Sunday Morning Book Thread - 10-16-2022 ["Perfessor" Squirrel]

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Welcome to the prestigious, internationally acclaimed, stately, and illustrious Sunday Morning Book Thread! The place where all readers are welcome, regardless of whatever guilty pleasure we feel like reading. Here is where we can discuss, argue, bicker, quibble, consider, debate, confabulate, converse, and jaw about our latest fancy in reading material, even if it's nothing more than "The Lottery." As always, pants are required, especially if you are wearing these pants...

So relax, find yourself a warm kitty (or warm puppy--I won't judge) to curl up in your lap, try some of the fava beans (with a nice chianti!), and crack open a new book. What are YOU reading this fine morning?

PIC NOTE

This is a still image from the classic Disney horror flick, Something Wicked This Way Comes. The title, of course, is an allusion to Shakespeare's Macbeth (Act 4, Scene 1). The movie is an adaptation of Ray Bradbury's book of the same name. You'll never look at a carnival the same way again...

TRAGEDY - THE OTHER FACE OF DRAMA

Last week we looked at a number of comedic authors and stories. Comedy is loosely defined as anything we find amusing or funny. We human beings love to laugh. We see laughter as an antidote to the darker side of life, even laughing in the face of deadly danger. Or we just laugh because it makes us feel better. Comedy is often seen as one of the two faces of the dramatic arts.

I thought it only made sense if we now turned our attention to tragedy, the other face of drama. As a genre, tragedy is usually defined much more narrowly than comedy. Specifically, a "tragedy" in the literary sense exhibits most of the traits listed below:

A character that has some semblance of prosperity who must go through a terrible fall in circumstances, often, but not always, leading to that character's death.

The fall is a result of choices made by the character in the pursuit of some goal (power, wealth, true love, etc.). The character will be presented with options for choosing a different path, but will take the path that leads to the downfall, either because that path is easier or leads to short term gains towards the goal.

The audience must feel closure at the end of the story, understanding that the character's choices led inevitably to the ultimate fate. We know that the character will come to a bad end, but we are not sure exactly what that end is (there are fates worse than death, after all).

This is the classical definition of a tragedy, though there are variations on this theme. We see these all the time in movies and television, as well as the classic Greek and Shakespearean plays. I'm not sure how common tragedies are in literature in general. Tragedies by their very nature do not instill a sense of hope in the reader because we know that the ending will be somewhat of a downer. That leads to an emotional response that can be difficult for us to process. Though sometimes we can be in the mood for a good tragic story, if it's told well.

Tragic characters do not have to be the main protagonist in the story, either. They can be part of a story if only to serve as a warning to other characters. For instance, Ambassador Londo Mollari in Babylon 5 is a textbook case of a tragic character, though his story is only a small part of the Babylon 5 main storyline. He makes bad choices continually throughout the series until he is crowed Emperor of the Centauri Republic, only to discover that he has enslaved his people to a vicious alien race. (Interestingly, Mollari's death subverts the usual tragic fate of this character, because only through his own death at the hands of his former enemy can he free his people and thus find redemption.)

What are some of YOUR favorite tragedies in literature? What is the cause of the downfall in those stories? Pride? Wrath? Avarice? Another deadly sin?

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(ht: Sharon(willow's apprentice))

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FEATURED MORON REVIEW

Moron creeper promised to send me a review of a book written by his neighbor and here it is!

Beyond This Valley by Ray D. Morgan
The horse Pat Kelly stole from the British in 1812 after realizing he had joined the wrong side was the beginning of a family legacy. Hard work and savvy trading increased his herd and when the shopkeeper Boudreaux's daughter fell in love with him his life in Pennsylvania was complete.
Nineteen years later, after his first love chose someone else, Pat's son Jacob told his father, "I think I will go riding, maybe to Texas." It was a long and eventful trip, at the end of which Jacob fetched up south of the Nueces River to begin his own life as a horseman.
This book chronicles Jacob's life and the lives of his friends through the Mexican-American war, the Indian wars, the Civil War and Reconstruction. It was a time of little law and that sometimes administered with a bullwhip. "He needed killin'" wasn't just something they said. Life was about one thing only...survival.
Jacob and his family not only survived, they prospered, along with good friends they made along the way. They fenced their land with wild roses but left gated openings so people could pass through. They built everything they needed...from plows to wagons to a grist mill...because they couldn't buy it. They gathered together when someone needed help building a corral or moving a house. They celebrated weddings and babies and bountiful planting seasons and successful cattle drives.
You'll meet Walking Bear, one of the last survivors of his tribe, who would become Walker Kelly in time yet return to his people. Maria's story will leave you marveling at the courage of a young woman sold twice into slavery. Sam Kane, the Texas ranger who became Jacob's best friend, settled nearby when he got tired of chasing bad guys and his wife put her foot down. And as time goes by you'll see Josh Kelly and Sam Houston Kane follow in their fathers' footsteps.
Ray Morgan's book doesn't have a plot and there's really no end. It's a collection of family tales oft-told over the years and finally written down. The prose flows like water. If you're inclined to gobble a book up whole, as I did the first time, this one will hold your interest. At the same time, if you only have a few minutes to spare (or you're writing a book report) there are plenty of comfortable stopping places.
Happily, the story isn't over. Ray's still writing...with pencil in a spiral notebook, the same way he wrote this one.
This book is a maiden effort. There are a handful of uncorrected errors in it but the stories are so strong they don't matter.
For Morons who have been to Corsicana, as I was reading Beyond This Valley I kept thinking of the horse sculpture garden on the way to Rancher Bob and Jen's spread. The Kellys would have approved. And so would Ray Morgan.

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MORON RECOMMENDATIONS

For a good story with a nice mix of suspense and goofiness, Laurence Shames delivers the goods. His Key West series begins with Florida Straits, the story of the ill-fitting illegitimate son of a Queens mob boss looking for his rightful place in the underworld. He persuades his girlfriend to accompany him to Key West, where he tries to build his own criminal empire...of course, things do not go as expected. Lots of fun, a sweetly positive vibe, and good solid validation for one such as myself, who recently fled New York for the free state of Florida.
Posted by: werewife, princess of Delray Beach at October 09, 2022 09:16 AM (SPNTN)

Comment: It looks like there are currently about 16 books in the Key West Capers series, so if you like the first one, you should have plenty more to keep you entertained for a while! Sometimes it's fun to just read a light-hearted series of stories where the only objective is to enjoy it. And if there is an interesting mystery thrown in, that's just a bonus. The Discworld series of books are kind of like this...Goofy, fun characters thrown into weird situations that require them to solve a puzzle or mystery to save the day.

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Currently reading The Fate of the Apostles by Sean McDowell. A bit of a slog but still immensely interesting. If you like a multitude of footnotes, this book is for you. Unfortunately for my wallet, the footnotes are leading me to many other interesting books. After twenty years as a cop it doesn't faze me how utterly cruel people can be, but during the time of the Apostles it was routine. The fear of the newly forming Christian faith scared those in power who believed it had to crushed in its infancy.
Posted by: RetsgtRN at October 09, 2022 09:41 AM (ApZWy)

Comment: We are living in a very civilized society compared to previous civilizations, even though we can see civilization reverting to a more brutal, vicious state every day. The Twelve Apostles all faced terrible persecution for their beliefs.

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A funny book that doesn't poach a famous one or rewrite it, but instead visits the same world and floats alongside, is To Say Nothing of the Dog. It is very much a companion to the book it references, Three Men in a Boat and some of the jokes in TSNotD are made much funnier if you know TMiaB.
To Say Nothing of the Dog is one of the VERY few time-travel SF stories I enjoy. It features witty banter, the true nature of cats, foggy Oxford professors, and boats And True Love!
Posted by: Sabrina Chase at October 09, 2022 10:06 AM (BbSpR)

Comment: This book is by Connie Willis, a Grand Master of Science Fiction (in case that matters.) Sounds like it could be a fun romp. Time travel stories are very difficult to do well, though they are a staple of science fiction. FYI - Three Men in a Boat was written in 1889 by Jerome K. Jerome and is available for free download at Project Gutenberg!

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Finally, I found a small, 90 page book titled Guiding Principles for Leadership and Professional Success by Danny Arnold and Ahmad Tootoonchi.
Usually, my first take on any leadership principles written by academics is to toss the book right away. But these guys have some incredibly insightful passages. I'm halfway through this, but I find it dead on for sound leadership principles. I happened upon this in my local library. If you are a leader, will be one, or want to understand the basic principles of leadership, read this book.
Posted by: Secret Squirrel, author of the military SCI FI series Outward Frontier on AMAZON at October 09, 2022 10:41 AM (UMRCq)

Comment: I'll never be a leader in the conventional sense...I'm more of the "Evil Chancellor," lurking in the shadows, controlling things from the sidelines. Still, there's a lot of benefit in understanding how *real* leadership works. The so-called "leaders" in government can't be trusted to lead a Girl Scout parade (for A LOT of reasons!). I tried finding this on Amazon, but they don't seem to have it. And you can certainly find tons of lists about "# Principles for Leadership," which is probably just regurgitating what's in this book in some fashion...

More Moron-recommended reading material can be found HERE! (457 Moron-recommended books so far!)

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WHAT I'VE BEEN READING THIS PAST WEEK:

Monster Hunter Legion by Larry Correia -- Las Vegas gets sucked into an alternate nightmare dimension.

Monster Hunter Nemesis by Larry Correia -- Agent "Frankenstein's Monster" Franks goes on a John Wick-style rampage against the United States government which betrayed him

That's about all I have for this week. Thank you for all of your kind words regarding my Sunday Morning Book Thread. This is a very special place. You are very special people (in all the best ways!). The kindness, generosity, and wisdom of the Moron Horde knows no bounds. Let's keep reading!

If you have any suggestions for improvement, reading recommendations, or writing projects that you'd like to see on the Sunday Morning Book Thread, you can send them to perfessor dot squirrel at-sign gmail dot com. Your feedback is always appreciated! You can also take a virtual tour of OUR library at libib.com/u/perfessorsquirrel. Since I added sections for AoSHQ, I now consider it OUR library, rather than my own personal fiefdom...

PREVIOUS SUNDAY MORNING BOOK THREAD - 10-09-22 (hat tip: vmom stabby stabby stabamillion) (NOTE: Do NOT comment on old threads!)

Posted by: Open Blogger at 09:00 AM

Comments

(Jump to bottom of comments)

1 Tolle Lege

Posted by: Skip at October 16, 2022 09:00 AM (xhxe8)

2 hiya

Posted by: JT at October 16, 2022 09:02 AM (T4tVD)

3 Read nothing, but started going through the neighbor's boxes of books before she moves next week. I'm taking what I want and looking for other stuff y'all here might be interested in. Also spent some time on my AI-sci-fi attempt.

Posted by: OrangeEnt at October 16, 2022 09:02 AM (7bRMQ)

4 I don't think the pants guy owns a weedwhacker. (if you catch my drift....)

Posted by: JT at October 16, 2022 09:03 AM (T4tVD)

5 That is clearly an evil cabal meeting at that library.

Posted by: All Hail Eris, She-Wolf of the 'Ettes 'Ettes at October 16, 2022 09:03 AM (Dc2NZ)

6 Dutifully called
Finishing last couple pages of Tactics of the Russian Army in the Napoleonic Wars by Alexander and Yurii Zhmodikov
Think my worst mistake on the game table is not breaking up my Russian batteries into smaller sub units

So need to find something else to read

Posted by: Skip at October 16, 2022 09:04 AM (xhxe8)

7 I figured out the scheme in "The Busy Body." Yay me.

Now, what to do with the book?

If I keep it, it will likely gather dust, untouched. I can trade it in at the used-book store or put it in our local little free library, which needs something other than romances and inspirational paperbacks.

First, however, I'll take it to the MoMe as a giveaway.

See you folks at the ranch!

Posted by: Weak Geek at October 16, 2022 09:05 AM (Om/di)

8 I might want to add that the tragic character believes he's doing right, blinded to what's to come.

Posted by: OrangeEnt at October 16, 2022 09:05 AM (7bRMQ)

9 I need to reread Connie Willis's "Bellwether", about fads, trends, anti-trends, and chaos theory. Very funny.

Posted by: All Hail Eris, She-Wolf of the 'Ettes 'Ettes at October 16, 2022 09:07 AM (Dc2NZ)

10 That is clearly an evil cabal meeting at that library.
Posted by: All Hail Eris, She-Wolf of the 'Ettes 'Ettes

Are there any Good cabals ?

Posted by: JT at October 16, 2022 09:07 AM (T4tVD)

11 Off to the park to walk the dog, but first I want to give many thanks to Sgt. Mom for recommending "The Long Way Home" about the journey of a Boeing Clipper caught in the Pacific at the time of the Pearl Harbor bombing. On the way to New Zealand the Pan Am crew learned of the attack and also learned that their orders in such a case were to fly home to the US--westward. Thus they started their almost-around-the-world trip with no money, no charts, and only the most minimal of guidance. Their inventiveness and courage were amazing.

Fascinating story.

Posted by: Art Rondelet of Malmsey at October 16, 2022 09:08 AM (fTtFy)

12 Did save a NewNeo thread on Koba the Dread : Laughter and the Twenty Million
https://tinyurl.com/yeyjmdkf

Been looking for something into the Soviet era

Posted by: Skip at October 16, 2022 09:09 AM (xhxe8)

13 Monster Hunter Legion by Larry Correia -- Las Vegas gets sucked into an alternate nightmare dimension.

How could you tell?

Posted by: OrangeEnt at October 16, 2022 09:09 AM (7bRMQ)

14 Monster Hunter Legion by Larry Correia -- Las Vegas gets sucked into an alternate nightmare dimension.

How could you tell?
Posted by: OrangeEnt at October 16, 2022 09:09 AM (7bRMQ)
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Fewer Elvis impersonators...

Posted by: "Perfessor" Squirrel at October 16, 2022 09:10 AM (K5n5d)

15 Here's a tragic character: Magneto.

His altruistic goal -- to make the world safe for mutants -- uses horrendous means, and therefore makes him an enemy to that same world.

Posted by: Weak Geek at October 16, 2022 09:10 AM (Om/di)

16 Finished book on WW I German planes, starting one on Benghazi. Should be interesting since actually met one of those guys.

Posted by: Eromero at October 16, 2022 09:13 AM (gktX6)

17 "What are some of YOUR favorite tragedies in literature?"

Medusa, tragedy through no fault of her own.

Posted by: davidt at October 16, 2022 09:13 AM (oTZbj)

18 Here's a tragic character: Magneto.

His altruistic goal -- to make the world safe for mutants -- uses horrendous means, and therefore makes him an enemy to that same world.
Posted by: Weak Geek at October 16, 2022 09:10 AM (Om/di)
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Yeah, I think there's a fair number of tragic figures in comic books. A lot of the supervillains in Batman's rogues' gallery would qualify - Victor Fries, Clayface, Mad Hatter, etc.

Posted by: "Perfessor" Squirrel at October 16, 2022 09:14 AM (K5n5d)

19 Tyler Pager [WaPo] @tylerpager · 14h
President Biden and his Baskin Robbins ice cream. He ordered the double dip chocolate chip in a waffle cone

What Tyler omitted from ice cream shop commentary:

Quote Tweet Pippa Crerar @PippaCrerar · 5h
Joe Biden on fate of Liz Truss’s economic plan: "It was predictable.. I wasn't the only one who thought it was a mistake.. the idea of cutting taxes for the super-wealthy.. I disagree with that policy but it's up to Britain to make that judgement, not me."

Piers Morgan @piersmorgan · 4h
Wow. Very unusual, and disloyal, for a US President to publicly trash a British Prime Minister like this - and Biden is hardly in a position to lecture anyone else about the economy or leadership…

Posted by: andycanuck (yikp0) at October 16, 2022 09:14 AM (yikp0)

20 I read the interesting The End of the World Is Just the Beginning: Mapping the Collapse of Globalization by Peter Zeihan. Zeihan looks at geopolitics, demography, and geography and concludes that 2019 was the last great year for the world economy. COVID had an effect, but only to bring on the collapse sooner than otherwise.

Zeihan makes the case that the global supply chains are only possible with the protection of the U. S. Navy, but America has lost interest in keeping it going. Declining birthrates in countries around the world mean fewer customers which equals less demand for goods. Populations will be shrinking and aging.

The collapse of the dollar will destroy financial markets. How we manufacture products, how we grow our food, how we keep the lights on, and how we pay for it all is about to change. The list of countries that can make it all work is very small. Fortunately the Canada, U. S., Mexico region will be best at doing so.

A peeve is that Zeihan is a globalist. He takes a couple of shots at Trump, but also has scorn for Obama and Biden.

Posted by: Zoltan at October 16, 2022 09:14 AM (xpLRw)

21 Interesting unlike the notion magneto is based on malcolm x apparently he was more inspired by menachem begin

Posted by: Miguel cervantes at October 16, 2022 09:15 AM (PXvVL)

22 What the hell?! Those pants and that suit would have made a spectacular outfit...for me!

Posted by: Jill Biden at October 16, 2022 09:17 AM (ayzS/)

23 Malcolm X preaching self sufficiency and the effective return of violence towards those who are being violent to you, is solid gold.

Posted by: Uvalde SWAT TEAM - (which is why I have time to be online posting this) at October 16, 2022 09:18 AM (rjdLu)

24 What the hell?! Those pants and that suit would have made a spectacular outfit...for me!

Posted by: Jill Biden at October 16, 2022 09:17 AM (ayzS/)

Hands off, bitch!

Posted by: Couch Davenport at October 16, 2022 09:18 AM (7bRMQ)

25 Good Sunday morning, horde!

Pants guy...I think the only reason we never saw Hillary in that suit is that pants guy raided her wardrobe.

Posted by: April--dash my lace wigs! at October 16, 2022 09:21 AM (OX9vb)

26 "Very unusual, and disloyal, for a US President to publicly trash a British Prime Minister like this..."

Posted by: andycanuck (yikp0) at October 16, 2022 09:14 AM (yikp0)

Biden is a rancid cvnt. He is a small, mean-spirited man whose only skill is bringing down those around him. Why Morgan is surprised by this behavior is beyond me.

Posted by: CharlieBrown'sDildo at October 16, 2022 09:24 AM (XIJ/X)

27 Let's keep the Book Thread bookish.

Posted by: All Hail Eris, She-Wolf of the 'Ettes 'Ettes at October 16, 2022 09:24 AM (Dc2NZ)

28 22 What the hell?! Those pants and that suit would have made a spectacular outfit...for me!
Posted by: Jill Biden

Oh, you're right...that is totally her style.

Posted by: April--dash my lace wigs! at October 16, 2022 09:24 AM (OX9vb)

29 Where is everybody? Usually by now we would have several dozen remarks.

Football celebration hangovers?

Posted by: Weak Geek at October 16, 2022 09:25 AM (Om/di)

30 Good morning, Perfessor.

Thank you so much for featuring "Beyond This Valley" today. Ray Morgan loaned me a typed copy of his book last February. After I'd finished it...in one sitting...I urged him to submit it for publication. Happily, he did. I hope Teh Horde likes it.

Posted by: creeper at October 16, 2022 09:25 AM (kpskX)

31 What Tyler omitted from ice cream shop commentary

Well that's hardly surprising. What Tyler was clear back in 1381, and wasn't even know to eat ice cream.

What?

Posted by: Way, Way Downriver at October 16, 2022 09:26 AM (x61Im)

32 Medusa, tragedy through no fault of her own.

Posted by: davidt at October 16, 2022 09:13 AM (oTZbj)

Nice!

How about Polyphemus, who was blinded by Odysseus...an unwelcome visitor to his home!

Posted by: CharlieBrown'sDildo at October 16, 2022 09:26 AM (XIJ/X)

33 I envy you reading the MHI books for the first time. I've worn the edges off some of the pixels in my Nook re-reading them.

And speaking or re-reading, I am working my way through the Belisarius series by David Drake and Eric flint.

An Oblique Approach (199

In the Heart of Darkness (199

Destiny's Shield (1999)
Fortune's Stroke (2000)
The Tide of Victory (2001)
The Dance of Time (2006)

Posted by: TANSTAAFL at October 16, 2022 09:28 AM (WVJo4)

34 29 Where is everybody? Usually by now we would have several dozen remarks.

Football celebration hangovers?

post baseball game hangover here!!!

Phils in the NLCS!!!!

also busy fockey weekend for us

you all have fun tho! such a pretty weekend on the east coast

Posted by: BlackOrchid at October 16, 2022 09:29 AM (w0NJk)

35 I'm reading Everyone Behaves Badly, the alleged back story of The Sun Also Rises. The author does her silly best to cast Hemingway in a bad light over "using his friends", who were much worse than the characters in the book, and who dined off that same book and were paid for interviews until the day they died. In another source, I read that one person moaned about the character roughly based on him, and Hemingway replied that it was a story and that "I am Jake Barnes and I didn't get my dick blown off in the War, did I".

This book and the reaction of the friends who saw part of themselves in the characters speaks to writing about friends and family and what assholes they will be no matter if you change the story. Oddly, though, even Hemingway's wife at the time, the lionized and over glorified Hadley, complained that she was NOT in the book. I guess she did not understand that she was the "dick blown off in the war", as she was the reason that Ernest didn't have an affair with Duff Twysden.
People.

Posted by: CN at October 16, 2022 09:30 AM (Zzbjj)

36 CBD @ 32-
Polyphemus? So are you willing to cut Lucifer some slack, too? Just kidding. Have you read Fall (Or Dodge in Hell) by Neil Stevenson, guy wrote Cryptonomicon?

Posted by: Eromero at October 16, 2022 09:31 AM (/RDPd)

37 also busy fockey weekend for us

OK, one of those words has a typo, but I'm not sure which letter is wrong ...

Posted by: Weak Geek at October 16, 2022 09:32 AM (Om/di)

38 For whatever reason, it occurred to me to reread "Temporary Duty" by the late Ric Locke.

> What are some of YOUR favorite tragedies in literature?

While it's definitely not a favorite, and is a RL tragedy, I deeply regret that Ric died before finishing any more books in his planned series.

He was a good dude, as well as a good writer.

Posted by: Rodrigo Borgia at October 16, 2022 09:33 AM (bW8dp)

39 Also reading the Klaus Schwab book. That man also proves my long held belief that outside of childhood, fantasy becomes sinister in the hands of those who try to live the dream and force it on others. Few go as far as the billionaires club and Schwab, but I've seen people destroy themselves over smaller fantasy.

Posted by: CN at October 16, 2022 09:33 AM (Zzbjj)

40 Have you read Fall (Or Dodge in Hell) by Neil Stevenson, guy wrote Cryptonomicon?
Posted by: Eromero at October 16, 2022 09:31 AM (/RDPd)

I used to think of Stephenson as a modern-day Charles Dickens, and Cryptonomicon the best spec-fiction I'd ever read. Then I was really let down by Seven Eves. And I literally quit reading Fall mid-way through.

Posted by: Candidus at October 16, 2022 09:36 AM (469KY)

41 37 also busy fockey weekend for us

OK, one of those words has a typo, but I'm not sure which letter is wrong ...
Posted by: Weak Geek at October 16, 2022 09:32 AM (Om/di)

Tragic news: The inventor of AutoCorrect, Thomas Whitney, has died. His funnel will be held tomato.

Posted by: I am the Shadout Mapes, the Housekeeper at October 16, 2022 09:37 AM (PiwSw)

42 The dude in the pants might be familiar to any moron sports fans. Let's just say that compared to last year the dude's luck is down, maybe should try another outfit.

Posted by: From about that time at October 16, 2022 09:37 AM (4780s)

43 Shakespeare wrote the best tragedies.
Romeo and Juliet; Julius Caesar; Hamlet; Othello; King Lear; Macbeth and more

Not bad for a dead white guy, no?

Posted by: Ignoramus at October 16, 2022 09:37 AM (SJsWC)

44 Good morning dear Horde.

In these end times I find I can read only for escape. Just started another Chet and Bernie book by Spencer Quinn.

Posted by: Ladyl at October 16, 2022 09:38 AM (qpPdw)

45 Are there any particular type books anyone wants? Anything I don't take from the neighbor will get recycled. She's leaving in thirteen days.

Posted by: OrangeEnt at October 16, 2022 09:38 AM (7bRMQ)

46 Still plugging away at that War of 1812 book and blazing through the Cat in the Stacks mystery series.

I'm not the only one who reads GURPS manuals for fun and edification and not gaming, am I?

AM I?!

Weird War II: Secret Weapons and Twisted History looks like it will be a terrific read.

Posted by: All Hail Eris, She-Wolf of the 'Ettes 'Ettes at October 16, 2022 09:39 AM (Dc2NZ)

47 I LOVE the countdown clock for Texas. Texas can't happen soon enough. I'm so looking forward to seeing My People.

Posted by: Ladyl at October 16, 2022 09:39 AM (qpPdw)

48 I was looking up Max Brooks, in order to highly recommend Devolution, and found out he is the son of Mel Brooks and a Senior Fellow at West Point. He also wrote World War Z, which has almost zero in common with the movie.

Posted by: Candidus at October 16, 2022 09:40 AM (469KY)

49 Dennis Prager's Rational Bible Deuteronomy is to be out imminently and have a copy ordered.

Posted by: Skip at October 16, 2022 09:41 AM (xhxe8)

50 23 Malcolm X preaching self sufficiency and the effective return of violence towards those who are being violent to you, is solid gold.
Posted by: Uvalde SWAT TEAM - (which is why I have time to be online posting this) at October 16, 2022 09:18 AM (rjdLu

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First biography I ever read, book given to me by someone I didn't like.
Malcolm is awesome.

Posted by: Don't Call Me - Because I'm Not Home at October 16, 2022 09:41 AM (8d69Y)

51 Tragic news: The inventor of AutoCorrect, Thomas Whitney, has died. His funnel will be held tomato.
Posted by: I am the Shadout Mapes, the Housekeeper at October 16, 2022 09:37 AM (PiwSw)

Idunno...it's awful early to be declaring a threadwinner. I'll nominate this comment anyway.

Posted by: creeper at October 16, 2022 09:42 AM (kpskX)

52 Did I read this week? I started Sandman Slim by Richard Kadrey. It was well reviewed here, and I wanted a fun read, but I was really annoyed with the first person present tense. I might try it again later and see if I can enjoy the story despite that.

Then I tried to start Created the Destroyer by Warren Murphy, but I didn't go to bed early enough and was too sleepy to get it started. Same with the Story of the Stone by Barry Hughart.

I'll be on the road this week, maybe I can get some hotel reading done. And, looking for some good road trip audio books.

Posted by: April--dash my lace wigs! at October 16, 2022 09:43 AM (OX9vb)

53 I'm not the only one who reads GURPS manuals for fun and edification and not gaming, am I?

AM I?!

Weird War II: Secret Weapons and Twisted History looks like it will be a terrific read.
Posted by: All Hail Eris, She-Wolf of the 'Ettes 'Ettes at October 16, 2022 09:39 AM (Dc2NZ)
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Guilty...I have a number of GURPS books that are just interesting to read...Place of Mystery, Goblins, Celtic Myth, New Sun, etc...

Posted by: "Perfessor" Squirrel at October 16, 2022 09:43 AM (K5n5d)

54 Have you read Fall (Or Dodge in Hell) by Neil Stevenson, guy wrote Cryptonomicon?

Posted by: Eromero at October 16, 2022 09:31 AM (/RDPd)

Nope? Any good?

I have a vague recollection of reading something by Neil Stephenson, but I can't remember what!

Posted by: CharlieBrown'sDildo at October 16, 2022 09:43 AM (XIJ/X)

55 I LOVE the countdown clock for Texas. Texas can't happen soon enough. I'm so looking forward to seeing My People.
Posted by: Ladyl at October 16, 2022 09:39 AM (qpPdw)
----
Do I reset it for next year?

Posted by: "Perfessor" Squirrel at October 16, 2022 09:44 AM (K5n5d)

56
51 Tragic news: The inventor of AutoCorrect, Thomas Whitney, has died. His funnel will be held tomato.
Posted by: I am the Shadout Mapes, the Housekeeper at October 16, 2022 09:37 AM (PiwSw)

Idunno...it's awful early to be declaring a threadwinner. I'll nominate this comment anyway.
Posted by: creeper at October 16, 2022 09:42 AM (kpskX)

I'm laughing so hard I'm crying. Definitely the threadwinner.

Posted by: Ladyl at October 16, 2022 09:45 AM (qpPdw)

57 Odd thing, ordered Koba the Dead, get message not available yet a email paid for order. See if it shows up on Kindle carousel soon.

Posted by: Skip at October 16, 2022 09:45 AM (xhxe8)

58 The Destroyer series didn't get going until the fourth or fifth book. By the eighth -- the one with the Bond parody -- the books were humming.

Posted by: Weak Geek at October 16, 2022 09:46 AM (Om/di)

59 I used to think of Stephenson as a modern-day Charles Dickens, and Cryptonomicon the best spec-fiction I'd ever read.

Stephenson is a tough read for me. I find his way of describing events that are clearly in the past in the present tense distracting and off-putting. I took three runs at "Diamond Age" and put it down each time. This week I started my second attempt at "Cryptonomicon." I discovered that I can read the Kindle app on my phone while on the stationary bike so maybe taking it in small daily chunks will help.

Posted by: Oddbob at October 16, 2022 09:46 AM (nfrXX)

60 Good morning readers.

Posted by: Tonypete at October 16, 2022 09:46 AM (bJxw1)

61 Well that's hardly surprising. What Tyler was clear back in 1381, and wasn't even know to eat ice cream.
What?
Posted by: Way, Way Downriver at October 16, 2022 09:26 AM (x61Im)

John J. Robinson's book Born In Blood attempts to link the destruction of the Knights Templar with the Peasants' Revolt and subsequent status of the Masons as a secret society.
He focuses on the genesis of the Masons being that period that passed between the Philip IV's seizure of the Templar leadership, Pope Clement's dissolution of the order and demands that their assets be seized, and the compliance by the English and Irish, by which time the Templar fleet, treasure and arms were gone. He also points out that the Peasant's rebellion was well organized with three groups, and that Wat's arm was wearing white tabards with red crosses, and that in London the rebels focused on attacking the establishments of the Knights Hospitallers who had taken over the Templar's banking and assets.

it is a fun book, and an interesting stab at trying to resolve a hidden history of a secret society that claims to go back to the Templars and Solomon's Temple.

Posted by: Kindltot at October 16, 2022 09:46 AM (xhaym)

62 Perfessor Squirrel sure, rub it in our faces for us who can't go

Posted by: Skip at October 16, 2022 09:46 AM (xhxe8)

63 55 I LOVE the countdown clock for Texas. Texas can't happen soon enough. I'm so looking forward to seeing My People.
Posted by: Ladyl at October 16, 2022 09:39 AM (qpPdw)
----
Do I reset it for next year?
Posted by: "Perfessor" Squirrel at October 16, 2022 09:44 AM (K5n5d)

I'd love to see it all year round. It keeps me hopeful.

Posted by: Ladyl at October 16, 2022 09:47 AM (qpPdw)

64 Governor Kathy Hochul wants you to know she admires your wardrobe and she wants to defund the police.

Posted by: Dr. Bone at October 16, 2022 09:47 AM (z+OQR)

65 Fall was just too long the dodo one was pretty good

Posted by: Miguel cervantes at October 16, 2022 09:48 AM (PXvVL)

66 A peeve is that Zeihan is a globalist. He takes a couple of shots at Trump, but also has scorn for Obama and Biden.
Posted by: Zoltan

And considers those that support Giorgia Meloni neo-fascists.

Posted by: Tonypete at October 16, 2022 09:48 AM (bJxw1)

67 I bought the Wild Cards RPG volume just to have a list of the characters.

Posted by: Weak Geek at October 16, 2022 09:49 AM (Om/di)

68 Morning again, all,

I hit the library again yesterday. Got the first of Evelyn Waugh's WWII trilogy, Men At Arms; Oakley Hall's The Bad Lands; a collection of short stories by Loren D. Estleman, his takeoffs on Nero Wolfe, the Claudius Lyon stories; and his collection of Sherlock Holmes pastiches, officially certified by Doyle's estate. I'm starting with the Claudius Lyon volume.

Posted by: Wolfus Aurelius, dreaming of Elsewhere at October 16, 2022 09:50 AM (c6xtn)

69 After reading the first two books by Robert Galbraith featuring Cormorant Strike, ace detective, I immediately downloaded book 3. His character is a little like Reacher but with one leg. They are easy reads but the mystery is hard to unravel. I didn't figure out who dunnit in both books.

Posted by: Sharon(willow's apprentice) at October 16, 2022 09:50 AM (Y+l9t)

70 The Making of the Atomic Bomb, by Richard Rhodes. Fascinating science explained in a way you can understand it, great characters, and reads like a political suspense novel.

Posted by: Marcus Gravey at October 16, 2022 09:51 AM (gaZD6)

71 Favorite tragedy... Frankenstein.

Victor screws everything up for his ambition of beating death. So many mistakes, made more tragic by the fact that he could have used his talents for more productive pursuits. And the fruit of his mistakes literally haunts him. Say, it's the right time of year to read it again...

Posted by: She Hobbit at October 16, 2022 09:51 AM (ftFVW)

72 Do I reset it for next year?

How about resetting it for whatever the next MoMe is and including the organizer's link from the sidebar?

Posted by: Oddbob at October 16, 2022 09:51 AM (nfrXX)

73 Per the NWS (in case you believe them)

Corsicana, TX

Friday - Sunny, with a high near 82.
Friday Night - Mostly clear, with a low around 57.
Saturday - Sunny, with a high near 84.

Posted by: creeper at October 16, 2022 09:51 AM (kpskX)

74 "The Making of the Atomic Bomb"

Is Vannevar Bush in it? He was our chief scientist during WWII and gave the green light for the Manhattan Project.

Posted by: Ignoramus at October 16, 2022 09:52 AM (SJsWC)

75 After reading the first two books by Robert Galbraith featuring Cormorant Strike, ace detective, I immediately downloaded book 3. His character is a little like Reacher but with one leg. They are easy reads but the mystery is hard to unravel. I didn't figure out who dunnit in both books.
Posted by: Sharon(willow's apprentice) at October 16, 2022

***
That's a plus. A mystery *should* be a snarl to unravel, both for detective and for reader -- though the explanation needs to be utterly clear and leave no loose ends. And it's best too if we can see how the detective unraveled the whole thing -- not from just one clue, but from a chain of them.

Posted by: Wolfus Aurelius, dreaming of Elsewhere at October 16, 2022 09:53 AM (c6xtn)

76 72 Do I reset it for next year?

How about resetting it for whatever the next MoMe is and including the organizer's link from the sidebar?
Posted by: Oddbob at October 16, 2022 09:51 AM (nfrXX)

I like that idea. It's kinda like a moveable feast.

Posted by: creeper at October 16, 2022 09:53 AM (kpskX)

77 Still thinking but the best, most recent (at 36 years old) classic-style tragedy that I can think of is -

the movie, "The Fly" (1986).

That movie's got it all, the extreme hubris of the hero, the terrible reckoning for his hubris and pride, his fall from the heights of glory to the most pitiable of states.

So, horrific in a tragic sense that it brings a tear to your eye.

Tragedy is pretty much forbidden in Hollywood these days, if remade again it's have a happy ending. Probably, ala the lousy, "The Fly 2".

Posted by: naturalfake at October 16, 2022 09:54 AM (KLPy8)

78 One thing about Shakespearean tragedies: the last line is always spoken by the highest ranking character. It is supposedly a way of affirming that the world will go on.

Posted by: Wenda at October 16, 2022 09:55 AM (E5ut8)

79 Could you color code the background of the MoMe clock for each meeting?

Posted by: Weak Geek at October 16, 2022 09:56 AM (Om/di)

80 Ziehan also kept talking about NAFTA, which was replaced with USMCA.

Posted by: Chatterbox Mouse at October 16, 2022 09:56 AM (C1rbv)

81 Fall is about a digital afterlife and reads like wading through 3 ft deep wet concrete. Written by a guy who knows programming like Asberger kids. I kinda liked it,but it won't no Cryptonomicon. That would be a killer movie if Hollywood didn't fcuk it up.

Posted by: Eromero at October 16, 2022 09:56 AM (/RDPd)

82 Really I do hope you all have a great time in Texas and do wish double I was going
U.S. Grand Prix is in Circuit of America next week

Posted by: Skip at October 16, 2022 09:56 AM (xhxe8)

83 62 Perfessor Squirrel sure, rub it in our faces for us who can't go
Posted by: Skip at October 16, 2022 09:46 AM (xhxe

I'm really sorry you can't come, Skip.

Could you send your phone?

Posted by: creeper at October 16, 2022 09:57 AM (kpskX)

84 Could you color code the background of the MoMe clock for each meeting?
Posted by: Weak Geek

The antithesis of the Doomsday Clock!

Posted by: Tonypete at October 16, 2022 09:57 AM (bJxw1)

85
The antithesis of the Doomsday Clock!
Posted by: Tonypete at October 16, 2022 09:57 AM (bJxw1)

Exactly!

Posted by: Ladyl at October 16, 2022 09:58 AM (qpPdw)

86 Stephenson is a tough read for me. I find his way of describing events that are clearly in the past in the present tense distracting and off-putting. I took three runs at "Diamond Age" and put it down each time. This week I started my second attempt at "Cryptonomicon." I discovered that I can read the Kindle app on my phone while on the stationary bike so maybe taking it in small daily chunks will help.
Posted by: Oddbob at October 16, 2022 09:46 AM (nfrXX)

Similar experience with Snow Fall. I've started it a couple of times and couldn't get into it.

Posted by: DIY Daddio at October 16, 2022 09:59 AM (64aAI)

87 Is Vannevar Bush in it? He was our chief scientist during WWII and gave the green light for the Manhattan Project.
Posted by: Ignoramus at October 16, 2022 09:52 AM (SJsWC)

Oh yeah.

Posted by: Marcus Gravey at October 16, 2022 09:59 AM (gaZD6)

88 I'm just about through a stack of John Grisham - books that haven't been made into movies - pile. Maybe seven or eight in total. There's a reason these aren't movies.

Very little going on that's exciting or truly clever and it's actually kind of dumb and sloppy in places.

I need to read better books. I'm a little surprised how inconsistent Grisham and his editors are.

Posted by: Bilwis Devourer of Innocent Souls, I'm starvin' over here at October 16, 2022 10:00 AM (cupoy)

89 That's a plus. A mystery *should* be a snarl to unravel, both for detective and for reader -- though the explanation needs to be utterly clear and leave no loose ends. And it's best too if we can see how the detective unraveled the whole thing -- not from just one clue, but from a chain of them.

Wolfus, that is what is so great about these books. It does come together in the end in a very satisfying way.
What I like about mystery books, is it is a great way to fall asleep. I always seem to drift off while pondering where the story is going.

Posted by: Sharon(willow's apprentice) at October 16, 2022 10:00 AM (Y+l9t)

90 Creeper can it take pictures to bring back?

Posted by: Skip at October 16, 2022 10:01 AM (xhxe8)

91 Really I do hope you all have a great time in Texas and do wish double I was going
U.S. Grand Prix is in Circuit of America next week

I don't following racing any more but I remember some hand-wringing about one year's race being "the last F1 race in the US ever" about five years ago. I guess someone sufficiently ~~bribed~~ motivated someone to keep it going.

Posted by: Oddbob at October 16, 2022 10:02 AM (nfrXX)

92 Vannevar?

What a horrible name to stick on a kid.

Posted by: Weak Geek at October 16, 2022 10:02 AM (Om/di)

93 Kindletot, Masonry is not a secret society, if it is they're not very good at secrecy. Pro tip- ask a Mason.

Posted by: Eromero at October 16, 2022 10:02 AM (/RDPd)

94 The big problem with Masons is the don’t drink.

Posted by: Head puddi at October 16, 2022 10:04 AM (qPZhe)

95 Ziehan also kept talking about NAFTA, which was replaced with USMCA.

Zeihan is a guilty pleasure. He always reduced things to a few simple variables, and then draws broad, sweeping conclusions from them. I don't know what percentage of his predictions work out, but I'd guess it's pretty low. Still, the guy occasionally says something interesting.

Posted by: Archimedes at October 16, 2022 10:05 AM (ayzS/)

96 My father was a Mason. He had a secret ring. Although, now that I think about it, he wore it all the time so it wasn't very secret.

Posted by: Sharon(willow's apprentice) at October 16, 2022 10:05 AM (Y+l9t)

97 Secret decoder rings are better than secret rings.

Posted by: Head puddi at October 16, 2022 10:07 AM (qPZhe)

98 The big problem with Masons is the don’t drink.

I have a friend who is both a Mason and a Shriner. He says that the Masons are like Sunday morning and the Shriners are like Saturday night.

Posted by: Oddbob at October 16, 2022 10:07 AM (nfrXX)

99 Sharon, I think I'll try the Cormorant Strike series for the first part of my trip. My mama is riding with me partway, so she can visit her sister in Tennessee whilst I visit the Morons. She likes audio books, and we should be able to listen to half on the way down, the rest on the way home.

Posted by: April--dash my lace wigs! at October 16, 2022 10:07 AM (OX9vb)

100 I liked Stephenson's "Cryptonomicon" well enough, but found that the first of his Baroque Cycle novels, "Quicksilver" just too long-winded to bear.

Maybe I'll pick it up again some day.

Posted by: Additional Blond Agent, STEM Guy at October 16, 2022 10:08 AM (ZSK0i)

101 My father was a Mason. He had a secret ring. Although, now that I think about it, he wore it all the time so it wasn't very secret.
Posted by: Sharon(willow's apprentice)

Thought the same about those Mason license plate frames I've seen out and about.

Posted by: She Hobbit at October 16, 2022 10:08 AM (ftFVW)

102 A hard science "time travel" book that actually works is Thrice Upon a Time by James Hogan. The main characters do not travel back through time, but they can sens messages. The act of sending a message to a particular part of the time line makes that section unavailable to future parts of the time line. It's an intriguing book that is a fun read.

Posted by: MichiCanuck at October 16, 2022 10:08 AM (KBHKt)

103 98 Shriners have go karts, too.

Posted by: Head puddi at October 16, 2022 10:08 AM (qPZhe)

104 Not sure if this should go here or wait for the Food Thread: my reading this past week was a cookbook, _A Feast of Serendib_ by Mary Ann Mohanraj (I think I spelled that right). She's an American, writes science fiction -- but this is a Sri Lankan cookbook based on her family's recipes.

The dishes look good, and I was struck by the approach she takes. Most "ethnic" cookbooks are either "White American explores some exotic cuisine and curates the dishes to fit White American tastes" -- or "Ethnic Person describes authentic Ethnic dishes." Mohanraj's book is written from the perspective of a second-generation American who still loves Sri Lankan food. So she's giving you Mackerel Curry and if you don't like it that's your problem. She's also not afraid to be "inauthentic" and uses American ingredients like ketchup.

Worth checking out, if you're interested in a kind of Indian food you probably haven't had yet.

Posted by: Trimegistus at October 16, 2022 10:08 AM (QZxDR)

105 So are you willing to cut Lucifer some slack, too? Just kidding.

Ackshewallee, Lucifer meets the meets the definition of a classic tragic "hero" in something like "Paradise Lost" by Milton.

He is brought down by his pride and hubris,

"Better to reign in hell than serve in Heaven."

Posted by: naturalfake at October 16, 2022 10:09 AM (KLPy8)

106 April, I can see slightly tipsy book discussions in our future.

Posted by: Sharon(willow's apprentice) at October 16, 2022 10:11 AM (Y+l9t)

107 All tragedies are investigations of hubris.

Posted by: Head puddi at October 16, 2022 10:12 AM (qPZhe)

108 By way of a light read I've started reading Happy, Happy, Happy, the autobiography of Phil Robertson of Duck Dynasty fame.

Posted by: Northernlurker, surgite at October 16, 2022 10:12 AM (eGTCV)

109 "My Hall of Fame of Great Americans Who Should be Famous but Aren't" is a personal project. I have about 80 on my list.

Vannevar Bush was the USA's chief scientist during WWII, and ran the Manhattan Project. His "Memex" prefigured personal computers and the internet. He once had some fame but he's been fading into obscurity.

Posted by: Ignoramus at October 16, 2022 10:12 AM (SJsWC)

110 Tragic characters? Been a while since I read these, but the Shakespeare gang mentioned above, Marlowe's Faustus, Ahab. For more contemporary stuff, I'd include characters like Hank Mitchell from Scott Smith's A SIMPLE PLAN, and Walter Huff from Cain's DOUBLE INDEMNITY.

For my money, the great American tragedy (drama) isn't Miller's DEATH OF A SALESMAN, but Robert Anderson's I NEVER SANG FOR MY FATHER.

Posted by: Just Some Guy at October 16, 2022 10:13 AM (a/4+U)

111 hriners have go karts, too.

Well, crud. I was going to do a Sponge-esque "you asked for it" and link a video of Ray Stevens but I can't load it to get the URL. You know which one; consider yourselves linked.

Posted by: Oddbob at October 16, 2022 10:13 AM (nfrXX)

112 Worth checking out, if you're interested in a kind of Indian food you probably haven't had yet.
Posted by: Trimegistus at October 16, 2022 10:08 AM (QZxDR)

Oh, I'm going to look for that. My mother kept a rooming house at Ohio State Univ for many years, and she had a steady clientele of Sri Lankan students. She is still in contact with many of them!

Some of the food they cooked was divine. I have always been amazed at the time and effort put into eating by her Sri Lankan and Indonesian tenants.

The Chinese students were more my style--a pan of ramen with vegetables and they were done.

Posted by: April--dash my lace wigs! at October 16, 2022 10:14 AM (OX9vb)

113 April, the Cormoran Strike series is going to rock you! Everyone to whom I've recommended it has had a great time. Speaking of which, I can't remember who strongly recommended C.J. Box last week, but I read his newest, Treasure State, and it was a great ride, with not one but two clever mysteries in one adventure, and terrific local color too. Thank you very much, recommender of C.J. Box, and I'll be searching out more!

Posted by: werewife, princess of Delray Beach at October 16, 2022 10:14 AM (SPNTN)

114 Tragic characters? Been a while since I read these, but the Shakespeare gang mentioned above, Marlowe's Faustus, Ahab. For more contemporary stuff, I'd include characters like Hank Mitchell from Scott Smith's A SIMPLE PLAN, and Walter Huff from Cain's DOUBLE INDEMNITY. . . .

Posted by: Just Some Guy at October 16, 2022

***
Good point! And perhaps Cain's narrator/protagonist in The Postman Always Rings Twice.

Posted by: Wolfus Aurelius, dreaming of Elsewhere at October 16, 2022 10:15 AM (c6xtn)

115 I like all of the Monster Hunter books, but Nemesis is my favorite. Correia really developed the Franks character from a menacing goon, always lurking in the background, into a very interesting and, in many ways, sympathetic person (or persons, tacked together and kept alive with a magic serum). Nemesis is a book where you're happy that people are about to really piss off the main character, because then you get to witness the build-up to the inevitably glorious ass-kicking that they're about to receive.

Posted by: PabloD at October 16, 2022 10:15 AM (zn+5o)

116 If you like Masons and Shriners I can recommend Charles Portis’ Masters of Atlantis. As always, Portis is funny and subtle. Good read.

Posted by: Head puddi at October 16, 2022 10:15 AM (qPZhe)

117 I just finished the first Galbraith Comorant Strike book, and have ordered the next two.
Also finished the first Sandman Slim book recently. Enjoyed. Obviously, need escapist entertainment at the moment.
I've also moved on from Kindle pretty much. Never figured out an easy way to pass on books I've liked. I have amazon prime, so use the free shipping and get more than one use out of the book Plus, I kind of like looking at piles of books around the house.

Posted by: From about that time at October 16, 2022 10:15 AM (4780s)

118 Medusa, tragedy through no fault of her own.

Her's isn't a tragedy, if you're referring to Ovid's telling of the story.

Just bad luck.

Tragedy requires the protagonist have a hand in his/her own fall.

Posted by: naturalfake at October 16, 2022 10:16 AM (KLPy8)

119 I like the Reacher books ok, but I couldn't get into them as much as I wanted because the author's a Brit, and lots of British fiction writers -- even the ones I love (Le Carre, Deighton) -- have clownish Eurotrash superiority-tinted views of Americans and American culture that leak into their stuff. It pisses me off. Lee Child has some of that. Or maybe I'm wrong... they're very popular and I've only read the first two.

Posted by: Marcus Gravey at October 16, 2022 10:16 AM (gaZD6)

120 I was a psych major in college but because I loved to read took as many literature courses as I could(also easy because I loved to read). The one I hated was the British literature course. It always seemed that you could see the tragedy coming. I likened it to an out of control boat racing down the river and no matter what was going over the waterfall.
I couldn't tell you a single title from the class but it is fixed in memory that way.

Posted by: Sharon(willow's apprentice) at October 16, 2022 10:17 AM (Y+l9t)

121 106 April, I can see slightly tipsy book discussions in our future.
Posted by: Sharon(willow's apprentice) at October 16, 2022 10:11 AM (Y+l9t)

Yes!!

Posted by: April--dash my lace wigs! at October 16, 2022 10:17 AM (OX9vb)

122 Tragedy requires the protagonist have a hand in his/her own fall.
Posted by: naturalfake at October 16, 2022

***
Orpheus, then? He turned to look back at his dead wife, even after being warned not to, and lost her forever.

Posted by: Wolfus Aurelius, dreaming of Elsewhere at October 16, 2022 10:18 AM (c6xtn)

123 A week or so back, Instapundit gave a shout-out to a book he was reading. (A nautical adventure, "Carribee" or something like that.) It was an installment in the middle of book series, and as I looked at where the series started, I saw Amazon had the first couple books priced at $11. For the ebook version. That is insane. I ended up clicking away in disgust...

Posted by: Castle Guy at October 16, 2022 10:18 AM (Lhaco)

124 I think the "these pants" guy is the Bengals quarterback, Joe Burrow. Good lord Joe. Say it ain't so.

Posted by: Tuna at October 16, 2022 10:18 AM (gLRfa)

125 The good news: white supremacy is over!

The bad news: lite supremacy is here!

New York Times Opinion@nytopinion
As the U.S. becomes less white, white supremacy could simply be replaced by — or buffeted by — a form of “lite” supremacy, in which fairer-skin people perpetuate a modified anti-Blackness rather than eliminating it, writes @CharlesMBlow.

-
Damn those Latinx voting Republican!

Posted by: Anonosaurus Wrecks at October 16, 2022 10:19 AM (FVME7)

126 Some shriners?

https://tinyurl.com/4h9stf5r

Posted by: Hour of the Wolf at October 16, 2022 10:19 AM (oGiDo)

127 Nerds abound!
Nerd on, my liege.

Posted by: Idahonian at October 16, 2022 10:20 AM (Riap0)

128 Well next non-fiction book purchase for me will be P.C. Hodgell's latest novel of the Kencyrath - Deathless Gods.

It is time for the Randon College to make the final culling to see who graduates. Looking to be a lean winter for the Kencyrath. The kings of the Central Lands are plotting to spill Kencyr blood. Lyra Lackwit has once again been sold off by her father into a foreign marriage contract. And scariest of all, Jame and Tori are starting to work together.

Posted by: Anna Puma at October 16, 2022 10:21 AM (EyBnu)

129 Ray Stevens, Shriner's Convention:

https://tinyurl.com/2p8mdbmt

Posted by: Rodrigo Borgia at October 16, 2022 10:22 AM (bW8dp)

130 Well, crud. I was going to do a Sponge-esque "you asked for it" and link a video of Ray Stevens but I can't load it to get the URL. You know which one; consider yourselves linked.

Posted by: Oddbob at October 16, 2022 10:13 AM (nfrXX)

You asked for it:

https://tinyurl.com/2p992v28

Posted by: OrangeEnt at October 16, 2022 10:22 AM (7bRMQ)

131 > Some shriners?

https://tinyurl.com/4h9stf5r
Posted by: Hour of the Wolf

Dang it, beat me to it!

Posted by: Rodrigo Borgia at October 16, 2022 10:23 AM (bW8dp)

132 I dedicated my day off Friday to reading instead of video games and managed to finally polish off 'Fortress Rabaul', book 2 of a 3 book series about that island's importance in WW 2. Lots of detail, minimal amounts of authorial commentary. It's amazing the amount of fuckups that happened due to the wrong people being in command at the start of our part of the war.

Also started on 'Lost Roadhouses of Seattle' which is full of almost forgotten history of Seattle from the 20's to the 60's. The town has been a nest of vice and hypocrisy (and chicken dinners) for a long time and I wish I could have seen it.

Posted by: Mark Andrew Edwards (Logan Tiberius 2012-2021) at October 16, 2022 10:23 AM (xcxpd)

133 I knew a mason. He laid down more bricks and mortar and blocks than anybody I've ever seen. Strong as an ox and could probably lift a VW. Ate baloney sandwiches every day. That kind of mason?

More mud!

Posted by: Dr. Bone at October 16, 2022 10:24 AM (z+OQR)

134 > The one I hated was the British literature course. It always seemed that you could see the tragedy coming.

Russian fiction is even worse.

One of Heinlein's characters said something like "Russian fiction MUST have a purpose, but it certainly isn't entertainment."

Posted by: Rodrigo Borgia at October 16, 2022 10:25 AM (bW8dp)

135 Say it ain't so.
Posted by: Tuna

Sadly, he can't.

Posted by: From about that time at October 16, 2022 10:25 AM (4780s)

136 You know, there probably aren't many places on the web that could produce three cites to an obscure Ray Stevens song within minutes.

Posted by: Rodrigo Borgia at October 16, 2022 10:26 AM (bW8dp)

137 To watch a skilled mason at work is great, but to work with one is a gift.

Posted by: Eromero at October 16, 2022 10:26 AM (/RDPd)

138 'Classic' Russian literature - let me prove how things could be worse.

The house burns down, everyone has TB, it is winter, a newborn baby, and the last milk cow has died.

Posted by: Anna Puma at October 16, 2022 10:26 AM (EyBnu)

139 Well next non-fiction book purchase for me will be P.C. Hodgell's latest novel of the Kencyrath - Deathless Gods.

It is time for the Randon College to make the final culling to see who graduates. Looking to be a lean winter for the Kencyrath. The kings of the Central Lands are plotting to spill Kencyr blood. Lyra Lackwit has once again been sold off by her father into a foreign marriage contract. And scariest of all, Jame and Tori are starting to work together.
Posted by: Anna Puma at October 16, 2022 10:21 AM (EyBnu)
----
That's in my TBR pile, but I'm going to read the first nine before I get to it, just to refresh my memory of the overall story...(also because they are great books!)

Posted by: "Perfessor" Squirrel at October 16, 2022 10:27 AM (K5n5d)

140 Orpheus, then? He turned to look back at his dead wife, even after being warned not to, and lost her forever.
Posted by: Wolfus Aurelius, dreaming of Elsewhere at October 16, 2022 10:18 AM (c6xtn)

Orpheus doesn't strike me as a tragedy as his problem wasn't caused by his pride or hubris. And he, himself, wasn't actually punished.

Basically, it's the same story as Lot's Wife.

You know, when God tells you something you better listen and obey.

Posted by: naturalfake at October 16, 2022 10:29 AM (KLPy8)

141 I know a Mason, a stone mason. Works very hard but makes a lot of money.

Posted by: That NLurker guy at October 16, 2022 10:29 AM (eGTCV)

142 > The house burns down, everyone has TB, it is winter, a newborn baby, and the last milk cow has died.

Then soldiers come, bayonet baby and shoot remaining family. Surviving hero wanders steppe until freezes to death, alone and friendless.

Posted by: Rodrigo Borgia at October 16, 2022 10:29 AM (bW8dp)

143 He is brought down by his pride and hubris
Posted by: naturalfake

Interesting how pride leads to all other sins.

Posted by: Tonypete at October 16, 2022 10:30 AM (bJxw1)

144 Boss Lady gave me Cryptonomicon for Christmas three years ago.

I read half of the book. Put it down and haven't read a single page of it or any other book since. The book is right beside me. Within reach. Three years.

Wth?

Posted by: weirdflunky at October 16, 2022 10:30 AM (cknjq)

145 The one I hated was the British literature course. It always seemed that you could see the tragedy coming.

Russian fiction is even worse.

-
He loses his money, his wife leaves him, and his dog dies.

Posted by: Anonosaurus Wrecks at October 16, 2022 10:30 AM (FVME7)

146 'Classic' Russian literature - let me prove how things could be worse.

The house burns down, everyone has TB, it is winter, a newborn baby, and the last milk cow has died.

Fortunately, we have the French and Germans to our west, so that sector is secure.

Posted by: Russian optimist at October 16, 2022 10:30 AM (ayzS/)

147 You know, there probably aren't many places on the web that could produce three cites to an obscure Ray Stevens song within minutes.

And for a bunch of 29 year-olds at that!

Posted by: Oddbob at October 16, 2022 10:30 AM (nfrXX)

148 > Fortunately, we have the French and Germans to our west, so that sector is secure.

Until there's renewed fighting on the German-Chinese border.

Posted by: Rodrigo Borgia at October 16, 2022 10:31 AM (bW8dp)

149 Gotta go, be back later to check the rest of the thread. Have fun.

Posted by: OrangeEnt at October 16, 2022 10:33 AM (7bRMQ)

150 90 Creeper can it take pictures to bring back?
Posted by: Skip at October 16, 2022 10:01 AM (xhxe

Well, of course! Non-disclosure forms will be available for it to sign.

Posted by: creeper at October 16, 2022 10:34 AM (kpskX)

151 That's in my TBR pile, but I'm going to read the first nine before I get to it, just to refresh my memory of the overall story...(also because they are great books!)

So you going to read about those poor chickens being crushed in that temple again? Nurk lurks in doorways! And yeah beware those step in the temple when going to nick the second eye.

Posted by: Anna Puma at October 16, 2022 10:34 AM (EyBnu)

152 Odd thing, ordered Koba the Dead, get message not available yet a email paid for order. See if it shows up on Kindle carousel soon.

Koba the Dread is an excellent book. Stalin was worse than your vilest imaginings.

Posted by: Bandersnatch at October 16, 2022 10:35 AM (e+csY)

153 137 To watch a skilled mason at work is great, but to work with one is a gift.
Posted by: Eromero at October 16, 2022 10:26 AM (/RDPd)

My Grandfather was one. I apprenticed for him one summer. Sent me towards being a mechanic instead. I don't have an "eye for mud" he said. To wet and it falls over as you build, to dry and it falls over later, just right and it'll be there forever.
I sure miss that dude. Learned a lot from him.

Posted by: Reforger at October 16, 2022 10:36 AM (Dd3ss)

154 Rodrigo Borgia

I think we need to write this and sell it to HBO Max

Posted by: Anna Puma at October 16, 2022 10:36 AM (EyBnu)

155 *waves to Bandersnatch!*

Posted by: I am the Shadout Mapes, the Housekeeper at October 16, 2022 10:36 AM (PiwSw)

156 Very much in keeping with today’s Tragedy theme, Im halfway through Jane Eyre. It’s the first on my “I really have to start reading all those classics I always said id read someday” list of 15 books. The only one I’m dreading a bit is Moby Dick.

Posted by: LASue at October 16, 2022 10:37 AM (Ed8Zd)

157 Let me second the recommendation of "To Say Nothing of the Dog".
Recently re-read it and it was as good as I remembered it.

Posted by: sal at October 16, 2022 10:37 AM (y40tE)

158 To wet and it falls over as you build, to dry and it falls over later

Into a swamp, presumably.

Posted by: Archimedes at October 16, 2022 10:37 AM (ayzS/)

159 The only thing I read this week was a vanity title by my eldest's mil. A kids book about dry bulk carriers. Great illustrations though.

Just shoot me now.

Posted by: Tonypete at October 16, 2022 10:38 AM (bJxw1)

160 Ah, here we go.

"The Mosquito Coast" by Paul Theroux is an excellent novel and a classically tragic story.

The movie is good as well if not great like the book.

BONUS! It was a best seller. So, there can be some appetite in the public for tragedy.

Posted by: naturalfake at October 16, 2022 10:38 AM (KLPy8)

161 My Hall of Fame of Great Americans Who Should be Famous but Aren't" is a personal project. I have about 80 on my list.

Vannevar Bush was the USA's chief scientist during WWII, and ran the Manhattan Project. His "Memex" prefigured personal computers and the internet. He once had some fame but he's been fading into obscurity.

Posted by: Ignoramus at October 16, 2022 10:12 AM (SJsWC)

I second the idea this should be a series!

Posted by: LASue at October 16, 2022 10:40 AM (Ed8Zd)

162 LASue, I have never finished Jane Eyre. I've made several attempts over the last 47 years or so, and it just never holds my interest.

Posted by: April--dash my lace wigs! at October 16, 2022 10:40 AM (OX9vb)

163 160 I read Mosquito Coast back in the day. It’s okay.

Posted by: Head puddi at October 16, 2022 10:40 AM (qPZhe)

164 The only one I’m dreading a bit is Moby Dick.

Posted by: LASue at October 16, 2022 10:37 AM (Ed8Zd)

Just skip the boring chapter about the natural history of whales and you'll be fine. It's a great book!

Posted by: CharlieBrown'sDildo at October 16, 2022 10:40 AM (XIJ/X)

165 I'm also still more or less grinding my way through The Age of Decadence, that bigass history of Victorian and Edwardian Britain I've been tackling over the past couple of weeks.

It's interesting and well-researched, but I do think the author goofed by covering different topics in parallel rather than just doing a straight chronological history. We see Gladstone wrestling with the Irish Question and the Fashoda Incident and various other Capitalized Things but I'm not getting a good sense of how they fit together. Did he have to give way on one issue to push another one through? Or did muffing one ruin something else? I don't know and the author isn't telling me.

Posted by: Trimegistus at October 16, 2022 10:41 AM (QZxDR)

166 >>> 93 Kindletot, Masonry is not a secret society, if it is they're not very good at secrecy. Pro tip- ask a Mason.
Posted by: Eromero at October 16, 2022 10:02 AM (/RDPd)

They're like vegans or people who do crossfit??

Posted by: Helena Handbasket at October 16, 2022 10:43 AM (llON8)

167 One of my lesser endeavors is to visit state Capitols.

We think of those guys from the 1800s as primitive because they didn't have flush toilets, but they dud magnificent things with marble.

Posted by: Weak Geek at October 16, 2022 10:43 AM (Om/di)

168 I liked Moby Dick

Posted by: Skip at October 16, 2022 10:44 AM (xhxe8)

169 Who names their kid Vannevar ?

Posted by: JT at October 16, 2022 10:46 AM (T4tVD)

170 Ah well, time to fix another cup of coffee and do some work in the kitchen. See y'all on the gun thread. Thanks, Perfessor.

Posted by: Oddbob at October 16, 2022 10:46 AM (nfrXX)

171 Masons should adopt stretch pants to burnish their brand.

Posted by: Head puddi at October 16, 2022 10:46 AM (qPZhe)

172 Who names their kid Vannevar ?
Posted by: JT at October 16, 2022

***
Maybe that guy Poe wrote about, M. Valdemar?

Posted by: Wolfus Aurelius, dreaming of Elsewhere at October 16, 2022 10:47 AM (c6xtn)

173 Who names their kid Vannevar ?
Posted by: JT at October 16, 2022

***
Or Potiphar? (Heinlein short story)

Posted by: Wolfus Aurelius, dreaming of Elsewhere at October 16, 2022 10:47 AM (c6xtn)

174 Late to the thread.

I absolutely love the painting in the post and the sentiment it expresses.

Posted by: JTB at October 16, 2022 10:50 AM (7EjX1)

175 > Who names their kid Vannevar ?
Posted by: JT

Just a guess, but I'd reckon it's a family name from the mother's side made into a given name. Pretty common back in the day, especially if the mother's side had no other heirs to carry the name.

Posted by: Rodrigo Borgia at October 16, 2022 10:50 AM (bW8dp)

176 I think tragedy is more often, not just that the tragic figure makes the "wrong" choice, but that the choices they make seem proper and good, when they're being made.

Usually it turns bad, not because they were wrong, but because circumstances create a scenario where the result will be a twisted, terrible outcome they could not have predicted.

The tragic figure is often made tragic because of the failings of others, not their own. Otherwise the story would just be one of the person getting what they deserve. The tragic figure really doesn't "deserve" what happens, and it just looks inevitable once it's done.

Posted by: BurtTC at October 16, 2022 10:50 AM (TGNA8)

177 103 98 Shriners have go karts, too.

take one down
drive it around
97 shriners have go karts, too

Posted by: anachronda at October 16, 2022 10:50 AM (FaOSD)

178 They're like vegans or people who do crossfit??

Posted by: Helena Handbasket

What is best in life? A good cracker, a salad, and to hear the crunching as you eat them.

Posted by: Conan the Vegetarian at October 16, 2022 10:52 AM (FVME7)

179 I liked Moby Dick
Posted by: Skip at October 16, 2022 10:44 AM (xhxe

Have I got a deal for you!

Posted by: Mooch at October 16, 2022 10:52 AM (0sXoQ)

180 Just skip the boring chapter about the natural history of whales and you'll be fine. It's a great book!

Pish! That's a great chapter, as are all the other discursions in the book.

I think that's where he says, "I know the whale is warm-blooded and breathes air and is technically a mammal, but it lives in the water and swims like a fish so I'm going to call it a fish!"

*waves back at Mapes*

I just read Dune, so now I know where your name comes from.

Posted by: Bandersnatch at October 16, 2022 10:53 AM (e+csY)

181 I don't have any problem with the Masons or the Shriners, but I'm holding out until they open a branch of the Stonecutters in my town.

Who controls the British Crown?
Who keeps the metric system down?
We do! We do!

Posted by: PabloD at October 16, 2022 10:55 AM (zn+5o)

182 Bandersnatch

If you have finished the first Dune novel stop there and save yourself some mental agony.

Posted by: Anna Puma at October 16, 2022 10:55 AM (EyBnu)

183 Fez versus Beret. Which is least ghey.

Posted by: Head puddi at October 16, 2022 10:56 AM (qPZhe)

184 Potifar's wife, now she was trouble.

Posted by: Eromero at October 16, 2022 10:58 AM (/RDPd)

185 Years ago, the old Greek tragedies used to be performed from time to time. If you were a college drama major, you'd be in one for sure. A few towns had established Attic Theaters, to much amusement.
That's all gone away, and I miss it.

In the purest Greek tragedies, your heroine (pretty often) is not guilty of hubris, just a steadfastness in adhering to law and custom. It's a setup, and there's no escape. Real life tragedy is often just like that.

Posted by: Way, Way Downriver at October 16, 2022 10:58 AM (x61Im)

186 I just read Dune, so now I know where your name comes from.

Posted by: Bandersnatch at October 16, 2022 10:53 AM (e+csY)

And?

I think it was marvelous.

Posted by: CharlieBrown'sDildo at October 16, 2022 10:58 AM (XIJ/X)

187 Speaking of builders . . .

Contractor who smashed bathroom in Colorado sentenced to jail

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (KKTV) - A dispute over payment turned ugly, culminating with a viral video showing a contractor destroying his own work inside a home in Colorado Springs.

The man caught on video in September of 2021 destroying the bathroom he remodeled was sentenced to jail on Thursday for 15 days. Part of the sentence for Terry Gregory also includes three years of supervised probation.

Posted by: Anonosaurus Wrecks at October 16, 2022 10:58 AM (FVME7)

188 145 The one I hated was the British literature course. It always seemed that you could see the tragedy coming.

Russian fiction is even worse.
-
He loses his money, his wife leaves him, and his dog dies.

Posted by: Anonosaurus Wrecks at October 16, 2022 10:30 AM (FVME7)
----
Wait a moment, isn't that the short version of many a country song?

Posted by: Ciampino - Imagine a Robotic Country song lyrics at October 16, 2022 10:59 AM (qfLjt)

189 Did I miss the discussion on "The Lottery?" Lol I've actually read that one.

Posted by: Bonnie Blue the ungrateful colonial at October 16, 2022 11:00 AM (Ppq/w)

190 The Dune novels are an infinite series with each being half as good as the one before.

Posted by: Ignoramus at October 16, 2022 11:01 AM (SJsWC)

191 The man caught on video in September of 2021 destroying the bathroom he remodeled was sentenced to jail on Thursday for 15 days. Part of the sentence for Terry Gregory also includes three years of supervised probation.
Posted by: Anonosaurus Wrecks at October 16, 2022 10:58 AM (FVME7)

You no pay? No shitter for you!

Smash, Bang, Tear...

Posted by: The Bathroom Nazi at October 16, 2022 11:01 AM (R/m4+)

192 Yeah, I think there's a fair number of tragic figures in comic books. A lot of the supervillains in Batman's rogues' gallery would qualify - Victor Fries, Clayface, Mad Hatter, etc.
Posted by: "Perfessor" Squirrel at October 16, 2022 09:14 AM (K5n5d)

Rorschach from Watchmen is tragic. The one decent, moral guy in a world of shitheads and psychopaths.

Posted by: BurtTC at October 16, 2022 11:01 AM (TGNA8)

193 In Russia story writes you.

Posted by: Eromero at October 16, 2022 11:01 AM (/RDPd)

194 I trust Perry, Louisiana, has a Masons club, or society

Posted by: That NLurker guy at October 16, 2022 11:02 AM (eGTCV)

195 I had no clue Shout-out Mapes was from until a commenter posted a fantastic review on Dune in their nic link, accident hit it and read that and made more sense of the story than anything else I read or seen.

Posted by: Skip at October 16, 2022 11:02 AM (xhxe8)

196 Biden is a rancid cvnt. He is a small, mean-spirited man whose only skill is bringing down those around him. Why Morgan is surprised by this behavior is beyond me.

Posted by: CharlieBrown'sDildo at October 16, 2022 09:24 AM (XIJ/X)

When that bastard goes carbon neutral they better cremate him, because if the bury him the earth is gonna spit him out like a sour grape.

Posted by: Berserker-Dragonheads Division at October 16, 2022 11:05 AM (VwHCD)

197 The first few Claudius Lyon stories in Loren Estleman's affectionate parody of Nero Wolfe are a delight. Estleman could probably produce a solid pastiche of the NW stories without much trouble, the way he's done with Holmes.

Posted by: Wolfus Aurelius, dreaming of Elsewhere at October 16, 2022 11:06 AM (c6xtn)

198 Mornin' Horde. This week I finished reading the first Sebastian St Cyr mystery, What Angels Fear. I can't remember which rons or ettes mentioned this series, but thank you, whoever you are.

While I'm waiting for the second St Cyr book to arrive via ILL, I'm trying to finish Margaret George's Elizabeth I. This is a good read, but I'm not enjoying it as much as her Autobiography of Henry VIII. I was disappointed that she started in the middle of Elizabeth's reign (with the Armada in 158

. It's written from Elizabeth's perspective with interspersed chapters from her cousin Lettice's perspective.

Oops gotta go get ready for church! See y'all later.

Posted by: screaming in digital at October 16, 2022 11:08 AM (pkAcY)

199 See ya Screamie !

Posted by: JT at October 16, 2022 11:09 AM (T4tVD)

200 N.L. Urker, google Grand Lodge of Louisiana and you'll find a list.

Posted by: Eromero at October 16, 2022 11:10 AM (/RDPd)

201 Well the picture shows the Good Guys of the story.

Posted by: WiNO at October 16, 2022 11:11 AM (JLRFL)

202 Still working my way through Mike Kupari's "Invisible Wars - The Collected Dead Six".

Posted by: Grumpy and Recalcitrant at October 16, 2022 11:11 AM (nRMeC)

203 > Or Potiphar? (Heinlein short story)
Posted by: Wolfus Aurelius

I do know the Heinlein story, but the original Potiphar was a stand-up dude afflicted with a trampy wife.

Recall that his wife tried to cuck him with Joseph and Joseph refused. Then, in classic woman-scorned mode, she accused Joseph of rape.

Potiphar was all, like, "Whatever, dude. I know my wife."

Posted by: Rodrigo Borgia at October 16, 2022 11:12 AM (bW8dp)

204 Recipe for disaster?

George H.W. Bush Carrier Strike Group Under NATO Command

Posted by: Anonosaurus Wrecks at October 16, 2022 11:12 AM (FVME7)

205 I've been busy reading for a change. I picked up "Invincible Louisa" which is a glossed over biography of Louisa May Alcott written for a younger audience. The fascinating thing is I had no idea she grew up with Thoreau, Emerson, Hawthorne etc. Needless to say, this was a springboard to read more.

Then I got "American Bloomsburg " by Susan Cheever, which is sort of a group biography about all these connections. Really interesting.

So now I am reading "The Peabody Sisters " because one of them married Nathaniel Hawthorne and another married Horace Mann. Not done with it, but rea.ly interesting so far.

Next will be a biography of Margaret Fuller who also ran in the same transcendentalist circles.

PS I like the old book meme and while these books aren't old, they are about people who wrote old books.

Posted by: Bonnie Blue the ungrateful colonial at October 16, 2022 11:13 AM (Ppq/w)

206 > Next will be a biography of Margaret Fuller who also ran in the same transcendentalist circles.

Also some kind of auntie to Buckminster Fuller.

Posted by: Rodrigo Borgia at October 16, 2022 11:14 AM (bW8dp)

207 190 The Dune novels are an infinite series with each being half as good as the one before.
Posted by: Ignoramus at October 16, 2022 11:01 AM (SJsWC)

There are inherent weaknesses to the world that Herbert created that caused that.

Posted by: WiNO at October 16, 2022 11:15 AM (JLRFL)

208 In the purest Greek tragedies, your heroine (pretty often) is not guilty of hubris, just a steadfastness in adhering to law and custom. It's a setup, and there's no escape. Real life tragedy is often just like that.
Posted by: Way, Way Downriver at October 16, 2022 10:58 AM (x61Im)

Yup. Or the tragic figure is the man who falls in love with the wrong woman.

Hmmm, that's weird. I seem to be living this one.

Posted by: BurtTC at October 16, 2022 11:15 AM (TGNA8)

209 I am not a fan of tragedy in literature. I get too angry with the evil characters who fomented the tragedy or spend time thinking how can they be so stupid. If it wasn't for the brilliant writing in King Lear I wouldn't bother with it. Lear got what he deserved for his obstinance and false values . The tragedy is the suffering and death of Cordelia and the harm done to others.

I know Oedipus Rex is classed as a tragedy but I question that. The faults were not the making of the characters; the gods set things in motion. Oedipus blinds himself through guilt although he was manipulated into his actions. Rage against the gods would have been more a more appropriate reaction, in my opinion. I know the ancient Greeks had different ideas of what makes a tragedy. A couple of thousand years later, I have other ideas.

Posted by: JTB at October 16, 2022 11:16 AM (7EjX1)

210 Sorry I'm late!

*goes to read thread*

Posted by: vmom stabby stabby stabby stabby stabamillion at October 16, 2022 11:17 AM (2xlV3)

211 No one has any idea what the Apostle's faced as individuals, except for 2.000 years of hearsay and myth.

Posted by: Scoundrel what found the last refuge at October 16, 2022 11:18 AM (tF/Gf)

212 Everyone should read Captains Courageous again to get your hope back about the positives that can come out of tragedy.

Posted by: polynikes at October 16, 2022 11:18 AM (nMc+e)

213 Everything outside is gold today.

Posted by: Trimegistus at October 16, 2022 11:20 AM (QZxDR)

214 No one has any idea what the Apostle's faced as individuals, except for 2.000 years of hearsay and myth.
Posted by: Scoundrel what found the last refuge

Couldn't we check their tweets?

Posted by: Tonypete at October 16, 2022 11:20 AM (bJxw1)

215 LASue, Moby Dick s great, except as noted above on the natural history of whales. The first bit is even funny, bt no one ever tells you that.
Read two small collections of H. L. Mencken to top of my tank of cynicism. Worked like a charm. Started In the Garden of Beasts by Erik Larson and if the first few chapters are a clue, this will be great.

Posted by: who knew at October 16, 2022 11:23 AM (4I7VG)

216 I think Gatsby is a tragic figure. I know some were ragging on him last week, he shouldn't have been coveting another man's wife.

No, he shouldn't have.

But he was operating in a world where he really didn't know the rules, and frankly, it wasn't the coveting of (or coupling with) the wife that was his downfall. Which is what they call in the business, irony.

Posted by: BurtTC at October 16, 2022 11:23 AM (TGNA8)

217 Spoiler alert:

Jane Eyre is not a tragedy.

Posted by: Chatterbox Mouse at October 16, 2022 11:23 AM (C1rbv)

218 o one has any idea what the Apostle's faced as individuals, except for 2.000 years of hearsay and myth.
Posted by: Scoundrel what found the last refuge

Couldn't we check their tweets?
Posted by: Tonypete at October 16, 2022

***
I'll bet that Saul of Tarsus guy was a champ at mean tweets!

Posted by: Wolfus Aurelius, dreaming of Elsewhere at October 16, 2022 11:24 AM (c6xtn)

219 "The fear of the newly forming Christian faith scared those in power who believed it had to crushed in its infancy."

Foxe's Book of Martyrs covers some of the later "threats" to the establishment, which was then the Catholic Church. Still plenty of cruelty to go around. All institutions become corrupted as they grow into earthly men centralizing their powers (and ignoring God and Jesus Christ, while keeping the "mantle").

Protestants also have that problem, though they are more likely to split when wrong dogma seizes power. That is good and bad ... large groups have more power.

The parallel is the US government and the sovereign states, with the "federales" now seizing total control and answering to no one. The sovereign states and sovereign individuals are their enemies.

Posted by: illiniwek at October 16, 2022 11:25 AM (Cus5s)

220 Garden of Beasts is pretty good, although you will probably be thoroughly sick of the Ambassador's daughter before the end of the book. She was banging Nazis in Berlin, then switched to banging Commies.

Posted by: Trimegistus at October 16, 2022 11:25 AM (QZxDR)

221 72 Do I reset it for next year?

How about resetting it for whatever the next MoMe is and including the organizer's link from the sidebar?
Posted by: Oddbob at October 16, 2022 09:51 AM (nfrXX)

I like that idea. It's kinda like a moveable feast.

Posted by: creeper at October 16, 2022 09:53 AM (kpskX)

Kind of like the progressive dinners of days gone by.

Posted by: Bonnie Blue the ungrateful colonial at October 16, 2022 11:26 AM (Ppq/w)

222 A Man At Arms is Steven Pressfield's version of the travels of Paul's epistles . It was semi woke because it turned into a girl power story.

Posted by: polynikes at October 16, 2022 11:27 AM (nMc+e)

223 66
'And considers those that support Giorgia Meloni neo-fascists.'

Then Zeihan can cram it sideways.

Posted by: Dr. Claw at October 16, 2022 11:31 AM (vNbzm)

224 My father was a Mason. He had a secret ring. Although, now that I think about it, he wore it all the time so it wasn't very secret.
Posted by: Sharon(willow's apprentice)

Thought the same about those Mason license plate frames I've seen out and about.
Posted by: She Hobbit at October 16, 2022 10:08 AM (ftFVW)

And the decals they put on their windows.

Posted by: Bonnie Blue the ungrateful colonial at October 16, 2022 11:32 AM (Ppq/w)

225 Is this a tragedy?

Alaska Republicans Call On Kentucky GOP To Censure Mitch McConnell Over His Interference in Senate Race

Posted by: Anonosaurus Wrecks, Now Smarter Than Lumpy Fetterman! at October 16, 2022 11:32 AM (FVME7)

226 > She was banging Nazis in Berlin, then switched to banging Commies.

So, rather like a Mitford Sister, then.

Posted by: Rodrigo Borgia at October 16, 2022 11:33 AM (bW8dp)

227 A Man At Arms is Steven Pressfield's version of the travels of Paul's epistles . It was semi woke because it turned into a girl power story.
========================
I guess we fight this out now, Polynikes. I thought it was a really good story, and addresses one of my bald spots as a Christian, "What was the (very) early Church like?" The fact the kids had disparate talents at being warriors, was to me, a side, side note. The boy dies a hero anyway, and saves the narrative.
YMMV

Posted by: Brave Sir Robin at October 16, 2022 11:34 AM (7Fj9P)

228 The man caught on video in September of 2021 destroying the bathroom he remodeled was sentenced to jail on Thursday for 15 days. Part of the sentence for Terry Gregory also includes three years of supervised probation.

Posted by: Anonosaurus Wrecks at October 16, 2022 10:58 AM (FVME7)

And his own show on HGTV!

Posted by: I am the Shadout Mapes, the Housekeeper at October 16, 2022 11:35 AM (PiwSw)

229 And his own show on HGTV!

Giving a whole new meaning to House Flippers.

Posted by: Archimedes at October 16, 2022 11:36 AM (ayzS/)

230 Now, this is a comedy.

Sen. Manchin's Popularity Is Down Double Digits in West Virginia

Posted by: Anonosaurus Wrecks, Now Smarter Than Lumpy Fetterman! at October 16, 2022 11:37 AM (FVME7)

231
Sen. Manchin's Popularity Is Down Double Digits in West Virginia

He chose....poorly.

Posted by: Archimedes at October 16, 2022 11:39 AM (ayzS/)

232 226 > She was banging Nazis in Berlin, then switched to banging Commies.
------------------

Gerda Maurus?

Posted by: Braenyard, _ want nuremberg trials? badger your congressman at October 16, 2022 11:39 AM (b0LCi)

233 Mel Gibson to Testify Against Harvey Weinstein in Los Angeles

-
I guess Big Harv was bipervertual.

Posted by: Anonosaurus Wrecks, Now Smarter Than Lumpy Fetterman! at October 16, 2022 11:39 AM (FVME7)

234 >>> Alaska Republicans Call On Kentucky GOP To Censure Mitch McConnell Over His Interference in Senate Race
Posted by: Anonosaurus Wrecks, Now Smarter
---------------------

He's a sorry bastard.

Posted by: Braenyard, _ want nuremberg trials? badger your congressman at October 16, 2022 11:41 AM (b0LCi)

235 Posted by: Brave Sir Robin at October 16, 2022 11:34 AM (7Fj9P)

I agree it was well written as all of Pressfield's books are but the boy continually screws up and they are continually saved by the girls actions. Even the boys sacrifice at the end was not typical. Admittedly I might be influenced and biased because of his previous book, 36 Righteous Men which was definitely woke. He is my biggest disappointment as he was my favorite author.

Posted by: polynikes at October 16, 2022 11:42 AM (nMc+e)

236 Indiana teacher in custody after telling student about her kill list
Angelica Carrasquillo-Torres, a Grade 5 teacher at St. Stanislaus School in East Chicago, reportedly mentioned the list one of her students around midday on Wednesday. However, police were not called until later that afternoon.

https://bit.ly/3ey462P

Posted by: Anonosaurus Wrecks, Now Smarter Than Lumpy Fetterman! at October 16, 2022 11:45 AM (FVME7)

237 Russian fiction is even worse.
-
He loses his money, his wife leaves him, and his dog dies.
----
Wait a moment, isn't that the short version of many a country song?

Yep. And you know who likes country songs, right? Collusion!!

Posted by: FBI Best Men at October 16, 2022 11:45 AM (nfrXX)

238 45 Are there any particular type books anyone wants? Anything I don't take from the neighbor will get recycled. She's leaving in thirteen days.
Posted by: OrangeEnt at October 16, 2022 09:38 AM (7bRMQ)

Any good fantasy?

Posted by: vmom stabby stabby stabby stabby stabamillion at October 16, 2022 11:48 AM (2xlV3)

239 This week I'm reading James Fenimore Cooper's "The Pioneers." His third novel (1823), this is first of the Leatherstocking Tales he wrote, though it is set in Natty Bumppo's later life. I'd never read it before; I read "The Last of the Mohicans" and "The Deerslayer" in my youth before being put off Cooper by Mark Twain in his devastating critique, "Fenimore Cooper's Literary Offenses."

Cooper was very popular in his early career both here and abroad, and he spent many years in Europe thereby. His academic reputation is that his work over-romanticized the early years of the Republic, and he's probably considered racist now. As for women, I find his female characters flat. One might say he is a classic author who shouldn't be a classic.

He knew his audience. This is a book that a household would gather around to listen to out loud. Besides the romantic hymns to North American nature, there is a great deal of humorous social satire, set in the 1790's, when Cooperstown New York was at the frontier.

I'm enjoying it, despite it's cracker barrel faults. I'll read one of his sea novels next.

As for tragedy, give me Hamlet every time.

Posted by: Brett at October 16, 2022 11:51 AM (1V2gd)

240 Tragedy and also a good read and relevant today- Antigone

Posted by: vmom stabby stabby stabby stabby stabamillion at October 16, 2022 11:54 AM (2xlV3)

241 13 Hours.

Posted by: Eromero at October 16, 2022 11:58 AM (/RDPd)

242 I think JFC' s Last of the Mohicans is a literary mess, thankfully the movie versions cleaned up extremely well

Posted by: Skip at October 16, 2022 11:58 AM (xhxe8)

243 We Haz a Nood

Posted by: Skip nood advisor at October 16, 2022 12:01 PM (xhxe8)

244 As for tragedy, give me Hamlet every time.
Posted by: Brett at October 16, 2022 11:51 AM (1V2gd)

Hamlet is a good example that a Tragic Character does not have to make "bad" choices; although Hamlet choices did lead him to his fate, he felt that they were the only choices he could honorably make. This happens in many of the Greek tragedies as well - often a truly tragic figure is doomed by Fate.

Posted by: Tom Servo at October 16, 2022 12:02 PM (r46W7)

245 I think JFC' s Last of the Mohicans is a literary mess, thankfully the movie versions cleaned up extremely well
Posted by: Skip
------

Largely filmed here in W. NC. The number of extras roaming around town with Mohawk haircuts was amusing.

Posted by: Mike Hammer, etc., etc. at October 16, 2022 12:07 PM (wQZYr)

246 This week I'm reading James Fenimore Cooper's "The Pioneers."
---

There were, I think, seven Natty Bumpo novels. My recollection is also that they were published in alphabetical order, by title.

Posted by: Mike Hammer, etc., etc. at October 16, 2022 12:10 PM (wQZYr)

247 There were, I think, seven Natty Bumpo novels. My recollection is also that they were published in alphabetical order, by title.
Posted by: Mike Hammer, etc., etc. at October 16, 2022 12:10 PM (wQZYr)

That is so hot.

Posted by: Sue Grafton at October 16, 2022 12:22 PM (PiwSw)

248
That is so hot.
Posted by: Sue Grafton
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H is for Hot.

Posted by: Mike Hammer, etc., etc. at October 16, 2022 01:18 PM (BqFOC)

249 His altruistic goal -- to make the world safe for mutants -- uses horrendous means…

I’ve been reading my comic books, deciding what to dump and what to keep, and just got to the X-Men where Claremont revealed Magneto’s backstory. On the one hand, it’s pretty ham handed (Claremont in general does not stand up as well as I remember his run being), but it still was obviously destined to become very powerful.

Posted by: Stephen Price Blair at October 16, 2022 01:25 PM (EXyHK)

250 The other thing I got from the issues surrounding issue 150 where Magneto’s backstory was revealed, is how incredibly stupid the X-Men are when it comes to people being mind-controlled. It’s something that happens all the time, but even when someone is being pulled from Xavier’s school and placed in a school run by the White Queen they never consider that, hey, maybe Kitty Pryde’s parents are being mind controlled to make a trap for us.

It’s all “I can’t force them to change their minds” without ever considering that maybe someone’s already forcing them. Same thing happened with Madelyne Pryor (who Claremont, the father of retcons, appears to be retconning in his own mind) and Mariko dissing Wolverine at the “altar”.

Posted by: Stephen Price Blair at October 16, 2022 01:25 PM (EXyHK)

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Posted by: www.Profit97.Com at October 16, 2022 02:32 PM (guW2v)

252 The rule for comics writing is supposed to be "Show, not tell." A reread of Claremont's X-Men stories shows that he never followed that. So much overwriting. (Byrne in FF, too, I'm sad to say.)

Posted by: Weak Geek at October 16, 2022 03:28 PM (Om/di)

253 "Guilty pleasure?" Ray Bradbury's stuff is classic!

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Posted by: 3456 at October 18, 2022 07:02 PM (Nrii2)

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