splattered with oatmeal. The Athenians basically sat there and went 'neener, neener, neener, you're not the boss of me" for a few weeks and then Sulla lost patience and moved in - and leveled the place and kicked ass all over Athens. The Athens found out that being all philosophical and snarky and clever and shit didn't really work against Roman legions. And in that case, I kinda found myself rooting for the Romans.

Posted by: Donna&&&&&V at March 21, 2021 11:21 AM (HabA/)

281 btw, in "Kate and Leopold" the story "arc" is Kate. Leopold doesn't need to change. He's a man, true and honest.

Posted by: Liberace at March 21, 2021 11:21 AM (2BZBZ)

282 Misunderstood as a child...Coming home from the pool, after a Cialis commercial, my 8-year old asked me, "Dad, what is reptile dysfunction, and what does it have to do with men?"

Posted by: Dino58 at March 21, 2021 11:22 AM (esrIA)

283 I've taken to reading the blind gossip sites (Crazy Days and Nights, is one) and it's a little shocking, because apparently everyone that Hollywood pushes forward is a gay puppet, or close to it.

I bring it up because Cannon and Hugh Jackman were two drops, recently, with distasteful stuff supposedly revealed.

They make it sound like everyone's in an arranged marriage to hide their true preferences, and the sad part is you tend to believe it.

Posted by: artemis at March 21, 2021 11:22 AM (AwPyG)

284 Speaking of adaptations, the greatest book-film adaptation is unquestionably Brideshead Revisited. Almost nothing is left out of the story, which features one of the greatest casts ever assembled.

And it also preserves Waugh's prose, which is unusual. It is probably the only adaptation where if you watch it, you literally do not need to read the book. It's all there.
Posted by: Ace-Endorsed Author A.H. Lloyd at March 21, 2021 10:41 AM (llXky)


I remember my wife taking out the video cassette version from the library and saying "I feel like I'm losing a friend" before watching the last tape. Emma Thompson gets lifetime demerits for lending her name to the subsequent highly condensed botch job.

Posted by: Captain Hate Won't Forget Ashli Babbitt at March 21, 2021 11:22 AM (y7DUB)

285 Oops, lots of typos in my post above. My keys have been sticking a lot lately. I hate to sound illiterate in the book thread.

Posted by: Donna&&&&&V at March 21, 2021 11:23 AM (HabA/)

286 >>It's interesting that cancel culture hasn't seemed to hit the music biz yet. Is there a reason it hasn't?


They tried to cancel Paul Simon back in the late 80s, early 90s.

Posted by: garrett at March 21, 2021 11:23 AM (uh73j)

287 Why the hate for Alan Dean Foster? I thought his Star Wars novels were pretty good. He tried his damnedest to make them actual science fiction.

Posted by: Trimegistus at March 21, 2021 11:23 AM (QZxDR)

288
It's been the same throughout history. How did things change? I think decadence, mass media and World War II. A lot of Hollywood did go to war, like Jimmy Stewart, Clark Gable, etc. That gave actors credibility and they've been coasting on it ever since.
Posted by: Ace-Endorsed Author A.H. Lloyd at March 21, 2021 11:08 AM (llXky)

True Story: The Catholic parish I grew up in was founded in the early 1950's and all the local housewives used to canvas the neighborhoods, developments of Cape Cods built thanks to the G.I Bill, knock on doors and get other housewives to bring their families to the newly built church. Those ladies knocking on doors to grow the parish?...most of them were former showgirls now settled down and raising kids!

Even when those ladies became "of a certain age", you could always tell who they were at Sunday Mass by the way they were always spectacularly dressed with their furs and hats.

Posted by: RondinellaMamma - 4 months later and still feel like I got hit with a 2x4 at March 21, 2021 11:23 AM (8/7u2)

289 "It costs a lot of money to look this cheap" - Dolly Parton
Posted by: Mike Hammer, etc., etc. at March 21, 2021 11:17 AM (vyAx2)

Daily reminder... Dolly is one of the most prolific songwriters of all time.

She's not just a pretty face.

Posted by: BurtTC at March 21, 2021 11:24 AM (oQ94s)

290 What have the Romans ever done for us? Oh, yeah, I know, roads and aquaducts and the rule of law and peace. But shit man, what have they EVER done for us?

Posted by: Liberace at March 21, 2021 11:24 AM (2BZBZ)

291 281 btw, in "Kate and Leopold" the story "arc" is Kate. Leopold doesn't need to change. He's a man, true and honest.
Posted by: Liberace at March 21, 2021 11:21 AM (2BZBZ)


I like K&L as well.

But, man, I can't see the attraction to Kate at all. She'd clearly a severe nut case.

Posted by: naturalfake at March 21, 2021 11:24 AM (dWwl8)

292 @281

One of my favorite movies is Notting Hill, where the character arc is not the protagonist (hugh grant) who doesn't change. Julia Roberts has the character arc.

Posted by: artemis at March 21, 2021 11:24 AM (AwPyG)

293 >>Dolly is one of the most prolific songwriters of all time.


That lady does more for charity than Oprah.

Posted by: garrett at March 21, 2021 11:24 AM (uh73j)

294 That was very foolish of them it is said sulla isthe one who took down jugurtha but marius got the credit, of course he has sallust as his scribe.

Posted by: Alien covenant was worse at March 21, 2021 11:24 AM (hMlTh)

295 Groupies throw themselves at musicians.

Posted by: Ignoramus at March 21, 2021 11:24 AM (ZHVt1)

296 31 - Lloyd he wrote a few times his, Sidney and Gen Flynn's way would have disrupted no more than 6 County, pulled in Federal force to count by hand every paper ballot and verify each. It would have been a iffraud wasfound on the massive scale he thinks happened it would have shaken the country.

99 Capt Hate - for first place ever I saw he names the shooter.
A black foreign national who works for feds and was at the Congregation baseball game there was a shooting. He implemented in a picture he backs BLM.

Posted by: Skip at March 21, 2021 11:24 AM (Cxk7w)

297 Off fabulous entertainer sock.

Posted by: JAS, AoSHQ addict at March 21, 2021 11:24 AM (2BZBZ)

298 It's interesting that cancel culture hasn't seemed to hit the music biz yet. Is there a reason it hasn't?

Certainly not because there isn't ripe territory to be mined.

Posted by: BurtTC at March 21, 2021 11:20 AM (oQ94s)

They went after some banjo picker in some band last week....wrongthink.

Posted by: BignJames at March 21, 2021 11:24 AM (AwYPR)

299 Currently reading Zechariah in the Bible, which is full of really obscure prophecies, but as a contrast from the other prophets is instead of scolding and threatening, very encouraging. Its not "stop being such evil jerks" and more "you will all be my people again and I will dwell among you, now get busy and finish my temple".

Also started The Templars by Dan Jones which is surprisingly even handed, objective, and lacking in modern wokism.

Posted by: Christopher R Taylor at March 21, 2021 11:25 AM (KZzsI)

300 @289

Dollly's got amazing energy, too, considering how old she is. l

Posted by: artemis at March 21, 2021 11:25 AM (AwPyG)

301 Holy carp! I've just seen an ad from HBO about the pro leagues (and amateur??) sucking off BLM called The Day Sports Stood Still directed by Antoine Fuqua, and produced by Brian Grazer and Ron Howard. I wonder if it'll cover viewership etc. dropping massively after telling the "I can't breathe lie"??

Posted by: andycanuck at March 21, 2021 11:25 AM (iDvKn)

302 @299

That's exactly why Isaiah is one of my favs.

Posted by: artemis at March 21, 2021 11:26 AM (AwPyG)

303 >>The Day Sports Stood Still directed by Antoine Fuqua, and produced by Brian Grazer and Ron Howard.


I used to rent Ron Howard Porn when I worked at the local VHS store in Banksville.

Posted by: garrett at March 21, 2021 11:26 AM (uh73j)

304
It's interesting that cancel culture hasn't seemed to hit the music biz yet. Is there a reason it hasn't?


oh, it has

(granted, I actually deserved it)

Posted by: David Allen Coe at March 21, 2021 11:26 AM (T6ju8)

305 "They make it sound like everyone's in an arranged marriage to hide their true preferences, " Such was the case with Rock Hudson.

Posted by: JAS, AoSHQ addict at March 21, 2021 11:26 AM (2BZBZ)

306 Did anyone read "The Exorcist?"

Posted by: JAS, AoSHQ addict at March 21, 2021 11:15 AM (2BZBZ)


I read it as a kid (I think my parents bought it for themselves and I picked it up after they were done with it). Pretty scary for an impressionable yute.

Posted by: Captain Hate Won't Forget Ashli Babbitt at March 21, 2021 11:26 AM (y7DUB)

307 They tried to cancel Paul Simon back in the late 80s, early 90s.
Posted by: garrett at March 21, 2021 11:23 AM (uh73j)

Proto-cancel culture?

Like early attempts at manned space flight. Full of dogs and monkeys and failures and death on the launchpad.

Posted by: BurtTC at March 21, 2021 11:27 AM (oQ94s)

308 I should have said, I used to rent Porn Videos TO Ron Howard...Jesus.

Posted by: garrett at March 21, 2021 11:27 AM (uh73j)

309 Fuqua directed olympus is falling i think. Also the sequels

Posted by: Alien covenant was worse at March 21, 2021 11:27 AM (hMlTh)

310 I was very less than impressed by _Kate and Leopold_. Kate is, as others have pointed out, severely unattractive in both appearance and personality, while Leopold -- an English aristocrat from the 1880s -- spends the whole movie wearing what looks like a Napoleonic Marshal's uniform for no reason that is ever explained. Oh, and he's the "inventor of the elevator" and never mind that they'd been around for about a century by 1880.

Posted by: Trimegistus at March 21, 2021 11:28 AM (QZxDR)

311 The Last of the Mohicans is another movie that is way better than the book, I think

Posted by: artemis



James Fenimore Cooper is one of the worst writers of fiction in human history.

After reading both The Deerslayer and The Last of the Mohicans, my reaction was to wish I could dig up his corpse and burn it along with his collected works. Just an execrable writer.

Posted by: Sharkman at March 21, 2021 11:28 AM (71oH5)

312 Does anyone know if there is a Vatican library that is open to the public?

Posted by: LASue at March 21, 2021 11:28 AM (Ed8Zd)

313 >>Proto-cancel culture?


Yeah, Graceland / Rhytm of the Saints era.

Cultural Appropriation.

Even though he was sharing credits with guys like Ali Farka Toure.

Posted by: garrett at March 21, 2021 11:28 AM (uh73j)

314 I should have said, I used to rent Porn Videos TO Ron Howard...Jesus.
Posted by: garrett at March 21, 2021 11:27 AM (uh73j)

Was he kind and did he rewind?

Posted by: Hairyback Guy at March 21, 2021 11:28 AM (R/m4+)

315 I thought his Star Wars novels were pretty good. He tried his damnedest to make them actual science fiction.

Which is not easy to do, since they are fantasy with a sci fi wrapping.

Posted by: Christopher R Taylor at March 21, 2021 11:28 AM (KZzsI)

316 The episode of American Pickers where they do a job for Dollywood is fun. When Dani meets Dolly, it's just deer-in-the-headlights, stammering idol-worship.

Posted by: Yudhishthira's Dice at March 21, 2021 11:29 AM (Uh2oA)

317 I have a CD of the Rat Pack live.

Sinatra tells Dino, "Be serious."

Martin replies: "I tried being serious. All I could get was construction work."

Posted by: Weak Geek at March 21, 2021 11:30 AM (J9wig)

318 France is bacon is almost an eggcorn. It has to make sense though.

My favorite is chesterdraws

Posted by: Sebastian Melmoth at March 21, 2021 11:30 AM (2DOZq)

319 When my siblings and I were very young, we thought the Christmas hymn "We Three Kings of Orient Are" was "We Three Kings Are Orientals".

Context: our dad is Asian.

Posted by: Pete in Texas at March 21, 2021 11:30 AM (2RBkF)

320 >>When Dani meets Dolly, it's just deer-in-the-headlights, stammering idol-worship.


She is a Hero to SO MANY women. It's crazy. Almost ecry chick I know adores her!

Posted by: garrett at March 21, 2021 11:30 AM (uh73j)

321 I just started "A Gentleman In Moscow," by Amor Towles. I was hesitant because it has been lauded by the mainstream media shills.


But it is extremely well written and a pleasure to read. It reminds me of a Russian novel but edited by someone good!

Posted by: CharlieBrown'sDildo at March 21, 2021 11:30 AM (Q9lwr)

322 IIRC, there is a tiny part of the Vatican library open to the public. But to get to the good stuff, you have to have advanced pre-approval.

Posted by: JAS, AoSHQ addict at March 21, 2021 11:30 AM (2BZBZ)

323 Posted by: BurtTC at March 21, 2021 11:20 AM (oQ94s)

They went after some banjo picker in some band last week....wrongthink.
Posted by: BignJames at March 21, 2021 11:24 AM (AwYPR)

Yeah, that was a weird aberration though, and he deserved it. He said he liked Andy Gno's book.

Not like he was banging 15 year olds or anything innocent like that.

Posted by: BurtTC at March 21, 2021 11:31 AM (oQ94s)

324 160 - could mange to find the link but another video from book shows how the Ashlii murder might not be and was all a set up.
Points out a active shooting, no one acts like a murder happened, calling it a murder before she died, many personal there seem to be doing odd things for shooting.

Posted by: Skip at March 21, 2021 11:32 AM (Cxk7w)

325 Jay Z made a billion dollars rapping about bitches and hos and pimps and n-word-as. He has not been cancelled. Some guy in a band said he read a book about Antifa and he was cancelled.

Posted by: Joe XiDen at March 21, 2021 11:33 AM (Zx3Bu)

326 I should have said, I used to rent Porn Videos TO Ron Howard...Jesus.
Posted by: garrett at March 21, 2021 11:27 AM (uh73j)


Aunt Bea would be soooo disappointed...

Posted by: Captain Hate Won't Forget Ashli Babbitt at March 21, 2021 11:33 AM (y7DUB)

327 Cancel culture recently went after country singer Morgan Wallen. His song promptly went to number 1 and stayed there. His current song, The Way I Talk, is terrific and maybe a gotcha as it is about a country accent.

Posted by: Sharon(willow's apprentice) at March 21, 2021 11:33 AM (sd8p8)

328 Ron Howard porn would be some kinda weird kink.

Posted by: Yudhishthira's Dice at March 21, 2021 11:34 AM (Uh2oA)

329 He said No! support the breakthru....attack! attack! attack! was the Soviet doctrine.

Posted by: Hairyback Guy

The Soviets learned that from the Germans, only after losing 5 million men killed, wounded and taken prisoner in the first six months of Barbarossa.

I often wonder how the Germans were able to hold out so long in WW2 against vastly superior numbers, while fielding the least mechanized army of all the major combatants (the myth of German mechanized superiority is just that -- a myth). How do you kill 30 million enemy soldiers while only suffering 5 million dead yourself?

My conclusion?

1. Methamphetamines;
2. Immediately going on the attack whenever forced to retreat or suffering a defeat, and always, always support any breakthrough with all available forces.

Posted by: Sharkman at March 21, 2021 11:35 AM (71oH5)

330 As my dear old Dad used to say "Don't let the truth get in the way of a good story." Leopold (despite the incorrect clothing) liked Kate because he respected her. Yes, she's a nutcase. But there is the arc. C'mon man. Suspend your disbelief.

btw, there are lots of guys that think Meg Ryan is cute.

Posted by: JAS, AoSHQ addict at March 21, 2021 11:35 AM (2BZBZ)

331 Ron Howard in Jump Dat Shark!! And who could ever forget Happy Lays?!

Posted by: andycanuck at March 21, 2021 11:35 AM (iDvKn)

332 Ron Howard porn would be some kinda weird kink.

Posted by: Yudhishthira's Dice at March 21, 2021 11:34 AM (Uh2oA)

W/Cindy Williams?

Posted by: BignJames at March 21, 2021 11:35 AM (AwYPR)

333 @327

Remember when the Dixie Chicks went woke? Their sales dropped off a cliff, but the Grammys gave them "best country album" for an album that was like #50 in sales.

That was a precursor for the craziness we have now. But at least no ones watching award shows, anymore, so that's good.

Posted by: artemis at March 21, 2021 11:35 AM (AwPyG)

334 I am reading the first Rocco Schiavone novel - I saw the series on amazon prime and liked it enough to read at least one book - we'll see if I want to go the series.

Still almost done with "Radical Son" by David Horowitz. He makes very foolish personal decisions.

And I got a paper copy of "The Lord" by Romano Guardini. I've been listening to it in the car but I am really going to have to read it to get everything out of it: read it in the fashion that someone here, I think, once said got someone he knew through medical school: Read a paragraph. Paraphrase (or was it "summarize"?) the paragraph. Write down the summary in your notebook. Listening to it and getting everything out of it is impossible for me: it's incredibly dense. And I HIGHLY recommend it.

Posted by: Tonestaple at March 21, 2021 11:36 AM (Pgqh7)

335 229 artemis- LoL, My favorite movie but said when read book here it and latest movie version have nothing in common.
The movie cleaned it up wonderfully.

Posted by: Skip at March 21, 2021 11:36 AM (Cxk7w)

336
Ron Howard porn would be some kinda weird kink.

Posted by: Yudhishthira's Dice at March 21, 2021 11:34 AM

W/Cindy Williams?

Posted by: BignJames at March 21, 2021 11:35 AM


with Aunt Bea...

Posted by: AltonJackson at March 21, 2021 11:36 AM (T6ju8)

337 btw, there are lots of guys that think Meg Ryan is cute.

Posted by: JAS, AoSHQ addict at March 21, 2021 11:35 AM (2BZBZ)

used to, not no mo'.

Posted by: BignJames at March 21, 2021 11:36 AM (AwYPR)

338 btw, there are lots of guys that think Meg Ryan is cute.
Posted by: JAS, AoSHQ addict at March 21, 2021 11:35 AM (2BZBZ)\\


Not is; used to be...

She's really ruined her face with fillers and bad surgery.

Posted by: LASue at March 21, 2021 11:37 AM (Ed8Zd)

339 He could star as Gropie in the Randy Griffith Show.

Posted by: Yudhishthira's Dice at March 21, 2021 11:37 AM (Uh2oA)

340 Morning. I had dog class at 10A, preceded by standing on line at the kosher butcher. At last brisket in stock. I got the second to the last one.

Posted by: CN at March 21, 2021 11:37 AM (ONvIw)

341 "Having my baby, what a wonderful way of saying you love me."

That there is prima facie evidence of the white patriarchy.

Posted by: JAS, AoSHQ addict at March 21, 2021 11:38 AM (2BZBZ)

342 Mmm. Panzer-chocolate.

Posted by: andycanuck at March 21, 2021 11:38 AM (iDvKn)

343 btw, there are lots of guys that think Meg Ryan is was cute.


Posted by: JAS, AoSHQ addict at March 21, 2021 11:35 AM (2BZBZ)


FIFY

Posted by: CharlieBrown'sDildo at March 21, 2021 11:38 AM (Q9lwr)

344 I bought some books for the grandsons that I recall from my childhood. Latrobe and Ruth Carroll's books about a family of Smoky Mountain subsistence farmers, their kids and pets especially a little doggo named Tough Enough.

Posted by: CN at March 21, 2021 11:39 AM (ONvIw)

345 James Fenimore Cooper is one of the worst writers of fiction in human history.

He was. Its odd, reading his stuff now, that he managed to become so popular and have so many of his books considered classics.

I have noticed, though, that some older stuff that's considered so great actually is pretty terrible and overrated.

Posted by: Christopher R Taylor at March 21, 2021 11:40 AM (KZzsI)

346 My mother, who was not a great cook, always made brisket on the Jewish holidays.

Posted by: Sharon(willow's apprentice) at March 21, 2021 11:40 AM (sd8p8)

347 OK. But Kate and Leopold was made in 2001.

She was still decent looking then.

Posted by: JAS, AoSHQ addict at March 21, 2021 11:40 AM (2BZBZ)

348 Interesting to see Simak come up. I'm reading the Time Quarry in the Science Fiction Megabook , I really liked the first half, but the second half is starting off slowly. Plus, he's from Wisconsin so he's got that going for him.

Posted by: WhoKnew at March 21, 2021 11:41 AM (SfO/T)

349 I like the way a brisket cooking makes the house smell. Especially in winter.

Posted by: artemis at March 21, 2021 11:41 AM (AwPyG)

350 The mention of trapped sailors still tapping on the hulls a week later actually gave me nightmares.

Posted by: Trimegistus



I've read that they found a couple of bodies in the Oklahoma in one space, where the doomed sailors had scratched 21 marks on the bulkhead to mark the days before they starved to death. How they could tell how many days had passed in the dark is unknown. A still functioning watch, I suppose.

11111
11111
11111
11111
1

Posted by: Sharkman at March 21, 2021 11:41 AM (x2B79)

351 346 I have never had such issues getting a kosher brisket. This year was crazy.

Posted by: CN at March 21, 2021 11:41 AM (ONvIw)

352 btw, I was much better looking 20 years ago too.

Posted by: JAS, AoSHQ addict at March 21, 2021 11:41 AM (2BZBZ)

353 Remember when the Dixie Chicks went woke? Their sales dropped off a cliff, but the Grammys gave them "best country album" for an album that was like #50 in sales.

That was a precursor for the craziness we have now. But at least no ones watching award shows, anymore, so that's good.

Posted by: artemis at March 21, 2021 11:35 AM (AwPyG)

Obviously Grammies are now just an opportunity to perform sex acts on teevee now, but even back in the day they'd nominate the best selling crep, and the things that would win are the most execrable examples of pop pablum, across all genres.

It made no sense to me at the time. This shit has already sold bazillions of units, why are you promoting it? Why not find the actual good shit being made, and spotlight that?

Oh... Oh, that's why. Nevermind then.

Posted by: BurtTC at March 21, 2021 11:42 AM (oQ94s)

354 Kosher? It's beef.

Oh, you need a Rabbi to make sure it was slaughtered in a humane way?

Posted by: JAS, AoSHQ addict at March 21, 2021 11:42 AM (2BZBZ)

355 152 Stupid Velvet Frog

Posted by: CN at March 21, 2021 11:43 AM (ONvIw)

356 @345

I think Cooper was considered the first American novelist (if I remember HS English correctly)

Novel-writing is kind of a recent innovation, history-wise

Posted by: artemis at March 21, 2021 11:43 AM (AwPyG)

357 345 James Fenimore Cooper is one of the worst writers of fiction in human history.

He was. Its odd, reading his stuff now, that he managed to become so popular and have so many of his books considered classics.

I have noticed, though, that some older stuff that's considered so great actually is pretty terrible and overrated.
Posted by: Christopher R Taylor at March 21, 2021 11:40 AM (KZzsI)


Shakespeare should be at the top of that list.

Posted by: Justsayin' at March 21, 2021 11:43 AM (Fs5vw)

358 Meg Ryan was the human personification of cute, but the shine kind of wears off that pretty fast if you're insufferably crazy or annoying.

Its kind of a female fantasy to find the ideal man who puts up with your crazy and true love results. Like the male fantasy of a harem of hot, compliant women.

Posted by: Christopher R Taylor at March 21, 2021 11:43 AM (KZzsI)

359 354 Yep. Glatt

Posted by: CN at March 21, 2021 11:43 AM (ONvIw)

360 I'm not suggesting that all actors are immoral, but the profession as a whole has always been regarded with suspicion. Before the 20th century, it would have been laughable to put actors on a moral pedestal or take their political opinions seriously.

Posted by: Donna&&&&&V at March 21, 2021 10:57 AM (HabA/)


Ha! When I saw the trailer for the latest adaptation of 'Little Women', it showed one of the girls wanting to be an actress and the others breaking out in applause, like this was some fine and noble aspiration. That was when i decided to give it a pass.

Posted by: OregonMuse, AoSHQ Thought Leader, Pants Monitor & Social Distancing Professional at March 21, 2021 11:44 AM (oYDBu)

361 Posted by: Zoltan at March 21, 2021 09:11 AM (qb8uZ)

I purely loved "Remains of the Day" and it is the only book I have ever read that made me cry. I want to read other Kazuo Ishiguro novels but I am afraid of having my heart broken again.

And I have once again demonstrated "De gustibus non est disputandam," which is my absolute favorite Latin saying outside of liturgy.

Posted by: Tonestaple at March 21, 2021 11:44 AM (Pgqh7)

362 Is anyone else having difficulty reading during the pandemic? I live in a small house with three other people, two of the tween variety, and I just don't get any uninterrupted time. I've tried to force myself to read books but I can't get it done. I'm reading, I'm just reading slower, and I can't read nonfiction at all. Fiction doesn't require the same level of attention as nonfiction, but even so, I'm not reading anywhere near as voraciously as before.

Posted by: Jim S. at March 21, 2021 11:45 AM (ynUnH)

363 @353

Speaking of Crazy Days and Nights, it had a blind this week that the producer for Lady Sings the Blues dropped a million in bribes so Diana Ross would win the Golden Globes for best actress, but didn't bribe enough to win the Oscar.

Posted by: artemis at March 21, 2021 11:45 AM (AwPyG)

364
Ron Howard porn would be some kinda weird kink.


He gets his little brother drunk on Tranya. Hilarity ensues.

Posted by: Bertram Cabot, Jr. at March 21, 2021 11:46 AM (63Dwl)

365 Does anyone know if there is a Vatican library that is open to the public?

Posted by: LASue


Ask and ye shall receive:

https://digi.vatlib.it/

Posted by: Sharkman at March 21, 2021 11:46 AM (x2B79)

366 After reading both The Deerslayer and The Last of
the Mohicans, my reaction was to wish I could dig up his corpse and burn
it along with his collected works. Just an execrable writer.

Posted by: Sharkman at March 21, 2021 11:28 AM (71oH5)

---
"Fenimore Cooper's Literary Offenses" by Mark Twain will be tonic for you.


Posted by: Ace-Endorsed Author A.H. Lloyd at March 21, 2021 11:46 AM (llXky)

367 Obviously Grammies are now just an opportunity to perform sex acts on teevee now, but even back in the day they'd nominate the best selling crep, and the things that would win are the most execrable examples of pop pablum, across all genres.

Oddly enough, the only award show that seemed to actually get it right more often than not (barely) was the Oscars. Most of the best films are actually among, if not the best films of the year. All the rest pick terrible but popular crap to award.

Posted by: Christopher R Taylor at March 21, 2021 11:47 AM (KZzsI)

368 How do you kill 30 million enemy soldiers while only suffering 5 million dead yourself?
They lost 28M total, but most of those were civilians. I've seen estimates of 8.5M soldiers, but who knows?

Posted by: pep at March 21, 2021 11:47 AM (v16oJ)

369 Ever notice how these music contest shows almost always end up with country singers winning? This is because actual consumers, buyers are voting. It is the shows whose winners are nominated by show and music business elites that are decadent, woke and no longer watched.

Posted by: Sharon(willow's apprentice) at March 21, 2021 11:47 AM (sd8p8)

370 with Aunt Bea...
Posted by: AltonJackson at March 21, 2021 11:36 AM (T6ju

There was a reason Barney was always at Andy's house and it wasn't for Aunt Bea's pickles.

Posted by: Hairyback Guy at March 21, 2021 11:47 AM (R/m4+)

371 Why not find the actual good shit being made, and spotlight that?

Posted by: BurtTC at March 21, 2021 11:42 AM (oQ94s)

Like they would know?

Posted by: BignJames at March 21, 2021 11:47 AM (AwYPR)

372 James Fenimore Cooper is one of the worst writers of fiction in human history.

After reading both The Deerslayer and The Last of the Mohicans, my reaction was to wish I could dig up his corpse and burn it along with his collected works. Just an execrable writer.

Posted by: Sharkman at March 21, 2021 11:28 AM (71oH5


Mark Twain just e-mailed and said you'll have to wait your turn.

Posted by: OregonMuse, AoSHQ Thought Leader, Pants Monitor & Social Distancing Professional at March 21, 2021 11:47 AM (oYDBu)

373 Oh, and the movie of Double Indemnity was way better than the original story, although a surprising amount of good lines from the movie were from the original, e.g., the speech on the actuarial tables.

Posted by: Pete in Texas at March 21, 2021 11:48 AM (2RBkF)

374 Remember when the Dixie Chicks went woke? Their sales dropped off a cliff, but the Grammys gave them "best country album" for an album that was like #50 in sales.

That was a precursor for the craziness we have now. But at least no ones watching award shows, anymore, so that's good.

Posted by: artemis at March 21, 2021 11:35 AM (AwPyG)


The Ditzy Slits committed multiple career suicides including siccing ambulance chasers on their longtime fans who made out of print stuff available online for free. The funny thing is that even though I've gravitated more to their view on the Bush Crime Family, they were still a gaggle of dumb see you next Tuesdays who badly misjudged their audience.

Posted by: Captain Hate Won't Forget Ashli Babbitt at March 21, 2021 11:48 AM (y7DUB)

375 like this was some fine and noble aspiration. That was when i decided to give it a pass.

LOL, seriously? Even now people would be at best mildly supportive but back then t was like announcing you wanted to become a live animal act in a Mexico City strip club.

Posted by: Christopher R Taylor at March 21, 2021 11:48 AM (KZzsI)

376 I watched that recent version of Little Women (not entirely by my own choice) and thought the whole thing was terribly directed. Since all the cast are about twenty years too old for the parts they're playing, skipping around in time just makes it all hugely confusing -- even if you've read the book and seen two other film versions. Timothy Chalmette was okay as Laurie, if a little too angsty. (Who did he blow to become a big deal all of a sudden? Dude has two facial expressions: sinus headache and my dog just died. All the charisma of a table lamp.)

Posted by: Trimegistus at March 21, 2021 11:49 AM (QZxDR)

377 Speaking of Crazy Days and Nights, it had a blind this week that the producer for Lady Sings the Blues dropped a million in bribes so Diana Ross would win the Golden Globes for best actress, but didn't bribe enough to win the Oscar.
Posted by: artemis at March 21, 2021 11:45 AM (AwPyG)

I should read the site myself, but there's a guy who does vids (when he's not in Youtube jail), goes by the name JamieDLux. He seems to pick out the best stuff, and his delivery on his vids is a real hoot. No polish, lots of... and now that I look, it appears Jamie is permanently banned from Youtube now.

Posted by: BurtTC at March 21, 2021 11:50 AM (oQ94s)

378 @369

I think the same thing that happened to publishing has happened to music. The millennials I know (and teens) tend to listen to music from obscure bands you've never heard of. They've found a way around the gatekeepers, and talk among themselves on line.

Posted by: artemis at March 21, 2021 11:50 AM (AwPyG)

379 Simak was one of my sci-fi faves and hugely under appreciated.
Posted by: Captain Hate Won't Forget Ashli Babbitt at March 21, 2021 10:29 AM (y7DUB)

SECONDED. I have yet to read an ok Simak story. He is at the top of my favorite sci-fi author list.

Posted by: WinLinBSDAdmin at March 21, 2021 11:50 AM (0jT23)

380
She's really ruined her face with fillers and bad surgery.

Posted by: LASue at March 21, 2021 11:37 AM (Ed8Zd)

---
Hollywood is obsessed with youth. It's bizarre. Europeans generally get that being a hottie is a passing phase and then you move into cougar and finally grande dame mode. The reason why all the formidable matriarchs are British is that they don't look like circus freaks.

It's sad to see women who had that cute girl-next-door thing going hack themselves up trying to stay the same age forever.

Then there's the disappointing revelation that Ms. Sweetness is actually a stone-hearted bitch in real life.

Posted by: Ace-Endorsed Author A.H. Lloyd at March 21, 2021 11:51 AM (llXky)

381 Is there a shortage of Rabbis to perform that arduous task?

Posted by: JAS, AoSHQ addict at March 21, 2021 11:51 AM (2BZBZ)

382 Oh, and the movie of Double Indemnity was way better than the original story

The original story was not good, but it was partly rewritten by Raymond freaking Chandler, so you can't get much better. Although by all accounts he was horrible to work with.

Ever notice how these music contest shows almost always end up with country singers winning?

Yes, well... this reminds me of a hilarious bit of history. In the days before the scantron checkout, the way music sales were determined was to survey a wide variety of music store owners: what is selling in your store?

Well, it turned out that they were either of poor memory, being bribed, or just lying to promote certain kinds of music. When they changed over to just raw data of sales from scanned products, the music industry discovered two shocking things:

1) country music was a HUGE seller, like ten times what the surveys were estimating
2) Christian Contemporary Music was another huge seller, easily more than ten times the estimates.

Posted by: Christopher R Taylor at March 21, 2021 11:51 AM (KZzsI)

383 Why not find the actual good shit being made, and spotlight that?

Posted by: BurtTC at March 21, 2021 11:42 AM (oQ94s)

Like they would know?
Posted by: BignJames at March 21, 2021 11:47 AM (AwYPR)

People like David Geffen couldn't spot talent, unless it was accidentally stuck on the end of his c**k.

Posted by: BurtTC at March 21, 2021 11:53 AM (oQ94s)

384 have noticed, though, that some older stuff that's considered so great actually is pretty terrible and overrated.

Posted by: Christopher R Taylor



Cooper is one of two authors who actually made me physically angry when I read him.

The other is Caleb Carr, who wrote The Alienist. That book sucked so bad when I finished it, to my shame, I poured whiskey over it and burned it. God, that was a terrible book.

Posted by: Sharkman at March 21, 2021 11:53 AM (71oH5)

385 I think the same thing that happened to publishing has happened to music. The millennials I know (and teens) tend to listen to music from obscure bands you've never heard of. They've found a way around the gatekeepers, and talk among themselves on line.
Posted by: artemis at March 21, 2021 11:50 AM (AwPyG)


Bandcamp has opened up the biz away from the gatekeepers in an unprecedented manner. People who bitch that there's nothing to listen to aren't trying hard enough; if anything there's too much to process.

Posted by: Captain Hate Won't Forget Ashli Babbitt at March 21, 2021 11:53 AM (y7DUB)

386 380 Meg did a movie in my area with Walter Matthew as Einstein. Every local restaurant owner said Matthau was a gem and Ryan was a bitch.

Posted by: CN at March 21, 2021 11:54 AM (ONvIw)

387 I think the same thing that happened to publishing has happened to music. The millennials I know (and teens) tend to listen to music from obscure bands you've never heard of. They've found a way around the gatekeepers, and talk among themselves on line.
Posted by: artemis at March 21, 2021 11:50 AM (AwPyG)

I'm gonna guess that WAP is really only popular with gay men and middle aged white women.

Posted by: BurtTC at March 21, 2021 11:54 AM (oQ94s)

388 Speaking of Crazy Days and Nights, it had a blind this week that the
producer for Lady Sings the Blues dropped a million in bribes so Diana
Ross would win the Golden Globes for best actress, but didn't bribe
enough to win the Oscar.

Posted by: artemis at March 21, 2021 11:45 AM (AwPyG)

---
The problem with blind stuff like that is that its easy to fit in unprovable lies. This was the Q-bert game: you get a couple bits right and then you make up mountains of bullshit.

Most actors are degenerates and it seems to me the only decent ones either get out of the business entirely or operate at arm's length. I think its interesting that Tom Selleck never really made it big and just kind of does his own thing well away from the center of the action. He has his own production company as well.

Posted by: Ace-Endorsed Author A.H. Lloyd at March 21, 2021 11:54 AM (llXky)

389 368 How do you kill 30 million enemy soldiers while only suffering 5 million dead yourself?
They lost 28M total, but most of those were civilians. I've seen estimates of 8.5M soldiers, but who knows?
Posted by: pep at March 21, 2021 11:47 AM (v16oJ)


Many Russian soldiers were gunned down by political commissars and their crews at even the slightest hint of retreat.

Many of the Russian soldiers that surrendered at the beginning of Barbarosssa that were still around when Russia reclaimed lost territory were either executed or sent to the gulags.

Posted by: Justsayin' at March 21, 2021 11:55 AM (Fs5vw)

390 Ask and ye shall receive:

https://digi.vatlib.it/
Posted by: Sharkman at March 21, 2021 11:46 AM (x2B79)

Grazie

Posted by: LASue at March 21, 2021 11:55 AM (Ed8Zd)

391 Maggie Smith definitely learned how to age gracefully.

Anyone got a copy of "The Prime of Miss Jean Brody?"

Posted by: JAS, AoSHQ addict at March 21, 2021 11:55 AM (2BZBZ)

392 Thank you for the thread and the comments. Have to check out the mentioned history of psychology, and the secret life of cells.

On book three of a Jack Carr series, Savage Son. They are technically very good, meaning I think this former SEAL knows what he is talking about. I am finding something lacking in the stories, but maybe I have read too many of these types of stories lately.

Posted by: MikeM at March 21, 2021 11:55 AM (G9gd2)

393 Mark Twain just e-mailed and said you'll have to wait your turn.

Posted by: OregonMuse, AoSHQ Thought Leader, Pants Monitor & Social Distancing Professional


I've read Twain's takedown of Cooper. It is indeed epic.

Posted by: Sharkman at March 21, 2021 11:55 AM (71oH5)

394 Matthau used to walk around town as Einstein and sign double autographs.

Posted by: CN at March 21, 2021 11:55 AM (ONvIw)

395 @382

Something similar happened in publishing, when the wonders of the internet came into play. An app called "bookscan" was developed, which could tell you what books were being purchased, and there ensued several class action lawsuits because (you guessed it) the publishers were shorting the authors.

And immediately, bookscan changed their reports, so that little sellers like Walmart were excluded, and you couldn't get a true reckoning anymore.

Posted by: artemis at March 21, 2021 11:56 AM (AwPyG)

396 Showtime is set to develop an untitled limited series from The Comey Rule cohorts Billy Ray and Shane Salerno that will trace the events that led to the January 6 assault on the U.S. Capitol. Whipped into a frenzy by a speech by outgoing President Donald Trump pressing unfounded claims of a stolen election, the Trump supporters forced their way into the building and wandered through its corridors, in search of legislators who were at that moment certifying the election results that made Joe Biden Trump's successor. Some armed, others carrying zip-tie handcuffs and others calling for the hanging of Vice President Mike Pence for not bowing to Trump's wishes to overturn the election, the protesters were finally beaten back by police as Senators and Congressmen evacuated and were forced to hide from perpetrators that got frighteningly close. Five died and more than 140 were injured in what incoming President Biden called an insurrection.

https://bit.ly/3c68K3W

Well, at least it's fair and balanced.

Posted by: Anonosaurus Wrecks, Tyrannosaur Wrangler at March 21, 2021 11:57 AM (VVEnO)

397 1) country music was a HUGE seller, like ten times what the surveys were estimating

2) Christian Contemporary Music was another huge seller, easily more than ten times the estimates.

Posted by: Christopher R Taylor at March 21, 2021 11:51 AM (KZzsI)

----
Driving around I listen to classic rock and a local Christian college station. It has a nice 90s sound, which I like.

Posted by: Ace-Endorsed Author A.H. Lloyd at March 21, 2021 11:57 AM (llXky)

398 The other is Caleb Carr, who wrote The Alienist. That book sucked so bad when I finished it, to my shame, I poured whiskey over it and burned it. God, that was a terrible book.

I didn't literally burn the book (as I got it from the library) but yeah it was terrible. Hit my "did not finish" shelf on Goodreads. Why people love that book is completely baffling to me. My review:

https://tinyurl.com/79wtsy9n

Basically he does nearly every single annoying thing I don't like in writing, ties it up in a bundle of ridiculously ahistorical woke pandering, and makes the main character a crappy sherlock holmes pastiche

Posted by: Christopher R Taylor at March 21, 2021 11:57 AM (KZzsI)

399 Ask and ye shall receive:

https://digi.vatlib.it/
Posted by: Sharkman at March 21, 2021 11:46 AM (x2B79)


That is so cool.

Posted by: LASue at March 21, 2021 11:57 AM (Ed8Zd)

400 @388

I thought it was hilarious that most viewers wanted Monica from Friends to marry Tom Selleck, when that wasn't the intent of the writers.

Posted by: artemis at March 21, 2021 11:58 AM (AwPyG)

401 My childhood misunderstanding of a name/phrase had to do with the delusional Spanish "knight", Donkey Hotay.

My one and only interaction with Alan Dershowitz occurred during an online forum in the mid-90s. One of the issues of the day had to do with jury selection, and I asked a rather pointed question about his opinion on selecting jurors to weight the jury in favor of one side or the other. He sidestepped it by saying that he had written a crime novel and that the jury selection specialist was his favorite character. I smiled cynically to myself.

Posted by: Captain Obvious, Laird o' the Sea at March 21, 2021 11:58 AM (WGara)

402 Many Russian Prisoners were just starved to death

Posted by: Skip at March 21, 2021 11:59 AM (Cxk7w)

403 the producer for Lady Sings the Blues dropped a million in bribes so Diana Ross would win the Golden Globes for best actress, but didn't bribe
enough to win the Oscar.


Lady Sings the Blues was a terrible movie that Berry Gordy used to promote Diana Ross. Some old swish who would know this told me that singers like Nina Simone were outraged that it was even made.

Posted by: Captain Hate Won't Forget Ashli Babbitt at March 21, 2021 11:59 AM (y7DUB)

404 Many Russian soldiers were gunned down by political commissars and their crews at even the slightest hint of retreat.

And there were a ton of deaths to starvation and exposure, the Russians suffered terribly.

Posted by: Christopher R Taylor at March 21, 2021 11:59 AM (KZzsI)

405 I am reading "American Caesar" about Gen. Douglas MacArthur.
While going thru my step-dad's things I found 2 Civil War books, large "coffee table" type books, full of pictures and maps.
Each one weighed 15 lbs!
Needless to say, they are still back east.
Mel Torme wrote "The Christmas Song" (chestnuts roasting on a open fire...), one of the most widely covered Christmas songs since White Christmas. He wrote it in June while sitting by his pool, or so he claimed.

Posted by: navybrat, catching up on sleep at March 21, 2021 11:59 AM (w7KSn)

406 LOL, seriously? Even now people would be at best mildly supportive but back then t was like announcing you wanted to become a live animal act in a Mexico City strip club.

Posted by: Christopher R Taylor at March 21, 2021 11:48 AM (KZzsI)


Jo: "I'm going to be the star of 'Bride of the Burro' in Tijuana!"

Others: (silence)

Posted by: OregonMuse, AoSHQ Thought Leader, Pants Monitor & Social Distancing Professional at March 21, 2021 12:00 PM (oYDBu)

407
She's not just a pretty face.
Posted by: BurtTC
-------

Hey! My eyes are up here .

Posted by: Dolly Parton at March 21, 2021 12:00 PM (sc/gu)

408 Many Russian soldiers were gunned down by political commissars and their crews at even the slightest hint of retreat.



Posted by: Justsayin' at March 21, 2021 11:55 AM (Fs5vw)

---
Yeah, if you want to be credited with a high body count, go against Russia. They'll spot you a million at least.

To me, that's the definition of suck: you get drafted into the Red Army, treated like a slave, get captured, then literally become a slave, your side wins and they shoot you anyway.

Posted by: Ace-Endorsed Author A.H. Lloyd at March 21, 2021 12:00 PM (llXky)

409 The "who dis" is Hugh Jackman. I think.

Posted by: Zumkopf at March 21, 2021 12:00 PM (lqz8G)

410 We haz a NOOD

Posted by: Skip at March 21, 2021 12:02 PM (Cxk7w)

411 Funny thing is that Caleb Carr's not bad as a nonfiction writer. I enjoyed his book _The Devil Soldier_, about the American mercenary Frederick Townsend Ward, who fought in the Taiping Rebellion.

Posted by: Trimegistus at March 21, 2021 12:02 PM (QZxDR)

412 And there were a ton of deaths to starvation and exposure, the Russians suffered terribly.

Posted by: Christopher R Taylor at March 21, 2021 11:59 AM (KZzsI)

---
The International Brigades in Spain got a reputation as elite fighting forces in part because they took tremendous losses. Usually that's a good indicator of fighting spirit, but in Spain that's not always the case.

The reason is that Internationals executed for "political crimes" were listed as KIAs and in some cases, rather than go through the formalities of a tribunal, the commanders just sent them out on patrol and shot them in the back.

Communists love killin' like no one else.

Posted by: Ace-Endorsed Author A.H. Lloyd at March 21, 2021 12:03 PM (llXky)

413 Another very common theme in Russian movies is if a Russian is captured its assumed they have been turned against Russia.
Seen it in a lot of movies and TV now.

Posted by: Skip at March 21, 2021 12:03 PM (Cxk7w)

414 The problem with blind stuff like that is that its easy to fit in unprovable lies. This was the Q-bert game: you get a couple bits right and then you make up mountains of bullshit.

Posted by: Ace-Endorsed Author A.H. Lloyd at March 21, 2021 11:54 AM (llXky)


It sounds like you're describing modern journalism in general.

Posted by: OregonMuse, AoSHQ Thought Leader, Pants Monitor & Social Distancing Professional at March 21, 2021 12:04 PM (oYDBu)

415 Hollywood is obsessed with youth.

-
Well, they've got the blitheringly ignorant part down.

Posted by: Anonosaurus Wrecks, Tyrannosaur Wrangler at March 21, 2021 12:04 PM (VVEnO)

416 Many Russian soldiers were gunned down by political commissars and their crews at even the slightest hint of retreat.
-------

Ah. The 'Barrier' troops.

Posted by: Mike Hammer, etc., etc. at March 21, 2021 12:05 PM (gfQAD)

417 Driving around I listen to classic rock and a local Christian college station. It has a nice 90s sound, which I like.

Posted by: Ace-Endorsed Author A.H. Lloyd at March 21, 2021 11:57 AM (llXky)


Heh. This is pretty much par for the course for evangelical Christians. They're always about 20 years behind whatever the curve is.

Posted by: OregonMuse, AoSHQ Thought Leader, Pants Monitor & Social Distancing Professional at March 21, 2021 12:06 PM (oYDBu)

418 I'm curious: are there any 'ettes out there who didn't like Little Women when they were growing up?

Posted by: Trimegistus at March 21, 2021 12:06 PM (QZxDR)

419 409 The "who dis" is Hugh Jackman. I think.

Posted by: Zumkopf at March 21, 2021 12:00 PM (lqz8G)


Late, but correct.

Posted by: OregonMuse, AoSHQ Thought Leader, Pants Monitor & Social Distancing Professional at March 21, 2021 12:07 PM (oYDBu)

420 RE: Kosher brisket shortage - Mass attendance is the highest since the lockdown started.

The pews have been "socially distanced" and it's getting hard to find a place to sit. Maybe people are coming back to their respective faiths.

Posted by: Ace-Endorsed Author A.H. Lloyd at March 21, 2021 12:08 PM (llXky)

421 418 movies or book?

Posted by: CN at March 21, 2021 12:08 PM (ONvIw)

422 Currently reading 'Death in the Garden', Elizabeth Ironside. Book Thread, so it had to be said.

Also still working on 'David Sarnoff', Lyons. Sarnoff was certainly a giant of a self-made man. The manifestation of America as the land of opportunity.

Posted by: Mike Hammer, etc., etc. at March 21, 2021 12:09 PM (gfQAD)

423 I disliked all the films, the book was a bit saccharine at times.

Posted by: CN at March 21, 2021 12:10 PM (ONvIw)

424 My cousin's wife's dad was an Italian soldier captured on the Russian Front. The Soviets shot anyone who fell below 50 kg (2.2 lbs = 1 kg) and he just made it over like 51 or 52 kg before being repatriated.

Posted by: andycanuck at March 21, 2021 12:10 PM (iDvKn)

425 Morning.

Metallica is the greatest fucking band that ever was and ever will be.

What does this have to do with books?

Uh...uuuuhhhhh...the songs have got, like, words n shit?

Posted by: Robert watching Through The Never, drinking coffee at March 21, 2021 12:11 PM (1Yy3c)

426 Oh, One is based on Johnny Got His Gun.

Book adjacent.

Posted by: Robert watching Through The Never, drinking coffee at March 21, 2021 12:12 PM (1Yy3c)

427 The problem with blind stuff like that is that its easy to fit in unprovable lies. This was the Q-bert game: you get a couple bits right and then you make up mountains of bullshit.

Posted by: Ace-Endorsed Author A.H. Lloyd at March 21, 2021 11:54 AM (llXky)

It sounds like you're describing modern journalism in general.
Posted by: OregonMuse
---------

It starts with an unfounded assertion, then treats the assertion as a fact, and proceeds from there.

Posted by: Mike Hammer, etc., etc. at March 21, 2021 12:12 PM (gfQAD)

428 I was thinking of the book.

Posted by: Trimegistus at March 21, 2021 12:12 PM (QZxDR)

429 The whole thing struck me as nothing more than a college crowd charging the field and tearing down the goalposts. Everything else is hyperbole.
Posted by: mot at March 21, 2021 10:32 AM (jad3h)


Who was it who said History repeats itself: the first time as drama, the second time as farce? Well, we're living it. The Germans had the Reichstag Fire, we get the Capitol Hill Weenie Roast, but with the same totalitarian clampdown after.

Oh, and as for fat detectives, has anyone mentioned Charlie Chan yet? He was pretty rotund, at least in the movies.

Posted by: Dr. Mabuse at March 21, 2021 12:15 PM (vfifs)

430 I have never found Shakespeare to be overrated, just rated rightly. But I can understand how someone who isn't particularly bookish might find being forced to read or sit through plays of his in high school might become annoyed at him.

My dad literally quit high school and joined the Air Force because he didn't want to read Ivanhoe. My mom later read it to him and he loved it, but while I liked it in high school, Scott's deconstructive "all knights were trash and the middle ages were horrible" approach annoys me now.

Posted by: Christopher R Taylor at March 21, 2021 12:16 PM (KZzsI)

431 My dad became a voracious, deep reader later on, but as a Missouri country boy he found being forced to read an old thick book a demand too far at the time

Posted by: Christopher R Taylor at March 21, 2021 12:18 PM (KZzsI)

432 @425

And, in the symmetry of the Book Thread, Metallica did the same thing that the Dixie Chicks did--try to staunch the inevitable. Once the genie was out of the bottle, the file-sharers were not going to go back to letting the gate keepers control music.

Posted by: artemis at March 21, 2021 12:19 PM (AwPyG)

433 >>Metallica is the greatest fucking band that ever was and ever will be.


When your testicles finally drop : SLAYER

Posted by: garrett at March 21, 2021 12:20 PM (KG5/6)

434 428 I wasn't a fan. I read it because it was assigned.

Posted by: CN at March 21, 2021 12:20 PM (ONvIw)

435 Metallica actually has several songs based on books, so there's a connection here, sort of

Heavy Metal of all musical genres has the most variety of song topics and interestingly varied inspirations for their lyrics. Perhaps even the most sophisticated. When's the last time another genre other than classical wrote a song based on a Coleridge poem?

Posted by: Christopher R Taylor at March 21, 2021 12:27 PM (KZzsI)

436 I delurking a week early - because I always read the thread after church, so I always figure any comment I make will be so far down in the comments that no one will read that far - so here I am, for what it's worth.

This week I am reading The Stone Angel by Canadian author Margaret Laurence. It's the story of Hagar Shipley, a 90 year old woman, certainly suffering from some dementia, as she looks back on her life. It is almost unrelievedly sad - she was a proud, stubborn, stiff-necked woman who never really got any relationship right. It is extremely well - written, and I'm not quite to the end so there might be *some* redemption for Hagar, but I think it's just going to be a tragic story of a wasted life.

I'm reading it as a buddy read with a friend of mine. I think there is a lot we will be able to discuss. I wouldn't mind reading more by this author, but maybe not right away - I need to know if they are all so depressing.

Posted by: SummaMamaT at March 21, 2021 12:32 PM (USQVR)

437 @436

I hear you, and this is a common theme, lately. It seems people want to read uplifting, comforting things nowadays.

Posted by: artemis at March 21, 2021 12:44 PM (AwPyG)

438 I am not fond of depressing books, no matter how well written. My life is hard enough without reading someone else in misery.

Posted by: Christopher R Taylor at March 21, 2021 12:45 PM (KZzsI)

439 "I watched that recent version of Little Women (not entirely by my own choice) and thought the whole thing was terribly directed."

The version starring Winona Ryder as Jo, from 1994, is very good. In fact, seeing the movie inspired me to read the book (me, a guy then in his mid-40s!). I liked the book (though Alcott does have this thing about the Irish, which rubbed me the wrong way), and I was surprised at how faithful that particular movie was to it.

Posted by: Nemo at March 21, 2021 01:04 PM (S6ArX)

440 "This week I am reading The Stone Angel by Canadian author Margaret Laurence."

A terrific book. My wife and I read it together shortly after she moved in with me, back in 1978. Memories, memories ...

Posted by: Nemo at March 21, 2021 01:06 PM (S6ArX)

441 Reading "Whispers in the Tall Grass", by Nick Brokhausen. It is the continuation to his "We Few", tales from when he ran recon with MACVSOG in Vietnam.

Nick is a moron. (Our kind anyway). Both are on Kindle.

Posted by: Bones at March 21, 2021 01:12 PM (Nc3YF)

442 This week, I am re-reading The Caine Mutiny. I first read it back in the 1960s, when I was in high school. Since then, I've re-read it pretty much every decade of my life. Now, I am older than Willie's father. Dr Keith's regrets over time wasted and opportunities squandered really hit home to me. In the novel, Dr Keith is dying, and he writes a farewell letter to his son, who is serving in the Navy. The letter ends as follows:
Think of me and of what I might have been, Willie, at the times in your live when you come to crossroads. For my sake, for the sake of the father who took the wrong turns, take the right ones, and carry my blessing and my justification with you. ... Good-by my son. Be a man.
And on reading it, those last three words, "Be a man", struck me forcefully. Dr Keith was imploring his son to be what a man truly should be: magnanimous, strong, courageous, thoughtful, caring, responsible. Do we even say those words today? My God. How much we've lost - we've thrown away - since that book was published. What a tragedy.

Posted by: Nemo at March 21, 2021 01:26 PM (S6ArX)

443 SummaMamaT at March 21, 2021 12:32 PM (USQVR)

Same thing happens to me every week. I am always late to the party. Oh, well: I post anyway.

And reading 400+ comments adds a lot of stuff to my wish list, which is where "Stone Angel" will now go.

Posted by: Tonestaple at March 21, 2021 01:29 PM (Pgqh7)

444 Ty, OM, for the congrats! Normally I'm shepherding the family to church when the Book Thread comes up, but everyone got up early, so I thought I'd check my favorite Sunday thread.

Posted by: pookysgirl, reading Eye of the World at March 21, 2021 01:39 PM (XKZwp)

445 What the Book Thread needs is a West Coast comment feed!

Also, I was forced to read an abridged version of "Little Women" in 8th Grade. I have yet to read through the unabridged novel, not for lack of trying multiple times.

Posted by: March Hare at March 21, 2021 01:42 PM (lwrAe)

446 I refresh the Book Thread constantly until it's obvious that the thread is done.

Don't want to miss anything.

So, hi, SummaMamaT and Tonestaple!

Posted by: Weak Geek at March 21, 2021 01:48 PM (J9wig)

447 The Book Thread lives through most of the day, it just slows down a lot when the next thread shows up.

Posted by: Christopher R Taylor at March 21, 2021 01:59 PM (KZzsI)

448 Think of me and of what I might have been, Willie, at the times in your live when you come to crossroads. For my sake, for the sake of the father who took the wrong turns, take the right ones, and carry my blessing and my justification with you. ... Good-by my son. Be a man.
And on reading it, those last three words, "Be a man", struck me forcefully. Dr Keith was imploring his son to be what a man truly should be: magnanimous, strong, courageous, thoughtful, caring, responsible. Do we even say those words today? My God. How much we've lost - we've thrown away - since that book was published. What a tragedy.
Posted by: Nemo at March 21, 2021 01:26 PM (S6ArX)

That is beautiful. I've never read the Caine Mutiny, but just might. I've also found that when I re-read Gone with the Wind at different stages of my life (the first time was in 5th grade), it means much different things to me.

Posted by: LASue at March 21, 2021 02:01 PM (Ed8Zd)

449 The Book Thread lives through most of the day, it just slows down a lot when the next thread shows up.
Posted by: Christopher R Taylor at March 21, 2021 01:59 PM (KZzsI)


I check back sporadically, like now, in case someone made a less late response that requires feedback.

Posted by: Captain Hate Won't Forget Ashli Babbitt at March 21, 2021 02:08 PM (y7DUB)

450 Hiya back, Weak Geek.

Posted by: Tonestaple at March 21, 2021 03:27 PM (Pgqh7)

451 Hey Horde!I just logged on to the Book Thread and thought " Ya know,I think I'll just go read an actual book!" So I'm off to continue and perhaps finish,'Crisis'
by everyone's favorite Kurt,Kurt Schlicter,late of the Army Nat'l Guard and raconteur and pundit per excellence!
BBL.

Posted by: Nick Danger Third Eye at March 21, 2021 03:33 PM (J5w8I)

452 It starts with an unfounded assertion, then treats the assertion as a fact, and proceeds from there.

Posted by: Mike Hammer, etc., etc. at March 21, 2021 12:12 PM (gfQAD)


That's what the NY Times calls "confirmation" of a story.

Posted by: OregonMuse, AoSHQ Thought Leader, Pants Monitor & Social Distancing Professional at March 21, 2021 04:29 PM (oYDBu)

453 Another late comments poster/reader here

Posted by: goodluckduck at March 21, 2021 04:36 PM (V8zw+)

454 Another late comments poster/reader here
Posted by: goodluckduck at March 21, 2021 04:36 PM (V8zw+)

I think this is the one thread everybody keeps checking all day. I even check it Monday - just in case.

Posted by: weirdflunky at March 21, 2021 05:21 PM (cknjq)

455 Since this morning I finished Volume 2 of In Search of Lost Time. Onward to Volume 3!

Posted by: Captain Hate Won't Forget Ashli Babbitt at March 21, 2021 05:26 PM (yQtT+)

456 Greetings to all the late birds!

Posted by: OregonMuse, AoSHQ Thought Leader, Pants Monitor & Social Distancing Professional at March 21, 2021 06:03 PM (oYDBu)

457 Re misunderstood phrases - my wife wrote an ethics paper in college, and was assigned the topic "euthanasia". She wrote an entire paper on the "Youth in Asia", concluding at the very end that she did not see anything controversial about the youth in Asia. She somehow graduated.

Posted by: Harry Dangler at March 21, 2021 07:44 PM (48SZl)

458 Caine Mutiny is a magnificent book, but the ending goes on a bit too long. I know what the writer was trying to do but the post-trial party wraps up the story too well and the rest feels tacked on.

And shelvey is welcome at my house any time, just before dinner or not.

Posted by: Christopher R Taylor at March 21, 2021 09:00 PM (KZzsI)

459 Longtime lurker here. I treat the book thread like glass of fine wine, and sip it all week! I appreciate all the great book suggestions.

Posted by: Napoleon's Bony Parts at March 22, 2021 10:54 AM (VQC/c)

(Jump to top of page)






Processing 0.05, elapsed 0.0601 seconds.
15 queries taking 0.022 seconds, 468 records returned.
Page size 271 kb.
Powered by Minx 0.8 beta.



MuNuvians
MeeNuvians
Polls! Polls! Polls!

Real Clear Politics
Gallup
Frequently Asked Questions
The (Almost) Complete Paul Anka Integrity Kick
Top Top Tens
Greatest Hitjobs

The Ace of Spades HQ Sex-for-Money Skankathon
A D&D Guide to the Democratic Candidates
Margaret Cho: Just Not Funny
More Margaret Cho Abuse
Margaret Cho: Still Not Funny
Iraqi Prisoner Claims He Was Raped... By Woman
Wonkette Announces "Morning Zoo" Format
John Kerry's "Plan" Causes Surrender of Moqtada al-Sadr's Militia
World Muslim Leaders Apologize for Nick Berg's Beheading
Michael Moore Goes on Lunchtime Manhattan Death-Spree
Milestone: Oliver Willis Posts 400th "Fake News Article" Referencing Britney Spears
Liberal Economists Rue a "New Decade of Greed"
Artificial Insouciance: Maureen Dowd's Word Processor Revolts Against Her Numbing Imbecility
Intelligence Officials Eye Blogs for Tips
They Done Found Us Out, Cletus: Intrepid Internet Detective Figures Out Our Master Plan
Shock: Josh Marshall Almost Mentions Sarin Discovery in Iraq
Leather-Clad Biker Freaks Terrorize Australian Town
When Clinton Was President, Torture Was Cool
What Wonkette Means When She Explains What Tina Brown Means
Wonkette's Stand-Up Act
Wankette HQ Gay-Rumors Du Jour
Here's What's Bugging Me: Goose and Slider
My Own Micah Wright Style Confession of Dishonesty
Outraged "Conservatives" React to the FMA
An On-Line Impression of Dennis Miller Having Sex with a Kodiak Bear
The Story the Rightwing Media Refuses to Report!
Our Lunch with David "Glengarry Glen Ross" Mamet
The House of Love: Paul Krugman
A Michael Moore Mystery (TM)
The Dowd-O-Matic!
Liberal Consistency and Other Myths
Kepler's Laws of Liberal Media Bias
John Kerry-- The Splunge! Candidate
"Divisive" Politics & "Attacks on Patriotism" (very long)
The Donkey ("The Raven" parody)
News/Chat