Biden Deliberately Turned Off Money-Tracing/Payment Verification Systems for Welfare and Medicaid Payments to Fraudsters, and Minnesota Disabled Money Tracing For Welfare Funds Siphoned Out of the Country to Foreign Fraudsters

I had a big whoopsie on the first version of the post-- I see that I just covered what Charlie Brown's Dildo covered. I always forget to check!

So let me just include the stuff I think CBD didn't include.

Does this sound familiar to anyone else? I recall the DNC and Obama deliberately turning off location verification for donations -- thus allowing foreigners to donate millions of dollars to them, illegally but untraceably -- and I'm also reminded of the following new revelation, that Biden deliberately turned off all money-tracing on the billions he pumped out to his Democrat fraudster voters and illegal alien pirates.

Eric Daugherty
@EricLDaugh
HOLY CRAP. Health Sec. RFK Jr. revealed that the Biden White House ORDERED HHS to ignore fraud -- and just focus on enrolling as many people on welfare as possible, legal or illegal
"One of the things that I found out from people in my agency was they were ordered by the Biden White House not to do program integrity -- in other words, not to enforce against fraud."
"And they said, they were told we want to focus on only enrollment and getting more and more people into the system!"
This is a jaw-dropping betrayal of America. Root out all the fraud!

And the entire state of Minnesota deliberately disabled its ability to check for welfare/Medicaid fraud:

Wall Street Apes
@WallStreetApes
HOLY CR*P 🚨 Minnesota Rep Krista Knudsen says they just found out the state TURNED OFF tracking for money being sent overseas
They turned it on for 2 weeks. Saw all the money leaving, and Democrats quickly SHUT OFF TRACKING to allow it to keep happening
READ THAT AGAIN
"Today in the fraud committee, the Department of Human Services testified that they haven't been tracking the IP addresses of money that's being literally flown out of our state and where it's going.
They did turn on that reporting for 2 weeks, and they found that yes, a lot of those IP addresses were tied to overseas computers, and then they quickly shut it off after just 2 weeks of seeing where this money is actually going"
"Every time we turn around, it's just more and more fraud scandals in our state"

🚨 HOLY CRAP. Health Sec. RFK Jr. revealed that the Biden White House ORDERED HHS to ignore fraud — and just focus on enrolling as many people on welfare as possible, legal or illegal

"One of the things that I found out from people in my agency was they were ordered by the Biden… pic.twitter.com/G4K5sGRXEt
— Eric Daugherty (@EricLDaugh) March 25, 2026

HOLY CR*P 🚨 Minnesota Rep Krista Knudsen says they just found out the state TURNED OFF tracking for money being sent overseas

They turned it on for 2 weeks. Saw all the money leaving, and Democrats quickly SHUT OFF TRACKING to allow it to keep happening

READ THAT AGAIN

“Today… pic.twitter.com/1V4zG7qa2Y
— Wall Street Apes (@WallStreetApes) March 26, 2026

Hello everyone!

Anyone else doing the Hobbit challenge? I got through three chapters. It took me a while to finish the Agatha Christie Miss Marple story, or I would have gotten further.

Posted by: Disinformation Expert Ace at 12:35 PM

Comments

(Jump to bottom of comments)

1 First???

Posted by: Scuba_Dude at March 26, 2026 12:34 PM (4q/mG)

2 Huh.

Posted by: toby928(c) at March 26, 2026 12:34 PM (4NO2D)

3 wait, wut?? are we losing threads again??

Posted by: runner at March 26, 2026 12:35 PM (GD0B3)

4 Yes!!!! Time to nood

Posted by: Scuba_Dude at March 26, 2026 12:35 PM (4q/mG)

5 I had a big whoopsie on the first version of the post-- I see that I just covered what Buck covered. I always forget to check!

=====

Ace reads the blog?

Posted by: TheJamesMadison, discovering British horror with Hammer Films at March 26, 2026 12:35 PM (gYVzu)

6 FIRST!!!!!

Posted by: Sponge - F*ck Cancer at March 26, 2026 12:35 PM (p/Ri7)

7 I was not expecting this.

Posted by: The Spanish Inquisition at March 26, 2026 12:35 PM (4NO2D)

8 danger! danger!

Posted by: runner at March 26, 2026 12:35 PM (GD0B3)

9 The more that comes to the light, the more I'm thinking we need to get a lot of rope.

Posted by: NR Pax at March 26, 2026 12:35 PM (svLOV)

10 Working now?

Posted by: Turn 2 at March 26, 2026 12:35 PM (CyFyf)

11 howdy

Posted by: doug at March 26, 2026 12:35 PM (Hy+R4)

12 Just weird!

Posted by: AZ deplorable moron at March 26, 2026 12:35 PM (RDqo2)

13 Anyone else doing the Hobbit challenge? I got through three chapters. It took me a while to finish the Agatha Christie Miss Marple story, or I would have gotten further.

======

I read 6 cantos of the Inferno.

Italian poetry about Hell is practically the same thing as The Hobbit, right?

Both Dante and Tolkien were Catholic, so the same thing.

Posted by: TheJamesMadison, discovering British horror with Hammer Films at March 26, 2026 12:35 PM (gYVzu)

14 That was CBD, not Buck, ace.

Did you see where the "teens" in downtown Chicago got really excited for Midnight Basketball last night?

Posted by: one hour sober at March 26, 2026 12:35 PM (Y1sOo)

15 As we roll northward on I65, we are once again reminded that there is no concentration of stupidity as dense as an indiana driver and an interstate passing lane.

Posted by: 2009Refugee at March 26, 2026 12:36 PM (pJCk/)

16 Democrats are buying favor with the world so they'll have a seat at the table in the New World Order.

They won't.

Posted by: Sponge - F*ck Cancer at March 26, 2026 12:36 PM (p/Ri7)

17 Yikes! That is one scary picture of that chick.

Posted by: Bulg at March 26, 2026 12:36 PM (77rzZ)

18 Wait - CBD is Buck?

Posted by: Frasier Crane at March 26, 2026 12:36 PM (bNf8H)

19 Ace reads the blog?
Posted by: TheJamesMadison, discovering British horror with Hammer Films at March 26, 2026 12:35 PM (gYVzu)

Well, someone needs to.

Posted by: Aetius451AD at March 26, 2026 12:36 PM (bss/y)

20
Ace reads the blog?
Posted by: TheJamesMadison

Yeah!
It's almost like content matters!

Posted by: AZ deplorable moron at March 26, 2026 12:36 PM (RDqo2)

21 19 Ace reads the blog?
Posted by: TheJamesMadison, discovering British horror with Hammer Films at March 26, 2026 12:35 PM (gYVzu)

Well, someone needs to.

Posted by: Aetius451AD at March 26, 2026 12:36 PM (bss/y)

=======

"False."
-Zombie Breitbart

Posted by: TheJamesMadison, discovering British horror with Hammer Films at March 26, 2026 12:37 PM (gYVzu)

22 >>Wait - CBD is Buck?
Posted by: Frasier Crane at March 26, 2026 12:36 PM (bNf8H)
__
Never mind. Fixed.

Posted by: Frasier Crane at March 26, 2026 12:37 PM (bNf8H)

23 "False."
-Zombie Breitbart
Posted by: TheJamesMadison, discovering British horror with Hammer Films at March 26, 2026 12:37 PM (gYVzu)

'Should'?

Posted by: Aetius451AD at March 26, 2026 12:37 PM (bss/y)

24 Is there a Buck post we missed?

Posted by: Duncanthrax at March 26, 2026 12:37 PM (0sNs1)

25 I challenge every hobbit I see.

Posted by: Bertram Cabot, Jr. at March 26, 2026 12:38 PM (Cqx++)

26 I hope Scott Bessent had the Treasury save all the receipts.

Posted by: Kindltot at March 26, 2026 12:38 PM (rbvCR)

27 Anyone else doing the Hobbit challenge?
Posted by: Disinformation Expert Ace

Got down my copy yesterday.

Posted by: AZ deplorable moron at March 26, 2026 12:38 PM (RDqo2)

28 24 Is there a Buck post we missed?
Posted by: Duncanthrax at March 26, 2026 12:37 PM (0sNs1)

All your kind look the same to me.

Posted by: Ewok at March 26, 2026 12:39 PM (bss/y)

29 It took me a while to finish the Agatha Christie Miss Marple story, or I would have gotten further.

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

A friend gave me his copy of Agatha Christie's autobiography like a decade ago and said it was a really great read -- and it still sits on my bookshelf unread (with innumerable other books).

Since I'm finally retiring next week, I have no excuse now not to read them.

Posted by: ShainS at March 26, 2026 12:39 PM (SgYCn)

30 28 All your kind look the same to me.

Posted by: Ewok at March 26, 2026 12:39 PM (bss/y)

=======

Left hand picture: Karen Gillen

Right hand picture: Late stage Helen Thomas

Posted by: TheJamesMadison, discovering British horror with Hammer Films at March 26, 2026 12:39 PM (gYVzu)

31 What do you mean you people?

Posted by: toby928(c) at March 26, 2026 12:40 PM (4NO2D)

32 Is this post a keeper, or am I wasting my pixels commenting?

Posted by: Pixelated at March 26, 2026 12:40 PM (oftw2)

33 They got Capone for tax evasion. So that and claw back the dough. Release the CPA's.

Posted by: Hokey Pokey at March 26, 2026 12:40 PM (YlWIZ)

34
Anyone else doing the Hobbit challenge? I got through three chapters.

Just wait until the Battle of the Five Baskerville Hounds

Posted by: IllTemperedCur at March 26, 2026 12:40 PM (y9nCu)

35 Holy Crap, it's not only the MSM that copy paste.
Holy Crap!

Posted by: Braenyard - some Absent Friends are more equal than others _ at March 26, 2026 12:40 PM (jAisO)

36 >>>18 Wait - CBD is Buck?

I fixed it. Look, it was a scramble to get something up again.

I think I'll post my original thread later today or tomorrow. I know it's a repeat but whatevs.

I just don't want a repeat right after the first post about the story.

Posted by: ace at March 26, 2026 12:41 PM (1wjle)

37 >>>32 Is this post a keeper, or am I wasting my pixels commenting?

I'll repost it a later as an "In Case You Missed It."

Posted by: ace at March 26, 2026 12:41 PM (1wjle)

38 Does this sound familiar to anyone else? I recall the DNC and Obama deliberately turning off location verification for donations -- thus allowing foreigners to donate millions of dollars to them, illegally but untraceably ...

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

I'm pretty sure all that goes back to at least the '90s with Bubba Clinton (and subsequently Hillary) & Algore -- and their ChiComm Paymasters.

Posted by: ShainS at March 26, 2026 12:41 PM (SgYCn)

39 I used to think fraud and theft was maybe 15% of the entire GNP.

Then I saw a lot more fraud and theft than I expected. So I upped it to 25%. Then more fraud. 35%. Still more fraud. More theft.

I currently think fraud and theft is 50% of GNP. Not joking.

Posted by: Elric The Blade at March 26, 2026 12:42 PM (iFTx/)

40 31 What do you mean you people?
Posted by: toby928(c) at March 26, 2026 12:40 PM (4NO2D)

What do YOU mean you people?

Posted by: Ewok at March 26, 2026 12:42 PM (bss/y)

41 No Controlling Legal Authority

Posted by: toby928(c) at March 26, 2026 12:42 PM (4NO2D)

42 So, who's surprised we're nearly $40 Trillion Dollars in debt?

Beuller?

Posted by: man at March 26, 2026 12:42 PM (XuXeR)

43 No time for anything except the decades-long effort to get through Decline of the West.

Posted by: Kam Fong as Chin Ho at March 26, 2026 12:43 PM (2ap+5)

44 Ace, how's the new rocking chair working out?

Posted by: Bulg at March 26, 2026 12:43 PM (77rzZ)

45 I fixed it. Look, it was a scramble to get something up again.

The Paolo, he was minding his own business, when suddenly Mrs. French was at the door. It was, as you say, a scramble to get something up after that.

Posted by: The Paolo at March 26, 2026 12:44 PM (2ocoG)

46 Meanwhile my adult autistic son can get enrolled into a day program a couple a days a week because there ain't enough money.

Posted by: MAGA_Ken at March 26, 2026 12:44 PM (Vh9CX)

47 >>What do YOU mean you people?

What do you mean YOU PEOPLE?

Posted by: EatChootaDroid at March 26, 2026 12:44 PM (NcvvS)

48 >>>44 Ace, how's the new rocking chair working out?

good, thanks for asking. I've been using it as I've been putting together and cleaning my Weber grill, which I haven't used for ten years due to stupid HOA regulations. Now I can use it again.

Posted by: ace at March 26, 2026 12:44 PM (1wjle)

49
How is shutting off tracking of government money transfers even legal? How is it even an option?

Posted by: Semi-Literate Thug at March 26, 2026 12:45 PM (lsrsS)

50 48 >>>44 Ace, how's the new rocking chair working out?

good, thanks for asking. I've been using it as I've been putting together and cleaning my Weber grill, which I haven't used for ten years due to stupid HOA regulations. Now I can use it again.

Posted by: ace at March 26, 2026 12:44 PM (1wjle)

=====

Just remember, Serenity Now.

Posted by: TheJamesMadison, discovering British horror with Hammer Films at March 26, 2026 12:45 PM (gYVzu)

51 I'm so old, I remember when Bill Clinton was getting Chinese money.

Posted by: huerfano at March 26, 2026 12:45 PM (98kQX)

52 Anyone else doing the Hobbit challenge? I got through three chapters. It took me a while to finish the Agatha Christie Miss Marple story, or I would have gotten further.

Nah, though I have never read all the books back to back.
Maybe I should give it a whirl.

I do something similar on Memorial Day, I watch every episode of Band of Brothers and also The Pacific.

And maybe starting this year on July 20th watch every episode of From The Earth to the Moon.

Posted by: Scuba_Dude at March 26, 2026 12:46 PM (Oq/TM)

53 Just wait until the Battle of the Five Baskerville Hounds"

Is that the one with Deadpool or Hermione?

Posted by: man at March 26, 2026 12:46 PM (XuXeR)

54 Man, I wish Robert Kennedy could get a Stephen Hawking-type voice device.... he has so much information to give, yet the delivery (through no fault of his own, of course) just kind of diminishes his message...

Am I being a bigot?

Posted by: SSBN 656 (G) at March 26, 2026 12:46 PM (dmDsy)

55
Is anything going to happen?

Posted by: Blonde Morticia at March 26, 2026 12:46 PM (XJ22o)

56 I seem to recall hearing about Democrat funding horseshit during the *biden reign... so this sort of sounds familiar. Probably still in effect. They all do it.

And steal from the public.

Posted by: Martini Farmer at March 26, 2026 12:46 PM (AkEZC)

57 So now you fully understand why Walz was intended to be VP after they got rid of Trump.

Posted by: ... at March 26, 2026 12:46 PM (HyaXg)

58 No worries, Ace. We're here for you.

Any update(s) on l'affaire des rocking-chairs du porche?

Posted by: Duncanthrax at March 26, 2026 12:47 PM (0sNs1)

59 Not sure what the Hobbit is, but I've sat through it twice - once with my girls and once with my boys.

It's not a favorite.

Right now, the boys are enjoying Waiting for Godot (b/c we're doing plays this year, and they loved American Buffalo, so I stepped back and through this in b/c it inspired American Buffalo).

I probably have the only kids who liked American Buffalo better than Glengarry Glen Ross. But if you read the originals of both, it is better b/c Alec Baldwin didn't exist in the original GGR, and his speech is so necessary.

Posted by: Nova Local at March 26, 2026 12:47 PM (tOcjL)

60 I need to get me one of the IP's that receive shit tons of money. Does TEMU sell them?

Posted by: pudinhead at March 26, 2026 12:47 PM (n17eQ)

61 Anyone else doing the Hobbit challenge? I got through three chapters.

Posted by: Disinformation Expert Ace

I read the LOTR and Hobbit books shortly before watching their respective movies as they were originally released in theaters. I may read the LOTR trilogy again at some point, but I may have PTSD from how awful the Hobbit movies were in comparison.

I did pick up two books this past weekend:'The Truth' by Terry Pratchett, what looks to be the Discworld's take on the media, and 'Project Hail Mary' by Andy Weir. I've heard good things about the adapted movie and would like to read it before I see it.

Posted by: Stu Podaso at March 26, 2026 12:47 PM (AXdFA)

62 Walz made NO SENSE as a pick. None.

Until you find out what role he played in Democrat malfeasance and putrescence.

Posted by: ... at March 26, 2026 12:47 PM (HyaXg)

63 >>>Just remember, Serenity Now.

I try. At some point I might try blogging out there, rocking on my chair.

It's a good chair, I think. Ninety buck on Amazon.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0DCJRNDMT?

ref=ppx_yo2ov_dt_b_fed_asin_title

I see now that the chair advertises it can support 380 pounds, so it's built for a more generous frame. That's why it's so big.

Posted by: ace at March 26, 2026 12:47 PM (1wjle)

64
How is shutting off tracking of government money transfers even legal? How is it even an option?
Posted by: Semi-Literate Thug

===============

That's the question, how is it even an option? Who designed this software?

Posted by: Blonde Morticia at March 26, 2026 12:47 PM (XJ22o)

65 Is this post a keeper, or am I wasting my pixels commenting?
Posted by: Pixelated
+++
I made one of my best posts ever at the top. But now it's lost like tears in rain.

Posted by: Florida Peasant at March 26, 2026 12:47 PM (Lo97M)

66 That's right bitches! I did a lot of illegal things. So what?

No one is going to do nothing jack! Most Americans are too fat and stupid to care, let alone spell "CAT" if I spotted them the C and the A. Burisma called and they want Hunter to have his old job back! LOL

Asufutimaehaehtfutbw! FTW!

Posted by: Joe Biden, Old Sex Pest at March 26, 2026 12:48 PM (ej+CS)

67 Meanwhile my adult autistic son can get enrolled into a day program a couple a days a week because there ain't enough money"

Yeah. We've got to go thru all of our assets, then get a pittance.

Gotta keep those Fairfax/Loudoun real estate values up!

Posted by: man at March 26, 2026 12:48 PM (XuXeR)

68 through = threw...damn typing fingers

Posted by: Nova Local at March 26, 2026 12:48 PM (tOcjL)

69 my Weber grill, which I haven't used for ten years due to stupid HOA regulations. Now I can use it again.
Posted by: ace

Wow, who runs your HOA, Kim Jung-un?

Posted by: Bulg at March 26, 2026 12:48 PM (77rzZ)

70 Afternoon Ace
How much were the Dem pols and Biden bureaucrats paid for turning them things off? Follow the money

Posted by: Smell the Glove at March 26, 2026 12:48 PM (mHVWR)

71 Is anything going to happen?
Posted by: Blonde Morticia at March 26, 2026 12:46 PM

We won't know until either Brian "Sex Machine" Tater, or one of the That Guy bros show up.

Posted by: Duncanthrax at March 26, 2026 12:48 PM (0sNs1)

72 57 So now you fully understand why Walz was intended to be VP after they got rid of Trump.
Posted by: ... at March 26, 2026 12:46 PM (HyaXg)

He was bringing home the bacon. Payoff for the payoff.

Posted by: Aetius451AD at March 26, 2026 12:48 PM (bss/y)

73 Flash Email Traffic

Vortex SPARC AR 2 MOA Red Dot Sight - SPC-AR2

~~$249.99~~ $74.99

https://tinyurl.com/3dfkms4j

I don't know if these are good or not but that's a helluva discount.

Posted by: toby928(c) at March 26, 2026 12:48 PM (4NO2D)

74 50 48 >>>44 Ace, how's the new rocking chair working out?

good, thanks for asking. I've been using it as I've been putting together and cleaning my Weber grill, which I haven't used for ten years due to stupid HOA regulations. Now I can use it again.

Posted by: ace at March 26, 2026 12:44 PM (1wjle)

Wait a sec, so you're rocking in a chair and assembling a grill at the same time? Fuck, that's next level, man, that's way beyond any shelving project!!!

Posted by: SSBN 656 (G) at March 26, 2026 12:48 PM (dmDsy)

75 Can we just arrest entire state givernments?

Posted by: steevy at March 26, 2026 12:48 PM (YwEeS)

76 53 Just wait until the Battle of the Five Baskerville Hounds"

Is that the one with Deadpool or Hermione?
Posted by: man at March 26, 2026 12:46 PM

Ricochet Rabbit

Posted by: Scuba_Dude at March 26, 2026 12:48 PM (Oq/TM)

77 I currently think fraud and theft is 50% of GNP. Not joking.

I hesitate to say this, but it’s starting to look like cutting out the fraud throughout the system would make welfare actually affordable.

Last year, spending was $7.01 trillion and income was $5.3 trillion. If fraud is only 25% of spending, we don’t have a spending problem. We have a fraud problem. And that’s not even taking into account how much of that $5.3 trillion is interest payments on the fraud of previous years.

Posted by: Stephen Price Blair at March 26, 2026 12:48 PM (EXyHK)

78 Anyone else doing the Hobbit challenge?
Posted by: Disinformation Expert Ace

I am. I'm on chapter 9.

Posted by: Tuna at March 26, 2026 12:48 PM (lJ0H4)

79 >>nyone else doing the Hobbit challenge?

Nope. Bad Timing.
I did finish Book 1 of The Faithful and the Fallen series by J. Gwynne.

Got about 4 Chapters into Book 2 before I fell asleep.

Posted by: garrett at March 26, 2026 12:49 PM (W7FsI)

80 63 I see now that the chair advertises it can support 380 pounds, so it's built for a more generous frame. That's why it's so big.

Posted by: ace at March 26, 2026 12:47 PM (1wjle)

========

That 300 pounds of muscle you carry should feel safe, I suppose.

Posted by: TheJamesMadison, discovering British horror with Hammer Films at March 26, 2026 12:49 PM (gYVzu)

81 >>> I may read the LOTR trilogy again at some point, but I may have PTSD from how awful the Hobbit movies were in comparison.

As I wrote in the now-deleted post (which I'll post again tomorrow), if anyone was put off by the Hobbit movies, don't even worry about it mate, the movies were padded ridiculously to give them the same weight and slower pace of LOTR. The book itself is short and very fast.

Posted by: ace at March 26, 2026 12:49 PM (1wjle)

82 As a troll, the content is irrelevant to my comment.

More at 11.

Posted by: Just The Tip at March 26, 2026 12:49 PM (RIvkX)

83 >>>I am. I'm on chapter 9.

Nice. What is that, Beorn? Or maybe the wood elves?

Posted by: ace at March 26, 2026 12:49 PM (1wjle)

84 How is shutting off tracking of government money transfers even legal? How is it even an option?"

Easy.

/judge Kammanhawannalaya

Posted by: man at March 26, 2026 12:50 PM (XuXeR)

85 Man, I wish Robert Kennedy could get a Stephen Hawking-type voice device.... he has so much information to give, yet the delivery (through no fault of his own, of course) just kind of diminishes his message...

Am I being a bigot?
Posted by: SSBN 656

No, I can't stand listening to him, either.

Posted by: Bulg at March 26, 2026 12:50 PM (77rzZ)

86 The Paolo, he was minding his own business, when suddenly Mrs. French was at the door. It was, as you say, a scramble to get something up after that.
Posted by: The Paolo

I'm sure your lunch obliged.

Posted by: Stu Podaso at March 26, 2026 12:50 PM (AXdFA)

87 I may have PTSD from how awful the Hobbit movies were in comparison.

If you can get over the weird accents and the generally poor cutting, the Rankin-Bass cartoon is very enjoyable. The art is strongly reminiscent of Tolkien’s own.

Posted by: Stephen Price Blair at March 26, 2026 12:50 PM (EXyHK)

88 The Hobbit was the best of the lot, in my opinion. LOTR, while not as bad as Dune, was not a fun read.

Posted by: Kam Fong as Chin Ho at March 26, 2026 12:50 PM (2ap+5)

89 Turns out 10% for 'the Big Guy' was only a portion of the grift.....

Posted by: Sponge - F*ck Cancer at March 26, 2026 12:50 PM (p/Ri7)

90 Democrats are a clear and present danger to the Republic.

Posted by: Anna Puma at March 26, 2026 12:50 PM (OWEbr)

91 81 As I wrote in the now-deleted post (which I'll post again tomorrow), if anyone was put off by the Hobbit movies, don't even worry about it mate, the movies were padded ridiculously to give them the same weight and slower pace of LOTR. The book itself is short and very fast.

Posted by: ace at March 26, 2026 12:49 PM (1wjle)

======

*Freedom of Speech meme*

The Hobbit movies are more like histories of Middle Earth roughly 60 years before the events of The Lord of the Rings, and I enjoy them on that level.

Posted by: TheJamesMadison, discovering British horror with Hammer Films at March 26, 2026 12:50 PM (gYVzu)

92 OMG! I am actually laughing through the disgust. Govt workers pulling the ol' bury the head in the sand when they see a problem instead of fixing it.

Posted by: Guy Mohawk at March 26, 2026 12:51 PM (n5tGW)

93 >>if anyone was put off by the Hobbit movies

Warning: There's no Rocket Powered Rabbit Sleds in the book.

Posted by: garrett at March 26, 2026 12:51 PM (W7FsI)

94 The Democrat-Communist Party has always been a Criminal Syndicate -- with branches like the Clinton, Gore, Kerry, Obama, Biden, Feinstein, Pelosi, Newscum, et. al. Crime Families.

Posted by: ShainS at March 26, 2026 12:51 PM (SgYCn)

95 Can we just arrest entire state givernments?
Posted by: steevy at March 26, 2026 12:48 PM (YwEeS)
====
Just the electeds and top appointeds. Three hundred people max to restore our freedom.

Posted by: San Franpsycho at March 26, 2026 12:51 PM (RIvkX)

96 I also just went crazy buying three collections of Robert E. Howard's stories, *and not the stories you would expect.* I got his El Borak desert warrior collection, his western tales collection, and one I think is just his horror stories. It says it has "Skull-Face" in it, which I've always heard of as a major story but I've never read.

I guess those will be waiting a while.

Posted by: ace at March 26, 2026 12:51 PM (1wjle)

97 sorry still in (book three) of my re-reading of the Hyperion Cantos by Dan Simmons. Each book is like 800 pages lol. And complex.

but topical right now, and really really good stuff!

Posted by: BlackOrchid(j+aD2) at March 26, 2026 12:51 PM (j+aD2)

98 So, Ewoks vs. Hobbits. Who wins?

Posted by: Bulg at March 26, 2026 12:51 PM (77rzZ)

99 ace at March 26, 2026 12:47 PM (1wjle)

That's a big rocking chair, Ace.

Posted by: dantesed at March 26, 2026 12:52 PM (Oy/m2)

100 OMG! I am actually laughing through the disgust. Govt workers pulling the ol' bury the head in the sand when they see a problem instead of fixing it.
Posted by: Guy Mohawk at March 26, 2026 12:51 PM (n5tGW)
====

Plausible deniability means no accountability.

Posted by: San Franpsycho at March 26, 2026 12:52 PM (RIvkX)

101 padded ridiculously to give them the same weight and slower pace of LOTR.

This, too, is the story of Prometheus.

Posted by: Duncanthrax at March 26, 2026 12:52 PM (0sNs1)

102 >>>The Hobbit movies are more like histories of Middle Earth roughly 60 years before the events of The Lord of the Rings, and I enjoy them on that level.

I have learned to appreciate them for what they are but they are just not as much fun or as exciting as the book. And it's a rare case where there's a much smaller time commitment for the book than for the movie(s).

The Hobbit is legit one of my favorite books.

Posted by: ace at March 26, 2026 12:52 PM (1wjle)

103 Stephen Colbert writing Lord of the Rings is like Gollum writing for Vogue.

Posted by: Anna Puma at March 26, 2026 12:52 PM (OWEbr)

104 Nice. What is that, Beorn? Or maybe the wood elves?
Posted by: ace at March 26

Thorin captured by the wood elves and Bilbo and co. Just got away from the spiders.

Posted by: Tuna at March 26, 2026 12:52 PM (lJ0H4)

105 I wonder when the inflection point for stealing everything started? Probably when the debt really started to take off.

I thought I read somewhere that as bureaucracies die, stealing eveything was one of the last steps.

From Grok...

No, there is no well-known historical law or famous quote that says “as bureaucracies die, stealing everything is one of the last steps.”

However, the underlying pattern you’re thinking of is real and well-documented in political science, history, and economics. When complex bureaucratic systems (empires, states, large organizations) enter terminal decline, elite corruption, asset-stripping, and self-enrichment often become prominent in the final phases. It’s not always literally “the last step,” but it is a common late-stage symptom.

Why This Pattern Appears

As institutions weaken, the normal checks (accountability, oversight, shared long-term incentives) erode. The people inside the bureaucracy realize the system is collapsing and begin treating public or institutional resources as personal loot before the doors close. This is sometimes called a “bank-run on the state” — everyone grabs what they can while they still can

Posted by: Stateless - Day 7 of 14 or so - extreme dog care at March 26, 2026 12:52 PM (Sco7b)

106 Anyone else doing the Hobbit challenge?
Posted by: Disinformation Expert Ace

Yes. I had second breakfast, elevensies and lunch.

Posted by: Josephistan at March 26, 2026 12:52 PM (y9ksN)

107 88 The Hobbit was the best of the lot, in my opinion. LOTR, while not as bad as Dune, was not a fun read.
Posted by: Kam Fong as Chin Ho at March 26, 2026 12:50 PM (2ap+5)

My thoughts exactly - and yes, I've made it through the LOTR books twice, too.

I much preferred the Lewis books if I want fantasy...short, sweet, to the point...

It was WAY easier to sit through The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe twice vs LOTR...

Posted by: Nova Local at March 26, 2026 12:53 PM (tOcjL)

108 I don't know if these are good or not"

They are. I think they're equal to the Sig Romeo...

Posted by: man at March 26, 2026 12:53 PM (XuXeR)

109 103 Stephen Colbert writing Lord of the Rings is like Gollum writing for Vogue.

Posted by: Anna Puma at March 26, 2026 12:52 PM (OWEbr)

======

Colbert has long been a huge Tolkien nerd.

Honestly, I trust him more than I trust Andy Serkis who is all around a terrible filmmaker.

Posted by: TheJamesMadison, discovering British horror with Hammer Films at March 26, 2026 12:53 PM (gYVzu)

110 I'm one of those people that is proud I don't read. Kind of like the ones who say they grew up without a TV or whatever, and no one gives a fuck?

Well I grew up without reading. Actually I *didnt* grow up without reading. Or should that be I didn't grow up WITH reading.

I don't know. Maybe I should have read more. Or grown up.

Posted by: ... at March 26, 2026 12:53 PM (HyaXg)

111 Are the gits demanding moar Hobbit shit?

Posted by: pudinhead at March 26, 2026 12:53 PM (n17eQ)

112 IIRC, there was a small town in Upstate NY that had a Paul Bunyan style Rocking Chair.

Somewhere I have a picture of a yonug me sitting in it.
It's like 20' tall.

Posted by: garrett at March 26, 2026 12:54 PM (W7FsI)

113 Turns out 10% for 'the Big Guy' was only a portion of the grift.....
Posted by: Sponge - F*ck Cancer at March 26, 2026 12:50 PM

Everyone up and down the line was paying tribute to someone. There's a lot of friction in organized crime.

Posted by: toby928(c) at March 26, 2026 12:54 PM (4NO2D)

114 No rocker is complete without a headrest like Amos McCoy had on The Real McCoys. It said....

Posted by: ...Rest Thy Head at March 26, 2026 12:54 PM (oftw2)

115 Being a Tolkien nerd does not equate to being a good writer.

Posted by: Anna Puma at March 26, 2026 12:55 PM (OWEbr)

116 Songs From The Big Rocking Chair - AceofSpades (1983)

Posted by: garrett at March 26, 2026 12:55 PM (W7FsI)

117 The Hobbit movies"

Ever try the "Tolkien Edit"?

Not bad...

Posted by: man at March 26, 2026 12:55 PM (XuXeR)

118 I really dislike fantasy. The closest I've ever come to reading fantasy was Watership Down in Middle School.

I read Frankenstein last fall, but that's sci-fi. Actually takes place in our world rather than a completely made-up one.

Posted by: Bulg at March 26, 2026 12:55 PM (77rzZ)

119 110 I'm one of those people that is proud I don't read. Kind of like the ones who say they grew up without a TV or whatever, and no one gives a fuck?

Well I grew up without reading. Actually I *didnt* grow up without reading. Or should that be I didn't grow up WITH reading.

I don't know. Maybe I should have read more. Or grown up.
Posted by: ... at March 26, 2026 12:53 PM (HyaXg)

Most classics I didn't read til adulthood. You can always pick up the habit at any point.

Like this was my 1st time with Mamet and Beckett. And I have to say - Marlowe needs WAY more credit for Dr Faustus than he gets. It rivals anything Shakespeare did, and has just as much effect on later artistic and written works...

Posted by: Nova Local at March 26, 2026 12:55 PM (tOcjL)

120 115 Being a Tolkien nerd does not equate to being a good writer.

Posted by: Anna Puma at March 26, 2026 12:55 PM (OWEbr)

======

He's cowriting with his son, who is a screenwriter, and Peter Jackson is producing.

They're not going to take the first unfocused thoughts from Stephen's word processor and film it.

Posted by: TheJamesMadison, discovering British horror with Hammer Films at March 26, 2026 12:56 PM (gYVzu)

121 103 Stephen Colbert writing Lord of the Rings is like Gollum writing for Vogue.

Posted by: Anna Puma at March 26, 2026 12:52 PM (OWEbr

If anyone missed it, Colbert was also a computer voice on Starfleet Academy!!

Posted by: Stateless - Day 7 of 14 or so - extreme dog care at March 26, 2026 12:56 PM (Sco7b)

122 I'm a big fan of Lord of the Rings. Big fan. Read it 20 times! Me, Mary.

Posted by: Mary Cloggenstein from the Ladies' Auxiliary in Brattleboro, VT at March 26, 2026 12:56 PM (RIvkX)

123 Andy Serkis who is all around a terrible filmmaker."

And he beats fish!

Posted by: man at March 26, 2026 12:56 PM (XuXeR)

124 I remember when every couch and chair had a head doily because lots of men used the pomade.

Posted by: toby928(c) at March 26, 2026 12:56 PM (4NO2D)

125 118 I really dislike fantasy. The closest I've ever come to reading fantasy was Watership Down in Middle School.

I read Frankenstein last fall, but that's sci-fi. Actually takes place in our world rather than a completely made-up one.
---------------
Where does Big Fish fit in? I really liked that.

Posted by: pudinhead at March 26, 2026 12:56 PM (n17eQ)

126 I suggest you check out the MemeCopium (youtube) 'Rangs of Power' recap series.

It's well worth the time wasted.

Posted by: garrett at March 26, 2026 12:56 PM (W7FsI)

127 What is best in life?

Dwarven women with finely groomed beards.

Posted by: Gimli at March 26, 2026 12:57 PM (0sNs1)

128 Man, I wish Robert Kennedy could get a Stephen Hawking-type voice device.... he has so much information to give, yet the delivery (through no fault of his own, of course) just kind of diminishes his message...

Am I being a bigot?

Posted by: SSBN 656

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

"Guilty of throat privilege."

/obligatory Linda Lovelace and Mark Felt (a Deep Stater before it was cool)

Posted by: ShainS at March 26, 2026 12:57 PM (SgYCn)

129 I've read LOTR 3 times. Even did an independent study project paper on it at a college ace knows.

I'm not sure I can bring myself to read it again.

Posted by: JackStraw at March 26, 2026 12:57 PM (viF8m)

130 Military Tribunals is the only fix to this tyranny.

Followed by public hangings.

This is beyond fraud. It is treason.

If this is cause for Civil War, bring it on now. It will be the only reckoning and rectification for the diabolical communism that has taken hold of our country.

Posted by: Minuteman at March 26, 2026 12:57 PM (4sOFt)

131 I hate when AI gets all

=======
Akshually you don't know that shit you know.

Why it matters
=======

FUCK YOU

Posted by: ... at March 26, 2026 12:57 PM (HyaXg)

132 my Weber grill, which I haven't used for ten years due to stupid HOA regulations. Now I can use it again.
Posted by: ace

I had an HOA that banned the use of charcoal grills (we could use propane ones) because retards were dumping hot coals in the communal dumpsters. The HOA was taking pictures of resident's patios and balconies that had a grill, so I found an empty propane bottle and placed it underneath mine.

Posted by: Stu Podaso at March 26, 2026 12:57 PM (AXdFA)

133 I remember when every couch and chair had a head doily because lots of men used the pomade.
Posted by: toby928(c)

Fop or Dapper Dan?

Posted by: Bulg at March 26, 2026 12:57 PM (77rzZ)

134 Andy Serkis who is all around a terrible filmmaker."

And he beats fish!
Posted by: man at March 26, 2026 12:56 PM

The love that dare not speak its name.

Posted by: toby928(c) at March 26, 2026 12:57 PM (4NO2D)

135 Actually takes place in our world rather than a completely made-up one."

So it's not ab normal?

Posted by: man at March 26, 2026 12:57 PM (XuXeR)

136 >>> The Hobbit was the best of the lot, in my opinion. LOTR, while not as bad as Dune, was not a fun read.

I think LOTR is very rewarding but things that are very fulfilling are sometimes hard to get through. But the Hobbit is a breeze to get through.

Posted by: ace at March 26, 2026 12:57 PM (1wjle)

137 "Guilty of throat privilege."
-------

Don't knock it til you've tried it

Posted by: Kamala at March 26, 2026 12:57 PM (HyaXg)

138 Can we start collecting money to pay back taxpayers for the fraud? E.g., confiscate Walz's paychecks until he pays off the $9,000,000,000 in fraud he enabled?

Posted by: Dave at March 26, 2026 12:57 PM (sbsMc)

139 Oregon has twice the share of population signed up for food stamps that Idaho does, and it seems evident that Oregon is ignoring food stamp fraud as a matter of policy.

Posted by: The ARC of History! at March 26, 2026 12:58 PM (n1OCj)

140 I've read LOTR once while in High School. That was enough.

Posted by: dantesed at March 26, 2026 12:58 PM (Oy/m2)

141 I too appreciate the fine writing and literature of Lord of the Rings. It holds my interest as much as trolling AoS.

Posted by: dumbaindo at March 26, 2026 12:58 PM (RIvkX)

142 With no way to scrape the money back from the fraudsters, as much probably moved out of the country, it's time to implement a system to get the money back by taking it from those who deliberately allowed it.

Posted by: Rbastid at March 26, 2026 12:58 PM (FSDri)

143 Why This Pattern Appears

As institutions weaken, the normal checks (accountability, oversight, shared long-term incentives) erode. The people inside the bureaucracy realize the system is collapsing and begin treating public or institutional resources as personal loot before the doors close. This is sometimes called a “bank-run on the state” — everyone grabs what they can while they still can

Posted by: Stateless - Day 7 of 14 or so - extreme dog care at March 26, 2026 12:52 PM

cf. Pournelle's Law

Posted by: Duncanthrax at March 26, 2026 12:58 PM (0sNs1)

144 >>I'm one of those people that is proud I don't read.

I can't even imagine this.

Posted by: garrett at March 26, 2026 12:59 PM (W7FsI)

145 129 I've read LOTR 3 times. Even did an independent study project paper on it at a college ace knows.

I'm not sure I can bring myself to read it again.
Posted by: JackStraw at March 26, 2026 12:57 PM (viF8m)

See, I did an independent project on Orwell (and I've read his works now 3-4 times?)...and I could still read them again.

Yes, he's still one of my favorites...

Posted by: Nova Local at March 26, 2026 12:59 PM (tOcjL)

146 109 103 Stephen Colbert writing Lord of the Rings is like Gollum writing for Vogue.

Posted by: Anna Puma at March 26, 2026 12:52 PM (OWEbr)

======

Colbert has long been a huge Tolkien nerd.

Honestly, I trust him more than I trust Andy Serkis who is all around a terrible filmmaker.
Posted by: TheJamesMadison, discovering British horror with Hammer Films at March 26, 2026 12:53 PM (gYVzu)

Sorry, man, but being a "Tolkien Nerd" is not enough to gain him any credence (in my mind), given the last 10 years of his absolutely horrific and downright false takes on the world today...

Yes, I know his show was a product of the network and his writers, but the mere fact that he so willingly debased himself nightly makes me want to just punch him in the face.

Repeatedly.

Posted by: SSBN 656 (G) at March 26, 2026 12:59 PM (dmDsy)

147 What is best in life?

Dwarven women with finely groomed beards.

Posted by: Gimli at March 26, 2026 12:57 PM (0sNs1)

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

I always expected the Klingon babes to have beards ...

Posted by: ShainS at March 26, 2026 12:59 PM (SgYCn)

148 Fraud vitiates all things. This goes back to 2020 and before.

The accounts require balancing. And necks require stretching.

Posted by: Minuteman at March 26, 2026 12:59 PM (4sOFt)

149 rectification for the diabolical communism"

It's that like the Vuldronaii?

Posted by: man at March 26, 2026 01:00 PM (XuXeR)

150 three dots! it's never too late

graphic novels are a good way to start. Art Speigelman's Maus is an idea.

OR

poetry compilations, or something short and sweet like The Dubliners by Joyce or Four Quartets by TS Eliot

Posted by: BlackOrchid(j+aD2) at March 26, 2026 01:00 PM (j+aD2)

151 All posts are transitory.

Posted by: The Deli Llama at March 26, 2026 01:00 PM (7Q0e+)

152 can't even imagine this.

Posted by: garrett at March 26, 2026 12:59 PM (W7FsI)

Imagine you can't concentrate on anything you don't really really really want to for more than three seconds without feeling like you're going to be swallowed by a vortex full of black holes. That's me.

Posted by: Kamala at March 26, 2026 01:00 PM (HyaXg)

153 Sorry, man, but being a "Tolkien Nerd" is not enough to gain him any credence (in my mind), given the last 10 years of his absolutely horrific and downright false takes on the world today...

and his son is just a nepot, with nothing to speak of as far as a screenwriting resume.

Posted by: BlackOrchid(j+aD2) at March 26, 2026 01:01 PM (j+aD2)

154 Not Kamala. Me.

Posted by: ... at March 26, 2026 01:01 PM (HyaXg)

155 All posts are transitory.
Posted by: The Deli Llama at March 26, 2026 01:00 PM

Except for noods.

The Nood abides.

Posted by: Duncanthrax at March 26, 2026 01:01 PM (0sNs1)

156 Batman Fires The Batman

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zs66p5jQ9dM

Posted by: ace at March 26, 2026 01:01 PM (1wjle)

157 You rang?

Posted by: A Large and Moving Torg at March 26, 2026 01:01 PM (4NO2D)

158 Marlowe needs WAY more credit for Dr Faustus than he gets. It rivals anything Shakespeare did, and has just as much effect on later artistic and written works...
Posted by: Nova Local
=====
Agreed.

Posted by: whig at March 26, 2026 01:01 PM (E4rtv)

159 cf. Pournelle's Law
Posted by: Duncanthrax at March 26, 2026 12:58 PM (0sNs1)

Sucks to see it live....

Posted by: Stateless - Day 7 of 14 or so - extreme dog care at March 26, 2026 01:01 PM (Sco7b)

160 > I remember when every couch and chair had a head doily because lots of men used the pomade.

Soul Glow?

Posted by: bonhomme at March 26, 2026 01:01 PM (mkw2N)

161 146 Sorry, man, but being a "Tolkien Nerd" is not enough to gain him any credence (in my mind), given the last 10 years of his absolutely horrific and downright false takes on the world today...

Yes, I know his show was a product of the network and his writers, but the mere fact that he so willingly debased himself nightly makes me want to just punch him in the face.

Repeatedly.

Posted by: SSBN 656 (G) at March 26, 2026 12:59 PM (dmDsy)

======

There's a world of difference between writing an adaptation of a work he loves and performing (and probably writing) material on topical matters.

Does that mean Colbert will inject politics into the story? Honestly, I don't know either way. He could do it. He could decide that Tolkien unburdened by modern political lenses are preferable, like how Jackson, his producer on this project, did in the original movies.

I'm just saying, Colbert's fandom is a positive, and people act like it doesn't exist.

Posted by: TheJamesMadison, discovering British horror with Hammer Films at March 26, 2026 01:01 PM (gYVzu)

162 Stephen Colbert writing Lord of the Rings is like Gollum writing for Vogue.

Posted by: Anna Puma at March 26, 2026 12:52 PM (OWEbr)

======

Colbert has long been a huge Tolkien nerd.

Honestly, I trust him more than I trust Andy Serkis who is all around a terrible filmmaker.
Posted by: TheJamesMadison, discovering British horror with Hammer Films at March 26, 2026 12:53 PM (gYVzu)

Sorry, man, but being a "Tolkien Nerd" is not enough to gain him any credence (in my mind), given the last 10 years of his absolutely horrific and downright false takes on the world today...

Yes, I know his show was a product of the network and his writers, but the mere fact that he so willingly debased himself nightly makes me want to just punch him in the face.

Repeatedly.
Posted by: SSBN 656 (G) at March 26, 2026 12:59 PM (dmDsy)
_____

The final version of this script will have about 13 words written by Colbert. Maybe 14 words. The script will be wipe-your-ass-with-it terrible, but Colbert will have no hand in that. He got this gig for marketing and to reward him for years of faithful leftwing service. But they don't intend to actually use his script, assuming he even writes one.

Posted by: Elric The Blade at March 26, 2026 01:02 PM (iFTx/)

163 Where does Big Fish fit in? I really liked that.

Wonderful movie. Probably magical realism, but part of its charm is that it is its own category.

Wikipedia says “fantasy drama” which is really just an acknowledgment that whoever wrote that doesn’t know what they’re talking about. IMDB gives it four categories: Adventure, Drama, Fantasy, Romance. Why not add anime in, too, cover all the bases.

Posted by: Stephen Price Blair at March 26, 2026 01:02 PM (EXyHK)

164 you cannot claw back the fraud!

income tax must end!

at LEAST stop punishing the non-thieves who are productive.

you have to stop the beatings

Posted by: BlackOrchid(j+aD2) at March 26, 2026 01:02 PM (j+aD2)

165 All posts are transitory.
Posted by: The Deli Llama"

I'll have the smoked turkey. Thanks

Posted by: man at March 26, 2026 01:02 PM (XuXeR)

166
I always expected the Klingon babes to have beards ...

Posted by: ShainS at March 26, 2026 12:59 PM (SgYCn)

Mooch did....

Posted by: Stateless - Day 7 of 14 or so - extreme dog care at March 26, 2026 01:02 PM (Sco7b)

167 >>Not Kamala. Me.

I can't read alone, in a quiet room.

But, add music or a crowded room and I can drill down for hours at a time.

Posted by: garrett at March 26, 2026 01:03 PM (W7FsI)

168 Just to Bandwagon-

I've read The Hobbit and LOTR several times each. It's been a while since.

Among my fave all-time reads.

Posted by: Bad Andrew at March 26, 2026 01:03 PM (DgMqy)

169 >>Plausible deniability means no accountability.

Honestly, read this as Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark lyrics.

Posted by: EatChootaDroid at March 26, 2026 01:03 PM (NcvvS)

170 Posted by: garrett at March 26, 2026 01:03 PM (W7FsI)

Yeah I use music to do most work or creative stuff.

Posted by: ... at March 26, 2026 01:04 PM (HyaXg)

171 I thought I read somewhere that as bureaucracies die, stealing everything was one of the last steps.

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

I always assumed that the phrase "The Looting of the Republic Stage" goes back at least to the Roman Empire.

Posted by: ShainS at March 26, 2026 01:04 PM (SgYCn)

172 you have to stop the beatings"

Why? Has the morale improved?

Posted by: man at March 26, 2026 01:04 PM (XuXeR)

173 Imagine you can't concentrate on anything you don't really really really want to for more than three seconds without feeling like you're going to be swallowed by a vortex full of black holes. That's me.

then my suggestions are sound!

poetry compilations (like interesting ones, eliot, Carrington)

or graphic novels (shortish ones with great art)

Posted by: BlackOrchid(j+aD2) at March 26, 2026 01:04 PM (j+aD2)

174 The Nood abides.
Posted by: Duncanthrax at March 26, 2026 01:01 PM (0sNs1)
=====

Please Note: this is not an actual nood.

Posted by: San Franpsycho at March 26, 2026 01:04 PM (RIvkX)

175 One day this war will end...

*abruptly walks off*

Posted by: toby928(c) at March 26, 2026 01:04 PM (4NO2D)

176 rectification for the diabolical communism"

It's that like the Vuldronaii?
Posted by: man at March 26, 2026 01:00 PM

I've seen things...

Posted by: Zuul at March 26, 2026 01:05 PM (kgE5c)

177 phrase "The Looting of the Republic Stage" goes back at least to the Roman Empire."

Look at the cycles of Egyptian empires...

Posted by: man at March 26, 2026 01:05 PM (XuXeR)

178 The point of government is to take money from the productive class, anything all the government does is incidental.

And immigrants, especially illegal ones, are the greatest grift the government has ever found

Posted by: 18-1 at March 26, 2026 01:05 PM (sKqQm)

179 Stephen Colbert writing Lord of the Rings is like Gollum writing for Vogue.
Posted by: Anna Puma at March 26, 2026 12:52 PM (OWEbr)

I can smell the stink 50 miles from NYC

Posted by: Nicless at March 26, 2026 01:05 PM (nPp6w)

180 Anyone else doing the Hobbit challenge? I got through three chapters.

Posted by: Disinformation Expert Ace

Ok
I will borrow an audio book version

Posted by: vmom deport deport deport at March 26, 2026 01:05 PM (gDlxJ)

181 I'm just saying, Colbert's fandom is a positive, and people act like it doesn't exist.
Posted by: TheJamesMadison, discovering British horror with Hammer Films at March 26, 2026 01:01 PM (gYVzu)

Now that is a narrow point we can agree on... if he loves the source material, I guess I can give him the benefit of the doubt.

Still gonna punch him, tho...

Posted by: SSBN 656 (G) at March 26, 2026 01:05 PM (dmDsy)

182 Got a summary of benefits for American Express Premium Car Rental Protection today. There is only one listed prohibition on them canceling the policy:

We may not cancel or non-renew this Policy based solely on the fact that the Covered Person is an elected official.

Posted by: Stephen Price Blair at March 26, 2026 01:05 PM (EXyHK)

183 Please Note: this is not an actual nood.
Posted by: San Franpsycho at March 26, 2026 01:04 PM

You went and looked, didn't you?

Posted by: RedMindBlueState at March 26, 2026 01:05 PM (kgE5c)

184 >>and his son is just a nepot, with nothing to speak of as far as a screenwriting resume.

It'll be mostly Philippa Boyens writing it with a little assistance from Colbert's son, Peter McGee. Colbert himself will just sit there saying, "sounds good, sounds good" and get a writer's credit out of it.

Posted by: one hour sober at March 26, 2026 01:05 PM (Y1sOo)

185 42 So, who's surprised we're nearly $40 Trillion Dollars in debt?

Beuller?
Posted by: man at March 26, 2026 12:42 PM (XuXeR)

If we stop having a military and a State Department and seal off America from all evil foreigners, it will magically go away!!!

Posted by: Isolationists and Code Pinkers at March 26, 2026 01:05 PM (464q3)

186 Posted by: BlackOrchid(j+aD2) at March 26, 2026 01:04 PM (j+aD2)

Yes I.thought they were excellent but I already told you you are a genius

Posted by: ... at March 26, 2026 01:06 PM (HyaXg)

187 >>I use music to do most work or creative stuff.

Music, Talk Radio / Podcasts.

Every Winter I listen to the entire LOTR BBC Production while I butcher my Deer / Elk / Antelope.

13 CDs worth of BBC Drama makes 2 days of cutting and wrapping tolerable.

Posted by: garrett at March 26, 2026 01:06 PM (W7FsI)

188 173 Imagine you can't concentrate on anything you don't really really really want to for more than three seconds without feeling like you're going to be swallowed by a vortex full of black holes. That's me.

then my suggestions are sound!

poetry compilations (like interesting ones, eliot, Carrington)

or graphic novels (shortish ones with great art)
Posted by: BlackOrchid(j+aD2) at March 26, 2026 01:04 PM (j+aD2)

Short stories -

The Lottery (by Shirley Jackson) or Harrison Bergeron (by Kurt Vonnegut, Jr.) are both 10 minutes of reading (15 on the outside) and enough to make your skin crawl...and to show the magic that even a short story can bring...

Posted by: Nova Local at March 26, 2026 01:06 PM (tOcjL)

189 Too bad voters are in the dark about the Democrats raping their constituents.

This should be a huge story, but since it shows Democrats in a bad light, crickets.

Posted by: redridinghood at March 26, 2026 01:06 PM (NpAcC)

190 Two "classic" books I would not mind seeing purged from any curriculum as they are horrible reads are:

Catcher in the Rye
A Separate Peace

What gawd awful crap!!

Two other classics that were a struggle reading (but made great movies!!!)

Moby Dick
20,000 Leagues Under the Sea

Posted by: Scuba_Dude at March 26, 2026 01:06 PM (4q/mG)

191 I don't know if these are good or not but that's a helluva discount.
Posted by: toby928(c)
=======
Vortex makes decent optics. But so do others now at approximately the same price point.

Vortex, unless it has slipped lately, does have good warranty service which some of its competitors at that price point may or may not have.

Caveat Emptor though.

Posted by: whig at March 26, 2026 01:06 PM (E4rtv)

192 Hunt for Gollum looks ... really stupid and boring. Who cares what happened in the period between the birthday party and the fellowship?

Posted by: Elric The Blade at March 26, 2026 01:06 PM (iFTx/)

193 If you don't know whose pocket the money came from it was yours. If you do know and they're bragging it was yours too.

Posted by: DaveA at March 26, 2026 01:06 PM (FhXTo)

194 You went and looked, didn't you?
Posted by: RedMindBlueState at March 26, 2026 01:05 PM (kgE5c)
====

I always like to check my facts.

Posted by: San Franpsycho at March 26, 2026 01:07 PM (RIvkX)

195 118 I really dislike fantasy. The closest I've ever come to reading fantasy was Watership Down in Middle School.

I read Frankenstein last fall, but that's sci-fi. Actually takes place in our world rather than a completely made-up one.
---------------
A.B. Gutherie's The Big Sky and The Way West were my adolescent version of fantasy reading.

Posted by: Cosda at March 26, 2026 01:07 PM (WmJ2H)

196 I don’t even like LOTR and the thought of Colbert writing anything for it is repulsive.

Posted by: Cow Demon at March 26, 2026 01:07 PM (464q3)

197 I see now that the chair advertises it can support 380 pounds, so it's built for a more generous frame. That's why it's so big.

Posted by: ace at March 26, 2026 12:47 PM (1wjle)

Tank abrams can crush it just with her under arm fat.

Posted by: Berserker-Dragonheads Division at March 26, 2026 01:07 PM (snZF9)

198 Free Hobbit audiobook (might as well have it be exciting when you listen...and free)...

https://archive.org/details/TheHobbitAudiobook

Posted by: Nova Local at March 26, 2026 01:07 PM (tOcjL)

199 I'm watching the Mets
. Not that I like them but I'm on the couch in agony from gout. Also because I couldn't watch the Yankees last night

Posted by: Smell the Glove at March 26, 2026 01:07 PM (mHVWR)

200 181 Now that is a narrow point we can agree on... if he loves the source material, I guess I can give him the benefit of the doubt.

Still gonna punch him, tho...

Posted by: SSBN 656 (G) at March 26, 2026 01:05 PM (dmDsy)

=======

"His hiring doesn't make sense!"

"He loves Tolkien and even got a cameo in the second Hobbit movie, so he already knows Jackson."

"It doesn't make sense!"

I mean...I feel no excitement or anything towards the affair. My enthusiasm for more Tolkien adaptations were drained out with the Hobbit (which I do enjoy). I've never even watched a minute of Rings of Power I care so little.

But in the world we have, Colbert adapting Tolkien is better than the people who made Rings of Power who seem to have open contempt for Tolkien.

Posted by: TheJamesMadison, discovering British horror with Hammer Films at March 26, 2026 01:07 PM (gYVzu)

201 15 As we roll northward on I65, we are once again reminded that there is no concentration of stupidity as dense as an indiana driver and an interstate passing lane.
Posted by: 2009Refugee
-----------
Not going to disagree being a Hoosier and all but having driven from The Crossroads to B'more and back last weekend, I can say there are a lot of folks competing for darwin awards.

Posted by: NALNAMSAM at March 26, 2026 01:07 PM (VkY89)

202 I could never get through the LOTR books. I made it about a quarter of the way through book 2 and gave up. At least 3 times.

I watched the movie trilogy once.

Once.

Posted by: Danny Vermin at March 26, 2026 01:07 PM (4Alum)

203 The funny part of this is we are only talking about the fraud because the governing class has gotten SO greedy.

There has always been a large amount of fraud in the government, it is inevitable.

But starting under Barky they pushed the pedal to the metal, and then under Biden they just started grabbing money from the public till straight in our faces.

Remember Biden almost doubled the federal budget and ALL of that increase was stolen.

Posted by: 18-1 at March 26, 2026 01:08 PM (sKqQm)

204 I read all the Hornblower books as a preteen. I'm not sure where I am going with this comment but there it is.

Posted by: toby928(c) at March 26, 2026 01:08 PM (4NO2D)

205 I'm just saying, Colbert's fandom is a positive, and people act like it doesn't exist.
Posted by: TheJamesMadison, discovering British horror with Hammer Films at March 26, 2026 01:01 PM (gYVzu)

Now that is a narrow point we can agree on... if he loves the source material, I guess I can give him the benefit of the doubt.

Still gonna punch him, tho...
Posted by: SSBN 656 (G) at March 26, 2026 01:05 PM (dmDsy)
_____

I've heard many times before how a director or screenwriter loves, just loves certain source material. Then they make a movie that shits on the source material. I'm not buying any of this.

Posted by: Elric The Blade at March 26, 2026 01:08 PM (iFTx/)

206 northward on I65, we are once again reminded that there is no concentration of stupidity as dense as an indiana driver and an interstate passing lane.
Posted by: 2009Refugee

Wait for the enhancements.

Posted by: Rollover wind speeds cooking up mid-Illlinois at March 26, 2026 01:08 PM (FhXTo)

207 I remember when every couch and chair had a head doily because lots of men used the pomade.

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

I once heard ~~a stewardess~~ an airline attendant say that the nastiest place on an airplane was the headrest.

Posted by: ShainS at March 26, 2026 01:08 PM (SgYCn)

208 I think I mentioned it yesterday, but Brian Mclelland: Powder Mage Trilogy and related stories/novellas are well worth the time.

Posted by: garrett at March 26, 2026 01:08 PM (W7FsI)

209 three dots that is very sweet to say

I have a favorite book that I don't actually have anymore because I always give them away. especially to "non-readers" - The Dictionary of the Khazars (who I assumed were fictional and learned HERE that they existed!). it's basically a book of poetry but organized as a dictionary. it's something you can just randomly open and find something interesting to think about. It's like The Devil's Dictionary (but nicer) so that is another great idea for you (Bierce is also fantastic).

Posted by: BlackOrchid(j+aD2) at March 26, 2026 01:09 PM (j+aD2)

210 196 I don’t even like LOTR

Heathen

Posted by: Scuba_Dude at March 26, 2026 01:09 PM (4q/mG)

211 Late to this but just gotta say I've turned into one of those who says "NOTHING IS GOING TO FUCKING COME OF THIS!"

But Susan Rice is gonna come after us for neglected parking tickets once they come back into power.

Posted by: Chairborne!...Desk From Above! at March 26, 2026 01:09 PM (KQmzo)

212 69 my Weber grill, which I haven't used for ten years due to stupid HOA regulations. Now I can use it again.
Posted by: ace

Wow, who runs your HOA, Kim Jung-un?

Posted by: Bulg at March 26, 2026 12:48 PM (77rzZ)

HOAs in America are the equivalent of CDRs in Cuba.

Posted by: Cow Demon at March 26, 2026 01:10 PM (464q3)

213 Every Winter I listen to the entire LOTR BBC Production while I butcher my Deer / Elk / Antelope.

13 CDs worth of BBC Drama makes 2 days of cutting and wrapping tolerable.
Posted by: garrett at March 26, 2026 01:06 PM

Cassette tapes in my case, but that made a cross country drive tolerable.

Posted by: RedMindBlueState at March 26, 2026 01:10 PM (kgE5c)

214 Everyone relax.

Colbert can only improve LOTR.

Posted by: San Franpsycho at March 26, 2026 01:10 PM (RIvkX)

215 The LotR movies are a pale imitation of the books.

Posted by: tubal at March 26, 2026 01:10 PM (/HeZH)

216 205 I've heard many times before how a director or screenwriter loves, just loves certain source material. Then they make a movie that shits on the source material. I'm not buying any of this.

Posted by: Elric The Blade at March 26, 2026 01:08 PM (iFTx/)

======

This isn't "I got hired and now I'm saying I love the source material."

Colbert has long, long loved it. It's been a very public thing.

And, as you yourself pointed out, Colbert's contributions are going to be filtered through other people.

Posted by: TheJamesMadison, discovering British horror with Hammer Films at March 26, 2026 01:10 PM (gYVzu)

217 Moby Dick

Posted by: Scuba_Dude at March 26, 2026 01:06 PM (4q/mG)

Melville REALLY knew a lot about whaling, whale processing, and whales...

Posted by: Stateless - Day 7 of 14 or so - extreme dog care at March 26, 2026 01:10 PM (Sco7b)

218 156 Batman Fires The Batman

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zs66p5jQ9dM
Posted by: ace

Holy shit. What was that?

Posted by: nurse ratched at March 26, 2026 01:11 PM (W2Pud)

219 Posted by: Nova Local at March 26, 2026 01:06 PM (tOcjL)

I did do Bergeron. I can sort of digest a short story. Sort of.

Posted by: ... at March 26, 2026 01:11 PM (HyaXg)

220 I've heard many times before how a director or screenwriter loves, just loves certain source material. Then they make a movie that shits on the source material. I'm not buying any of this.

Posted by: Elric The Blade at March 26, 2026 01:08 PM (iFTx/)

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

As Ace mentioned yesterday, look at how they recently turned "Animal Farm" into a pro-socialist / anti-capitalist film.

And IIRC, that was produced by Angel Studios of all places!

Posted by: ShainS at March 26, 2026 01:11 PM (SgYCn)

221 Please Note: this is not an actual nood.
Posted by: San Franpsycho at March 26, 2026 01:04 PM

"This is a test of the Emergency Nood System. The bloggers of your area in voluntary cooperation with the Federal, State and local blogging authorities have developed this system to keep you informed in the event of an nood. If this had been an actual nood, (optional -- commenters may mention the types of noods likely to occurr in their area) the Attention Signal you just heard would have been followed by official information, news or instructions. This blog (optional -- insert blog name) serves the (operational area name) area. This concludes this test of the Emergency Nood System."

Posted by: Duncanthrax at March 26, 2026 01:11 PM (0sNs1)

222 75 Can we just arrest entire state givernments?
Posted by: steevy at March 26, 2026 12:48 PM (YwEeS)

I’m tellin ya, revert MN to Territory status.

Posted by: Cow Demon at March 26, 2026 01:11 PM (464q3)

223 Of course it was to steal as much as possible from the US taxpayer and Clovin-Piven the country. But another aspect is that THEY MUST SPEND ALL THE MONEY OR RISK GETTING LESS. RISK TAKING LESS FROM AMERICANS.

I think that is a major motivation. There should be an immediate across the board 25% cut of all federal government funding. Then we start targeting certain departments for their 50-80% cuts.

Posted by: Jukin the Deplorable and Totally Unserious at March 26, 2026 01:11 PM (xvV+O)

224 Sorry I sidetracked the Tolkien thread.

Posted by: Chairborne!...Desk From Above! at March 26, 2026 01:12 PM (KQmzo)

225 I am not reading LOTR because every time I think things are sort of settled, something weird happens in my life. Like my friend, who is pretty high up on the cute / crazy matrix, is marrying a man she met 3 months ago - she also works for me and during the short time between the last husband and this guy, she picked up a ton of the classes. New guy is a lawyer so she is deciding she doesn’t need to work. She is “prioritizing herself”. I was worried about her rushing into this, because she is just an awful picker of men, but now I wonder if I should be worried about him. 😂

Posted by: Piper at March 26, 2026 01:12 PM (OoFl2)

226 Posted by: BlackOrchid(j+aD2) at March 26, 2026 01:09 PM (j+aD2)

Noted. I have never heard of any of these!

Posted by: ... at March 26, 2026 01:12 PM (HyaXg)

227 220 And IIRC, that was produced by Angel Studios of all places!

Posted by: ShainS at March 26, 2026 01:11 PM (SgYCn)

======

Animal Farm was independently produced, and then they couldn't find anyone to buy the distribution rights.

Angel bought the distribution rights, probably for very cheap, long after post-production was finished.

Posted by: TheJamesMadison, discovering British horror with Hammer Films at March 26, 2026 01:12 PM (gYVzu)

228 204 I read all the Hornblower books as a preteen. I'm not sure where I am going with this comment but there it is.
Posted by: toby928(c) at March 26, 2026 01:08 PM

Check out the Aubrey/Maturin series by Patick O'Brian. Two of the books were the basis of the movie Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World

Posted by: Scuba_Dude at March 26, 2026 01:12 PM (4q/mG)

229 But starting under Barky they pushed the pedal to the metal"

Yeah. That administration really let the freak flag fly...

Posted by: man at March 26, 2026 01:13 PM (XuXeR)

230 >>Moby Dick
20,000 Leagues Under the Sea

If you like Moby Dick and haven't read it try In The Heart of The Sea. Easier to read and true.

Posted by: JackStraw at March 26, 2026 01:13 PM (viF8m)

231 As Ace mentioned yesterday, look at how they recently turned "Animal Farm" into a pro-socialist / anti-capitalist film.

And IIRC, that was produced by Angel Studios of all places!

Posted by: ShainS at March 26, 2026 01:11 PM (SgYCn)

Anything can be anything if you have no conscience.

Posted by: ... at March 26, 2026 01:13 PM (HyaXg)

232 Tousi wishes to remind Tucker & Co. that Trump has been calling for action against Iran for 47 years. As have I.

Posted by: San Franpsycho at March 26, 2026 01:14 PM (RIvkX)

233 219 Posted by: Nova Local at March 26, 2026 01:06 PM (tOcjL)

I did do Bergeron. I can sort of digest a short story. Sort of.
Posted by: ... at March 26, 2026 01:11 PM (HyaXg)

You can move yourself up from short stories to novellas and plays. Most plays are only 60-80 pages (as are novellas)...

The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde is a good novella to move up with...you know the concept, but you don't know the story, and so it makes for something easy to stay attached to.

Posted by: Nova Local at March 26, 2026 01:14 PM (tOcjL)

234 >>Cassette tapes in my case, but that made a cross country drive tolerable.

Nice. I no longer have a car with a cassette player in it.

Which sucks as I have about 1.5k Cassettes of Concert Boots in my collection.

Posted by: garrett at March 26, 2026 01:14 PM (W7FsI)

235 129 I've read LOTR 3 times. Even did an independent study project paper on it at a college ace knows.

I'm not sure I can bring myself to read it again.
Posted by: JackStraw
========
I can sympathize with that view. Fwiw, if you want a fun pastiche of characters from throughout the world of literature, try picking up a copy of Silverlock by John Myers Myers.

Even sends literature graduate students to the stacks for its references and characters.

Easy read, especially for an allegory based loosely on A Pilgrim's Progress by Bunyan except much less serious (and religion is largely absent here) on the surface. Filksinging of some of the passages used to be a feature at cons back in the day. Think Poul Anderson's wife among others was responsible for putting some of the poems within to music.

Posted by: whig at March 26, 2026 01:14 PM (E4rtv)

236 I'm not doing the Hobbit challenge. I'm listening to the Hail Mary audiobook.

The first three chapters are riveting.

Posted by: Cybersmythe at March 26, 2026 01:14 PM (Zst8M)

237 >>Check out the Aubrey/Maturin series by Patick O'Brian. Two of the books were the basis of the movie Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World

Read all of them. Twice.

Posted by: JackStraw at March 26, 2026 01:14 PM (viF8m)

238 I was snide about hijacking the thread but I want to say that Tolkien was actually a big influence in my life. And still is.

Posted by: Chairborne!...Desk From Above! at March 26, 2026 01:14 PM (KQmzo)

239 217 Melville REALLY knew a lot about whaling, whale processing, and whales...

Posted by: Stateless - Day 7 of 14 or so - extreme dog care at March 26, 2026 01:10 PM

Waaay to much

Posted by: Scuba_Dude at March 26, 2026 01:14 PM (4q/mG)

240 Animal Farm is another good move up novella...if you prefer the dystopian to the gothic...

Posted by: Nova Local at March 26, 2026 01:14 PM (tOcjL)

241 Which sucks as I have about 1.5k Cassettes of Concert Boots in my collection.
Posted by: garrett at March 26, 2026 01:14 PM

What percentage of them are Deads?

Posted by: Duncanthrax at March 26, 2026 01:14 PM (0sNs1)

242 But in the world we have, Colbert adapting Tolkien is better than the people who made Rings of Power who seem to have open contempt for Tolkien.
Posted by: TheJamesMadison, discovering British horror with Hammer Films at March 26, 2026 01:07 PM (gYVzu)

Again, a good point, as long as you think someone like a Stephen Colbert can, regardless of his "love of the source material", will actually produce something worthwhile.

While we are at it, what exactly is the point of him doing this? I seem to have forgot the over-arching theme of this discussion.

Posted by: SSBN 656 (G) at March 26, 2026 01:15 PM (dmDsy)

243 118 I really dislike fantasy. The closest I've ever come to reading fantasy was Watership Down in Middle School.

My fourth grade teacher, who was otherwise an amazing human being, read The Chronicles of Narnia to us. What she was doing unwittingly was killing any taste I had for fantasy.

Posted by: Cow Demon at March 26, 2026 01:15 PM (464q3)

244 Nice. I no longer have a car with a cassette player in it.

Which sucks as I have about 1.5k Cassettes of Concert Boots in my collection.
Posted by: garrett at March 26, 2026 01:14 PM

This was about 30 years ago. Hell, my new car doesn't even have a cd player, which annoys me.

Posted by: RedMindBlueState at March 26, 2026 01:15 PM (kgE5c)

245 >>>I read all the Hornblower books as a preteen. I'm not sure where I am going with this comment but there it is.

are they good? I saw the Brit TV production, with Ioan Gruffeld (or whatever, he played Mr. Fantastic) and really liked those.

Posted by: ace at March 26, 2026 01:15 PM (1wjle)

246 242 While we are at it, what exactly is the point of him doing this? I seem to have forgot the over-arching theme of this discussion.

Posted by: SSBN 656 (G) at March 26, 2026 01:15 PM (dmDsy)

======

I believe it started talking about the Treasury Department investigating illicitly given out funds under the Biden regime.

Posted by: TheJamesMadison, discovering British horror with Hammer Films at March 26, 2026 01:16 PM (gYVzu)

247 Like this was my 1st time with Mamet and Beckett. And I have to say - Marlowe needs WAY more credit for Dr Faustus than he gets. It rivals anything Shakespeare did, and has just as much effect on later artistic and written works...
Posted by: Nova Local at March 26, 2026 12:55 PM (tOcjL)

Yeah but are we always quoting Marlowe?

Posted by: Cow Demon at March 26, 2026 01:16 PM (464q3)

248 230 If you like Moby Dick and haven't read it try In The Heart of The Sea. Easier to read and true.
Posted by: JackStraw at March 26, 2026 01:13 PM

I saw the movie (and liked it), will check out the book. Thanks!!

Posted by: Scuba_Dude at March 26, 2026 01:16 PM (4q/mG)

249 Angel bought the distribution rights, probably for very cheap, long after post-production was finished.
Posted by: TheJamesMadison, discovering British horror with Hammer Films at March 26, 2026 01:12 PM (gYVzu)
====

They should have sh*tcanned it rather than distribute corrupted material.

Posted by: San Franpsycho at March 26, 2026 01:16 PM (RIvkX)

250 Yes, the Hornblower books are good. Very good. While not absolutely required, I suggest you read them in order.

Posted by: Duncanthrax at March 26, 2026 01:17 PM (0sNs1)

251 I am having scary visions of ace INSIDE rocking himself to sleep in his comfy rocking chair while OUTSIDE his tomahawk steak burns to black on the Weber.

Posted by: washrivergal at March 26, 2026 01:17 PM (lUfIe)

252 Patrick Stewart did a Narnia reading set a while ago. I don't like audio books but I used to have it on for the kids when they were little, driving them around

they loved it! and still remember those books fondly

the movies were ok. kind of meh. Narnia is best imagined.

Posted by: BlackOrchid(j+aD2) at March 26, 2026 01:17 PM (j+aD2)

253 158 Marlowe needs WAY more credit for Dr Faustus than he gets. It rivals anything Shakespeare did, and has just as much effect on later artistic and written works...
Posted by: Nova Local
=====
Agreed.
---------
Agreed, too.

Posted by: pudinhead at March 26, 2026 01:17 PM (n17eQ)

254 Yeah but are we always quoting Marlowe?
Posted by: Cow Demon

No, you're quoting me.
-- The Earl of Oxford

Posted by: Bulg at March 26, 2026 01:17 PM (77rzZ)

255 Melville REALLY knew a lot about whaling, whale processing, and whales...

Posted by: Stateless - Day 7 of 14 or so - extreme dog care at March 26, 2026 01:10 PM (Sco7b)
-----------

Shipped on a whaler, so it stands to reason.

Posted by: Captain Obvious, Laird o' the Sea at March 26, 2026 01:17 PM (CVAWM)

256 Anyone else doing the Hobbit challenge? I got through three chapters. It took me a while to finish the Agatha Christie Miss Marple story, or I would have gotten further.
---
I finished The Hobbit and started Fellowship of the Ring.

I also just bought two Agatha Christie books: Murder on the Orient Express and Death on the Nile.

Posted by: "Perfessor" Squirrel at March 26, 2026 01:17 PM (ESVrU)

257 247 Like this was my 1st time with Mamet and Beckett. And I have to say - Marlowe needs WAY more credit for Dr Faustus than he gets. It rivals anything Shakespeare did, and has just as much effect on later artistic and written works...
Posted by: Nova Local at March 26, 2026 12:55 PM (tOcjL)

Yeah but are we always quoting Marlowe?
Posted by: Cow Demon at March 26, 2026 01:16 PM (464q3)

When we mention folks making deals with the devil, we effectively are...

Posted by: Nova Local at March 26, 2026 01:17 PM (tOcjL)

258 236 I'm listening to the Hail Mary audiobook.

The first three chapters are riveting.
Posted by: Cybersmythe at March 26, 2026 01:14 PM

You will not be disappointed. I am looking to check out the movie. Hearing good things about it.

Posted by: Scuba_Dude at March 26, 2026 01:18 PM (4q/mG)

259 249 Angel bought the distribution rights, probably for very cheap, long after post-production was finished.
Posted by: TheJamesMadison, discovering British horror with Hammer Films at March 26, 2026 01:12 PM (gYVzu)
====

They should have sh*tcanned it rather than distribute corrupted material.

Posted by: San Franpsycho at March 26, 2026 01:16 PM (RIvkX)

======

It doesn't seem to fit with their overall mission, so I like to assume it was just a purely financial decision, just some cheap investment that they felt like they could make back x times over to help them fund other things.

Or, they watched it and were really excited about turning Animal Farm from an anti-Tsarist and anti-communist thing into an anti-capitalist thing.

Posted by: TheJamesMadison, discovering British horror with Hammer Films at March 26, 2026 01:18 PM (gYVzu)

260 I finished The Hobbit and started Fellowship of the Ring.

I also just bought two Agatha Christie books: Murder on the Orient Express and Death on the Nile.
Posted by: "Perfessor" Squirrel at March 26, 2026 01:17 PM

Your pants dry-cleaning bills must be impressive.

Posted by: Duncanthrax at March 26, 2026 01:18 PM (0sNs1)

261 agreed on Kit Marlowe

Posted by: BlackOrchid(j+aD2) at March 26, 2026 01:18 PM (j+aD2)

262 So, no love for Dickens?

Posted by: Bulg at March 26, 2026 01:18 PM (77rzZ)

263 If you like Moby Dick and haven't read it try In The Heart of The Sea. Easier to read and true.
Posted by: JackStraw at March 26, 2026 01:13 PM (viF8m)

Great book. It was an inspiration for Melville to write 'Moby Dick'

Posted by: Nicless at March 26, 2026 01:18 PM (nPp6w)

264 246 242 While we are at it, what exactly is the point of him doing this? I seem to have forgot the over-arching theme of this discussion.

Posted by: SSBN 656 (G) at March 26, 2026 01:15 PM (dmDsy)

======

I believe it started talking about the Treasury Department investigating illicitly given out funds under the Biden regime.
Posted by: TheJamesMadison, discovering British horror with Hammer Films at March 26, 2026 01:16 PM (gYVzu)

Well, of course! Thanks for getting me back on track!!!

Posted by: SSBN 656 (G) at March 26, 2026 01:19 PM (dmDsy)

265 >>While we are at it, what exactly is the point of him doing this?

Colbert isn't going to be writing shit. It's a sympathy thing because he's going to be unemployed soon. Look up who the lead writer is going to be. That is who will be mostly writing the script, maybe with a little help from Colbert's son.

Posted by: one hour sober at March 26, 2026 01:19 PM (Y1sOo)

266 Patrick Stewart did a Narnia reading set a while ago. I don't like audio books but I used to have it on for the kids when they were little, driving them around

they loved it! and still remember those books fondly

the movies were ok. kind of meh. Narnia is best imagined.
Posted by: BlackOrchid(j+aD2) at March 26, 2026 01:17 PM (j+aD2)
_____

I recently rewatched the Narnia movies. Better than I remembered. I think with better casting for some of the characters (too many were whiny and annoying), it could have been really good.

Posted by: Elric The Blade at March 26, 2026 01:20 PM (iFTx/)

267 237 Read all of them. Twice.
Posted by: JackStraw at March 26, 2026 01:14 PM

As have I. And after I finished I read the entire Sharpe series for the first time.

I was stuck in the Napoleonic era for a while.

Posted by: Scuba_Dude at March 26, 2026 01:20 PM (4q/mG)

268 262 So, no love for Dickens?
Posted by: Bulg at March 26, 2026 01:18 PM (77rzZ)

His best story is his novella...I can't stand his long stuff...I know it was for the time to keep folks occupied, but I am not of that time, and he could use an editor (like Tolkien could) to remove a couple hundred pages to get to the real stories...

Posted by: Nova Local at March 26, 2026 01:20 PM (tOcjL)

269 If you like Moby Dick and haven't read it try In The Heart of The Sea. Easier to read and true.
Posted by: JackStraw

That's the one about the killer sperm whale that took out the Essex, right?

Posted by: Bulg at March 26, 2026 01:20 PM (77rzZ)

270 the massive fraud is keeping blue cities afloat (among other things)

remember before Barky when all the news articles were freaking out about the fact that there was one working teacher to three plus retired ones? and that was only going to get worse? and the blue model was failing, and failing hard.

well they figured something out

they LOVE all those empty "daycares" and "hospices" because they get kickbacks and fed matching from that

Posted by: BlackOrchid(j+aD2) at March 26, 2026 01:20 PM (j+aD2)

271 It's a write off, Jerry.
They just write it off.

Posted by: Kramer at March 26, 2026 01:21 PM (Co4qK)

272 >>What percentage of them are Deads?

A large percentage are Dead Tapes from 65-72.
Lots of Hot Tuna, too. Recorded by the same guy.

Posted by: garrett at March 26, 2026 01:21 PM (W7FsI)

273 Nerds!

Posted by: runner at March 26, 2026 01:21 PM (GD0B3)

274 Call me Ishmael. Greatest opening line.

Posted by: tubal at March 26, 2026 01:21 PM (/HeZH)

275 Breaking News: Former first lady and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton is scheduled to visit New Hampshire on April 25 to serve as the keynote speaker at the New Hampshire Democratic Party’s McIntyre-Shaheen Dinner in Nashua.

The visit will mark Clinton’s first public appearance in New Hampshire since 2019. She previously campaigned extensively in the state during her presidential runs, winning the Democratic primary there in 2008 and finishing second in 2016.

Posted by: AoSHQ Celebrity News Bureau and Rumour Centre at March 26, 2026 01:21 PM (0sNs1)

276 274 Call me Ishmael. Greatest opening line.

Posted by: tubal at March 26, 2026 01:21 PM (/HeZH)

=======

It was an odd turn from that into the rest of Run, Spot, Run, but the author pulled it off.

Posted by: TheJamesMadison, discovering British horror with Hammer Films at March 26, 2026 01:21 PM (gYVzu)

277 Quick question:

Was Dinky Hocker's little brother called Fudge?

Or was he from a whole nother place?

Posted by: SSBN 656 (G) at March 26, 2026 01:22 PM (dmDsy)

278 So, no love for Dickens?"

The Paolo, he laughs...

Posted by: man at March 26, 2026 01:22 PM (XuXeR)

279 Animal Farm is another good move up novella...if you prefer the dystopian to the gothic...

Posted by: Nova Local at March 26, 2026 01:14 PM (tOcjL)

You have to understand I have zero imagination. None. Animal Farm is another one I really did read - at the suggestion of Brit Lass because she thought it would help me understand communism better (this was sometime back). She's a good girl.

It was definitely an "easy" book. Could I really fully read it? Not really.

Posted by: ... at March 26, 2026 01:22 PM (HyaXg)

280 Flash Email Traffic

Vortex SPARC AR 2 MOA Red Dot Sight - SPC-AR2

$249.99 $74.99

https://tinyurl.com/3dfkms4j

I don't know if these are good or not but that's a helluva discount.

Posted by: toby928(c) at March 26, 2026 12:48 PM (4NO2D)

Good price. I've been looking at red dots. I found that for $30 more on amazon you can get the GenII version, $105. Could be why these are getting clearanced.

Posted by: Berserker-Dragonheads Division at March 26, 2026 01:22 PM (snZF9)

281 268 262 So, no love for Dickens?
Posted by: Bulg at March 26, 2026 01:18 PM (77rzZ)

His best story is his novella...I can't stand his long stuff...I know it was for the time to keep folks occupied, but I am not of that time, and he could use an editor (like Tolkien could) to remove a couple hundred pages to get to the real stories...
Posted by: Nova Local at March 26, 2026 01:20 PM (tOcjL)

Just finished Little Dorrit Tough read... I have the 4 Hobbit books arriving today

Posted by: It's me donna at March 26, 2026 01:22 PM (FtULh)

282 253 158 Marlowe needs WAY more credit for Dr Faustus than he gets. It rivals anything Shakespeare did, and has just as much effect on later artistic and written works...
Posted by: Nova Local
=====
Agreed.
---------
Agreed, too.
Posted by: pudinhead
======
I mentioned Silverlock as a fun pastiche of characters in literature. Myers has a demon named Faustopheles and he puts the protagonist being guided into Dante's Hell by Faustopheles to complete the pilgrimmage.

And you get a bit of Milton and Greek myths in that same chapter.

Posted by: whig at March 26, 2026 01:22 PM (E4rtv)

283 > Vortex, unless it has slipped lately, does have good warranty service which some of its competitors at that price point may or may not have.
----------
I had to purchase a "kit" from Vortex with spare screws, 4 batteries and a tiny allen wrench to re-mount a laser to one of my handguns. Shipping was more than the kit.

Not a warranty issue. A "me" issue. But it was exactly what I needed.

Posted by: Martini Farmer at March 26, 2026 01:22 PM (AkEZC)

284 When I traveled on business years ago I would always take one of the LoTR volumes with me. At night in the hotel I'd just let it drop open wherever it opened and read a few pages and then fall asleep.

Posted by: Chairborne!...Desk From Above! at March 26, 2026 01:23 PM (KQmzo)

285 When we mention folks making deals with the devil, we effectively are...
Posted by: Nova Local at March 26, 2026 01:17 PM (tOcjL)
----------
"The face that launched a thousand ships."

Posted by: Captain Obvious, Laird o' the Sea at March 26, 2026 01:23 PM (CVAWM)

286 >>That's the one about the killer sperm whale that took out the Essex, right?

Yep. And as noted above the Essex was the inspiration for Moby Dick.

Posted by: JackStraw at March 26, 2026 01:23 PM (viF8m)

287 Cassette tapes in my case, but that made a cross country drive tolerable.
--------------
Oddly, to be read to is the only way to enjoy Dickens. His wrote for an audience that worked in sweat shops. Actually reading him is tedious.

Posted by: pudinhead at March 26, 2026 01:23 PM (n17eQ)

288 The visit will mark Clinton’s first public appearance in New Hampshire since 2019. She previously campaigned extensively in the state during her presidential runs, winning the Democratic primary there in 2008 and finishing second in 2016.

Posted by: AoSHQ Celebrity News Bureau and Rumour Centre at March 26, 2026 01:21 PM (0sNs1)

You don't think......

Nahhhhhhhhhhh

Posted by: ... at March 26, 2026 01:23 PM (HyaXg)

289 127 What is best in life?

Dwarven women with finely groomed beards.
Posted by: Gimli

Moochelle? Nvm, she's too tall to be a dwarf.

Posted by: Chuck Martel at March 26, 2026 01:23 PM (Dv3i1)

290 *Was Dinky Hocker's little brother called Fudge?

Or was he from a whole nother place?*

----
Sitting right here, boss.

Posted by: The Internet at March 26, 2026 01:24 PM (Co4qK)

291 "The face that launched a thousand ships."
Posted by: Captain Obvious

Great. Now I've that earworm. Thanks.

Posted by: Bulg at March 26, 2026 01:24 PM (77rzZ)

292 If you can get over the weird accents and the generally poor cutting, the Rankin-Bass cartoon is very enjoyable. The art is strongly reminiscent of Tolkien’s own.
Posted by: Stephen Price Blair at March 26, 2026 12:50 PM (EXyHK)
---

I really enjoy that movie. Saw it on TV when it first aired on the TV in the 70s. My 4th grade teacher was reading it to the class at the time which was pretty cool.

Posted by: Darth Randall at March 26, 2026 01:24 PM (RxMnM)

293 274 Call me Ishmael. Greatest opening line.
Posted by: tubal at March 26, 2026 01:21 PM

"It was the best of times, it was the worst of times" was not to bad. And actually a good read from Dickens.

Posted by: Scuba_Dude at March 26, 2026 01:24 PM (4q/mG)

294 His best story is his novella...I can't stand his long stuff...I know it was for the time to keep folks occupied, but I am not of that time, and he could use an editor (like Tolkien could) to remove a couple hundred pages to get to the real stories...
Posted by: Nova Local
======
Like Dumas, Dickens got paid by the word for serialization of many of his works. Dumas tends to carry it off a bit more heroically.

But yes, I find Dickens at time rather dull and preachy at times. For me Dumas > Dickens which makes me a traitor to my English side of ancestry I guess.

Posted by: whig at March 26, 2026 01:24 PM (E4rtv)

295 Great. Now I've that earworm. Thanks.
Posted by: Bulg at March 26, 2026 01:24 PM (77rzZ)
---------
Blame Marlowe.

Posted by: Captain Obvious, Laird o' the Sea at March 26, 2026 01:25 PM (CVAWM)

296 My thoughts exactly - and yes, I've made it through the LOTR books twice, too.

I much preferred the Lewis books if I want fantasy...short, sweet, to the point...

It was WAY easier to sit through The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe twice vs LOTR...
Posted by: Nova Local at March 26, 2026 12:53 PM (tOcjL)

Well, that's because the Hobbit and the Narnia series were both written for children while LOTR was written for adults....

Posted by: Formerly Virginian at March 26, 2026 01:25 PM (N1DT3)

297
It was the worst of times,

Posted by: It was the breast of times at March 26, 2026 01:25 PM (Co4qK)

298 When we mention folks making deals with the devil, we effectively are...
Posted by: Nova Local at March 26, 2026 01:17 PM (tOcjL)

One example. The Bard has many. The Bard’s impact on English is unmistakable.

Posted by: Cow Demon at March 26, 2026 01:25 PM (464q3)

299 Please Note: this is not an actual nood.
Posted by: San Franpsycho
-------
Had it been an actual nood, it would have been accompanied by the sound of a half dozen Corgis scrambling through the kitchen.

Posted by: Mike Hammer, etc., etc. at March 26, 2026 01:25 PM (XeU6L)

300 Sitting right here, boss.
Posted by: The Internet at March 26, 2026 01:24 PM (Co4qK)

Oh, you!

I just wanted to see if anyone knew either of those names...

You silly Internet!

Posted by: SSBN 656 (G) at March 26, 2026 01:25 PM (dmDsy)

301 Nowadays I like Volume 3 because it has the Appendices, which I enjoy reading a lot.

Posted by: Chairborne!...Desk From Above! at March 26, 2026 01:25 PM (KQmzo)

302 I wonder if Miss Marple could uncover whatever schemes Tom Bombadil was involved in?

Posted by: Chairman LMAO at March 26, 2026 01:26 PM (cWLG3)

303 How much of this hospice fraud was opened up by ObamaCare? How much of the daycare fraud was opened up by other bullshit they passed in the last 20 years?

Posted by: ... at March 26, 2026 01:26 PM (HyaXg)

304 Dickens Bandwagon-

Not going to quote it here, but the ending of Little Dorritt is sooo good.

Posted by: Bad Andrew at March 26, 2026 01:27 PM (DgMqy)

305 One example. The Bard has many. The Bard’s impact on English is unmistakable.
Posted by: Cow Demon at March 26, 2026 01:25 PM (464q3)
-----------
Marlowe was killed just as he was really hitting his stride. Another "what if".

Posted by: Captain Obvious, Laird o' the Sea at March 26, 2026 01:27 PM (CVAWM)

306 274 Call me Ishmael. Greatest opening line.
Posted by: tubal at March 26, 2026 01:21 PM (/HeZH)

It was a cold day in April, and the clock struck 13.

Posted by: Cow Demon at March 26, 2026 01:27 PM (464q3)

307 One example. The Bard has many. The Bard’s impact on English is unmistakable.
Posted by: Cow Demon
=======
Getting stabbed and killed early in his career put a damper on Marlowe's output. I suspect had he not died nor killed himself by drinking and whoring, that Marlowe would have been the equal of Will.

And Will turned out a fair amount of snoozers as well as some outright turds like Titus Andronicus.

Posted by: whig at March 26, 2026 01:28 PM (E4rtv)

308 Edith Pargeter's historical novels are very good. Her endings are particularly satisfying. (Ellis Peters was her pseud for writing mysteries.)

Posted by: Captain Obvious, Laird o' the Sea at March 26, 2026 01:28 PM (CVAWM)

309 281 268 262 So, no love for Dickens?
Posted by: Bulg at March 26, 2026 01:18 PM (77rzZ)

+++++

I have read several Dickens books. I think you have to be in the right state of mind and to accept what you're getting into to tackle them, though.

Posted by: washrivergal at March 26, 2026 01:28 PM (lUfIe)

310
On page 98 of 1028 pages 'Excecutive Action', Clancy. This may take a while...

Posted by: Mike Hammer, etc., etc. at March 26, 2026 01:29 PM (XeU6L)

311 "Far out in the uncharted backwaters of the unfashionable end of the Western Spiral arm of the galaxy lies a small unregarded yellow sun."

Posted by: Scuba_Dude at March 26, 2026 01:29 PM (4q/mG)

312 262 So, no love for Dickens?
Posted by: Bulg at March 26, 2026 01:18 PM (77rzZ)

Two words: Great Expectations. Fuck Dickens.

Posted by: Cow Demon at March 26, 2026 01:29 PM (464q3)

313 This is just more evidence that shows how the Democratic Party (and Republican Party) is just organized crime. They have different mob families that fight sometimes, but its always the mob vs the world.

Posted by: Christopher R Taylor at March 26, 2026 01:29 PM (PYyV9)

314 Any good reviews of Ethan Frome?

Posted by: pudinhead at March 26, 2026 01:29 PM (n17eQ)

315 Like Dumas, Dickens got paid by the word for serialization of many of his works. Dumas tends to carry it off a bit more heroically.

But yes, I find Dickens at time rather dull and preachy at times. For me Dumas > Dickens which makes me a traitor to my English side of ancestry I guess.
Posted by: whig

The last Dickens I read was Our Mutual Friend, his penultimate novel, and last finished one. I read one chapter where the writing was so good, it blew me away. I decided that nothing else in the book would be as good as that, and so I stopped reading right there. Never have gone back to finish it.

Posted by: Bulg at March 26, 2026 01:29 PM (77rzZ)

316 Oddly, to be read to is the only way to enjoy Dickens. His wrote for an audience that worked in sweat shops. Actually reading him is tedious.
Posted by: pudinhead
=======
I can see that. Dickens was famous for his appearances before audiences to read his works back in the day.

Posted by: whig at March 26, 2026 01:29 PM (E4rtv)

317 are they good? I saw the Brit TV production, with Ioan Gruffeld (or whatever, he played Mr. Fantastic) and really liked those.
_____

This was fantastic, highly recommend it. An old fashioned adventure story for boys, like they used to make before all the queer stuff infected everything (please God, don't let Netflix get the rights for a remake)

As for Ioan Gruffudd, I assumed the ladies will like the cut of his jib.

Posted by: Chuck Martel at March 26, 2026 01:29 PM (Dv3i1)

318 306 274 Call me Ishmael. Greatest opening line.
Posted by: tubal at March 26, 2026 01:21 PM (/HeZH)

It was a cold day in April, and the clock struck 13.
Posted by: Cow Demon at March 26, 2026 01:27 PM (464q3)

I felt a pressure. I farted. The pressure was gone. This is how my three-week battle with the invading army began.

Posted by: Denny Crane - Did I Tell You I Write Books? at March 26, 2026 01:29 PM (dmDsy)

319 "In a hole in the ground there lived a hobbit."

Posted by: "Perfessor" Squirrel at March 26, 2026 01:29 PM (ESVrU)

320 So, no love for Dickens?

Charles Dickens is a good author with interesting ideas but his style is very dated and incredibly padded. Oliver Twist, for example: nice short story stretched out to be a novel.

Posted by: Christopher R Taylor at March 26, 2026 01:30 PM (PYyV9)

321 >>"Far out in the uncharted backwaters of the unfashionable end of the Western Spiral arm of the galaxy lies a small unregarded yellow sun."

Thought of that one instantly.

One of my faves is from the aformentioned Powder Mage Trilogy:

"It's a bloody business, overthrowing a King."

Posted by: garrett at March 26, 2026 01:30 PM (W7FsI)

322 Call me Fucked in the Head.

My suggested opening line if any trannie is planning to write a book.

Posted by: Chairborne!...Desk From Above! at March 26, 2026 01:30 PM (KQmzo)

323 From the adaptations I can tell you Jane Austen was a genius and in my mind simply does not get enough credit as she is often lumped in with other female writers. Class by herself.

Posted by: ... at March 26, 2026 01:30 PM (HyaXg)

324 319 "In a hole in the ground there lived a hobbit."

Posted by: "Perfessor" Squirrel at March 26, 2026 01:29 PM (ESVrU)

=======

I'm going to be honest, I've never understood why Austen started Sense and Sensibility like this.

Posted by: TheJamesMadison, discovering British horror with Hammer Films at March 26, 2026 01:30 PM (gYVzu)

325
And Will turned out a fair amount of snoozers as well as some outright turds like Titus Andronicus.
Posted by: whig at March 26, 2026 01:28 PM (E4rtv)

Hey, even The Bard can shit the bed. I’m just sayin we do quote him in every day speech. I won’t pretend everything he did was good.

But I rather enjoyed Macbeth and Hamlet most of all.

Posted by: Cow Demon at March 26, 2026 01:31 PM (464q3)

326 I have read several Dickens books. I think you have to be in the right state of mind and to accept what you're getting into to tackle them, though.
Posted by: washrivergal

That's true. He is an investment.

Posted by: Bulg at March 26, 2026 01:31 PM (77rzZ)

327 The last Dickens I read was Our Mutual Friend, his penultimate novel, and last finished one. I read one chapter where the writing was so good, it blew me away. I decided that nothing else in the book would be as good as that, and so I stopped reading right there. Never have gone back to finish it.
Posted by: Bulg
=======
Never read it so thanks for the referral.

Posted by: whig at March 26, 2026 01:31 PM (E4rtv)

328 How much of this hospice fraud was opened up by ObamaCare? How much of the daycare fraud was opened up by other bullshit they passed in the last 20 years?
Posted by: ... at March 26, 2026 01:26 PM (HyaXg)

This is bad. Very bad. At least our voting process is secure.

Posted by: Count de Monet at March 26, 2026 01:31 PM (wVcYX)

329 I can see that. Dickens was famous for his appearances before audiences to read his works back in the day.
Posted by: whig at March 26, 2026 01:29 PM (E4rtv)
----------
He shows up in an early episode of "Bonanza," of all places.

Posted by: Captain Obvious, Laird o' the Sea at March 26, 2026 01:31 PM (CVAWM)

330
I felt a pressure. I farted. The pressure was gone. This is how my three-week battle with the invading army began.
Posted by: Denny Crane - Did I Tell You I Write Books? at March 26, 2026 01:29 PM (dmDsy)

If you have to fart, fart! You will feel much better for it.

Posted by: Mao at March 26, 2026 01:32 PM (464q3)

331 But I rather enjoyed Macbeth and Hamlet most of all.
Posted by: Cow Demon

I love Macbeth, but take Hamlet on sufferance.

Posted by: Bulg at March 26, 2026 01:32 PM (77rzZ)

332 312 262 So, no love for Dickens?
Posted by: Bulg at March 26, 2026 01:18 PM (77rzZ)

Two words: Great Expectations. Fuck Dickens.
Posted by: Cow Demon at March 26, 2026 01:29 PM (464q3)

I think I wanted to kill Pip by the end of that in 11th grade...ways to make school children hate literature pt 12 (this is why I've read so many classics as an adult...I needed distance from the garbage)...

Posted by: Nova Local at March 26, 2026 01:32 PM (tOcjL)

333 324 319 "In a hole in the ground there lived a hobbit."

Posted by: "Perfessor" Squirrel at March 26, 2026 01:29 PM (ESVrU)

=======

I'm going to be honest, I've never understood why Austen started Sense and Sensibility like this.
Posted by: TheJamesMadison, discovering British horror with Hammer Films at March 26, 2026 01:30 PM (gYVzu)

And they used that for the opening line of the script for "Deep Throat"... what were they thinking?

Posted by: Denny Crane - Did I Tell You I Wrote Books? at March 26, 2026 01:32 PM (dmDsy)

334 323 From the adaptations I can tell you Jane Austen was a genius and in my mind simply does not get enough credit as she is often lumped in with other female writers. Class by herself.

Posted by: ... at March 26, 2026 01:30 PM (HyaXg)

=======

I've read some major works by other female writers of the time, and honestly, Austen is head and shoulders above, like, all of them.

Fanny Burey is absolute trash.
Most of the Bronte sisters work I've read (like Vilette) is good but not great.
Elizabeth Gaskell is pretty good.

Austen, though? Just fun to read.

Posted by: TheJamesMadison, discovering British horror with Hammer Films at March 26, 2026 01:32 PM (gYVzu)

335 >>Any good reviews of Ethan Frome?

The image of a Sled on the Cover made promises to a young male reader that Edith Wharton made NO effort to satisfy.

Posted by: garrett at March 26, 2026 01:32 PM (W7FsI)

336 Les Miserables opening line was a mad lib -

An hour before sunset, on the evening of a day in the beginning of October, 1815, a man traveling afoot entered the little town of D______.

Posted by: Chuck Martel at March 26, 2026 01:33 PM (Dv3i1)

337 Never read it so thanks for the referral.
Posted by: whig

Just keep in mind that I was in my cups at the time.

Posted by: Bulg at March 26, 2026 01:33 PM (77rzZ)

338
The Lottery (by Shirley Jackson) or Harrison Bergeron (by Kurt Vonnegut, Jr.) are both 10 minutes of reading (15 on the outside) and enough to make your skin crawl...and to show the magic that even a short story can bring...
Posted by: Nova Local

Examination Day by Henry Slesar

https://t.ly/tHrcV

Posted by: Bertram Cabot, Jr. at March 26, 2026 01:33 PM (Cqx++)

339 "It was the best of times. It was the blurst of times."

Posted by: Dark Litigator at March 26, 2026 01:33 PM (KAi1n)

340 Aaah!

Hot potato, orchestra stalls, Puck will make amends!

Oooow!

Posted by: Keanrick and Mossop at March 26, 2026 01:34 PM (CVAWM)

341 339 "It was the best of times. It was the blurst of times."

Posted by: Dark Litigator at March 26, 2026 01:33 PM (KAi1n)

=======

Those one million monkeys will come up with something great eventually.

Posted by: TheJamesMadison, discovering British horror with Hammer Films at March 26, 2026 01:34 PM (gYVzu)

342 332 I think I wanted to kill Pip by the end of that in 11th grade...ways to make school children hate literature pt 12 (this is why I've read so many classics as an adult...I needed distance from the garbage)...
Posted by: Nova Local at March 26, 2026 01:32 PM

I felt the same about Holden Caufield.

Posted by: Scuba_Dude at March 26, 2026 01:34 PM (4q/mG)

343 I really enjoy that movie. Saw it on TV when it first aired on the TV in the 70s. My 4th grade teacher was reading it to the class at the time which was pretty cool.

Oh, and I forgot to add. There is an unfucked version on the Internet Archive. “The Hi-Fi Hobbit.” It restores the original soundtrack. As far as I know, the current DVD, and going back to the first DVD of the movie, somehow managed to lose the track that includes many of the sound effects. Which makes for a very weird and unsatisfying experience.

Posted by: Stephen Price Blair at March 26, 2026 01:35 PM (EXyHK)

344 Honestly, for Shakespeare, I enjoy Julius Caesar more than most of his famous tragedies...it's a much more attractive read to teen boys as well (I read different Shakespeare with my girls and boys to try and give them something they'd like)...

Posted by: Nova Local at March 26, 2026 01:35 PM (tOcjL)

345 Back when I was a kid, my dad would pick up sci-fi and horror books that were way too adult for me. But I read them anyway. One of them, IIRC, started with the opening line of:

"Fuck you!"

Not joking. It was some really crappy book about a runaway panther in a big city, tearing up the local populace. Very explicit sex scenes that I didn't understand at my young age. The book was so crappy it might have had the super-thoughtful name of "Panther" or something like that.

Posted by: Elric The Blade at March 26, 2026 01:35 PM (iFTx/)

346 Those one million monkeys will come up with something great eventually.
Posted by: TheJamesMadison
========
No need, we have AI to do it for us.

Posted by: whig at March 26, 2026 01:35 PM (E4rtv)

347 Do we have auditors anymore? Even one honest auditor?

Put yourself on the payroll, and fuggedaboudit.

Posted by: Rev. Wishbone at March 26, 2026 01:35 PM (Fbc0I)

348 are they good? I saw the Brit TV production, with Ioan Gruffeld (or whatever, he played Mr. Fantastic) and really liked those.

Yes, and no. They are entertaining, fun, and uplifting. They are the kind of thing boys should watch. But they take some liberties with the story, more and more each series. So watch them and enjoy, then read the books which are even better.

Posted by: Christopher R Taylor at March 26, 2026 01:35 PM (PYyV9)

349 Austen, though? Just fun to read.
Posted by: TheJamesMadison

My wife made me watch The Pride and Prejudice that came out in the 90s, with Colin Firth and Jennfier Ehle. Despite my reservations about watching a "chick flick," I really enjoyed it.

Posted by: Bulg at March 26, 2026 01:36 PM (77rzZ)

350 So, no love for Dickens?
Posted by: Bulg at March 26, 2026 01:18 PM (77rzZ)

I have plenty of love for Dickins

Posted by: Barry Soetero at March 26, 2026 01:36 PM (HyaXg)

351
I can see that. Dickens was famous for his appearances before audiences to read his works back in the day.
Posted by: whig
----------
He shows up in an early episode of "Bonanza," of all places.
Posted by: Captain Obvious, Laird o' the Sea

With Jonathan Harris (Dr. Smith) as Dickens

Posted by: Bertram Cabot, Jr. at March 26, 2026 01:37 PM (Cqx++)

352 Just keep in mind that I was in my cups at the time.
Posted by: Bulg
======
Eh, that is true of a lot of writers when they wrote as well. The trick, as Winston Churchill said, is to get more out of the alcohol than it does from you.

Posted by: whig at March 26, 2026 01:37 PM (E4rtv)

353 Yes, and no. They are entertaining, fun, and uplifting. They are the kind of thing boys should watch. But they take some liberties with the story, more and more each series.
-----------
Inserting a dumb love story into "Hornblower, the Frogs and the Lobsters" really frosted me.

Posted by: Captain Obvious, Laird o' the Sea at March 26, 2026 01:37 PM (CVAWM)

354 He shows up in an early episode of "Bonanza," of all places.

Dickens' work was super popular in the late 1800s, and cowboys who could get his stuff loved it for reading over winter for example. The fact that it was really wordy and long worked well for that kind of thing. He got paid by the word, and it shows.

Posted by: Christopher R Taylor at March 26, 2026 01:37 PM (PYyV9)

355 349 Austen, though? Just fun to read.
Posted by: TheJamesMadison

Love Austen.. read all her books... More than once...

Posted by: It's me donna at March 26, 2026 01:37 PM (FtULh)

356 "In a hole in the ground there lived a hobbit."
Posted by: "Perfessor" Squirrel
.......

Until the gophers drove him out.

Posted by: wth at March 26, 2026 01:38 PM (UjdFS)

357 335 >>Any good reviews of Ethan Frome?

The image of a Sled on the Cover made promises to a young male reader that Edith Wharton made NO effort to satisfy.
--------------
Touché. This book almost killed any desire in me to read. Thank God for John D. MacDonald.

Posted by: pudinhead at March 26, 2026 01:38 PM (n17eQ)

358 I sit on a hill. I have sat here, it seems to me, for all eternity. Occasionally, I realize there must be a reason for my existence.

I know a gal that lives on a hill.
If she won't do it then her sister will.
When she boogies.

Posted by: A. E. Van Top at March 26, 2026 01:39 PM (wVcYX)

359 I can see that. Dickens was famous for his appearances before audiences to read his works back in the day.
Posted by: whig at March 26, 2026 01:29 PM (E4rtv)

There was an English prof. at Michigan, Bert Hornback, who would dress up as Dickens and do a public reading of "A Christmas Carol" every December.

Posted by: Bulg at March 26, 2026 01:39 PM (77rzZ)

360 "In a hole in the ground there lived a hobbit."
Posted by: "Perfessor" Squirrel
.......

Until the gophers drove him out.
Posted by: wth at March 26, 2026 01:38 PM (UjdFS)

Gophers?

Posted by: Carl Spackler at March 26, 2026 01:40 PM (wVcYX)

361 I can see why Austen is regarded as an example of an excellent author. Her plotting is excellent, well written and vivacious characters, and she had a keen eye for detail of her social setting.

That being said, not a big consumer of romances as of yet. Reading Emma and Pride and Prejudice was enough for me.

Posted by: whig at March 26, 2026 01:40 PM (E4rtv)

362 LOL, John Cornyn is announcing an endorsement from Dade Phelan.
He's the drunk goof who was speaker for the legislature in Texas, but got turfed out for being a drunken goof.

Posted by: gKWVE at March 26, 2026 01:40 PM (gKWVE)

363
Most of the Bronte sisters work I've read (like Vilette) is good but not great.

Posted by: TheJamesMadison

================

If that's what you think of the Brontes, then you have never truly read Wuthering Heights.

Posted by: Blonde Morticia at March 26, 2026 01:40 PM (XJ22o)

364 Inserting a dumb love story into "Hornblower, the Frogs and the Lobsters" really frosted me.

Yeah, like I said, each new series got further and further away from the original stories. Ioan Gruffud was great in them though, liked him in everything I have seen him in even when he's miscast (like Reed Richards). He had a fun series called Forever that was unfortunately canceled.

Posted by: Christopher R Taylor at March 26, 2026 01:40 PM (PYyV9)

365 359 I can see that. Dickens was famous for his appearances before audiences to read his works back in the day.
Posted by: whig at March 26, 2026 01:29 PM (E4rtv)

There's a great movie about Dickens... The Man who Invented Christmas I believe...

Posted by: It's me donna at March 26, 2026 01:40 PM (FtULh)

366 Not joking. It was some really crappy book about a runaway panther in a big city, tearing up the local populace. Very explicit sex scenes that I didn't understand at my young age. The book was so crappy it might have had the super-thoughtful name of "Panther" or something like that.
-----------------
I found Blow Baby Blow literally in the gutter. Read it from cover to cover. Several times, too.

Posted by: pudinhead at March 26, 2026 01:41 PM (n17eQ)

367 I can see that. Dickens was famous for his appearances before audiences to read his works back in the day.
Posted by: whig
----------
He shows up in an early episode of "Bonanza," of all places.
Posted by: Captain Obvious, Laird o' the Sea

With Jonathan Harris (Dr. Smith) as Dickens
Posted by: Bertram Cabot, Jr.
--------

It's interesting to read the account of Oscar Wilde doing readings in Leadville, Colorado.

Posted by: Mike Hammer, etc., etc. at March 26, 2026 01:41 PM (XeU6L)

368 >>This book almost killed any desire in me to read.

My memory of that book is essentially the same as the 'Uncle Vanya' bit from Seinfeld.

Posted by: garrett at March 26, 2026 01:41 PM (W7FsI)

369 Austen, though? Just fun to read.
Posted by: TheJamesMadison

My wife made me watch The Pride and Prejudice that came out in the 90s, with Colin Firth and Jennfier Ehle. Despite my reservations about watching a "chick flick," I really enjoyed it.
Posted by: Bulg at March 26, 2026 01:36 PM (77rzZ)

The version with zombies was *chef's kiss*.

Posted by: Count de Monet at March 26, 2026 01:41 PM (wVcYX)

370 363 If that's what you think of the Brontes, then you have never truly read Wuthering Heights.

Posted by: Blonde Morticia at March 26, 2026 01:40 PM (XJ22o)

======

I will be shocked if I enjoy Wuthering Heights that much.

The adaptations I've seen make Heathcliff and Catherine as insane.

Posted by: TheJamesMadison, discovering British horror with Hammer Films at March 26, 2026 01:41 PM (gYVzu)

371
Reading Emma and Pride and Prejudice was enough for me.
Posted by: whig

================

As far as I'm concerned, you needn't read the others. Persuasion maybe, but the stories and characters in the others aren't as fun and interesting as Emma and P&P.

Posted by: Blonde Morticia at March 26, 2026 01:42 PM (XJ22o)

372 364 He had a fun series called Forever that was unfortunately canceled.
Posted by: Christopher R Taylor at March 26, 2026 01:40 PM

I watched that show because of Alana de la Garza....... :-)

Posted by: Scuba_Dude at March 26, 2026 01:42 PM (4q/mG)

373 We are not tax payers anymore. We are fraud victims and as such, should sue the Federal Government and our State Governments. I know, I know.

Posted by: Cheri at March 26, 2026 01:43 PM (oiNtH)

374
I will be shocked if I enjoy Wuthering Heights that much.

The adaptations I've seen make Heathcliff and Catherine as insane.
Posted by: TheJamesMadison

=================

I was thinking of offering Quillette an article on the utter failure of cinema wrt Wuthering Heights. I'm not sure it should ever be made into a movie.

Posted by: Blonde Morticia at March 26, 2026 01:43 PM (XJ22o)

375 There was an English prof. at Michigan, Bert Hornback, who would dress up as Dickens and do a public reading of "A Christmas Carol" every December.
Posted by: Bulg

Hal Holbrook on stage doing his Mark Twain shows was sublime as well. Mark Twain had a rather similar, but later, career as Dickens. And given I am more American than English, I prefer Twain over Dickens. And O. Henry for his short stories.

The Ransom of Red Chief was and is outstanding in its comedic effect. And yet, O. Henry could provoke tears with the Gift of the Magi or Georgia's Ruling.

Posted by: whig at March 26, 2026 01:43 PM (E4rtv)

376 Evidently the most recent version of Wuthering Heights has very little to do with the book except for a few names.

Posted by: Christopher R Taylor at March 26, 2026 01:44 PM (PYyV9)

377 Interesting... Judges did NOT squash any of the FISA Warrants to spy on Trump and his allies...

But a Judge just squashed the Subpoenas to get evidence of FBI shenanigans in the Trump Mara Lago raid.

But really... we don't have a problem with the Judiciary!

Posted by: Romeo13 at March 26, 2026 01:45 PM (mP0Kj)

378 Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte is good... depressing but good...

Posted by: It's me donna at March 26, 2026 01:45 PM (FtULh)

379 The Ransom of Red Chief was and is outstanding in its comedic effect. And yet, O. Henry could provoke tears with the Gift of the Magi or Georgia's Ruling.
Posted by: whig

Decent candy bars too. Peanuts, caramel, and fudge coated in chocolate. I wonder why they stopped making them.

Posted by: Chuck Martel at March 26, 2026 01:45 PM (Dv3i1)

380 We are not tax payers anymore. We are fraud victims and as such, should sue the Federal Government and our State Governments. I know, I know.
Posted by: Cheri
.......

either that or revert to the Old Ways
Tar, feathers, lamp posts, town square humiliation at the very least.

Posted by: wth at March 26, 2026 01:45 PM (UjdFS)

381 I will be shocked if I enjoy Wuthering Heights that much.

The adaptations I've seen make Heathcliff and Catherine as insane.
Posted by: TheJamesMadison
======
Pretty much a dark tale of star crossed lovers without the charm of the characters killing themselves theatrically like in Romeo and Juliet.

I think you could do an adaptation crossing into horror of Wuthering Heights in a Fall of the House of Usher kind of way.

Posted by: whig at March 26, 2026 01:46 PM (E4rtv)

382 Jane Austen understood everyday human psychology at a tremendous level. She just "got" people.

Posted by: ... at March 26, 2026 01:46 PM (HyaXg)

383 Mark Twain annoys me because he spends too much time and effort being a curmudgeon and mocking everything. He can tell a great story but its always twisted and warped with his spite toward all humanity. Every book is basically: here's how everyone but me is stupid and everyone sucks and you're all wrong.

Posted by: Christopher R Taylor at March 26, 2026 01:46 PM (PYyV9)

384 Yes, it's true.

How to prove it was Biden? He was senile from the very beginning or not? (And 'auto pen')

And this:
Xavier Becerra has served as the U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS) under President Joe Biden since March 2021. As the 25th HHS Secretary and first Latino in the role, he has managed the federal health response to the COVID-19 pandemic and focused on expanding access to affordable healthcare.

Key HHS Leadership under Biden:
Secretary of HHS: Xavier Becerra (2021–present).
Assistant Secretary for Health: Dr. Rachel Levine (2021–present), the first openly transgender official confirmed by the Senate.

Who minds the piggy bank? Congress.

This is all true for the Labor Department, the State Department & others under that administration, true?
---
Wasn't the FARA registration for certain administration related non-profits also called into Q years ago?

We may come to regret - some day - HC didn't become Pres when either O & Joe did.(Those socialist guys and their foreign friends; undeniable.) I'll go hide now.

Posted by: L - No nic... at March 26, 2026 01:46 PM (NFX2v)

385 either that or revert to the Old Ways
Tar, feathers, lamp posts, town square humiliation at the very least.
____

There is a simpler way. Hear me out....

Posted by: Vlad Tepes at March 26, 2026 01:46 PM (Dv3i1)

386 Headline (Fox News):

"Dems go silent, pull Women's Month resolution after GOP asks for simple definition"

Excerpt:

"The bill, from state Rep. Carol Hill-Evans, D-York, recognized March as Women’s History Month in Pennsylvania. Hill-Evans wrote in her presentation of the bill that it "celebrat[es] the extraordinary accomplishments of women," which "too often go unacknowledged.""

Posted by: mrp at March 26, 2026 01:47 PM (rj6Yv)

387 If agents of the federal government refuse to follow the same banking and money tracking laws that Congress forced on literally everyone else in the entire country, which we have to follow on pain of ruinous financial penalties and prison time, then they should get the same penalties that everyone else gets.

Maybe all federal employees should get the military lectures about what constitutes an unlawful order.

Posted by: FeatherBlade at March 26, 2026 01:47 PM (a+4eV)

388 Mark Twain annoys me because he spends too much time and effort being a curmudgeon and mocking everything. He can tell a great story but its always twisted and warped with his spite toward all humanity. Every book is basically: here's how everyone but me is stupid and everyone sucks and you're all wrong.
Posted by: Christopher R Taylor

Does he comment here?

Posted by: Bulg at March 26, 2026 01:47 PM (77rzZ)

389 The Ransom of Red Chief was and is outstanding in its comedic effect. And yet, O. Henry could provoke tears with the Gift of the Magi or Georgia's Ruling.
Posted by: whig
-------

He is buried just up the street, in Riverside cemetery, also, Thomas Wolfe.

Posted by: Mike Hammer, etc., etc. at March 26, 2026 01:47 PM (XeU6L)

390 Decent candy bars too. Peanuts, caramel, and fudge coated in chocolate. I wonder why they stopped making them.
Posted by: Chuck Martel

Probably the same reason that a lot of things disappear. Companies get bought out, decline into bankruptcy, and products get enshittified until no one wants them anymore.

You could always check at a Cracker Barrel to see if someone is making replicas again.

Posted by: whig at March 26, 2026 01:48 PM (E4rtv)

391 Interesting... Judges did NOT squash any of the FISA Warrants to spy on Trump and his allies...

But a Judge just squashed the Subpoenas to get evidence of FBI shenanigans in the Trump Mara Lago raid.

But really... we don't have a problem with the Judiciary!
Posted by: Romeo13 at March 26, 2026 01:45 PM (mP0Kj)

Straight-shootin' ham-n-eggers they be.

Posted by: Count de Monet at March 26, 2026 01:48 PM (wVcYX)

392 383 Mark Twain annoys me because he spends too much time and effort being a curmudgeon and mocking everything. He can tell a great story but its always twisted and warped with his spite toward all humanity. Every book is basically: here's how everyone but me is stupid and everyone sucks and you're all wrong.
----------------
I agree with this. Sort of the same with Hemingway, too.

Posted by: pudinhead at March 26, 2026 01:48 PM (n17eQ)

393 I like Persuasion as a story. Kind of agonizing. The 2007 adaptation is the best I've seen.

Posted by: ... at March 26, 2026 01:48 PM (HyaXg)

394 Hey, anyone want to talk about LotR???

Posted by: tubal at March 26, 2026 01:48 PM (/HeZH)

395 I agree with this. Sort of the same with Hemingway, too.
Posted by: pudinhead

I can't stand Hemingway just because of his style. All those short, simple sentences. Very boring.

Posted by: Bulg at March 26, 2026 01:49 PM (77rzZ)

396 Every book is basically: here's how everyone but me is stupid and everyone sucks and you're all wrong.
Posted by: Christopher R Taylor
======
Try reading A Life on the Mississippi. Huckleberry Finn nor Tom Sawyer demonstrate that quality as well.

Posted by: whig at March 26, 2026 01:49 PM (E4rtv)

397 He is buried just up the street, in Riverside cemetery, also, Thomas Wolfe.
Posted by: Mike Hammer
=====
Interesting juxtaposition.

Posted by: whig at March 26, 2026 01:50 PM (E4rtv)

398 Hey, anyone want to talk about LotR???
Posted by: tubal at March 26, 2026 01:48 PM (/HeZH)
----
That was so yesterday...try to keep up!

Posted by: "Perfessor" Squirrel at March 26, 2026 01:50 PM (ESVrU)

399 Wow. Mets knock out Skenes in the 1st inning.

Didn't see that one coming.

Posted by: JackStraw at March 26, 2026 01:51 PM (viF8m)

400 Try reading A Life on the Mississippi. Huckleberry Finn nor Tom Sawyer demonstrate that quality as well.
Posted by: whig

Had a HS English teacher who thought that Huck Finn was the greatest book ever written. I never got it, myself.

Posted by: Bulg at March 26, 2026 01:51 PM (77rzZ)

401 There is a simpler way. Hear me out....
Posted by: Vlad Tepes
.......

Teach us, O wise one.

Posted by: wth at March 26, 2026 01:51 PM (UjdFS)

402 Does he comment here?

mmmmm...could beeee...

I can't stand Hemingway just because of his style. All those short, simple sentences. Very boring.

Most overrated author in history. Thankfully people seem to be figuring that out, he's lost a lot of popularity and respect over time. Everything people praised him for, Dashiell Hammett did better.

Posted by: Christopher R Taylor at March 26, 2026 01:51 PM (PYyV9)

403 Headline (Fox News):

"Dems go silent, pull Women's Month resolution after GOP asks for simple definition"

Excerpt:

"The bill, from state Rep. Carol Hill-Evans, D-York, recognized March as Women’s History Month in Pennsylvania. Hill-Evans wrote in her presentation of the bill that it "celebrat[es] the extraordinary accomplishments of women," which "too often go unacknowledged.""
Posted by: mrp at March 26, 2026 01:47 PM (rj6Yv)

Right on!

Posted by: Octo Mom at March 26, 2026 01:52 PM (wVcYX)

404 NOOD. Trigger warning.

Posted by: Bulg at March 26, 2026 01:52 PM (77rzZ)

405 Hey, anyone want to talk about LotR???
Posted by: tubal
......

Think I'll wait for a Disney thread.

Posted by: wth at March 26, 2026 01:52 PM (UjdFS)

406 Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte is good... depressing but good...
Posted by: It's me donna
------
A passage I keep in mind from Jane Eyre:

Mr. Rochester states, "Dread remorse when you are tempted to err, Miss Eyre; remorse is the poison of life,"

A lesson often learned too late in life.

Posted by: Mike Hammer, etc., etc. at March 26, 2026 01:52 PM (XeU6L)

407 400 Try reading A Life on the Mississippi. Huckleberry Finn nor Tom Sawyer demonstrate that quality as well.
Posted by: whig

Had a HS English teacher who thought that Huck Finn was the greatest book ever written. I never got it, myself.
Posted by: Bulg at March 26, 2026 01:51 PM (77rzZ)

White trash kid eking by in life. Can I say that?

Posted by: tubal at March 26, 2026 01:53 PM (/HeZH)

408 Sorry but Congress doesn't enforce them on and in Congress, nor can they ever not be paid during government shutdowns.

The perks are the job.

Posted by: L - No nic... at March 26, 2026 01:53 PM (NFX2v)

409 Had a HS English teacher who thought that Huck Finn was the greatest book ever written. I never got it, myself.
Posted by: Bulg

Similar to Don Quixote or Tom Jones--picaresque adventure of one encounter after another. The problem with Huck Finn is at the end of the book when Twain simply did not know how to finish it. He chose comedy rather than continuing into uncharted waters of biracial friendship of two outcasts of society.

But a lot of autobiographical details of Twain's writings ended up in his works.

Posted by: whig at March 26, 2026 01:56 PM (E4rtv)

410 Great expectations. When you picked up Twain were you expecting Shakespeare? Poe? Lovecraft?

Posted by: Rev. Wishbone at March 26, 2026 01:56 PM (Fbc0I)

411 White trash kid eking by in life. Can I say that?
Posted by: tubal
======
Very definition of picaresque.

Posted by: whig at March 26, 2026 01:56 PM (E4rtv)

412 Funny think with Musk, and Doge. Musk said the fraud levels were astounding, and that we could save over $1 trillion per year. Everyone scoffed at that....but...?

I think he was exactly right.

Posted by: The Whine Guy at March 26, 2026 02:01 PM (vOtXJ)

413 All these bastards need to be put in the stocks for a fortnight, so they can be pelted with garbage and publicly ridiculed; then frog-marched onto a ship to Devil's Island, and there incarcerated permanently.

Posted by: Beverly at March 26, 2026 02:36 PM (reMys)

414 Kill them and kill the judges.

Posted by: Pamazon at March 26, 2026 03:19 PM (b5MGU)

415 This sadly explains why the money went missing as it could not be traced.

I won't type what I am thinking about Obungo, Biden and all who did this. My thoughts are that bad.

Posted by: ChristyBlinkyTheGreat at March 26, 2026 03:31 PM (WONhk)

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