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Reading Thread 08/17/2025
Comments
(Jump to bottom of comments)1
I bought a couple things from Amazon a few weeks ago, and I almost started reading them, but got sidetracked. Maybe this week....
Posted by: OrangeEnt at August 17, 2025 09:00 AM (0eaVi)
2
Booken morgen horden
Posted by: vmom deport deport deport at August 17, 2025 09:01 AM (7qxhH)
3
Does reading make you a better writer?
I've seen YT book related people say yes, and no. Who knows?
I've seen YT book related people say yes, and no. Who knows?
Posted by: OrangeEnt at August 17, 2025 09:01 AM (0eaVi)
4
George Burns continues his memoir "All My Best Friends" by relating the successes and failures of his friends -- and George Jessel and Groucho Marx -- in rhe new world of television. I thought Milton Berle had been a top TV star forever. Not so. After his first show withered away, he starred in a string of flops until someone tried him in a dramatic role. It rejuvenated his career.
Then Burns goes into the last days of the stars he outlived. He had plenty of material for that chapter.
Having read this book, I realize that showbiz people have to really want to be in that field, otherwise they would flee. It's tough; as Burns put it, the only sure thing in the entertainment world is uncertainty. Only a few reach the top and stay there, and even they end up dying. Even George Burns.
Then Burns goes into the last days of the stars he outlived. He had plenty of material for that chapter.
Having read this book, I realize that showbiz people have to really want to be in that field, otherwise they would flee. It's tough; as Burns put it, the only sure thing in the entertainment world is uncertainty. Only a few reach the top and stay there, and even they end up dying. Even George Burns.
Posted by: Weak Geek at August 17, 2025 09:02 AM (p/isN)
5
I read a Barbara Cartland that was on Libby.
Nostalgic- used to devour these as a preteen. Very fairy tale like.
Nostalgic- used to devour these as a preteen. Very fairy tale like.
Posted by: vmom deport deport deport at August 17, 2025 09:02 AM (7qxhH)
6
Only a few reach the top and stay there, and even they end up dying. Even George Burns.
Posted by: Weak Geek at August 17, 2025 09:02 AM (p/isN)
Wait. George Burns is dead??
Posted by: Weak Geek at August 17, 2025 09:02 AM (p/isN)
Wait. George Burns is dead??
Posted by: OrangeEnt at August 17, 2025 09:02 AM (0eaVi)
7
Does reading make you a better writer?
I've seen YT book related people say yes, and no. Who knows?
Posted by: OrangeEnt at August 17, 2025 09:01 AM (0eaVi)
I think more that writing makes you a better writer. Reading a lot shows you how others did it, but you have to do it yourself. And that's done by writing. I'm pretty sure I'm a better writer than when I started, even though my sales record speaks against it.
I've seen YT book related people say yes, and no. Who knows?
Posted by: OrangeEnt at August 17, 2025 09:01 AM (0eaVi)
I think more that writing makes you a better writer. Reading a lot shows you how others did it, but you have to do it yourself. And that's done by writing. I'm pretty sure I'm a better writer than when I started, even though my sales record speaks against it.
Posted by: OrangeEnt at August 17, 2025 09:04 AM (0eaVi)
8
Buts I cants read!
Posted by: Baltimore High Skool Gradulate at August 17, 2025 09:05 AM (R/m4+)
9
I read 'Typhoon' by Joseph Conrad many years ago. Interesting short story .
Posted by: dantesed at August 17, 2025 09:05 AM (Oy/m2)
10
Good Sunday morning, horde.
Thanks for filling in, Weasel.
Only Conrad I've ever read is Heart of Darkness. Maybe I'll try Typhoon when I get through all the light summer reading I'm into right now.
I am reading Mistborn by Brandon Sanderson now. I've been on the ebook waiting list for months, and it's my turn, so I had to go ahead and read it now. I'm enjoying it. I don't dabble in Fantasy/SciFi very often, but prefer fantasy to sci fi.
Thanks for filling in, Weasel.
Only Conrad I've ever read is Heart of Darkness. Maybe I'll try Typhoon when I get through all the light summer reading I'm into right now.
I am reading Mistborn by Brandon Sanderson now. I've been on the ebook waiting list for months, and it's my turn, so I had to go ahead and read it now. I'm enjoying it. I don't dabble in Fantasy/SciFi very often, but prefer fantasy to sci fi.
Posted by: Dash my lace wigs! at August 17, 2025 09:06 AM (h7ZuX)
11
Never read Typhoon.
Read James Clavell's Tai-Pan though. Close enough, right?
Read James Clavell's Tai-Pan though. Close enough, right?
Posted by: vmom deport deport deport at August 17, 2025 09:06 AM (7qxhH)
12
Reading “Munichs” by David Peace of Red Riding and Tokyo Trilogy fame. About the 1958 Manchester United air disaster in Munich. Hate soccer but Peace does a good job in making the sport relatively tolerable (see: “Better Red Than Dead” and “Damned UTD”
Posted by: Buzzy Krumhunger at August 17, 2025 09:06 AM (DTBr0)
13
Reading makes you a better reader.
Posted by: Eromero at August 17, 2025 09:07 AM (LHPAg)
14
Morning, Book Folken!
This week I finished a Lee Child Jack Reacher novel, Never Go Back. While it was exciting and well-thought-out, I am beginning to see that Reacher, as smart and well-equipped as he is, is helpless in the grip of his creator. By which I mean, he seems to win his physical battles so easily that a conflict we have been waiting for all during the book comes off as an anti-climax. He defeats the massive soldier Shrago, a role seemingly perfect for the young Schwarzenegger or Dolf Lundgren, in far too short a scene. After the buildup, you expect a more protracted struggle.
Some of the earlier books (I haven't read them all) have this more-difficult denouement, but not this one. It doesn't mean this novel wasn't fun, and I'll continue with the series.
This week I finished a Lee Child Jack Reacher novel, Never Go Back. While it was exciting and well-thought-out, I am beginning to see that Reacher, as smart and well-equipped as he is, is helpless in the grip of his creator. By which I mean, he seems to win his physical battles so easily that a conflict we have been waiting for all during the book comes off as an anti-climax. He defeats the massive soldier Shrago, a role seemingly perfect for the young Schwarzenegger or Dolf Lundgren, in far too short a scene. After the buildup, you expect a more protracted struggle.
Some of the earlier books (I haven't read them all) have this more-difficult denouement, but not this one. It doesn't mean this novel wasn't fun, and I'll continue with the series.
Posted by: Wolfus Aurelius, Dreaming of Elsewhere at August 17, 2025 09:08 AM (omVj0)
15
Good morning fellow Book Threadists. I hope everyone had a great week of reading. Mine was extraordinary.
Many thanks to Weasel for taking on the book thread this week. Seriously appreciated.
Many thanks to Weasel for taking on the book thread this week. Seriously appreciated.
Posted by: JTB at August 17, 2025 09:08 AM (yTvNw)
16
Reading made writing easy for me. Knowing how others built scenes helped me to envision how my stories should capture imagination in my creative writing classes.
Posted by: Thomas Paine at August 17, 2025 09:08 AM (0U5gm)
17
Finished Anno Dracula: One Thousand Monsters earlier this week. The vampire elder Genevieve Dieudonne has been exiled to Japan with her eclectic entourage.
Kim Newman does not take himself too seriously with this series, as there are lots of pop-culture referenced scattered throughout the books. In this one, Genevieve is accompanied by Drusilla from Buffy the Vampire Slayer and a scoundrel that turns out to be Popeye the frickin' Sailor Man.
Kim Newman does not take himself too seriously with this series, as there are lots of pop-culture referenced scattered throughout the books. In this one, Genevieve is accompanied by Drusilla from Buffy the Vampire Slayer and a scoundrel that turns out to be Popeye the frickin' Sailor Man.
Posted by: "Perfessor" Squirrel at August 17, 2025 09:09 AM (IBQGV)
18
A George Burns story:
When he was a kid, he lived in a very poor immigrant neighborhood. He and some of the other kids performed in the street to make a little money. After they did whatever, they'd pass the hat.
"Sometimes it came back with money. Sometimes they stole the money. Sometimes they stole the hat."
When he was a kid, he lived in a very poor immigrant neighborhood. He and some of the other kids performed in the street to make a little money. After they did whatever, they'd pass the hat.
"Sometimes it came back with money. Sometimes they stole the money. Sometimes they stole the hat."
Posted by: Rodrigo Borgia at August 17, 2025 09:09 AM (qpyNK)
19
Morning, Weasel.
Howdy, Horde.
Too long since I read much Conrad, and don't think I ever got around to Typhoon. Heart of Darkness and some of the other shorter pieces. More to revisit...
Maybe (emphasize maybe) reading can't make you a better writer, but after what I've seen of student papers over the years I sometimes wonder if you can write very well at all if you're not a reader.
Howdy, Horde.
Too long since I read much Conrad, and don't think I ever got around to Typhoon. Heart of Darkness and some of the other shorter pieces. More to revisit...
Maybe (emphasize maybe) reading can't make you a better writer, but after what I've seen of student papers over the years I sometimes wonder if you can write very well at all if you're not a reader.
Posted by: Just Some Guy at August 17, 2025 09:10 AM (q3u5l)
20
I read L.M. Sagas' debut novel in the Sci Fi genre, "Cascade Failure," about a small spacecraft crew consisting of a soldier, a doctor/mechanic, and an AI. And an old friend of the solider who returns after being betrayed years before.
A story of friendship and pain with a lot of emotional content, and, annoyingly, disparate pronouns for the AI.
Great story of redemption and comradery that I very much enjoyed. Starting on book two (of two so far) called "Gravity Lost".
Highly recommend, as long as you don't get annoyed by the damn pronoun nonsense.
Good morning, Reading Nerdz.
A story of friendship and pain with a lot of emotional content, and, annoyingly, disparate pronouns for the AI.
Great story of redemption and comradery that I very much enjoyed. Starting on book two (of two so far) called "Gravity Lost".
Highly recommend, as long as you don't get annoyed by the damn pronoun nonsense.
Good morning, Reading Nerdz.
Posted by: Sharkman at August 17, 2025 09:11 AM (/RHNq)
21
I read a new book by David Zweig, called _An Abundance of Caution_. It's about the COVID epidemic and the shambolic response to it by school districts and administrators. Very fact-based, lots of nice crunchy data you can throw in the faces of lefty jerks who still want everyone to wear masks. The author's a Media Professional (wrote for NYT, Wired, etc) who got mugged by reality.
The takeaway: you probably don't hate your local school board and the NYT as much as you should.
The takeaway: you probably don't hate your local school board and the NYT as much as you should.
Posted by: Trimegistus at August 17, 2025 09:11 AM (78a2H)
22
Connected With Books: This week I watched the pilot for the Spenser: For Hire series of the '80s with Robert Urich and Avery Brooks. I mention it because the script was an adaptation of Parker's fourth novel, Promised Land, the one which introduces Spenser's occasional partner Hawk. They did a good job with it -- Parker is co-credited on the script, and it retains the flavor of the book series. I only dimly remember the show (except that it led me to the book series), so I don't know how the rest of the episodes work out.
Posted by: Wolfus Aurelius, Dreaming of Elsewhere at August 17, 2025 09:11 AM (omVj0)
23
Clicked the link to Typhoon. It's short enough that I think I can blow through it today. Don't remember if I've ever read Conrad.
Posted by: OrangeEnt at August 17, 2025 09:12 AM (0eaVi)
24
Reading made writing easy for me. Knowing how others built scenes helped me to envision how my stories should capture imagination in my creative writing classes.
Posted by: Thomas Paine at August 17, 2025
***
Exactly.
Posted by: Thomas Paine at August 17, 2025
***
Exactly.
Posted by: Wolfus Aurelius, Dreaming of Elsewhere at August 17, 2025 09:12 AM (omVj0)
25
Perfesser, Anno Dracula is one of those books I have always thought of reading but never have.
Another one is Julian May's Pliocene Exile series
Another one is Julian May's Pliocene Exile series
Posted by: vmom deport deport deport at August 17, 2025 09:13 AM (7qxhH)
26
Of course reading makes you a better writer. How can you tell if you're doing it well unless you can compare your work to that of others?
Posted by: Trimegistus at August 17, 2025 09:13 AM (78a2H)
27
It's been one of those weeks that inundate me with meaningful and gorgeous writing. Lyrical Ballads by Wordworth and Coleridge turned out to be a treasure of prose and, of course, the poetry. Tintern Abbey and Rime of the Ancient Mariner were first published in it in 1798. The young men were establishing a frame for the Romantics. A revolution of sorts against the formality and calculated obscure allusions of the 1700s. They weren't condemning the earlier poetry but offered a different approach and why it was needed. And they did it with some tongue-in-cheek humor.
I'm using the Oxford World Classics edition and the explanatory notes are pretty good. The annoying part is the editor just had to downplay the importance of faith and religion that is such a clear part of the poems. Her approach also ignores Coleridge's later essays on literature. I wasn't surprised but was disappointed that BS academic 'standards' crept into an otherwise excellent volume.
Continuing with Nicomachean Ethics and its emphasis on virtue added to the week's pleasure.
continued ...
I'm using the Oxford World Classics edition and the explanatory notes are pretty good. The annoying part is the editor just had to downplay the importance of faith and religion that is such a clear part of the poems. Her approach also ignores Coleridge's later essays on literature. I wasn't surprised but was disappointed that BS academic 'standards' crept into an otherwise excellent volume.
Continuing with Nicomachean Ethics and its emphasis on virtue added to the week's pleasure.
continued ...
Posted by: JTB at August 17, 2025 09:14 AM (yTvNw)
28
Some time ago, I began to read Big Week by James Holland, a history of several 8th Air Force raids on German aircraft factories from 20 to 25 February 1944 designed to cripple the Luftwaffe before D Day. Although I'm quite interested in the topic, I stopped reading because of a characteristic of Holland's writing, his numerous digressions and meanderings lose sight ofthe overarching story. I picked it up and began reading again but this time with a new attitude. I read it as a series of interconnected short stories rather than a straight history. And I'm enjoying it. Many stories are quite interesting. For example, a bereaved kid attends the funeral of 30 of his fellow fliers killed in action. It rained and he became drenched. A middle aged English woman offers to let him into her flat so she could dry his clothes. He strips off his clothes and, being a naive teenager, doesn't realize the cougar was stalking him until she appears wearing only a house coat. Disgusted, he was forced to beat a hasty retreat. I guess General Sherman was right. War is hell.
Posted by: Anonosaurus Wrecks, Something Smells Funny In Here at August 17, 2025 09:14 AM (L/fGl)
29
Following up for a moment on last week’s Robert B. Parker comments. As Wolfus and maybe a couple others mentioned, his dissertation wasn’t chiefly on Cooper. Title is: "The Violent Hero, Wilderness Heritage and Urban Reality: A Study of the Private Eye in the novels of Dashiell Hammett, Raymond Chandler and Ross MacDonald." I read it some time between 1986 and 1990, and my memory blotted the important stuff (Chandler, Hammett, MacDonald) and retained the wilderness heritage part in which he tied the hero back to Cooper et al. (That’ll teach me to trust my memory any more.) If there’s a free source for the paper online, I’m not seeing it, but it’s probably still available through interlibrary loan, and I think you might be able to see it online if you, or maybe your library, have the right ProQuest account.
(cont.)
(cont.)
Posted by: Just Some Guy at August 17, 2025 09:14 AM (q3u5l)
30
The only Conrad I've ever plowed through was Heart of Darkness, and I stuck with it mainly because of the tenuous link to the movie Apocalypse Now, which I enjoyed when I saw it in '79 or '80. If he has shorter works, that can only be good.
Posted by: Wolfus Aurelius, Dreaming of Elsewhere at August 17, 2025 09:14 AM (omVj0)
31
Perfesser, Anno Dracula is one of those books I have always thought of reading but never have.
Another one is Julian May's Pliocene Exile series
Posted by: vmom deport deport deport at August 17, 2025 09:13 AM (7qxhH)
----
The first Anno Dracula book is really good. It takes place right after Dracula has taken over Victorian England. The events of Bram Stoker's novel turn out very differently "in real life." Jack the Ripper, aka "Silver Knife" is on the loose, butchering vampire prostitutes.
Another one is Julian May's Pliocene Exile series
Posted by: vmom deport deport deport at August 17, 2025 09:13 AM (7qxhH)
----
The first Anno Dracula book is really good. It takes place right after Dracula has taken over Victorian England. The events of Bram Stoker's novel turn out very differently "in real life." Jack the Ripper, aka "Silver Knife" is on the loose, butchering vampire prostitutes.
Posted by: "Perfessor" Squirrel at August 17, 2025 09:15 AM (IBQGV)
32
Houti alert in Jerusalem and center of country.
But I'm up north, with the grandpups in the pool.
Ain't lifegrand quirky!
But I'm up north, with the grandpups in the pool.
Ain't life
Posted by: Biden's Dog sniffs a whole lotta malarkey, at August 17, 2025 09:15 AM (gBSVI)
33
Re Parker (cont)
There’s a pretty good interview with Parker in the Fall 1984 issue of The Armchair Detective, which should also be available via interlibrary loan, and some nice stuff on him in a book edited by Otto Penzler called In Pursuit of Spenser; articles by Block and others, and well worth a look for any Parker fan.
If you hit https://bulletsandbeer.fandom.com/wiki/Robert_B._Parker, you’ll find, among lots of other nifty things, a piece Parker wrote for TV Guide commenting on the Spenser: for Hire series. And the interview by S. J. Rozan ain’t bad either.
Enjoy.
There’s a pretty good interview with Parker in the Fall 1984 issue of The Armchair Detective, which should also be available via interlibrary loan, and some nice stuff on him in a book edited by Otto Penzler called In Pursuit of Spenser; articles by Block and others, and well worth a look for any Parker fan.
If you hit https://bulletsandbeer.fandom.com/wiki/Robert_B._Parker, you’ll find, among lots of other nifty things, a piece Parker wrote for TV Guide commenting on the Spenser: for Hire series. And the interview by S. J. Rozan ain’t bad either.
Enjoy.
Posted by: Just Some Guy at August 17, 2025 09:15 AM (q3u5l)
34
Kim Newman's a good writer. He did a series of short stories/novellas about the agents of the Diogenes Club (aka England's X-files agents). They're pretty good -- although you do have to have a high tolerance for: 1) Arcane 1970s British pop culture references, and 2) Tiresome British lefty grudge-holding about Margaret Thatcher.
Posted by: Trimegistus at August 17, 2025 09:16 AM (78a2H)
35
I'd go so far as to say it's impossible to be a good writer without extensive preparatory reading.
Plus... why on earth would anyone want to be a writer who wasn't already a fan of the written word? It's like someone who hates fish aspiring to be a sushi chef.
Plus... why on earth would anyone want to be a writer who wasn't already a fan of the written word? It's like someone who hates fish aspiring to be a sushi chef.
Posted by: Rodrigo Borgia at August 17, 2025 09:17 AM (qpyNK)
36
I stuck with it mainly because of the tenuous link to the movie Apocalypse Now, which I enjoyed when I saw it in '79 or '80. If he has shorter works, that can only be good.
Posted by: Wolfus Aurelius, Dreaming of Elsewhere at August 17, 2025 09:14 AM (omVj0)
I laugh, because that is also the reason I read Heart of Darkness. It was a bit of a chore.
Posted by: Wolfus Aurelius, Dreaming of Elsewhere at August 17, 2025 09:14 AM (omVj0)
I laugh, because that is also the reason I read Heart of Darkness. It was a bit of a chore.
Posted by: Dash my lace wigs! at August 17, 2025 09:18 AM (h7ZuX)
37
@17 --
Prof, how does he identify Popeye without running afoul of copyright and/or trademark law?
I read a short piece years ago that said Popeye may have been billed as a sailor, but his true occupation was street brawler. In his first appearance, he never gives a straight answer to "Are you a sailor?"
Prof, how does he identify Popeye without running afoul of copyright and/or trademark law?
I read a short piece years ago that said Popeye may have been billed as a sailor, but his true occupation was street brawler. In his first appearance, he never gives a straight answer to "Are you a sailor?"
Posted by: Weak Geek at August 17, 2025 09:20 AM (p/isN)
38
continued from comment 27 ...
Last week I mentioned Henry Beston's "Outermost House". This week I added his "Northern Farm" about a two year stay on a farm in Maine in the early 1930s. Both books are a delight. His descriptions and observations are lyrical, measured. It's like reading poetry more than prose. Yes, the topics resonate with me but the writing is so effective, so layered with meaning beneath simple words, the topics become secondary. I got lost in the writing. I look forward to some of his straight fiction to see if this quality carries through. The effectiveness reminds me of the enjoyment I get from reading William Gilmore Simms and Chesterton.
Beston is often claimed by the Greenies these days as helping to ignite the environmental movement. That's a mistake. But he is a naturalist. His observations lead to an appreciation of the world, a communion that makes us part of creation. Not the 'disease' Bill Gates and others regard people as, but a participant.
Last week I mentioned Henry Beston's "Outermost House". This week I added his "Northern Farm" about a two year stay on a farm in Maine in the early 1930s. Both books are a delight. His descriptions and observations are lyrical, measured. It's like reading poetry more than prose. Yes, the topics resonate with me but the writing is so effective, so layered with meaning beneath simple words, the topics become secondary. I got lost in the writing. I look forward to some of his straight fiction to see if this quality carries through. The effectiveness reminds me of the enjoyment I get from reading William Gilmore Simms and Chesterton.
Beston is often claimed by the Greenies these days as helping to ignite the environmental movement. That's a mistake. But he is a naturalist. His observations lead to an appreciation of the world, a communion that makes us part of creation. Not the 'disease' Bill Gates and others regard people as, but a participant.
Posted by: JTB at August 17, 2025 09:20 AM (yTvNw)
39
For over a century, rich and poor alike booked passage across the Atlantic on steamships. These vessels were the largest moving objects on earth, and were the only way to cross. In Transatlantic, Stephen Fox recounts the flourishing of the age of steamships.
In the 1840s, steam began replacing sails on the Atlantic. Time was of the essence, as the fastest ships also received lucrative mail contracts. Into this arena stepped Samuel Cunard and Isambard Kingdom Brunel. Cunard's focus was to make sailing an adventure while carrying people. Brunel, an engineer, focused his attention on the ships, and found that the larger the hull, the more efficient the ship. His ultimate vessel was the Great Eastern, a ship that dwarfed everything else afloat.
As steamship travel evolved, more competitors entered. The Collins Line, the White Star Line, and others competed to sail the fastest across the ocean and claim the blue riband for the fastest passage. First class became the epitome of opulence, while the poorest immigrants made do in steerage. Eventually, the airplane put an end to the age of the great liners, and transformed a journey into an eight hour ordeal.
In the 1840s, steam began replacing sails on the Atlantic. Time was of the essence, as the fastest ships also received lucrative mail contracts. Into this arena stepped Samuel Cunard and Isambard Kingdom Brunel. Cunard's focus was to make sailing an adventure while carrying people. Brunel, an engineer, focused his attention on the ships, and found that the larger the hull, the more efficient the ship. His ultimate vessel was the Great Eastern, a ship that dwarfed everything else afloat.
As steamship travel evolved, more competitors entered. The Collins Line, the White Star Line, and others competed to sail the fastest across the ocean and claim the blue riband for the fastest passage. First class became the epitome of opulence, while the poorest immigrants made do in steerage. Eventually, the airplane put an end to the age of the great liners, and transformed a journey into an eight hour ordeal.
Posted by: Thomas Paine at August 17, 2025 09:21 AM (0U5gm)
40
Reading a Hebrew biography on a not well known Israeli officer in the late 50s - early 60s. Should have a report by next week.
Posted by: Biden's Dog sniffs a whole lotta malarkey, at August 17, 2025 09:21 AM (gBSVI)
41
Prof, how does he identify Popeye without running afoul of copyright and/or trademark law?
I read a short piece years ago that said Popeye may have been billed as a sailor, but his true occupation was street brawler. In his first appearance, he never gives a straight answer to "Are you a sailor?"
Posted by: Weak Geek at August 17, 2025 09:20 AM (p/isN)
---
Well the character's name is different, but he does exhibit most of Popeye's distinctive traits. He eventually turns into a specialized vegetarian vampire that draws strength from canned spinach. That's basically the clincher that the character IS Popeye.
I read a short piece years ago that said Popeye may have been billed as a sailor, but his true occupation was street brawler. In his first appearance, he never gives a straight answer to "Are you a sailor?"
Posted by: Weak Geek at August 17, 2025 09:20 AM (p/isN)
---
Well the character's name is different, but he does exhibit most of Popeye's distinctive traits. He eventually turns into a specialized vegetarian vampire that draws strength from canned spinach. That's basically the clincher that the character IS Popeye.
Posted by: "Perfessor" Squirrel at August 17, 2025 09:22 AM (IBQGV)
42
Currently I'm reading Robert Crais's Sunset Express, the sixth in the LA private eye Elvis Cole series. Elvis is very much the California Spenser: His narration style is very similar and he has a powerful, mysterious business partner called Pike who is something like Parker's Hawk. In this sixth book, too, and in its predecessor Voodoo River, he seems to be heading into a relationship with a lady attorney that might wind up like Spenser's relationship with Susan Silverman. The plotting and Elvis's investigations seem to be more mystery-oriented, rather than Spenser's style of "pull on a loose end and see what unravels."
If you like the Spensers you would probably like Elvis Cole.
If you like the Spensers you would probably like Elvis Cole.
Posted by: Wolfus Aurelius, Dreaming of Elsewhere at August 17, 2025 09:23 AM (omVj0)
43
A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z
and the critically-important Ÿ
"Fundamentals, people!", as one of our AoSHQ gurus reminds us.
and the critically-important Ÿ
"Fundamentals, people!", as one of our AoSHQ gurus reminds us.
Posted by: Duncanthrax at August 17, 2025 09:23 AM (0sNs1)
44
JTB, give Ferrol Sams a look.
Posted by: Ben Had at August 17, 2025 09:24 AM (dxWFK)
45
My brother exalts Joseph Conrad. I tried the novel "Victory" years ago. I recognized Conrad's skills but wasn't able to get through it. I will try him again.
Posted by: Ordinary American at August 17, 2025 09:24 AM (WHfpM)
46
“ If you love those who love you, what credit is that to you? Even sinners love those who love them. And if you do good to those who are good to you, what credit is that to you? Even sinners do that.”
Luke 6:32-33
Luke 6:32-33
Posted by: Marcus T at August 17, 2025 09:25 AM (2L8w3)
47
Reading definitely can make you a better writer. It depends on what you want to write.
Let's say that all you read are novels by Pynchon and Nabokov but you want to write a Louis L'Amour shoot'em up. You won't be able to to do it or do it in a way that doesn't suck and vice versa. If all you read is Louis L'Amour, it's unlikely that you could write "Gravity's Rainbow". Or "Ada".
It's like any trade, you learn by doing but also seeing how the masters do it.
Let's say that all you read are novels by Pynchon and Nabokov but you want to write a Louis L'Amour shoot'em up. You won't be able to to do it or do it in a way that doesn't suck and vice versa. If all you read is Louis L'Amour, it's unlikely that you could write "Gravity's Rainbow". Or "Ada".
It's like any trade, you learn by doing but also seeing how the masters do it.
Posted by: naturalfake at August 17, 2025 09:25 AM (iJfKG)
48
Kim Newman does not take himself too seriously with this series, as there are lots of pop-culture referenced scattered throughout the books. In this one, Genevieve is accompanied by Drusilla from Buffy the Vampire Slayer and a scoundrel that turns out to be Popeye the frickin' Sailor Man.
Posted by: "Perfessor" Squirrel at August 17, 2025
***
Drusilla! Now I have to look this up!
Posted by: "Perfessor" Squirrel at August 17, 2025
***
Drusilla! Now I have to look this up!
Posted by: Wolfus Aurelius, Dreaming of Elsewhere at August 17, 2025 09:25 AM (omVj0)
49
Pants, or specifically, the lack of them whilst perusing the Book Thread, is still being recorded in your AoSHQ Permanent Record.
Proceed accordingly.
Proceed accordingly.
Posted by: Bob from NSA at August 17, 2025 09:26 AM (lEapR)
50
Thx Weasel. Always liked Conrad. Nostromo, Heart of Darkness , Lord Jim. The guy was both a good writer and storyteller
Posted by: Smell the Glove at August 17, 2025 09:27 AM (0dq7l)
51
In this one, Genevieve is accompanied by Drusilla from Buffy the Vampire Slayer and a scoundrel that turns out to be Popeye the frickin' Sailor Man.
Posted by: "Perfessor" Squirrel at August 17, 2025
Sounds interesting and fun. I've always wondered if characters from other stories are copyrighted. I guess not.
Posted by: "Perfessor" Squirrel at August 17, 2025
Sounds interesting and fun. I've always wondered if characters from other stories are copyrighted. I guess not.
Posted by: Ordinary American at August 17, 2025 09:27 AM (WHfpM)
Posted by: Weak Geek at August 17, 2025 09:28 AM (p/isN)
53
Been re-reading a fantasy novel I haven't read since high school; "Dragonlance: Dragons of Autumn Twilight." the book is divided into two 'books' and I'm a bit more than halfway through. In the first book, there is exactly one dragon, zero lances, and not significant allusions to autumn or twilight...
Despite that jokey introduction, I'm enjoying it. It reads like a long-form pulp story. The narration generally covers what our characters are doing, with occasional short digressions into worldbuilding or delving into a characters' thoughts. The book does take a little while to get into, however, since we have a party of 8 main characters, which is fully assembled in the first chapter or two. It takes some time to get comfortable knowing (and knowing the difference between) that many characters...
Despite that jokey introduction, I'm enjoying it. It reads like a long-form pulp story. The narration generally covers what our characters are doing, with occasional short digressions into worldbuilding or delving into a characters' thoughts. The book does take a little while to get into, however, since we have a party of 8 main characters, which is fully assembled in the first chapter or two. It takes some time to get comfortable knowing (and knowing the difference between) that many characters...
Posted by: Castle Guy at August 17, 2025 09:29 AM (Lhaco)
54
Morning all. I'm currently reading Robert Greene's "The 48 Laws of Power." Figured it's good for trying to understand all the office maneuvering and agendas.
Posted by: Mainah at August 17, 2025 09:30 AM (LFd6j)
55
read a series on the Texas navy by D A Brock. Alt-history with Texas never joining the US but remaining a republic It starts w/ Texas at the Coronation (of George VI (?, anyway 1937). Found it from the Haunted Library anthology I read week before last. It's pretty good, even if the author doesn't understand that it's is not possessive.
regarding Spenser for Hire: only once that I recall did the show capture the moral ambiguity of the books that Spenser had to wrestle with.
regarding Spenser for Hire: only once that I recall did the show capture the moral ambiguity of the books that Spenser had to wrestle with.
Posted by: yara at August 17, 2025 09:30 AM (EbWSH)
56
Thank you, Weasel, for the Reading Thread
I've been on a little bit of a Young Adult kick, trying to read things my granddaughters might have some interest in.
Last week I finished A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L'Engle. I was probably in junior high the last time I read it. It held up pretty well, I guess.
I'm not sure where it came from but I found Will Wilder: The Relic of Perilous Falls on my bookshelf, so I picked it up. It opens during WWII with Will's soldier great-grandfather, Jacob Wilder. He has the ability to see demons and is in the process of rescuing the bones of St Thomas from a bombed cathedral. Fast forward to present day. Will is 12 years old and has the ability to see "shadows." St. Thomas' relics are safe in the local church located in the small town of Perilous falls. Or are they safe? It would seem that dark forces are trying to trick Will into stealing the relics for them.
It was a fun read. I added the next book in the series, Will Wilder: The Lost Staff of Wonders, to my ever-growing wish list. We’ll see if I get around to it. My To-Be-Read pile at home is ever-growing as well. So many books, so little time!
I've been on a little bit of a Young Adult kick, trying to read things my granddaughters might have some interest in.
Last week I finished A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L'Engle. I was probably in junior high the last time I read it. It held up pretty well, I guess.
I'm not sure where it came from but I found Will Wilder: The Relic of Perilous Falls on my bookshelf, so I picked it up. It opens during WWII with Will's soldier great-grandfather, Jacob Wilder. He has the ability to see demons and is in the process of rescuing the bones of St Thomas from a bombed cathedral. Fast forward to present day. Will is 12 years old and has the ability to see "shadows." St. Thomas' relics are safe in the local church located in the small town of Perilous falls. Or are they safe? It would seem that dark forces are trying to trick Will into stealing the relics for them.
It was a fun read. I added the next book in the series, Will Wilder: The Lost Staff of Wonders, to my ever-growing wish list. We’ll see if I get around to it. My To-Be-Read pile at home is ever-growing as well. So many books, so little time!
Posted by: KatieFloyd at August 17, 2025 09:31 AM (r0G28)
57
JTB I went to vigil mass on Saturday and the priest in his homily talked about a poem that was instrumental in him discerning his vocation.
Francis Thompson : The Hound of Heaven (1890)
http://www.houndofheaven.com/poem
Thompson apparently was a laudanum addict who lost everything due to his addiction; and the priest said the iirc poem was about how all his life he fled darkness and he finally turned around and saw that it was the shadow of God pursuing him.
Francis Thompson : The Hound of Heaven (1890)
http://www.houndofheaven.com/poem
Thompson apparently was a laudanum addict who lost everything due to his addiction; and the priest said the iirc poem was about how all his life he fled darkness and he finally turned around and saw that it was the shadow of God pursuing him.
Posted by: vmom deport deport deport at August 17, 2025 09:31 AM (7qxhH)
58
Two thumbs up for Conrad.
Posted by: Pudinhead at August 17, 2025 09:32 AM (NBPRu)
59
I'm almost finished with Iggulden's Conquerer about Kublai Khan and its very good . It's the first new book I've read in months as I've found myself re-reading my favorites instead. It's been hard finding an author /book that grabs my attention immediately. I've been reading the first couple of chapters and no interest in continuing. I guess I have issues. The books have pointy elbows.
Posted by: polynikes at August 17, 2025 09:33 AM (EYmYM)
60
My mom has a big old picture of George Burns signed by him in Vegas around 1988 or so. She and my dad ran into him at the MGM.
Bookwise I got nothing. A few hours reading operations and programming manuals for machines invented by, built by and programmed by people FAR smarter than me. I may have bit off more than I can chew taking this new position at work. Fortunately I have other skills they seem to be lacking people with but I may never "get" these rocket scientist level pick and place things.
These things are doing X and Y axis to the 100,000th and Z axis in three modes to the same but with two being a "push". Cameras and lazers and doing it so fast you can't see it happen.
I don't feel qualified to put my damn arm in one let alone put a wrench to them.
Bookwise I got nothing. A few hours reading operations and programming manuals for machines invented by, built by and programmed by people FAR smarter than me. I may have bit off more than I can chew taking this new position at work. Fortunately I have other skills they seem to be lacking people with but I may never "get" these rocket scientist level pick and place things.
These things are doing X and Y axis to the 100,000th and Z axis in three modes to the same but with two being a "push". Cameras and lazers and doing it so fast you can't see it happen.
I don't feel qualified to put my damn arm in one let alone put a wrench to them.
Posted by: Reforger at August 17, 2025 09:33 AM (pxUkb)
61
43 A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z
and the critically-important Ÿ
"Fundamentals, people!", as one of our AoSHQ gurus reminds us.
Posted by: Duncanthrax at August 17, 2025 09:23 AM
Why? Now that you've said your ABCs? Say it once, why say it again?
and the critically-important Ÿ
"Fundamentals, people!", as one of our AoSHQ gurus reminds us.
Posted by: Duncanthrax at August 17, 2025 09:23 AM
Why? Now that you've said your ABCs? Say it once, why say it again?
Posted by: Eromero at August 17, 2025 09:33 AM (LHPAg)
62
Haven't gotten around to the Cole/Pike books, but did read a couple of his stand-alones when they first came out. Hostage (think that one was filmed with Bruce Willis) and Demolition Angel. Both were fun.
Posted by: Just Some Guy at August 17, 2025 09:34 AM (q3u5l)
63
of course Nostromo the South American tale, was the reference point for the Alien series, so was the Sulaco, in the sequel,
Vazquez Gomez in the history of Costaguana, which I've referenced offten, is a Walter mittyesque tale where the narrator is said to have been ripped off by Conrad, where his family was part of every major event in Colombian and Panamanian history,
Vazquez Gomez in the history of Costaguana, which I've referenced offten, is a Walter mittyesque tale where the narrator is said to have been ripped off by Conrad, where his family was part of every major event in Colombian and Panamanian history,
Posted by: miguel cervantes at August 17, 2025 09:35 AM (bXbFr)
64
I think reading definitely helped me write my reports and business letters at work.
Posted by: polynikes at August 17, 2025 09:36 AM (EYmYM)
65
I read and reviewed Heart of Darkness here about a year ago. I had never been asked to read it as required reading in school. To me, it was fascinating, as the crew leaves the complacent and modern world, and descends into a fatalist world where life has little meaning, and the rules of the civilized world no longer apply.
Posted by: Thomas Paine at August 17, 2025 09:36 AM (0U5gm)
66
regarding Spenser for Hire: only once that I recall did the show capture the moral ambiguity of the books that Spenser had to wrestle with.
Posted by: yara at August 17, 2025
***
Parker himself did write at least one script. Maybe that was the one you mention.
Posted by: yara at August 17, 2025
***
Parker himself did write at least one script. Maybe that was the one you mention.
Posted by: Wolfus Aurelius, Dreaming of Elsewhere at August 17, 2025 09:38 AM (omVj0)
67
the writer, Gabriel Vasquez is a Colombian educated at the Sorbonne, the translator made me appreciate Conrad's South American tale more,
Posted by: miguel cervantes at August 17, 2025 09:39 AM (bXbFr)
68
Mrs. JTB and I are honorary aunt and uncle to the daughters of dear friends. Actually maybe great aunt and uncle since we are close to their grandparent's age. The older girl had her wedding shower yesterday. (How is that possible. It seems just a few days ago she was being transported in a baby carrier.) To my absolute delight, it had a LOTR theme. As a little girl she was a Harry Potter fan and asked about other fantasy books. I gave her a good hardcover edition of LOTR. She has become a fanatic. To say I was pleased is a huge understatement. Her wedding cake this autumn will be made by her mom: a scene from the Shire.
The contagion spreads. I have a number of Tolkien books in paperback I've replaced with hardcover editions. Now I have a home for those paperbacks. Yes, she is young, getting married and just starting a career as an RN. But she'll have these to dip into as her time and interest allow.
The contagion spreads. I have a number of Tolkien books in paperback I've replaced with hardcover editions. Now I have a home for those paperbacks. Yes, she is young, getting married and just starting a career as an RN. But she'll have these to dip into as her time and interest allow.
Posted by: JTB at August 17, 2025 09:39 AM (yTvNw)
69
I went to a book fair in Castle Rock, CO yesterday that is an annual event. There were a lot of old 1st editions worth hundreds or thousands of dollars. Collectors from all over the country; I met people from Vermont and Idaho. I bought some historic post cards of Omaha, my home town. One lady had dozens of matchbooks she had made that were decorated with Edmund Gorey art. There were a lot of old maps. A large collection of 'Weird Tales' pulp mags. It was fun.
Posted by: Norrin Radd at August 17, 2025 09:39 AM (tRYqg)
70
read a series on the Texas navy by D A Brock. Alt-history with Texas never joining the US but remaining a republic It starts w/ Texas at the Coronation (of George VI (?, anyway 1937). Found it from the Haunted Library anthology I read week before last. It's pretty good, even if the author doesn't understand that it's is not possessive.
Posted by: yara
In London, there is a plaque on the building where the Republic of Texas embassy was located.
Posted by: yara
In London, there is a plaque on the building where the Republic of Texas embassy was located.
Posted by: Thomas Paine at August 17, 2025 09:40 AM (0U5gm)
71
I am reading Jerusalem; the Biography by Simon Sebag Montefiore. It's a deep dive into the city's history. It might prove to be too deep for me but so far so good.
Posted by: Northernlurker , Maple Syrup MAGA at August 17, 2025 09:40 AM (kTd/k)
72
I'm still waiting for someone to write a book or do a doc about the COVID epidemic which digs into _WHY_ so many people, mostly on the political left, became so obsessed with masking and lockdowns even after the data showed neither had much effect.
It's been FIVE YEARS and I'm still dealing with people like that. Some science fiction conventions were still requiring masks as late as 2024, and I still know some people who do it today. They make vague claims about being "immunocompromised" but I'm pretty sure that's nonsense and/or Munchausen's talking. I had to block one semi-friend on Facebook because he Just. Would. Not. Stop. posting daily COVID updates.
If there is a single non-Lefty psychologist left in America, he can do the world a great service by studying these people and identifying the source of the hysteria.
It's been FIVE YEARS and I'm still dealing with people like that. Some science fiction conventions were still requiring masks as late as 2024, and I still know some people who do it today. They make vague claims about being "immunocompromised" but I'm pretty sure that's nonsense and/or Munchausen's talking. I had to block one semi-friend on Facebook because he Just. Would. Not. Stop. posting daily COVID updates.
If there is a single non-Lefty psychologist left in America, he can do the world a great service by studying these people and identifying the source of the hysteria.
Posted by: Trimegistus at August 17, 2025 09:41 AM (78a2H)
73
well the Congo has been a blood soaked landscape for as long as one can remember, Mobutu held it together for a spell, but ultimately, was the cause of it's collapse,
the last? Tarzan film, has a Kurtz like character in Christopher Waltz,
the last? Tarzan film, has a Kurtz like character in Christopher Waltz,
Posted by: miguel cervantes at August 17, 2025 09:41 AM (bXbFr)
74
although you do have to have a high tolerance for: 1) Arcane 1970s British pop culture references, and 2) Tiresome British lefty grudge-holding about Margaret Thatcher.
Posted by: Trimegistus at August 17, 2025 09:16 AM (78a2H)
That last bit seems to be a pretty common trait among British creators...
Posted by: Trimegistus at August 17, 2025 09:16 AM (78a2H)
That last bit seems to be a pretty common trait among British creators...
Posted by: Castle Guy at August 17, 2025 09:41 AM (Lhaco)
75
Why? Now that you've said your ABCs? Say it once, why say it again?
Posted by: Eromero at August 17, 2025 09:33 AM
Because now you can start working on groups.
Then, tight groups.
Glock.
Queensrÿche.
Posted by: Eromero at August 17, 2025 09:33 AM
Because now you can start working on groups.
Then, tight groups.
Glock.
Queensrÿche.
Posted by: Duncanthrax at August 17, 2025 09:41 AM (0sNs1)
76
*Edward Gorey
Posted by: Norrin Radd at August 17, 2025 09:42 AM (tRYqg)
Posted by: polynikes at August 17, 2025 09:42 AM (EYmYM)
78
Studying headlines, even in the lefty newspapers, made me a better headline writer. The Kansas City Star in particular had some of the best heds I've seen.
The internet -- and the damnable SEOs -- destroyed hed writing.
The internet -- and the damnable SEOs -- destroyed hed writing.
Posted by: Weak Geek at August 17, 2025 09:43 AM (p/isN)
79
Read James Clavell's Tai-Pan though. Close enough, right?
Posted by: vmom deport deport deport
That's a great book. As are all of Clavell's works.
Posted by: vmom deport deport deport
That's a great book. As are all of Clavell's works.
Posted by: Sharkman at August 17, 2025 09:43 AM (/RHNq)
80
I'm still waiting for Weasel to direct us to Smith and Smith's Small Arms of the World, 9th Edition, Chapter 47 - Spain.
"Spain just doesn't get enough love, and that's a shame. Let's take a deeper look and dive into the FR7 and FR8 controversy."
"Spain just doesn't get enough love, and that's a shame. Let's take a deeper look and dive into the FR7 and FR8 controversy."
Posted by: Ace-Endorsed Author A.H. Lloyd at August 17, 2025 09:44 AM (ZOv7s)
81
I'd guess that Spenser episode is one where Spenser ends up leaving the bad guys at Hawk's mercy -- been too long since I watched the series, so can't give a title. Involved a couple of youngish thrill killers? Hawk, of course, isn't renowned for mercy, and Spenser doesn't feel all that good about it but wasn't sure what else to do with them.
And then there's one of Westlake's late Parker novels. He's leaving a guy who crossed Parker et al on a job with one of the group. The guy's tied up on the floor; he tells Parker, "If you leave me here, he's gonna kill me in the morning." Parker: "So you've still got tonight." Jeez, I like Westlake.
And then there's one of Westlake's late Parker novels. He's leaving a guy who crossed Parker et al on a job with one of the group. The guy's tied up on the floor; he tells Parker, "If you leave me here, he's gonna kill me in the morning." Parker: "So you've still got tonight." Jeez, I like Westlake.
Posted by: Just Some Guy at August 17, 2025 09:44 AM (q3u5l)
82
44 ... "give Ferrol Sams a look."
Ben Had,
Thanks. I haven't heard of these books but the comments in reviews about the writing effectiveness sounds like something I would enjoy. I'll keep and eye out for them.
Ben Had,
Thanks. I haven't heard of these books but the comments in reviews about the writing effectiveness sounds like something I would enjoy. I'll keep and eye out for them.
Posted by: JTB at August 17, 2025 09:45 AM (yTvNw)
83
That's a great book. As are all of Clavell's works.
Posted by: Sharkman at August 17, 2025 09:43 AM (/RHNq)
I think I posted previously that I just learned Clavell was also a movie director and screen writer.
His most well known directed movie was To Sir, With Love. He also wrote the screen play to The Great Escape.
Posted by: Sharkman at August 17, 2025 09:43 AM (/RHNq)
I think I posted previously that I just learned Clavell was also a movie director and screen writer.
His most well known directed movie was To Sir, With Love. He also wrote the screen play to The Great Escape.
Posted by: polynikes at August 17, 2025 09:46 AM (EYmYM)
84
26 Of course reading makes you a better writer. How can you tell if you're doing it well unless you can compare your work to that of others?
Posted by: Trimegistus at August 17, 2025 09:13 AM
I think the smart phone has me reading more than I did during the dumb phone days.
For one thing: growing my vocabulary. Whenever I encounter a new word, I just hold my finger on it for a few seconds, and Mr. Android highlights it, then Mr. Google helpfully offers to give me the definition and pronunciation.
I also take lots of side trips to Wikipedia to get the basics of any given subject.
Posted by: Trimegistus at August 17, 2025 09:13 AM
I think the smart phone has me reading more than I did during the dumb phone days.
For one thing: growing my vocabulary. Whenever I encounter a new word, I just hold my finger on it for a few seconds, and Mr. Android highlights it, then Mr. Google helpfully offers to give me the definition and pronunciation.
I also take lots of side trips to Wikipedia to get the basics of any given subject.
Posted by: Quarter Twenty at August 17, 2025 09:46 AM (XQo4F)
85
pynchon was an engineer by profession educated at Cornell, this barely explains how he came up with Gravitys Rainbow, which is a pastiche of everything he had read about the rocket program US German finance,
Posted by: miguel cervantes at August 17, 2025 09:46 AM (bXbFr)
86
100 Days of Dante program is starting the new cycle on August 25. I'm planning on going through this a second time (my copy has a little room left in the margins for more annotation).
https://100daysofdante.com
Still trying to get beyond Book 2 of Paradise Lost, but my light weight reading just takes so much time. Crichton, Krentz, Weir, and Miles Vorkosigan for the nth time.
https://100daysofdante.com
Still trying to get beyond Book 2 of Paradise Lost, but my light weight reading just takes so much time. Crichton, Krentz, Weir, and Miles Vorkosigan for the nth time.
Posted by: simni at August 17, 2025 09:48 AM (/30kX)
87
and his talent as a screen writer with some 50 major cast figures, of course John Sturgess direction, to give them enough space,
Posted by: miguel cervantes at August 17, 2025 09:48 AM (bXbFr)
88
@74 --
When I read some lefty insult in comics of the '80s-'90s, I wrote it off as "They're writing fiction and not policy."
Now look.
When I read some lefty insult in comics of the '80s-'90s, I wrote it off as "They're writing fiction and not policy."
Now look.
Posted by: Weak Geek at August 17, 2025 09:49 AM (p/isN)
89
well the Congo has been a blood soaked landscape for as long as one can remember, Mobutu held it together for a spell, but ultimately, was the cause of it's collapse,
the last? Tarzan film, has a Kurtz like character in Christopher Waltz,
Posted by: miguel cervantes
You might want to read Blood River by Tim Butcher. He retraces the journey of Henry Morton Stanley down the Congo River a century later, and finds that the region has gotten worse since Stanley made his trip.
the last? Tarzan film, has a Kurtz like character in Christopher Waltz,
Posted by: miguel cervantes
You might want to read Blood River by Tim Butcher. He retraces the journey of Henry Morton Stanley down the Congo River a century later, and finds that the region has gotten worse since Stanley made his trip.
Posted by: Thomas Paine at August 17, 2025 09:49 AM (0U5gm)
90
W. Henry Sledge, son of Eugene B. Sledge (author of "With the Old Breed at Peleliu and Okinawa," the seminal work on WW2 in the Pacific from the POV of a junior enlisted Marine) has just published "The Old Breed, The Complete Story Revealed," which promises to tell the story of E.B. Sledge's life after the war, including the creation of his most famous work, and also promises to include excerpts of the 700 pages of Sledge's notes that didn't make it into WtOBaPaO.
Haven't started it yet. Hope it's a good one.
Haven't started it yet. Hope it's a good one.
Posted by: Sharkman at August 17, 2025 09:50 AM (/RHNq)
91
Just yesterday I completed my collection of "Castle in the Stars," a four volume French-produced comic book, translated and reprinted in hardcover books. I got all my collection off of ebay, each at less than half of cover price. The tradeoff for that cheapness is that each book was originally a library book, and still has the library shelving markers taped to the book. But I guess that still gives the set a consistent 'look.'
The story itself looks to be a steampunky adventure; our heroes make it into space with early zeppelins and some made-up physics. Well, that's what I assume based on the titles. I've only read book 1, where our heroes are still earthbound. Although about half of that book takes place in Neuschwaststein Castle, which is cool setting for a comic book. Anyways, the story of book 1 was pretty enjoyable, so I have high hopes for the rest of the saga.
The story itself looks to be a steampunky adventure; our heroes make it into space with early zeppelins and some made-up physics. Well, that's what I assume based on the titles. I've only read book 1, where our heroes are still earthbound. Although about half of that book takes place in Neuschwaststein Castle, which is cool setting for a comic book. Anyways, the story of book 1 was pretty enjoyable, so I have high hopes for the rest of the saga.
Posted by: Castle Guy at August 17, 2025 09:50 AM (Lhaco)
92
Hey Readerkin. Finished up "Treasure Island", considered a classic for a reason. Plowed through a Graham Hancock doorstop on the Americas before Columbus, much of which was touched on in his Netflix series.
Posted by: All Hail Eris, She-Wolf of the 'Ettes 'Ettes at August 17, 2025 09:50 AM (kpS4V)
93
My read this week is David Zweig's "An Abundance of Caution: American Schools, the Virus, and a Story of Bad Decisions". It is a brutal indictment of the school closures inflicted on the country by Democratic Party-Bureaucracy-University-Media complex. Zweig documents his case very well: how data showed very early on that children were at minimal risk from Covid; that schools were not super-spreader centers; that ordinary cloth masks did not impede the spread of the disease; that the six-foot distancing rule was yanked out of thin air. Yet the Establishment stuck to its program of school closure in defiance of all evidence and, indeed, all reason, due in part to tribalism and its inability to admit a mistake, and in part due to TDS - since Trump had come out for opening schools, the schools had to remain closed. Notwithstanding those yard signs that smugly proclaim how "Science Is Real", the school closures were not only unscientific, but were anti-scientific. Zweig's book will infuriate you, but it's a must-read. Highly recommended.
Posted by: Nemo at August 17, 2025 09:50 AM (4RPgu)
94
I'm currently working my way through Anno Dracula 1999: Daikaiju.
I suspect it's going to be a variation of "Die Hard" as a group of terrorists seize control of a Japanese skyscraper (shaped like Godzilla) during a New Year's Eve party.
A vampire schoolgirl (a thousand years old) must carve a path to the top of the tower before the terrorists can finish their nefarious plans.
I suspect it's going to be a variation of "Die Hard" as a group of terrorists seize control of a Japanese skyscraper (shaped like Godzilla) during a New Year's Eve party.
A vampire schoolgirl (a thousand years old) must carve a path to the top of the tower before the terrorists can finish their nefarious plans.
Posted by: "Perfessor" Squirrel at August 17, 2025 09:51 AM (IBQGV)
95
Reading absolutely influences what you write. When I was about eight, a woman in our church gave me her collection of VOGUE magazines, dating back to the forties. So while other girls my age were reading the Bobbsey Twins, I was reading about Dior and Claire McCardell and the menus for dinner parties of the Duke and Duchess of Windsor. Is it any wonder that I pointed straight toward magazine writing/ editing as a career?
Posted by: Wenda at August 17, 2025 09:51 AM (4k3J4)
96
I used to write gobs of pretentious garbage. Taking reading seriously from my 20s on put a stop to that. Now I hardly write at all.
Posted by: mea culpa at August 17, 2025 09:51 AM (FQSAy)
97
you know the way the story ends but the way he lets it flow,
of course who is the protagonist, probably james donald the xo of the organization,
of course who is the protagonist, probably james donald the xo of the organization,
Posted by: miguel cervantes at August 17, 2025 09:51 AM (bXbFr)
98
Weasel, did you get my e-mail?
Posted by: All Hail Eris, She-Wolf of the 'Ettes 'Ettes at August 17, 2025 09:52 AM (kpS4V)
99
I'm a huge fan on Conrad and "Typhoon" is a great entry point. "Youth: A Narrative" is also good, and gives the strong maritime feel.
But he wrote on other topics, and "The Duel" (made into "The Duellists" in the 1970s) is superb. Sweeping Napoleonic narrative of two men who just can't quite manage to kill each other. The movie is also great.
Almayer's Folly was his first novel and somewhat hard to find, but worth the effort.
But he wrote on other topics, and "The Duel" (made into "The Duellists" in the 1970s) is superb. Sweeping Napoleonic narrative of two men who just can't quite manage to kill each other. The movie is also great.
Almayer's Folly was his first novel and somewhat hard to find, but worth the effort.
Posted by: Ace-Endorsed Author A.H. Lloyd at August 17, 2025 09:52 AM (ZOv7s)
100
Ben Had, JTB--I just put both Henry Beston and Ferrol Sams in my ebook lists. Delighted to see there are some electronic selections.
Posted by: Dash my lace wigs! at August 17, 2025 09:53 AM (h7ZuX)
101
While I would not consider myself a writer (nursing notes don't count) I find that reading has influenced the way I write on the rare occasion I need to. Having read so much good material probably makes me hypercritical of my own writing.
Conversely, having to write occasionally gives me a much greater appreciation for the work of others. It requires talent and a lot of work. I'm in awe of those who can pull all that together, especially in fiction, and bring a story to life.
Conversely, having to write occasionally gives me a much greater appreciation for the work of others. It requires talent and a lot of work. I'm in awe of those who can pull all that together, especially in fiction, and bring a story to life.
Posted by: KatieFloyd at August 17, 2025 09:53 AM (r0G28)
102
98 Weasel, did you get my e-mail?
Posted by: All Hail Eris, She-Wolf of the 'Ettes 'Ettes at August 17, 2025 09:52 AM (kpS4V)
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Yes, and replied (x2) Thanks!
Posted by: All Hail Eris, She-Wolf of the 'Ettes 'Ettes at August 17, 2025 09:52 AM (kpS4V)
---
Yes, and replied (x2) Thanks!
Posted by: Weasel at August 17, 2025 09:53 AM (jH5TK)
103
Typhoon? Ah yes. The spellbinding thriller about the handsome yet malevolent billionaire Bryce Livermore, seeking to corner the world market in molybdenum. Livermore and his minions cut a wide swath of destruction as they drive down the price of molybdenum futures around the world, starting with the Singapore Metals Exchange. The rip roaring tale of high finance culminates with the discovery of ... oops, NO SPOILERS!
What's that? TyPHOON? Oh dear.
Never mind.
What's that? TyPHOON? Oh dear.
Never mind.
Posted by: muldoon at August 17, 2025 09:54 AM (I0N4X)
104
Posted by: "Perfessor" Squirrel at August 17, 2025 09:51 AM (IBQGV)
that's the weirdest synopsis of a book ive read in a long time. Vampire heroine, Giant Dinosaur monster, Terrorists. Didn't they have room to include an alien space ship?
that's the weirdest synopsis of a book ive read in a long time. Vampire heroine, Giant Dinosaur monster, Terrorists. Didn't they have room to include an alien space ship?
Posted by: polynikes at August 17, 2025 09:54 AM (EYmYM)
Posted by: Just Some Guy at August 17, 2025 09:55 AM (q3u5l)
106
"The Guns of John Moses Browning" would be an excellent book for Weasel to commentate on in an upcoming Book Thread.
Posted by: Duncanthrax at August 17, 2025 09:57 AM (0sNs1)
107
Gee wilikers. I just finished part one of The Typhoon. What a slog. A lot of exposition, little dialog. Some of it was good, but boring as well.
Posted by: OrangeEnt at August 17, 2025 09:57 AM (0eaVi)
108
Didn't they have room to include an alien space ship?
Posted by: polynikes at August 17, 2025 09:54 AM (EYmYM)
---
The US Government made up stories of UFOs to distract the public from what's REALLY going on in America.
(That's actually how it's presented in the story.)
Posted by: polynikes at August 17, 2025 09:54 AM (EYmYM)
---
The US Government made up stories of UFOs to distract the public from what's REALLY going on in America.
(That's actually how it's presented in the story.)
Posted by: "Perfessor" Squirrel at August 17, 2025 09:58 AM (IBQGV)
109
I suspect it's going to be a variation of "Die Hard" as a group of terrorists seize control of a Japanese skyscraper (shaped like Godzilla) during a New Year's Eve party.
---
I thought there was a Gojira-shaped skyscraper, but alas no. Maybe it would be attacked by Ghidorah. There is, however, a hotel celebrating the big guy:
https://tinyurl.com/4azv4mdy
I'd love to have the room he's peeking in.
---
I thought there was a Gojira-shaped skyscraper, but alas no. Maybe it would be attacked by Ghidorah. There is, however, a hotel celebrating the big guy:
https://tinyurl.com/4azv4mdy
I'd love to have the room he's peeking in.
Posted by: All Hail Eris, She-Wolf of the 'Ettes 'Ettes at August 17, 2025 09:58 AM (kpS4V)
110
57 ... "I went to vigil mass on Saturday and the priest in his homily talked about a poem that was instrumental in him discerning his vocation.
Francis Thompson : The Hound of Heaven (1890)"
vmom,
Thanks so much for bringing this up. I just got a collection of his works for 23 cents. (One of the few advantages of Kindle is being able to check out things cheaply.) So much treasure, so little time.
Francis Thompson : The Hound of Heaven (1890)"
vmom,
Thanks so much for bringing this up. I just got a collection of his works for 23 cents. (One of the few advantages of Kindle is being able to check out things cheaply.) So much treasure, so little time.
Posted by: JTB at August 17, 2025 09:59 AM (yTvNw)
111
>12 Reading “Munichs” by David Peace of Red Riding and Tokyo Trilogy fame. About the 1958 Manchester United air disaster
My wife and I drive past the memorial nearly every day on the way to the neighborhood train station.
Good morning Horde!
Finished Valacich’s & Scheider’s _Information Systems Today_ and the class it came with.
My wife and I drive past the memorial nearly every day on the way to the neighborhood train station.
Good morning Horde!
Finished Valacich’s & Scheider’s _Information Systems Today_ and the class it came with.
Posted by: SPinRH_F-16 at August 17, 2025 10:00 AM (sTbTe)
112
The US Government made up stories of UFOs to distract the public from what's REALLY going on in America.
(That's actually how it's presented in the story.)
Posted by: "Perfessor" Squirrel at August 17, 2025 09:58 AM (IBQGV)
Hah! I knew it.
(That's actually how it's presented in the story.)
Posted by: "Perfessor" Squirrel at August 17, 2025 09:58 AM (IBQGV)
Hah! I knew it.
Posted by: polynikes at August 17, 2025 10:00 AM (EYmYM)
113
Reading absolutely influences what you write. When I was about eight, a woman in our church gave me her collection of VOGUE magazines, dating back to the forties. So while other girls my age were reading the Bobbsey Twins, I was reading about Dior and Claire McCardell and the menus for dinner parties of the Duke and Duchess of Windsor. Is it any wonder that I pointed straight toward magazine writing/ editing as a career?
Posted by: Wenda at August 17, 2025 09:51 AM (4k3J4)
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I fully agree. It's sort of like "you are what you eat," - you write what you read. I was a Conrad fan from high school onward, but I think Waugh is the biggest influence on me. I love the dark humor and wit, and consciously try to use that in my writing.
Posted by: Wenda at August 17, 2025 09:51 AM (4k3J4)
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I fully agree. It's sort of like "you are what you eat," - you write what you read. I was a Conrad fan from high school onward, but I think Waugh is the biggest influence on me. I love the dark humor and wit, and consciously try to use that in my writing.
Posted by: Ace-Endorsed Author A.H. Lloyd at August 17, 2025 10:01 AM (ZOv7s)
114
there aren't too many modern tales set in Singapore, well recently, Joseph Garber has one back in the 90s, where he is a corporate exec, who is mistaken as a mob hitman, comes across a veteran policemen, a triad chief,
Posted by: miguel cervantes at August 17, 2025 10:01 AM (bXbFr)
115
I never read Typhoon. I read Melville’s Typee—close enough?
Posted by: Best Thief in Lankhmar at August 17, 2025 10:03 AM (64rer)
116
there aren't too many modern tales set in Singapore, well recently, Joseph Garber has one back in the 90s, where he is a corporate exec, who is mistaken as a mob hitman, comes across a veteran policemen, a triad chief,
Posted by: miguel cervantes at August 17, 2025 10:01 AM (bXbFr)
Hong Kong was usually the go to .
Posted by: miguel cervantes at August 17, 2025 10:01 AM (bXbFr)
Hong Kong was usually the go to .
Posted by: polynikes at August 17, 2025 10:03 AM (EYmYM)
117
@106 --
"The Guns of Avalon," not so much.
I was stoked for that book, the second in Roger Zelazny's Amber series, because it promised firearms in a fantasy setting. And it delivered -- but only in the background. The guns were not the central focus I had expected.
I need to get back to Amber. Maybe late this year?
"The Guns of Avalon," not so much.
I was stoked for that book, the second in Roger Zelazny's Amber series, because it promised firearms in a fantasy setting. And it delivered -- but only in the background. The guns were not the central focus I had expected.
I need to get back to Amber. Maybe late this year?
Posted by: Weak Geek at August 17, 2025 10:04 AM (p/isN)
118
The US Government made up stories of UFOs to distract the public from what's REALLY going on in America.
(That's actually how it's presented in the story.)
Posted by: "Perfessor" Squirrel at August 17, 2025 09:58 AM (IBQGV)
---
When the Berlin Wall fell, there was a flood of tell-all books by ex-Soviet spies trying to make a buck. One of the revelations was that the whole UFO thing was bankrolled by Moscow in an effort to make otherwise apolitical Americans spy on US military bases. The Soviets bolstered this by making blurry photos "smuggled" out of the USSR and these would circulate in the various UFO magazines.
When the USSR collapsed, a bunch of the ex-spies approached the cable networks with "Secrets of the Soviet UFOs!" type shows.
And Biden's goons definitely wanted to use it as a distraction.
(That's actually how it's presented in the story.)
Posted by: "Perfessor" Squirrel at August 17, 2025 09:58 AM (IBQGV)
---
When the Berlin Wall fell, there was a flood of tell-all books by ex-Soviet spies trying to make a buck. One of the revelations was that the whole UFO thing was bankrolled by Moscow in an effort to make otherwise apolitical Americans spy on US military bases. The Soviets bolstered this by making blurry photos "smuggled" out of the USSR and these would circulate in the various UFO magazines.
When the USSR collapsed, a bunch of the ex-spies approached the cable networks with "Secrets of the Soviet UFOs!" type shows.
And Biden's goons definitely wanted to use it as a distraction.
Posted by: Ace-Endorsed Author A.H. Lloyd at August 17, 2025 10:05 AM (ZOv7s)
119
good morning Weasel, Horde
Posted by: callsign claymore at August 17, 2025 10:05 AM (U08HM)
120
"Typee " and "Omoo" are both good short stories, perfect if you don't want to commit to the Full Melville and go down the cytology rabbit hole.
Posted by: All Hail Eris, She-Wolf of the 'Ettes 'Ettes at August 17, 2025 10:05 AM (kpS4V)
121
116 there aren't too many modern tales set in Singapore, Posted by: miguel cervantes at August 17, 2025 10:01 AM (bXbFr)
"Saint Jack," by Paul Theroux.
"Saint Jack," by Paul Theroux.
Posted by: Ordinary American at August 17, 2025 10:06 AM (WHfpM)
122
I would have thought that Popeye would have been public domain by now. He's been around for a long time.
Posted by: Toad-0 at August 17, 2025 10:07 AM (c5M5G)
123
Posted by: Ace-Endorsed Author A.H. Lloyd at August 17, 2025 10:05 AM (ZOv7s)
Yes its true that you just need to give a free society a rope and they will eventually hang themselves.
Yes its true that you just need to give a free society a rope and they will eventually hang themselves.
Posted by: polynikes at August 17, 2025 10:07 AM (EYmYM)
124
>>I read and reviewed Heart of Darkness here about a year ago. I had never been asked to read it as required reading in school. To me, it was fascinating, as the crew leaves the complacent and modern world, and descends into a fatalist world where life has little meaning, and the rules of the civilized world no longer apply.
the horror ... the horror
the horror ... the horror
Posted by: JackStraw at August 17, 2025 10:07 AM (viF8m)
125
While I would not consider myself a writer (nursing notes don't count)...
***********
But I think they can.
I actually got a great deal of pleasure approaching the writing of a medical History as a form of story telling. Much like a mystery thriller. All of the plot elements are right there in front of you, begging to be told in a coherent fashion. I liked spinning the narrative.
Today's EMR's with all the pull down menus, cut-and-paste and mandated data entry are dry, sterile and quite frankly boring.
***********
But I think they can.
I actually got a great deal of pleasure approaching the writing of a medical History as a form of story telling. Much like a mystery thriller. All of the plot elements are right there in front of you, begging to be told in a coherent fashion. I liked spinning the narrative.
Today's EMR's with all the pull down menus, cut-and-paste and mandated data entry are dry, sterile and quite frankly boring.
Posted by: muldoon at August 17, 2025 10:08 AM (I0N4X)
126
I just saw that Tom Robbins died this year. Wonderful novelist. I immensely enjoyed "Jitterbug Perfume."
Posted by: Ordinary American at August 17, 2025 10:08 AM (WHfpM)
127
in a perfect state, it was called in 1999
Posted by: miguel cervantes at August 17, 2025 10:08 AM (bXbFr)
128
I really disliked Apocalypse Now. I don't understand the accolades it gets.
Posted by: polynikes at August 17, 2025 10:09 AM (EYmYM)
129
Yes its true that you just need to give a free society a rope and they will eventually hang themselves.
Posted by: polynikes at August 17, 2025 10:07 AM (EYmYM)
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You'd think that the books and the ability to look stuff up on the internet would have put the kibosh on the whole exercise, but I guess too much money is tied up in it now.
For some people, it's a replacement religion.
Posted by: polynikes at August 17, 2025 10:07 AM (EYmYM)
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You'd think that the books and the ability to look stuff up on the internet would have put the kibosh on the whole exercise, but I guess too much money is tied up in it now.
For some people, it's a replacement religion.
Posted by: Ace-Endorsed Author A.H. Lloyd at August 17, 2025 10:09 AM (ZOv7s)
130
I really disliked Apocalypse Now. I don't understand the accolades it gets.
Posted by: polynikes at August 17, 2025 10:09 AM (EYmYM)
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It gets tedious and ultimately botched the ending (though I think there are several cuts out there now), but the opening sequence, the meeting where Kurtz is discussed over shrimp and roast beef, and of course 1/9 battle sequence is arguably the best ever put on film. Duvall made that movie.
Posted by: polynikes at August 17, 2025 10:09 AM (EYmYM)
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It gets tedious and ultimately botched the ending (though I think there are several cuts out there now), but the opening sequence, the meeting where Kurtz is discussed over shrimp and roast beef, and of course 1/9 battle sequence is arguably the best ever put on film. Duvall made that movie.
Posted by: Ace-Endorsed Author A.H. Lloyd at August 17, 2025 10:11 AM (ZOv7s)
131
128 I really disliked Apocalypse Now. I don't understand the accolades it gets.
Posted by: polynikes at August 17, 2025 10:09 AM (EYmYM)
Agreed. But almost anything deconstructive of Vietnam will appeal to modern critics.
Posted by: polynikes at August 17, 2025 10:09 AM (EYmYM)
Agreed. But almost anything deconstructive of Vietnam will appeal to modern critics.
Posted by: Ordinary American at August 17, 2025 10:11 AM (WHfpM)
132
I thought one of the ironies in Heart of Darkness was that Marlow's ship was stalled for a while due to a lack of copper rivets. The book didn't mention it but I think copper was the Congo's chief export, but it had to be shipped to Europe to be made into rivets, so it may have been Conrad's comment on colonial exploitation.
Posted by: Norrin Radd at August 17, 2025 10:12 AM (tRYqg)
133
I ran across the Zweig book through an article in, I think, Tablet -- or maybe The Free Press. How did you find it, Nemo?
Posted by: Trimegistus at August 17, 2025 10:12 AM (78a2H)
134
>>I really disliked Apocalypse Now. I don't understand the accolades it gets.
That's because you're an errand boy sent by grocery clerks to collect a bill.
It is a pretty disturbing movie but it is largely an interpretation of Heart of Darkness.
That's because you're an errand boy sent by grocery clerks to collect a bill.
It is a pretty disturbing movie but it is largely an interpretation of Heart of Darkness.
Posted by: JackStraw at August 17, 2025 10:13 AM (viF8m)
135
This week's reading was a short story by Abraham Verghese, "Abscond." A thirteen year old boy wants to be a professional tennis player. Mom, OTOH, expects him to become a surgeon like his father. All that goes out the window when unexpected tragedy (is there any other kind?) falls on the family. This was an Amazon free read. I was not familiar with the author but will be adding him to my "to read" list.
Posted by: Zekesmom at August 17, 2025 10:13 AM (XQPm3)
136
I have a couple Conrad 1st editions. One of them is "Victory." It was published in 1915, and Conrad uses his foreword to respond to criticisms that the book was pandering to anti-German sentiment in England.
He points out that there were delays in publishing, and every word of it had already been written before the outbreak of hostilities.
But he wants the reader to understand that he does, in point of fact, hate Germans, stating that he didn't make Schomberg "German because he is the villain. [He] made him the villain because he is German."
IOW, he just wanted everyone to know he didn't hate on the Germans to sell more books, and he was doing it before it was cool.
He points out that there were delays in publishing, and every word of it had already been written before the outbreak of hostilities.
But he wants the reader to understand that he does, in point of fact, hate Germans, stating that he didn't make Schomberg "German because he is the villain. [He] made him the villain because he is German."
IOW, he just wanted everyone to know he didn't hate on the Germans to sell more books, and he was doing it before it was cool.
Posted by: Yudhishthira's Dice at August 17, 2025 10:13 AM (BI5O2)
137
I thought one of the ironies in Heart of Darkness was that Marlow's ship was stalled for a while due to a lack of copper rivets. The book didn't mention it but I think copper was the Congo's chief export, but it had to be shipped to Europe to be made into rivets, so it may have been Conrad's comment on colonial exploitation.
Posted by: Norrin Radd at August 17, 2025 10:12 AM (tRYqg)
---
There were rivets all over the coastal ports, piles of them, you tripped over them, but none to be had upstream.
Conrad was even more vicious in "An Outpost of Progress."
Posted by: Norrin Radd at August 17, 2025 10:12 AM (tRYqg)
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There were rivets all over the coastal ports, piles of them, you tripped over them, but none to be had upstream.
Conrad was even more vicious in "An Outpost of Progress."
Posted by: Ace-Endorsed Author A.H. Lloyd at August 17, 2025 10:14 AM (ZOv7s)
138
IOW, he just wanted everyone to know he didn't hate on the Germans to sell more books, and he was doing it before it was cool.
Posted by: Yudhishthira's Dice at August 17, 2025 10:13 AM (BI5O2)
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Why would it be hard to believe that a Polish emigre hated Germans? Especially one who worked in the French merchant marine before going to England?
Posted by: Yudhishthira's Dice at August 17, 2025 10:13 AM (BI5O2)
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Why would it be hard to believe that a Polish emigre hated Germans? Especially one who worked in the French merchant marine before going to England?
Posted by: Ace-Endorsed Author A.H. Lloyd at August 17, 2025 10:15 AM (ZOv7s)
139
I was listening to Hard Target (1 & 2) and decided to borrow a book one of the writers whose short story I liked.
Ink by mumble Mayberry
Ink by mumble Mayberry
Posted by: vmom deport deport deport at August 17, 2025 10:17 AM (7qxhH)
140
Why would it be hard to believe that a Polish emigre hated Germans? Especially one who worked in the French merchant marine before going to England?
Posted by: Ace-Endorsed Author A.H. Lloyd at August 17, 2025 10:15 AM (ZOv7s)
-------
It's not. But everyone has their critics, and Conrad's were implying that he was pandering for financial gain.
Posted by: Ace-Endorsed Author A.H. Lloyd at August 17, 2025 10:15 AM (ZOv7s)
-------
It's not. But everyone has their critics, and Conrad's were implying that he was pandering for financial gain.
Posted by: Yudhishthira's Dice at August 17, 2025 10:17 AM (BI5O2)
141
Tolle Lege
Finished Rick Atkinson's The Day of the Battle, a account of the Italian campaign.
Pondering getting Kindle Unlimited but not sure if I can have my tablet enough to read e-books
Finished Rick Atkinson's The Day of the Battle, a account of the Italian campaign.
Pondering getting Kindle Unlimited but not sure if I can have my tablet enough to read e-books
Posted by: Skip at August 17, 2025 10:18 AM (+qU29)
142
Good morning
I finally got into the 4th book in Pierce Brown's Red Rising series, Iron Gold. Slow start as he introduced some new characters before he picked up,the action with the main personae and updated where we were with the ongoing space battle. In typical Brown fashion, our heroes are immediately thrust into the thick of it and I was off and running.
I finally got into the 4th book in Pierce Brown's Red Rising series, Iron Gold. Slow start as he introduced some new characters before he picked up,the action with the main personae and updated where we were with the ongoing space battle. In typical Brown fashion, our heroes are immediately thrust into the thick of it and I was off and running.
Posted by: Sharon(willow's apprentice) at August 17, 2025 10:18 AM (t/2Uw)
143
My favorite Vietnam War movie is 'Hamburger Hill'. Some may need a grunt-to-English dictionary (satirized well in Tropic Thunder) and some may find some of the reality of the campaign hard to stomach. There are a few great themes in the movie however: how Americans fight for the guy standing next to them, what it means to be a fearful but never-the-less determined warrior, how a private becomes an NCO.
The movie is also brutal on the US media and the hippies.
The movie is also brutal on the US media and the hippies.
Posted by: Candidus at August 17, 2025 10:18 AM (zMe7e)
144
The African Queen was also a novel written by CS Forester. I never read it but always wondered how close the movie was to it.
Posted by: polynikes at August 17, 2025 10:19 AM (EYmYM)
145
I have a day off from church today, so I am happy that I can participate in the book thread today. I am reading because it is a wonderful resource " The Harper Collins Book of Prayers" compiled by Rev. Robert Van de Weyer who is-or was \an Anglican priest. There are 700 prayers drawn primarily from the. Christian tradition but there are also a few Jewish, Hindu , Buddhist and maybe one Muslim prayer.
Posted by: FenelonSpoke at August 17, 2025 10:19 AM (6mbQA)
146
I discovered the existence of a book frommthe 15th century called Ars Moriendi (The Art of Dying) presumably by 2 Dominican priests.
Apparently it was very popular.
I need to find that.
Apparently it was very popular.
I need to find that.
Posted by: vmom deport deport deport at August 17, 2025 10:19 AM (7qxhH)
147
I'm also reading The City of God by St Augustine. I'm not smart enough but I'll try.
Posted by: Northernlurker , Maple Syrup MAGA at August 17, 2025 10:20 AM (M1oZQ)
148
I think I'm going to revisit one of my favorite authors, Tim Cockey, who wrote 5 novels back in the aughts about a mortician named Hitchcock Sewell who gets involved in some very dangerous murder mysteries:
The Hearse You Came In On
Hearse of a Different Color
The Hearse Case Scenario
Murdern in the Hearse Degree
Backstabber
Wonderfully funny, witty, great stories with complex plots and well-drawn characters. Really enjoy his writing.
The Hearse You Came In On
Hearse of a Different Color
The Hearse Case Scenario
Murdern in the Hearse Degree
Backstabber
Wonderfully funny, witty, great stories with complex plots and well-drawn characters. Really enjoy his writing.
Posted by: Sharkman at August 17, 2025 10:21 AM (/RHNq)
149
126 I just saw that Tom Robbins died this year. Wonderful novelist. I immensely enjoyed "Jitterbug Perfume."
Posted by: Ordinary American at August 17, 2025 10:08 AM (WHfpM
Back years ago he was the cat’s pajamas.
Posted by: Ordinary American at August 17, 2025 10:08 AM (WHfpM
Back years ago he was the cat’s pajamas.
Posted by: Eromero at August 17, 2025 10:21 AM (DXbAa)
150
>>I'm also reading The City of God by St Augustine. I'm not smart enough but I'll try.
Sure you are.
Sure you are.
Posted by: JackStraw at August 17, 2025 10:22 AM (viF8m)
Posted by: vmom deport deport deport at August 17, 2025 10:22 AM (7qxhH)
152
All this Conrad, Heart of Darkness, and Vietnam talk...It makes me chuckle ironically. While going through stuff yesterday, I unearthed some buried manga comics I bought a while back; "Apocalypse Meow." Possibly the greatest title ever... The whole book is based on a spelling pun; the Japanese word for rabbit is 'usagi' and an American solider known as a GI, or sometimes a USA GI. Usagi, USA GI... American soldiers are presented as little bunny rabbits. Vietnamese (North and South) as cats. Other nationalities are assorted other creatures.
Despite the neat concept, I don't remember enjoying the comic. Probably because it was about the Vietnam War (obviously) and was fully the hopeless and helpless themes that genre is known for. Not sure if I'll re-bury the books straightaway, or try re-reading them first.
Despite the neat concept, I don't remember enjoying the comic. Probably because it was about the Vietnam War (obviously) and was fully the hopeless and helpless themes that genre is known for. Not sure if I'll re-bury the books straightaway, or try re-reading them first.
Posted by: Castle Guy at August 17, 2025 10:22 AM (Lhaco)
153
Posted by: Candidus at August 17, 2025 10:18 AM (zMe7e)
We Were Soldiers is my favorite Vietnam movie. Though the Green Berets was not very good and an obvious pro Vietnam movie pushing against all the negative out there, It had one of the two movie scenes that triggered my allergies.
Peter-SON ! Peter-SON ! Have you seen my
Peter-son?
We Were Soldiers is my favorite Vietnam movie. Though the Green Berets was not very good and an obvious pro Vietnam movie pushing against all the negative out there, It had one of the two movie scenes that triggered my allergies.
Peter-SON ! Peter-SON ! Have you seen my
Peter-son?
Posted by: polynikes at August 17, 2025 10:23 AM (EYmYM)
154
I think writers influence you in ways you don't always understand at first. I love the way Dick Francis begins a story in the middle at full speed. I've typed out more than one of his first chapters hoping to imprint them.
But what he also does very well is mix rich and not-rich characters in ways that seem natural. Of course the horse world does that, but he also picks a different world for each book. Wine-making, for example. Glassblowing. And the violence seems real, not shoehorned in. All things I try for. My first book editor said I wrote Emma Lathan with mayhem!
But what he also does very well is mix rich and not-rich characters in ways that seem natural. Of course the horse world does that, but he also picks a different world for each book. Wine-making, for example. Glassblowing. And the violence seems real, not shoehorned in. All things I try for. My first book editor said I wrote Emma Lathan with mayhem!
Posted by: Wenda at August 17, 2025 10:24 AM (4k3J4)
155
In Day of the Battle, it was finally the Polish units that took the mountain Mont Cassino. It was pointed out the Poles H8ed the Germans.
Posted by: Skip at August 17, 2025 10:24 AM (+qU29)
156
I have always loved to read and embraced the classics growing up and had enough credits for an English minor in college But...the one book I just could not get through was Heart of Darkness. It is the only book I ever bought Cliff notes for.
I recently rewatched Apocalypse Now, which I remembered as having liked, but did not understand it at all. It is possible that I didn't understand it the first time as well although was probably in an altered state,of mind at the time.
I recently rewatched Apocalypse Now, which I remembered as having liked, but did not understand it at all. It is possible that I didn't understand it the first time as well although was probably in an altered state,of mind at the time.
Posted by: Sharon(willow's apprentice) at August 17, 2025 10:24 AM (t/2Uw)
Posted by: Weak Geek at August 17, 2025 10:25 AM (p/isN)
158
Also, Kurtz' mother is described as half-English, and his father is half-French, and he's sent to Africa by the Belgians, but he has that German surname. Conrad wanted to indict all the Europeans, but made sure the Germans got their due.
Posted by: Yudhishthira's Dice at August 17, 2025 10:26 AM (BI5O2)
159
Just a heads up for the traditional among us. The 2026 Old Farmer's Almanac comes out August 26. My grandfather would smile to know I still look forward to it every year.
Posted by: JTB at August 17, 2025 10:26 AM (yTvNw)
160
an andromeda strain type thriller, which you couldnt grok through official sources butt he twitter files some of michael senger's work,
Posted by: miguel cervantes at August 17, 2025 10:27 AM (bXbFr)
161
Helped move youngest daughter into her dorm down at Florida Atlantic University in Boca Raton last Tuesday. She starts classes tomorrow. She graduated high school this last May with 48 college credits from taking AP courses and earning her AICE degree (Advanced International Certificate of Education). So, she's actually starting college as a Sophomore rather than as a Freshman, and when she comes home for Christmas she'll already be a Junior.
Tough to have her 250 miles away (I live up in St. Augustine), but I'm proud of her and smiling a lot knowing she's finally got out on her own. Her best HS friend is her college roommate, which is great.
Tough to have her 250 miles away (I live up in St. Augustine), but I'm proud of her and smiling a lot knowing she's finally got out on her own. Her best HS friend is her college roommate, which is great.
Posted by: Sharkman at August 17, 2025 10:27 AM (/RHNq)
162
Typhoon reminded of this:
If you want a gripping sea-faring short story of a swirling catastrophe try E.A. Poe's Descent Into The Maelstrom.
SPOILER ALERT: The protagonist observes that cylindrical/spherical objects sink into the depths more gradually than others, an observation that saves his life.
As a kid 'maelstrom' was one of those words that struck a chord with my brain.
If you want a gripping sea-faring short story of a swirling catastrophe try E.A. Poe's Descent Into The Maelstrom.
SPOILER ALERT: The protagonist observes that cylindrical/spherical objects sink into the depths more gradually than others, an observation that saves his life.
As a kid 'maelstrom' was one of those words that struck a chord with my brain.
Posted by: muldoon at August 17, 2025 10:27 AM (I0N4X)
163
@152 --
Three guesses what the French are.
Posted by: Weak Geek at August 17, 2025 10:25 AM (p/isN)
Cheese eating surrender monkeys?
Three guesses what the French are.
Posted by: Weak Geek at August 17, 2025 10:25 AM (p/isN)
Cheese eating surrender monkeys?
Posted by: polynikes at August 17, 2025 10:27 AM (EYmYM)
164
88When I read some lefty insult in comics of the '80s-'90s, I wrote it off as "They're writing fiction and not policy."
Now look.
Posted by: Weak Geek at August 17, 2025 09:49 AM (p/isN)
The insults are also very familiar. They were making sly 'you're a n---' remarks even then.
Somewhat related: looking back, it's amazing how many comics I hate are written by raging lefties. Even when reading through a big collection not looking at the individual creators, I'll come across an issue that is reprehensible, then later look at the writer, and everything becomes clear... Not that right-leaning authors haven't made bad stories, but the ones that I've run across are merely 'bad,' rather than actively terrible/insulting...
Now look.
Posted by: Weak Geek at August 17, 2025 09:49 AM (p/isN)
The insults are also very familiar. They were making sly 'you're a n---' remarks even then.
Somewhat related: looking back, it's amazing how many comics I hate are written by raging lefties. Even when reading through a big collection not looking at the individual creators, I'll come across an issue that is reprehensible, then later look at the writer, and everything becomes clear... Not that right-leaning authors haven't made bad stories, but the ones that I've run across are merely 'bad,' rather than actively terrible/insulting...
Posted by: Castle Guy at August 17, 2025 10:29 AM (Lhaco)
165
>>I have always loved to read and embraced the classics growing up and had enough credits for an English minor in college But...the one book I just could not get through was Heart of Darkness. It is the only book I ever bought Cliff notes for.
I recently rewatched Apocalypse Now, which I remembered as having liked, but did not understand it at all. It is possible that I didn't understand it the first time as well although was probably in an altered state,of mind at the time.
Never get out of the boat.
The line between morality and full on savagery is perilously thin. Always has been and always will be.
I recently rewatched Apocalypse Now, which I remembered as having liked, but did not understand it at all. It is possible that I didn't understand it the first time as well although was probably in an altered state,of mind at the time.
Never get out of the boat.
The line between morality and full on savagery is perilously thin. Always has been and always will be.
Posted by: JackStraw at August 17, 2025 10:29 AM (viF8m)
166
As a kid 'maelstrom' was one of those words that struck a chord with my brain.
Posted by: muldoon at August 17, 2025 10:27 AM (I0N4X)
I call going into casino as 'entering a maelstrom'
Posted by: muldoon at August 17, 2025 10:27 AM (I0N4X)
I call going into casino as 'entering a maelstrom'
Posted by: polynikes at August 17, 2025 10:29 AM (EYmYM)
167
Just finished part two.
McWhirr seems a dull-witted man. Still a lot of exposition, but the descriptions of the people are very good.
McWhirr seems a dull-witted man. Still a lot of exposition, but the descriptions of the people are very good.
Posted by: OrangeEnt at August 17, 2025 10:30 AM (0eaVi)
168
JackStraw, might have to watch again thinking about this advice.😉
Posted by: Sharon(willow's apprentice) at August 17, 2025 10:31 AM (t/2Uw)
169
In Day of the Battle, it was finally the Polish units that took the mountain Mont Cassino. It was pointed out the Poles H8ed the Germans.
Posted by: Skip
********
Wojtek the Bear FTW!!
Posted by: Skip
********
Wojtek the Bear FTW!!
Posted by: muldoon at August 17, 2025 10:31 AM (I0N4X)
170
but we don't even have an official date of the outbreak do we, have approximations of when it happened,
Posted by: miguel cervantes at August 17, 2025 10:31 AM (bXbFr)
171
Forester's novel _The African Queen_ is mostly like the movie -- or rather, the movie's like the book since the book came first. The biggest difference is that Allnut (Bogart) is a Cockney from London, not a "Canadian." This means that his relationship with Rose has an undercurrent of British class snobbery at first (although Forester's omniscient narrator even points out that most of that exists in Rose's head since her background is at best lower-middle-class). There is a walk-on by Lieutenant Spicer-Simson at the end. Dont' get me started about Lieutenant Spicer-Simson -- look him up.
Posted by: Trimegistus at August 17, 2025 10:31 AM (78a2H)
172
Posted by: Trimegistus at August 17, 2025 10:31 AM (78a2H)
Thanks Trimegistus. The movie of course made the Germans pretty nasty which is why I thought of it when discussing Conrad.
Thanks Trimegistus. The movie of course made the Germans pretty nasty which is why I thought of it when discussing Conrad.
Posted by: polynikes at August 17, 2025 10:33 AM (EYmYM)
173
Never get out of the boat.
The line between morality and full on savagery is perilously thin. Always has been and always will be.
Posted by: JackStraw at August 17, 2025 10:29 AM (viF8m)
That is an excellently succinct overview.
The line between morality and full on savagery is perilously thin. Always has been and always will be.
Posted by: JackStraw at August 17, 2025 10:29 AM (viF8m)
That is an excellently succinct overview.
Posted by: Dash my lace wigs! at August 17, 2025 10:34 AM (h7ZuX)
174
I think I posted previously that I just learned Clavell was also a movie director and screen writer.
His most well known directed movie was To Sir, With Love. He also wrote the screen play to The Great Escape.
Posted by: polynikes
Indeed he was, and did.
He spent over 3 years in Japan's Changi prisoner of war camp after being captured at Singapore in 1942. Carried a can of tuna in his pocket for many years thereafter just to make sure he was never out of food. He somehow turned that horrible experience into a bunch of wonderful novels about the Japanese and Chinese, and of course England's past associations with those folks. And he wrote one of the greatest novels of WW2: "King Rat," a fictionalized version of his experiences at Changi.
His most well known directed movie was To Sir, With Love. He also wrote the screen play to The Great Escape.
Posted by: polynikes
Indeed he was, and did.
He spent over 3 years in Japan's Changi prisoner of war camp after being captured at Singapore in 1942. Carried a can of tuna in his pocket for many years thereafter just to make sure he was never out of food. He somehow turned that horrible experience into a bunch of wonderful novels about the Japanese and Chinese, and of course England's past associations with those folks. And he wrote one of the greatest novels of WW2: "King Rat," a fictionalized version of his experiences at Changi.
Posted by: Sharkman at August 17, 2025 10:35 AM (/RHNq)
175
@164 --
I liked it better when I didn't know the political views of my favorite comics creators.
Take Kurt Busiek, for example. I devoured all his Marvel and independent work. Then he made his TDS public. Now I can't finish the Astro City collections that I own, and I'm not sure about buying the last three TCs. And I LOVED Astro City.
I liked it better when I didn't know the political views of my favorite comics creators.
Take Kurt Busiek, for example. I devoured all his Marvel and independent work. Then he made his TDS public. Now I can't finish the Astro City collections that I own, and I'm not sure about buying the last three TCs. And I LOVED Astro City.
Posted by: Weak Geek at August 17, 2025 10:35 AM (p/isN)
176
Morning Hordemates!
Yes, reading does make you a better writer. It also improves one's technique when using AI to produce a page or two.
Yes, reading does make you a better writer. It also improves one's technique when using AI to produce a page or two.
Posted by: Diogenes at August 17, 2025 10:35 AM (2WIwB)
177
the Duvall character was apparently based on Navy Captain Hoffman, who was a bete noire in John Kerry's tales as well as the Robert Kerrey bio by Vistica, although he was painted more nobly in the film maybe Milius imput,
Posted by: miguel cervantes at August 17, 2025 10:36 AM (bXbFr)
178
""Well, mostly because Conrad is a galactically amazing writer despite English not being his first language""
Sooo...the opposite of me. English is my first language and I write like it isn't. lol
Sooo...the opposite of me. English is my first language and I write like it isn't. lol
Posted by: Berserker-Dragonheads Division at August 17, 2025 10:37 AM (snZF9)
179
Governor Newsom Press Office
@GovPressOffice
Trump had our BRAVE AMERICAN SOLDIERS ON THEIR KNEES to roll out the RED CARPET for his best friend VLAD!
DISGUSTING.
3:53 PM · Aug 15, 2025
=====
I walk among piles of human and fecal garbage every day, except when Xi Jinping came to San Francisco. Thanks Gavin!
@GovPressOffice
Trump had our BRAVE AMERICAN SOLDIERS ON THEIR KNEES to roll out the RED CARPET for his best friend VLAD!
DISGUSTING.
3:53 PM · Aug 15, 2025
=====
I walk among piles of human and fecal garbage every day, except when Xi Jinping came to San Francisco. Thanks Gavin!
Posted by: San Franpsycho at August 17, 2025 10:37 AM (RIvkX)
180
Who knows what evil lurks in the hearts of men?
Posted by: JackStraw at August 17, 2025 10:37 AM (viF8m)
181
I'd like to think I write well enough, having had lots of books at home growing up, plus three years of Latin. But I can't write, as in fiction. No imagination at all.
I'd like to think I write well enough, having had lots of books at home growing up, plus three years of Latin. But I can't write, as in fiction. No imagination at all.
Posted by: Hadrian the Seventh at August 17, 2025 10:38 AM (kkTda)
182
osted by: Sharkman at August 17, 2025 10:35 AM (/RHNq)
King Rat the movie was pretty good. I think he helped with the screen play.
King Rat the movie was pretty good. I think he helped with the screen play.
Posted by: polynikes at August 17, 2025 10:39 AM (EYmYM)
183
Speaking of classics, the film version of The Last of the Mochicans from 1993 is far, far better than the book. Cooper's claim to fame seems to be that his was a very early American novel.
Posted by: Thomas Paine at August 17, 2025 10:39 AM (Z7wye)
184
Posted by: FenelonSpoke at August 17, 2025 10:19 AM (6mbQA)
_________
Hope things are going better for you and yours.
Posted by: FenelonSpoke at August 17, 2025 10:19 AM (6mbQA)
_________
Hope things are going better for you and yours.
Posted by: Hadrian the Seventh at August 17, 2025 10:40 AM (kkTda)
185
""Well, mostly because Conrad is a galactically amazing writer despite English not being his first language""
Nabakov has entered the chat.
Nabakov has entered the chat.
Posted by: Josephistan at August 17, 2025 10:40 AM (FLx59)
186
Got the Kindle Unlimited, starting with what I thought I would, Rick Atkinson's The British are Coming, a recount of the Revolutionary War
Posted by: Skip at August 17, 2025 10:41 AM (+qU29)
187
Conrad us an amazing writer from a literary standpoint, but his real strength is that he wrote from experience and he understood human nature.
Many people are perpetually confused and bemused and clueless about why the world is the way it is. If you read and understand some Conrad, all becomes clear.
Many people are perpetually confused and bemused and clueless about why the world is the way it is. If you read and understand some Conrad, all becomes clear.
Posted by: Yudhishthira's Dice at August 17, 2025 10:41 AM (BI5O2)
188
I think writers influence you in ways you don't always understand at first. I love the way Dick Francis begins a story in the middle at full speed. I've typed out more than one of his first chapters hoping to imprint them.
But what he also does very well is mix rich and not-rich characters in ways that seem natural. Of course the horse world does that, but he also picks a different world for each book. Wine-making, for example. Glassblowing. And the violence seems real, not shoehorned in. All things I try for. My first book editor said I wrote Emma Lathan with mayhem!
Posted by: Wenda at August 17, 2025
***
His 1960s novel Flying Finish is superb stuff.
But what he also does very well is mix rich and not-rich characters in ways that seem natural. Of course the horse world does that, but he also picks a different world for each book. Wine-making, for example. Glassblowing. And the violence seems real, not shoehorned in. All things I try for. My first book editor said I wrote Emma Lathan with mayhem!
Posted by: Wenda at August 17, 2025
***
His 1960s novel Flying Finish is superb stuff.
Posted by: Wolfus Aurelius, Dreaming of Elsewhere at August 17, 2025 10:42 AM (omVj0)
189
with milions of words churned out over the Outbreak, we can guestimate it happened in November, talk about a mystery
the closer is the date of the WEF wargame which probably happened in September, a Spectre type confab of all the major players, that set the narrative,
the closer is the date of the WEF wargame which probably happened in September, a Spectre type confab of all the major players, that set the narrative,
Posted by: miguel cervantes at August 17, 2025 10:42 AM (bXbFr)
190
Governor Newsom Press Office
@GovPressOffice
Trump had our BRAVE AMERICAN SOLDIERS ON THEIR KNEES to roll out the RED CARPET for his best friend VLAD!
DISGUSTING.
3:53 PM · Aug 15, 2025
=====
This is embarrassing rhetoric that only works with the retarded Left.
Close to the meme bitching about Trump after Trump cures cancer.
@GovPressOffice
Trump had our BRAVE AMERICAN SOLDIERS ON THEIR KNEES to roll out the RED CARPET for his best friend VLAD!
DISGUSTING.
3:53 PM · Aug 15, 2025
=====
This is embarrassing rhetoric that only works with the retarded Left.
Close to the meme bitching about Trump after Trump cures cancer.
Posted by: polynikes at August 17, 2025 10:42 AM (EYmYM)
191
>>That is an excellently succinct overview.
Thank you, but it really isn't my overview. It's right there in the movie.
>>Capt. Willard: “‘Never get out of the boat.’ Absolutely goddamn right! Unless you were goin’ all the way… Kurtz got off the boat. He split from the whole f–kin’ program.”
Thank you, but it really isn't my overview. It's right there in the movie.
>>Capt. Willard: “‘Never get out of the boat.’ Absolutely goddamn right! Unless you were goin’ all the way… Kurtz got off the boat. He split from the whole f–kin’ program.”
Posted by: JackStraw at August 17, 2025 10:42 AM (viF8m)
192
Mornin’, All, How does the Reading Thread differ from the Book Thread? Are pants at long-last optional?
Posted by: Bulg at August 17, 2025 10:42 AM (77rzZ)
193
And here's a prayer from the fine writer Robert Louis Stevenson who died too young at age 44:
In addition to his books, "he wrote prayers to be shared each evening with his family, and his wife published them after his death to illustrate how his literary genius could be turned to spiritual purposes". (Editorial comment by Rev. Van de Weyer)
For grace:
Grant that we here before thee may be set free from the fear of vicissitude and the fear of death, may finish what remains of us of our course without dishonor to ourselves or hurt to others ; and when the day comes, may we die in peace . Deliver us from fear and favor; from mean hopes and cheap pleasures. Have mercy on each in his deficiency; him not be cast down. Support the stumbling on the way, and give at last rest to the weary.
In addition to his books, "he wrote prayers to be shared each evening with his family, and his wife published them after his death to illustrate how his literary genius could be turned to spiritual purposes". (Editorial comment by Rev. Van de Weyer)
For grace:
Grant that we here before thee may be set free from the fear of vicissitude and the fear of death, may finish what remains of us of our course without dishonor to ourselves or hurt to others ; and when the day comes, may we die in peace . Deliver us from fear and favor; from mean hopes and cheap pleasures. Have mercy on each in his deficiency; him not be cast down. Support the stumbling on the way, and give at last rest to the weary.
Posted by: FenelonSpoke at August 17, 2025 10:43 AM (2GCMq)
194
allen drury depicted a character like Newsom Edward Jason, who he saw as the end of the Republic,
Posted by: miguel cervantes at August 17, 2025 10:44 AM (bXbFr)
195
Sending a great-nephew off to college for his freshman year to study engineering. School requires specific computer programs and Nvidia chips; students come out digitally dependent and analog ignorant. Not wanting him to be half-educated, I gifted him a Faber-Castell N-5 slide rule and a Pickett pocket slide rule (the one that went to the moon), along with 4 hardcover books from the International Slide Rule Museum on the history and use of them. He can’t call himself an engineer and not be able to use a slide rule. Someday the power will go out.
Posted by: twolaneflash at August 17, 2025 10:44 AM (bOqO7)
196
in come nineveh come tyre,
Posted by: miguel cervantes at August 17, 2025 10:45 AM (bXbFr)
Posted by: San Franpsycho at August 17, 2025 10:45 AM (RIvkX)
198
Conrad us an amazing writer from a literary standpoint, but his real strength is that he wrote from experience and he understood human nature.
Posted by: Yudhishthira's Dice at August 17, 2025 10:41 AM (BI5O2)
---
He wrote what he knew. It's the best way to go.
There are two books about Conrad, focusing on his eastern career and experiences in the Atlantic. The author goes into considerable detail in documenting how much Conrad took from real life, people he knew who became characters, even plot twists. Some might think it diminishes him, making his work somehow derivative, but that's precisely what authors do - sift and refine, taking everyday things and make them into epics.
Posted by: Yudhishthira's Dice at August 17, 2025 10:41 AM (BI5O2)
---
He wrote what he knew. It's the best way to go.
There are two books about Conrad, focusing on his eastern career and experiences in the Atlantic. The author goes into considerable detail in documenting how much Conrad took from real life, people he knew who became characters, even plot twists. Some might think it diminishes him, making his work somehow derivative, but that's precisely what authors do - sift and refine, taking everyday things and make them into epics.
Posted by: Ace-Endorsed Author A.H. Lloyd at August 17, 2025 10:45 AM (ZOv7s)
199
And with that, I'm off to Mass. Thanks again, Weasel!
Posted by: Ace-Endorsed Author A.H. Lloyd at August 17, 2025 10:45 AM (ZOv7s)
200
Sending a great-nephew off to college for his freshman year to study engineering. School requires specific computer programs and Nvidia chips; students come out digitally dependent and analog ignorant. Not wanting him to be half-educated, I gifted him a Faber-Castell N-5 slide rule and a Pickett pocket slide rule (the one that went to the moon), along with 4 hardcover books from the International Slide Rule Museum on the history and use of them. He can’t call himself an engineer and not be able to use a slide rule. Someday the power will go out.
Posted by: twolaneflash at August 17, 2025 10:44 AM (bOqO7)
====
What's a slide rule, Boomer?
Posted by: twolaneflash at August 17, 2025 10:44 AM (bOqO7)
====
What's a slide rule, Boomer?
Posted by: San Franpsycho at August 17, 2025 10:46 AM (RIvkX)
201
They made a pretty good movie of Lord Jim (1965) with Peter O'Toole back during the era of movie epics.
Book is a great read as well.
Book is a great read as well.
Posted by: naturalfake at August 17, 2025 10:46 AM (iJfKG)
202
of course Coppolas Kurtz was a composite largely of Major Rheault of the Special Forces and Tony Poe the CIA chieftain in Laos, who worked with Hmong
Posted by: miguel cervantes at August 17, 2025 10:47 AM (bXbFr)
203
And thanks, Mr. Weasel for handling the book thread . Here's something I found on the internet for you, an article on weasels in children's literature. 😊
https://tinyurl.com/a2c3hpk9
https://tinyurl.com/a2c3hpk9
Posted by: FenelonSpoke at August 17, 2025 10:48 AM (2GCMq)
204
I was rereading "Lost Tales of Sir Galahad" from Rabbit Room Press. It spoofs so many aspects of academia but without getting nasty about it. It does it by showing how 'discovered' literary matters might be dealt with and is seriously funny. As much as I like "Bored of the Rings", the humor can be a bit hard edged and I have to be in the mood for that.
I mentioned above that my honorary niece, in her 20s, has become a LOTR fanatic. I would give her a copy of Bored of the Rings but a lot of the funny stuff is too old for her to know about or centered on New England of the 1960s. Yeah, I laugh but she wouldn't get it.
I mentioned above that my honorary niece, in her 20s, has become a LOTR fanatic. I would give her a copy of Bored of the Rings but a lot of the funny stuff is too old for her to know about or centered on New England of the 1960s. Yeah, I laugh but she wouldn't get it.
Posted by: JTB at August 17, 2025 10:48 AM (yTvNw)
205
Finished part three of Typhoon. Very good and gripping writing of the storm and its effects. A lot different than the earlier exposition parts.
Posted by: OrangeEnt at August 17, 2025 10:49 AM (0eaVi)
206
"Speaking of classics, the film version of The Last of the Mochicans from 1993 is far, far better than the book. Cooper's claim to fame seems to be that his was a very early American novel.
Posted by: Thomas Paine at August 17, 2025 10:39 AM"
I read the paperback M*A*S*H* as a youngster and in it Hawkeye reveals his father gave him that name because he had only read one book: The Last Of The Mohicans.
Posted by: Thomas Paine at August 17, 2025 10:39 AM"
I read the paperback M*A*S*H* as a youngster and in it Hawkeye reveals his father gave him that name because he had only read one book: The Last Of The Mohicans.
Posted by: Quarter Twenty at August 17, 2025 10:49 AM (XQo4F)
207
Posted by: twolaneflash at August 17, 2025 10:44 AM (bOqO7)
Did you get him a sliderule holster for his belt? That'll put some swagger in his step!
Did you get him a sliderule holster for his belt? That'll put some swagger in his step!
Posted by: All Hail Eris, She-Wolf of the 'Ettes 'Ettes at August 17, 2025 10:49 AM (kpS4V)
208
What I liked about Apocalypse Now was the business with the undercover agent, Martin Sheen's character, sent to find out about and stop this rogue colonel who was busy prosecuting the war against orders. (I think that was the setup). Haven't seen the film since '79 or '80, so I'm not sure.
Posted by: Wolfus Aurelius, Dreaming of Elsewhere at August 17, 2025 10:50 AM (omVj0)
209
Remarkable that Twain, Conrad, Nabakov, etc. never received the Nobel Prize in Literature while so many forgotten non-entities did.
Remarkable that Twain, Conrad, Nabakov, etc. never received the Nobel Prize in Literature while so many forgotten non-entities did.
Posted by: Hadrian the Seventh at August 17, 2025 10:51 AM (kkTda)
210
Conrad did not like being pigeonholed as a writer of sea tales. He said something like, "Is Thomas Hardy known as a writer of land tales."
Posted by: Biff Pocoroba at August 17, 2025 10:52 AM (XvL8K)
211
allen drury depicted a character like Newsom Edward Jason, who he saw as the end of the Republic,
Posted by: miguel cervantes at August 17, 2025 10:44 AM (bXbFr)
_________
With time, Allen Drury looks increasingly prescient. His novels are available as e-books now.
allen drury depicted a character like Newsom Edward Jason, who he saw as the end of the Republic,
Posted by: miguel cervantes at August 17, 2025 10:44 AM (bXbFr)
_________
With time, Allen Drury looks increasingly prescient. His novels are available as e-books now.
Posted by: Hadrian the Seventh at August 17, 2025 10:53 AM (kkTda)
212
Dear Weasel
I really like your approach to the book thread because it's about reading even though I disagree about Conrad.
Thanks for taking this on.
Sharon(Willow's apprentice).
I really like your approach to the book thread because it's about reading even though I disagree about Conrad.
Thanks for taking this on.
Sharon(Willow's apprentice).
Posted by: Sharon(willow's apprentice) at August 17, 2025 10:53 AM (t/2Uw)
213
175 I liked it better when I didn't know the political views of my favorite comics creators.
Take Kurt Busiek, for example. I devoured all his Marvel and independent work. Then he made his TDS public. Now I can't finish the Astro City collections that I own, and I'm not sure about buying the last three TCs. And I LOVED Astro City.
Posted by: Weak Geek at August 17, 2025 10:35 AM (p/isN)
I assume that all (comic) writers hate me, until presented with evidence otherwise.
I liked Busiek's "Avengers" and "Thunderbolts" runs, and don't remember him slipping his beliefs into his book. So, he at least has that going for him. But I haven't read much else of his... Also, some writers are better when put under editorial mandates. Some of my first comics were Warren Ellis's "EXcalibur" books, which I enjoyed. But I will not touch his independent stuff. And he was one of the writers of the aforementioned 'wow, this issue really sucks' stories.
Of course, modern day editorial oversight seems much looser than old-time oversight...
Take Kurt Busiek, for example. I devoured all his Marvel and independent work. Then he made his TDS public. Now I can't finish the Astro City collections that I own, and I'm not sure about buying the last three TCs. And I LOVED Astro City.
Posted by: Weak Geek at August 17, 2025 10:35 AM (p/isN)
I assume that all (comic) writers hate me, until presented with evidence otherwise.
I liked Busiek's "Avengers" and "Thunderbolts" runs, and don't remember him slipping his beliefs into his book. So, he at least has that going for him. But I haven't read much else of his... Also, some writers are better when put under editorial mandates. Some of my first comics were Warren Ellis's "EXcalibur" books, which I enjoyed. But I will not touch his independent stuff. And he was one of the writers of the aforementioned 'wow, this issue really sucks' stories.
Of course, modern day editorial oversight seems much looser than old-time oversight...
Posted by: Castle Guy at August 17, 2025 10:53 AM (Lhaco)
214
Is Twain known as a writer of river tales?
Posted by: Quarter Twenty at August 17, 2025 10:53 AM (XQo4F)
215
Reading *good writers* makes you a better writer. Reading bad writers fills up the spite reservoir (you know, "I can write better than that $FamousPerson!"). Spite is a great motivator.
But yes, the good writing sets an expectation in your brain and you always have it as a comparison as you write, subconsciously. You don't write in their style, you write in yours, but the flow and *koff* grammar are on autopilot.
But yes, the good writing sets an expectation in your brain and you always have it as a comparison as you write, subconsciously. You don't write in their style, you write in yours, but the flow and *koff* grammar are on autopilot.
Posted by: Sabrina Chase at August 17, 2025 10:54 AM (0uqdh)
216
Posted by: Thomas Paine at August 17, 2025 10:39 AM
My husband loves that movie. I think because he thinks the actress Madeline Stowe is sexy. However he also enjoys the music and the story. He's re-reading the book now in the evening but tends to get sleepy after a few pages because the writing is detailed and as he describes it- "verbose".
My husband loves that movie. I think because he thinks the actress Madeline Stowe is sexy. However he also enjoys the music and the story. He's re-reading the book now in the evening but tends to get sleepy after a few pages because the writing is detailed and as he describes it- "verbose".
Posted by: FenelonSpoke at August 17, 2025 10:55 AM (2GCMq)
217
The second half of the 19th century was, IMO, the pinnacle of the novel.
Posted by: Biff Pocoroba at August 17, 2025 10:56 AM (Am/Ld)
218
195 , I gifted him a Faber-Castell N-5 slide rule and a Pickett pocket slide rule (the one that went to the moon), along with 4 hardcover books from the International Slide Rule Museum on the history and use of them.
Posted by: twolaneflash at August 17, 2025 10:44 AM (bOqO7)
Huh. I recognize Faber-Castell as a art-pen/marker manufacturer. Never knew they were in the slide-rule market.
Posted by: twolaneflash at August 17, 2025 10:44 AM (bOqO7)
Huh. I recognize Faber-Castell as a art-pen/marker manufacturer. Never knew they were in the slide-rule market.
Posted by: Castle Guy at August 17, 2025 10:56 AM (Lhaco)
219
What's a slide rule, Boomer?
*********
It has something to do with maintaining contact with the base throughout the process of stealing second base.
*********
It has something to do with maintaining contact with the base throughout the process of stealing second base.
Posted by: muldoon at August 17, 2025 10:57 AM (I0N4X)
220
206 "Speaking of classics, the film version of The Last of the Mochicans from 1993 is far, far better than the book. Cooper's claim to fame seems to be that his was a very early American novel.
Posted by: Thomas Paine at August 17, 2025 10:39 AM"
Have you ever read Mark Twain's essay on Cooper?
The 1993 film borrowed smartly from the 1936 script. The spare writing and Mann's visuals produced one of the few modern film epics.
Posted by: Thomas Paine at August 17, 2025 10:39 AM"
Have you ever read Mark Twain's essay on Cooper?
The 1993 film borrowed smartly from the 1936 script. The spare writing and Mann's visuals produced one of the few modern film epics.
Posted by: Ordinary American at August 17, 2025 10:57 AM (WHfpM)
221
Willard was certainly special forces, in a different time, he might have worked for Kurtz Rheault, of course the Coppola vision was part dream the plantation and nightmare most of the rest of the story, the Army base might as well be in a whole different movie, much like the Green Zone in Baghdad,
Posted by: miguel cervantes at August 17, 2025 10:57 AM (bXbFr)
222
Couple of Robert Silverbergs play with Conrad (RS admires Conrad's work). His novel Downward to the Earth and the novella "The Secret Sharer" are well worth a look.
Posted by: Just Some Guy at August 17, 2025 10:57 AM (q3u5l)
223
Gift him some good books on Matlab and Python.
He won't get hired without those skills.
He won't get hired without those skills.
Posted by: Quarter Twenty at August 17, 2025 10:59 AM (XQo4F)
224
The Petty Pedant for Aug 17, 2025
Several egrejius erors found in comments & poasts the past couple of weeks. Autogyro is not always to blame. Granmar levels a sintax. Do butter, Moroons.
‣ What is on record and what happened at this performance bare slight resemblance to each other.
‣ But the Media are doing there part
(Did not log every there/they're/their err.)
‣ For whom does the bell toll for
‣ If I ever one the lottery
‣ left wing judges acceding their authority
‣ buttermilk kind of leeches the chicken
‣ look for my name carvered into the wall
‣ some books have a serious affect on us
‣ Senator Lee is proposing the Senate recess for teal (??)
‣ Canada has become obsesses
‣ robbing a convince store
‣ elderly woman who Ned help with her lawn
‣ Priests in Fall River Mass attempt to boast their Christian morale
‣ we ran into a couple dudes that road in from Alaska
‣ The feinting couch
‣ All do respect
Several egrejius erors found in comments & poasts the past couple of weeks. Autogyro is not always to blame. Granmar levels a sintax. Do butter, Moroons.
‣ What is on record and what happened at this performance bare slight resemblance to each other.
‣ But the Media are doing there part
(Did not log every there/they're/their err.)
‣ For whom does the bell toll for
‣ If I ever one the lottery
‣ left wing judges acceding their authority
‣ buttermilk kind of leeches the chicken
‣ look for my name carvered into the wall
‣ some books have a serious affect on us
‣ Senator Lee is proposing the Senate recess for teal (??)
‣ Canada has become obsesses
‣ robbing a convince store
‣ elderly woman who Ned help with her lawn
‣ Priests in Fall River Mass attempt to boast their Christian morale
‣ we ran into a couple dudes that road in from Alaska
‣ The feinting couch
‣ All do respect
Posted by: mindful webworker - what me read? at August 17, 2025 11:00 AM (L05+f)
225
Wasn't aware that slide rules were still being made. If so, good. I can dimly recall carrying one through high school and into first year college when I thought I'd be a math major. Think Asimov had a book out on how to use one. Wish I still had those, if only to amuse and mystify the grandkids.
Posted by: Just Some Guy at August 17, 2025 11:02 AM (q3u5l)
226
I can also dimly recall one of the cardinal rules of using the ol' slipstick -- watch those decimal points. (But hey, what's a factor of 10, or 100, or 1000 among friends?)
Posted by: Just Some Guy at August 17, 2025 11:04 AM (q3u5l)
227
interesting vampire riff, a new film Abraham's Children, which is set some 20 years later, in California, with Titus Welliver as the great Vampire Hunter, with Nina Harker, based on a story by Joe Hill, Stephen King's son?
Posted by: miguel cervantes at August 17, 2025 11:05 AM (bXbFr)
228
My old man won an award from the Corps of Engineers for a project he managed. A little crystal trophy and a goody bag, including a top of the line TI graphing calculator. He just gave it to me. Said he didn't need it and would never learn to use it as easily as a slide rule before he retired, anyway.
Posted by: Yudhishthira's Dice at August 17, 2025 11:05 AM (BI5O2)
229
224 It’s “syntax,” not “sintax.”
Posted by: Bulg at August 17, 2025 11:06 AM (77rzZ)
230
Weez holding a visual for our dead homie.
Posted by: Commissar of plenty and festive little hats at August 17, 2025 11:06 AM (G92dt)
231
Senator Lee is proposing the Senate recess for teal
_________
Is teal pretty much the same as duck? Mmmm, duck.
Senator Lee is proposing the Senate recess for teal
_________
Is teal pretty much the same as duck? Mmmm, duck.
Posted by: Hadrian the Seventh at August 17, 2025 11:06 AM (kkTda)
232
Way too long since I read many of the Heinlein juveniles, but if memory serves the lead in one of them was one Andrew Jackson "Slipstick" Libby. Spaceship navigation with slide rule.
Posted by: Just Some Guy at August 17, 2025 11:06 AM (q3u5l)
233
‣ The feinting couch
Posted by: mindful webworker -
**********
That one actually kind of makes sense. The typical Victorian era swoon was often a ruse in the dual duel between lovers.
Posted by: mindful webworker -
**********
That one actually kind of makes sense. The typical Victorian era swoon was often a ruse in the dual duel between lovers.
Posted by: muldoon at August 17, 2025 11:07 AM (I0N4X)
234
Really enjoying this discussion of Apocalypse Now. Wondering if we can set a date, rewatch, and have a Saturday night discussion. I miss those times one could sit around with a bunch of friends and do a deep dive into a book or movie looking for those additional layers of meaning.
Posted by: Sharon(willow's apprentice) at August 17, 2025 11:07 AM (t/2Uw)
235
. (But hey, what's a factor of 10, or 100, or 1000 among friends?)
Posted by: Just Some Guy at August 17, 2025 11:04 AM (q3u5l)
----
Right?
Posted by: Just Some Guy at August 17, 2025 11:04 AM (q3u5l)
----
Right?
Posted by: Spinal Tap set designer at August 17, 2025 11:07 AM (kpS4V)
236
My husband loves that movie. I think because he thinks the actress Madeline Stowe is sexy. However he also enjoys the music and the story.
Posted by: FenelonSpoke at August 17, 2025 10:55 AM (2GCMq)
Yes, I would suggest his affection for it is on a deeper level. It is a profoundly masculine film in that it invokes themes of loyalty, courage and honor in both a primal and formal way, with poetically visual and harshly physical correlatives. It is an entry-point through which to experience boyhood dreams given full, brutal form.
Posted by: FenelonSpoke at August 17, 2025 10:55 AM (2GCMq)
Yes, I would suggest his affection for it is on a deeper level. It is a profoundly masculine film in that it invokes themes of loyalty, courage and honor in both a primal and formal way, with poetically visual and harshly physical correlatives. It is an entry-point through which to experience boyhood dreams given full, brutal form.
Posted by: Ordinary American at August 17, 2025 11:08 AM (WHfpM)
237
Senator Lee is proposing the Senate recess for teal
_________
Is teal pretty much the same as duck? Mmmm, duck.
Posted by: Hadrian the Seventh at August 17, 2025
***
I thought it was a nice blue-green color. Love to have a BMW coupe in teal with a tan interior.
_________
Is teal pretty much the same as duck? Mmmm, duck.
Posted by: Hadrian the Seventh at August 17, 2025
***
I thought it was a nice blue-green color. Love to have a BMW coupe in teal with a tan interior.
Posted by: Wolfus Aurelius, Dreaming of Elsewhere at August 17, 2025 11:08 AM (omVj0)
238
twolaneflash - what a great present for a budding engineer. I'm no engineer or mathematician, but I recently bought a circular slide rule out of curiosity. I'm having a very nerdy type of fun playing around with it and trying to teach myself rudimentary trigonometry (I never took it in HS or college).
Posted by: PabloD at August 17, 2025 11:08 AM (oK+P4)
239
195 ... "Sending a great-nephew off to college for his freshman year to study engineering. School requires specific computer programs and Nvidia chips; students come out digitally dependent and analog ignorant. Not wanting him to be half-educated, I gifted him a Faber-Castell N-5 slide rule and a Pickett pocket slide rule (the one that went to the moon),"
Didn't know Faber-Castell made a slide rule. Must be vintage. But I still have my Pickett pocket slide rule and a couple of full size ones. I used the pocket rule to pass one of my ham radio exams. Programable calculators weren't allowed. Haven't had to solve any quadratic equations for a long time but still use it for multiplication and division.
Didn't know Faber-Castell made a slide rule. Must be vintage. But I still have my Pickett pocket slide rule and a couple of full size ones. I used the pocket rule to pass one of my ham radio exams. Programable calculators weren't allowed. Haven't had to solve any quadratic equations for a long time but still use it for multiplication and division.
Posted by: JTB at August 17, 2025 11:09 AM (yTvNw)
240
All of the angles have to add up to 180.
Posted by: The More You Know at August 17, 2025 11:10 AM (XQo4F)
241
Who knows what evil lurks in the hearts of men?
Posted by: JackStraw at August 17, 2025 10:37 AM
* cackles *
Posted by: JackStraw at August 17, 2025 10:37 AM
* cackles *
Posted by: Big Penguin at August 17, 2025 11:10 AM (0sNs1)
242
224 Oh, I see. Those spelling errors are intentional. Never mind.
Posted by: Bulg at August 17, 2025 11:10 AM (77rzZ)
243
Slide rules and logarithms have always mystified me. Black magic for sure.
Posted by: Bulg at August 17, 2025 11:11 AM (77rzZ)
244
Way too long since I read many of the Heinlein juveniles, but if memory serves the lead in one of them was one Andrew Jackson "Slipstick" Libby. Spaceship navigation with slide rule.
Posted by: Just Some Guy at August 17, 2025
***
Dunno if Libby was in any of the juveniles -- I haven't read them all -- but he appeared in Methuselah's Children, the novel derived from two of Heinlein's early Astounding stories, which introduced Lazarus Long. Possibly Libby predated LL -- wasn't Slipstick the lead in the short story "Misfit," RAH's second or third magazine sale?
In MC, Libby runs off some mathematical dialog. Lazarus says, "Andy, does you head ever ache?"
"It's theoretically possible to teach a talent like mine to anybody."
"Sure . . . and you can teach a snake to tap dance once you get shoes on him."
Posted by: Just Some Guy at August 17, 2025
***
Dunno if Libby was in any of the juveniles -- I haven't read them all -- but he appeared in Methuselah's Children, the novel derived from two of Heinlein's early Astounding stories, which introduced Lazarus Long. Possibly Libby predated LL -- wasn't Slipstick the lead in the short story "Misfit," RAH's second or third magazine sale?
In MC, Libby runs off some mathematical dialog. Lazarus says, "Andy, does you head ever ache?"
"It's theoretically possible to teach a talent like mine to anybody."
"Sure . . . and you can teach a snake to tap dance once you get shoes on him."
Posted by: Wolfus Aurelius, Dreaming of Elsewhere at August 17, 2025 11:12 AM (omVj0)
245
After I run through my teetering stack of library books, I'm going to try to read what's on my shelves for a change. I removed some hideous La-Z-Boyz from the small library room and now I can reach all the shelves easily. New comfy reading chair, too, if the cat allows access.
Posted by: All Hail Eris, She-Wolf of the 'Ettes 'Ettes at August 17, 2025 11:13 AM (kpS4V)
246
I read quite a bit of Conrad but it was decades ago and I don't remember it all that well. I loved his sort of memoir of his sailing days: "The Mirror of the Sea". I'm pretty sure I have a couple of his works sitting in queue on my kindle so I will probably be reading more in the future.
Posted by: who knew at August 17, 2025 11:14 AM (+ViXu)
247
Just checked. Andrew Jackson "Slipstick" Libby *was* the lead in the short story "Misfit."
Posted by: Wolfus Aurelius, Dreaming of Elsewhere at August 17, 2025 11:14 AM (omVj0)
248
After I run through my teetering stack of library books, I'm going to try to read what's on my shelves for a change. I removed some hideous La-Z-Boyz from the small library room and now I can reach all the shelves easily. New comfy reading chair, too, if the cat allows access.
Posted by: All Hail Eris, She-Wolf of the 'Ettes 'Ettes at August 17, 2025
***
At home we had a vinyl-covered recliner, possibly a La-Z-Boy, in the living room. I rarely sat in it after the newness of it wore off, and left it for our cat Rusty to enjoy. I really prefer a chair that holds still and doesn't wiggle!
Posted by: All Hail Eris, She-Wolf of the 'Ettes 'Ettes at August 17, 2025
***
At home we had a vinyl-covered recliner, possibly a La-Z-Boy, in the living room. I rarely sat in it after the newness of it wore off, and left it for our cat Rusty to enjoy. I really prefer a chair that holds still and doesn't wiggle!
Posted by: Wolfus Aurelius, Dreaming of Elsewhere at August 17, 2025 11:16 AM (omVj0)
249
I have no clue how a slide rule works either
Posted by: Skip at August 17, 2025 11:16 AM (+qU29)
250
Posted by: Ordinary American at August 17, 2025 11:08 AM (WHfpM)
I'm sure it's more than sexy Madeline Stowe. I was kidding😉. I like it too , and not just because of what's his name - the handsome actor playing Hawkeye . I don't like the part in the movie where the English soldier gets tortured and burned up. I did enjoy the book though
I'm sure it's more than sexy Madeline Stowe. I was kidding😉. I like it too , and not just because of what's his name - the handsome actor playing Hawkeye . I don't like the part in the movie where the English soldier gets tortured and burned up. I did enjoy the book though
Posted by: FenelonSpoke at August 17, 2025 11:17 AM (2GCMq)
Posted by: Sam Cooke at August 17, 2025 11:19 AM (XQo4F)
252
122 I would have thought that Popeye would have been public domain by now. He's been around for a long time.
Posted by: Toad-0 at August 17, 2025 10:07 AM (c5M5G)
Glad he wasn't. He would have been turned into a flaming queen by now.
"Ahoy there, you thilly thailors!"
Posted by: Toad-0 at August 17, 2025 10:07 AM (c5M5G)
Glad he wasn't. He would have been turned into a flaming queen by now.
"Ahoy there, you thilly thailors!"
Posted by: Dr. Pork Chops & Bacons at August 17, 2025 11:19 AM (g8Ew8)
253
When it comes to Last of the Mohicans, skip the book and watch the 1992 movie. The book is wooden and could put Sominex out of business. The movie is visually stunning, the actors are both attractive and excellent, the score is emotional and exciting, and the fight scenes are appropriately brutal. And, from my point of view, is has LOTS and LOTS of flintlocks. (The bit about silk as patch material giving longer range is BS.)
Posted by: JTB at August 17, 2025 11:19 AM (yTvNw)
254
"Hope things are going better for you and yours"
Seconded Fenalon. We share the same nic, so I confess to living vicariously through the kindness people bestow on you. You're in my prayers.
Seconded Fenalon. We share the same nic, so I confess to living vicariously through the kindness people bestow on you. You're in my prayers.
Posted by: Fenrisulven at August 17, 2025 11:21 AM (ciYHQ)
255
No idea if it is a fair treatment or not, but I recently read "Dancing in the Glory of Monsters", which walks through the history of the 90s atrocities in Congo and Rwanda.
Posted by: 2009Refugee at August 17, 2025 11:22 AM (7OL1i)
256
Thanks for the Heinlein info, Wolfus. Remembered the character name and nickname, but not which stories. Annoying not to have more details down solid the way I used to.
Was it Forster who said that the good thing about memory loss is that you can reread your old favorites with the original sense of breathless anticipation?
Was it Forster who said that the good thing about memory loss is that you can reread your old favorites with the original sense of breathless anticipation?
Posted by: Just Some Guy at August 17, 2025 11:22 AM (q3u5l)
257
Never tried running and loading a Brown Bess but thinking it's damn near impossible to do .
Posted by: Skip at August 17, 2025 11:22 AM (+qU29)
258
@213 --
CG, make an exception for Ellis' maxiseries Planetary. It's my favorite comic even if one issue throws a barb at Thatcher. One line about a group of scientists concluded that she was not female. Her offspring might have something to say about that.
CG, make an exception for Ellis' maxiseries Planetary. It's my favorite comic even if one issue throws a barb at Thatcher. One line about a group of scientists concluded that she was not female. Her offspring might have something to say about that.
Posted by: Weak Geek at August 17, 2025 11:22 AM (p/isN)
259
For Russian History enthusiasts, a book review for a book recently published.
https://is.gd/57A4lV
https://is.gd/57A4lV
Posted by: I am the Shadout Mapes, the Housekeeper at August 17, 2025 11:22 AM (PiwSw)
260
Conrad nailed down a lot about what people really are in his books. It applies throughout life, in many aspects. But if you're talking about Heart of Darkness, our particular country's chaotic, seemingly inscrutable political life makes much more sense if you realize that our rulers are Kurtz, and we're the Congolese.
Posted by: Yudhishthira's Dice at August 17, 2025 11:22 AM (BI5O2)
261
Finished part four. More interactions between characters and their response to the storm instead of the storm itself. Sill a long bit to go. I'll finish it later because I started it, but Conrad in this story is very wordy and uses a lot of expressive adjectives to give the reader the feeling of being inside the ship. It's rather dense and can be slow going. Not my preferred style for reading. He does bring out the characters, though. Probably won't read anything else by him. It's slow going and I like a faster paced story.
Posted by: OrangeEnt at August 17, 2025 11:23 AM (0eaVi)
262
Really enjoying this discussion of Apocalypse Now. Wondering if we can set a date, rewatch, and have a Saturday night discussion. I miss those times one could sit around with a bunch of friends and do a deep dive into a book or movie looking for those additional layers of meaning.
Posted by: Sharon(willow's apprentice) at August 17, 2025 11:07 AM (t/2Uw)
*retches* IOW, you want to wreck the pleasure of just enjoying a good movie.
Posted by: Sharon(willow's apprentice) at August 17, 2025 11:07 AM (t/2Uw)
*retches* IOW, you want to wreck the pleasure of just enjoying a good movie.
Posted by: Dr. Pork Chops & Bacons at August 17, 2025 11:24 AM (g8Ew8)
263
IIRC, the 'Slipstick' Libby character got the name because he could do calculations in his head that normally required a calculator. Been a while since I read 'Misfit' by Heinlein.
Posted by: JTB at August 17, 2025 11:24 AM (yTvNw)
264
T'were I King 'o the World, I would mandate everyone use slide rules for at least two years in their formative math training. (And innumeracy would be shunned as much as illiteracy.)
Why? Not to glorify ancient technology, but so people would learn about significant digits in their data, and placing of the decimal point, which helps recognize when something might be not-quite-right.
Why? Not to glorify ancient technology, but so people would learn about significant digits in their data, and placing of the decimal point, which helps recognize when something might be not-quite-right.
Posted by: Duncanthrax at August 17, 2025 11:25 AM (0sNs1)
265
Was it Forster who said that the good thing about memory loss is that you can reread your old favorites with the original sense of breathless anticipation?
Posted by: Just Some Guy at August 17, 2025
***
Not sure, JSG. I've read little of Forster -- his famous SF story "The Machine Stops," for instance.
Posted by: Just Some Guy at August 17, 2025
***
Not sure, JSG. I've read little of Forster -- his famous SF story "The Machine Stops," for instance.
Posted by: Wolfus Aurelius, Dreaming of Elsewhere at August 17, 2025 11:25 AM (omVj0)
Posted by: Commissar of plenty and festive little hats at August 17, 2025 11:26 AM (Ilcmv)
267
I don't like the part in the movie where the English soldier gets tortured and burned up
--------
There's a similar scene in Reservoir Dogs. Michael Madsen nailed the role of a sadistic lunatic to a tee, though. I heard an interview where we talked about regretting it, because it pretty much ensured he'd be cast as truly reprehensible villains forever.
--------
There's a similar scene in Reservoir Dogs. Michael Madsen nailed the role of a sadistic lunatic to a tee, though. I heard an interview where we talked about regretting it, because it pretty much ensured he'd be cast as truly reprehensible villains forever.
Posted by: Yudhishthira's Dice at August 17, 2025 11:26 AM (BI5O2)
268
Posted by: Fenrisulven at August 17, 2025 11:21 AM (ciYHQ
Thanks. I appreciate the prayers. I am ok, just stressed. It's somebody close to me having concerns .
I will pray for you as well.
Thanks. I appreciate the prayers. I am ok, just stressed. It's somebody close to me having concerns .
I will pray for you as well.
Posted by: FenelonSpoke at August 17, 2025 11:26 AM (2GCMq)
269
Never tried running and loading a Brown Bess but thinking it's damn near impossible to do .
Posted by: Skip at August 17, 2025 11:22 AM
Not hard, once you get it down.
Keep your powder dry.
Posted by: Skip at August 17, 2025 11:22 AM
Not hard, once you get it down.
Keep your powder dry.
Posted by: Duncanthrax at August 17, 2025 11:26 AM (0sNs1)
270
IIRC, the 'Slipstick' Libby character got the name because he could do calculations in his head that normally required a calculator. Been a while since I read 'Misfit' by Heinlein.
Posted by: JTB at August 17, 2025
***
Right; he was a walking calculator. Heinlein draws him as a good-natured country boy, not as an arrogant SOB or a Asperger's type (not that RAH had that term in 1939 or whatever).
Posted by: JTB at August 17, 2025
***
Right; he was a walking calculator. Heinlein draws him as a good-natured country boy, not as an arrogant SOB or a Asperger's type (not that RAH had that term in 1939 or whatever).
Posted by: Wolfus Aurelius, Dreaming of Elsewhere at August 17, 2025 11:27 AM (omVj0)
271
*retches* IOW, you want to wreck the pleasure of just enjoying a good movie.
Posted by: Dr. Pork Chops & Bacons at August 17, 2025 11:24 AM
So, Prometheus then?
Posted by: Dr. Pork Chops & Bacons at August 17, 2025 11:24 AM
So, Prometheus then?
Posted by: Duncanthrax at August 17, 2025 11:27 AM (0sNs1)
272
128 I really disliked Apocalypse Now. I don't understand the accolades it gets.
Posted by: polynikes at August 17, 2025 10:09 AM (EYmYM)
The first half of the movie was great, but after the trip up the river it just kind of fell apart for me. I've only watched the movie once and that's probably never going to change.
Posted by: polynikes at August 17, 2025 10:09 AM (EYmYM)
The first half of the movie was great, but after the trip up the river it just kind of fell apart for me. I've only watched the movie once and that's probably never going to change.
Posted by: Farquad at August 17, 2025 11:28 AM (NtFTC)
273
253 The movie is visually stunning, the actors are both attractive and excellent, the score is emotional and exciting, and the fight scenes are appropriately brutal.
Posted by: JTB at August 17, 2025 11:19 AM (yTvNw)
Hmn. I like listening to soundtracks while reading. My go-to has been LotR, Conan, and Pirates of the Carribean. I'll look in on Mohicans to see if it's worth adding to the list.
Posted by: JTB at August 17, 2025 11:19 AM (yTvNw)
Hmn. I like listening to soundtracks while reading. My go-to has been LotR, Conan, and Pirates of the Carribean. I'll look in on Mohicans to see if it's worth adding to the list.
Posted by: Castle Guy at August 17, 2025 11:28 AM (Lhaco)
274
Duncanthrax, remind me never to vote for you for king of the world.
Posted by: Bulg at August 17, 2025 11:28 AM (77rzZ)
275
Never read Heart of Darkness - and probably never will - and never watched Apocalypse Now, but I do remember reading A Crock of Blip, Now in Mad magazine.
Posted by: OrangeEnt at August 17, 2025 11:28 AM (0eaVi)
Posted by: Dr. Pork Chops & Bacons at August 17, 2025 11:28 AM (g8Ew8)
277
In grade school, I envied the big kids with their slide rules. Couldn't wait to get old enough to have my own.
Calculators into being and took over. I never got a slide rule. Saw one once.
Calculators into being and took over. I never got a slide rule. Saw one once.
Posted by: Weak Geek at August 17, 2025 11:28 AM (p/isN)
278
Have you all considered the utility of a good ottoman in your reading room?
Posted by: zombie Lucien Freud at August 17, 2025 11:29 AM (0sNs1)
279
well colonial adventures can go awry see kipling, and the gunga din
Posted by: miguel cervantes at August 17, 2025 11:29 AM (bXbFr)
280
. . . Conrad in this story is very wordy and uses a lot of expressive adjectives to give the reader the feeling of being inside the ship. It's rather dense and can be slow going. Not my preferred style for reading. He does bring out the characters, though. Probably won't read anything else by him. It's slow going and I like a faster paced story.
Posted by: OrangeEnt at August 17, 2025
***
Yes; not my preferred style either.
Posted by: OrangeEnt at August 17, 2025
***
Yes; not my preferred style either.
Posted by: Wolfus Aurelius, Dreaming of Elsewhere at August 17, 2025 11:29 AM (omVj0)
281
I won't downplay Coppola, but i think Apocalypse Now was really distinguished by Milius' writing. I don't think it would be making any "greatest films of all time" lists without him.
Posted by: Yudhishthira's Dice at August 17, 2025 11:30 AM (BI5O2)
282
193 And here's a prayer from the fine writer Robert Louis Stevenson from FenelonSpoke.
Thank you! Copied this to my commonplace book.
Thank you! Copied this to my commonplace book.
Posted by: simni at August 17, 2025 11:31 AM (/30kX)
283
Conrad is the definition of a character-driven writer. The plot us just a setting for him, in large part.
Posted by: Yudhishthira's Dice at August 17, 2025 11:32 AM (BI5O2)
284
Never read Heart of Darkness - and probably never will - and never watched Apocalypse Now, but I do remember reading A Crock of Blip, Now in Mad magazine.
Posted by: OrangeEnt at August 17, 2025
***
Mad's writers were amazing. They went for the obvious play on words with their "The Man From Auntie" parody of U.N.C.L.E. (though there had actually been an early Emma Peel Avengers episode with that title!), but the dialog was fantastic.
Posted by: OrangeEnt at August 17, 2025
***
Mad's writers were amazing. They went for the obvious play on words with their "The Man From Auntie" parody of U.N.C.L.E. (though there had actually been an early Emma Peel Avengers episode with that title!), but the dialog was fantastic.
Posted by: Wolfus Aurelius, Dreaming of Elsewhere at August 17, 2025 11:32 AM (omVj0)
285
which was a much lighter take because Michael Kurtiz,
but his poems about the Frontier are pretty stark,
but his poems about the Frontier are pretty stark,
Posted by: miguel cervantes at August 17, 2025 11:33 AM (bXbFr)
286
Mad's writers were amazing. They went for the obvious play on words with their "The Man From Auntie" parody of U.N.C.L.E. (though there had actually been an early Emma Peel Avengers episode with that title!), but the dialog was fantastic.
Posted by: Wolfus Aurelius, Dreaming of Elsewhere at August 17, 2025
***
I meant to mention that their artwork for the U.N.C.L.E. parody was also spot on, with their parody versions of Solo and Illya ("Nasoleon Polo" and "Kwitcha Bellyakin"?) looking enormously like the real actors.
Posted by: Wolfus Aurelius, Dreaming of Elsewhere at August 17, 2025
***
I meant to mention that their artwork for the U.N.C.L.E. parody was also spot on, with their parody versions of Solo and Illya ("Nasoleon Polo" and "Kwitcha Bellyakin"?) looking enormously like the real actors.
Posted by: Wolfus Aurelius, Dreaming of Elsewhere at August 17, 2025 11:34 AM (omVj0)
287
@267 --
Supposedly the "surgery" scene in "Reservoir Dogs" was going to be filmed showing the operation up close with spurting blood. They chose instead to shoot it from behind.
That scene sticks with me. The song, too.
Supposedly the "surgery" scene in "Reservoir Dogs" was going to be filmed showing the operation up close with spurting blood. They chose instead to shoot it from behind.
That scene sticks with me. The song, too.
Posted by: Weak Geek at August 17, 2025 11:34 AM (p/isN)
288
yes Milius writing made the story come alive, like that whole speech in Jaws I'm guessing some of the best lines in Red Dawn like Ron O'Neals Colonel Bella,
Posted by: miguel cervantes at August 17, 2025 11:35 AM (bXbFr)
289
Only a few reach the top and stay there, and even they end up dying. Even George Burns.
Posted by: Weak Geek at August 17, 2025 09:02 AM (p/isN)
Wait. George Burns is dead??
Posted by: OrangeEnt at August 17, 2025 09:02 AM (0eaVi)
-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
I had a friend, who was assigned to be the official greeter/escort for Burns when he was the entertainment for my friend's employer at their annual convention. This would have been mid-80's. My buddy was expecting an amazing limo ride to the hotel. He met Burns at the gate at O'Hare, escorted him to the limo, and sat across from him all the way to the hotel where the banquet was. What did Burns say to my buddy? Not a thing. He just silently smoked his cigar the whole way.
Keeping this on topic, my friend later wrote several books on how to find, hire, and train quality employees.
Posted by: Weak Geek at August 17, 2025 09:02 AM (p/isN)
Wait. George Burns is dead??
Posted by: OrangeEnt at August 17, 2025 09:02 AM (0eaVi)
-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
I had a friend, who was assigned to be the official greeter/escort for Burns when he was the entertainment for my friend's employer at their annual convention. This would have been mid-80's. My buddy was expecting an amazing limo ride to the hotel. He met Burns at the gate at O'Hare, escorted him to the limo, and sat across from him all the way to the hotel where the banquet was. What did Burns say to my buddy? Not a thing. He just silently smoked his cigar the whole way.
Keeping this on topic, my friend later wrote several books on how to find, hire, and train quality employees.
Posted by: My friends call me Pete at August 17, 2025 11:35 AM (afP1r)
290
170 but we don't even have an official date of the outbreak do we, have approximations of when it happened,
Posted by: miguel cervantes at August 17, 2025 10:31 AM (bXbFr)
The first news I remember hearing about it was in November/December 2019, news reports from China about the mysterious illness that seemed to originate from Wuhan. Those reports have probably been memory holed by now. And then the Chinese government refused to restrict air travel for the Chinese New Year celebration and the rest is history.
Posted by: miguel cervantes at August 17, 2025 10:31 AM (bXbFr)
The first news I remember hearing about it was in November/December 2019, news reports from China about the mysterious illness that seemed to originate from Wuhan. Those reports have probably been memory holed by now. And then the Chinese government refused to restrict air travel for the Chinese New Year celebration and the rest is history.
Posted by: Farquad at August 17, 2025 11:35 AM (NtFTC)
291
I won't downplay Coppola, but i think Apocalypse Now was really distinguished by Milius' writing. I don't think it would be making any "greatest films of all time" lists without him.
Posted by: Yudhishthira's Dice at August 17, 2025 11:30 AM (BI5O2)
I know one thing about good movies about Vietnam. It must have CCR and The Doors somewhere in the soundtrack.
Posted by: Yudhishthira's Dice at August 17, 2025 11:30 AM (BI5O2)
I know one thing about good movies about Vietnam. It must have CCR and The Doors somewhere in the soundtrack.
Posted by: Dr. Pork Chops & Bacons at August 17, 2025 11:35 AM (g8Ew8)
292
Mad Magazine was the Babylon Bee of the " before" times.
Posted by: Ben Had at August 17, 2025 11:36 AM (dxWFK)
293
I meant to mention that their artwork for the U.N.C.L.E. parody was also spot on, with their parody versions of Solo and Illya ("Nasoleon Polo" and "Kwitcha Bellyakin"?) looking enormously like the real actors.
Posted by: Wolfus Aurelius, Dreaming of Elsewhere at August 17, 2025 11:34 AM (omVj0)
That is one thing they did well. Making them look like the real thing.
Conrad is the definition of a character-driven writer. The plot us just a setting for him, in large part.
Posted by: Yudhishthira's Dice at August 17, 2025 11:32 AM (BI5O2)
Definitely see that in Typhoon.
Posted by: Wolfus Aurelius, Dreaming of Elsewhere at August 17, 2025 11:34 AM (omVj0)
That is one thing they did well. Making them look like the real thing.
Conrad is the definition of a character-driven writer. The plot us just a setting for him, in large part.
Posted by: Yudhishthira's Dice at August 17, 2025 11:32 AM (BI5O2)
Definitely see that in Typhoon.
Posted by: OrangeEnt at August 17, 2025 11:36 AM (0eaVi)
294
holds still and doesn't wiggle
Used to date her.
Posted by: Commissar of plenty
**********
Annotates electronic medical recors:
"Not sexually active."
Used to date her.
Posted by: Commissar of plenty
**********
Annotates electronic medical recors:
"Not sexually active."
Posted by: muldoon at August 17, 2025 11:37 AM (I0N4X)
295
Are there areas of interest where you just can't force yourself to read? Stories about ships/boats are dead to me. Because they're confined and I get a kind of claustrophobia? Because you're stuck with a cast of characters? No idea. Can't get through them.
Posted by: Wenda at August 17, 2025 11:37 AM (4k3J4)
296
San Franpsycho, kind of needs from a couple guys that seemed to understand China pretty well. They are of the opinion that China's economies in trouble.
https://www.youtube.com/live/l4GHmRrGEGg
China Observer Is another resource I follow. They too seem to be on top of what's going on in China.
https://youtu.be/qQcxRTTQUaY
https://www.youtube.com/live/l4GHmRrGEGg
China Observer Is another resource I follow. They too seem to be on top of what's going on in China.
https://youtu.be/qQcxRTTQUaY
Posted by: Alteria Pilgram - My President has convictions. at August 17, 2025 11:37 AM (9vYpt)
297
Another thumbs up for Mad's parodies. God, they were delightful. Star Blecch. Why Spy? The Guns of Minestrone. 007 - The Musical (Oh what a beautiful morning, Oh what a beautiful day! I've got a beautiful feeling I shall kill someone today!). Voyage to See What's on the Bottom...
I'm almost afraid to see if there's a mondo compilation of those in a big coffee table book, because more expense.
I'm almost afraid to see if there's a mondo compilation of those in a big coffee table book, because more expense.
Posted by: Just Some Guy at August 17, 2025 11:38 AM (q3u5l)
298
Posted by: Ordinary American at August 17, 2025 11:08 AM (WHfpM)
My husband said to tell you thanks, and that's what he meant. It's not just about Madeline Stowe.
My husband said to tell you thanks, and that's what he meant. It's not just about Madeline Stowe.
Posted by: FenelonSpoke at August 17, 2025 11:38 AM (2GCMq)
299
Anyway, have to go somewhere. Won't be back until later. Have a nice book thread.
Posted by: OrangeEnt at August 17, 2025 11:38 AM (0eaVi)
300
Posted by: Wenda at August 17, 2025 11:37 AM (4k3J4)
My favorite book of all time is Captains Courageous. It’s one of those books that can be enjoyed by a child and an adult. That was Kipling’s tremendous talent.
My favorite book of all time is Captains Courageous. It’s one of those books that can be enjoyed by a child and an adult. That was Kipling’s tremendous talent.
Posted by: polynikes at August 17, 2025 11:40 AM (EYmYM)
301
Posted by: I am the Shadout Mapes, the Housekeeper at August 17, 2025 11:22 AM
I assume that is the book I read
Do plan on a miniature war game in December kind of recreating the event with a What If
I assume that is the book I read
Do plan on a miniature war game in December kind of recreating the event with a What If
Posted by: Skip at August 17, 2025 11:40 AM (+qU29)
302
Are there areas of interest where you just can't force yourself to read? Stories about ships/boats are dead to me. Because they're confined and I get a kind of claustrophobia? Because you're stuck with a cast of characters? No idea. Can't get through them.
Posted by: Wenda at August 17, 2025
***
Most stories about Vietnam, whether about combat or political maneuverings, leave me cold, as do most "political thrillers." The plottings of the Stark family in the first book of Game of Thrones left me disinclined to read the others.
Posted by: Wenda at August 17, 2025
***
Most stories about Vietnam, whether about combat or political maneuverings, leave me cold, as do most "political thrillers." The plottings of the Stark family in the first book of Game of Thrones left me disinclined to read the others.
Posted by: Wolfus Aurelius, Dreaming of Elsewhere at August 17, 2025 11:41 AM (omVj0)
303
His 1960s novel Flying Finish is superb stuff.
Posted by: Wolfus Aurelius, Dreaming of Elsewhere at August 17, 2025 10:42 AM (omVj0)
I've read all of Dick Francis' books.
Twice.
Excellent reading.
Posted by: Wolfus Aurelius, Dreaming of Elsewhere at August 17, 2025 10:42 AM (omVj0)
I've read all of Dick Francis' books.
Twice.
Excellent reading.
Posted by: Diogenes at August 17, 2025 11:41 AM (2WIwB)
304
I meant to mention that their artwork for the U.N.C.L.E. parody was also spot on, with their parody versions of Solo and Illya ("Nasoleon Polo" and "Kwitcha Bellyakin"?) looking enormously like the real actors.
Posted by: Wolfus Aurelius, Dreaming of Elsewhere
That was Mort Drucker.
https://t.ly/dtw5-
I meant to mention that their artwork for the U.N.C.L.E. parody was also spot on, with their parody versions of Solo and Illya ("Nasoleon Polo" and "Kwitcha Bellyakin"?) looking enormously like the real actors.
Posted by: Wolfus Aurelius, Dreaming of Elsewhere
That was Mort Drucker.
https://t.ly/dtw5-
Posted by: Bertram Cabot, Jr. at August 17, 2025 11:41 AM (63Dwl)
305
264 T'were I King 'o the World, I would mandate everyone use slide rules for at least two years in their formative math training. (And innumeracy would be shunned as much as illiteracy.)
Why? Not to glorify ancient technology, but so people would learn about significant digits in their data, and placing of the decimal point, which helps recognize when something might be not-quite-right.
Posted by: Duncanthrax at August 17, 2025 11:25 AM (0sNs1)
YES!!!
Why? Not to glorify ancient technology, but so people would learn about significant digits in their data, and placing of the decimal point, which helps recognize when something might be not-quite-right.
Posted by: Duncanthrax at August 17, 2025 11:25 AM (0sNs1)
YES!!!
Posted by: Retired comp scie prof at August 17, 2025 11:41 AM (/30kX)
306
269 ... "Never tried running and loading a Brown Bess but thinking it's damn near impossible to do ."
Skip,
Loading a smoothbore is faster and easier than a rifled barrel since the ramrod just pushes the patching down instead of pushing the round ball tight against rifling. In an emergency, forget the patching. Just pour in some powder, spit an undersize ball down the bore and don't tilt the barrel down. Still not easy to do on the run or very accurate but doable.
Skip,
Loading a smoothbore is faster and easier than a rifled barrel since the ramrod just pushes the patching down instead of pushing the round ball tight against rifling. In an emergency, forget the patching. Just pour in some powder, spit an undersize ball down the bore and don't tilt the barrel down. Still not easy to do on the run or very accurate but doable.
Posted by: JTB at August 17, 2025 11:42 AM (yTvNw)
307
I can’t get interested in fantasy novels with magic , monsters , fairies, etc.
Posted by: polynikes at August 17, 2025 11:42 AM (EYmYM)
308
I reread a couple of Kipling’s Mowgli stories online recently, and they were just as good as I remember them from childhood.
Posted by: Bulg at August 17, 2025 11:42 AM (77rzZ)
309
Diogenes, hear , hear. The Dick Francis books are great .
Posted by: Ben Had at August 17, 2025 11:42 AM (dxWFK)
310
Annotates electronic medical recors:
"Not sexually active."
Posted by: muldoon at August 17, 2025 11:37 AM
Per the Style Guide, this comment is worthless without ICD-10 codes.
"Not sexually active."
Posted by: muldoon at August 17, 2025 11:37 AM
Per the Style Guide, this comment is worthless without ICD-10 codes.
Posted by: Duncanthrax at August 17, 2025 11:43 AM (0sNs1)
311
Another thumbs up for Mad's parodies. God, they were delightful. Star Blecch. Why Spy? The Guns of Minestrone. 007 - The Musical (Oh what a beautiful morning, Oh what a beautiful day! I've got a beautiful feeling I shall kill someone today!). Voyage to See What's on the Bottom...
I'm almost afraid to see if there's a mondo compilation of those in a big coffee table book, because more expense.
Posted by: Just Some Guy at August 17, 2025
***
I wasn't a regular Mad reader then, so the very first parody of Trek I ever spotted was during the show's first season: "Car Trek," in one of the custom car magazines like Hot Rod, with the ship called the "FenderPrize."
I'm almost afraid to see if there's a mondo compilation of those in a big coffee table book, because more expense.
Posted by: Just Some Guy at August 17, 2025
***
I wasn't a regular Mad reader then, so the very first parody of Trek I ever spotted was during the show's first season: "Car Trek," in one of the custom car magazines like Hot Rod, with the ship called the "FenderPrize."
Posted by: Wolfus Aurelius, Dreaming of Elsewhere at August 17, 2025 11:43 AM (omVj0)
312
Dang. If Weasel is.doing the book thread, I'm pulling out my copy of FM 23-9, Field Manual M16A1 Rifle and Rifle Marksmanship.
Probably going to be homework.
Probably going to be homework.
Posted by: Diogenes at August 17, 2025 11:43 AM (2WIwB)
313
Posted by: simni at August 17, 2025 11:31 AM (/30kX)
I think I left a word out ( but not a crucial one) in my egregiously bad I-phone typing, ) but it is a nice prayer, isn't it? I think I would have enjoyed meeting Robert Louis Stevenson, who seemed like a nice man as well as a good writer.
I think I left a word out ( but not a crucial one) in my egregiously bad I-phone typing, ) but it is a nice prayer, isn't it? I think I would have enjoyed meeting Robert Louis Stevenson, who seemed like a nice man as well as a good writer.
Posted by: FenelonSpoke at August 17, 2025 11:44 AM (2GCMq)
314
For a compelling origins story, read J. F. cooper's unpublished manuscript The First of the Mohicans
Posted by: muldoon at August 17, 2025 11:45 AM (I0N4X)
315
Skip,
Loading a smoothbore is faster and easier than a rifled barrel since the ramrod just pushes the patching down instead of pushing the round ball tight against rifling. In an emergency, forget the patching. Just pour in some powder, spit an undersize ball down the bore and don't tilt the barrel down. Still not easy to do on the run or very accurate but doable.
Posted by: JTB at August 17, 2025 11:42 AM
Och, laddie, ye forgot cocking, priming the pan, and closing the frizzen.
Loading a smoothbore is faster and easier than a rifled barrel since the ramrod just pushes the patching down instead of pushing the round ball tight against rifling. In an emergency, forget the patching. Just pour in some powder, spit an undersize ball down the bore and don't tilt the barrel down. Still not easy to do on the run or very accurate but doable.
Posted by: JTB at August 17, 2025 11:42 AM
Och, laddie, ye forgot cocking, priming the pan, and closing the frizzen.
Posted by: Duncanthrax at August 17, 2025 11:45 AM (0sNs1)
316
Skip,
Loading a smoothbore is faster and easier than a rifled barrel since the ramrod just pushes the patching down instead of pushing the round ball tight against rifling. In an emergency, forget the patching. Just pour in some powder, spit an undersize ball down the bore and don't tilt the barrel down. Still not easy to do on the run or very accurate but doable.
Posted by: JTB at August 17, 2025 11:42 AM (yTvNw)
Not good if one is trying to shoot downhill at the enemy.
Loading a smoothbore is faster and easier than a rifled barrel since the ramrod just pushes the patching down instead of pushing the round ball tight against rifling. In an emergency, forget the patching. Just pour in some powder, spit an undersize ball down the bore and don't tilt the barrel down. Still not easy to do on the run or very accurate but doable.
Posted by: JTB at August 17, 2025 11:42 AM (yTvNw)
Not good if one is trying to shoot downhill at the enemy.
Posted by: Dr. Pork Chops & Bacons at August 17, 2025 11:45 AM (g8Ew8)
317
I can’t get interested in fantasy novels with magic , monsters , fairies, etc.
Posted by: polynikes at August 17, 2025
***
There's a lot of it out there that bores me too. Odd for me to say, as I write in that genre. A few authors transcend that: Fred Saberhagen with his Empire of the East and his "Books of Swords" series, Larry Niven with his "The Magic Goes Away," and a few others. But so many I pick up in a store seem to begin with some young woman in a tower, peering into the distance and remembering the good days when King Arglebargle IV ruled the land. Meh.
I have no fairies or elves in my stuff, and I realized I had nothing new to say about them or about dragons, either.
Posted by: polynikes at August 17, 2025
***
There's a lot of it out there that bores me too. Odd for me to say, as I write in that genre. A few authors transcend that: Fred Saberhagen with his Empire of the East and his "Books of Swords" series, Larry Niven with his "The Magic Goes Away," and a few others. But so many I pick up in a store seem to begin with some young woman in a tower, peering into the distance and remembering the good days when King Arglebargle IV ruled the land. Meh.
I have no fairies or elves in my stuff, and I realized I had nothing new to say about them or about dragons, either.
Posted by: Wolfus Aurelius, Dreaming of Elsewhere at August 17, 2025 11:47 AM (omVj0)
318
Holy Shitballs!
Is it really Reading with Weasel?
Is it really Reading with Weasel?
Posted by: Dr. Claw at August 17, 2025 11:47 AM (3wi/L)
319
I'll admit I watched the Mowgli movie and enjoyed it.
Posted by: Sharon(willow's apprentice) at August 17, 2025 11:48 AM (t/2Uw)
320
JTB. Sam's wrote funniest scenario I have ever read. Laughed until I cried and kept laughing until my sides hurt.
Posted by: Ben Had at August 17, 2025 11:49 AM (dxWFK)
321
Most stories about Vietnam, whether about combat or political maneuverings, leave me cold, as do most "political thrillers." The plottings of the Stark family in the first book of Game of Thrones left me disinclined to read the others.
Posted by: Wolfus Aurelius, Dreaming of Elsewhere at August 17, 2025 11:41 AM (omVj0)
A political thriller I remember liking was Absolute Power.
Posted by: Wolfus Aurelius, Dreaming of Elsewhere at August 17, 2025 11:41 AM (omVj0)
A political thriller I remember liking was Absolute Power.
Posted by: polynikes at August 17, 2025 11:49 AM (EYmYM)
322
Wolfus, perhaps some field work under the tutelage of zombie could give you some new things to say about fairies?
Posted by: Duncanthrax at August 17, 2025 11:50 AM (0sNs1)
323
Holy Shitballs!
Is it really Reading with Weasel?
Posted by: Dr. Claw at August 17, 2025 11:47 AM (3wi/L)
------
Pretty wacky, huh?
Is it really Reading with Weasel?
Posted by: Dr. Claw at August 17, 2025 11:47 AM (3wi/L)
------
Pretty wacky, huh?
Posted by: Weasel at August 17, 2025 11:50 AM (3nqLb)
324
Mad's parody Star Blecch had the spot-on look for the drawings of Shatner and Nimoy and some delightfully ridiculous bits (Shatner materializing after beaming down with an arm sticking out of his ear, head mounted just above his hips, Nimoy saying the transporter needs adjusting and Shatner telling him to hurry up because his face wants to sit down, etc).
And the parody of The Fugitive (The Phewgitive) is a lot of fun too.
And the parody of The Fugitive (The Phewgitive) is a lot of fun too.
Posted by: Just Some Guy at August 17, 2025 11:50 AM (q3u5l)
325
I don't feel qualified to put my damn arm in one let alone put a wrench to them.
Posted by: Reforger
*********
Tell me about it.
Posted by: Reforger
*********
Tell me about it.
Posted by: First year veterinary student [erforming his first breech calf delivery at August 17, 2025 11:51 AM (I0N4X)
326
Well, off to screw things up here at Casa Some Guy.
Thanks for the thread, Weasel.
Have a good one, gang.
Thanks for the thread, Weasel.
Have a good one, gang.
Posted by: Just Some Guy at August 17, 2025 11:53 AM (q3u5l)
327
I have never read non fiction for pleasure. I like fantasy, sci fi, mystery novels. I don't read horror or watch horror movies in fact.
Oddly I am a history buff and will read historical fiction and watch historical fiction but I get enough political stuff on a day to day basis efuse to read political true life stuff.
Oddly I am a history buff and will read historical fiction and watch historical fiction but I get enough political stuff on a day to day basis efuse to read political true life stuff.
Posted by: Sharon(willow's apprentice) at August 17, 2025 11:53 AM (t/2Uw)
328
That was Mort Drucker.
https://t.ly/dtw5-
Posted by: Bertram Cabot, Jr. at August 17, 2025
***
I hadn't realized he had done the poster for American Graffiti! Now I'll have to go through the artwork and see how many celebs I recognize. The one from 1965 was easy enough, but I still am blanking on four of them.
https://t.ly/dtw5-
Posted by: Bertram Cabot, Jr. at August 17, 2025
***
I hadn't realized he had done the poster for American Graffiti! Now I'll have to go through the artwork and see how many celebs I recognize. The one from 1965 was easy enough, but I still am blanking on four of them.
Posted by: Wolfus Aurelius, Dreaming of Elsewhere at August 17, 2025 11:55 AM (omVj0)
329
Sharon, I’m the exact opposite. I seldom read fiction as an adult.
Posted by: Bulg at August 17, 2025 11:55 AM (77rzZ)
330
Thanks for tuning in, guys and gals. Hope to see you next Sunday morning!
Posted by: Weasel at August 17, 2025 11:56 AM (3nqLb)
Posted by: man at August 17, 2025 11:56 AM (tubbA)
332
Duncanthrax, remind me never to vote for you for king of the world.
Posted by: Bulg at August 17, 2025 11:28 AM
IYKYK.
Posted by: Bulg at August 17, 2025 11:28 AM
IYKYK.
Posted by: Duncanthrax at August 17, 2025 11:56 AM (0sNs1)
333
295 ... " Are there areas of interest where you just can't force yourself to read? Stories about ships/boats are dead to me. Because they're confined and I get a kind of claustrophobia? Because you're stuck with a cast of characters? No idea. Can't get through them."
Wenda,
Never thought about that, but growing up on an island probably makes a difference. Ships can serve as a crucible since they are a contained, usually inescapable space. Can't just have characters walking in off the street. Add to that the unpredictable and variable nature of the ocean and it can make an effective story device. (It's 'The Rime of the Ancient MARINER' not ancient bricklayer.) But I can understand where the setting and limitations might be a turn off.
Wenda,
Never thought about that, but growing up on an island probably makes a difference. Ships can serve as a crucible since they are a contained, usually inescapable space. Can't just have characters walking in off the street. Add to that the unpredictable and variable nature of the ocean and it can make an effective story device. (It's 'The Rime of the Ancient MARINER' not ancient bricklayer.) But I can understand where the setting and limitations might be a turn off.
Posted by: JTB at August 17, 2025 11:56 AM (yTvNw)
334
Zod has passed through the cube....
Terence Stamp (22 July 1938 – 17 August 2025) R.I.P
Terence Stamp (22 July 1938 – 17 August 2025) R.I.P
Posted by: Elrond Hubbard at August 17, 2025 11:57 AM (bMlVe)
335
Off-topic: I'm looking at the estimated track for Hurricane Erin, and the way it's avoiding US territory makes me wonder if it's got outstanding warrants.
Posted by: Trimegistus at August 17, 2025 11:57 AM (78a2H)
336
Och, laddie, ye forgot cocking, priming the pan, and closing the frizzen.
Posted by: Duncanthrax at August 17, 2025 11:45 AM (0sNs1)
Isn't frizzen the military term for codpiece?
Posted by: Duncanthrax at August 17, 2025 11:45 AM (0sNs1)
Isn't frizzen the military term for codpiece?
Posted by: Dr. Pork Chops & Bacons at August 17, 2025 11:57 AM (g8Ew8)
337
Posted by: Sharon(willow's apprentice) at August 17, 2025 11:53 AM (t/2Uw
You need to read Steven Pressfield for his historical fiction novels. Fantastic.
You need to read Steven Pressfield for his historical fiction novels. Fantastic.
Posted by: polynikes at August 17, 2025 11:57 AM (EYmYM)
338
Thanks Weasel for an entertaining thread.
By the time the next book thread rolls around, I will have had my hip surgery.
I will to be here to talk about the books I've read after.
By the time the next book thread rolls around, I will have had my hip surgery.
I will to be here to talk about the books I've read after.
Posted by: Sharon(willow's apprentice) at August 17, 2025 11:57 AM (t/2Uw)
339
Most stories about Vietnam, whether about combat or political maneuverings, leave me cold, as do most "political thrillers." The plottings of the Stark family in the first book of Game of Thrones left me disinclined to read the others.
Posted by: Wolfus Aurelius, Dreaming of Elsewhere at August 17, 2025 11:41 AM (omVj0)
I have read a number of what I call memory books by guys who were in Vietnam and have finally put their recollections to paper. Some are pretty good. A few are excellent. Worth the effort to read a few.
Posted by: Wolfus Aurelius, Dreaming of Elsewhere at August 17, 2025 11:41 AM (omVj0)
I have read a number of what I call memory books by guys who were in Vietnam and have finally put their recollections to paper. Some are pretty good. A few are excellent. Worth the effort to read a few.
Posted by: Diogenes at August 17, 2025 11:58 AM (2WIwB)
340
‣ All do respect
Posted by: mindful webworker - what me read?
--------------
These couldn't have come from regulars, it was trolls what did it.
Posted by: mindful webworker - what me read?
--------------
These couldn't have come from regulars, it was trolls what did it.
Posted by: Braenyard - some Absent Friends are more equal than others _ at August 17, 2025 11:58 AM (Dl5u9)
341
Mad Magazine was counter-cultural in a goofy yet incisive way that was totally unique and madly appealing to the 9-15 year olds of my era. I think it was written by collection of NY comedy writers who'd been passed up by Neil Simon, Sid Caesar and Mel Brooks. They didn't talk down to their audience, and we may not have understood all the references right away but we did soon enough.
Posted by: Ordinary American at August 17, 2025 11:58 AM (WHfpM)
342
Weasel I am surprised Weasel hasn't been putting up manuals for 1912s yet
Posted by: Skip at August 17, 2025 11:58 AM (+qU29)
343
335 Off-topic: I'm looking at the estimated track for Hurricane Erin, and the way it's avoiding US territory makes me wonder if it's got outstanding warrants.
Posted by: Trimegistus
----
Thought it was going to blow Miami away?
Posted by: Trimegistus
----
Thought it was going to blow Miami away?
Posted by: Braenyard - some Absent Friends are more equal than others _ at August 17, 2025 11:59 AM (Dl5u9)
344
All do respect
Posted by: mindful webworker - what me read?
--------------
These couldn't have come from regulars, it was trolls what did it.
Posted by: Braenyard - some Absent Friends are more equal than others _ at August 17, 2025 11:58 AM (Dl5u9)
Maybe the poster was saying everyone respects him.
Posted by: mindful webworker - what me read?
--------------
These couldn't have come from regulars, it was trolls what did it.
Posted by: Braenyard - some Absent Friends are more equal than others _ at August 17, 2025 11:58 AM (Dl5u9)
Maybe the poster was saying everyone respects him.
Posted by: polynikes at August 17, 2025 12:00 PM (EYmYM)
345
I can’t get interested in fantasy novels with magic , monsters , fairies, etc.
Posted by: polynikes
************
etc. => ...elves, dwarves, hobbits, aliens, dragons, vampires, witches, gargoyles, shapeshifters, zombies, gnomes, sea serpents, werewolves, mummies, or fastidious Belgian detectives.
Posted by: polynikes
************
etc. => ...elves, dwarves, hobbits, aliens, dragons, vampires, witches, gargoyles, shapeshifters, zombies, gnomes, sea serpents, werewolves, mummies, or fastidious Belgian detectives.
Posted by: muldoon at August 17, 2025 12:01 PM (I0N4X)
346
Off-topic: I'm looking at the estimated track for Hurricane Erin, and the way it's avoiding US territory makes me wonder if it's got outstanding warrants.
Posted by: Trimegistus
----
Thought it was going to blow Miami away?
Posted by: Braenyard - some Absent Friends are more equal than others _ at August 17, 2025 11:59 AM (Dl5u9)
Avoiding Alligator Alcatraz
Posted by: Trimegistus
----
Thought it was going to blow Miami away?
Posted by: Braenyard - some Absent Friends are more equal than others _ at August 17, 2025 11:59 AM (Dl5u9)
Avoiding Alligator Alcatraz
Posted by: polynikes at August 17, 2025 12:01 PM (EYmYM)
347
WE HAZ A NOOD
Posted by: Skip at August 17, 2025 12:02 PM (+qU29)
348
For a compelling origins story, read J. F. cooper's unpublished manuscript The First of the Mohicans
Posted by: muldoon at August 17, 2025 11:45 AM (I0N4X)
I loved Anne of Blue Gables.
Posted by: muldoon at August 17, 2025 11:45 AM (I0N4X)
I loved Anne of Blue Gables.
Posted by: Diogenes at August 17, 2025 12:02 PM (2WIwB)
349
CS Lewis' Space Trilogy is a great series. Not his best work but with CSL, his worst work is worlds above all else.
Posted by: SoUgly at August 17, 2025 12:03 PM (yf5/z)
350
320 ... " Sam's wrote funniest scenario I have ever read. Laughed until I cried and kept laughing until my sides hurt."
Ben Had,
Just ordered a copy of Run with the Horsemen. You aren't helping me control my book budget. :-)
Ben Had,
Just ordered a copy of Run with the Horsemen. You aren't helping me control my book budget. :-)
Posted by: JTB at August 17, 2025 12:07 PM (yTvNw)
351
Reading begets writing, period.
Posted by: Cow Demon at August 17, 2025 12:07 PM (vm8sq)
352
Again a fun Reading Thread! Thanks, Weasel!
Posted by: Wolfus Aurelius, Dreaming of Elsewhere at August 17, 2025 12:09 PM (omVj0)
353
Off-topic: I'm looking at the estimated track for Hurricane Erin, and the way it's avoiding US territory makes me wonder if it's got outstanding warrants.
Posted by: Trimegistus at August 17, 2025
***
"Happy and grateful" are the words you want!
Posted by: Trimegistus at August 17, 2025
***
"Happy and grateful" are the words you want!
Posted by: Wolfus Aurelius, Dreaming of Elsewhere at August 17, 2025 12:11 PM (omVj0)
354
Weasel I am surprised Weasel hasn't been putting up manuals for 1912s yet
Posted by: Skip at August 17, 2025 11:58 AM
I love ya, man!
Posted by: Skip at August 17, 2025 11:58 AM
I love ya, man!
Posted by: zombie Gaston Glock at August 17, 2025 12:13 PM (0sNs1)
355
* unzips, pisses into their "holy" well*
Posted by: Sock Monkey * sporting my Andrew Breitbart attitude at August 17, 2025 12:16 PM (tyHPG)
356
Oops, wrong thread. Ignore me and continue with yer discussion.
Posted by: Sock Monkey * sporting my Andrew Breitbart attitude at August 17, 2025 12:20 PM (tyHPG)
357
" but we don't even have an official date of the outbreak do we, have approximations of when it happened,"
The World Military Games, sort of an Olympics of sorts.
Oct. 2019 Wuhan. Those athletes returned to their home countries and suffered a cold for a couple of days. But they were the spreaders.
The World Military Games, sort of an Olympics of sorts.
Oct. 2019 Wuhan. Those athletes returned to their home countries and suffered a cold for a couple of days. But they were the spreaders.
Posted by: no one of any consequence at August 17, 2025 12:24 PM (ZmEVT)
358
There's a similar scene in Reservoir Dogs. Michael Madsen nailed the role of a sadistic lunatic to a tee, though. I heard an interview where we talked about regretting it, because it pretty much ensured he'd be cast as truly reprehensible villains forever.
Posted by: Yudhishthira's Dice at August 17, 2025 11:26 AM (BI5O2)
TURN YOUR KEY, SIR!
Posted by: Yudhishthira's Dice at August 17, 2025 11:26 AM (BI5O2)
TURN YOUR KEY, SIR!
Posted by: Cow Demon at August 17, 2025 12:31 PM (vm8sq)
359
I loved Anne of Blue Gables.
Posted by: Diogenes
I saw a graphic novel in the kid's library: Dan of Green Gables
Posted by: Diogenes
I saw a graphic novel in the kid's library: Dan of Green Gables
Posted by: vmom deport deport deport at August 17, 2025 01:01 PM (7qxhH)
Posted by: Old Time Radio guy at August 17, 2025 01:15 PM (/A6zr)
361
I'm late, dropped my daughter off at TCU last weekend. 17 year old rising junior: home school + community college dual credits.
Posted by: Candidus at August 17, 2025 01:32 PM (zMe7e)
362
Any/everthing by Carl Hiaasen
Posted by: Marybel Smiles at August 17, 2025 02:28 PM (uueuu)
363
Keep her facing it. They may say what they like, but the heaviest seas run with the wind. Facing it -- always facing it -- that's the way to get through. You are a young sailor. Face it. That's enough for any man. Keep a cool head.
Posted by: MacWhirr at August 17, 2025 03:21 PM (uncTf)
364
My early influences were Orwell, Huxley, and Heinlein. All clear and smooth to read. I only write factual and persuasive pieces so clarity of meaning is foremost. I couldn't conceive of a novel or short story.
Don't read much fiction but just finished "Johnny Tremain" - a young adult book about Boston and the American Revolution.
Next project is William Manchester's biography of Douglas MacArthur. He and his father had major roles in the history of the Philippines were I'm living now. So far the monster of a book progresses nicely and keeps the factual material moving.
BTW, I once met the man who made the slide rule obsolete. He was a project manager at HP for the first pocket calculation, the HP-45. When it came out while I was in engineering school it was a revelation and a big productivity improvement for engineers.
Don't read much fiction but just finished "Johnny Tremain" - a young adult book about Boston and the American Revolution.
Next project is William Manchester's biography of Douglas MacArthur. He and his father had major roles in the history of the Philippines were I'm living now. So far the monster of a book progresses nicely and keeps the factual material moving.
BTW, I once met the man who made the slide rule obsolete. He was a project manager at HP for the first pocket calculation, the HP-45. When it came out while I was in engineering school it was a revelation and a big productivity improvement for engineers.
Posted by: Whitehall at August 17, 2025 09:41 PM (PCSMx)
365
"Does reading make you a better writer"
Not sure. I was happy once. Reading Stephen King and Frank Herbert. Learned alot, mostly via osmosis. I was never going to write something as good as Christine or The Stand, but I figured I could craft alternate realities almost as good as Dune. I had so many ideas, so much hope.
And then I read The Once and Future King by T.H. White
I worked at the Texas State Capitol after college for Lt Gov Hobby. Beautiful building. There was a girl, 21 years old, Senate intern, named Franchesca Castaldi. Sweet girl, with the hottest legs I'd ever seen. She flirted with me and we connected on some level. I was ready to ask her out, impatient to have those gorgeous long legs wrapped around me. I knew she would say yes, I made her laugh and she trusted me.
And then these three guys came in, mid 30's, married, wealthy. I grew up in Highland Park, I knew wealth. They were old money. Lobbyists. And they were here to recruit Franchesca, primarily as a Mistress. A Penthouse in Austin, Mercedes, trips to Paris and Rome. I wasn't even playing in the same world. That's what it was like to read TH White
.
Not sure. I was happy once. Reading Stephen King and Frank Herbert. Learned alot, mostly via osmosis. I was never going to write something as good as Christine or The Stand, but I figured I could craft alternate realities almost as good as Dune. I had so many ideas, so much hope.
And then I read The Once and Future King by T.H. White
I worked at the Texas State Capitol after college for Lt Gov Hobby. Beautiful building. There was a girl, 21 years old, Senate intern, named Franchesca Castaldi. Sweet girl, with the hottest legs I'd ever seen. She flirted with me and we connected on some level. I was ready to ask her out, impatient to have those gorgeous long legs wrapped around me. I knew she would say yes, I made her laugh and she trusted me.
And then these three guys came in, mid 30's, married, wealthy. I grew up in Highland Park, I knew wealth. They were old money. Lobbyists. And they were here to recruit Franchesca, primarily as a Mistress. A Penthouse in Austin, Mercedes, trips to Paris and Rome. I wasn't even playing in the same world. That's what it was like to read TH White
.
Posted by: Fenrisulven at August 18, 2025 11:48 PM (Dz6Vv)
366
The time and energy I would have wasted as a failed writer went into Archery instead. I'm pretty good. Ruth Riwe was my coach. I still hold the high scores for blah blah blah no one cares about archery LOL
Posted by: Fenrisulven at August 18, 2025 11:53 PM (Dz6Vv)
367
"Way too long since I read many of the Heinlein juveniles"
I somehow missed Heinlein. I think I fell into Herbert's Dune series instead. Read them like 20 times. My memory is not great so by the the time I got to Chapterhouse, Dune Messiah was fresh again. So I still have a decade or two to spend with Heinlein. AWESOME.
I think I just read that Larry Correia is getting a cricket VIDEO GAME based on his Monster Hunters. I don't think he cares much for me but whatever, that's just incredibly awesome to be that successful. And how cool. He must be on cloud 9. What's left? A movie?
I somehow missed Heinlein. I think I fell into Herbert's Dune series instead. Read them like 20 times. My memory is not great so by the the time I got to Chapterhouse, Dune Messiah was fresh again. So I still have a decade or two to spend with Heinlein. AWESOME.
I think I just read that Larry Correia is getting a cricket VIDEO GAME based on his Monster Hunters. I don't think he cares much for me but whatever, that's just incredibly awesome to be that successful. And how cool. He must be on cloud 9. What's left? A movie?
Posted by: Fenrisulven at August 19, 2025 12:10 AM (Dz6Vv)
368
How come im always post-nood? Like im perpetually late to every discussion. Is there a badge for that?
Posted by: Fenrisulven at August 19, 2025 12:13 AM (Dz6Vv)
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