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Sunday Morning Book Thread - 01-29-2023 ["Perfessor" Squirrel]
PIC NOTE
Today's pic is an interior view of the historic Old Rock Community Library, located in Crested Butte, Colorado, which is only a little way southwest of Aspen. It was originally a two-room schoolhouse built in 1883.
THEMATIC REVIEW - Star Wars: Legacy of the Force Don't worry! I'm not going to bore you with the details of a Star Wars series of novels, since I know most of you don't really care about Star Wars or science fiction/space opera in general. Short version of the review -- Not great, but not terrible. Essentially a Greek tragedy of a man who completely falls into darkness and cannot be redeemed. No happy endings. Instead, I wanted to discuss some important themes that are still covered in these books, as they do have relevance in today's society and culture. You probably have at least *some* familiarity with key characters and events of the main Star Wars saga, but don't feel like you are missing anything if you don't. The important thing is that you can still relate to the themes below. Power corrupts - What can change the nature of a man? The main antagonist is so broken and destroyed by the horrors of war witnessed and experienced in his youth that he decides that he will use his power and influence to bring the entire galaxy under his control so that his own child will never have to go through the same horrors. He is further corrupted by his rationalization that there is no difference between the philosophies of the Jedi and Sith. Power is a tool, nothing more, and it's simply the intent that determines the outcome. It's very much a utilitarian mindset, where the ends justifies the means. As long as the galaxy is "peaceful" according to his defined standards, then everything is hunky-dory, no matter how many millions of people must suffer and die to achieve that peace. To paraphrase a certain Princess, the more Jacen Solo tightens his grasp, the more star systems slip through his fingers. Nature of government - The external conflict in this series involves a civil war between the legitimate government of the Galactic Alliance and several factions that want to leave the Alliance for their own purposes. The actual reasons for the civil war are very murky and I'm not sure if that is on purpose or the authors didn't quite know what to do with a civil war plot. It's quickly established that all sides involved have suspicious motives at the least. The main splinter faction, the Corellians, have possession of a weapon of mass destruction, though they are unable to use it effectively. Most of the main characters are split in their loyalties to the various factions. The Galactic Alliance is modeled after a republican form of government, while the Imperial Remnant is ruled by an oligarchy of Grand Moffs. The Corellians have a sort of fascistic totalitarian government, and the Hapes Cluster is ruled by a Queen. All of these are attempting to either carve out their own niche within the larger galaxy or become the controlling power within the galaxy. In the end, a relatively benevolent despot is appointed to rule the galaxy. Importance of family - At the of the day, this series is a tragic examination of the consequences of family versus duty. All of the main characters find themselves torn between their duty to their respective factions and their loved ones who may have different ideas. There are four main families, in increasing order of tragedy: Antilles, Fett, Skywalker, and Solo. Wedge Antilles and his daughter find themselves on opposite sides of the civil war, similar to how members of families were torn apart in the American Civil War. Boba Fett discovers he has a granddaughter who hates him for what he did to her mother. He also is torn between his desire to help the Mandalorians rebuild their society and his need to be left alone to his own devices. He resents being in charge of his people, though they are by far the most independent culture in the series. Luke Skywalker's actions as the Grandmaster of the Jedi Order have created a rift between him and his son, especially after Luke's wife Mara is killed by Jacen Solo, the main villain. Luke's son nearly succumbs to the lure of the Dark Side of the Force, but is redeemed. The son of Han and Leia Solo is not so fortunate. Of all the families, their story is by far the most tragic. They lost their younger son who performed a heroic sacrifice years earlier while he was still a teenager. Their older son has become the irredeemable villain of this story. Their daughter has become the living weapon of the Force and must also carry with her the grief of being the instrument of her twin brother's death, no matter how necessary it was.
He wanted to test the new Gender Awareness in Academia (GAIA) Act, but high-school biology teacher, Mike Andrews got more than he bargained for. Arrested and thrown in jail for the crime of teaching the biology of sex determination and for refusing to affirm a student's gender identity, Mike faces a show trial amid a media circus. Who can he trust? The school superintendent who set him up? His defense attorney who shares a secret history with the prosecutor? His girlfriend who may not have his best interests in mind? Her mother who is out to destroy him? Mike will have to learn that winning the game sometimes requires writing your own rules, and success comes only to The Wise of Heart. Check out The Wise of Heart, my modern-day retelling of the Scopes Monkey Trial where science takes on the trans agenda, with free weekly episodes on Substack and Arktoons. Best Regards, Hans
Comment: We all wish Jewells45 the best! Humor, I think, is an excellent way to keep one's spirits up when going through a difficult time, especially when it's health-related. I've been in and out of hospitals for a number of serious conditions and I almost always joke with my medical care team, no matter the situation. Our pets, of course, rely on us totally for their own care. I am NOT looking forward to the day when I start losing my kitties, but I know it's all part of the natural cycle of life.
I usually don't participate in the book thread and it's not because I don't read although I had slacked off for several months. I also don't read anything too heavy. Chemo brain...yeah it's a thing. So... I keep it light and easy. Just finished Lucky Dog by Dr. Sarah Boston. It's about a veterinarian who specializes in treating dogs with cancer then has to deal with her own battle with thyroid cancer. She uses a lot of humor as she tells her story.
Posted by: jewells45 fuck cancer at January 22, 2023 09:10 AM (nxdel)
Comment: It can be interesting to see earlier versions of a finished product. Clearly, it sounds like Herbert hadn't quite worked out the details of his world yet in "Spice Planet," but there was enough there that he wanted to flesh it all out in a longer narrative. Isaac Asimov collaborated with Robert Silverberg to rework Asimov's short story "Nightfall" into a longer and more complex story that includes the aftermath of the world-shattering event of a near-total eclipse (it makes sense in context). The original short story ends just as the eclipse is beginning, leading to the end of the current cycle of civilization.
The book The Road to Dune contains the novella "Spice Planet", reconstructed by Brian Herbert and Kevin J. Anderson from Frank Herbert's notes and original outline for Dune. It's a weird proto-Dune with characters that are clearly precursors to Duke Leto Atreides of Caladan (Jesse Linkham of Catalan) and his nemesis Nobleman Hoskanner (Baron Harkonnen). Linkham's beloved concubine is named Dorothy Mapes (!), but she is not Bene Gesserit. Hoskanner is tall and bony. Spice, as an element of the plot, is a highly addictive drug favored by the rich and used to dampen hunger and boredom during space travel, but it wasn't yet the space-folding mind-expander it became in the "real" Dune. It's all slightly off, simpler and not as elegant as the "real" Dune novel, but interesting to read nonetheless as a "what if". Lots of interesting stuff on the ecology of barren Arrakis.
Posted by: All Hail Eris, Sans-Culottes (except for the Book Thread) at January 22, 2023 09:19 AM (Dc2NZ)
Comment: I don't really have any commentary on this, but I thought a poem recommendation is a nice change of pace from the usual fare around here.
Funny that today's thread opens with a poem. I rarely read poetry, the other day I happened on a popular old Chinese folk poem.
It's about a beautiful girl who picks mulberry leaves by the road. A govt official propositions her, but she rejects him, saying he's married and so is she, moreover her husband is more impressive than him.
Lots of nice imagery.
It's known as "Luofuxing" ("The Song of Luofu"; also called Moshangsang, "Roadside Mulberry Tree"
Posted by: vmom stabby stabby stabby stabby stabamillion at January 22, 2023 09:38 AM (BtmcP)
Comment: Interesting solution to the problem. Instead of just training members of the local population in the art of war, three new languages are introduced to fragment society along caste lines. Judging from the names of the languages, one caste will be the dominant ruling class, one will be responsible for maintaining things, and one will do all the fighting. Babylon 5 had a similar situation with the three castes of the Minbari - religious, worker, and warrior. One prays, one builds, and one fights. It would not surprise me if J. Michael Straczynski was inspired by Jack Vance. More Moron-recommended reading material can be found HERE! (608 Moron-recommended books so far!)
I have a recommendation for an old sci-fi novel that has particular relevance these days. In The Languages of Pao by Jack Vance, the planet Pao is a wealthy but placid agricultural world. However, they keep being pushed around by their neighbors and the leader wants to change that. He hires Lord Palafox of Breakness to fix the problem and the solution is to replace the passive language of Pao with three different languages, Cogitant, Technicant and Valiant, each tuned to enhance skills in different areas. Valiant is made to create a warrior class. There are lots of twists and turns and Palafox is one of the more deliciously evil characters around. Given recent efforts to impose language and ideology in modern day "education", maybe this book needs a second look. Posted by: MichiCanuck at January 22, 2023 09:28 AM (KOrdp)
- Glitter Girl by James Y. Bartlett -- This series was promoted on the Sunday Morning Book Thread and was also recommended recently. I'm looking forward to reading it!
- Star Wars: The Crystal Star by Vonda N. McIntyre
- Star Wars: Legacy of the Force 8 - Revelation by Karen "I ♥ Boba Fett" Traviss -- Jacen Solo has officially gone off the deep end.
- Star Wars: Legacy of the Force 9 - Invincible by Troy Denning -- The exciting conclusion!
- Riders of the Sidhe by Kenneth C. Flint -- A retelling of one of Celtic Ireland's greatest hero myths.
- Champions of the Sidhe by Kenneth C. Flint -- Continuing the saga of one of Ireland's greatest heroes.
Comments
(Jump to bottom of comments)1
The work of the Giants, the stonesmiths, mouldereth.
Earthgrip holds them -- gone, long gone.
--- from the Old English poem The Ruin, 8th or 9th Century; probably about the mysterious (to them) Roman ruins of Bath
Earthgrip holds them -- gone, long gone.
--- from the Old English poem The Ruin, 8th or 9th Century; probably about the mysterious (to them) Roman ruins of Bath
Posted by: All Hail Eris, Sans-Culottes (except for the Book Thread) at January 29, 2023 08:59 AM (Dc2NZ)
2
hiya
Posted by: JT at January 29, 2023 09:00 AM (T4tVD)
3
Tolle Lege
Posted by: Skip at January 29, 2023 09:00 AM (xhxe8)
4
Does anybody else treat the Book Thread like a road race?
Posted by: Weak Geek at January 29, 2023 09:00 AM (Om/di)
5
Finished Hopalong Cassidy and the Eagle's Brood. Boy, they sure knew how to shoot. And acrobatically too.
Posted by: OrangeEnt at January 29, 2023 09:01 AM (Angsy)
6
Booken Morgen Horden
Posted by: vmom stabby stabby stabby stabby stabamillion at January 29, 2023 09:02 AM (BtmcP)
7
Currently working my way through all my Louis L’Amour books.
Posted by: vic/ at January 29, 2023 09:02 AM (sbuTN)
8
Does anybody else treat the Book Thread like a road race?
Posted by: Weak Geek at January 29, 2023 09:00 AM (Om/di)
The winner is the one to comment last.
Posted by: Weak Geek at January 29, 2023 09:00 AM (Om/di)
The winner is the one to comment last.
Posted by: OrangeEnt at January 29, 2023 09:02 AM (Angsy)
9
Pic Note: That's a nice little library. Though, I'm sure it's filled with books on how to grow pot and the joys of tranniedom.
Posted by: OrangeEnt at January 29, 2023 09:04 AM (Angsy)
10
These early Doom Patrol stories are glorious Silver Age cheese. Great fun. Good art.
I popped in yesterday to a used-book store that I visit when I go out of state to see ny dad. I usually find nothing of interest, but yesterday I hit the jackpot: a Perry Mason hardback, a Nero Wolfe double feature (one of which I own and have read), another NW (which I've heard via audiobook), an Ellery Queen double feature -- and "Monster Hunters International," which I think is the first in the series. I bought that on Horde recommendations. The store also had two MHI sequels, but I thought I had bought enough.
I'll have to rearrange my shelves -- the PMs and NWs will no longer fit on one shelf.
And it's only January!
I popped in yesterday to a used-book store that I visit when I go out of state to see ny dad. I usually find nothing of interest, but yesterday I hit the jackpot: a Perry Mason hardback, a Nero Wolfe double feature (one of which I own and have read), another NW (which I've heard via audiobook), an Ellery Queen double feature -- and "Monster Hunters International," which I think is the first in the series. I bought that on Horde recommendations. The store also had two MHI sequels, but I thought I had bought enough.
I'll have to rearrange my shelves -- the PMs and NWs will no longer fit on one shelf.
And it's only January!
Posted by: Weak Geek at January 29, 2023 09:05 AM (Om/di)
11
I don't know about a weedwhacker, but the pants guy doesn't own a torso....
Posted by: JT at January 29, 2023 09:06 AM (T4tVD)
Posted by: I am the Shadout Mapes, the Housekeeper at January 29, 2023 09:06 AM (PiwSw)
13
I've enjoyed "The Road To Dune". Herbert had to pare down a lot to get his doorstop of a book serialized for Campbell's Analog magazine, and the unused chapters are here. They probably didn't propel the story forward but they add additional background and spice (Heyyyoooooo!). I especially liked the bits about the Spacing Guild. When the Atreides household is packed into the Spacing Guild ship bound for Arakkis, Paul realizes they are just one bit of cargo bound for a backwater planet of the Empire. When he asks his father the Duke why the Spacing Guild, which provides the network of transport, doesn't run the Empire, the Duke says they are content with their place in the galactic ecology, and look with distaste on planetbound life anyway. It's just a means to an end (which I guess is folding space/time while trippin' ballz).
Posted by: All Hail Eris, Sans-Culottes (except for the Book Thread) at January 29, 2023 09:07 AM (Dc2NZ)
14
You probably have at least *some* familiarity with key characters and events of the main Star Wars saga, but don't feel like you are missing anything if you don't.
Er, I only know some of the character names. Never saw any of them, have no plans to see any of them. The only good thing that fantasy movie did, was convince Paramount to get off their butts and get Star Trek going again.
Er, I only know some of the character names. Never saw any of them, have no plans to see any of them. The only good thing that fantasy movie did, was convince Paramount to get off their butts and get Star Trek going again.
Posted by: OrangeEnt at January 29, 2023 09:07 AM (Angsy)
15
Morning, 'rons and 'ronettes.
Decided to drop into the local library the other day. Picked up American Midnight, about the 1919 Red Scare, the Wobblies and so on. Not 20 pages into it, the author had smeared both Trump and the Tea Party as racist white trash, so I tossed it back. I wish I'd bought if from them and burned it.
Decided to drop into the local library the other day. Picked up American Midnight, about the 1919 Red Scare, the Wobblies and so on. Not 20 pages into it, the author had smeared both Trump and the Tea Party as racist white trash, so I tossed it back. I wish I'd bought if from them and burned it.
Posted by: Mary Poppins' Practically Perfect Piercing at January 29, 2023 09:08 AM (AW0uW)
16
So yesterday I read Destination Unknown by the great Dame Agatha Christie, a spy story originally from 1955 dealing with the Mysterious Disappearances of Top Scientists from the Free World ... and if I were to write a word about what makes this book not only ROCKIN' fun, but astonishingly relevant to Our Times, I'd end up spoiling at least two of the twists! So just read the freaking thing. It's free on Hoopla if your public library has any sense.
Posted by: werewife, princess of Delray Beach at January 29, 2023 09:08 AM (SPNTN)
17
The Jedi & Sith are both evil cults, in competition with each other.
At the end of the last movie, Rey rejected freedeom from either cult, which is what Han's son offered.
At the end of the last movie, Rey rejected freedeom from either cult, which is what Han's son offered.
Posted by: vmom stabby stabby stabby stabby stabamillion at January 29, 2023 09:09 AM (BtmcP)
18
They can't help themselves, Poppins. I wonder if they have to utter the safe phrases just to get published.
Posted by: All Hail Eris, Sans-Culottes (except for the Book Thread) at January 29, 2023 09:09 AM (Dc2NZ)
19
Those are the wrong trousers!
Posted by: 496 at January 29, 2023 09:10 AM (83h76)
20
One book I enjoyed was Robert Randini's You're Nobody Till Somebody Kills You, one of his "Rat Pack Mysteries" which involve Eddie Gianelli, a pit boss at the Sands in the early 1960s who is pals with Frank, Dean and Sammy and helps them or their friends out of jams.
Pulp writing, but really a master class in how to keep your reader interested and string them along until the end. It wasn't until a day after I'd finished the book that I realized there were a number of plot holes in it. It taught me a bit about my own writing.
Pulp writing, but really a master class in how to keep your reader interested and string them along until the end. It wasn't until a day after I'd finished the book that I realized there were a number of plot holes in it. It taught me a bit about my own writing.
Posted by: Mary Poppins' Practically Perfect Piercing at January 29, 2023 09:10 AM (AW0uW)
21
I snuggled into my faux Naugahide reading chair to peruse Matthew Green's "Shadowlands: A Journey Through Britain's Lost Cities and Vanished Villages", and within the first paragraph he's likening the slide of the medieval city of Dunwich into the sea to the current uncertainty of climate change and the turbulent times of Brexit and the election of Donald Trump. The poor dears can't help themselves.
Still, there are many fine passages about places deserted because of conquest, the plague, new transportation routes, new economies, and changing climate.
In 1850, a violent storm in the Orkneys stripped the earth from an area called Skara Brae, revealing a 5000-year-old neolithic village perfectly preserved in the sand and clay soil. When the village was first built, the climate was much milder, but around 2500 the area became colder and wetter.
https://www.atlasobscura.com/places/skara-brae
They had primitive plumbing and indoor terlits!
Still, there are many fine passages about places deserted because of conquest, the plague, new transportation routes, new economies, and changing climate.
In 1850, a violent storm in the Orkneys stripped the earth from an area called Skara Brae, revealing a 5000-year-old neolithic village perfectly preserved in the sand and clay soil. When the village was first built, the climate was much milder, but around 2500 the area became colder and wetter.
https://www.atlasobscura.com/places/skara-brae
They had primitive plumbing and indoor terlits!
Posted by: All Hail Eris, Sans-Culottes (except for the Book Thread) at January 29, 2023 09:11 AM (Dc2NZ)
22
Reading "Is Atheism Dead", the most recent book by Eric Metaxas. It's about how the Old and New Testament are increasingly being shown to be historical rather than mythical by modern archeology, as well as how science is showing that the Erf's circumstance and the universe's laws are finely tuned to a miraculous extent that allows life to exist.
Very interesting.
Also listening to the latest appearance by Jordan Peterson on Joe Rogan's show. A lot of really interesting things going on with Dr. Peterson these days. Some evil (his profession's governing board is trying to take his clinical license away for speech they don't like) and good (he's forming an international group of people to fight woke asshattery). On Spotify and highly recommended.
Hey, good people.
Very interesting.
Also listening to the latest appearance by Jordan Peterson on Joe Rogan's show. A lot of really interesting things going on with Dr. Peterson these days. Some evil (his profession's governing board is trying to take his clinical license away for speech they don't like) and good (he's forming an international group of people to fight woke asshattery). On Spotify and highly recommended.
Hey, good people.
Posted by: Sharkman at January 29, 2023 09:11 AM (szJck)
23
Did not read this week. Did write 3 job descriptions.
Posted by: rhennigantx at January 29, 2023 09:12 AM (BRHaw)
24
I snuggled into my faux Naugahide reading chair to peruse Matthew Green's "Shadowlands: A Journey Through Britain's Lost Cities and Vanished Villages", and within the first paragraph he's likening the slide of the medieval city of Dunwich into the sea to the current uncertainty of climate change and the turbulent times of Brexit and the election of Donald Trump. The poor dears can't help themselves.
Thanks for the heads-up, Eris. I was going to buy that book and now I'm glad I didn't.
Thanks for the heads-up, Eris. I was going to buy that book and now I'm glad I didn't.
Posted by: Mary Poppins' Practically Perfect Piercing at January 29, 2023 09:12 AM (AW0uW)
25
Also listening to the latest appearance by Jordan Peterson on Joe Rogan's show. A lot of really interesting things going on with Dr. Peterson these days. Some evil (his profession's governing board is trying to take his clinical license away for speech they don't like) and good (he's forming an international group of people to fight woke asshattery). On Spotify and highly recommended.
Hey, good people.
Posted by: Sharkman at January 29, 2023 09:11 AM (szJck)
This is coming to all professions with licensing. You will have to have a DIE statement and swear an oath to whatever is the latest fad.
Hey, good people.
Posted by: Sharkman at January 29, 2023 09:11 AM (szJck)
This is coming to all professions with licensing. You will have to have a DIE statement and swear an oath to whatever is the latest fad.
Posted by: rhennigantx at January 29, 2023 09:14 AM (BRHaw)
26
Well into my 5th book on the 2020 election from Cristina Bobb formerly of OAN news,
Stealing Your Vote: Inside story of the 2020 election and what it means for 2024.
She it focusing on the 5 major frauded states Arizona, Georgia, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin so far, how the election went being frauded by the Democrats then totally permitted to do so by courts and sadly the Republican state representatives without a fight.
Stealing Your Vote: Inside story of the 2020 election and what it means for 2024.
She it focusing on the 5 major frauded states Arizona, Georgia, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin so far, how the election went being frauded by the Democrats then totally permitted to do so by courts and sadly the Republican state representatives without a fight.
Posted by: Skip at January 29, 2023 09:15 AM (xhxe8)
27
Finally got through the Harry Dresden books "Peace Talks" and "Battle Ground."
Jim Butcher knows how to deliver a literary gut punch.
Jim Butcher knows how to deliver a literary gut punch.
Posted by: NR Pax at January 29, 2023 09:15 AM (FWb/g)
28
Today's pic is an interior view of the historic Old Rock Community Library, located in Crested Butte, Colorado, which is only a little way southwest of Aspen.
==================
A five hour drive this time of year. But a pretty library, for sure.
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A five hour drive this time of year. But a pretty library, for sure.
Posted by: Huck Follywood at January 29, 2023 09:15 AM (WpwS5)
29
Good morning fellow Book Threadists. I hope everyone had a great week of treading. Mine had a wonderful surprise.
Posted by: JTB at January 29, 2023 09:16 AM (7EjX1)
30
Finished my re-read of John Van Stry's eleven books in his "Portals of Infinity" series.
Now reading "The Eye of the World" by Robert Jordan (the first in his "The Wheel of Time" series.)
Now reading "The Eye of the World" by Robert Jordan (the first in his "The Wheel of Time" series.)
Posted by: Grumpy and Recalcitrant at January 29, 2023 09:16 AM (nRMeC)
31
Yay book thread!
Last week the proof copy of Walls of Men: A Military History of China 2500 BC to AD 2020 arrived for my examination. As expected, there were some formatting errors and the maps printed somewhat dark and grainy. I made adjustments and have ordered a new copy.
I'm still tweaking the index, but publication will be sooner rather than later. The book is 365 pages, so it has a bit of heft, but given the scope, it moves pretty quickly. It's not super-detailed, just a nice, approachable summary of Chinese military history.
Last week the proof copy of Walls of Men: A Military History of China 2500 BC to AD 2020 arrived for my examination. As expected, there were some formatting errors and the maps printed somewhat dark and grainy. I made adjustments and have ordered a new copy.
I'm still tweaking the index, but publication will be sooner rather than later. The book is 365 pages, so it has a bit of heft, but given the scope, it moves pretty quickly. It's not super-detailed, just a nice, approachable summary of Chinese military history.
Posted by: Ace-Endorsed Author A.H. Lloyd at January 29, 2023 09:17 AM (llXky)
32
MP4, it's worth getting from the library if you can tune out the periodic CLIMATE CHANGE!! comments.
Posted by: All Hail Eris, Sans-Culottes (except for the Book Thread) at January 29, 2023 09:17 AM (Dc2NZ)
33
They had primitive plumbing and indoor terlits!
Posted by: All Hail Eris, Sans-Culottes (except for the Book Thread) at January 29, 2023 09:11 AM (Dc2NZ)
---
I believe you mean water closets.
Posted by: All Hail Eris, Sans-Culottes (except for the Book Thread) at January 29, 2023 09:11 AM (Dc2NZ)
---
I believe you mean water closets.
Posted by: Ace-Endorsed Author A.H. Lloyd at January 29, 2023 09:18 AM (llXky)
34
Read this week - Poster Girl by Veronica Roth, as recd by one of our 'ettes. I would never have picked it up, but it's very on the nose for current times as well as having a great twist in set up.
The Stolen Heir by Holly Black, which is in the Elfhame series. I like this series a lot.
The Stolen Heir by Holly Black, which is in the Elfhame series. I like this series a lot.
Posted by: vmom stabby stabby stabby stabby stabamillion at January 29, 2023 09:18 AM (BtmcP)
35
Professor-
A hearty well done on the data base. I'm sure it took a lot of work to set up, but it's very useful, and well-designed. Thanks for all the work.
A hearty well done on the data base. I'm sure it took a lot of work to set up, but it's very useful, and well-designed. Thanks for all the work.
Posted by: Archimedes at January 29, 2023 09:19 AM (eOEVl)
36
The Jedi & Sith are both evil cults, in competition with each other.
At the end of the last movie, Rey rejected freedeom from either cult, which is what Han's son offered.
Posted by: vmom stabby stabby stabby stabby stabamillion at January 29, 2023 09:09 AM (BtmcP)
---
The reputation of the Jedi was utterly destroyed by the prequels. You watch the original films and you think they're like mystic Samurai, humble and passive, never using aggression and then you watch them whip out lightsabers and carve up everything within reach, even using force power to try to swindle people.
Oh, and they abduct children and brainwash them.
At the end of the last movie, Rey rejected freedeom from either cult, which is what Han's son offered.
Posted by: vmom stabby stabby stabby stabby stabamillion at January 29, 2023 09:09 AM (BtmcP)
---
The reputation of the Jedi was utterly destroyed by the prequels. You watch the original films and you think they're like mystic Samurai, humble and passive, never using aggression and then you watch them whip out lightsabers and carve up everything within reach, even using force power to try to swindle people.
Oh, and they abduct children and brainwash them.
Posted by: Ace-Endorsed Author A.H. Lloyd at January 29, 2023 09:20 AM (llXky)
37
Nice First, Eris !
Posted by: JT at January 29, 2023 09:21 AM (T4tVD)
38
The main text I read last week was a July 1971 issue of New York magazine that I tripped across via Wikipedia. I'll spare you the details.
After I read the linked article, I went through most of the PDF. The cover story was on coming changes to the city's waterfront -- could New York become the next Venice? I checked the proposed projects against a recent aerial image of the city, and it looked as if everything had come to fruition. It made me want to visit the city -- but that's not likely to happen nowadays. I'm sad at what has happened to what once held promise and grandeur.
After I read the linked article, I went through most of the PDF. The cover story was on coming changes to the city's waterfront -- could New York become the next Venice? I checked the proposed projects against a recent aerial image of the city, and it looked as if everything had come to fruition. It made me want to visit the city -- but that's not likely to happen nowadays. I'm sad at what has happened to what once held promise and grandeur.
Posted by: Weak Geek at January 29, 2023 09:21 AM (Om/di)
39
The winner is the one to comment last.
Posted by: OrangeEnt at January 29, 2023 09:02 AM (Angsy)
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Second to last. Last place is still last place.
Posted by: OrangeEnt at January 29, 2023 09:02 AM (Angsy)
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Second to last. Last place is still last place.
Posted by: Ace-Endorsed Author A.H. Lloyd at January 29, 2023 09:22 AM (llXky)
40
I snuggled into my faux Naugahide reading chair to peruse Matthew Green's "Shadowlands: A Journey Through Britain's Lost Cities and Vanished Villages", and within the first paragraph he's likening the slide of the medieval city of Dunwich into the sea to the current uncertainty of climate change and the turbulent times of Brexit and the election of Donald Trump. The poor dears can't help themselves.
This made me laugh. I say the same thing constantly, sometimes to a TV, sometimes to a book.
This made me laugh. I say the same thing constantly, sometimes to a TV, sometimes to a book.
Posted by: Archimedes at January 29, 2023 09:22 AM (eOEVl)
41
The reputation of the Jedi was utterly destroyed by the prequels.
Having "good guys" and "bad guys" is cisheteronormativepatriarchalcolonial. Nowadays, stories have to "subvert expectations." Kind of like how a lot of games made now have no "good endings" because "fuck you, give us money."
Having "good guys" and "bad guys" is cisheteronormativepatriarchalcolonial. Nowadays, stories have to "subvert expectations." Kind of like how a lot of games made now have no "good endings" because "fuck you, give us money."
Posted by: NR Pax at January 29, 2023 09:23 AM (VV2Hb)
42
30 Finished my re-read of John Van Stry's eleven books in his "Portals of Infinity" series.
==
Oh I just read one of his books recently, Summer's End. Sci fi adventure. His description of Earth's govt made me sad coz it's so plausible.
==
Oh I just read one of his books recently, Summer's End. Sci fi adventure. His description of Earth's govt made me sad coz it's so plausible.
Posted by: vmom stabby stabby stabby stabby stabamillion at January 29, 2023 09:24 AM (BtmcP)
43
That library ??
Is it another example of SOCIALISM funded by tax payers dollars ?
If I want to read I will buy my own damn books, and others should also
Is it another example of SOCIALISM funded by tax payers dollars ?
If I want to read I will buy my own damn books, and others should also
Posted by: Paul at January 29, 2023 09:24 AM (g0Kjt)
44
Dorothy makes a good point in her rap battle with Alice, Baum wrote stories more comprehensible for kids than did Carroll. At least my kids thought so, and my older daughter was an avid fan of the Baum series. Alice was never as popular, and the nonsense parts were especially hard for my girls to puzzle through. They eventually lost interest, and I bet we never finished Alice.
Posted by: Huck Follywood at January 29, 2023 09:24 AM (E3gRs)
45
Second to last. Last place is still last place.
Posted by: Ace-Endorsed Author A.H. Lloyd at January 29, 2023 09:22 AM (llXky)
Last man standing is the winner....
Posted by: Ace-Endorsed Author A.H. Lloyd at January 29, 2023 09:22 AM (llXky)
Last man standing is the winner....
Posted by: OrangeEnt at January 29, 2023 09:25 AM (Angsy)
46
In reading news, I finished No Colours or Crest and have started on Peter Kemp's final book, Alms for Oblivion, which is about his work in the Pacific.
It is moving much faster, which is nice.
It picks up after V-E Day, and he has a spot of leave in Blighty where he acquires an unusual condition: sexual exhaustion. Quite the celebration, I guess.
It is moving much faster, which is nice.
It picks up after V-E Day, and he has a spot of leave in Blighty where he acquires an unusual condition: sexual exhaustion. Quite the celebration, I guess.
Posted by: Ace-Endorsed Author A.H. Lloyd at January 29, 2023 09:25 AM (llXky)
47
Someone mentioned the late David McCullough the other day, which reminded me of his excellent book, The Path Between the Seas. This is the story of the Panama Canal, from the original conception of transforming global shipping, through the French failed attempt that caused an economic crisis there, and through the ultimately successful American project. Ferdinand De Lesseps had successfully built the Suez Canal in the desert, but the jungle and its diseases beat him, and he left in failure. The book also details Teddy Roosevelt's gunboat diplomacy that created the country of Panama out of a portion of Columbia. McCullough was an author who could bring history to life. If you want to learn about the history of the canal, this is the book.
Posted by: Thomas Paine at January 29, 2023 09:25 AM (VyrlG)
48
Good Sunday morning, horde!
After finishing Iain Pears' 600+ page historical novel, An Instance of the Fingerpost, I am cleansing my literary palate with The Hazel Wood, by Melissa Albert. It may be YA--it certainly reads like it.
A teenaged girl has been traveling from place to place with her mother her whole life, living out of their car, always running from something. The girl has a famous grandmother, who wrote a book of fairy tales and has a cult-like following. The girl has never been allowed to read the book.
Things start happening, the girl's mother disappears, and her world is turned inside out as she discovers the fairy tale world that her grandmother created.
Fast, fun read so far.
After finishing Iain Pears' 600+ page historical novel, An Instance of the Fingerpost, I am cleansing my literary palate with The Hazel Wood, by Melissa Albert. It may be YA--it certainly reads like it.
A teenaged girl has been traveling from place to place with her mother her whole life, living out of their car, always running from something. The girl has a famous grandmother, who wrote a book of fairy tales and has a cult-like following. The girl has never been allowed to read the book.
Things start happening, the girl's mother disappears, and her world is turned inside out as she discovers the fairy tale world that her grandmother created.
Fast, fun read so far.
Posted by: Dash my lace wigs! at January 29, 2023 09:25 AM (OX9vb)
49
Go kill yourself and have a discussion with the ghost of Andrew Carnegie, troll.
Posted by: Mary Poppins' Practically Perfect Piercing at January 29, 2023 09:26 AM (AW0uW)
50
Things start happening, the girl's mother disappears, and her world is turned inside out as she discovers the fairy tale world that her grandmother created.
Fast, fun read so far.
Posted by: Dash my lace wigs!
This sounds just like my cuppa tea
Fast, fun read so far.
Posted by: Dash my lace wigs!
This sounds just like my cuppa tea
Posted by: vmom stabby stabby stabby stabby stabamillion at January 29, 2023 09:27 AM (BtmcP)
51
The guilty pleasure link! LMAO
Posted by: vmom stabby stabby stabby stabby stabamillion at January 29, 2023 09:28 AM (BtmcP)
52
What Arthur's mistake was, you make the Hobo undress then kill him.
"Now why don't you just drop them pants"...
Keeps the clothes free of any needless splatter and mess.
"Now why don't you just drop them pants"...
Keeps the clothes free of any needless splatter and mess.
Posted by: Hairyback Guy at January 29, 2023 09:28 AM (R/m4+)
53
Dash, that sounds interesting.
Posted by: Weak Geek at January 29, 2023 09:28 AM (Om/di)
54
I finished The Horse, the Wheel, and Language: How Bronze-Age Riders from the Eurasian Steppes Shaped the Modern World, by David Anthony. It wasn't on my radar, but another poster and I disagreed on where the Indo-European language group originated, and he suggested this book. It confirms my original assertion that it was likely in the Pontic-Caspian steppe.
The book is interesting in parts, but also has lots of tedious detail on things like pots and graves. I was more interested in the parts about the development of metalworking and, of course, language. It's really a schizophrenic book, part popular history, part textbook for the true archeologist. For that reason, I wouldn't recommend it unless the topic is of real interest. Still, I'm glad I read it.
The book is interesting in parts, but also has lots of tedious detail on things like pots and graves. I was more interested in the parts about the development of metalworking and, of course, language. It's really a schizophrenic book, part popular history, part textbook for the true archeologist. For that reason, I wouldn't recommend it unless the topic is of real interest. Still, I'm glad I read it.
Posted by: Archimedes at January 29, 2023 09:30 AM (eOEVl)
55
Good morning, all! This week I have been reading two books which my parents had copies of when I was a teenager - books that I had really enjoyed reading them. Rediscovered the first on Kindle: John Dickson Carr's "Most Secret" - a rollicking mystery-adventure set at the court of Charles II. The evocation of the old Whitehall Palace is superb, and the period language is pitch-perfect. The second book I couldn't remember the title, or the author - I thought it was Carr, but it wasn't. I looked up some terms related to the plot, and found the book - "Oh, Where Are Bloody Mary's Earrings?" by Robert Player. It's set at the court of Queen Victoria, during her Jubilee, and concerns a pair of fabulous diamond earrings which had disappeared, then reappeared (maybe) and had been incorporated into a hideous tiara designed by Prince Albert ... which Bertie, the royal heir would like to pawn to uphold his extravagant lifestyle.... Again - a rollicking good mystery, in pitch-perfect language.
Still working on the next Lone Star collection - and on the 18th, I'll be at the Boerne Bookshop at 153 Main, from 1-3, with my most recent book "My Dear Cousin". All book-rons in Texas are invited!
Still working on the next Lone Star collection - and on the 18th, I'll be at the Boerne Bookshop at 153 Main, from 1-3, with my most recent book "My Dear Cousin". All book-rons in Texas are invited!
Posted by: Sgt. Mom at January 29, 2023 09:30 AM (xnmPy)
56
23 Did not read this week. Did write 3 job descriptions.
Posted by: rhennigantx at January 29, 2023 09:12 AM (BRHaw)
Ugh. Lucky you, or something.
Posted by: rhennigantx at January 29, 2023 09:12 AM (BRHaw)
Ugh. Lucky you, or something.
Posted by: Dash my lace wigs! at January 29, 2023 09:30 AM (OX9vb)
57
The book also details Teddy Roosevelt's gunboat diplomacy that created the country of Panama out of a portion of Columbia. McCullough was an author who could bring history to life. If you want to learn about the history of the canal, this is the book.
Posted by: Thomas Paine at January 29, 2023 09:25 AM (VyrlG)
---
If you are a very patient reader, Joseph Conrad's Nostromo also reflects a lot of this in its fictional country of Costaguana.
Rather than a canal, Costaguana has a rich silver mine in the western province of Sulacco.
You think it's about the politics, but it's actually about the people. Long-winded, but rewarding for the patient reader.
Posted by: Thomas Paine at January 29, 2023 09:25 AM (VyrlG)
---
If you are a very patient reader, Joseph Conrad's Nostromo also reflects a lot of this in its fictional country of Costaguana.
Rather than a canal, Costaguana has a rich silver mine in the western province of Sulacco.
You think it's about the politics, but it's actually about the people. Long-winded, but rewarding for the patient reader.
Posted by: Ace-Endorsed Author A.H. Lloyd at January 29, 2023 09:31 AM (llXky)
58
RE: 15--several years ago My Lovely Bride and I started reading, and enjoying, the Gabriel Allon spy novels by Daniel Silva; his last book, and the last book of his we'll buy, was a massive thinly veiled anti-Trump screed from start to finish. So, after a recent trip to Iceland, we started reading the good, but DARK, stuff by Arnaldur Indridason.
Posted by: FIIGMO at January 29, 2023 09:32 AM (5Xtai)
59
I see that MP4 already beat me to it, but I'll just point out that it must really grind Paul's gears that the arch-capitalist, Carnegie, did so much to build libraries.
Posted by: Archimedes at January 29, 2023 09:32 AM (eOEVl)
60
I hope Arthur used all parts of the hobo.
Posted by: All Hail Eris, Sans-Culottes (except for the Book Thread) at January 29, 2023 09:32 AM (Dc2NZ)
61
Colombia should thank TR for giving them a more sensibly shaped country.
Posted by: Weak Geek at January 29, 2023 09:34 AM (Om/di)
Posted by: Mary Poppins' Practically Perfect Piercing at January 29, 2023 09:34 AM (AW0uW)
63
Question for the writers. Do you write a story to word count because you know what magazine or online publishers use as a cut off point, or do you write the way the story unfolds?
Posted by: OrangeEnt at January 29, 2023 09:36 AM (Angsy)
64
A librarian/archivist friend of mine on FB (leftist of course) posted something when Musk bought Twitter with a meme about how it was awesome when rich people built libraries instead of spending money on vanity projects.
I replied to her that the Carnegies and Rockefellers were hated in their day, and that her granchild will live on Mars, and post memes about how it was awesome when rich people built rockets.
I replied to her that the Carnegies and Rockefellers were hated in their day, and that her granchild will live on Mars, and post memes about how it was awesome when rich people built rockets.
Posted by: blaster at January 29, 2023 09:36 AM (pwExq)
65
My home town (sort of) is the smallest city in the U.S. to have a Carnegie library. When I was a kid, that was a point of local pride.
Posted by: Weak Geek at January 29, 2023 09:37 AM (Om/di)
66
I finished The Horse, the Wheel, and Language: How Bronze-Age Riders from the Eurasian Steppes Shaped the Modern World, by David Anthony. It wasn't on my radar, but another poster and I disagreed on where the Indo-European language group originated, and he suggested this book.
Posted by: Archimedes at January 29, 2023 09:30 AM (eOEVl)
---
The most effective weapons system in history was the horse archer. In suitable terrain, they were almost impossible to stop. The Ch'ing Dynasty was built around Manchu horse archers, and with the combination of Manchu and Mongol horsemen and masses of Chinese infantry, they were almost impossible to stop. There is a certain symmetry to the Ch'ing bringing the Empire to its greatest territorial extent and also the last traditional dynasty.
I include that qualifier because the Communists are now merely the latest Chinese dynasty. It's interesting to see them drop the whole socialism thing and promote nationalism, including epic historical movies about the glories of the Empire.
Posted by: Archimedes at January 29, 2023 09:30 AM (eOEVl)
---
The most effective weapons system in history was the horse archer. In suitable terrain, they were almost impossible to stop. The Ch'ing Dynasty was built around Manchu horse archers, and with the combination of Manchu and Mongol horsemen and masses of Chinese infantry, they were almost impossible to stop. There is a certain symmetry to the Ch'ing bringing the Empire to its greatest territorial extent and also the last traditional dynasty.
I include that qualifier because the Communists are now merely the latest Chinese dynasty. It's interesting to see them drop the whole socialism thing and promote nationalism, including epic historical movies about the glories of the Empire.
Posted by: Ace-Endorsed Author A.H. Lloyd at January 29, 2023 09:37 AM (llXky)
67
I see that MP4 already beat me to it, but I'll just point out that it must really grind Paul's gears that the arch-capitalist, Carnegie, did so much to build libraries.
Posted by: Archimedes at January 29, 2023 09:32 AM (eOEVl)
---
I don't mind Paul's contributions here. We all know he's a troll. And he almost never posts more than once. He NEVER responds to criticism of his posts. So just ignore him and move on.
Posted by: Archimedes at January 29, 2023 09:32 AM (eOEVl)
---
I don't mind Paul's contributions here. We all know he's a troll. And he almost never posts more than once. He NEVER responds to criticism of his posts. So just ignore him and move on.
Posted by: "Perfessor" Squirrel at January 29, 2023 09:38 AM (BpYfr)
68
Even today there isn't a land route from Panama to Colombia. The natural barriers are incredible -- swamps, steep mountains, and more swamps. It's even a barrier to animal and plant species.
This suggests that the earliest humans in the New World knew about boats. Or maybe that area was a little less formidable during the Ice Age.
This suggests that the earliest humans in the New World knew about boats. Or maybe that area was a little less formidable during the Ice Age.
Posted by: Trimegistus at January 29, 2023 09:38 AM (QZxDR)
69
Archery is difficult enough. Doing it on horseback -- mind blown.
Posted by: Weak Geek at January 29, 2023 09:40 AM (Om/di)
70
I hope Arthur used all parts of the hobo.
Posted by: All Hail Eris, Sans-Culottes (except for the Book Thread) at January 29, 2023 09:32 AM (Dc2NZ)
Might as well burn the clothing, too. Full of Paul's cooties.
Posted by: All Hail Eris, Sans-Culottes (except for the Book Thread) at January 29, 2023 09:32 AM (Dc2NZ)
Might as well burn the clothing, too. Full of Paul's cooties.
Posted by: Alberta Oil Peon at January 29, 2023 09:40 AM (tkR6S)
71
I see that MP4 already beat me to it, but I'll just point out that it must really grind Paul's gears that the arch-capitalist, Carnegie, did so much to build libraries.
Posted by: Archimedes at January 29, 2023 09:32 AM (eOEVl)
I don't see libraries as socialist at all. The first libraries were subscription, if you didn't pay, you didn't get to use. Using public monies to build them is helpful to spread knowledge that benefits society. Just because today's libraries are filled with worthless crap, doesn't make the idea of them wrong. Remember, socialism is just a way to power cloaked as concern and care for others. Nasty people are socialists....
Posted by: Archimedes at January 29, 2023 09:32 AM (eOEVl)
I don't see libraries as socialist at all. The first libraries were subscription, if you didn't pay, you didn't get to use. Using public monies to build them is helpful to spread knowledge that benefits society. Just because today's libraries are filled with worthless crap, doesn't make the idea of them wrong. Remember, socialism is just a way to power cloaked as concern and care for others. Nasty people are socialists....
Posted by: OrangeEnt at January 29, 2023 09:41 AM (Angsy)
72
Anyone read the Harry Hole mysteries by Norwegian author Jo Nesbo?
I have read several, and just finished a couple. They are fun, but have also convinced me that Norway is a very strange place!
I have read several, and just finished a couple. They are fun, but have also convinced me that Norway is a very strange place!
Posted by: CharlieBrown'sDildo at January 29, 2023 09:42 AM (XIJ/X)
73
Even today there isn't a land route from Panama to Colombia. The natural barriers are incredible -- swamps, steep mountains, and more swamps. It's even a barrier to animal and plant species.
This suggests that the earliest humans in the New World knew about boats. Or maybe that area was a little less formidable during the Ice Age.
Posted by: Trimegistus at January 29, 2023 09:38 AM (QZxDR)
---
In Secret of Atlantis, German scientist Otto Muck cited sources claiming that Basque Spanish priests could serve as interpreters with some of the central American tribes.
Sea levels were a lot lower during the last Ice Age and there was an island chain leading across the Atlantic, so who knows?
This suggests that the earliest humans in the New World knew about boats. Or maybe that area was a little less formidable during the Ice Age.
Posted by: Trimegistus at January 29, 2023 09:38 AM (QZxDR)
---
In Secret of Atlantis, German scientist Otto Muck cited sources claiming that Basque Spanish priests could serve as interpreters with some of the central American tribes.
Sea levels were a lot lower during the last Ice Age and there was an island chain leading across the Atlantic, so who knows?
Posted by: Ace-Endorsed Author A.H. Lloyd at January 29, 2023 09:42 AM (llXky)
74
Not much fiction reading this past week. We had house guests so I was doing a lot more cooking and driving around than usual.
My shelves are getting full again, and I can't afford to buy a bigger house, so I guess I'll have to cull some books. Right now I'm looking at a whole shelf of "Year's Best SF" anthologies and wondering if I really need them.
My shelves are getting full again, and I can't afford to buy a bigger house, so I guess I'll have to cull some books. Right now I'm looking at a whole shelf of "Year's Best SF" anthologies and wondering if I really need them.
Posted by: Trimegistus at January 29, 2023 09:42 AM (QZxDR)
Posted by: All Hail Eris, Sans-Culottes (except for the Book Thread) at January 29, 2023 09:42 AM (Dc2NZ)
76
So just read the freaking thing. It's free on Hoopla if your public library has any sense.
Posted by: werewife, princess of Delray Beach at January 29, 2023 09:08 AM (SPNTN)
Completely agree.
Posted by: werewife, princess of Delray Beach at January 29, 2023 09:08 AM (SPNTN)
Completely agree.
Posted by: Polliwog the 'Ette at January 29, 2023 09:43 AM (nC+QA)
77
LeCarre had a character declare in "The Tailor of Panama" (not recommended) that Panama is a canal, not a country, and its residents should accept that.
Posted by: Weak Geek at January 29, 2023 09:44 AM (Om/di)
78
My Zoom book club is now on the last third of Contact by Carl Sagan. I continue to enjoy reading the book even though I don't like Sagan, and his little hobby horses keep intruding in the book.
Sagan is one of those militant atheists. Somehow, though, he (and his third wife, Ann Dryan) spent a lot of time trying to reconcile Science and religion. Sagan did it a lot in Contact, and he had it in some of his non-fiction, like Dragons of Eden. It is always clear that despite his pretense of allowing for good faith on the part of the religious, his real answer is shut up mouth breathing godbags and worship Science.
Sagan is one of those militant atheists. Somehow, though, he (and his third wife, Ann Dryan) spent a lot of time trying to reconcile Science and religion. Sagan did it a lot in Contact, and he had it in some of his non-fiction, like Dragons of Eden. It is always clear that despite his pretense of allowing for good faith on the part of the religious, his real answer is shut up mouth breathing godbags and worship Science.
Posted by: blaster at January 29, 2023 09:45 AM (pwExq)
79
Lloyd: more plausible hypothesis is that there were a lot of Basque sailors involved in the Spanish colonial empire, and if some towns wound up speaking a kind of Basque creole it could be due to that.
Posted by: Trimegistus at January 29, 2023 09:45 AM (QZxDR)
80
Harry Hole
---
*cocks eyebrow*
Posted by: All Hail Eris, Sans-Culottes (except for the Book Thread) at January 29, 2023 09:42 AM (Dc2NZ)
By a Dildo?
cocks other eyebrow
---
*cocks eyebrow*
Posted by: All Hail Eris, Sans-Culottes (except for the Book Thread) at January 29, 2023 09:42 AM (Dc2NZ)
By a Dildo?
cocks other eyebrow
Posted by: OrangeEnt at January 29, 2023 09:45 AM (Angsy)
81
I finished Volume 4 of Pliny's Natural History and started Vol 5. Looking forward to the sections on "Remedies Derived From Bugs" and "Remedies Derived From The Weasel".
Also "The Larch".
Also "The Larch".
Posted by: fd at January 29, 2023 09:45 AM (CC0Nk)
82
{42}Oh I just read one of his books recently, Summer's End. Sci fi adventure. His description of Earth's govt made me sad coz it's so plausible.
Posted by: vmom stabby stabby stabby stabby stabamillion at January 29, 2023 09:24 AM (BtmcP)
He's good at that. If there's one thing that's constant, it's that bureaucracy is a millstone around the neck of humanity.
So other than the government in the story saddening you, how did you like the story overall?
Posted by: vmom stabby stabby stabby stabby stabamillion at January 29, 2023 09:24 AM (BtmcP)
He's good at that. If there's one thing that's constant, it's that bureaucracy is a millstone around the neck of humanity.
So other than the government in the story saddening you, how did you like the story overall?
Posted by: Grumpy and Recalcitrant at January 29, 2023 09:45 AM (nRMeC)
83
*cocks eyebrow*
Posted by: All Hail Eris, Sans-Culottes (except for the Book Thread) at January 29, 2023 09:42 AM (Dc2NZ)
I told you Norwegians are weird!
Posted by: All Hail Eris, Sans-Culottes (except for the Book Thread) at January 29, 2023 09:42 AM (Dc2NZ)
I told you Norwegians are weird!
Posted by: CharlieBrown'sDildo at January 29, 2023 09:46 AM (XIJ/X)
84
Archery is difficult enough. Doing it on horseback -- mind blown.
Posted by: Weak Geek at January 29, 2023 09:40 AM (Om/di)
---
Both are learned from youth. One of the problems of conquest for the nomads was that once they became rulers, their kids lost interest in subsistence hunting and those skills rapidly decayed.
The Yuan (Mongol) Dynasty was the briefest to go beyond the second generation in Chinese history. The loss of military skill was almost immediate. The Ming, who relied heavily on infantry and artillery were able to drive them out, but once they reached the steppes, the horse archers there still ruled.
The Ming Great Wall is the one we know today. There were actually lots of walls in China, built along different lines. Parts of the Han Great Wall are still visible, but it was made of rammed earth, not stone.
Posted by: Weak Geek at January 29, 2023 09:40 AM (Om/di)
---
Both are learned from youth. One of the problems of conquest for the nomads was that once they became rulers, their kids lost interest in subsistence hunting and those skills rapidly decayed.
The Yuan (Mongol) Dynasty was the briefest to go beyond the second generation in Chinese history. The loss of military skill was almost immediate. The Ming, who relied heavily on infantry and artillery were able to drive them out, but once they reached the steppes, the horse archers there still ruled.
The Ming Great Wall is the one we know today. There were actually lots of walls in China, built along different lines. Parts of the Han Great Wall are still visible, but it was made of rammed earth, not stone.
Posted by: Ace-Endorsed Author A.H. Lloyd at January 29, 2023 09:46 AM (llXky)
85
Harry Hole
---
*cocks eyebrow*
Posted by: All Hail Eris
"Gimme the beat boys
to free my soul.
I wanna get lost
in your. . . . "
Well, you know the rest.
---
*cocks eyebrow*
Posted by: All Hail Eris
"Gimme the beat boys
to free my soul.
I wanna get lost
in your. . . . "
Well, you know the rest.
Posted by: Tonypete at January 29, 2023 09:46 AM (qoGsy)
86
I finished Volume 4 of Pliny's Natural History and started Vol 5. Looking forward to the sections on "Remedies Derived From Bugs" and "Remedies Derived From The Weasel".
Also "The Larch".
Posted by: fd at January 29, 2023 09:45 AM (CC0Nk)
----
We'll be glad of the first remedies when the burning times arrive. And Weasel better watch his six!
Also "The Larch".
Posted by: fd at January 29, 2023 09:45 AM (CC0Nk)
----
We'll be glad of the first remedies when the burning times arrive. And Weasel better watch his six!
Posted by: "Perfessor" Squirrel at January 29, 2023 09:47 AM (BpYfr)
87
On their trip across the continent, Lewis and Clark came across a tribe that knew how to say “son of a b*tch” in English. - The Chive, Random Facts post dated 01/27/2023
Posted by: Count de Monet at January 29, 2023 09:48 AM (4I/2K)
88
I don't mind Paul's contributions here. We all know he's a troll. And he almost never posts more than once. He NEVER responds to criticism of his posts. So just ignore him and move on
I'm with you. Some people want to get rid of all those who deviate or disagree, but I'm not one of them, even if the "troll" becomes annoying (see Gabe Malor, ChemJeff, me at times, and others). Don't like what they say? Ignore it.
However, those who deliberately lie and misstate facts in order to foment dissent are in a different category.
I'm with you. Some people want to get rid of all those who deviate or disagree, but I'm not one of them, even if the "troll" becomes annoying (see Gabe Malor, ChemJeff, me at times, and others). Don't like what they say? Ignore it.
However, those who deliberately lie and misstate facts in order to foment dissent are in a different category.
Posted by: Archimedes at January 29, 2023 09:48 AM (eOEVl)
89
Had a nice surprise this week. For over twenty years I've had a hardcover copy of Le Morte D'Arthur on the shelf, unabridged, complete, and illustrated. fifteen bucks from B and N back then. Well, it's pristine since I never even cracked the spine. Just never got around to reading it.
Looked up reviews of this edition and I discovered it is out of print, used copies go for big bucks, there are very few hardcover complete editions of Mallory, and there is a long history of illustrated abridged editions by some of the best artists of the last 150 years. They include Aubrey Beardsley, William Russell Flint, Edward Bawden, Arthur Rackham, and NC Wyeth. This is like a Who's Who of book illustrators.
to be continued ...
Looked up reviews of this edition and I discovered it is out of print, used copies go for big bucks, there are very few hardcover complete editions of Mallory, and there is a long history of illustrated abridged editions by some of the best artists of the last 150 years. They include Aubrey Beardsley, William Russell Flint, Edward Bawden, Arthur Rackham, and NC Wyeth. This is like a Who's Who of book illustrators.
to be continued ...
Posted by: JTB at January 29, 2023 09:48 AM (7EjX1)
90
Haven't been reading. Have been writing, in a way, because if you're going to make a game that runs on rails you have to have an interesting plot and reasonable dialogue.
I put several NPCs in an area and then, as I decide on the plot for that region, I add the dialogue. It's very cyclical, both in the individual regions and in the game as a whole.
I put several NPCs in an area and then, as I decide on the plot for that region, I add the dialogue. It's very cyclical, both in the individual regions and in the game as a whole.
Posted by: Polliwog the 'Ette at January 29, 2023 09:49 AM (nC+QA)
91
Lloyd: more plausible hypothesis is that there were a lot of Basque sailors involved in the Spanish colonial empire, and if some towns wound up speaking a kind of Basque creole it could be due to that.
Posted by: Trimegistus at January 29, 2023 09:45 AM (QZxDR)
---
No, these were in the first wave of explorers.
Really, much of what we think we know is just conjecture. The Cherokee origin legend says they came from the eastern sea. Atlantis?
Posted by: Trimegistus at January 29, 2023 09:45 AM (QZxDR)
---
No, these were in the first wave of explorers.
Really, much of what we think we know is just conjecture. The Cherokee origin legend says they came from the eastern sea. Atlantis?
Posted by: Ace-Endorsed Author A.H. Lloyd at January 29, 2023 09:49 AM (llXky)
92
Both are learned from youth. One of the problems of conquest for the nomads was that once they became rulers, their kids lost interest in subsistence hunting and those skills rapidly decayed.
Good times create soft men.
'Twas ever so.
Good times create soft men.
'Twas ever so.
Posted by: Weak Geek at January 29, 2023 09:51 AM (Om/di)
93
OK, folks, I think I'll make another cup of tea and find something mindless to read.
Hope you all have a lovely day.
Hope you all have a lovely day.
Posted by: Mary Poppins' Practically Perfect Piercing at January 29, 2023 09:51 AM (AW0uW)
94
Both are learned from youth. One of the problems of conquest for the nomads was that once they became rulers, their kids lost interest in subsistence hunting and those skills rapidly decayed.
My parents to me: Take out the garbage and mow the lawn.
Me: Sigh, this sucks.
Mongol ruler parent: Go out and practice shooting small animals at a full gallop.
Mongol ruler child: Sigh, this sucks.
My parents to me: Take out the garbage and mow the lawn.
Me: Sigh, this sucks.
Mongol ruler parent: Go out and practice shooting small animals at a full gallop.
Mongol ruler child: Sigh, this sucks.
Posted by: Archimedes at January 29, 2023 09:51 AM (eOEVl)
95
I ordered a copy of "How to Know the Wild Flowers" by Mrs. William Starr Dana, after someone mentioned it here. It's a lovely book. My copy was a Christmas present and came with two old Christmas cards and a calling card from the Reverend.
Posted by: Notsothoreau at January 29, 2023 09:52 AM (4IUUf)
96
Last weekend I read two short stories from my long-neglected Robert E Howard Collection "Sword Woman and Other Historical Adventures." Both stories fell into the 'other historical adventures' category, and took place in the Crusader Kingdoms. One issue with Howard's style is that he sometimes likes to throw a lot of names at the reader, and in a short story the reader doesn't have a lot of time or story elements to help differentiate all the characters. Especially when a bunch of the names are exotic (Arabic in this case) and kind of blur together.
Except for Salah-ed-din. That name did jump out at me, even if he was only a side character in that particular story...
; in these cases, a lot of arabic names that kind of blur together.
Except for Salah-ed-din. That name did jump out at me, even if he was only a side character in that particular story...
; in these cases, a lot of arabic names that kind of blur together.
Posted by: Castle Guy at January 29, 2023 09:52 AM (Lhaco)
97
Continuing from yesterday's post, one of the losses that Gerard Van der Leun felt most deeply when he lost his home in Paradise to fire was the loss of his books.
He was a former book and magazine writer and editor and used a lot of poetry and literary quotes in his blogging. His readers sent him books after the fire to try to help him build up a personal library again.
Physical books are precious and may become more precious in the future, but they are not immune from destruction.
He was a former book and magazine writer and editor and used a lot of poetry and literary quotes in his blogging. His readers sent him books after the fire to try to help him build up a personal library again.
Physical books are precious and may become more precious in the future, but they are not immune from destruction.
Posted by: KT at January 29, 2023 09:53 AM (rrtZS)
98
Good times create soft men.
'Twas ever so.
Posted by: Weak Geek at January 29, 2023 09:51 AM (Om/di)
---
One of the themes of my book is what I call The Three Generation Problem. During hard times, a general takes the throne through martial prowess. He has built a powerful military machine that eliminates his rivals and reconquers the Empire.
His son, who grew up on campaign as a young man, consolidates these gains. However, his son grows up at court, along with the grandsons of the other founding generals, who now prefer decadence to life in a military camp.
The military aristocracy goes soft and command positions are relegated to eunuchs and the scholar gentry. Barbarians invade, there is intrigue and court and famines and floods cause secret societies to rise up. Eventually a strong military leader emerges...
'Twas ever so.
Posted by: Weak Geek at January 29, 2023 09:51 AM (Om/di)
---
One of the themes of my book is what I call The Three Generation Problem. During hard times, a general takes the throne through martial prowess. He has built a powerful military machine that eliminates his rivals and reconquers the Empire.
His son, who grew up on campaign as a young man, consolidates these gains. However, his son grows up at court, along with the grandsons of the other founding generals, who now prefer decadence to life in a military camp.
The military aristocracy goes soft and command positions are relegated to eunuchs and the scholar gentry. Barbarians invade, there is intrigue and court and famines and floods cause secret societies to rise up. Eventually a strong military leader emerges...
Posted by: Ace-Endorsed Author A.H. Lloyd at January 29, 2023 09:54 AM (llXky)
99
Contact the book isn't as good as Contact the movie. In particular, the parts where Sagan tries to get Science Fictiony are the weakest parts. The mysterious billionaire with the mysteriously Biblical name (S.R. Haddon? Really?) made his fortune by running what is essentially a city-sized whorehouse, a no-rules, no-laws place of utter indulgence. But somehow the Federal government in that future is dominated by cartoonish Fundamentalist Christians. Not the best world-building I've ever seen.
Plus the plot of the film makes more sense. In the novel, a whole team of people go through the wormhole and have freaky last-reel-of-2001 experiences. One of them is even the Number Two Guy in the Chinese Communist Party. Yet what they describe is met with skepticism by an unbelieving world. Huh? Making it one person in the film was a lot more plausible.
Carl Sagan was legitimately a great scientist, and he was an effective science popularizer (despite his personal crotchets and obsessions). As a science fiction writer . . . well, I guess one can say he was financially successful and leave it at that.
Plus the plot of the film makes more sense. In the novel, a whole team of people go through the wormhole and have freaky last-reel-of-2001 experiences. One of them is even the Number Two Guy in the Chinese Communist Party. Yet what they describe is met with skepticism by an unbelieving world. Huh? Making it one person in the film was a lot more plausible.
Carl Sagan was legitimately a great scientist, and he was an effective science popularizer (despite his personal crotchets and obsessions). As a science fiction writer . . . well, I guess one can say he was financially successful and leave it at that.
Posted by: Trimegistus at January 29, 2023 09:54 AM (QZxDR)
100
Anyone interested in SciFi/Space Opera should give the James Corey novels a try. These are what the show "The Expanse" were based on.
Posted by: Halfhand at January 29, 2023 09:55 AM (2Ph9Z)
101
Sagan was high most of his life, and ignored anything that didn't support his atheism. He was no different than a priest in a religion.
One hopes that he saw the error of his ways on his death bed and didn't end up one of Stan's favorite chew toys. But he may have.
We'll all find out eventually.
One hopes that he saw the error of his ways on his death bed and didn't end up one of Stan's favorite chew toys. But he may have.
We'll all find out eventually.
Posted by: Sharkman at January 29, 2023 09:55 AM (szJck)
102
So other than the government in the story saddening you, how did you like the story overall?
Posted by: Grumpy and Recalcitrant
It was fun.
My only nit is his unrealistic depiction of how women will act in a relationship. Yeah sure dude, your fiance is ok finding out about then meeting the bombshell sex goddess you shacked up with when you went missing.
Posted by: Grumpy and Recalcitrant
It was fun.
My only nit is his unrealistic depiction of how women will act in a relationship. Yeah sure dude, your fiance is ok finding out about then meeting the bombshell sex goddess you shacked up with when you went missing.
Posted by: vmom stabby stabby stabby stabby stabamillion at January 29, 2023 09:55 AM (BtmcP)
103
In creating Babylon 5, JMS borrowed from others almost as much as John Williams the composer did. For example, the whole arc of the story is 'Lord of the Rings' with other classical story elements thrown in. As a series, it still holds up very well, even though many of the sets were at a roughly soap-opera level due to a pitiful budget. Good stuff!
Re-reading 'The Three Musketeers' collection again. It gets better every time!
Re-reading 'The Three Musketeers' collection again. It gets better every time!
Posted by: Brewingfrog at January 29, 2023 09:55 AM (c7Cz0)
104
I finally managed to read some unambigously good comic books: a collection called "Zagor: The Lost Mine." Despite the stupid name of the main character (some Italians created the character back in the 60's) it was a standard western adventure. Our hero joins a search for an abandoned gold mine located in Indian-reclaimed territory, and gets involved in a 4-way struggle between two factions of Comanches, bandits (Comancheros) and pre-independence-era Texas Rangers. Just bunch of classic pulp fun, presented in glorious black-and-white.
Posted by: Castle Guy at January 29, 2023 09:57 AM (Lhaco)
Posted by: Sharkman at January 29, 2023 09:59 AM (szJck)
106
On their trip across the continent, Lewis and Clark came across a tribe that knew how to say “son of a b*tch” in English. - The Chive, Random Facts post dated 01/27/2023
Posted by: Count de Monet at January 29, 2023 09:48 AM (4I/2K)
Probably the Chinook and/or Clatsop along the Pacific Coast. They'd already had contact with a few European merchants (enough so that a few of them had blue eyes and freckles).
Posted by: Count de Monet at January 29, 2023 09:48 AM (4I/2K)
Probably the Chinook and/or Clatsop along the Pacific Coast. They'd already had contact with a few European merchants (enough so that a few of them had blue eyes and freckles).
Posted by: Dr. T at January 29, 2023 10:00 AM (tp+tP)
107
"Comment: Interesting solution to the problem. Instead of just training members of the local population in the art of war, three new languages are introduced to fragment society along caste lines. Judging from the names of the languages, one caste will be the dominant ruling class, one will be responsible for maintaining things, and one will do all the fighting. Babylon 5 had a similar situation with the three castes of the Minbari - religious, worker, and warrior. One prays, one builds, and one fights. It would not surprise me if J. Michael Straczynski was inspired by Jack Vance."
This is the famous "tripartite social structure" of Georges Dumezil. A philologist who focused on the Indo-european (Aryan) languages. His terms were Brahmin, Kshastriya and Vaisya. These were the castes and common to all the far flung Aryan civs.
This is the famous "tripartite social structure" of Georges Dumezil. A philologist who focused on the Indo-european (Aryan) languages. His terms were Brahmin, Kshastriya and Vaisya. These were the castes and common to all the far flung Aryan civs.
Posted by: Thesokorus at January 29, 2023 10:01 AM (1ais2)
108
This troll isn't really a troll. What's the word for someone who farts in an elevator?
Posted by: San Franpsycho at January 29, 2023 10:01 AM (EZebt)
109
Who among us had ever heard of a larch pre-Python?
Posted by: Weak Geek at January 29, 2023 10:01 AM (Om/di)
110
In Secret of Atlantis, German scientist Otto Muck cited sources claiming that Basque Spanish priests could serve as interpreters with some of the central American tribes.
Sea levels were a lot lower during the last Ice Age and there was an island chain leading across the Atlantic, so who knows?
Posted by: Ace-Endorsed Author A.H. Lloyd at January 29, 2023 09:42 AM (llXky)
An island chain across the Atlantic? Conflicts with everything we know about plate tectonics, and with observed bathymetry of the oceans. When you consider the abyssal plains of the oceans run around 12000 feet below sea level, a drop of a few hundred feet doesn't really expose much, mid-ocean. Continental margins get bigger.
Maybe the Basques were good at foreign languages because they sort of had to be.
Sea levels were a lot lower during the last Ice Age and there was an island chain leading across the Atlantic, so who knows?
Posted by: Ace-Endorsed Author A.H. Lloyd at January 29, 2023 09:42 AM (llXky)
An island chain across the Atlantic? Conflicts with everything we know about plate tectonics, and with observed bathymetry of the oceans. When you consider the abyssal plains of the oceans run around 12000 feet below sea level, a drop of a few hundred feet doesn't really expose much, mid-ocean. Continental margins get bigger.
Maybe the Basques were good at foreign languages because they sort of had to be.
Posted by: Alberta Oil Peon at January 29, 2023 10:02 AM (tkR6S)
111
These are what the show "The Expanse" were based on.
Posted by: Halfhand
Highly recommended. Unfortunately they stopped filming the series at the end of book 6 of 9. I thoroughly enjoyed the TV adaptation and the books even more.
Posted by: Halfhand
Highly recommended. Unfortunately they stopped filming the series at the end of book 6 of 9. I thoroughly enjoyed the TV adaptation and the books even more.
Posted by: Sharkman at January 29, 2023 10:02 AM (szJck)
112
Picked up my first fiction book in a long time. The Dark Elf Trilogy by RA Salvatore.
I always liked him the most of the D&D authors.
This book thread has managed to get me sort of back into Sci-fi/Fantasy after years of only reading only Non-fiction. For a long time I was of the mind of not being escapist, only relavent book consumption was my rule.
I needed a break.
Thank you.
And nothing ever made sense in the Star Wars lexicon. I think a lot of drugs were consumed by the writers and producers and they hairbrained the whole story at first not expecting it to grow to the propotions it did. Then they had to try (fail) to backpedal to make it sort of make a timeline. I was done with the franchise after the great teddy bear wars except my son got into it at the prequals. Jar Jar Binks was the final nail though. I just couldn't and haven't since that absolute disaster of an attempt to get another generation into buying the crap that came with each movie.
I always liked him the most of the D&D authors.
This book thread has managed to get me sort of back into Sci-fi/Fantasy after years of only reading only Non-fiction. For a long time I was of the mind of not being escapist, only relavent book consumption was my rule.
I needed a break.
Thank you.
And nothing ever made sense in the Star Wars lexicon. I think a lot of drugs were consumed by the writers and producers and they hairbrained the whole story at first not expecting it to grow to the propotions it did. Then they had to try (fail) to backpedal to make it sort of make a timeline. I was done with the franchise after the great teddy bear wars except my son got into it at the prequals. Jar Jar Binks was the final nail though. I just couldn't and haven't since that absolute disaster of an attempt to get another generation into buying the crap that came with each movie.
Posted by: Reforger at January 29, 2023 10:02 AM (dHtBP)
113
Looked up reviews of this edition and I discovered it is out of print, used copies go for big bucks,
Posted by: JTB
I have found several of the books I have acquired cheaply over the years are now being offered for high prices.
Of course, on the other hand, several books that I wish to purchase are also going for big bucks...
Posted by: JTB
I have found several of the books I have acquired cheaply over the years are now being offered for high prices.
Of course, on the other hand, several books that I wish to purchase are also going for big bucks...
Posted by: Thomas Paine at January 29, 2023 10:03 AM (8h7Uw)
114
B5 works because they aren't one dimensional. Londo is weak and greedy but has good qualities too. I wonder how it would be if Sinclair had continued on.
Posted by: Notsothoreau at January 29, 2023 10:03 AM (4IUUf)
115
Anyone read the Harry Hole mysteries by Norwegian author Jo Nesbo?
I have read several, and just finished a couple. They are fun, but have also convinced me that Norway is a very strange place!
Posted by: CharlieBrown'sDildo at January 29, 2023 09:42 AM (XIJ/X)
Well...Norway's filled with Norwegians, so...
And you can only eat so much lutefisk before you lose you mind, so...
I've read some of the harry Hole mysteries. Funny how he alway pussy's out at the end.
I enjoyed them, but didn't read a bunch.
I'm kinda tired of that sort of police detective. Reminds me a lot of Ian Rankin's Inspector Rebus among others.
When is someone gonna write "The Happy-Go-Lucky Police Detective"?
I have read several, and just finished a couple. They are fun, but have also convinced me that Norway is a very strange place!
Posted by: CharlieBrown'sDildo at January 29, 2023 09:42 AM (XIJ/X)
Well...Norway's filled with Norwegians, so...
And you can only eat so much lutefisk before you lose you mind, so...
I've read some of the harry Hole mysteries. Funny how he alway pussy's out at the end.
I enjoyed them, but didn't read a bunch.
I'm kinda tired of that sort of police detective. Reminds me a lot of Ian Rankin's Inspector Rebus among others.
When is someone gonna write "The Happy-Go-Lucky Police Detective"?
Posted by: naturalfake at January 29, 2023 10:03 AM (KLPy8)
116
Barrel escape???
Posted by: naturalfake at January 29, 2023 10:03 AM (KLPy8)
117
yesterday I hit the jackpot: a Perry Mason hardback, a Nero Wolfe double feature (one of which I own and have read), another NW (which I've heard via audiobook), an Ellery Queen double feature . . .
And it's only January!
Posted by: Weak Geek at January 29, 2023
***
Congratulations! Which 2 Wolfes, and which 2 EQs?
And it's only January!
Posted by: Weak Geek at January 29, 2023
***
Congratulations! Which 2 Wolfes, and which 2 EQs?
Posted by: Wolfus Aurelius, Dreaming of Elsewhere at January 29, 2023 10:04 AM (omVj0)
118
Hey, Sgt. Mom, I just read my first John Dickson Carr: "The 8 of Swords" - and now I'm hooked. Quite frankly, I found the mystery a bit too contrived (the perennial occupational hazard of mysteries), but the comedy of manners was positively sparkling! And I see that "Most Secret" is only $1.99 for Kindle today, so thank you for the recommendation.
Posted by: werewife, princess of Delray Beach at January 29, 2023 10:04 AM (SPNTN)
119
Continued from 89 ...More on this edition of "Le Morte D'Arthur".
The illustrations, and there are a lot of them, are originals by Anna-Marie Ferguson. Watercolors and pen and ink. They are excellent, may be better. And the style looked familiar. They reminded me of the Alan Lee illustrations in The Hobbit and LOTR. For me this is HIGH praise. (Turns out Ferguson and Lee are long time friends.)
The text is large enough for comfortable reading and the translation, so far, is very good. It says something about this edition when Easton Press used it for their super-duper fancy leather bound edition recently.
I've always had an interest in the legends about King Arthur and the myths that surround them but never got around to Le Morte. That is being corrected now.
This all started when I discovered that my favorite living poet, Malcolm Guite, is working on a series of poems based on some of the Arthurian legends only hinted at in Mallory. He also contributed to the "Lost Tales of Sir Galahad" I discussed last week. Clearly , the ghosts of Camelot have decided that now is the time to read this 1,000 page classic.
The illustrations, and there are a lot of them, are originals by Anna-Marie Ferguson. Watercolors and pen and ink. They are excellent, may be better. And the style looked familiar. They reminded me of the Alan Lee illustrations in The Hobbit and LOTR. For me this is HIGH praise. (Turns out Ferguson and Lee are long time friends.)
The text is large enough for comfortable reading and the translation, so far, is very good. It says something about this edition when Easton Press used it for their super-duper fancy leather bound edition recently.
I've always had an interest in the legends about King Arthur and the myths that surround them but never got around to Le Morte. That is being corrected now.
This all started when I discovered that my favorite living poet, Malcolm Guite, is working on a series of poems based on some of the Arthurian legends only hinted at in Mallory. He also contributed to the "Lost Tales of Sir Galahad" I discussed last week. Clearly , the ghosts of Camelot have decided that now is the time to read this 1,000 page classic.
Posted by: JTB at January 29, 2023 10:05 AM (7EjX1)
120
Saw the first 3 Star Wars flicks when they first came out. Almost fell asleep in the theater during the third one with the Little Fuzzy look-alikes; it's sad when the best thing you can say about a movie is that Carrie Fisher was kinda cute in the slave-girl outfit. Haven't seen any that came after and have no plans to do so.
Posted by: Just Some Guy at January 29, 2023 10:07 AM (a/4+U)
121
Posted by: KT at January 29, 2023 09:53 AM (rrtZS)
One of the commenters here lost her personal library along with her home to the incendiary-caused fires in Israel a couple of years ago. Hope she's doing okay, don't think I've seen the nic lately.
One of the commenters here lost her personal library along with her home to the incendiary-caused fires in Israel a couple of years ago. Hope she's doing okay, don't think I've seen the nic lately.
Posted by: Polliwog the 'Ette at January 29, 2023 10:07 AM (nC+QA)
122
>What's the word for someone who farts in an elevator?
I forget his exact name but I think he's a congressman from California.
I forget his exact name but I think he's a congressman from California.
Posted by: Quarter Twenty at January 29, 2023 10:08 AM (DhOHl)
123
When is someone gonna write "The Happy-Go-Lucky Police Detective"?
Posted by: naturalfake at January 29, 2023 10:03 AM (KLPy
---
Interesting question. Considering the awful stuff police detectives encounter in fiction (and in real life), it's hard to imagine a "happy-go-lucky-police-detective" unless he's a complete rookie and new to the job.
Captain Carrot, from Terry Pratchett's Discworld series might be an example, though. He's an eternal optimist that always sees the good in folks, no matter how depressing or depraved they might be.
Posted by: naturalfake at January 29, 2023 10:03 AM (KLPy
---
Interesting question. Considering the awful stuff police detectives encounter in fiction (and in real life), it's hard to imagine a "happy-go-lucky-police-detective" unless he's a complete rookie and new to the job.
Captain Carrot, from Terry Pratchett's Discworld series might be an example, though. He's an eternal optimist that always sees the good in folks, no matter how depressing or depraved they might be.
Posted by: "Perfessor" Squirrel at January 29, 2023 10:09 AM (BpYfr)
124
Good morning!
Let's smile & be happy & strike fear in the hearts of killjoy leftists everywhere.
Let's smile & be happy & strike fear in the hearts of killjoy leftists everywhere.
Posted by: NaCly Dog (u82oZ) at January 29, 2023 10:10 AM (u82oZ)
125
My first exposure to the Arthurian canon was via T.H. White. As a kid I was a huge fan of _The Sword in the Stone_, although the later books were hard for my elementary school understanding of the world.
John Steinbeck also wrote a good modern prose version of the Morte d'Arthur -- _The Acts of King Arthur and His Noble Knights_. Some good character moments.
John Steinbeck also wrote a good modern prose version of the Morte d'Arthur -- _The Acts of King Arthur and His Noble Knights_. Some good character moments.
Posted by: Trimegistus at January 29, 2023 10:10 AM (QZxDR)
126
Thanks for the Book Thread Perfessor! I enjoyed the *Best Of* lists you featured a couple of months back. My interest was piqued on several titles that I then checked out.
I do primarily audiobooks. I just finished Dreamland, by Sam Quinones, about the simultaneous rise of OxyContin and Black Tar Heroin, at the end of the last century. It was a fascinating story. Other listens over the past months have included Project Hail Mary, by Andy Weir, I love his storytelling and how he seamlessly stirs the real science into the story so that even a moron like me can understand it, as did Michael Crichton, read Congo and The Great Train Robbery, listened to The Echo Wife and Sharp Objects from your posted lists, as well as The Forever War and Forever Free, William Gibson*s The Peripheral, I enjoyed the book and the Amazon series, plus several other good books. Thanks Perfessor!
I do primarily audiobooks. I just finished Dreamland, by Sam Quinones, about the simultaneous rise of OxyContin and Black Tar Heroin, at the end of the last century. It was a fascinating story. Other listens over the past months have included Project Hail Mary, by Andy Weir, I love his storytelling and how he seamlessly stirs the real science into the story so that even a moron like me can understand it, as did Michael Crichton, read Congo and The Great Train Robbery, listened to The Echo Wife and Sharp Objects from your posted lists, as well as The Forever War and Forever Free, William Gibson*s The Peripheral, I enjoyed the book and the Amazon series, plus several other good books. Thanks Perfessor!
Posted by: SuperMayorSuperRonNirenberg-Buffer Than Ever For A 4th Term at January 29, 2023 10:11 AM (/Hc9U)
127
"Who among us had ever heard of a larch pre-Python?
Posted by: Weak Geek"
The Greeks used it's sap for medicinal purposes. They used a lot of stuff for medicinal purposes though, witness
"Nine Remedies Derived From The Hippopotamus"
Posted by: Weak Geek"
The Greeks used it's sap for medicinal purposes. They used a lot of stuff for medicinal purposes though, witness
"Nine Remedies Derived From The Hippopotamus"
Posted by: fd at January 29, 2023 10:11 AM (CC0Nk)
128
I rediscovered a book the other day that imho perfectly defines the Civil War prison camp Andersonville, written by Mackinley Kantor.
It is captivating from page one. Fixing to do a leisurely read to see how it stands up. I'm betting it will do just fine.
It is captivating from page one. Fixing to do a leisurely read to see how it stands up. I'm betting it will do just fine.
Posted by: irongrampa at January 29, 2023 10:11 AM (KATBx)
129
Maybe the Basque priests were just making things up as they went along. Or taking an educated guess.
Hmmm, this Aztec is pointing a knife at us and holding up a severed head while screaming.... "I think he's upset about something, boss. Either that, or he wants us to take all of his gold. Your call."
Hmmm, this Aztec is pointing a knife at us and holding up a severed head while screaming.... "I think he's upset about something, boss. Either that, or he wants us to take all of his gold. Your call."
Posted by: PabloD at January 29, 2023 10:12 AM (zP5wv)
130
The only time I got a tingle of the Star Force was when a young, hot-headed princess was slutting around in her space bloomers in those disreputable, boomtown cantinas.
Posted by: Dr. Bone at January 29, 2023 10:12 AM (Jg7EG)
131
I don't know why you all are so down on libraries. I love that I can get just about any book I want to read. I do almost everything online and only occasionally go there to pick up something I put on reserve.
I really don't care if it's full of Woke crap anymore than a bookstore.
I was spending a fortune buying books and now that I'm in a condo, don't have space to store books. I rarely reread books so no need to own them and with my 29 year old eyesight really like reading on my Kindle and Hoopla.
I'm paying for the library with my taxes and it's nice that I get some value from it.
I really don't care if it's full of Woke crap anymore than a bookstore.
I was spending a fortune buying books and now that I'm in a condo, don't have space to store books. I rarely reread books so no need to own them and with my 29 year old eyesight really like reading on my Kindle and Hoopla.
I'm paying for the library with my taxes and it's nice that I get some value from it.
Posted by: Sharon(willow's apprentice) at January 29, 2023 10:13 AM (Y+l9t)
132
The Greeks used it's sap for medicinal purposes. They used a lot of stuff for medicinal purposes though, witness
"Nine Remedies Derived From The Hippopotamus"
Posted by: fd at January 29, 2023 10:11 AM (CC0Nk)
---
I wonder who the poor bastard was that had to figure that out...Hippos aren't exactly kind and cuddly critters...
"Nine Remedies Derived From The Hippopotamus"
Posted by: fd at January 29, 2023 10:11 AM (CC0Nk)
---
I wonder who the poor bastard was that had to figure that out...Hippos aren't exactly kind and cuddly critters...
Posted by: "Perfessor" Squirrel at January 29, 2023 10:13 AM (BpYfr)
133
Didn't I read somewhere that Caroline Graham started the Midsomer/Barnaby novels because she wanted to do a detective who wasn't turning into a dysfunctional wreck because of the job?
Maybe not happy-go-lucky, but not a bad character at all (and nicely played by John Nettles in the tv series).
Maybe not happy-go-lucky, but not a bad character at all (and nicely played by John Nettles in the tv series).
Posted by: Just Some Guy at January 29, 2023 10:13 AM (a/4+U)
134
The weird thing about the Arthurian legends is that it's hard to make sense of him as either a historical figure or a fictional character. If he was real, and memorable enough that poets half a millennium after he died were writing about him, why don't we have any more contemporary references from his own era?
And if he was made up, why invent a British king when there were plenty of real ones to write about?
It's almost like a dream, where you know something's important or scary, but don't understand why -- somehow that makes it seem mysterious and significant. Arthur and the Grail are the same way. We _feel_ they are important but can't define how.
And if he was made up, why invent a British king when there were plenty of real ones to write about?
It's almost like a dream, where you know something's important or scary, but don't understand why -- somehow that makes it seem mysterious and significant. Arthur and the Grail are the same way. We _feel_ they are important but can't define how.
Posted by: Trimegistus at January 29, 2023 10:14 AM (QZxDR)
135
The Middle or Dark Ages of Europe were quite obviously delineated in this fashion. Nobility, Clergy and Merchants/craftsmen/freeholders.
The fourth caste was the peasants who would be denominated Shudra: the untouchables of India.
The hierarchy of the castes obv generated controversy. Were the Brahmins supreme? Was the King the "first of the Kshatriya" or was he a third term superior to all? Could the Brahmins remove the King? Did a King need Brahmin approval?
The important thing was that these Castes were not understood as arbitrary or imposed for pragmatic reasons. They were based on real physical and spiritual differences within individuals.
The Templars were a Kshatriya esoteric society. The Masons were a Vaisya one. After the Templars were smashed they seem to have moved into Masonry: operative (Vaisya) vs speculative (kshatriya).
The fourth caste was the peasants who would be denominated Shudra: the untouchables of India.
The hierarchy of the castes obv generated controversy. Were the Brahmins supreme? Was the King the "first of the Kshatriya" or was he a third term superior to all? Could the Brahmins remove the King? Did a King need Brahmin approval?
The important thing was that these Castes were not understood as arbitrary or imposed for pragmatic reasons. They were based on real physical and spiritual differences within individuals.
The Templars were a Kshatriya esoteric society. The Masons were a Vaisya one. After the Templars were smashed they seem to have moved into Masonry: operative (Vaisya) vs speculative (kshatriya).
Posted by: Thesokorus at January 29, 2023 10:14 AM (1ais2)
136
@117 --
"Fer-de-Lance" (own, have read) with "The League of Frightened Men" (neither).
I have "The Red Box" and "The Rubber Band" in similar packaging. Got midway through "Rubber Band" and suddenly stopped. That's the last NW I've read. I'll finish it someday/year.
The single was "Where There's a Will." I disagree with Wolfe's argument that Inheritance tax should be 100 percent. But I would disagree with a lot of Wolfe's beliefs.
EQ: "There Was an Old Woman" with "The Origin of Evil."
And the PM was "TCOT Cautious Coquette."
"Fer-de-Lance" (own, have read) with "The League of Frightened Men" (neither).
I have "The Red Box" and "The Rubber Band" in similar packaging. Got midway through "Rubber Band" and suddenly stopped. That's the last NW I've read. I'll finish it someday/year.
The single was "Where There's a Will." I disagree with Wolfe's argument that Inheritance tax should be 100 percent. But I would disagree with a lot of Wolfe's beliefs.
EQ: "There Was an Old Woman" with "The Origin of Evil."
And the PM was "TCOT Cautious Coquette."
Posted by: Weak Geek at January 29, 2023 10:15 AM (Om/di)
137
An island chain across the Atlantic? Conflicts with everything we know about plate tectonics, and with observed bathymetry of the oceans. When you consider the abyssal plains of the oceans run around 12000 feet below sea level, a drop of a few hundred feet doesn't really expose much, mid-ocean.
Posted by: Alberta Oil Peon at January 29, 2023 10:02 AM (tkR6S)
---
Muck contended that the lower sea levels would have exposed the Dolphin Plateau, which surrounds the Azores and creates a significant landmass. That was where he placed Atlantis and he made a decent case in favor of that being where it was.
One of his key points was that Plato gave pretty clear directions and there's a reason the ocean there was named "Atlantic." All the alternative theories basically slice and dice Plato in the manner of "biblical scholars" who change selected words or redefine them to get the desired result.
Posted by: Alberta Oil Peon at January 29, 2023 10:02 AM (tkR6S)
---
Muck contended that the lower sea levels would have exposed the Dolphin Plateau, which surrounds the Azores and creates a significant landmass. That was where he placed Atlantis and he made a decent case in favor of that being where it was.
One of his key points was that Plato gave pretty clear directions and there's a reason the ocean there was named "Atlantic." All the alternative theories basically slice and dice Plato in the manner of "biblical scholars" who change selected words or redefine them to get the desired result.
Posted by: Ace-Endorsed Author A.H. Lloyd at January 29, 2023 10:16 AM (llXky)
138
I rediscovered a book the other day that imho perfectly defines the Civil War prison camp Andersonville, written by Mackinley Kantor."
I have that book and several others. Andersonville is about 60 miles from here. There is a pretty good POW museum there, with artifacts and stories from POWs of other wars too. I cross Sweetwater creek every time I go down to my parent's place.
I have that book and several others. Andersonville is about 60 miles from here. There is a pretty good POW museum there, with artifacts and stories from POWs of other wars too. I cross Sweetwater creek every time I go down to my parent's place.
Posted by: fd at January 29, 2023 10:16 AM (CC0Nk)
139
I heard Brad Meltzer interviewed on local radio about his latest, co-authored by Josh Mensch, The Nazi Conspiracy-The Secret Plot to Kill Roosevelt, Stalin, and Churchill . In Chapter 3, the rise of Hitler is compared to the rise of PDJT with all of the subtlety of a drunken back alley beat down. I hope now that Brad has that out of his system, we can get back to the story.
Posted by: SuperMayorSuperRonNirenberg-Buffer Than Ever For A 4th Term at January 29, 2023 10:17 AM (/Hc9U)
140
...They used a lot of stuff for medicinal purposes though, witness
"Nine Remedies Derived From The Hippopotamus"
Posted by: fd at January 29, 2023 10:11 AM (CC0Nk)
Ancient Greek Advertisement:
"The "Nine Remedies Derived From The Hippopotamus" will -
move the fat from your hips to your bottomus."
Money Back Guarantee!
"Nine Remedies Derived From The Hippopotamus"
Posted by: fd at January 29, 2023 10:11 AM (CC0Nk)
Ancient Greek Advertisement:
"The "Nine Remedies Derived From The Hippopotamus" will -
move the fat from your hips to your bottomus."
Money Back Guarantee!
Posted by: naturalfake at January 29, 2023 10:17 AM (KLPy8)
141
I don't know why you all are so down on libraries.
I'm not sure what you mean. I don't think anyone here is down on libraries.
I'm not sure what you mean. I don't think anyone here is down on libraries.
Posted by: Archimedes at January 29, 2023 10:18 AM (eOEVl)
142
"Atlantic" and "Atlantis" are both derived from Atlas and his daughters the Atlantides, who were said to live in the uttermost West.
Posted by: Trimegistus at January 29, 2023 10:18 AM (QZxDR)
143
"I wonder who the poor bastard was that had to figure that out...Hippos aren't exactly kind and cuddly critters...
Posted by: "Perfessor" Squirrel"
It says in the book that hippos invented bloodletting.
Posted by: "Perfessor" Squirrel"
It says in the book that hippos invented bloodletting.
Posted by: fd at January 29, 2023 10:18 AM (CC0Nk)
144
I'm paying for the library with my taxes and it's nice that I get some value from it.
Posted by: Sharon(willow's apprentice) at January 29, 2023 10:13 AM (Y+l9t)
Good morning, Sharon!
I think it's only Paul the troll who likes to "own" us by pointing out that libraries are sorta socialist by nature. The rest of us are happy with libraries. Nice to get something of value for our tax monies.
Posted by: Sharon(willow's apprentice) at January 29, 2023 10:13 AM (Y+l9t)
Good morning, Sharon!
I think it's only Paul the troll who likes to "own" us by pointing out that libraries are sorta socialist by nature. The rest of us are happy with libraries. Nice to get something of value for our tax monies.
Posted by: Dash my lace wigs! at January 29, 2023 10:19 AM (OX9vb)
145
Take two hippos and call me in the morning.
Posted by: Trimegistus at January 29, 2023 10:19 AM (QZxDR)
146
The Arthurian works are quite clearly written as veiled discussions of Kshatriya esoteric doctrine. That's why it seems so weird and eerie and non rational. There are "facts" and doctrines required to understand the why and those things are hidden.
Posted by: Thesokorus at January 29, 2023 10:20 AM (1ais2)
147
irongrampa- I have a original book of events at Andersonville from 1870s, bad shape cover but readable. Then read another and first thought same but was from another prisoner. The movie Andersonville could have been from either they all are that close in telling the story.
Posted by: Skip at January 29, 2023 10:20 AM (xhxe8)
148
The Middle or Dark Ages of Europe were quite obviously delineated in this fashion. Nobility, Clergy and Merchants/craftsmen/freeholders.
The fourth caste was the peasants who would be denominated Shudra: the untouchables of India.
Posted by: Thesokorus at January 29, 2023 10:14 AM (1ais2)
---
The Confucian system also had four tiers to society: the scholar-gentry, the peasants, artisans and merchants.
It's interesting that soldiers aren't even listed, being traditionally regarded as bandits with uniforms. This was another reason for the Three Generation Problem. A military man wanted his son to be a scholar-aristocrat, not a general. Thus, from early age the study of riding, weapons use, etc. was set aside for study of the Classics.
Japan also had a four-tier system, but the samurai replaced the scholar-gentry - with observable results.
The fourth caste was the peasants who would be denominated Shudra: the untouchables of India.
Posted by: Thesokorus at January 29, 2023 10:14 AM (1ais2)
---
The Confucian system also had four tiers to society: the scholar-gentry, the peasants, artisans and merchants.
It's interesting that soldiers aren't even listed, being traditionally regarded as bandits with uniforms. This was another reason for the Three Generation Problem. A military man wanted his son to be a scholar-aristocrat, not a general. Thus, from early age the study of riding, weapons use, etc. was set aside for study of the Classics.
Japan also had a four-tier system, but the samurai replaced the scholar-gentry - with observable results.
Posted by: Ace-Endorsed Author A.H. Lloyd at January 29, 2023 10:21 AM (llXky)
149
I'm reading Lonesome Dove by McMurtry. Very good so far! I'm following along with a substack called The Big Read, kind of like a book club on line.
Posted by: Ultra pj at January 29, 2023 10:22 AM (G1dq6)
150
I'm not sure what you mean. I don't think anyone here is down on libraries.
Posted by: Archimedes at January 29, 2023 10:18 AM (eOEVl)
---
I don't think any of us are opposed to the *idea* of public libraries.
However, they have not exactly covered themselves with glory by promoting Drag Queen Story Hour for children and also featuring some truly depraved LGBTQ+ materials front and center when you walk in the door. They also seem to take perverse pleasure in rubbing it in your face when you object.
The presence of p0rn-surfing homeless doesn't help, either.
On the other hand, there are many fine small community libraries that do tremendous work in bringing books to people that may not be able to afford their own or don't have access to them in any other way.
Posted by: Archimedes at January 29, 2023 10:18 AM (eOEVl)
---
I don't think any of us are opposed to the *idea* of public libraries.
However, they have not exactly covered themselves with glory by promoting Drag Queen Story Hour for children and also featuring some truly depraved LGBTQ+ materials front and center when you walk in the door. They also seem to take perverse pleasure in rubbing it in your face when you object.
The presence of p0rn-surfing homeless doesn't help, either.
On the other hand, there are many fine small community libraries that do tremendous work in bringing books to people that may not be able to afford their own or don't have access to them in any other way.
Posted by: "Perfessor" Squirrel at January 29, 2023 10:22 AM (BpYfr)
151
For myself, I'm not down on libraries -- worked as a librarian for 14 years. But I'd have a hard time doing so these days. And seeing some of the older writers shuffled off to the sale tables to make room for some of what gets published these days would be a bit more than I could take.
Posted by: Just Some Guy at January 29, 2023 10:22 AM (a/4+U)
152
I think it's only Paul the troll who likes to "own" us by pointing out that libraries are sorta socialist by nature. The rest of us are happy with libraries. Nice to get something of value for our tax monies.
Posted by: Dash my lace wigs! at January 29, 2023 10:19 AM (OX9vb)
A socialist library would consist of your books taken from you by force so others could read them. And you wouldn't get them back....
Posted by: Dash my lace wigs! at January 29, 2023 10:19 AM (OX9vb)
A socialist library would consist of your books taken from you by force so others could read them. And you wouldn't get them back....
Posted by: OrangeEnt at January 29, 2023 10:23 AM (Angsy)
153
When is someone gonna write "The Happy-Go-Lucky Police Detective"?
Posted by: naturalfake at January 29, 2023 10:03 AM (KLPy
Zip-a-dee-doo-dah, zip-a-dee-ay
My, oh, my, what a wonderful day
Plenty of murders headin' my way
Zip-a-dee-doo-dah, zip-a-dee-ay!
Posted by: naturalfake at January 29, 2023 10:03 AM (KLPy
Zip-a-dee-doo-dah, zip-a-dee-ay
My, oh, my, what a wonderful day
Plenty of murders headin' my way
Zip-a-dee-doo-dah, zip-a-dee-ay!
Posted by: CharlieBrown'sDildo at January 29, 2023 10:23 AM (XIJ/X)
154
I wonder who the poor bastard was that had to figure that out...Hippos aren't exactly kind and cuddly critters...
I wonder about such things all the time. Think of all the little advances that went into the internal combustion engine.
Or the grease gun. Somebody invented those little knobs (what is that name?) on which the nozzle fits.
I wonder about such things all the time. Think of all the little advances that went into the internal combustion engine.
Or the grease gun. Somebody invented those little knobs (what is that name?) on which the nozzle fits.
Posted by: Weak Geek at January 29, 2023 10:24 AM (Om/di)
155
"Fer-de-Lance" (own, have read) with "The League of Frightened Men" (neither).
I have "The Red Box" and "The Rubber Band" in similar packaging. Got midway through "Rubber Band" and suddenly stopped. That's the last NW I've read. I'll finish it someday/year.
The single was "Where There's a Will." I disagree with Wolfe's argument that Inheritance tax should be 100 percent. But I would disagree with a lot of Wolfe's beliefs.
EQ: "There Was an Old Woman" with "The Origin of Evil."
Posted by: Weak Geek at January 29, 2023
***
League is well done, though Wolfe talks a lot more in the early novels. Rubber Band is one of Stout's best *mysteries*. And the 2 Ellery stories are also excellent entries.
I have "The Red Box" and "The Rubber Band" in similar packaging. Got midway through "Rubber Band" and suddenly stopped. That's the last NW I've read. I'll finish it someday/year.
The single was "Where There's a Will." I disagree with Wolfe's argument that Inheritance tax should be 100 percent. But I would disagree with a lot of Wolfe's beliefs.
EQ: "There Was an Old Woman" with "The Origin of Evil."
Posted by: Weak Geek at January 29, 2023
***
League is well done, though Wolfe talks a lot more in the early novels. Rubber Band is one of Stout's best *mysteries*. And the 2 Ellery stories are also excellent entries.
Posted by: Wolfus Aurelius, Dreaming of Elsewhere at January 29, 2023 10:24 AM (omVj0)
156
A socialist library would consist of your books taken from you by force so others could read them. And you wouldn't get them back....
And when you complained, you'd be shot.
And when you complained, you'd be shot.
Posted by: Archimedes at January 29, 2023 10:24 AM (eOEVl)
157
My book wraps up with some questions about current China. The first is whether the Three Generation Problem has been solved. We are about three generations from 1949, so the sons of those who endured the Long March are getting old and gray, and their kids were raised in times of relative peace and prosperity.
The PLA has not seen serious combat operations since 1979 when the Vietnamese soundly thumped them (the Russians also thumped them).
The Chi-coms push military service, but they still have to use conscription to fill the ranks (an ancient Chinese practice, btw). We don't know how prevalent conscription is, but we do know that China's military is only a little larger than ours in terms of manpower, but can't be kept up to strength through voluntary enlistment despite having 4x our population.
The PLA has not seen serious combat operations since 1979 when the Vietnamese soundly thumped them (the Russians also thumped them).
The Chi-coms push military service, but they still have to use conscription to fill the ranks (an ancient Chinese practice, btw). We don't know how prevalent conscription is, but we do know that China's military is only a little larger than ours in terms of manpower, but can't be kept up to strength through voluntary enlistment despite having 4x our population.
Posted by: Ace-Endorsed Author A.H. Lloyd at January 29, 2023 10:24 AM (llXky)
158
I'm paying for the library with my taxes and it's nice that I get some value from it.
Posted by: Sharon(willow's apprentice) at January 29, 2023 10:13 AM (Y+l9t)
I'm with you.
Although my local library is fairly non-political and doesn't push Woke bullshit, so it is easier to tolerate.
Posted by: Sharon(willow's apprentice) at January 29, 2023 10:13 AM (Y+l9t)
I'm with you.
Although my local library is fairly non-political and doesn't push Woke bullshit, so it is easier to tolerate.
Posted by: CharlieBrown'sDildo at January 29, 2023 10:25 AM (XIJ/X)
159
I love our library system. Yes, there is a lot of pinko crap placed prominently, but books of all types are available. There is not, as far as I can see, actual censorship.
Posted by: All Hail Eris, Sans-Culottes (except for the Book Thread) at January 29, 2023 10:25 AM (Dc2NZ)
160
the Old and New Testament are increasingly being shown to be historical rather than mythical by modern archeology,
-
There was a news story a few days ago about finding the name King David carved into a stone document from millennia ago clearly referring to him as a real person rather than as a myth.
-
There was a news story a few days ago about finding the name King David carved into a stone document from millennia ago clearly referring to him as a real person rather than as a myth.
Posted by: Anonosaurus Wrecks, Not a Real Simulation at January 29, 2023 10:25 AM (FVME7)
161
The Confucian system also had four tiers to society: the scholar-gentry, the peasants, artisans and merchants.
It's interesting that soldiers aren't even listed, being traditionally regarded as bandits with uniforms. This was another reason for the Three Generation Problem. A military man wanted his son to be a scholar-aristocrat, not a general. Thus, from early age the study of riding, weapons use, etc. was set aside for study of the Classics.
Japan also had a four-tier system, but the samurai replaced the scholar-gentry - with observable results.
Posted by: Ace-Endorsed Author A.H. Lloyd at January 29, 2023 10:21 AM (llXky)
Right. But the Kshatriya caste is not purely Warrior. It was in some Aryan civs: Celts and India. But the concept is that the Kshatriya dealt with maintaining the social order. Thus, lawyers and judges are Kshatriya. The Chinese being a non militaristic people had a Kshatriya class primarily of "jurists".
We see in Europe how the jurists came to play a larger and larger role over time.
It's interesting that soldiers aren't even listed, being traditionally regarded as bandits with uniforms. This was another reason for the Three Generation Problem. A military man wanted his son to be a scholar-aristocrat, not a general. Thus, from early age the study of riding, weapons use, etc. was set aside for study of the Classics.
Japan also had a four-tier system, but the samurai replaced the scholar-gentry - with observable results.
Posted by: Ace-Endorsed Author A.H. Lloyd at January 29, 2023 10:21 AM (llXky)
Right. But the Kshatriya caste is not purely Warrior. It was in some Aryan civs: Celts and India. But the concept is that the Kshatriya dealt with maintaining the social order. Thus, lawyers and judges are Kshatriya. The Chinese being a non militaristic people had a Kshatriya class primarily of "jurists".
We see in Europe how the jurists came to play a larger and larger role over time.
Posted by: Thesokorus at January 29, 2023 10:27 AM (1ais2)
162
Muck contended that the lower sea levels would have exposed the Dolphin Plateau, which surrounds the Azores and creates a significant landmass. That was where he placed Atlantis and he made a decent case in favor of that being where it was.
One of his key points was that Plato gave pretty clear directions and there's a reason the ocean there was named "Atlantic." All the alternative theories basically slice and dice Plato in the manner of "biblical scholars" who change selected words or redefine them to get the desired result.
Posted by: Ace-Endorsed Author A.H. Lloyd at January 29, 2023 10:16 AM (llXky)
So replace the Azores with Iceland. It's still a long, long way from the Americas.
One of his key points was that Plato gave pretty clear directions and there's a reason the ocean there was named "Atlantic." All the alternative theories basically slice and dice Plato in the manner of "biblical scholars" who change selected words or redefine them to get the desired result.
Posted by: Ace-Endorsed Author A.H. Lloyd at January 29, 2023 10:16 AM (llXky)
So replace the Azores with Iceland. It's still a long, long way from the Americas.
Posted by: Alberta Oil Peon at January 29, 2023 10:27 AM (tkR6S)
163
Finished The Book of Silence by Lawrence Watt-Evans.
A fun reread. Holds up well for a 1970s fantasy work. It finishes the Lords of Dus series with a crescendo.
Lawrence Watt-Evans writes of sensible heroes in worlds that have internal logic. Based on his strong The Unwelcome Warlock: A Legend of Ethshar, in the Ethshar series, I have bought the last three books in that series. Ethshar has a well thought out magic system with lots of puzzle pieces to hold your interest.
The series starts off with The Misenchanted Sword and gets better in With a Single Spell
A fun reread. Holds up well for a 1970s fantasy work. It finishes the Lords of Dus series with a crescendo.
Lawrence Watt-Evans writes of sensible heroes in worlds that have internal logic. Based on his strong The Unwelcome Warlock: A Legend of Ethshar, in the Ethshar series, I have bought the last three books in that series. Ethshar has a well thought out magic system with lots of puzzle pieces to hold your interest.
The series starts off with The Misenchanted Sword and gets better in With a Single Spell
Posted by: NaCly Dog (u82oZ) at January 29, 2023 10:27 AM (u82oZ)
164
The Chi-coms push military service, but they still have to use conscription to fill the ranks (an ancient Chinese practice, btw). We don't know how prevalent conscription is, but we do know that China's military is only a little larger than ours in terms of manpower, but can't be kept up to strength through voluntary enlistment despite having 4x our population.
The one-child policy has resulted in lots of "bare branches", i.e. families with only one male heir. I rather doubt the average family wants to see that single heir killed in a war to feed Xi's ego. OTOH, it's a totalitarian state, so want they want probably doesn't enter in to it.
The one-child policy has resulted in lots of "bare branches", i.e. families with only one male heir. I rather doubt the average family wants to see that single heir killed in a war to feed Xi's ego. OTOH, it's a totalitarian state, so want they want probably doesn't enter in to it.
Posted by: Archimedes at January 29, 2023 10:27 AM (eOEVl)
165
Although my local library is fairly non-political and doesn't push Woke bullshit, so it is easier to tolerate.
Posted by: CharlieBrown'sDildo at January 29, 2023 10:25 AM (XIJ/X)
Any pron/doper hobos?
Posted by: CharlieBrown'sDildo at January 29, 2023 10:25 AM (XIJ/X)
Any pron/doper hobos?
Posted by: BignJames at January 29, 2023 10:27 AM (AwYPR)
166
{42}Oh I just read one of his books recently, Summer's End. Sci fi adventure. His description of Earth's govt made me sad coz it's so plausible.
***
Actually relevant to the castes discussions: in the book, iirc Earth has 3 castes/classes: the Ellies (elites) who run everything and have all the wealth and power, the Proles who must work and don't get to vote, and the Dolers who can vote and get the dole.
***
Actually relevant to the castes discussions: in the book, iirc Earth has 3 castes/classes: the Ellies (elites) who run everything and have all the wealth and power, the Proles who must work and don't get to vote, and the Dolers who can vote and get the dole.
Posted by: vmom stabby stabby stabby stabby stabamillion at January 29, 2023 10:28 AM (fUnHJ)
167
Archimedes, it's possible I mistakenly read the troll's comment and some responses to that. It is true that libraries are Woke. You wouldn't believe the stuff I get from my alma mater. Every single event is either about racism, equity or climate change. Almost everything pitched at us is done in that model. Yet, here we are.
Posted by: Sharon(willow's apprentice) at January 29, 2023 10:29 AM (Y+l9t)
168
"Atlantic" and "Atlantis" are both derived from Atlas and his daughters the Atlantides, who were said to live in the uttermost West.
Posted by: Trimegistus at January 29, 2023 10:18 AM (QZxDR)
---
Right, so Plato used a location in the exact opposite of what modern scholars claim to be Atlantis. At that point, just throw away the text as a work of fiction and leave it at that, don't torture it for the benefit of the Greece Tourism Bureau.
It's like the "biblical scholars" who try to find scientific explanations for every miraculous event - you know the 'true' story.
Plato's account is interesting because he places it beyond the Pillars of Hercules and then says a chain of islands continues onto the landmass on the other side. Based on sea levels 12,000 years ago, that's pretty good. He also says the Acropolis used to be much higher - another reference to low sea levels.
Posted by: Trimegistus at January 29, 2023 10:18 AM (QZxDR)
---
Right, so Plato used a location in the exact opposite of what modern scholars claim to be Atlantis. At that point, just throw away the text as a work of fiction and leave it at that, don't torture it for the benefit of the Greece Tourism Bureau.
It's like the "biblical scholars" who try to find scientific explanations for every miraculous event - you know the 'true' story.
Plato's account is interesting because he places it beyond the Pillars of Hercules and then says a chain of islands continues onto the landmass on the other side. Based on sea levels 12,000 years ago, that's pretty good. He also says the Acropolis used to be much higher - another reference to low sea levels.
Posted by: Ace-Endorsed Author A.H. Lloyd at January 29, 2023 10:29 AM (llXky)
169
Any pron/doper hobos?
Posted by: BignJames at January 29, 2023 10:27 AM (AwYPR)
---
Not since Arthur blew into town.
Posted by: BignJames at January 29, 2023 10:27 AM (AwYPR)
---
Not since Arthur blew into town.
Posted by: All Hail Eris, Sans-Culottes (except for the Book Thread) at January 29, 2023 10:31 AM (Dc2NZ)
170
Archimedes, it's possible I mistakenly read the troll's comment and some responses to that. It is true that libraries are Woke. You wouldn't believe the stuff I get from my alma mater. Every single event is either about racism, equity or climate change. Almost everything pitched at us is done in that model. Yet, here we are.
I agree with the Perfessor's comments that the idea of libraries is almost universally popular, it's their hijacking by SJWs that most people find objectionable. It almost seems that being a librarian requires you to be an unhinged lefty.
I agree with the Perfessor's comments that the idea of libraries is almost universally popular, it's their hijacking by SJWs that most people find objectionable. It almost seems that being a librarian requires you to be an unhinged lefty.
Posted by: Archimedes at January 29, 2023 10:31 AM (eOEVl)
171
Zip-a-dee-doo-dah, zip-a-dee-ay
My, oh, my, what a wonderful day
Plenty of murders headin' my way
Zip-a-dee-doo-dah, zip-a-dee-ay!
Posted by: CharlieBrown'sDildo at January 29, 2023 10:23 AM (XIJ/X)
*snort
A happy-go-lucky murder detective would be darkly comical. The right author could really make it work.
My, oh, my, what a wonderful day
Plenty of murders headin' my way
Zip-a-dee-doo-dah, zip-a-dee-ay!
Posted by: CharlieBrown'sDildo at January 29, 2023 10:23 AM (XIJ/X)
*snort
A happy-go-lucky murder detective would be darkly comical. The right author could really make it work.
Posted by: Dash my lace wigs! at January 29, 2023 10:31 AM (OX9vb)
172
Those John Deere pants look like the makeshift outhouse I had to fashion the last time a subzero winter storm froze my water pipes.
No pressure, no flow, no water and my water heat tripped out and wouldn't reset.
No pressure, no flow, no water and my water heat tripped out and wouldn't reset.
Posted by: Dr. Bone at January 29, 2023 10:32 AM (Jg7EG)
173
He also says the Acropolis used to be much higher - another reference to low sea levels.
Posted by: Ace-Endorsed Author A.H. Lloyd at January 29, 2023 10:29 AM (llXky)
They should have banned the internal combustion engine!
Why or why can't we learn from the past.
Posted by: Ace-Endorsed Author A.H. Lloyd at January 29, 2023 10:29 AM (llXky)
They should have banned the internal combustion engine!
Why or why can't we learn from the past.
Posted by: Crazy libs everywhere at January 29, 2023 10:32 AM (Zzbjj)
174
I gave up on trying to finish the last Leo Frankowski book in the Crosstime Engineer series, Conrad's Quest for Rubber.
I don't trash books because someone might actually like to read it, and I don't want to discourage anyone from trying something new, but in this case . . . In spite of having all the usual Frankowski plot elements, it has bland, uninteresting prose, it is not structured well, has uninteresting characters, and is more full of literary "borrowing" than a hypothetical book co-authored by William Forstchen and S. M. Stirling.
I have heard he was having health problems when it was written and may not have been edited at all, but after some of his earlier works that were screamingly funny, this one was a let down.
BUT, all authors have their off books, so don't avoid the author on my say so
I don't trash books because someone might actually like to read it, and I don't want to discourage anyone from trying something new, but in this case . . . In spite of having all the usual Frankowski plot elements, it has bland, uninteresting prose, it is not structured well, has uninteresting characters, and is more full of literary "borrowing" than a hypothetical book co-authored by William Forstchen and S. M. Stirling.
I have heard he was having health problems when it was written and may not have been edited at all, but after some of his earlier works that were screamingly funny, this one was a let down.
BUT, all authors have their off books, so don't avoid the author on my say so
Posted by: Kindltot at January 29, 2023 10:32 AM (xhaym)
175
Zip-a-dee-doo-dah, zip-a-dee-ay
My, oh, my, what a wonderful day
Plenty of murders headin' my way
Zip-a-dee-doo-dah, zip-a-dee-ay!
Posted by: CharlieBrown'sDildo at January 29, 2023 10:23 AM (XIJ/X)
The Police Chief's at my shoulder
He's so great, supportive
Solving crime's just
One big positive
...
...
My, oh, my, what a wonderful day
Plenty of murders headin' my way
Zip-a-dee-doo-dah, zip-a-dee-ay!
Posted by: CharlieBrown'sDildo at January 29, 2023 10:23 AM (XIJ/X)
The Police Chief's at my shoulder
He's so great, supportive
Solving crime's just
One big positive
...
...
Posted by: naturalfake at January 29, 2023 10:33 AM (KLPy8)
176
I'm winding up with Barbara Vine (Ruth Rendell) and her The Blood Doctor from the early 2000s. It's a generational mystery of sorts, a family tree puzzle with the central enigma being the narrator's great-grandfather from Victorian times, the Blood Doctor of the title, and the ways in which hemophilia affected the narrator's family. As usual with RR's "standalone" (non-series) stories, crime is almost peripheral, but it's there and it's important.
Posted by: Wolfus Aurelius, Dreaming of Elsewhere at January 29, 2023 10:33 AM (omVj0)
Posted by: Anonosaurus Wrecks, Not a Real Simulation at January 29, 2023 10:33 AM (FVME7)
178
The one-child policy has resulted in lots of "bare branches", i.e. families with only one male heir. I rather doubt the average family wants to see that single heir killed in a war to feed Xi's ego. OTOH, it's a totalitarian state, so want they want probably doesn't enter in to it.
Posted by: Archimedes at January 29, 2023 10:27 AM (eOEVl)
---
That's absolutely another factor. The Chinese way of war is to use their massive population like a sledgehammer. The Chinese were fighting civil wars in the Middle Ages with armies many times larger than those in Europe or even the Middle East. Sun Tzu talked the good game about tactics, but why be subtle when you can use a 250,000-man sledgehammer to impose your will?
Indeed, it's an open question of how many Chinese leaders actually read Sun Tzu. Certainly the Communists didn't - he was reactionary and imperialist. They had Mao's Red Book.
Posted by: Archimedes at January 29, 2023 10:27 AM (eOEVl)
---
That's absolutely another factor. The Chinese way of war is to use their massive population like a sledgehammer. The Chinese were fighting civil wars in the Middle Ages with armies many times larger than those in Europe or even the Middle East. Sun Tzu talked the good game about tactics, but why be subtle when you can use a 250,000-man sledgehammer to impose your will?
Indeed, it's an open question of how many Chinese leaders actually read Sun Tzu. Certainly the Communists didn't - he was reactionary and imperialist. They had Mao's Red Book.
Posted by: Ace-Endorsed Author A.H. Lloyd at January 29, 2023 10:33 AM (llXky)
179
I wonder about such things all the time...Or the grease gun. Somebody invented those little knobs (what is that name?) on which the nozzle fits.
Posted by: Weak Geek at January 29, 2023 10:24 AM (Om/di)
Oh, man...me, too! I worked in hardware sales for a long time, and was often amazed by the smallest little parts and pieces that make it absolutely clear that humans are the superior species.
Monkeys and dolphins didn't invent roll pins, yo.
Posted by: Weak Geek at January 29, 2023 10:24 AM (Om/di)
Oh, man...me, too! I worked in hardware sales for a long time, and was often amazed by the smallest little parts and pieces that make it absolutely clear that humans are the superior species.
Monkeys and dolphins didn't invent roll pins, yo.
Posted by: Dash my lace wigs! at January 29, 2023 10:33 AM (OX9vb)
180
Just finished Levin's Liberty & Tyranny for the 3rd time in my life. Every time I cruise through it, I "get it" even more. I'm thinking of buying it for my children (there's nothing like the basics) on MY birthday.
Posted by: Despise Marxist & RINO Rat bastards at January 29, 2023 10:34 AM (8m/Xb)
181
54 I finished The Horse, the Wheel, and Language: How Bronze-Age Riders from the Eurasian Steppes Shaped the Modern World, by David Anthony. It wasn't on my radar, but another poster and I disagreed on where the Indo-European language group originated, and he suggested this book. It confirms my original assertion that it was likely in the Pontic-Caspian steppe.
The book is interesting in parts, but also has lots of tedious detail on things like pots and graves. I was more interested in the parts about the development of metalworking and, of course, language. It's really a schizophrenic book, part popular history, part textbook for the true archeologist. For that reason, I wouldn't recommend it unless the topic is of real interest. Still, I'm glad I read it.
Posted by: Archimedes at January 29, 2023 09:30 AM (eOEVl)
A read that book a few years ago, and will definately agree that it got tedious towards the end. Especially since I was reading it on an E-reader (Barns and Noble's Nook, I think) and maps and illustrations always look awkward on those.
The book is interesting in parts, but also has lots of tedious detail on things like pots and graves. I was more interested in the parts about the development of metalworking and, of course, language. It's really a schizophrenic book, part popular history, part textbook for the true archeologist. For that reason, I wouldn't recommend it unless the topic is of real interest. Still, I'm glad I read it.
Posted by: Archimedes at January 29, 2023 09:30 AM (eOEVl)
A read that book a few years ago, and will definately agree that it got tedious towards the end. Especially since I was reading it on an E-reader (Barns and Noble's Nook, I think) and maps and illustrations always look awkward on those.
Posted by: Castle Guy at January 29, 2023 10:34 AM (Lhaco)
182
There was a news story a few days ago about finding the name King David carved into a stone document from millennia ago clearly referring to him as a real person rather than as a myth.
Posted by: Anonosaurus Wrecks, Not a Real Simulation at January 29, 2023 10:25 AM (FVME7)
I read about a similar "discovery" about 20 years ago...maybe the same thing?
Posted by: Anonosaurus Wrecks, Not a Real Simulation at January 29, 2023 10:25 AM (FVME7)
I read about a similar "discovery" about 20 years ago...maybe the same thing?
Posted by: BignJames at January 29, 2023 10:35 AM (AwYPR)
183
No one should be surprised public libraries are staffed and run by the same people as public schools, and they seem predominantly groomers and mental health cases.
Posted by: Skip at January 29, 2023 10:35 AM (xhxe8)
184
RE: Babylon 5, one of the things that is so remarkable about it is how it managed to not just survive the mental breakdown of its lead actor, but work that into a new and fascinating plot.
The 5th season remains terrible. I never watch it.
The 5th season remains terrible. I never watch it.
Posted by: Ace-Endorsed Author A.H. Lloyd at January 29, 2023 10:35 AM (llXky)
185
A happy-go-lucky murder detective would be darkly comical. The right author could really make it work.
Posted by: Dash my lace wigs!
Right?
Posted by: Dash my lace wigs!
Right?
Posted by: vmom stabby stabby stabby stabby stabamillion at January 29, 2023 10:35 AM (fUnHJ)
186
@99 actually liked the movie more than the book because of Sagans deficiency as a fiction writer. Even in the movie however Rob Lowe playing the fundamentalist Christian is cartoonish, while McConaughey is the new age wonderful guy
Posted by: Smell the Glove at January 29, 2023 10:35 AM (bbnWS)
187
Wait, what? How is the uttermost West "the opposite direction" from Atlantis? If you're in Greece, and sail west, you get to the Atlantic ocean.
Look, Plato _made it up_. His pupil Aristotle said as much.
Look, Plato _made it up_. His pupil Aristotle said as much.
Posted by: Trimegistus at January 29, 2023 10:36 AM (QZxDR)
188
Studious Sunday greetings, bookies.
https://youtu.be/zueImmuGozM
The History Guy on Tarzan, mostly about films, but with some interesting background on the prolific Edgar Rice Burroughs.
"I have often been asked how I came to write. The best answer is, I needed the money."
https://youtu.be/zueImmuGozM
The History Guy on Tarzan, mostly about films, but with some interesting background on the prolific Edgar Rice Burroughs.
"I have often been asked how I came to write. The best answer is, I needed the money."
Posted by: mindful webworker - between the covers at January 29, 2023 10:36 AM (vD+o9)
189
Speaking of basics. . . . . .now starting The Illustrated Man (R. Bradbury). Haven't read it since my early 20's. . . .
Posted by: Despise Marxist & RINO Rat bastards at January 29, 2023 10:36 AM (8m/Xb)
190
Following up on my last comment, I read 3 books this week and not a single one had any redeeming social value.
The Viper by J. R. Ward, Sleep No More by Jayne Ann Krentz and Rebecca Zanetti's new Laurel Snow You Can Hide.
I like the new Zanetti series as her main character is very interesting. Kind of a super genius in the Sherlock Holmes style. It is interesting that these authors can write multiple books in completely different series with unique sets of characters.
The Viper by J. R. Ward, Sleep No More by Jayne Ann Krentz and Rebecca Zanetti's new Laurel Snow You Can Hide.
I like the new Zanetti series as her main character is very interesting. Kind of a super genius in the Sherlock Holmes style. It is interesting that these authors can write multiple books in completely different series with unique sets of characters.
Posted by: Sharon(willow's apprentice) at January 29, 2023 10:37 AM (Y+l9t)
191
134 ... "The weird thing about the Arthurian legends is that it's hard to make sense of him as either a historical figure or a fictional character. If he was real, and memorable enough that poets half a millennium after he died were writing about him, why don't we have any more contemporary references from his own era?
And if he was made up, why invent a British king when there were plenty of real ones to write about?"
I put Arthur in the same category as Odysseus and Beowulf: some forgotten reality or event that survived in myth. That doesn't take away from the power of the stories about them. And the Arthur-related stories contain so many aspects of history and culture and the mysterious supernatural that they have touched generations millennia later. And while the Camelot tales end in tragedy, they also promise hope. That is a powerful draw.
Babylon 5 has been mentioned today. One of my favorite episodes was "A Late Delivery From Avalon". (I don't have a problem with Michael York's acting.)
And if he was made up, why invent a British king when there were plenty of real ones to write about?"
I put Arthur in the same category as Odysseus and Beowulf: some forgotten reality or event that survived in myth. That doesn't take away from the power of the stories about them. And the Arthur-related stories contain so many aspects of history and culture and the mysterious supernatural that they have touched generations millennia later. And while the Camelot tales end in tragedy, they also promise hope. That is a powerful draw.
Babylon 5 has been mentioned today. One of my favorite episodes was "A Late Delivery From Avalon". (I don't have a problem with Michael York's acting.)
Posted by: JTB at January 29, 2023 10:37 AM (7EjX1)
192
Or the grease gun. Somebody invented those little knobs (what is that name?) on which the nozzle fits.
Posted by: Weak Geek
Zerks
Posted by: Weak Geek
Zerks
Posted by: Thomas Paine at January 29, 2023 10:38 AM (JDk39)
193
At the library yesterday, I picked up Dying Inside, Robert Silverberg's 1969 classic about a telepath who is losing his powers, and a collection of his time travel stories; Nevil Shute's A Town Like Alice; and another early non-series Ruth Rendell.
Posted by: Wolfus Aurelius, Dreaming of Elsewhere at January 29, 2023 10:38 AM (omVj0)
194
Any pron/doper hobos?
Posted by: BignJames at January 29, 2023 10:27 AM (AwYPR)
Don't think CBD lives in Boulder....
Posted by: BignJames at January 29, 2023 10:27 AM (AwYPR)
Don't think CBD lives in Boulder....
Posted by: OrangeEnt at January 29, 2023 10:38 AM (Angsy)
195
Wait, what? How is the uttermost West "the opposite direction" from Atlantis? If you're in Greece, and sail west, you get to the Atlantic ocean.
Look, Plato _made it up_. His pupil Aristotle said as much.
Posted by: Trimegistus at January 29, 2023 10:36 AM (QZxDR)
---
I'm referring to the scientists who put Atlantis beyond the Black Sea or at Thera.
Another issue is we don't know what we don't know. Even the manuscripts we have are fragmentary.
Look, Plato _made it up_. His pupil Aristotle said as much.
Posted by: Trimegistus at January 29, 2023 10:36 AM (QZxDR)
---
I'm referring to the scientists who put Atlantis beyond the Black Sea or at Thera.
Another issue is we don't know what we don't know. Even the manuscripts we have are fragmentary.
Posted by: Ace-Endorsed Author A.H. Lloyd at January 29, 2023 10:39 AM (llXky)
196
182 There was a news story a few days ago about finding the name King David carved into a stone document from millennia ago clearly referring to him as a real person rather than as a myth.
Posted by: Anonosaurus Wrecks, Not a Real Simulation at January 29, 2023 10:25 AM (FVME7)
I read about a similar "discovery" about 20 years ago...maybe the same thing?
Posted by: BignJames at January 29, 2023 10:35 AM (AwYPR)
****&&&****
BignJames is right. I have a copy of the AP newswire. I think there was also a big writeup in the Jerusalem Times or somewhere
Posted by: Anonosaurus Wrecks, Not a Real Simulation at January 29, 2023 10:25 AM (FVME7)
I read about a similar "discovery" about 20 years ago...maybe the same thing?
Posted by: BignJames at January 29, 2023 10:35 AM (AwYPR)
****&&&****
BignJames is right. I have a copy of the AP newswire. I think there was also a big writeup in the Jerusalem Times or somewhere
Posted by: Despise Marxist & RINO Rat bastards at January 29, 2023 10:39 AM (8m/Xb)
197
Fifth season is awful because they didn't think there would be a fifth. So they tried to wrap it up in Season four then were renewed. Sure did give Walter Koenig a character to shine with. Even Bester has his sympathetic moments.
Posted by: Notsothoreau at January 29, 2023 10:39 AM (4IUUf)
198
189 Speaking of basics. . . . . .now starting The Illustrated Man (R. Bradbury). Haven't read it since my early 20's. . . .
Posted by: Despise Marxist & RINO Rat bastards
I just gave this a reread a few months ago. I loved it just as much as I had, long ago, in my teens.
Posted by: Despise Marxist & RINO Rat bastards
I just gave this a reread a few months ago. I loved it just as much as I had, long ago, in my teens.
Posted by: SuperMayorSuperRonNirenberg-Buffer Than Ever For A 4th Term at January 29, 2023 10:41 AM (/Hc9U)
199
My understanding is that Arthur is based on a Roman general who taught the locals to fight off norse invaders. This would be around the year 600, at which time 99% of the population was illiterate, so it was passed down orally.
Posted by: Thomas Paine at January 29, 2023 10:41 AM (VfO7P)
200
Fifth season is awful because they didn't think there would be a fifth. So they tried to wrap it up in Season four then were renewed. Sure did give Walter Koenig a character to shine with. Even Bester has his sympathetic moments.
Posted by: Notsothoreau at January 29, 2023 10:39 AM (4IUUf)
---
I was totally rooting for Bester to smoke those emo psyker pussies with their filthy hippie leader.
Posted by: Notsothoreau at January 29, 2023 10:39 AM (4IUUf)
---
I was totally rooting for Bester to smoke those emo psyker pussies with their filthy hippie leader.
Posted by: Ace-Endorsed Author A.H. Lloyd at January 29, 2023 10:41 AM (llXky)
201
Bester was the best!
Posted by: vmom stabby stabby stabby stabby stabamillion at January 29, 2023 10:42 AM (fUnHJ)
202
Plato's account is interesting because he places it beyond the Pillars of Hercules and then says a chain of islands continues onto the landmass on the other side. Based on sea levels 12,000 years ago, that's pretty good. He also says the Acropolis used to be much higher - another reference to low sea levels.
Posted by: Ace-Endorsed Author A.H. Lloyd at January 29, 2023 10:29 AM (llXky)
The Atlantis idea is so durable and so widespread that it just has to refer to something. It also has a lot of explanatory power regarding languages and cultural commonalty.
For example, if one also posits the existence of Mu in the Pacific one can explain the religous history of Egypt quite easily. The teo divisions (Upper and Lower) were two different settlements originally. One Atlantean and one from Mu.
Mu being taken as the original and Atlantis a colony of Mu, the similarities and differences btwn upper and lower is explained.
It is really hard to not explain the archaeological remnants in Central and South America as anything but colonies of some culture located to the east.
But the Mu hypothesis requires that there have been different racial types already existent in Mu.
Posted by: Ace-Endorsed Author A.H. Lloyd at January 29, 2023 10:29 AM (llXky)
The Atlantis idea is so durable and so widespread that it just has to refer to something. It also has a lot of explanatory power regarding languages and cultural commonalty.
For example, if one also posits the existence of Mu in the Pacific one can explain the religous history of Egypt quite easily. The teo divisions (Upper and Lower) were two different settlements originally. One Atlantean and one from Mu.
Mu being taken as the original and Atlantis a colony of Mu, the similarities and differences btwn upper and lower is explained.
It is really hard to not explain the archaeological remnants in Central and South America as anything but colonies of some culture located to the east.
But the Mu hypothesis requires that there have been different racial types already existent in Mu.
Posted by: Thesokorus at January 29, 2023 10:42 AM (1ais2)
203
@192 Doctor Zerk was the most prominent citizen of Kenosha (take that, Orson!). It's worth looking up his biography, as it has a tragic and prophetic final chapter.
He designed the original Rambler Six, and ended up as a sort of Omega Man.
He designed the original Rambler Six, and ended up as a sort of Omega Man.
Posted by: Way, Way Downriver at January 29, 2023 10:43 AM (jYCXf)
204
>>>Carl Sagan was legitimately a great scientist, and he was an effective science popularizer (despite his personal crotchets and obsessions). As a science fiction writer . . . well, I guess one can say he was financially successful and leave it at that.
>Word from the street was that Carl was hitting the bong a little too frequently and that he had developed an appetite for the sweet weed.
>Word from the street was that Carl was hitting the bong a little too frequently and that he had developed an appetite for the sweet weed.
Posted by: Dr. Bone at January 29, 2023 10:43 AM (Jg7EG)
205
Silverberg's DYING INSIDE is a nice dark delight, one of his best. (I'm trying not to acquire many more physical books these days, but some time this spring Centipede Press will do an edition of that book and I'll definitely lay down some bucks for that one -- their edition of Silverberg's THE BOOK OF SKULLS is a joy to behold.) For a long time my favorites were Zelazny and Ellison, and while I still hold them in high regard, these days I think Silverberg's even better.
Posted by: Just Some Guy at January 29, 2023 10:44 AM (a/4+U)
206
Both are learned from youth. One of the problems of conquest for the nomads was that once they became rulers, their kids lost interest in subsistence hunting and those skills rapidly decayed.
The Yuan (Mongol) Dynasty was the briefest to go beyond the second generation in Chinese history. The loss of military skill was almost immediate. The Ming, who relied heavily on infantry and artillery were able to drive them out, but once they reached the steppes, the horse archers there still ruled.
Posted by: Ace-Endorsed Author A.H. Lloyd at January 29, 2023 09:46 AM (llXky)
And eventually the horse nomads figured out that they would loose their edge by living in cities. I vaugely recall from a lecture series (The Great Courses) that at some point leader lead his tribe, or at least a break-away faction of his tribe, back into Mongolia to ensure they stayed Mongolian.
And on the other side of the steppes, the Meades set up four different capital cities and migrated between them, in order to keep themselves from becoming too sedentary.
The Yuan (Mongol) Dynasty was the briefest to go beyond the second generation in Chinese history. The loss of military skill was almost immediate. The Ming, who relied heavily on infantry and artillery were able to drive them out, but once they reached the steppes, the horse archers there still ruled.
Posted by: Ace-Endorsed Author A.H. Lloyd at January 29, 2023 09:46 AM (llXky)
And eventually the horse nomads figured out that they would loose their edge by living in cities. I vaugely recall from a lecture series (The Great Courses) that at some point leader lead his tribe, or at least a break-away faction of his tribe, back into Mongolia to ensure they stayed Mongolian.
And on the other side of the steppes, the Meades set up four different capital cities and migrated between them, in order to keep themselves from becoming too sedentary.
Posted by: Castle Guy at January 29, 2023 10:45 AM (Lhaco)
207
if you're going to make a game that runs on rails you have to have an interesting plot and reasonable dialogue.
-
Just a little tempest in a teapot in gaming news. The highly anticipated videogame Forspoken was just released to universally horrible reviews. The basic problem seems to be that the main character, a woman of color transported to a magical land and who wants to return, is unlikeable.
-
Just a little tempest in a teapot in gaming news. The highly anticipated videogame Forspoken was just released to universally horrible reviews. The basic problem seems to be that the main character, a woman of color transported to a magical land and who wants to return, is unlikeable.
Posted by: Anonosaurus Wrecks, Not a Real Simulation at January 29, 2023 10:45 AM (FVME7)
208
Another interesting bit about Plato's Atlantis is how it aligns with Genesis. The Kings of Atlantis are all Nephilim, "giants," and offer sacrifice and worship to their father, Poseidon.
Posted by: Ace-Endorsed Author A.H. Lloyd at January 29, 2023 10:45 AM (llXky)
209
179 I wonder about such things all the time...Or the grease gun. Somebody invented those little knobs (what is that name?) on which the nozzle fits.
Posted by: Weak Geek at January 29, 2023 10:24 AM (Om/di)
Zirk Fittings!
Come in many configurations. Always read the manual before using as not all bearings and bushings are equal. I replace a lot of electric motors destroyed by over greasing and a lot of pins and bushings from under.
Posted by: Weak Geek at January 29, 2023 10:24 AM (Om/di)
Zirk Fittings!
Come in many configurations. Always read the manual before using as not all bearings and bushings are equal. I replace a lot of electric motors destroyed by over greasing and a lot of pins and bushings from under.
Posted by: Reforger at January 29, 2023 10:46 AM (rRAU8)
210
Has anyone here read People of the Book by Geraldine Brooks? It was a Christmas gift from my DIL who I love dearly(and is a Tolkien fan) but is quite liberal although we never talk politics. I want to read it but afraid it might be Woke. Blurb says it is historical fiction.
Anyone?
Anyone?
Posted by: Sharon(willow's apprentice) at January 29, 2023 10:46 AM (Y+l9t)
211
For a long time my favorites were Zelazny and Ellison, and while I still hold them in high regard, these days I think Silverberg's even better.
Posted by: Just Some Guy at January 29, 2023
***
I read RS's Hawksbill Station many years ago; I'd like to find it again. The core novelette is in this collection of time-travel stories, though.
Posted by: Just Some Guy at January 29, 2023
***
I read RS's Hawksbill Station many years ago; I'd like to find it again. The core novelette is in this collection of time-travel stories, though.
Posted by: Wolfus Aurelius, Dreaming of Elsewhere at January 29, 2023 10:46 AM (omVj0)
212
The book is interesting in parts, but also has lots of tedious detail on things like pots and graves. I was more interested in the parts about the development of metalworking and, of course, language. It's really a schizophrenic book, part popular history, part textbook for the true archeologist. For that reason, I wouldn't recommend it unless the topic is of real interest. Still, I'm glad I read it.
Posted by: Archimedes at January 29, 2023 09:30 AM (eOEVl)
For philogy and cultural stuff Georges Dumezil is still the best. He was the groundbreaker and the most brilliant.
Posted by: Archimedes at January 29, 2023 09:30 AM (eOEVl)
For philogy and cultural stuff Georges Dumezil is still the best. He was the groundbreaker and the most brilliant.
Posted by: Thesokorus at January 29, 2023 10:47 AM (1ais2)
213
And eventually the horse nomads figured out that they would loose their edge by living in cities. I vaugely recall from a lecture series (The Great Courses) that at some point leader lead his tribe, or at least a break-away faction of his tribe, back into Mongolia to ensure they stayed Mongolian.
Posted by: Castle Guy at January 29, 2023 10:45 AM (Lhaco)
---
The Ch'ing Dynasty decreed that Manchuria was the exclusive domain of their people, and Han Chinese were forbidden to enter. They sought to maintain an area of "pure" Manchus, living in the traditional ways and skilled in the hunt and war.
It worked for a long time, but by the 1800s you have opium spreading (domestically produced, though the Chinese now blame the British for introducing it), and the development of firearms and light artillery made horse archers obsolete.
As late as 1895 you had Manchu horsemen lead wild charges - into Japanese rifle fire.
Posted by: Castle Guy at January 29, 2023 10:45 AM (Lhaco)
---
The Ch'ing Dynasty decreed that Manchuria was the exclusive domain of their people, and Han Chinese were forbidden to enter. They sought to maintain an area of "pure" Manchus, living in the traditional ways and skilled in the hunt and war.
It worked for a long time, but by the 1800s you have opium spreading (domestically produced, though the Chinese now blame the British for introducing it), and the development of firearms and light artillery made horse archers obsolete.
As late as 1895 you had Manchu horsemen lead wild charges - into Japanese rifle fire.
Posted by: Ace-Endorsed Author A.H. Lloyd at January 29, 2023 10:48 AM (llXky)
214
Zirk Fittings!
Come in many configurations. Always read the manual before using as not all bearings and bushings are equal. I replace a lot of electric motors destroyed by over greasing and a lot of pins and bushings from under.
Posted by: Reforger at January 29, 2023 10:46 AM (rRAU
#1 cause of premature bearing failure...over lubrication.
Come in many configurations. Always read the manual before using as not all bearings and bushings are equal. I replace a lot of electric motors destroyed by over greasing and a lot of pins and bushings from under.
Posted by: Reforger at January 29, 2023 10:46 AM (rRAU
#1 cause of premature bearing failure...over lubrication.
Posted by: BignJames at January 29, 2023 10:49 AM (AwYPR)
215
Wolfus,
Don't know if you're an ebook user, but there's a ton of Silverberg available that way and the novel HAWKSBILL STATION is one of 'em. Subterranean Press did his collected short science fiction in something like nine volumes a while back, and that whole set is available as ebooks at maybe 3 or 4 bucks per volume, which is a steal.
Don't know if you're an ebook user, but there's a ton of Silverberg available that way and the novel HAWKSBILL STATION is one of 'em. Subterranean Press did his collected short science fiction in something like nine volumes a while back, and that whole set is available as ebooks at maybe 3 or 4 bucks per volume, which is a steal.
Posted by: Just Some Guy at January 29, 2023 10:51 AM (a/4+U)
216
"OTOH, it's a totalitarian state, so want they want probably doesn't enter in to it."
It doesn't. Until one day it does, hopefully.
Same for the US
It doesn't. Until one day it does, hopefully.
Same for the US
Posted by: Ignoramus at January 29, 2023 10:52 AM (SJsWC)
217
The Ch'ing Dynasty decreed that Manchuria was the exclusive domain of their people, and Han Chinese were forbidden to enter. They sought to maintain an area of "pure" Manchus, living in the traditional ways and skilled in the hunt and war.
I had dinner with a Chinese woman who now lives in the states, and she told me that the term Manchu is an insult in China. She wouldn't specify why, so I assume it's similar to our racial slurs.
I had dinner with a Chinese woman who now lives in the states, and she told me that the term Manchu is an insult in China. She wouldn't specify why, so I assume it's similar to our racial slurs.
Posted by: Archimedes at January 29, 2023 10:52 AM (eOEVl)
218
>>>#1 cause of premature bearing failure...over lubrication.
>#2 cause of premature bearing failure...no lube.
>#2 cause of premature bearing failure...no lube.
Posted by: Dr. Bone at January 29, 2023 10:52 AM (Jg7EG)
219
210 Has anyone here read People of the Book by Geraldine Brooks?
Posted by: Sharon(willow's apprentice)
Haven't read it. I looked up amazon reviews. The top critical review says it's one of those historical fictions that project modern values on historical characters, and that all Christian characters are depicted as horrible.
So it sounds woke.
Posted by: Sharon(willow's apprentice)
Haven't read it. I looked up amazon reviews. The top critical review says it's one of those historical fictions that project modern values on historical characters, and that all Christian characters are depicted as horrible.
So it sounds woke.
Posted by: vmom stabby stabby stabby stabby stabamillion at January 29, 2023 10:53 AM (fUnHJ)
220
Recently read Who Killed Jane Stanford? by Richard White. It's very good, a non-fiction story about how Leland Stanford's wife Jane (who was a co-founder of Stanford University) was murdered by strychnine poisoning. The University president helped to cover up the crime and to disguise her death as being from natural causes. It sounds too crazy to be true, but the author makes a convincing case.
Posted by: Linnet at January 29, 2023 10:53 AM (NRIwr)
221
Aha. So the new euphism is "bearing failure"! Very amusing.
Posted by: Thesokorus at January 29, 2023 10:53 AM (1ais2)
222
Posted by: Sharon(willow's apprentice) at January 29, 2023 10:46 AM (Y+l9t)
Some of the reviews make it sound woke, dragging woke opinions back to earlier days. I, too received a copy of this as a gift, and I returned it to BN and got something else. That however, was years ago. Someone thought I'd appreciate the Jewish theme...lol
Some of the reviews make it sound woke, dragging woke opinions back to earlier days. I, too received a copy of this as a gift, and I returned it to BN and got something else. That however, was years ago. Someone thought I'd appreciate the Jewish theme...lol
Posted by: CN at January 29, 2023 10:54 AM (Zzbjj)
223
Speaking of videogame heroines, Amazon is making a Tomb Raider series. I can't wait to see how they'll ruin it.
Posted by: Anonosaurus Wrecks, Not a Real Simulation at January 29, 2023 10:54 AM (FVME7)
224
139 ... The constant insertion of personal political allusions in otherwise unrelated matters, like Meltzer comparing Hitler's rise to Trump, is one of many reasons I read very little modern fiction or history. If it wasn't for Horde written books and a very few others, (Malcolm Guite is an example), my reading matter would be at least 50 years old or a lot older.
The big upside of my approach is that since I'm not spending money on all sorts of modern books, I have more to get good physical copies of books I want and are a pleasure to hold and read. And I give more attention to what I'm reading. I might read magazine articles quickly but my book reading these days is leisurely, something to be savored.
The big upside of my approach is that since I'm not spending money on all sorts of modern books, I have more to get good physical copies of books I want and are a pleasure to hold and read. And I give more attention to what I'm reading. I might read magazine articles quickly but my book reading these days is leisurely, something to be savored.
Posted by: JTB at January 29, 2023 10:54 AM (7EjX1)
225
The Atlantis idea is so durable and so widespread that it just has to refer to something. It also has a lot of explanatory power regarding languages and cultural commonalty.
Posted by: Thesokorus at January 29, 2023 10:42 AM (1ais2)
---
We also have lost so much in terms of records. Some are turning up, and we can do cool scans from space, so who knows?
Posted by: Thesokorus at January 29, 2023 10:42 AM (1ais2)
---
We also have lost so much in terms of records. Some are turning up, and we can do cool scans from space, so who knows?
Posted by: Ace-Endorsed Author A.H. Lloyd at January 29, 2023 10:54 AM (llXky)
226
Many people don't know it there Norm, but the grease fitting was invented by Oscar U. Zerk and the patent for the Zerk fitting was granted in January 1929. The assignee was the Alemite Manufacturing Corporation.
Posted by: Cliff Claven at January 29, 2023 10:56 AM (DhOHl)
227
135 The Middle or Dark Ages of Europe were quite obviously delineated in this fashion. Nobility, Clergy and Merchants/craftsmen/freeholders.
The fourth caste was the peasants who would be denominated Shudra: the untouchables of India.
Posted by: Thesokorus at January 29, 2023 10:14 AM (1ais2)
Um, from what I've heard, in Medeval Europe the distinction was actually Nobility-Clergy-Peasants. All three of them all had well-defined roles. It was the townsfolk/merchants that didn't fit into the system, and the intelligencia of the day were struggling to reconcile their role in society...
The fourth caste was the peasants who would be denominated Shudra: the untouchables of India.
Posted by: Thesokorus at January 29, 2023 10:14 AM (1ais2)
Um, from what I've heard, in Medeval Europe the distinction was actually Nobility-Clergy-Peasants. All three of them all had well-defined roles. It was the townsfolk/merchants that didn't fit into the system, and the intelligencia of the day were struggling to reconcile their role in society...
Posted by: Castle Guy at January 29, 2023 10:56 AM (Lhaco)
228
We also have lost so much in terms of records. Some are turning up, and we can do cool scans from space, so who knows?
Posted by: Ace-Endorsed Author A.H. Lloyd at January 29, 2023 10:54 AM (llXky)
My dude are you hip to the legend Carl Munk and his The Code?
Posted by: Ace-Endorsed Author A.H. Lloyd at January 29, 2023 10:54 AM (llXky)
My dude are you hip to the legend Carl Munk and his The Code?
Posted by: Thesokorus at January 29, 2023 10:57 AM (1ais2)
229
Here's a question - could the sinking of Atlantis and the Biblical Flood be the same event?
Posted by: vmom stabby stabby stabby stabby stabamillion at January 29, 2023 10:57 AM (fUnHJ)
230
Posted by: Just Some Guy at January 29, 2023 10:44 AM (a/4+U)
---
Thanks for telling us about Centipede Press! That edition of Moorcock's Stormbringer looks like it would have been epic (alas, sold out).
---
Thanks for telling us about Centipede Press! That edition of Moorcock's Stormbringer looks like it would have been epic (alas, sold out).
Posted by: All Hail Eris, Sans-Culottes (except for the Book Thread) at January 29, 2023 10:57 AM (Dc2NZ)
231
The guy who made the Peaky Blinders TV series just had his SAS Rogue Heroes made by the BBC. It's now on Epix.
I read the source book, based on a tip here. It's the improbable story of the founding of the SAS during WWII. This six hour first season is quite good.
Tehy make the Paddy Mayne character gay, and he might have been, but it's not clear from the record that he was. He didn't beat up his commanding officer for slighting his boyfriend. Word is Paddy he did it becasue the officer shot Paddy's dog when he was on patrol.
I read the source book, based on a tip here. It's the improbable story of the founding of the SAS during WWII. This six hour first season is quite good.
Tehy make the Paddy Mayne character gay, and he might have been, but it's not clear from the record that he was. He didn't beat up his commanding officer for slighting his boyfriend. Word is Paddy he did it becasue the officer shot Paddy's dog when he was on patrol.
Posted by: Ignoramus at January 29, 2023 10:57 AM (SJsWC)
232
I don't think any of us are opposed to the *idea* of public libraries.
Posted by: "Perfessor" Squirrel at January 29, 2023 10:22 AM (BpYfr)
I'm not one to make it political, really, but yeah, I'm opposed to any form of socialism, precisely because there are ALWAYS better ways to do whatever things it is that government gets involved in.
I don't use public libraries, but I sure do pay for them. I don't use public skrewels, but obviously most people send their kids to them. One could also make an argument that a privately funded fire department, police department, even a military, would be better than what we have.
But we don't live in that world. So I don't get worked up about it, or begrudge others who use "public funds" to get services that would otherwise be unavailable.
Posted by: "Perfessor" Squirrel at January 29, 2023 10:22 AM (BpYfr)
I'm not one to make it political, really, but yeah, I'm opposed to any form of socialism, precisely because there are ALWAYS better ways to do whatever things it is that government gets involved in.
I don't use public libraries, but I sure do pay for them. I don't use public skrewels, but obviously most people send their kids to them. One could also make an argument that a privately funded fire department, police department, even a military, would be better than what we have.
But we don't live in that world. So I don't get worked up about it, or begrudge others who use "public funds" to get services that would otherwise be unavailable.
Posted by: BurtTC at January 29, 2023 10:58 AM (QBaJw)
233
And re Silverberg:
Am I the only one who flashed on the memory of his THE WORLD INSIDE (and particularly the penalty imposed for leaving one's tower without authorization) when those videos of "The Line" started showing up?
Am I the only one who flashed on the memory of his THE WORLD INSIDE (and particularly the penalty imposed for leaving one's tower without authorization) when those videos of "The Line" started showing up?
Posted by: Just Some Guy at January 29, 2023 10:58 AM (a/4+U)
234
I had dinner with a Chinese woman who now lives in the states, and she told me that the term Manchu is an insult in China. She wouldn't specify why, so I assume it's similar to our racial slurs.
Posted by: Archimedes at January 29, 2023 10:52 AM (eOEVl)
---
Because the Ch'ing (or Manchu) Dynasty ran China into the ground. They were an alien (non-Han) people, and intermarriage was forbidden. On their watch China was humiliated repeatedly.
Oh, and the Manchus collaborated with the Japanese in WW II. So, yeah, kind of like Quisling only more so.
Posted by: Archimedes at January 29, 2023 10:52 AM (eOEVl)
---
Because the Ch'ing (or Manchu) Dynasty ran China into the ground. They were an alien (non-Han) people, and intermarriage was forbidden. On their watch China was humiliated repeatedly.
Oh, and the Manchus collaborated with the Japanese in WW II. So, yeah, kind of like Quisling only more so.
Posted by: Ace-Endorsed Author A.H. Lloyd at January 29, 2023 10:58 AM (llXky)
235
139 ... The constant insertion of personal political allusions in otherwise unrelated matters, like Meltzer comparing Hitler's rise to Trump, is one of many reasons I read very little modern fiction or history.
Posted by: JTB at January 29, 2023 10:54 AM (7EjX1)
I used to think this nonsense was just some political incantation that was not believed by the authors, but I no longer do. I think it's genuine and that they do believe it and want people to fear Conservatives and treat them like nazis. I've had too many conversations that verified my view to think otherwise.
Posted by: JTB at January 29, 2023 10:54 AM (7EjX1)
I used to think this nonsense was just some political incantation that was not believed by the authors, but I no longer do. I think it's genuine and that they do believe it and want people to fear Conservatives and treat them like nazis. I've had too many conversations that verified my view to think otherwise.
Posted by: CN at January 29, 2023 10:59 AM (Zzbjj)
236
@181 lots of tedious detail on things like pots and graves. Pace Tell Makor, that's a consequence of how "we" do archeology.
Decades ago I attended a presentation by the woman who uncovered l'Anse aux Meadows (dude, she was hawt). She said, look, the Greeks and Romans built with stone because they ran out of timber. In the rest of the world, archaeology starts [chopping motion just below the top of her knee-high boots] here.
She somehow had a fragment of what was claimed to be the first Nordic poetry ever written in America. Opening line was "Let's go home." Hilarity ensued.
Decades ago I attended a presentation by the woman who uncovered l'Anse aux Meadows (dude, she was hawt). She said, look, the Greeks and Romans built with stone because they ran out of timber. In the rest of the world, archaeology starts [chopping motion just below the top of her knee-high boots] here.
She somehow had a fragment of what was claimed to be the first Nordic poetry ever written in America. Opening line was "Let's go home." Hilarity ensued.
Posted by: Way, Way Downriver at January 29, 2023 11:00 AM (jYCXf)
Posted by: Obligatory Seinfeld reference at January 29, 2023 11:00 AM (DhOHl)
238
The most immediate and important influence that horse domestication had was the ability to herd greater numbers of animals than before, through increased mobility. Horses allowed the pastoralists to both increase their herds in number, and allowed them to move away from the river bottoms to follow herds using travois as well as riding.
although mounted archers were important, the first use of horses in warfare was pulling chariots, which is a modification of the travois. it was only later when horses were bred larger, that adults could ride horses long distances and in heavy use.
The Irish, a very conservative culture, used chariots to get their warriors to line faster, where they generally fought on foot. I can't cite any proof, but I suspect this is how horses and chariots were initially used when developed.
although mounted archers were important, the first use of horses in warfare was pulling chariots, which is a modification of the travois. it was only later when horses were bred larger, that adults could ride horses long distances and in heavy use.
The Irish, a very conservative culture, used chariots to get their warriors to line faster, where they generally fought on foot. I can't cite any proof, but I suspect this is how horses and chariots were initially used when developed.
Posted by: Kindltot at January 29, 2023 11:00 AM (xhaym)
239
I read about a similar "discovery" about 20 years ago...maybe the same thing?
Posted by: BignJames
Could be. I just skimmed the story.
Posted by: BignJames
Could be. I just skimmed the story.
Posted by: Anonosaurus Wrecks, Not a Real Simulation at January 29, 2023 11:00 AM (FVME7)
240
vmom over years read various theories they were of the same event, and different ancient stories around the world are the same.
Posted by: Skip at January 29, 2023 11:00 AM (xhxe8)
241
Um, from what I've heard, in Medeval Europe the distinction was actually Nobility-Clergy-Peasants. All three of them all had well-defined roles. It was the townsfolk/merchants that didn't fit into the system, and the intelligencia of the day were struggling to reconcile their role in society...
Posted by: Castle Guy at January 29, 2023 10:56 AM (Lhaco)
---
France had the three estates. I think it varied in other places, sort of like Salic law vs non-Salic law.
Posted by: Castle Guy at January 29, 2023 10:56 AM (Lhaco)
---
France had the three estates. I think it varied in other places, sort of like Salic law vs non-Salic law.
Posted by: Ace-Endorsed Author A.H. Lloyd at January 29, 2023 11:00 AM (llXky)
242
McCullough was an author who could bring history to life. If you want to learn about the history of the canal, this is the book.
Posted by: Thomas Paine at January 29, 2023 09:25 AM (VyrlG)
* * * *
I second this recommendation of The Path Between The Seas. Bought the book when my husband received orders to Panama and read through it several times. It was fascinating and held my interest each time. I hoped to one day transit the Canal so I could see the amazing engineering up close. Shortly before we left to return to the States, I was able to go through the Canal on a tug boat, thanks to a friend in just the right place. Trip of a lifetime! McCullough did a great job on this book.
Posted by: Thomas Paine at January 29, 2023 09:25 AM (VyrlG)
* * * *
I second this recommendation of The Path Between The Seas. Bought the book when my husband received orders to Panama and read through it several times. It was fascinating and held my interest each time. I hoped to one day transit the Canal so I could see the amazing engineering up close. Shortly before we left to return to the States, I was able to go through the Canal on a tug boat, thanks to a friend in just the right place. Trip of a lifetime! McCullough did a great job on this book.
Posted by: Legally Sufficient at January 29, 2023 11:01 AM (hPMYc)
243
Wolfus,
Don't know if you're an ebook user, but there's a ton of Silverberg available that way and the novel HAWKSBILL STATION is one of 'em. Subterranean Press did his collected short science fiction in something like nine volumes a while back, and that whole set is available as ebooks at maybe 3 or 4 bucks per volume, which is a steal.
Posted by: Just Some Guy at January 29, 2023
***
Nice to know. I've never gotten into e-books ever since the flap about Amazon (?) taking back properties people had actually paid for.
Don't know if you're an ebook user, but there's a ton of Silverberg available that way and the novel HAWKSBILL STATION is one of 'em. Subterranean Press did his collected short science fiction in something like nine volumes a while back, and that whole set is available as ebooks at maybe 3 or 4 bucks per volume, which is a steal.
Posted by: Just Some Guy at January 29, 2023
***
Nice to know. I've never gotten into e-books ever since the flap about Amazon (?) taking back properties people had actually paid for.
Posted by: Wolfus Aurelius, Dreaming of Elsewhere at January 29, 2023 11:02 AM (omVj0)
244
Um, from what I've heard, in Medeval Europe the distinction was actually Nobility-Clergy-Peasants. All three of them all had well-defined roles. It was the townsfolk/merchants that didn't fit into the system, and the intelligencia of the day were struggling to reconcile their role in society...
Posted by: Castle Guy at January 29, 2023 10:56 AM (Lhaco)
Pretty sure I agree with you other than the "didn't fit" thing. They fit. There were and are always struggles between the castes. There was always a Vaisya caste in Europe. The relative power and size changed. This caste always had an acknowldged role. Even if disdained by the Kshatriya.
Posted by: Castle Guy at January 29, 2023 10:56 AM (Lhaco)
Pretty sure I agree with you other than the "didn't fit" thing. They fit. There were and are always struggles between the castes. There was always a Vaisya caste in Europe. The relative power and size changed. This caste always had an acknowldged role. Even if disdained by the Kshatriya.
Posted by: Thesokorus at January 29, 2023 11:02 AM (1ais2)
245
Here's a question - could the sinking of Atlantis and the Biblical Flood be the same event?
Posted by: vmom stabby stabby stabby stabby stabamillion at January 29, 2023 10:57 AM (fUnHJ)
I'm of the belief that humanity has a habit of forgetting its past, and only ever partially records events accurately.
Including catastrophic events, or maybe especially catastrophic events, because humans are invariably superstitious about such things. For example, if this world DOES collapse on us, and the remaining humans feel the need to explain it, some might blame nukular bombs, some God's wrath, and some others still, Gaia's revenge in the form of Globall Warmening.
Who will have been close to being right? None of us will be there to correct the record.
Posted by: vmom stabby stabby stabby stabby stabamillion at January 29, 2023 10:57 AM (fUnHJ)
I'm of the belief that humanity has a habit of forgetting its past, and only ever partially records events accurately.
Including catastrophic events, or maybe especially catastrophic events, because humans are invariably superstitious about such things. For example, if this world DOES collapse on us, and the remaining humans feel the need to explain it, some might blame nukular bombs, some God's wrath, and some others still, Gaia's revenge in the form of Globall Warmening.
Who will have been close to being right? None of us will be there to correct the record.
Posted by: BurtTC at January 29, 2023 11:02 AM (QBaJw)
246
#1 cause of premature bearing failure...over lubrication.
Posted by: BignJames at January 29, 2023 10:49 AM (AwYPR)
Had a "mechanic" go through one of the ski lifts at a resort I worked at and fill the shive wheel bearing cavities on the whole lift, went through 2, 15 gallon barrels. I'm in trouble because I supposedly had not been doing it prior. I had, I read the manual. Do not fill the cavity more than 30%. I argue my point to being called all but a dumbass.
Anyway damage done. We fire up. Grease starts puking out of the wheels. Coats the center of the seats. They bought hundreds of ski suits that season and I was vindicated.
Posted by: BignJames at January 29, 2023 10:49 AM (AwYPR)
Had a "mechanic" go through one of the ski lifts at a resort I worked at and fill the shive wheel bearing cavities on the whole lift, went through 2, 15 gallon barrels. I'm in trouble because I supposedly had not been doing it prior. I had, I read the manual. Do not fill the cavity more than 30%. I argue my point to being called all but a dumbass.
Anyway damage done. We fire up. Grease starts puking out of the wheels. Coats the center of the seats. They bought hundreds of ski suits that season and I was vindicated.
Posted by: Reforger at January 29, 2023 11:03 AM (CfLIM)
247
Oh, and the Manchus collaborated with the Japanese in WW II. So, yeah, kind of like Quisling only more so.
She was quite surprised that I knew the name Manchukuo. I thought it was pretty common knowledge.
She was quite surprised that I knew the name Manchukuo. I thought it was pretty common knowledge.
Posted by: Archimedes at January 29, 2023 11:03 AM (eOEVl)
248
Here's a question - could the sinking of Atlantis and the Biblical Flood be the same event?
Posted by: vmom stabby stabby stabby stabby stabamillion at January 29, 2023 10:57 AM (fUnHJ)
Lots of cultures have a "flood story"...caused by melting ice age glaciers! Atlantis is Greek/Mediterranean,
Posted by: vmom stabby stabby stabby stabby stabamillion at January 29, 2023 10:57 AM (fUnHJ)
Lots of cultures have a "flood story"...caused by melting ice age glaciers! Atlantis is Greek/Mediterranean,
Posted by: BignJames at January 29, 2023 11:04 AM (AwYPR)
249
Eris,
Centipede's titles don't tend to stay in print for long. You can find them through other specialty dealers or abebooks sometimes, but the prices tend to go up fairly quickly once they're o.p.
There are a number of them that I would have liked to pick up but couldn't afford at the time -- when they turn up from time to time now, it's basically a case of "if you have to ask, you can't afford it." Glad I stopped collecting years ago because I'd be bankrupt in short order if I started again.
Centipede's titles don't tend to stay in print for long. You can find them through other specialty dealers or abebooks sometimes, but the prices tend to go up fairly quickly once they're o.p.
There are a number of them that I would have liked to pick up but couldn't afford at the time -- when they turn up from time to time now, it's basically a case of "if you have to ask, you can't afford it." Glad I stopped collecting years ago because I'd be bankrupt in short order if I started again.
Posted by: Just Some Guy at January 29, 2023 11:04 AM (a/4+U)
250
"Here's a question - could the sinking of Atlantis and the Biblical Flood be the same event?"
F*ck yeah. The oceans have risen over 400 feet in since peak recent ice age, and are still risong but at a much decreased rate.
Now picture the rising waters sinking some ancient island-based civilizations entirely -- people who'd have fled in ships.
Now picture the rising Medditerean breaching the Bosporus and flooding into what's now the Black Sea.
F*ck yeah. The oceans have risen over 400 feet in since peak recent ice age, and are still risong but at a much decreased rate.
Now picture the rising waters sinking some ancient island-based civilizations entirely -- people who'd have fled in ships.
Now picture the rising Medditerean breaching the Bosporus and flooding into what's now the Black Sea.
Posted by: Ignoramus at January 29, 2023 11:04 AM (SJsWC)
251
Tehy make the Paddy Mayne character gay, and he might have been, but it's not clear from the record that he was. He didn't beat up his commanding officer for slighting his boyfriend. Word is Paddy he did it becasue the officer shot Paddy's dog when he was on patrol.
Posted by: Ignoramus at January 29, 2023 10:57 AM (SJsWC)
---
In Sword of Honour (specifically Officers and Gentleman), Evelyn Waugh introduces the character of Corporal Major Ludovic, formerly of the Horse Guards (hence the rank title) and a homosexual. Times being what they were, he was discrete and one of the subplots is him working on an epic pot-boiler of a novel that is utterly lurid and trashy and naturally becomes a best-seller in America.
Posted by: Ignoramus at January 29, 2023 10:57 AM (SJsWC)
---
In Sword of Honour (specifically Officers and Gentleman), Evelyn Waugh introduces the character of Corporal Major Ludovic, formerly of the Horse Guards (hence the rank title) and a homosexual. Times being what they were, he was discrete and one of the subplots is him working on an epic pot-boiler of a novel that is utterly lurid and trashy and naturally becomes a best-seller in America.
Posted by: Ace-Endorsed Author A.H. Lloyd at January 29, 2023 11:04 AM (llXky)
252
CN, I think that is why I received the book. Lol
Posted by: Sharon(willow's apprentice) at January 29, 2023 11:04 AM (Y+l9t)
253
238 The most immediate and important influence that horse domestication had was the ability to herd greater numbers of animals than before, through increased mobility. Horses allowed the pastoralists to both increase their herds in number, and allowed them to move away from the river bottoms to follow herds using travois as well as riding.
although mounted archers were important, the first use of horses in warfare was pulling chariots, which is a modification of the travois. it was only later when horses were bred larger, that adults could ride horses long distances and in heavy use.
The Irish, a very conservative culture, used chariots to get their warriors to line faster, where they generally fought on foot. I can't cite any proof, but I suspect this is how horses and chariots were initially used when developed.
Posted by: Kindltot at January 29, 2023 11:00 AM (xhaym)
As with Myceneans also and Indo-Eur (aryan) ppl. Absent the stirrup what are you going to use horses for? Mounted archers or chariots.
although mounted archers were important, the first use of horses in warfare was pulling chariots, which is a modification of the travois. it was only later when horses were bred larger, that adults could ride horses long distances and in heavy use.
The Irish, a very conservative culture, used chariots to get their warriors to line faster, where they generally fought on foot. I can't cite any proof, but I suspect this is how horses and chariots were initially used when developed.
Posted by: Kindltot at January 29, 2023 11:00 AM (xhaym)
As with Myceneans also and Indo-Eur (aryan) ppl. Absent the stirrup what are you going to use horses for? Mounted archers or chariots.
Posted by: Thesokorus at January 29, 2023 11:04 AM (1ais2)
254
Atlantis didn't sink. Global warming flooded it.
Posted by: Anonosaurus Wrecks, Not a Real Simulation at January 29, 2023 11:05 AM (FVME7)
255
This is my first time posting in this thread and possibly only the second time posting in a non-political thread, following no more than a couple of postings in the (regrettably gone) chess thread. Coincidentally, today I am wearing pants.
Lately, prompted by one of my favorite authors' comments, I have discovered Edgar Rice Burroughs' standalone books, i.e. not part of his Tarzan, John Carter, or Pellucidar cycles.
It's possible that last time I looked (on Project Gutenberg, more than 10 years ago) they weren't available online. Now they are, in Wikisource.
I am slooowly reading "The Bandit of Hell's Bend" and am looking forward to the Moon and Venus cycles.
It is quite corny and reminds me of the silent movies of that era, with their mustache-twirling villains. Still, thoroughly enjoyable.
Lately, prompted by one of my favorite authors' comments, I have discovered Edgar Rice Burroughs' standalone books, i.e. not part of his Tarzan, John Carter, or Pellucidar cycles.
It's possible that last time I looked (on Project Gutenberg, more than 10 years ago) they weren't available online. Now they are, in Wikisource.
I am slooowly reading "The Bandit of Hell's Bend" and am looking forward to the Moon and Venus cycles.
It is quite corny and reminds me of the silent movies of that era, with their mustache-twirling villains. Still, thoroughly enjoyable.
Posted by: PG at January 29, 2023 11:05 AM (84jHt)
256
184 RE: Babylon 5, one of the things that is so remarkable about it is how it managed to not just survive the mental breakdown of its lead actor, but work that into a new and fascinating plot.
The 5th season remains terrible. I never watch it.
Posted by: Ace-Endorsed Author A.H. Lloyd at January 29, 2023 10:35 AM (llXky)
I don't hate season 5, but I don't own it on DVD like I do the other 4. What really impressed me about the series what that back in season 1, the show made promises about its future, and the show eventually made good on those promises, even though a character central to those promises (the aforementioned actor who suffered a mental breakdown) had been written out of the show.
The 5th season remains terrible. I never watch it.
Posted by: Ace-Endorsed Author A.H. Lloyd at January 29, 2023 10:35 AM (llXky)
I don't hate season 5, but I don't own it on DVD like I do the other 4. What really impressed me about the series what that back in season 1, the show made promises about its future, and the show eventually made good on those promises, even though a character central to those promises (the aforementioned actor who suffered a mental breakdown) had been written out of the show.
Posted by: Castle Guy at January 29, 2023 11:05 AM (Lhaco)
257
I used to think this nonsense was just some political incantation that was not believed by the authors, but I no longer do. I think it's genuine and that they do believe it and want people to fear Conservatives and treat them like nazis. I've had too many conversations that verified my view to think otherwise.
Posted by: CN at January 29, 2023 10:59 AM (Zzbjj)
I get why the oligarchs and the Deep State feared Trump. I also get why the ordinaries nitwits do, but they're two different reasons.
Or, one could say, if you aren't an oligarch/Deep State operative, and you go around talking about Trump being worse than Hilter, it just means their brainwashing of you has taken.
Posted by: CN at January 29, 2023 10:59 AM (Zzbjj)
I get why the oligarchs and the Deep State feared Trump. I also get why the ordinaries nitwits do, but they're two different reasons.
Or, one could say, if you aren't an oligarch/Deep State operative, and you go around talking about Trump being worse than Hilter, it just means their brainwashing of you has taken.
Posted by: BurtTC at January 29, 2023 11:06 AM (QBaJw)
258
One could also make an argument that a privately funded fire department, police department, even a military, would be better than what we have.
Posted by: BurtTC at January 29, 2023 10:58 AM (QBaJw)
Until your house was on fire, then it's "How much you gonna pay us to put the fire out?"
Posted by: BurtTC at January 29, 2023 10:58 AM (QBaJw)
Until your house was on fire, then it's "How much you gonna pay us to put the fire out?"
Posted by: OrangeEnt at January 29, 2023 11:06 AM (Angsy)
259
OrangeEnt Question for the writers. Do you write a story to word count because you know what magazine or online publishers use as a cut off point, or do you write the way the story unfolds?
That is a very cromulent question. To be delphic about it, "yes".
Write how the story unfolds, then see how long it is. If it is novella+ and fights like a cat being put in a carrier to go to the vet when you try to slim it down, leave it alone and write something else. It will probably transform into a novel when you aren't looking. Part of the skill of writing short stories is learning how to be lean about word count. Shorter stories are more likely to be purchased because the 'slots' an editor has are limited. If you are world famous they will move things around to accomodate you, but us average joes have to worry more about fitting in.
I wrote a western ghost story where I completely omitted any mention of the main character's hat, JUST so I could save a few hundred words dealing with hat business ...
That is a very cromulent question. To be delphic about it, "yes".
Write how the story unfolds, then see how long it is. If it is novella+ and fights like a cat being put in a carrier to go to the vet when you try to slim it down, leave it alone and write something else. It will probably transform into a novel when you aren't looking. Part of the skill of writing short stories is learning how to be lean about word count. Shorter stories are more likely to be purchased because the 'slots' an editor has are limited. If you are world famous they will move things around to accomodate you, but us average joes have to worry more about fitting in.
I wrote a western ghost story where I completely omitted any mention of the main character's hat, JUST so I could save a few hundred words dealing with hat business ...
Posted by: Sabrina Chase at January 29, 2023 11:06 AM (BbSpR)
260
Until your house was on fire, then it's "How much you gonna pay us to put the fire out?"
Posted by: OrangeEnt at January 29, 2023 11:06 AM (Angsy)
Crassus
Posted by: OrangeEnt at January 29, 2023 11:06 AM (Angsy)
Crassus
Posted by: Thesokorus at January 29, 2023 11:07 AM (1ais2)
261
>>>Aha. So the new euphism is "bearing failure"! Very amusing.
>Also a popular explanation for spontaneous combustion in the wind turbine industry.
>Also a popular explanation for spontaneous combustion in the wind turbine industry.
Posted by: Dr. Bone at January 29, 2023 11:08 AM (Jg7EG)
262
Here's a question - could the sinking of Atlantis and the Biblical Flood be the same event?
Posted by: vmom stabby stabby stabby stabby stabamillion at January 29, 2023
***
Vmom, the most recent explanation I've read of the Biblical flood event was that it was the flooding of the then-habitable shelf of land around the Black Sea -- that the Atlantic poured in through the Straits of Gibraltar (I've forgotten what cataclysm caused that), the Med filled up, and the Black Sea rose and wiped out the settlements that had been living around the sea. Dunno if I'm remembering it correctly. Since that area was so close to Ancient Greece, perhaps the Atlantis legend had its origin in that.
Posted by: vmom stabby stabby stabby stabby stabamillion at January 29, 2023
***
Vmom, the most recent explanation I've read of the Biblical flood event was that it was the flooding of the then-habitable shelf of land around the Black Sea -- that the Atlantic poured in through the Straits of Gibraltar (I've forgotten what cataclysm caused that), the Med filled up, and the Black Sea rose and wiped out the settlements that had been living around the sea. Dunno if I'm remembering it correctly. Since that area was so close to Ancient Greece, perhaps the Atlantis legend had its origin in that.
Posted by: Wolfus Aurelius, Dreaming of Elsewhere at January 29, 2023 11:09 AM (omVj0)
263
Now picture the rising Medditerean breaching the Bosporus and flooding into what's now the Black Sea.
Posted by: Ignoramus at January 29, 2023 11:04 AM (SJsWC)
---
Otto Muck's contention was that an asteroid slammed into the earth, impacting near the Puerto Rico and scattering debris across the Carolinas. The impact tears open the mid-Atlantic ridge, inducing a frenzy of volcanic activity.
He does lots of math (he was rocket scientist) and calculates that it kicked off a global climate catastrophe and notes that the various flood myths all seem to portray the same event from different perspectives based on where cultures were relative to it.
Posted by: Ignoramus at January 29, 2023 11:04 AM (SJsWC)
---
Otto Muck's contention was that an asteroid slammed into the earth, impacting near the Puerto Rico and scattering debris across the Carolinas. The impact tears open the mid-Atlantic ridge, inducing a frenzy of volcanic activity.
He does lots of math (he was rocket scientist) and calculates that it kicked off a global climate catastrophe and notes that the various flood myths all seem to portray the same event from different perspectives based on where cultures were relative to it.
Posted by: Ace-Endorsed Author A.H. Lloyd at January 29, 2023 11:09 AM (llXky)
264
252 CN, I think that is why I received the book. Lol
Posted by: Sharon(willow's apprentice) at January 29, 2023 11:04 AM (Y+l9t)
I get a lot of gifts like this. The assumption is that I will appreciate anything Jewish and anything liberal. I cannot convince people that the two are not synonymous, and I thank people for the lovely gift and exchange them whenever possible. I am long past the point of keeping presents in order to leave them in a conspicuous place when the giver next visits. My husband used to insist on this.
Posted by: Sharon(willow's apprentice) at January 29, 2023 11:04 AM (Y+l9t)
I get a lot of gifts like this. The assumption is that I will appreciate anything Jewish and anything liberal. I cannot convince people that the two are not synonymous, and I thank people for the lovely gift and exchange them whenever possible. I am long past the point of keeping presents in order to leave them in a conspicuous place when the giver next visits. My husband used to insist on this.
Posted by: CN at January 29, 2023 11:09 AM (Zzbjj)
265
I wrote a western ghost story where I completely omitted any mention of the main character's hat, JUST so I could save a few hundred words dealing with hat business ...
I read that, and would have enjoyed it, but for the lack of hat-related commentary.
I read that, and would have enjoyed it, but for the lack of hat-related commentary.
Posted by: Archimedes at January 29, 2023 11:09 AM (eOEVl)
266
"Until your house was on fire, then it's "How much you gonna pay us to put the fire out?""
City fire departments were often private and competed for the spoils.
Crassus became the richest man in Rome by setting the fires his boys would put out.
City fire departments were often private and competed for the spoils.
Crassus became the richest man in Rome by setting the fires his boys would put out.
Posted by: Ignoramus at January 29, 2023 11:10 AM (SJsWC)
267
Walls of Men: A Military History of China
====
Should I be booking this for my spring or summer reading?
And to me, 365 pages is just about perfect length for "out of left field" books. Not intimidating, but probably not just fluff.
====
Should I be booking this for my spring or summer reading?
And to me, 365 pages is just about perfect length for "out of left field" books. Not intimidating, but probably not just fluff.
Posted by: From about that time at January 29, 2023 11:10 AM (4780s)
268
Atlantis didn't sink. Global warming flooded it.
Posted by: Anonosaurus Wrecks, Not a Real Simulation at January 29, 2023 11:05 AM (FVME7)
I'm pretty sure rival tribes used their nukular bombs to blow up the stilts on which it stood.
Posted by: Anonosaurus Wrecks, Not a Real Simulation at January 29, 2023 11:05 AM (FVME7)
I'm pretty sure rival tribes used their nukular bombs to blow up the stilts on which it stood.
Posted by: BurtTC at January 29, 2023 11:11 AM (QBaJw)
269
THE ICE IS GONE FROM MY BIRDBATH !
Posted by: JT at January 29, 2023 11:11 AM (T4tVD)
270
"Until your house was on fire, then it's "How much you gonna pay us to put the fire out?""
City fire departments were often private and competed for the spoils.
Crassus became the richest man in Rome by setting the fires his boys would put out.
Posted by: Ignoramus at January 29, 2023
***
Crassus got his start by profiting from Sulla's proscriptions earlier.
City fire departments were often private and competed for the spoils.
Crassus became the richest man in Rome by setting the fires his boys would put out.
Posted by: Ignoramus at January 29, 2023
***
Crassus got his start by profiting from Sulla's proscriptions earlier.
Posted by: Wolfus Aurelius, Dreaming of Elsewhere at January 29, 2023 11:12 AM (omVj0)
271
I haven't heard of Amazon taking back paid for ebooks except for the case of an unauthorized edition of 1984 that was not only removed from sale but from users' libraries as well. I thought that the users had their $$$ refunded, though, and I haven't heard of the situation being handled that way again -- have never had it happen that way in my own account on the few occasions I've mistakenly bought an unauthorized title; some of those have been removed from sale, but removing them from my own purchases has been up to me.
Posted by: Just Some Guy at January 29, 2023 11:12 AM (a/4+U)
272
Or, one could say, if you aren't an oligarch/Deep State operative, and you go around talking about Trump being worse than Hilter, it just means their brainwashing of you has taken.
Posted by: BurtTC at January 29, 2023 11:06 AM (QBaJw)
Maybe. I know a lot of people who are utterly obsessed by WWII and Hitler. It never gets old and when you constantly read and watch programs (mostly historical fiction) about monsters, you start searching for them.
Posted by: BurtTC at January 29, 2023 11:06 AM (QBaJw)
Maybe. I know a lot of people who are utterly obsessed by WWII and Hitler. It never gets old and when you constantly read and watch programs (mostly historical fiction) about monsters, you start searching for them.
Posted by: CN at January 29, 2023 11:12 AM (Zzbjj)
273
I don't hate season 5, but I don't own it on DVD like I do the other 4. What really impressed me about the series what that back in season 1, the show made promises about its future, and the show eventually made good on those promises, even though a character central to those promises (the aforementioned actor who suffered a mental breakdown) had been written out of the show.
Posted by: Castle Guy at January 29, 2023 11:05 AM (Lhaco)
---
I didn't own it, but one of my kids asked me to get the 5th season so she could see it for herself.
Yes, Babylon 5 stands apart as a show where they had tons of setup and then gave you ample payoff.
Posted by: Castle Guy at January 29, 2023 11:05 AM (Lhaco)
---
I didn't own it, but one of my kids asked me to get the 5th season so she could see it for herself.
Yes, Babylon 5 stands apart as a show where they had tons of setup and then gave you ample payoff.
Posted by: Ace-Endorsed Author A.H. Lloyd at January 29, 2023 11:12 AM (llXky)
274
THE ICE IS GONE FROM MY BIRDBATH !
Posted by: JT at January 29, 2023 11:11 AM (T4tVD)
Warmening...it's real.
Posted by: JT at January 29, 2023 11:11 AM (T4tVD)
Warmening...it's real.
Posted by: BignJames at January 29, 2023 11:13 AM (AwYPR)
275
One could also make an argument that a privately funded fire department, police department, even a military, would be better than what we have.
Posted by: BurtTC at January 29, 2023 10:58 AM (QBaJw)
Until your house was on fire, then it's "How much you gonna pay us to put the fire out?"
Posted by: OrangeEnt at January 29, 2023 11:06 AM (Angsy)
As I said, we don't live in that world, but yeah, a privately funded fire department would work much more efficiently and effectively than a government one.
It just would.
Posted by: BurtTC at January 29, 2023 10:58 AM (QBaJw)
Until your house was on fire, then it's "How much you gonna pay us to put the fire out?"
Posted by: OrangeEnt at January 29, 2023 11:06 AM (Angsy)
As I said, we don't live in that world, but yeah, a privately funded fire department would work much more efficiently and effectively than a government one.
It just would.
Posted by: BurtTC at January 29, 2023 11:13 AM (QBaJw)
276
Then too there is a theory Atlantis was in Mediterranean Sea and was flooded when the Mediterranean filled up when the Atlantic got past Gibraltar
Posted by: Skip at January 29, 2023 11:13 AM (xhxe8)
277
Should I be booking this for my spring or summer reading?
And to me, 365 pages is just about perfect length for "out of left field" books. Not intimidating, but probably not just fluff.
Posted by: From about that time at January 29, 2023 11:10 AM (4780s)
---
Spring. I hope to publish it within the next two weeks. Coming down the home stretch.
And to me, 365 pages is just about perfect length for "out of left field" books. Not intimidating, but probably not just fluff.
Posted by: From about that time at January 29, 2023 11:10 AM (4780s)
---
Spring. I hope to publish it within the next two weeks. Coming down the home stretch.
Posted by: Ace-Endorsed Author A.H. Lloyd at January 29, 2023 11:13 AM (llXky)
278
Then too there is a theory Atlantis was in Mediterranean Sea and was flooded when the Mediterranean filled up when the Atlantic got past Gibraltar
Posted by: Skip at January 29, 2023 11:13 AM (xhxe
---
There is a general academic consensus to put Atlantis everywhere other than Plato says it was. I find that odd.
Posted by: Skip at January 29, 2023 11:13 AM (xhxe
---
There is a general academic consensus to put Atlantis everywhere other than Plato says it was. I find that odd.
Posted by: Ace-Endorsed Author A.H. Lloyd at January 29, 2023 11:15 AM (llXky)
279
I won't be surprised when 1/2 of my ebooks are declared to be against the government and are banned books and disappear from my carousel.
Posted by: Skip at January 29, 2023 11:16 AM (xhxe8)
280
There is a general academic consensus to put Atlantis everywhere other than Plato says it was. I find that odd.
Posted by: Ace-Endorsed Author A.H. Lloyd at January 29, 2023 11:15 AM (llXky)
I thought it was prolly Minoan Crete....wiped out by Thera's eruption/tsunamis.
Posted by: Ace-Endorsed Author A.H. Lloyd at January 29, 2023 11:15 AM (llXky)
I thought it was prolly Minoan Crete....wiped out by Thera's eruption/tsunamis.
Posted by: BignJames at January 29, 2023 11:17 AM (AwYPR)
281
245 Here's a question - could the sinking of Atlantis and the Biblical Flood be the same event?
Posted by: vmom stabby stabby stabby stabby stabamillion at January 29, 2023 10:57 AM (fUnHJ)
According to Ghraham Hancock and Randall Carlson, yes. And they connect both to the Younger Dryas event. I'm not sure how much I believe their full hyopothesis, but it is neat, and they do punch a lot of very convincing holes in traditional narratives.
Posted by: vmom stabby stabby stabby stabby stabamillion at January 29, 2023 10:57 AM (fUnHJ)
According to Ghraham Hancock and Randall Carlson, yes. And they connect both to the Younger Dryas event. I'm not sure how much I believe their full hyopothesis, but it is neat, and they do punch a lot of very convincing holes in traditional narratives.
Posted by: Castle Guy at January 29, 2023 11:18 AM (Lhaco)
282
Should I be booking this for my spring or summer reading?
And to me, 365 pages is just about perfect length for "out of left field" books. Not intimidating, but probably not just fluff.
Posted by: From about that time at January 29, 2023 11:10 AM (4780s)
---
Spring. I hope to publish it within the next two weeks. Coming down the home stretch.
Posted by: Ace-Endorsed Author A.H. Lloyd
"He'll be comin' 'round the mountain when he comes...."
And to me, 365 pages is just about perfect length for "out of left field" books. Not intimidating, but probably not just fluff.
Posted by: From about that time at January 29, 2023 11:10 AM (4780s)
---
Spring. I hope to publish it within the next two weeks. Coming down the home stretch.
Posted by: Ace-Endorsed Author A.H. Lloyd
"He'll be comin' 'round the mountain when he comes...."
Posted by: JT at January 29, 2023 11:18 AM (T4tVD)
283
There is a general academic consensus to put Atlantis everywhere other than Plato says it was. I find that odd.
Posted by: Ace-Endorsed Author A.H. Lloyd at January 29, 2023 11:15 AM (llXky)
Everything about Atlantis is odd. One night when I couldn't sleep, I read about Atlantis and the view that a rare mtDNA "probably" originated there. Sounded weird, and the author really offered no proof.
Posted by: Ace-Endorsed Author A.H. Lloyd at January 29, 2023 11:15 AM (llXky)
Everything about Atlantis is odd. One night when I couldn't sleep, I read about Atlantis and the view that a rare mtDNA "probably" originated there. Sounded weird, and the author really offered no proof.
Posted by: CN at January 29, 2023 11:18 AM (Zzbjj)
284
Or, one could say, if you aren't an oligarch/Deep State operative, and you go around talking about Trump being worse than Hilter, it just means their brainwashing of you has taken.
Posted by: BurtTC at January 29, 2023 11:06 AM (QBaJw)
Maybe. I know a lot of people who are utterly obsessed by WWII and Hitler. It never gets old and when you constantly read and watch programs (mostly historical fiction) about monsters, you start searching for them.
Posted by: CN at January 29, 2023 11:12 AM (Zzbjj)
Right, that's just one way people become easily brainwashed, because of past traumatic events, whether they happened to that person or someone else.
Same thing happens in personal relationships, if you had a parent and/or past partner who was abusive, you start seeing entirely benign behaviors in your current partner as being abusive. Ask me how I know.
Posted by: BurtTC at January 29, 2023 11:06 AM (QBaJw)
Maybe. I know a lot of people who are utterly obsessed by WWII and Hitler. It never gets old and when you constantly read and watch programs (mostly historical fiction) about monsters, you start searching for them.
Posted by: CN at January 29, 2023 11:12 AM (Zzbjj)
Right, that's just one way people become easily brainwashed, because of past traumatic events, whether they happened to that person or someone else.
Same thing happens in personal relationships, if you had a parent and/or past partner who was abusive, you start seeing entirely benign behaviors in your current partner as being abusive. Ask me how I know.
Posted by: BurtTC at January 29, 2023 11:19 AM (QBaJw)
285
Maybe. I know a lot of people who are utterly obsessed by WWII and Hitler. It never gets old and when you constantly read and watch programs (mostly historical fiction) about monsters, you start searching for them.
Posted by: CN at January 29, 2023 11:12 AM (Zzbjj)
---
Yes, and these books typically talk about how Franco was a rabid fascist and how the Spanish Republic was a free and progressive democracy and other lies.
It is very much a fantasy world in which they get to be the heroes without actually facing real danger.
Posted by: CN at January 29, 2023 11:12 AM (Zzbjj)
---
Yes, and these books typically talk about how Franco was a rabid fascist and how the Spanish Republic was a free and progressive democracy and other lies.
It is very much a fantasy world in which they get to be the heroes without actually facing real danger.
Posted by: Ace-Endorsed Author A.H. Lloyd at January 29, 2023 11:19 AM (llXky)
286
haven't heard of Amazon taking back paid for ebooks except for the case of an unauthorized edition of 1984 that was not only removed from sale but from users' libraries as well. I thought that the users had their $$$ refunded, though, and I haven't heard of the situation being handled that way again. . . .
Posted by: Just Some Guy at January 29, 2023
***
Maybe I'm remembering it wrong.
Posted by: Just Some Guy at January 29, 2023
***
Maybe I'm remembering it wrong.
Posted by: Wolfus Aurelius, Dreaming of Elsewhere at January 29, 2023 11:20 AM (omVj0)
287
https://tinyurl.com/bdsau6v
This shows what happens to the Mediterrean when sea levels lower. At 100mm (even less) it's land-locked from the Black Sea.
Talk about the effects of Climate Change.
This shows what happens to the Mediterrean when sea levels lower. At 100mm (even less) it's land-locked from the Black Sea.
Talk about the effects of Climate Change.
Posted by: Ignoramus at January 29, 2023 11:20 AM (SJsWC)
288
Hiya Heidi ! (give my regards to The Artist Formerly Known as Da Cannibal !)
Posted by: JT at January 29, 2023 11:20 AM (T4tVD)
289
I'm struggling to reread The Girl Who Played With Fire by Stieg Larsson.
It has me wondering about the appropriate amount of detail in a novel.
I understand detail helps build a world and character but it seems Larsson provides two pages of detail on every single person or item in the book. Salander broke in using a card she had hacked (a page of detail on how she did it) went to the coffee machine in the lobby and paid for a coffee (a page of detail on the coffee).
When is there too much detail. At what point is just the right amount.
My writing style runs to terse but what is the sweet spot?
It has me wondering about the appropriate amount of detail in a novel.
I understand detail helps build a world and character but it seems Larsson provides two pages of detail on every single person or item in the book. Salander broke in using a card she had hacked (a page of detail on how she did it) went to the coffee machine in the lobby and paid for a coffee (a page of detail on the coffee).
When is there too much detail. At what point is just the right amount.
My writing style runs to terse but what is the sweet spot?
Posted by: N.Lurker at January 29, 2023 11:21 AM (eGTCV)
290
Perfessor,
Before it gets too late in the morning, Many thanks for another wonderful book thread. It is one of the highlights of my weekend.
Before it gets too late in the morning, Many thanks for another wonderful book thread. It is one of the highlights of my weekend.
Posted by: JTB at January 29, 2023 11:21 AM (7EjX1)
291
Speaking of, I am at this moment watching "Ancient Apocalypse" on Netflix.
Why am I just now learning that there is a place in eastern Washington State called the Channeled Scablands?
"Scablands" would be a great title for a western.
Why am I just now learning that there is a place in eastern Washington State called the Channeled Scablands?
"Scablands" would be a great title for a western.
Posted by: All Hail Eris, Sans-Culottes (except for the Book Thread) at January 29, 2023 11:22 AM (Dc2NZ)
292
Comedy gold! You know female figure skaters gliding gracefully on the ice? Yeah, well, this ain't it.
Jack Posobiec @JackPosobiec
BREAKING: Finland has introduced the world's first transgender national figure skater
They fall down in the first 45 seconds and no one is allowed to act like anything at all happened
https://bit.ly/3JoxANl
Jack Posobiec @JackPosobiec
BREAKING: Finland has introduced the world's first transgender national figure skater
They fall down in the first 45 seconds and no one is allowed to act like anything at all happened
https://bit.ly/3JoxANl
Posted by: Anonosaurus Wrecks, Not a Real Simulation at January 29, 2023 11:22 AM (FVME7)
293
Everything about Atlantis is odd. One night when I couldn't sleep, I read about Atlantis and the view that a rare mtDNA "probably" originated there. Sounded weird, and the author really offered no proof.
Posted by: CN at January 29, 2023 11:18 AM (Zzbjj)
---
It's a weirdo magnet, and that's one reason why "respectable" scientists look everywhere but where Plato says it was. I did a deep dive as an undergrad and found Muck's book in the stacks at the MSU library. Years later, I found a copy at Curious Books and while Muck has his flights of fancy, he tries to keep everything on the level and just stick to the facts.
He was writing in the 60s or 70s and one thing he got very right is that the old timelines of civilization are collapsing. Even then new discoveries were reshaping our idea of how advanced societies were. So his claims that there could have been a technological collapse aren't far-fetched.
Posted by: CN at January 29, 2023 11:18 AM (Zzbjj)
---
It's a weirdo magnet, and that's one reason why "respectable" scientists look everywhere but where Plato says it was. I did a deep dive as an undergrad and found Muck's book in the stacks at the MSU library. Years later, I found a copy at Curious Books and while Muck has his flights of fancy, he tries to keep everything on the level and just stick to the facts.
He was writing in the 60s or 70s and one thing he got very right is that the old timelines of civilization are collapsing. Even then new discoveries were reshaping our idea of how advanced societies were. So his claims that there could have been a technological collapse aren't far-fetched.
Posted by: Ace-Endorsed Author A.H. Lloyd at January 29, 2023 11:22 AM (llXky)
294
I wrote a western ghost story where I completely omitted any mention of the main character's hat, JUST so I could save a few hundred words dealing with hat business ...
Posted by: Sabrina Chase at January 29, 2023 11:06 AM (BbSpR)
Was away for a bit, but thanks! I'm only a beginner, but I've written a few short stories, a novella and novel. I assume the shorts are more concerned with length when you're trying to get in print. It's irritating to find a place you think fits, but they say they are firm on word count and my stuff doesn't fit. I write a story "organically." I write what I think needs to be in there without thinking about word count. Maybe I should start thinking about that.
Posted by: Sabrina Chase at January 29, 2023 11:06 AM (BbSpR)
Was away for a bit, but thanks! I'm only a beginner, but I've written a few short stories, a novella and novel. I assume the shorts are more concerned with length when you're trying to get in print. It's irritating to find a place you think fits, but they say they are firm on word count and my stuff doesn't fit. I write a story "organically." I write what I think needs to be in there without thinking about word count. Maybe I should start thinking about that.
Posted by: OrangeEnt at January 29, 2023 11:22 AM (Angsy)
295
RE: Babylon 5, one of the things that is so remarkable about it is how it managed to not just survive the mental breakdown of its lead actor, but work that into a new and fascinating plot.
The 5th season remains terrible. I never watch it.
Posted by: Ace-Endorsed Author A.H. Lloyd at January 29, 2023 10:35 AM (llXky)
I thought B5 was probably the most realistic of any sci-fi as far as the future goes. No lofty star trek picard babble about how we're advanced and above it all. Nooo, mankind are still fuckups, and technology didn't change anything. It was a great series, probably one of my favs. Season 5 though, yeah it was nothing more than the Sheridan/Delen hour.
The 5th season remains terrible. I never watch it.
Posted by: Ace-Endorsed Author A.H. Lloyd at January 29, 2023 10:35 AM (llXky)
I thought B5 was probably the most realistic of any sci-fi as far as the future goes. No lofty star trek picard babble about how we're advanced and above it all. Nooo, mankind are still fuckups, and technology didn't change anything. It was a great series, probably one of my favs. Season 5 though, yeah it was nothing more than the Sheridan/Delen hour.
Posted by: Berserker-Dragonheads Division at January 29, 2023 11:23 AM (VwHCD)
296
Why am I just now learning that there is a place in eastern Washington State called the Channeled Scablands?
"Scablands" would be a great title for a western.
Posted by: All Hail Eris, Sans-Culottes (except for the Book Thread) at January 29, 2023 11:22 AM (Dc2NZ)
Lake Missoula used to have great fishing.
"Scablands" would be a great title for a western.
Posted by: All Hail Eris, Sans-Culottes (except for the Book Thread) at January 29, 2023 11:22 AM (Dc2NZ)
Lake Missoula used to have great fishing.
Posted by: BignJames at January 29, 2023 11:23 AM (AwYPR)
297
Same thing happens in personal relationships, if you had a parent and/or past partner who was abusive, you start seeing entirely benign behaviors in your current partner as being abusive. Ask me how I know.
Posted by: BurtTC at January 29, 2023 11:19 AM (QBaJw)
Probably so. Often abusive people are a very mixed bag of behaviors, and if the incidents were over an extended period, it's not unusual to make wrong connections.
Posted by: BurtTC at January 29, 2023 11:19 AM (QBaJw)
Probably so. Often abusive people are a very mixed bag of behaviors, and if the incidents were over an extended period, it's not unusual to make wrong connections.
Posted by: CN at January 29, 2023 11:24 AM (Zzbjj)
298
"Scablands" would be a great title for a western.
Posted by: All Hail Eris, Sans-Culottes (except for the Book Thread
Because they didn't have Band-Aids ?
Posted by: All Hail Eris, Sans-Culottes (except for the Book Thread
Because they didn't have Band-Aids ?
Posted by: JT at January 29, 2023 11:24 AM (T4tVD)
299
When is there too much detail. At what point is just the right amount.
My writing style runs to terse but what is the sweet spot?
Posted by: N.Lurker at January 29, 2023 11:21 AM (eGTCV)
I've of the belief that everything you write has to serve a purpose. Some writers fall in love with their own style, which I get, but unless the color, flavor, and/or source of that coffee has something to do with the story, knock it the F off with the descriptive detail.
My writing style runs to terse but what is the sweet spot?
Posted by: N.Lurker at January 29, 2023 11:21 AM (eGTCV)
I've of the belief that everything you write has to serve a purpose. Some writers fall in love with their own style, which I get, but unless the color, flavor, and/or source of that coffee has something to do with the story, knock it the F off with the descriptive detail.
Posted by: BurtTC at January 29, 2023 11:24 AM (QBaJw)
300
When is there too much detail. At what point is just the right amount.
My writing style runs to terse but what is the sweet spot?
Posted by: N.Lurker at January 29, 2023
***
There's too much when the reader has the reaction you have. The heavy detailing should be restricted to those things that are crucial to the plot or the mystery, or necessary for the reader to understand what's going on. Michael Crichton was good with this. He lectured us occasionally, yes, but he made it fun to read about dinosaurs or medieval society or viruses.
My writing style runs to terse but what is the sweet spot?
Posted by: N.Lurker at January 29, 2023
***
There's too much when the reader has the reaction you have. The heavy detailing should be restricted to those things that are crucial to the plot or the mystery, or necessary for the reader to understand what's going on. Michael Crichton was good with this. He lectured us occasionally, yes, but he made it fun to read about dinosaurs or medieval society or viruses.
Posted by: Wolfus Aurelius, Dreaming of Elsewhere at January 29, 2023 11:25 AM (omVj0)
301
Or, one could say, if you aren't an oligarch/Deep State operative, and you go around talking about Trump being worse than Hilter, it just means their brainwashing of you has taken.
Posted by: BurtTC
Did somebody say Hitler? Heil Honey, a situation comedy about Adolph and Eva at home.
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=qWjCkcAmzDc&t=77s
Posted by: BurtTC
Did somebody say Hitler? Heil Honey, a situation comedy about Adolph and Eva at home.
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=qWjCkcAmzDc&t=77s
Posted by: Anonosaurus Wrecks, Not a Real Simulation at January 29, 2023 11:25 AM (FVME7)
Posted by: JT at January 29, 2023 11:25 AM (T4tVD)
303
Right, that's just one way people become easily brainwashed, because of past traumatic events, whether they happened to that person or someone else.
Posted by: BurtTC at January 29, 2023 11:19 AM (QBaJw)
---
Much of it is victimhood by proxy. "My great-great-grandfather was a slave, so tear down all the things and give me money!"
On a sidebar, my local high school's strident anti-police posture coupled with its emphasis on "Restorative Justice" has resulted in endemic fights, gangs in the halls and repeated lockdowns in the last couple of weeks. They actually canceled school on Wednesday and Friday to try to regroup and figure out a way to restore order.
They invited the cops back on campus (after punishing them for killing poor George Floyd), and now suspensions are once more on the disciplinary menu. Reality comes at ya fast.
Posted by: BurtTC at January 29, 2023 11:19 AM (QBaJw)
---
Much of it is victimhood by proxy. "My great-great-grandfather was a slave, so tear down all the things and give me money!"
On a sidebar, my local high school's strident anti-police posture coupled with its emphasis on "Restorative Justice" has resulted in endemic fights, gangs in the halls and repeated lockdowns in the last couple of weeks. They actually canceled school on Wednesday and Friday to try to regroup and figure out a way to restore order.
They invited the cops back on campus (after punishing them for killing poor George Floyd), and now suspensions are once more on the disciplinary menu. Reality comes at ya fast.
Posted by: Ace-Endorsed Author A.H. Lloyd at January 29, 2023 11:26 AM (llXky)
304
And then .......?
Posted by: JT at January 29, 2023 11:25 AM (T4tVD)
Warmening...ruins everything.
Posted by: JT at January 29, 2023 11:25 AM (T4tVD)
Warmening...ruins everything.
Posted by: BignJames at January 29, 2023 11:26 AM (AwYPR)
305
There's a meme, either in Vikings or Last Kingdom, where the Arthur character marvels at what the Romans left behind, things Arthur couldn't fully understand, like the Romans were ancient aliens. And they were huge creatures, because their statutes said so.
Posted by: Ignoramus at January 29, 2023 11:27 AM (SJsWC)
Posted by: JT at January 29, 2023 11:27 AM (T4tVD)
307
Same thing happens in personal relationships, if you had a parent and/or past partner who was abusive, you start seeing entirely benign behaviors in your current partner as being abusive. Ask me how I know.
Posted by: BurtTC at January 29, 2023 11:19 AM (QBaJw)
Probably so. Often abusive people are a very mixed bag of behaviors, and if the incidents were over an extended period, it's not unusual to make wrong connections.
Posted by: CN at January 29, 2023 11:24 AM (Zzbjj)
And when it comes to our current political garbage, it's very much a source of much of what we see.
Think of it as all those nitwits with daddy issues, who are now so easily convinced The Patriarchy must be brought down, and Trump is the Big Daddy who leads it, it doesn't matter how convoluted the story goes. It doesn't matter if there's no real basis in reality, the powers that be have convinced SO many of these morons that the world is the way it is, and they believe it because their daddy didn't love them enough.
Posted by: BurtTC at January 29, 2023 11:19 AM (QBaJw)
Probably so. Often abusive people are a very mixed bag of behaviors, and if the incidents were over an extended period, it's not unusual to make wrong connections.
Posted by: CN at January 29, 2023 11:24 AM (Zzbjj)
And when it comes to our current political garbage, it's very much a source of much of what we see.
Think of it as all those nitwits with daddy issues, who are now so easily convinced The Patriarchy must be brought down, and Trump is the Big Daddy who leads it, it doesn't matter how convoluted the story goes. It doesn't matter if there's no real basis in reality, the powers that be have convinced SO many of these morons that the world is the way it is, and they believe it because their daddy didn't love them enough.
Posted by: BurtTC at January 29, 2023 11:28 AM (QBaJw)
308
Wolfus,
...or maybe I'm overlooking other instances of it. Could Amazon or any other ebook giant like B&N or Kobo do it? Sure. Which is why I still keep some titles in hardcopy as well, and a number of ebooks on my own machine as well as in Amazon's cloud. I don't expect them to do something like the 1984 removal again, but hey, suspenders and belt...
Of course if the grid goes down I won't be able to download the ebooks that weren't on my local devices, or charge said local devices -- but if the grid goes down I'll have bigger problems to deal with for a while...
...or maybe I'm overlooking other instances of it. Could Amazon or any other ebook giant like B&N or Kobo do it? Sure. Which is why I still keep some titles in hardcopy as well, and a number of ebooks on my own machine as well as in Amazon's cloud. I don't expect them to do something like the 1984 removal again, but hey, suspenders and belt...
Of course if the grid goes down I won't be able to download the ebooks that weren't on my local devices, or charge said local devices -- but if the grid goes down I'll have bigger problems to deal with for a while...
Posted by: Just Some Guy at January 29, 2023 11:28 AM (a/4+U)
309
299 When is there too much detail. At what point is just the right amount.
My writing style runs to terse but what is the sweet spot?
Posted by: N.Lurker at January 29, 2023 11:21 AM (eGTCV)
Tastes change over time. We seem to now be in a period of extreme detail. Very recent change.
Diff demographics prefer diff lvls of detail as well.
The modal customer for e-books is prob female.
My writing style runs to terse but what is the sweet spot?
Posted by: N.Lurker at January 29, 2023 11:21 AM (eGTCV)
Tastes change over time. We seem to now be in a period of extreme detail. Very recent change.
Diff demographics prefer diff lvls of detail as well.
The modal customer for e-books is prob female.
Posted by: Thesokorus at January 29, 2023 11:28 AM (1ais2)
310
I thought B5 was probably the most realistic of any sci-fi as far as the future goes. No lofty star trek picard babble about how we're advanced and above it all. Nooo, mankind are still fuckups, and technology didn't change anything. It was a great series, probably one of my favs. Season 5 though, yeah it was nothing more than the Sheridan/Delen hour.
Posted by: Berserker-Dragonheads Division at January 29, 2023 11:23 AM (VwHCD)
---
While the show was still filming (and the cast had no idea what would happen next), Mira Furlan approached JMS at the conclusion of an episode where the Narn are hung out to dry by their supposed allies.
"So, how long have you lived in the Balkans?" she said.
Posted by: Berserker-Dragonheads Division at January 29, 2023 11:23 AM (VwHCD)
---
While the show was still filming (and the cast had no idea what would happen next), Mira Furlan approached JMS at the conclusion of an episode where the Narn are hung out to dry by their supposed allies.
"So, how long have you lived in the Balkans?" she said.
Posted by: Ace-Endorsed Author A.H. Lloyd at January 29, 2023 11:28 AM (llXky)
311
https://tinyurl.com/bdsau6v
This shows what happens to the Mediterrean when sea levels lower. At 100mm (even less) it's land-locked from the Black Sea.
That's fascinating. Thanks.
This shows what happens to the Mediterrean when sea levels lower. At 100mm (even less) it's land-locked from the Black Sea.
That's fascinating. Thanks.
Posted by: Archimedes at January 29, 2023 11:28 AM (eOEVl)
312
Way down, below the ocean
Where, I wanna a be, she may be
Where, I wanna a be, she may be
Posted by: Skip at January 29, 2023 11:29 AM (xhxe8)
313
Lake Missoula used to have great fishing.
Posted by: BignJames
And then .......?
Posted by: JT at January 29, 2023 11:25 AM (T4tVD)
---
Everything changed when the Fire Nation attacked.
Posted by: BignJames
And then .......?
Posted by: JT at January 29, 2023 11:25 AM (T4tVD)
---
Everything changed when the Fire Nation attacked.
Posted by: Ace-Endorsed Author A.H. Lloyd at January 29, 2023 11:30 AM (llXky)
314
297 Same thing happens in personal relationships, if you had a parent and/or past partner who was abusive, you start seeing entirely benign behaviors in your current partner as being abusive. Ask me how I know.
Posted by: BurtTC at January 29, 2023 11:19 AM (QBaJw)
Probably so. Often abusive people are a very mixed bag of behaviors, and if the incidents were over an extended period, it's not unusual to make wrong connections.
Posted by: CN at January 29, 2023 11:24 AM (Zzbjj)
If you had 18+ years of abusive parents then 15-20 years of abusive spouse, it can definitely fuck you up pretty bad.
Posted by: BurtTC at January 29, 2023 11:19 AM (QBaJw)
Probably so. Often abusive people are a very mixed bag of behaviors, and if the incidents were over an extended period, it's not unusual to make wrong connections.
Posted by: CN at January 29, 2023 11:24 AM (Zzbjj)
If you had 18+ years of abusive parents then 15-20 years of abusive spouse, it can definitely fuck you up pretty bad.
Posted by: Don't ask me how I know. Or do. Don't care. at January 29, 2023 11:30 AM (UKe2c)
315
Maybe too many people built up on one side of Atlantis and it flipped over?
Posted by: blaster at January 29, 2023 11:30 AM (pwExq)
316
Even then new discoveries were reshaping our idea of how advanced societies were. So his claims that there could have been a technological collapse aren't far-fetched.
Posted by: Ace-Endorsed Author A.H. Lloyd at January 29, 2023 11:22 AM (llXky)
Well the online stuff I read took that to an illogical extreme and outfitted Atlantis with technology more consistent with Star Trek. I think trekkies are "seeking out new civilizations" close to home. The reason I read this is the mtDNA haplogroup theory. One type is allegedly either from Atlantis or outer space. Just plain weird.
Posted by: Ace-Endorsed Author A.H. Lloyd at January 29, 2023 11:22 AM (llXky)
Well the online stuff I read took that to an illogical extreme and outfitted Atlantis with technology more consistent with Star Trek. I think trekkies are "seeking out new civilizations" close to home. The reason I read this is the mtDNA haplogroup theory. One type is allegedly either from Atlantis or outer space. Just plain weird.
Posted by: CN at January 29, 2023 11:30 AM (Zzbjj)
317
Apparently, the full title is Heil Honey, I'm Home!
Heil Honey I'm Home! is a British sitcom, written by Geoff Atkinson and produced in 1990, which was cancelled after one episode. It centres on Adolf Hitler and Eva Braun, who live next door to a Jewish couple, Arny and Rosa Goldenstein. The show spoofs elements of mid-20th century American sitcoms and is driven by Hitler's inability to get along with his neighbours. It caused controversy when broadcast and has been called "perhaps the world's most tasteless situation comedy".
Heil Honey I'm Home! is a British sitcom, written by Geoff Atkinson and produced in 1990, which was cancelled after one episode. It centres on Adolf Hitler and Eva Braun, who live next door to a Jewish couple, Arny and Rosa Goldenstein. The show spoofs elements of mid-20th century American sitcoms and is driven by Hitler's inability to get along with his neighbours. It caused controversy when broadcast and has been called "perhaps the world's most tasteless situation comedy".
Posted by: Anonosaurus Wrecks, Not a Real Simulation at January 29, 2023 11:30 AM (FVME7)
318
If you had 18+ years of abusive parents then 15-20 years of abusive spouse, it can definitely fuck you up pretty bad.
Posted by: Don't ask me how I know. Or do. Don't care. at January 29, 2023 11:30 AM (UKe2c)
Yep.
If you had 18+ years of abusive parents then 15-20 years of abusive spouse, it can definitely fuck you up pretty bad.
Posted by: Don't ask me how I know. Or do. Don't care. at January 29, 2023 11:30 AM (UKe2c)
Yep.
Posted by: CN at January 29, 2023 11:31 AM (Zzbjj)
319
Come for the book discussions. Stay for the birdbath updates!
Posted by: Quarter Twenty at January 29, 2023 11:31 AM (DhOHl)
320
As I said, we don't live in that world, but yeah, a privately funded fire department would work much more efficiently and effectively than a government one.
It just would.
Posted by: BurtTC at January 29, 2023 11:13 AM (QBaJw)
As long as they weren't subjected to the current rules about hiring and stuff. A private company hiring the best and insisting on it would definitely be better than a gov run outfit. It just requires that the company be honest and not turn into a Crassus operation. How to do it is the question.
It just would.
Posted by: BurtTC at January 29, 2023 11:13 AM (QBaJw)
As long as they weren't subjected to the current rules about hiring and stuff. A private company hiring the best and insisting on it would definitely be better than a gov run outfit. It just requires that the company be honest and not turn into a Crassus operation. How to do it is the question.
Posted by: OrangeEnt at January 29, 2023 11:32 AM (Angsy)
321
Latest read was entirely fluff and cotton candy. I just finished the Circle Trilogy by Nora Roberts. Yes, it's romantic novels and totally entertaining. I've read several of Roberts' books and enjoyed them for the discernable plot, character development and (for lack of a better term) moral lesson. And the books do put the "romance" in the novel but it is well done and used selectively.
Just rediscovered the first book I ever received as a gift. Naturally, I've been hauling it around all these years because it's special. So next up on the reading list is "Jane Eyre."
Just rediscovered the first book I ever received as a gift. Naturally, I've been hauling it around all these years because it's special. So next up on the reading list is "Jane Eyre."
Posted by: Legally Sufficient at January 29, 2023 11:32 AM (hPMYc)
322
" "perhaps the world's most tasteless situation comedy"."
In a world that gave us Hogan's Heroes
In a world that gave us Hogan's Heroes
Posted by: Ignoramus at January 29, 2023 11:32 AM (SJsWC)
323
Well the online stuff I read took that to an illogical extreme and outfitted Atlantis with technology more consistent with Star Trek. I think trekkies are "seeking out new civilizations" close to home. The reason I read this is the mtDNA haplogroup theory. One type is allegedly either from Atlantis or outer space. Just plain weird.
Posted by: CN at January 29, 2023 11:30 AM (Zzbjj)
True. But Rh neg and various haplogroups do need to be explained.
Posted by: CN at January 29, 2023 11:30 AM (Zzbjj)
True. But Rh neg and various haplogroups do need to be explained.
Posted by: Thesokorus at January 29, 2023 11:32 AM (1ais2)
324
Back of a Haagen-Dasz container. Can't make out a word of it. Must be in Dutch. That's ok. Democrats embrace diversity. Word as a Brandon.
Posted by: Brandon at January 29, 2023 11:32 AM (oINRc)
325
Have a great day all.
Thanks for the feedback.
Thanks for the feedback.
Posted by: Sharon(willow's apprentice) at January 29, 2023 11:33 AM (Y+l9t)
326
Did somebody say Hitler? Heil Honey, a situation comedy about Adolph and Eva at home.
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=qWjCkcAmzDc&t=77s
Posted by: Anonosaurus Wrecks, Not a Real Simulation at January 29, 2023 11:25 AM (FVME7)
Good lord, that's horrible. Somebody actually made it. I don't know the context, and I don't want to know, but it's hilarious that it exists.
Although I guess it's not all that different from the Stone and Parker thing, "That's My Bush." Which wasn't completely terrible.
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=qWjCkcAmzDc&t=77s
Posted by: Anonosaurus Wrecks, Not a Real Simulation at January 29, 2023 11:25 AM (FVME7)
Good lord, that's horrible. Somebody actually made it. I don't know the context, and I don't want to know, but it's hilarious that it exists.
Although I guess it's not all that different from the Stone and Parker thing, "That's My Bush." Which wasn't completely terrible.
Posted by: BurtTC at January 29, 2023 11:33 AM (QBaJw)
327
Have a great day all.
Thanks for the feedback.
Posted by: Sharon(willow's apprentice)
Backatcha Sharon !
Thanks for the feedback.
Posted by: Sharon(willow's apprentice)
Backatcha Sharon !
Posted by: JT at January 29, 2023 11:34 AM (T4tVD)
328
In a world that gave us Hogan's Heroes
---
A guy in the Army who was stationed in Germany said it was a big hit there. Colonel Klink (who really was a decent fellow, just following orders) was dubbed with a Prussian accent, and Schulz was Austrian (maybe?).
---
A guy in the Army who was stationed in Germany said it was a big hit there. Colonel Klink (who really was a decent fellow, just following orders) was dubbed with a Prussian accent, and Schulz was Austrian (maybe?).
Posted by: All Hail Eris, Sans-Culottes (except for the Book Thread) at January 29, 2023 11:34 AM (Dc2NZ)
329
As for books (I haven't read about old Atlantis in years), I found a nice online Hemingway group, so I've been rereading short stories. The group occasionally devolves into Hadley hagiography, but I expect that from people who only read Paris Wife and assume it's 100% true.
Posted by: CN at January 29, 2023 11:35 AM (Zzbjj)
330
https://tinyurl.com/bdsau6v
This shows what happens to the Mediterrean when sea levels lower. At 100mm (even less) it's land-locked from the Black Sea.
***
That's it. Land appears on the NW coast of the Black Sea fairly early, and the Straits of Gibraltar are landlocked not too long afterward. If the Atlantic broke into the Straits, the Med and the Black Sea shores would be inundated soon after.
This shows what happens to the Mediterrean when sea levels lower. At 100mm (even less) it's land-locked from the Black Sea.
***
That's it. Land appears on the NW coast of the Black Sea fairly early, and the Straits of Gibraltar are landlocked not too long afterward. If the Atlantic broke into the Straits, the Med and the Black Sea shores would be inundated soon after.
Posted by: Wolfus Aurelius, Dreaming of Elsewhere at January 29, 2023 11:36 AM (omVj0)
331
True. But Rh neg and various haplogroups do need to be explained.
Posted by: Thesokorus at January 29, 2023 11:32 AM (1ais2)
I just don't think HaplogroupX is from another galaxy though. LOL
Posted by: Thesokorus at January 29, 2023 11:32 AM (1ais2)
I just don't think HaplogroupX is from another galaxy though. LOL
Posted by: CN at January 29, 2023 11:36 AM (Zzbjj)
332
Thanks for the Book Thread Perfesser! Mostly lurk but always enjoy. Your hard work is much appreciated.
And thank you for the recommended list!
And thank you for the recommended list!
Posted by: Legally Sufficient at January 29, 2023 11:37 AM (hPMYc)
333
I just don't think HaplogroupX is from another galaxy though. LOL
Posted by: CN at January 29, 2023 11:36 AM (Zzbjj)
---
That's just what an alien troll would say on a book blog!
Posted by: CN at January 29, 2023 11:36 AM (Zzbjj)
---
That's just what an alien troll would say on a book blog!
Posted by: All Hail Eris, Sans-Culottes (except for the Book Thread) at January 29, 2023 11:38 AM (Dc2NZ)
334
If you had 18+ years of abusive parents then 15-20 years of abusive spouse, it can definitely fuck you up pretty bad.
Posted by: Don't ask me how I know. Or do. Don't care. at January 29, 2023 11:30 AM (UKe2c)
There are countless stories, all the same, and all completely different in that the private hell of a person cannot possibly be understood fully by anyone who didn't experience it.
Posted by: Don't ask me how I know. Or do. Don't care. at January 29, 2023 11:30 AM (UKe2c)
There are countless stories, all the same, and all completely different in that the private hell of a person cannot possibly be understood fully by anyone who didn't experience it.
Posted by: BurtTC at January 29, 2023 11:38 AM (QBaJw)
335
Frank Herbert's son Brian is trying really hard to continue his father's story/make money off his dad's legacy with new books but he's not nearly the author or imaginary his dad was.
Posted by: Christopher R Taylor at January 29, 2023 11:38 AM (0hOvj)
336
A guy in the Army who was stationed in Germany said it was a big hit there. Colonel Klink (who really was a decent fellow, just following orders) was dubbed with a Prussian accent, and Schulz was Austrian (maybe?).
Posted by: All Hail Eris, Sans-Culottes (except for the Book Thread) at January 29, 2023 11:34 AM (Dc2NZ)
---
In the show, all the "good Germans" hated the Gestapo and the SS. So yeah, makes sense.
Posted by: All Hail Eris, Sans-Culottes (except for the Book Thread) at January 29, 2023 11:34 AM (Dc2NZ)
---
In the show, all the "good Germans" hated the Gestapo and the SS. So yeah, makes sense.
Posted by: Ace-Endorsed Author A.H. Lloyd at January 29, 2023 11:38 AM (llXky)
337
" If the Atlantic broke into the Straits, the Med and the Black Sea shores would be inundated soon after."
And like a breaking dam, the flooding would likely have happened over a relatively short period of time.
And the fleeing people, like ancient aliens, may have had superior know-how.
And like a breaking dam, the flooding would likely have happened over a relatively short period of time.
And the fleeing people, like ancient aliens, may have had superior know-how.
Posted by: Ignoramus at January 29, 2023 11:39 AM (SJsWC)
338
Is the Libby/Overdrive library the same everywhere?
I do searches of it filtering out everything but AVAILABLE RIGHT NOW and it goes on page after page with women author women heroes books and a whole lot of book one of thirteen crap novels.
Did someone flip a switch and tell men to stop writing fiction?
I do searches of it filtering out everything but AVAILABLE RIGHT NOW and it goes on page after page with women author women heroes books and a whole lot of book one of thirteen crap novels.
Did someone flip a switch and tell men to stop writing fiction?
Posted by: Mr Gaga at January 29, 2023 11:39 AM (KiBMU)
339
There are countless stories, all the same, and all completely different in that the private hell of a person cannot possibly be understood fully by anyone who didn't experience it.
Posted by: BurtTC at January 29, 2023 11:38 AM (QBaJw)
---
All happy families are alike, but unhappy families are unhappy each in their own unique way.
Some Russian dude wrote that, I think.
Posted by: BurtTC at January 29, 2023 11:38 AM (QBaJw)
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All happy families are alike, but unhappy families are unhappy each in their own unique way.
Some Russian dude wrote that, I think.
Posted by: Ace-Endorsed Author A.H. Lloyd at January 29, 2023 11:39 AM (llXky)
340
Frank Herbert's son Brian is trying really hard to continue his father's story/make money off his dad's legacy with new books but he's not nearly the author or imaginary his dad was.
Posted by: Christopher R Taylor at January 29, 2023 11:38 AM (0hOvj)
He's probably just waiting for Amazon to wave bazillions of dollars at him, so he can completely sell out.
Not saying anyone else did that, but I'm not saying they didn't.
Posted by: Christopher R Taylor at January 29, 2023 11:38 AM (0hOvj)
He's probably just waiting for Amazon to wave bazillions of dollars at him, so he can completely sell out.
Not saying anyone else did that, but I'm not saying they didn't.
Posted by: BurtTC at January 29, 2023 11:40 AM (QBaJw)
341
N. Lurker,
Your question about "too much detail" reminds me of a favorite bit of dialog from "Wonder Boys." The protagonist (Grady Tripp) had a breakthrough first book but has been writing another book for years. His promising student has read a draft of the second book and comments.
Hannah Green: Grady, you know how in class you're always telling us that writers make choices?
Grady Tripp: Yeah.
Hannah Green: And even though you're book is really beautiful, I mean, amazingly beautiful, it's... it's at times... it's... very detailed. You know, with the genealogies of everyone's horses, and the dental records, and so on. And... I could be wrong, but it sort of reads in places like you didn't make any choices. At all. And I was just wondering if it might not be different if... if when you wrote you weren't always... under the influence.
Your question about "too much detail" reminds me of a favorite bit of dialog from "Wonder Boys." The protagonist (Grady Tripp) had a breakthrough first book but has been writing another book for years. His promising student has read a draft of the second book and comments.
Hannah Green: Grady, you know how in class you're always telling us that writers make choices?
Grady Tripp: Yeah.
Hannah Green: And even though you're book is really beautiful, I mean, amazingly beautiful, it's... it's at times... it's... very detailed. You know, with the genealogies of everyone's horses, and the dental records, and so on. And... I could be wrong, but it sort of reads in places like you didn't make any choices. At all. And I was just wondering if it might not be different if... if when you wrote you weren't always... under the influence.
Posted by: Art Rondelet of Malmsey at January 29, 2023 11:40 AM (fTtFy)
342
I have been on a run of trying books that I don't end up liking or finishing, because I have signed up for Kindle Unlimited and its kind of like a lending library. I'll get stuff to try that I'd never buy unseen. Which led me to put my books on KU, just to tempt people to try them.
They end up on my dnf (did not finish) shelf at Goodreads most of the time, because I won't drudge my way through a book I don't enjoy after a chapter or two. Sometimes books start slow and I'll give them a chance, but not too long.
They end up on my dnf (did not finish) shelf at Goodreads most of the time, because I won't drudge my way through a book I don't enjoy after a chapter or two. Sometimes books start slow and I'll give them a chance, but not too long.
Posted by: Christopher R Taylor at January 29, 2023 11:41 AM (0hOvj)
343
Did someone flip a switch and tell men to stop writing fiction?
Posted by: Mr Gaga at January 29, 2023 11:39 AM (KiBMU)
Probably was a publisher.
Posted by: Mr Gaga at January 29, 2023 11:39 AM (KiBMU)
Probably was a publisher.
Posted by: CN at January 29, 2023 11:41 AM (Zzbjj)
344
When is there too much detail. At what point is just the right amount.
My writing style runs to terse but what is the sweet spot?
Posted by: N.Lurker at January 29, 2023 11:21 AM (eGTCV)
Ha! I did that about a character in my western novella. I wrote almost a page worth of background for a character. I eventually cut it down to a paragraph. I know too much detail is fluff. Someone once said I pack a lot of detail in my writing. Maybe I should try to cut stuff out....
My writing style runs to terse but what is the sweet spot?
Posted by: N.Lurker at January 29, 2023 11:21 AM (eGTCV)
Ha! I did that about a character in my western novella. I wrote almost a page worth of background for a character. I eventually cut it down to a paragraph. I know too much detail is fluff. Someone once said I pack a lot of detail in my writing. Maybe I should try to cut stuff out....
Posted by: OrangeEnt at January 29, 2023 11:41 AM (Angsy)
345
I miss Michael Crichton. I read everything he wrote and thoroughly enjoyed it.
"State of Fear" is poignant.
"State of Fear" is poignant.
Posted by: Chatterbox Mouse at January 29, 2023 11:42 AM (TXFi7)
Posted by: Just Some Guy at January 29, 2023 11:43 AM (a/4+U)
347
Have you all seen the clip from a few days ago of the liquor store robbery?
https://nitter.moomoo.me/i/status/1618840270350745601
https://nitter.moomoo.me/i/status/1618840270350745601
Posted by: Biden's Dog sniffs a whole lotta malarkey, at January 29, 2023 11:43 AM (odVni)
348
Did someone flip a switch and tell men to stop writing fiction?
Tons of men writing out there, just agents don't want to represent them and publishers don't want to publish them. I mean, there are exceptions (with big established names, mostly) but yeah. Women authors dominate fiction. Women characters as well. For every one mystery book with a guy there's 15 female DCIs out there solving mysteries.
Tons of men writing out there, just agents don't want to represent them and publishers don't want to publish them. I mean, there are exceptions (with big established names, mostly) but yeah. Women authors dominate fiction. Women characters as well. For every one mystery book with a guy there's 15 female DCIs out there solving mysteries.
Posted by: Christopher R Taylor at January 29, 2023 11:43 AM (0hOvj)
349
Posted by: BurtTC at January 29, 2023 11:38 AM (QBaJw)
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All happy families are alike, but unhappy families are unhappy each in their own unique way.
Some Russian dude wrote that, I think.
Posted by: Ace-Endorsed Author A.H. Lloyd at January 29, 2023 11:39 AM (llXky)
Which isn't entirely true, but Tolstoy lived in a somewhat different world from ours.
I do think it's more a matter of perspective. If you have gone through it, your experience is uniquely yours. If you are on the outside, trying to deal with the person who went through it, the person who went through it, from your perspective is following a well worn path. Quite similar, and sometimes almost entirely the same as others you encounter who went through it.
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All happy families are alike, but unhappy families are unhappy each in their own unique way.
Some Russian dude wrote that, I think.
Posted by: Ace-Endorsed Author A.H. Lloyd at January 29, 2023 11:39 AM (llXky)
Which isn't entirely true, but Tolstoy lived in a somewhat different world from ours.
I do think it's more a matter of perspective. If you have gone through it, your experience is uniquely yours. If you are on the outside, trying to deal with the person who went through it, the person who went through it, from your perspective is following a well worn path. Quite similar, and sometimes almost entirely the same as others you encounter who went through it.
Posted by: BurtTC at January 29, 2023 11:44 AM (QBaJw)
350
That's just what an alien troll would say on a book blog!
Posted by: All Hail Eris, Sans-Culottes (except for the Book Thread) at January 29, 2023 11:38 AM (Dc2NZ)
Damn. You caught me! I will get back in my craft and return to Rigel VII or something
Posted by: All Hail Eris, Sans-Culottes (except for the Book Thread) at January 29, 2023 11:38 AM (Dc2NZ)
Damn. You caught me! I will get back in my craft and return to Rigel VII or something
Posted by: CN at January 29, 2023 11:44 AM (Zzbjj)
351
I finished the novel "The Disappearance of Joseph Mengele" by Olivier Guez. It's a quick read. Although Guez based his novel on fact, he invents dialog and meetings in a few places. I know that Mengele's victims mourned the fact that he never faced them in a courtroom, but I couldn't help thinking the punishment he actually received was worse than the one he fled from. He ended up living in a Sao Paulo slum, in a multi-racial country he hated, lonely, sick, and fretting about the Mossad day and night (and the Mossad, which was busy in the Middle East, wasn't even looking for him at that point). The haughty Angel of Death became so lonely in exile he asked his cleaning lady to move in with him (and she refused because she was a good Catholic and wanted marriage - he was too fearful of registering at the city hall). He developed severe stomach pains due to a hairball because he was such a wreck he chewed on his mustache. As a reader, I found myself getting happier and haopier as his life grew more and more miserable. Now we know that movies like "The Boys From Brazil" were completely off the mark. He was a pathetic mess when he died.
Posted by: Donna&&&&&&&&V at January 29, 2023 11:45 AM (HabA/)
352
When is there too much detail. At what point is just the right amount.
My writing style runs to terse but what is the sweet spot?
There's no hard and fast rule, but I tend toward being more tight and trying to leave more to the imagination of the reader. Something I personally don't care for is the background or description dump, where the story pauses to give you a page or two background on the character, or they stop in front of a mirror (groan) and describe themselves. This is more a short story gag, usually.
My writing style runs to terse but what is the sweet spot?
There's no hard and fast rule, but I tend toward being more tight and trying to leave more to the imagination of the reader. Something I personally don't care for is the background or description dump, where the story pauses to give you a page or two background on the character, or they stop in front of a mirror (groan) and describe themselves. This is more a short story gag, usually.
Posted by: Christopher R Taylor at January 29, 2023 11:45 AM (0hOvj)
353
And I was just wondering if it might not be different if... if when you wrote you weren't always... under the influence.
Posted by: Art Rondelet of Malmsey at January 29, 2023 11:40 AM (fTtFy)
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Hemingway's advice was "write drunk, edit sober."
Good advice.
Posted by: Art Rondelet of Malmsey at January 29, 2023 11:40 AM (fTtFy)
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Hemingway's advice was "write drunk, edit sober."
Good advice.
Posted by: Ace-Endorsed Author A.H. Lloyd at January 29, 2023 11:46 AM (llXky)
354
For every one mystery book with a guy there's 15 female DCIs out there solving mysteries.
Posted by: Christopher R Taylor at January 29, 2023 11:43 AM (0hOvj)
They are stunning and brave!
One of Kid2's friends decided to be an actress and only do girl power roles. She's now studying to be a dietician instead of a waitress and NYC dog walker
Posted by: Christopher R Taylor at January 29, 2023 11:43 AM (0hOvj)
They are stunning and brave!
One of Kid2's friends decided to be an actress and only do girl power roles. She's now studying to be a dietician instead of a waitress and NYC dog walker
Posted by: CN at January 29, 2023 11:46 AM (Zzbjj)
355
One of his key points was that Plato gave pretty clear directions and there's a reason the ocean there was named "Atlantic." All the alternative theories basically slice and dice Plato in the manner of "biblical scholars" who change selected words or redefine them to get the desired result.
Posted by: Ace-Endorsed Author A.H. Lloyd at January 29, 2023 10:16 AM (llXky)
No love for Tartessos?
I would point out that Plato gives specific information that a friend's relative heard from a priest in Egypt. I wouldn't bet a dollar on a horse with that sort of inside information, unless I was willing to lose a dollar.
Posted by: Ace-Endorsed Author A.H. Lloyd at January 29, 2023 10:16 AM (llXky)
No love for Tartessos?
I would point out that Plato gives specific information that a friend's relative heard from a priest in Egypt. I wouldn't bet a dollar on a horse with that sort of inside information, unless I was willing to lose a dollar.
Posted by: Kindltot at January 29, 2023 11:46 AM (xhaym)
356
331 True. But Rh neg and various haplogroups do need to be explained.
Posted by: Thesokorus at January 29, 2023 11:32 AM (1ais2)
I just don't think HaplogroupX is from another galaxy though. LOL
Posted by: CN at January 29, 2023 11:36 AM (Zzbjj)
I don't either. But goofy theories get put forward by laymen when the experts don't address obvious and important questions.
Posted by: Thesokorus at January 29, 2023 11:32 AM (1ais2)
I just don't think HaplogroupX is from another galaxy though. LOL
Posted by: CN at January 29, 2023 11:36 AM (Zzbjj)
I don't either. But goofy theories get put forward by laymen when the experts don't address obvious and important questions.
Posted by: Thesokorus at January 29, 2023 11:47 AM (1ais2)
357
He developed severe stomach pains due to a hairball because he was such a wreck he chewed on his mustache.
ew
ew
Posted by: JT at January 29, 2023 11:48 AM (T4tVD)
358
I am watching my new puppy chase a blueberry around the kitchen. I thought he might like to eat it - instead he thinks it's a ball.
Posted by: Donna&&&&&&&&V at January 29, 2023 11:48 AM (HabA/)
359
Now we know that movies like "The Boys From Brazil" were completely off the mark. He was a pathetic mess when he died.
My research on the guy portrayed him as manic depressive, either super up or super down, so that fits with what I understand of him. He's the kind of guy who could only really succeed in a tyranny like the Nazis, and even then only was allowed to work in a prison camp. He's not famous for being insightful and discovering wonderful new things, he's known for being a horrendous sadist in the name of science.
My research on the guy portrayed him as manic depressive, either super up or super down, so that fits with what I understand of him. He's the kind of guy who could only really succeed in a tyranny like the Nazis, and even then only was allowed to work in a prison camp. He's not famous for being insightful and discovering wonderful new things, he's known for being a horrendous sadist in the name of science.
Posted by: Christopher R Taylor at January 29, 2023 11:48 AM (0hOvj)
360
One of Kid2's friends decided to be an actress and only do girl power roles. She's now studying to be a dietician instead of a waitress and NYC dog walker
Posted by: CN
She's studying to be a dog walker ?
Posted by: CN
She's studying to be a dog walker ?
Posted by: JT at January 29, 2023 11:49 AM (T4tVD)
361
https://youtu.be/QcUlQAfJuXE
Atlantis
Atlantis
Posted by: Skip at January 29, 2023 11:50 AM (xhxe8)
362
Posted by: JT at January 29, 2023 11:48 AM (T4tVD)
Gross, isn't it? Mengele had a gap between his front teeth that he knew might be an identifying feature, so he grew a very long mustache to hide the gap and then chewed on the thing
Gross, isn't it? Mengele had a gap between his front teeth that he knew might be an identifying feature, so he grew a very long mustache to hide the gap and then chewed on the thing
Posted by: Donna&&&&&&&&V at January 29, 2023 11:51 AM (HabA/)
363
I would point out that Plato gives specific information that a friend's relative heard from a priest in Egypt. I wouldn't bet a dollar on a horse with that sort of inside information, unless I was willing to lose a dollar.
Posted by: Kindltot at January 29, 2023 11:46 AM (xhaym)
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Everything would have been heard from someone else, though. You couldn't just go on Twitter. One of the dangers of reading ancient manuscripts is expecting the to adhere to modern standards of authorship and practices.
I'd just rather people took stuff at face value or simply wrote it off as a political/philosophical tract. I hate the way academics torture manuscripts to make them confess to whatever they want.
Posted by: Kindltot at January 29, 2023 11:46 AM (xhaym)
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Everything would have been heard from someone else, though. You couldn't just go on Twitter. One of the dangers of reading ancient manuscripts is expecting the to adhere to modern standards of authorship and practices.
I'd just rather people took stuff at face value or simply wrote it off as a political/philosophical tract. I hate the way academics torture manuscripts to make them confess to whatever they want.
Posted by: Ace-Endorsed Author A.H. Lloyd at January 29, 2023 11:51 AM (llXky)
364
Did someone flip a switch and tell men to stop writing fiction?
Posted by: Mr Gaga at January 29, 2023
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Yes, the gatekeepers at trad publishers. 99% women editors. And they wonder why people are not buying books like they used to.
Posted by: Mr Gaga at January 29, 2023
***
Yes, the gatekeepers at trad publishers. 99% women editors. And they wonder why people are not buying books like they used to.
Posted by: Wolfus Aurelius, Dreaming of Elsewhere at January 29, 2023 11:51 AM (omVj0)
365
Morning Hordemates!
Posted by: Diogenes at January 29, 2023 11:51 AM (anj39)
366
As with Myceneans also and Indo-Eur (aryan) ppl. Absent the stirrup what are you going to use horses for? Mounted archers or chariots.
Posted by: Thesokorus at January 29, 2023 11:04 AM (1ais2)
The Romans used "horns" mounted on the saddle to allow greater grip by the knees
Posted by: Thesokorus at January 29, 2023 11:04 AM (1ais2)
The Romans used "horns" mounted on the saddle to allow greater grip by the knees
Posted by: Kindltot at January 29, 2023 11:52 AM (xhaym)
367
He's not famous for being insightful and discovering wonderful new things, he's known for being a horrendous sadist in the name of science.
Posted by: Christopher R Taylor at January 29, 2023 11:48 AM (0hOvj)
Sounds oddly familiar but I can't quite put my finger on who he reminds me of.
Posted by: Christopher R Taylor at January 29, 2023 11:48 AM (0hOvj)
Sounds oddly familiar but I can't quite put my finger on who he reminds me of.
Posted by: N.Lurker at January 29, 2023 11:52 AM (eGTCV)
368
One of Kid2's friends decided to be an actress and only do girl power roles. She's now studying to be a dietician instead of a waitress and NYC dog walker
Posted by: CN
She's studying to be a dog walker ?
Posted by: JT
The Final Exam is a Bitch !
Posted by: CN
She's studying to be a dog walker ?
Posted by: JT
The Final Exam is a Bitch !
Posted by: JT at January 29, 2023 11:53 AM (T4tVD)
369
Hiya Donna of the Ampersands !
Posted by: JT at January 29, 2023 11:53 AM (T4tVD)
370
I do think it's more a matter of perspective. If you have gone through it, your experience is uniquely yours. If you are on the outside, trying to deal with the person who went through it, the person who went through it, from your perspective is following a well worn path. Quite similar, and sometimes almost entirely the same as others you encounter who went through it.
Posted by: BurtTC at January 29, 2023 11:44 AM (QBaJw)
Someone looking at these things objectively will notice common themes and patterns, certainly. While the specific facts will be unique, the types of dynamics in, say, a household with one or more narcissistic parents and the effects they have on the kids, are somewhat predictable once people started paying attention and looking at these things longitudinally. Unfortunately ending up in an abusive spousal situation can often be traced right back to growing up in an abusive household - jumping from one hell right into another.
Posted by: BurtTC at January 29, 2023 11:44 AM (QBaJw)
Someone looking at these things objectively will notice common themes and patterns, certainly. While the specific facts will be unique, the types of dynamics in, say, a household with one or more narcissistic parents and the effects they have on the kids, are somewhat predictable once people started paying attention and looking at these things longitudinally. Unfortunately ending up in an abusive spousal situation can often be traced right back to growing up in an abusive household - jumping from one hell right into another.
Posted by: Hell is other people, and what they made for you at January 29, 2023 11:54 AM (UKe2c)
371
She's studying to be a dog walker ?
Posted by: JT at January 29, 2023 11:49 AM (T4tVD)
Might have been more worthwhile. She was a drama major at a school not known for its drama department.
Posted by: JT at January 29, 2023 11:49 AM (T4tVD)
Might have been more worthwhile. She was a drama major at a school not known for its drama department.
Posted by: CN at January 29, 2023 11:54 AM (Zzbjj)
372
And they wonder why people are not buying books like they used to.
Sadly, the largest percentage of book buyers is women, and has been for a while now so maybe they're being smart by targeting their primary audience.
Sadly, the largest percentage of book buyers is women, and has been for a while now so maybe they're being smart by targeting their primary audience.
Posted by: Christopher R Taylor at January 29, 2023 11:54 AM (0hOvj)
373
Sadly, the largest percentage of book buyers is women, and has been for a while now so maybe they're being smart by targeting their primary audience.
Posted by: Christopher R Taylor at January 29, 2023 11:54 AM (0hOvj)
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Sounds like a feedback loop. The only books being published are for liberal women, who are the only ones buying them. Everyone else is browsing through the used book market.
Posted by: Christopher R Taylor at January 29, 2023 11:54 AM (0hOvj)
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Sounds like a feedback loop. The only books being published are for liberal women, who are the only ones buying them. Everyone else is browsing through the used book market.
Posted by: Ace-Endorsed Author A.H. Lloyd at January 29, 2023 11:56 AM (llXky)
374
Otto Muck's contention was that an asteroid slammed into the earth, impacting near the Puerto Rico and scattering debris across the Carolinas. The impact tears open the mid-Atlantic ridge, inducing a frenzy of volcanic activity.
He does lots of math (he was rocket scientist) and calculates that it kicked off a global climate catastrophe and notes that the various flood myths all seem to portray the same event from different perspectives based on where cultures were relative to it.
Posted by: Ace-Endorsed Author A.H. Lloyd at January 29, 2023 11:09 AM (llXky)
The other argument is that it was the "Saginaw Bay" impact on the Laurentian ice sheet that spread the impacts in an arc across the Carolinas to Missouri and incidentally caused the Younger Dryas.
He does lots of math (he was rocket scientist) and calculates that it kicked off a global climate catastrophe and notes that the various flood myths all seem to portray the same event from different perspectives based on where cultures were relative to it.
Posted by: Ace-Endorsed Author A.H. Lloyd at January 29, 2023 11:09 AM (llXky)
The other argument is that it was the "Saginaw Bay" impact on the Laurentian ice sheet that spread the impacts in an arc across the Carolinas to Missouri and incidentally caused the Younger Dryas.
Posted by: Kindltot at January 29, 2023 11:56 AM (xhaym)
375
I would point out that Plato gives specific information that a friend's relative heard from a priest in Egypt. I wouldn't bet a dollar on a horse with that sort of inside information, unless I was willing to lose a dollar.
Posted by: Kindltot at January 29, 2023 11:46 AM (xhaym)
True. And it is a funny scene. But you gotta ask yourself what role the myths etc played in the Dialogues. And whether Plato went to Egypt after Socrates finally got himself suicided.
Posted by: Kindltot at January 29, 2023 11:46 AM (xhaym)
True. And it is a funny scene. But you gotta ask yourself what role the myths etc played in the Dialogues. And whether Plato went to Egypt after Socrates finally got himself suicided.
Posted by: Thesokorus at January 29, 2023 11:56 AM (1ais2)
376
Sounds like a feedback loop. The only books being published are for liberal women, who are the only ones buying them. Everyone else is browsing through the used book market.
Posted by: Ace-Endorsed Author A.H. Lloyd at January 29, 2023 11:56 AM (llXky)
Certainly that is part of the problem. After my husband retired he started to read some fiction and went straight to the classics that he missed while studying economics and finance.
Posted by: Ace-Endorsed Author A.H. Lloyd at January 29, 2023 11:56 AM (llXky)
Certainly that is part of the problem. After my husband retired he started to read some fiction and went straight to the classics that he missed while studying economics and finance.
Posted by: CN at January 29, 2023 11:58 AM (Zzbjj)
377
Sounds like a feedback loop.
It might be, yeah. Might explain why ever third book being published is a "time traveling woman meets hunky men" novel.
It might be, yeah. Might explain why ever third book being published is a "time traveling woman meets hunky men" novel.
Posted by: Christopher R Taylor at January 29, 2023 11:58 AM (0hOvj)
378
I'm trying to think of the last "new" book I bought, and I think it was Spain in Arms, bought in the spring of 2020 to round out Long Live Death.
I have bought "new" books, but none of them were of recent publication. Mostly I buy used, out of print stuff or reprints of old stuff.
I have bought "new" books, but none of them were of recent publication. Mostly I buy used, out of print stuff or reprints of old stuff.
Posted by: Ace-Endorsed Author A.H. Lloyd at January 29, 2023 11:59 AM (llXky)
379
This discussion about Atlantis, myth, and floods brings to mind a feeling I've had for a long time. I get the impression that 'mankind' is older than most anthropologists think and that there was more communication and connectivity between distant areas than is thought possible. I have no evidence to back this up, just a steady stream of assumptions over the last century that have been shown to be wrong. Verification of Biblical matters, similar cultural aspects among distant populations that shouldn't have been possible, technological accomplishments that defy understanding, and other things that indicate greater age than is commonly accepted. And despite my reading of National Geographic in the 1950s and 60s, I never found a convincing link between Leakey's discoveries, and authoritative pronouncements, in Olduvai Gorge and modern man. A lot of presumption and conjecture (and acceptance) but no proof.
This may coincide with my ongoing and increasing lack of faith in 'scientific' assumptions and academic pronouncements made as a law of nature, not to be questioned or challenged. I won't even get into what I think of politicians and governments.
This may coincide with my ongoing and increasing lack of faith in 'scientific' assumptions and academic pronouncements made as a law of nature, not to be questioned or challenged. I won't even get into what I think of politicians and governments.
Posted by: JTB at January 29, 2023 11:59 AM (7EjX1)
380
The flood stories, there's another approach: the story is real and people all spread out from one small group of survivors, who carried the memories and stories of the events, which over time are changed by culture and political forces.
Posted by: Christopher R Taylor at January 29, 2023 12:00 PM (0hOvj)
381
Sadly, the largest percentage of book buyers is women, and has been for a while now so maybe they're being smart by targeting their primary audience.
Posted by: Christopher R Taylor at January 29, 2023 11:54 AM (0hOvj)
That sounds AWFL.
Posted by: Christopher R Taylor at January 29, 2023 11:54 AM (0hOvj)
That sounds AWFL.
Posted by: How can they read through their Franzia and Xanax induced haze? at January 29, 2023 12:00 PM (UKe2c)
382
We Haz a NOOD
Posted by: Skip at January 29, 2023 12:01 PM (xhxe8)
383
One tidbit I always feel obligated to point out about Hogan's Heroes is that every scene that takes place outside has snow on the ground. They never wanted to portray the camp as being pleasant.
Posted by: Quarter Twenty at January 29, 2023 12:01 PM (DhOHl)
384
Posted by: Christopher R Taylor at January 29, 2023 11:48 AM (0hOvj)
Actually, that's not the picture I have of him. If there had been no WWII, he would have been a professor at some German university. He was a protege of some top researchers, including Nobel Prize winners He got very interested in eugenics (which was a hot topic at universities throughout the West in the 1930's, not just Nazi Germany) and earned a PhD as well as a MD. Unfortunately, his interest dovetailed with the Nazi obsession with "racial purity" and he saw Auschwitz as a chance to experiment with people instead of lab rats. It's a mistake to think he was just dreaming up sadistic experiments for no reason - he was sending his "results" and samples to a university in Berlin and they knew damn well where those samples came from. Guez pointed out in an interview that Mengele was an entirely rational man operating in an insane system. He genuinely saw himself as a legit scientist, working to aid the Aryan race.That's scarier to me than a mad scientist doing nutty evil things just to be nutty and evil.
Actually, that's not the picture I have of him. If there had been no WWII, he would have been a professor at some German university. He was a protege of some top researchers, including Nobel Prize winners He got very interested in eugenics (which was a hot topic at universities throughout the West in the 1930's, not just Nazi Germany) and earned a PhD as well as a MD. Unfortunately, his interest dovetailed with the Nazi obsession with "racial purity" and he saw Auschwitz as a chance to experiment with people instead of lab rats. It's a mistake to think he was just dreaming up sadistic experiments for no reason - he was sending his "results" and samples to a university in Berlin and they knew damn well where those samples came from. Guez pointed out in an interview that Mengele was an entirely rational man operating in an insane system. He genuinely saw himself as a legit scientist, working to aid the Aryan race.That's scarier to me than a mad scientist doing nutty evil things just to be nutty and evil.
Posted by: Donna&&&&&&&&V at January 29, 2023 12:01 PM (HabA/)
385
Certainly that is part of the problem. After my husband retired he started to read some fiction and went straight to the classics that he missed while studying economics and finance.
Posted by: CN at January 29, 2023 11:58 AM (Zzbjj)
---
Other than research for my military histories, that's me. Still looking for more Conrad stuff, then maybe Hemingway and of course G.K. Chesterton.
Spain in Arms was published in 2020 and the only reason I heard about it was Stanley G. Payne gave me a tip. I've bought several of his books, but the most recent ones are a decade old. I think he's mostly doing articles these days.
Posted by: CN at January 29, 2023 11:58 AM (Zzbjj)
---
Other than research for my military histories, that's me. Still looking for more Conrad stuff, then maybe Hemingway and of course G.K. Chesterton.
Spain in Arms was published in 2020 and the only reason I heard about it was Stanley G. Payne gave me a tip. I've bought several of his books, but the most recent ones are a decade old. I think he's mostly doing articles these days.
Posted by: Ace-Endorsed Author A.H. Lloyd at January 29, 2023 12:02 PM (llXky)
386
Hi, JT!
Posted by: Donna&&&&&&&&V at January 29, 2023 12:03 PM (HabA/)
387
338 Is the Libby/Overdrive library the same everywhere?
***
Not exactly. Overdrive has a big catalog.
Each library system basically picks which titles they subscribe to.
So some libraries have a bigger selection of Libby titles than others.
But there are books that are not on Overdrive at all, regardless of library system.
For example, afaict Larry Correia's MHI series is not on Overdrive (if you have libby access, do a quick search - I would love to be wrong about this)
***
Not exactly. Overdrive has a big catalog.
Each library system basically picks which titles they subscribe to.
So some libraries have a bigger selection of Libby titles than others.
But there are books that are not on Overdrive at all, regardless of library system.
For example, afaict Larry Correia's MHI series is not on Overdrive (if you have libby access, do a quick search - I would love to be wrong about this)
Posted by: vmom stabby stabby stabby stabby stabamillion at January 29, 2023 12:04 PM (fUnHJ)
388
Sometimes books start slow and I'll give them a chance, but not too long.
-----------------
This is me. If you can't sink the hook in two or three chapters I am out of it.
-----------------
This is me. If you can't sink the hook in two or three chapters I am out of it.
Posted by: Puddinhead at January 29, 2023 12:05 PM (yRved)
389
As I said, we don't live in that world, but yeah, a privately funded fire department would work much more efficiently and effectively than a government one.
It just would.
Posted by: BurtTC at January 29, 2023 11:13 AM (QBaJw)
One rural fire department for a while had the policy that you could either pay the subscription ahead, at a discount, or when they showed up and asked you to sign the bill when your house was on fire.
If you didn't sign, they would get people and pets out and make sure it didn't spread. They were under a funding crunch, the county and state weren't able to pay what they promised and this was definitely due to revenue shortfall and not because the bond for the fire department failed.
And that was a government fire department.
Oh, and in London when they had private fire departments, the departments would race to the fire because only the first couple of groups to arrive would get paid. (I know, how can you trust random things on the internet?)
https://youtu.be/Wif1EAgEQKI
It just would.
Posted by: BurtTC at January 29, 2023 11:13 AM (QBaJw)
One rural fire department for a while had the policy that you could either pay the subscription ahead, at a discount, or when they showed up and asked you to sign the bill when your house was on fire.
If you didn't sign, they would get people and pets out and make sure it didn't spread. They were under a funding crunch, the county and state weren't able to pay what they promised and this was definitely due to revenue shortfall and not because the bond for the fire department failed.
And that was a government fire department.
Oh, and in London when they had private fire departments, the departments would race to the fire because only the first couple of groups to arrive would get paid. (I know, how can you trust random things on the internet?)
https://youtu.be/Wif1EAgEQKI
Posted by: Kindltot at January 29, 2023 12:06 PM (xhaym)
390
This may coincide with my ongoing and increasing lack of faith in 'scientific' assumptions and academic pronouncements made as a law of nature, not to be questioned or challenged. I won't even get into what I think of politicians and governments.
Posted by: JTB at January 29, 2023 11:59 AM (7EjX1)
---
The Lord of Spirits podcast has really opened my eyes to the possibility that all the people who have written down their tales of gods, angels, demons and such may actually be recording observable actual events.
In the podcast they point out how so many of the various pagan origin stories align very closely with the Old Testament, the only difference is the perspective. From the Babylonian/Greek/Norse perspective, their gods are the good ones.
Getting back to Plato, he's describing the Nephilim - the literal Sons of Poseidon ruling as kings and then all of it being laid waste in a mighty flood.
Posted by: JTB at January 29, 2023 11:59 AM (7EjX1)
---
The Lord of Spirits podcast has really opened my eyes to the possibility that all the people who have written down their tales of gods, angels, demons and such may actually be recording observable actual events.
In the podcast they point out how so many of the various pagan origin stories align very closely with the Old Testament, the only difference is the perspective. From the Babylonian/Greek/Norse perspective, their gods are the good ones.
Getting back to Plato, he's describing the Nephilim - the literal Sons of Poseidon ruling as kings and then all of it being laid waste in a mighty flood.
Posted by: Ace-Endorsed Author A.H. Lloyd at January 29, 2023 12:07 PM (llXky)
391
It's a mistake to think he was just dreaming up sadistic experiments for no reason
Well that's what I mean by "for science". He believed his research was valid and was trying to find the limits of human tolerance, what let some take what others could not, what happened to people in various circumstances, etc. He was also fixated on the idea of figuring out what caused multiple births -- twins, triplets, etc -- and trying to harness that so that Germany could supercharge their population.
Well that's what I mean by "for science". He believed his research was valid and was trying to find the limits of human tolerance, what let some take what others could not, what happened to people in various circumstances, etc. He was also fixated on the idea of figuring out what caused multiple births -- twins, triplets, etc -- and trying to harness that so that Germany could supercharge their population.
Posted by: Christopher R Taylor at January 29, 2023 12:09 PM (0hOvj)
392
There is a general academic consensus to put Atlantis everywhere other than Plato says it was. I find that odd.
Posted by: Ace-Endorsed Author A.H. Lloyd at January 29, 2023 11:15 AM (llXky)
Of course if you figure that the pillars were actually in the strait of Messina it changes things as well. It is name for the straits, used by the ancient Greeks, like the ones Plato might have been referencing
Posted by: Ace-Endorsed Author A.H. Lloyd at January 29, 2023 11:15 AM (llXky)
Of course if you figure that the pillars were actually in the strait of Messina it changes things as well. It is name for the straits, used by the ancient Greeks, like the ones Plato might have been referencing
Posted by: Kindltot at January 29, 2023 12:10 PM (xhaym)
393
By the way, I like some woman detective stories, I found a really good series of detective novels set just before and during WW2 by M. Ruth Myers. They are better in the early on books (although she does get rescued a lot instead of working her own way out). Its just rare. Most female protagonists annoy me, especially these days.
Posted by: Christopher R Taylor at January 29, 2023 12:12 PM (0hOvj)
394
Yes, and these books typically talk about how Franco was a rabid fascist and how the Spanish Republic was a free and progressive democracy and other lies.
It is very much a fantasy world in which they get to be the heroes without actually facing real danger.
Posted by: Ace-Endorsed Author A.H. Lloyd at January 29, 2023 11:19 AM (llXky)
Hey, I just remembered I was going to mention this to you. Franco almost declared war on Japan in 1945 in the aftermath of the slaughter of Spanish in Manilla. He protested to the Japanese and the Germans. I think he got told they would get right on it or something like that.
It is very much a fantasy world in which they get to be the heroes without actually facing real danger.
Posted by: Ace-Endorsed Author A.H. Lloyd at January 29, 2023 11:19 AM (llXky)
Hey, I just remembered I was going to mention this to you. Franco almost declared war on Japan in 1945 in the aftermath of the slaughter of Spanish in Manilla. He protested to the Japanese and the Germans. I think he got told they would get right on it or something like that.
Posted by: Kindltot at January 29, 2023 12:13 PM (xhaym)
395
Why am I just now learning that there is a place in eastern Washington State called the Channeled Scablands?
"Scablands" would be a great title for a western.
Posted by: All Hail Eris, Sans-Culottes (except for the Book Thread) at January 29, 2023 11:22 AM (Dc2NZ)
The Missoula floods sent icebergs across Eastern Washington and down the Willamette valley, rafting in erratic boulders as south as Albany.
Should you ever come to Oregon, we will arrange a picnic at Erratic Rock state park, outside of McMinnville OR, for you.
"Scablands" would be a great title for a western.
Posted by: All Hail Eris, Sans-Culottes (except for the Book Thread) at January 29, 2023 11:22 AM (Dc2NZ)
The Missoula floods sent icebergs across Eastern Washington and down the Willamette valley, rafting in erratic boulders as south as Albany.
Should you ever come to Oregon, we will arrange a picnic at Erratic Rock state park, outside of McMinnville OR, for you.
Posted by: Kindltot at January 29, 2023 12:16 PM (xhaym)
396
390 ... A.H. Lloyd,
Thanks for mentioning the Lord of Spirits podcast. It sounds right up my alley. I'll have to give it a listen.
Thanks for mentioning the Lord of Spirits podcast. It sounds right up my alley. I'll have to give it a listen.
Posted by: JTB at January 29, 2023 12:16 PM (7EjX1)
397
as for Atlantis, there is a large section of land between Denmark and England that was probably above water during the ice age, one that got swallowed up by the sea as the ice melted. Whether that would be Atlantis or one of those other submerged civilizations, its definitely a place where people could have built a home that was lost.
Posted by: Christopher R Taylor at January 29, 2023 12:17 PM (0hOvj)
398
Here's a link to the idea that Haplogroup X is from Atlantis or outer space: https://tinyurl.com/35x42adb
Posted by: CN at January 29, 2023 12:19 PM (Zzbjj)
399
I like "space opera," and will never be ashamed of it.
Not sure of the exact definition of the term is, but try the "Miles Vorkosigan" series
Not sure of the exact definition of the term is, but try the "Miles Vorkosigan" series
Posted by: MartynWW at January 29, 2023 12:28 PM (Ur3df)
400
Bester was the best!
Posted by: vmom stabby stabby stabby stabby stabamillion at January 29, 2023 10:42 AM
You sound like that Senator from... I don't know.
Bester was the best!
Posted by: vmom stabby stabby stabby stabby stabamillion at January 29, 2023 10:42 AM
You sound like that Senator from... I don't know.
Posted by: John Festterman at January 29, 2023 12:32 PM (enJYY)
401
61 Colombia should thank TR for giving them a more sensibly shaped country.
Posted by: Weak Geek at January 29, 2023 09:34 AM (Om/di)
But all they think about is how much grift they've lost by not being able to suckle on Uncle Sam's, and now Chinese, teat.
Posted by: Weak Geek at January 29, 2023 09:34 AM (Om/di)
But all they think about is how much grift they've lost by not being able to suckle on Uncle Sam's, and now Chinese, teat.
Posted by: Sarai Delenn at January 29, 2023 12:35 PM (qyH+l)
402
as for Atlantis, there is a large section of land between Denmark and England that was probably above water during the ice age, one that got swallowed up by the sea as the ice melted. Whether that would be Atlantis or one of those other submerged civilizations, its definitely a place where people could have built a home that was lost.
Posted by: Christopher R Taylor at January 29, 2023 12:17 PM (0hOvj)
Dogger Banks?
Posted by: Christopher R Taylor at January 29, 2023 12:17 PM (0hOvj)
Dogger Banks?
Posted by: BignJames at January 29, 2023 12:43 PM (AwYPR)
403
Just finished a book I first read in High School……The Cruel Sea by Nicholas Monserrat. Took me 50 years to read it again. Glad I did.
Posted by: Rick554 at January 29, 2023 01:00 PM (FmOIw)
404
368 One of Kid2's friends decided to be an actress and only do girl power roles. She's now studying to be a dietician instead of a waitress and NYC dog walker
Posted by: CN
She's studying to be a dog walker ?
Posted by: JT
The Final Exam is a Bitch !
Posted by: JT at January 29, 2023 11:53 AM (T4tVD
Did you read the article in one of the London papers about the dog walker who was savaged by her charges? Breeds you wouldn't normally expect to do that/
See also, "P.S., We also walk dogs", by some USNA graduate.
Posted by: CN
She's studying to be a dog walker ?
Posted by: JT
The Final Exam is a Bitch !
Posted by: JT at January 29, 2023 11:53 AM (T4tVD
Did you read the article in one of the London papers about the dog walker who was savaged by her charges? Breeds you wouldn't normally expect to do that/
See also, "P.S., We also walk dogs", by some USNA graduate.
Posted by: Sarai Delenn at January 29, 2023 01:23 PM (qyH+l)
405
A Grand Adventure by Benedicte ingstad is about her parents's discovering that site. And they knew it was a Viking Settlement in part because they found a spindle whorl.
Posted by: Notsothoreau at January 29, 2023 01:28 PM (4IUUf)
406
A. H. Lloyd:
I have one question about Walls of Men: How big a part (if any) does General Tso have in your book? Is he remembered for anything except having a delicious dish named after him?
Was he like Napoleon and the Duke of Wellington, who are still remembered by the general educated public for their military and political feats, not just for having a pastry and a beef dish named after them?
Or was General Tso more like Chateaubriand or Ambrose Burnside, whose political and military exploits are known to serious students of their eras (including quite a few in this comment section) but most us remember only for another beef dish and an impressive style of whiskers?
Just curious.
I have one question about Walls of Men: How big a part (if any) does General Tso have in your book? Is he remembered for anything except having a delicious dish named after him?
Was he like Napoleon and the Duke of Wellington, who are still remembered by the general educated public for their military and political feats, not just for having a pastry and a beef dish named after them?
Or was General Tso more like Chateaubriand or Ambrose Burnside, whose political and military exploits are known to serious students of their eras (including quite a few in this comment section) but most us remember only for another beef dish and an impressive style of whiskers?
Just curious.
Posted by: Dr. Weevil at January 29, 2023 01:37 PM (jmSVU)
407
Thank you for another great Book Thread, Perfesser!
Posted by: vmom stabby stabby stabby stabby stabamillion at January 29, 2023 01:37 PM (fUnHJ)
408
>>> 120 Saw the first 3 Star Wars flicks when they first came out. Almost fell asleep in the theater during the third one with the Little Fuzzy look-alikes; it's sad when the best thing you can say about a movie is that Carrie Fisher was kinda cute in the slave-girl outfit. Haven't seen any that came after and have no plans to do so.
Posted by: Just Some Guy at January 29, 2023 10:07 AM (a/4+U)
Sunnabish go hell! They no look like me!!
Posted by: Just Some Guy at January 29, 2023 10:07 AM (a/4+U)
Sunnabish go hell! They no look like me!!
Posted by: Little Fuzzy at January 29, 2023 02:38 PM (llON8)
Posted by: Weak Geek, whose scratches did heal at January 29, 2023 03:31 PM (Om/di)
410
I am making $100 an hour working from home. I never imagined that it was honest to goodness yet my closest companion is earning $16,000 a month by working on a laptop, that was truly astounding for me, she prescribed for me to attempt it simply. Everybody must try this job now by just using this website.. www.Payathome7.com
Posted by: www.Payathome7.com at January 29, 2023 04:32 PM (K2fdv)
411
I'm reading Tom Clancy, The Bear & The Dragon. He has a line in there about student protest at Tiananmen thus:
"They hadn't protested the form of their country's government so much as the corruption of those at its highest levels, and, predictably, such actions had been hugely offensive to the corrupted."
This is exactly why our Corrupted turned on the J6 protesters as the Corrupted did on the Tiananmen protesters. The powerful couldn't brook dissent about their corrupt 'election'.
"They hadn't protested the form of their country's government so much as the corruption of those at its highest levels, and, predictably, such actions had been hugely offensive to the corrupted."
This is exactly why our Corrupted turned on the J6 protesters as the Corrupted did on the Tiananmen protesters. The powerful couldn't brook dissent about their corrupt 'election'.
Posted by: Rick Yarnell at January 29, 2023 11:54 PM (t17gS)
412
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Posted by: Emily at January 30, 2023 03:57 AM (WpX8S)
413
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Posted by: www.Payathome7.com at January 30, 2023 06:21 AM (/cE7E)
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Posted by: Danielle Willis at January 30, 2023 11:50 AM (M7IYf)
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