Ace of Spades HQ

March 16, 2014

Sunday Morning Book Thread 03-16-2014: The Luck of the Irish [OregonMuse]
— Open Blogger

The Moron Meet-Up In Dublin Was A Huge Success

Good morning morons and moronettes and welcome to AoSHQ's prestigious Sunday Morning Book Thread.

Green Beer, Anyone?

May the road rise up to meet you.
May the wind be always at your back.
May the sun shine warm upon your face; the rains fall soft upon your fields and until we meet again,
May God hold you in the palm of His hand.

Tradition Irish Blessing

Faith and begorrah, tomorrow is St. Patrick's Day. With its emphasis on carousing, excessive drinking and vomiting, St. Paddy's Day is one of the three great moron-friendly holidays, the other two being the 4th of July (drinking and detonation of heavy ~~ordinance~~ ordnance) and Mardi Gras in Rio (drinking and scantily clad women).

So, other than downing pint after pint and throwing up on your shoes, what have the Irish ever done? Well, perhaps more than you'd think. This book, How the Irish Saved Civilization: The Untold Story of Ireland's Heroic Role From the Fall of Rome to the Rise of Medieval Europe, by Thomas Cahill, which is described as

the story of how Europe evolved from the classical age of Rome to the medieval era. Without Ireland, the transition could not have taken place. Not only did Irish monks and scribes maintain the very record of Western civilization -- copying manuscripts of Greek and Latin writers, both pagan and Christian, while libraries and learning on the continent were forever lost -- they brought their uniquely Irish world-view to the task.

There are a number of one-star reviewers who point out some historical inaccuracies, namely, that manuscript copying wasn't going on only in Ireland, but also in monasteries in Gaul and other places on the continent as well. Also, that the Irish monks got their manuscripts from the Benedictines, who deserve better than to be completely ignored.

Another, more recent, book along these same lines is The Secret Gospel of Ireland: The Untold Story of How Science and Democracy Descended From a Remarkable Form of Christianity That Developed in Ancient Ireland by James and Leo Behan. It further details the contributions to western civilization that had their origin on the Emerald Isle.

Real Books

Moronette Anna Puma sent me this series of photos of actual books. You'd think books with titles such as Another Bullshit Night in Suck City and The Jewish-Japanese Sex & Cook Book and How to Raise Wolves would be photoshopped fakes, but as you can see from the links, they're apparently real books. Many of them, anyway.
Disturbing Headline of The Week

Keith Richards Will Release A Children's Book This Fall:

Richards, the guitarist for the legendary rock group the Rolling Stones, said he is writing a book based on his relationship with his grandfather, jazz musician Theodore Augustus Dupree.

I guess that's OK.

The book will be titled Â“Gus & Me: The Story of My Granddad and My First GuitarÂ” and will be released by Little, Brown Books for Young Readers via both paper and e-book format on Sept. 9. A CD will be included with the physical book.

That doesn't sound too bad. That headline still kind of creeps me out, though.

Also, in my yoot, the Stones were a young, new band. It's hard for me to think of those guys as grandfathers now.

Foreign Words

Ever walk away from a conversation thinking "Do'h! I should have said such-and-such!"? Well, the French have a word (phrase) for it: "espirit d'escalier", literally, "spirit of the staircase", from when you get plagued by belated insight as you're walking down the stairs afterwards.

Here are a few more. There is a Japanese word which I think might be the equivalent of our word "butterface". The word "bakku-shan" means a girl who is beautiful, as long as she is being viewed from behind.

And of course, there's the moron favorite "backpfeifengesicht", which is a German word for a face that badly needs punching.

From another, longer list, I learned the useful Czech word 'litost', which is an emotion described as a state of torment created by the sudden sight of oneÂ’s own misery. What a wonderful word for these depressing, infuriating times.

Books of Note

Rush has been crowing about this all week: His newly released book for school-age children, Rush Revere and the First Patriots: Time-Travel Adventures With Exceptional Americans, is #1 on the Amazon chart. It has already gathered a number of one-star reviews, and they're pretty funny. I can just see them jumping up and down and shaking their tiny little fists with impotent rage.

___________

During my dental appointment this week, I overheard the hygienist that she purchased Deep Survival: Who Lives, Who Dies, and Why by Laurence Gonzalez as a gift for her father. I don't know anything about it, but the premise sounds interesting:

What impels people to risk their lives by climbing mountains or deep-sea diving? What confluence of forces leads to drastic accidents? Why do some people survive disasters while others perish? A renowned journalist intrigued with risk, Gonzales conducts an in-depth and engrossing inquiry into the dynamics of survival. Relating one hair-raising true story after another about wilderness adventures gone catastrophically wrong and other calamities, Gonzales draws on sources as diverse and compelling as the Stoic philosophers and neuroscience to elucidate the psychological, physiological, and spiritual strengths that enable certain individuals to avoid fatal panic and make that crucial "transition from victim to survivor."

___________

The 2nd book of Brandon Sanderson's Stormlight series has been out for a little over a week. If you're one of those who likes a good, long read, this is your lucky day: Words of Radiance weighs in at 1000+ pages, so that should keep you busy for the entire weekend.

Bulwer-Lytton

Every year since 1982, the English Department at San Jose State University has sponsored the Bulwer-Lytton Fiction Contest, a contest that calls for submission of the opening sentence to the worst of all possible novels. I thought the 2014 contest had ended and so I could pilfer book thread material from it, but I was wrong, it's still a few months off. So, in the meantime, here are a couple of choice entries from last year:

Mildred, sitting under the hair dryer at The Curl & Go and thumbing through a Victoria's Secret catalogue, felt a shudder and a fleeting moment of commiseration when she saw those tiny thongs the models were sporting in the name of underwear because, as it happened, her own butt cheeks tended to gobble up her Fruit of the Loom For Mature Women white cotton panties like a pair of starving wolverines fighting over aÂ flatfish.

And this one had Mrs. Muse laughing so hard that she almost had An Unfortunate Accident:

Betty had eyes that said come here, lips that said kiss me, arms and torso that said hold me all night long, but the rest of her body said, "Fillet me, cover me in cornmeal, and fry me in peanut oil"; romance wasn't easy for a mermaid.

Books by Morons

Moronette Elizabeth Wolfe e-mailed to let me know that her new book is out. Volume 2 of her Loyal Valley series, Loyal Valley: Bystanders:

An unconventional enemy resorts to unconventional tactics. Determined to lure Lt. Col. Clint Donovan and his military intelligence team to their deaths, Number SevenÂ’s operatives make a deal with an Apache warrior whose cruelty is legendary even among his own people and whose involvement stirs up the torturous ghosts of Bella DonovanÂ’s past. A widowed horse rancher sends Clint timely warning, but even that canÂ’t prevent the Apaches from taking a neighborÂ’s sons as bait for an ambush, and ClintÂ’s informant finds herself on the wrong end of Number SevenÂ’s wrath as a result of her actions. As ClintÂ’s choices set the stage for a cavalrymanÂ’s finest hour and a townÂ’s hard lesson in courage, the same question arises time and again:

Is there such a thing as an innocent bystander?

She also says

...if any of the Texas Â’rons and Â’ettes are interested, IÂ’ll be speaking about Bystanders next Saturday (3/22/14) at West Texas Heritage Days at Fort McKavett, during the noon meal. IÂ’ll be there primarily as a reenactor, doing a calligraphy demonstration, but IÂ’ll have books for sale as well.

Elizabeth is also the author of Look Behind You (The Order of the Silver Star) mentioned here a few weeks back.

___________

So that's all for this week. As always, book thread tips, suggestions, rumors, threats, and insults may be sent to OregonMuse, Proprietor, AoSHQ Book Thread, at aoshqbookthread, followed by the 'at' sign, and then 'G' mail, and then dot cee oh emm.

What have you all been reading this week? Hopefully something good, because, as I keep saying, life is too short to be reading lousy books.

Posted by: Open Blogger at 05:55 AM | Comments (164)
Post contains 1496 words, total size 11 kb.

1 How the Irish Saved Civilization is a good, short, book. It was a huge seller in MA when it first came out, spawned a mini trend of similar books that didn't fare as well.

Posted by: Lincolntf at March 16, 2014 06:02 AM (ZshNr)

2 Q: Why did God invent alcohol? A: To prevent the Irish from taking over the world.

Posted by: Blake at March 16, 2014 06:02 AM (2IqjF)

3 What's green and stays out all night?

Posted by: BackwardsBoy, who did not vote for this shit[/i][/u][/b][/s] at March 16, 2014 06:04 AM (0HooB)

4 Yay book thread! I started on the Honor Harrington series (currently at book 4) after a moron mentioned that the 1st 2 books are free. I am struck at how the baddies, Haven, could pretty much be where we all are heading. Always broke coz everyones on the dole.

Posted by: Votermom at March 16, 2014 06:06 AM (GSIDW)

5 As usual, Irish braggadocio takes things a little further than things actually happened. No offense meant. That said, St. Patricks Day is the perfect opportunity to watch the greatest movie ever made about the Irish, The Quiet Man, starring John Wayne and Maureen O'Hara and directed by John Ford. Stereotypes abound, but they add to the story, not detract from it. Highly recommended.

Posted by: Krebs v Carnot: Epic Battle of the Cycling Stars™ [/i] [/b] [/s] at March 16, 2014 06:07 AM (HsTG8)

6 I'm enjoying Words of Radiance but when I hear what Sanderson is planning on doing with the series I'm worried he won't finish it before I die. And I'm only 25!

Posted by: Adam at March 16, 2014 06:08 AM (Aif/5)

7 I'm looking for some help to find a short story that I once read. Briefly, it was about a prep school or college kid of upper crust and wealthy background who served as coxswain for his school's rowing team. Times had changed and now, rather than effete rich kids, the rowers were mostly from middle or lower class families and the coxswain's snooty family despised the change and gave him grief about continuing to serve. There is a race at the story's end where the rowing team gets all out of sync and would lose the important race. At that moment, the coxswain realizes that it is his job to settle them down, restart a cadence and cross the finish line last, but functioning as a team. Does anyone recognize this story and know its title and author (I have a vague recollection it was F. Scott Fitzgerald)? Thanks!

Posted by: Krebs v Carnot: Epic Battle of the Cycling Stars™ [/i] [/b] [/s] at March 16, 2014 06:09 AM (HsTG8)

8 Waiting with great anticipation for the local library's book sale this Friday. I've scored some good reads there every time they hold it, and at a buck each ($2 for hardbacks) you can't go wrong.

This week, I've been re-reading three books by "Joey." His name is a pseudonym for a dude who claimed, among other criminal exploits, to have killed 38 men for the Mob. Someone figured out who he really was an offed him a few years ago....

Not outstanding literature, but who needs Great Books when there's gore, bad language and worse grammar?

Posted by: MrScribbler at March 16, 2014 06:10 AM (jiM5S)

9 Psst: Ordnance, not ordinance.

Posted by: rickl at March 16, 2014 06:10 AM (sdi6R)

10 I'm half way through the audio book of "21", the MIT blackjack story made into a movie "Bringing Down the House" or something like that. Interesting story, makes me want to try my hand at counting cards using their method.

Posted by: Lincolntf at March 16, 2014 06:14 AM (ZshNr)

11 I guess we know what the just invented by me Japanese word "bu-bakku-shan" would mean, don't we?

Posted by: New Word Inventor Dude at March 16, 2014 06:14 AM (8+xjO)

12 Picked up "Freehold" by Michael Z. Williamson. Kindle version is free. It starts a bit slow but the political system he's constructed is interesting.

Posted by: Emile Antoon Khadaji at March 16, 2014 06:15 AM (/8qpd)

13 Once again, my friends: ordnance: things that go boom ordinance: local legal statutes

Posted by: houseonfire at March 16, 2014 06:16 AM (G8PP/)

14 Is "gus" British slang for heroin?

Posted by: Travis McGee at March 16, 2014 06:16 AM (Ph479)

15 Why would Cruz do that to himself?

Posted by: Henry Rollins at March 16, 2014 06:21 AM (KgN8K)

16 In fact, I am not Irish by birth and perhaps only 1/64th or less by heritage. But, the character who inspired my nick most certainly was. From early in life he loved visiting the myriad castles that dot the Irish landscape. In fact, he actually applied for and was accepted to the Irish CIA**, although he never matriculated due to an accident at sea. Merely one of the many scenarios put forth to try to explain "The Curious Disappearance of Seamus Muldoon" (** Castle Inspecting Academy)

Posted by: Seamus Muldoon at March 16, 2014 06:25 AM (g4TxM)

17 "The Jewish-Japanese Sex & Cook Book"

Three hours of begging followed by recipes for Sosumi?

Posted by: cool breeze at March 16, 2014 06:27 AM (A+/8k)

18 Who lives or dies often boils down to the question of who panics and who doesn't. Panic is the result of an inability to conceive of bad outcomes and to acknowledge that bad things can and do happen. It's the difference between focusing on the existence of a problem rather than seeking a solution.

Posted by: RS at March 16, 2014 06:27 AM (YAGV/)

19 OT

Happy birthday to Alexandra Daddario today.

She is 28.

http://tinyurl.com/orjxl2v

Posted by: EC at March 16, 2014 06:27 AM (doBIb)

20 The continuing saga of the missing airliner has reminded me of the most famous mystery in aviation history, the disappearance of Amelia Earhart. Scores if not hundreds of books have been written about her. The three best ones I've read are: The Search for Amelia Earhart by Fred Goerner (1966) This is the one that postulates that she landed on one of the Marshall Islands and was captured by the Japanese. Apparently the author corresponded extensively with Admiral Nimitz, who encouraged his research. Supposedly her plane was found on Saipan in 1944 and ordered destroyed. Natives in the area recalled a white woman and man in a Japanese prison camp during that time frame. Finding Amelia by Ric Gillespie (2006) He thinks she crash landed on Gardner Island (now called Nikumaroro) and survived for a period of time. Apparently the British recovered human remains in 1940 that were subsequently lost. There is an absolutely harrowing account of a teenage girl in New Jersey who heard distress calls on the radio and wrote down notes in a notebook that survives. Remember, radio waves travel through the atmosphere and can be heard over great distances depending on atmospheric and magnetic conditions. Amelia Earhart: The Mystery Solved by Elgen M. and Marie K. Long (1999) The male Long was a pilot and analyzed the Electra's fuel consumption. A young Lockheed engineer by the name of Kelly Johnson was responsible for compiling tables of altitudes and throttle settings for greatest efficiency. The Longs say that there is no way she could have made it as far as Gardner Island and must have ditched in the ocean near Howland. They also discussed aerial navigation techniques used in the 1930s. One point the authors made is that Earhart and Noonan did not have shoulder harnesses, so in the event of a rough landing they would likely have hit their heads and been knocked unconscious, drowning when the plane sank. There was another good one that I read as a kid that covered the distress calls several people claimed to have heard in the days following the disappearance. I don't remember the author or title, though. It was published in the mid-60s. So there are three riveting, convincing, compelling books, which point in completely different and mutually exclusive directions. Read them all and you'll be like me: I have no idea what actually happened. We'll never know for sure until the plane is found, and if Goerner is right, it already was. But I definitely do recommend them all.

Posted by: rickl at March 16, 2014 06:27 AM (sdi6R)

21 I'm reading "the Heanens Are Empty; Rediscovering the lost Town of Trochinbord" - WW 2 history of the destruction of an entirely Jewish city in Eastern Europe. Good book- very interesting. I got it after someone here recommended it on the book thread. I'm struck by how entitled the Nazis and their collaborators felt to destroy the way of life for others who had never done a single real thing to them. Kinda like leftists everywhere I think. Read the Cahill book some time ago. It was a fun read.

Posted by: Jade Sea at March 16, 2014 06:28 AM (Rndfe)

22 Ancestry.com corrected my family lineage for me, had always thought I was three-quarters Irish, one quarter Scotch, turns out I'm more like half and half.

Posted by: Lincolntf at March 16, 2014 06:28 AM (ZshNr)

23 Re-reading The Mona Intercept by Donald Hamilton. Good yarn. He was a much under-appreciated writer.

Posted by: backhoe at March 16, 2014 06:28 AM (ULH4o)

24 I downloaded the first Honor Harrington but I really should suck it up and do my taxes before starting a good read. But I felt mentally fuzzy yesterday so I finished reading Gulliver's travels and piddled on the web and didn't even look at those forms. I thought I had read Gulliver's travels as a kid, I remember some illustrations, but most of the detail was new and it was fun reading it from the perspective of political satire written in 1700. A good thing about Amazon and the kindles, lots of old classics as free downloads.

Posted by: PaleRider at March 16, 2014 06:29 AM (vL0Nv)

25 I had relatives actually purchase "Kat Kong" and the dog/godzilla-themed sequel for my kids. For modern kid's books, they actually aren't bad at all. The writer was obviously a fan of the daikaiju genre, and had a lot of fun with these parodies. (The decision to use mice for the human characters also may summon up thoughts of "Dinner for Schmucks", and I'm pretty sure this is intentional.)

Posted by: Luke at March 16, 2014 06:32 AM (32FX2)

26 I'm a big fan of library sales and in fact one of those purchases, Old Goriot by Balzac, is what my book group is currently reading. It's extremely well written (and translated) about a group of people living in a boarding house in a seedy part of post Revolutionary Paris. It's funny how everybody is conscious of their station in life and efforts to rise above it or make excuses for it. Everybody makes fun of Goriot even though he has a lot of money, so they make up stories for why his circumstances are what they are without having a clue. He made his money at a providential time for being a grain merchant that was a small window between having his head cut off and not having an opportunity for upward mobility. One of the main characters is a law student on the make who is trying to parlay his relations in the upper crust to open doors. It's all pretty fascinating and well done.

I finally finished Volume 5 of Gibbon and am on to the last and final volume. As I've remarked previously, the last chapter concentrated on the Normans activity in Italy, Sicily and elsewhere, where they kicked the mooooslims out at the behest of the Byzantines and then decided they liked it there and set up permanent residence. This pissed everybody off but there wasn't a fucking thing they could do about it. Two of the biggest ass kickers were Robert Guiscard and his brother Roger; kind of like Stone Cold Steve Austin teaming up with The Undertaker. Their attitude was pretty much "we do what we like when we like and anybody who doesn't like it can suck a fat one". Even the Pope tried to run them off and they kicked everybody's ass around him while still deferring to his station in life. They also got pissed off at the Byzantines and started marching on them until they got paid off to go away. The best part was when they were besieging Durazzo and Alexius decided to attack them by surrounding them; Alexius was lucky to escape with his life. Ultimately the offspring of those guys didn't measure up to the ass kickers standards and they ultimately retreated to France. But they were probably the most interesting people in the whole five volumes (that it happened later and more documentation was available had something to do with that; Gibbon didn't make nearly the number of howler mistakes in writing about them). Volume 6 has started out setting the stage in Turkey (extended) before the first Crusade. Gibbon has already fucked up regarding when the term "Sultan" was first used.

In Red Fortress it's quite a time of strife in Moscow after the dustup regarding the fake Czar Dimitry. The seeds of the Rooski/Poland fighting was definitely planted at this time.

Posted by: Captain Hate at March 16, 2014 06:32 AM (YvXkB)

27 At that moment, the coxswain realizes that it is his job to settle them down, restart a cadence and cross the finish line last, but functioning as a team. Does anyone recognize this story and know its title and author *** If I were writing a title I would call it "The Oar of Babylon".

Posted by: Seamus Muldoon at March 16, 2014 06:33 AM (g4TxM)

28 I'm still re-reading Way of Kings to remind myself what's going on before I start Words of Radiance. It's kind of slow going this time around, because I have a couple of other things going on.

One, I got the first Posleen book and am about halfway through it. It's a good thing I've been reading the ONT with my morning coffee for quite a while now, or I'd probably have quit reading at all the profanity in the boot camp chapter.

The other is that I'm playing my fourth go-round of Skyrim, and doing pretty well now that I know what's what. Aside from some glitches (mostly different from game to game) that aren't recoverable-from on my Xbox, I love it. Next time I have to replace this desktop, a mid-range computer ought to be able to run it, and I can grab a bunch of third-party mods that'll keep me going forever!

Once I finish the first two Posleen books (got them free on Amazon last Sunday), I should know if I like the series enough to keep going up to Watch on the Rhine (which I got first due to discussion here, but then someone said it was best to start from the first one, so ... )

Posted by: Empire1 at March 16, 2014 06:35 AM (70ROn)

29 I have so many books that have been put on hold while I obsess about Veronica Mars. Thank goodness that's over. Kinda. I guess the creator Rob Thomas is following up the movie with a VM novel with the moron-friendly title of "The Ten-Thousand Dollar Tan Line."

Posted by: Gem at March 16, 2014 06:36 AM (zw+pb)

30 >>>10 I'm half way through the audio book of "21", the MIT blackjack story made into a movie "Bringing Down the House" or something like that. Interesting story, makes me want to try my hand at counting cards using their method.

Posted by: Lincolntf at March 16, 2014 10:14 AM (ZshNr)<<<

wouldn't last for long in a Vegas casino.

Posted by: rich@gmu at March 16, 2014 06:37 AM (3yFC4)

31 My son loved Dav Pilkey' s books... he's the Captain Underwear guy, right? I believe we own Kat Kong.

Posted by: Gem at March 16, 2014 06:39 AM (zw+pb)

32 It's impossible now, but back in 94 and 95 they made a killing. I suppose someone out there is still doing it, but from what I can tell technology and record keeping and communication among casinos put a kibosh on the big guys.

Posted by: Lincolntf at March 16, 2014 06:41 AM (ZshNr)

33 I LOL'd all over the place at "Princess Bitchface: How To Deal with Your Adolescent Daughter."

Posted by: Gem at March 16, 2014 06:41 AM (zw+pb)

Loved the "Joey" books. Currently reading the third of a very distrubing trio of books. "Missing 411", if even a tenth of the cases detailed in the books of missing persons in our national parks are true, then National Park Service has some explaining to do.

I googled several of the names because I couldn't believe what I was reading. So far everything checks out. Just stunning, I knew a park ranger who retired and told about weird disappearances in the parks but I had no idea things were this bad.

Posted by: Larsen E. Whipsnade at March 16, 2014 06:46 AM (vPqUt)

35 Larsen, do you have any more details? Sounds interesting.

Posted by: Emile Antoon Khadaji at March 16, 2014 06:49 AM (CrJzY)

36 That mermaid story sounds hilariously awesome.

Posted by: alexthechick - come for the Global Warming stay for the SMOD at March 16, 2014 06:50 AM (Gk3SS)

37 I took a chance a couple of months ago and downloaded a free selection of Zane Grey's output. So far, about 2/3s into the first book that he wrote - Betty Zane. Set in the years just after the Revolution, when settlers were just beginning to spill over the Appalachian range. So far, the only interesting thing in it is that I have found the first instance of a villain snarling, "Aha, my proud beauty!" to the heroine.

Posted by: Sgt. Mom at March 16, 2014 06:51 AM (Asjr7)

38 33... I need that book. If not to read, to have something to hide behind when the princess enters the room. Oh oh, I hear her coming up the stairs. Maybe I can lock myself in the bathroom until she graduates from high school. Gotta run...

Posted by: confused in montana at March 16, 2014 06:54 AM (eQYKh)

39 agreed with atc. It looks like the actual start to the funniest "Little Mermaid" parody / homage ever written. Someone tell that author to finish the book!

Posted by: boulder toilet hobo at March 16, 2014 06:57 AM (78Zg2)

40 Speaking of library sales, Mommy will no longer go with me to our local one after that Unfortunate Incident where I may or may not have had to borrow a hand cart to haul the boxes of books out to my car.

Posted by: alexthechick - come for the Global Warming stay for the SMOD at March 16, 2014 06:57 AM (Gk3SS)

41 Larsen, do you have any more details? Sounds interesting.

Posted by: Emile Antoon Khadaji at March 16, 2014 10:49 AM (CrJzY

Yes, what do you wish to know?

Posted by: Larsen E. Whipsnade at March 16, 2014 06:59 AM (vPqUt)

42 May the road rise up to kiss your face, as it has mine.

Posted by: gp at March 16, 2014 07:00 AM (+Jpqc)

43 I've been reading 'The Neverending Story'. Started it in '83...

Posted by: HH at March 16, 2014 07:03 AM (XXwdv)

44 In honor St. Patrick's Day, here is a list of my favorite Irish names (courtesy of the MST3K crew at Youtube (search for "The Many Names of David Ryder")

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RFHlJ2voJHY

Tip: Don't drink anything while watching this clip, tends to damage keyboards...

Posted by: Pave Low John at March 16, 2014 07:03 AM (3wv7A)

45 Author, example of some of the stories? I searched on my Kindle app but didn't find anything that matched up. It seems almost incomprehensible that in this day and age that people could just vanish. Not discounting the stories, just makes you remember that it's still a rough world out there, you know?

Posted by: Emile Antoon Khadaji at March 16, 2014 07:03 AM (/8qpd)

46 Good Morning Morons

Had to come on for the book thread.

Interrupted the Ryan Marathon for for the new Dan Brown book.

I see why they marked it down so soon.

Posted by: Vic[/i] at March 16, 2014 07:04 AM (T2V/1)

Posted by: Larsen E. Whipsnade at March 16, 2014 10:46 AM (vPqUt)

make sure your car is well tuned and full of gas before driving through Ocala National Forest...serial killers, tweakers, forest squatters...my car stalled in the middle of the forest, in the small hours of the night....

Posted by: rich@gmu at March 16, 2014 07:04 AM (3yFC4)

48 Just finished "The Night of the Long Knives" by Paul R. Maracin. It's a slender volume but packs lots of punch. I am struck again by what a passel of losers the inner circle was. With the exception of WWI air ace Goering, just about every one was a failure as a civilian (or, with Heydrich, of dubious character as an officer). Hitler, failed artist; Goebbels, failed author; Himmler, failed bureaucrat/gentleman farmer; etc.

Posted by: All Hail Eris at March 16, 2014 07:04 AM (QBm1P)

49 Hi, Backhoe - yes, I was legitimately an NCO, and a mom. I took the nick from what they used to call me behind my back when I was active duty. There was also a character in a comic strip run in the Stars & Stripes newspaper called Sgt. Mom. Sounds like your mom was a trip - I met a great many women who had served in various capacities in WWII - most of them had the most fun during their service, and usually married a man they met through it.

Posted by: Sgt. Mom at March 16, 2014 07:05 AM (Asjr7)

50 Oh, I forgot.. My mom was from Ireland my dad from Scotland.

Posted by: Vic[/i] at March 16, 2014 07:06 AM (T2V/1)

51 Earlier this week there was a conversation / argument about Hollywood's handling of the Mitteleuropean market during the 1930s. I'd noted Ben Urwand, "The Collaboration: HollywoodÂ’s Pact with Hitler" - then googled and found this: http://www.jewishjournal.com/opinion/article/the_little_history_book_that_couldnt ... so I had to un-note it. That was pretty low of Urwand to shop bullshit about THIS period.

Posted by: boulder toilet hobo at March 16, 2014 07:08 AM (78Zg2)

52 My forebears came from Omagh during the famine but records were destroyed in a fire so can't trace any further back than that.

Posted by: Dr. Varno at March 16, 2014 07:10 AM (V4CBV)

53
I guess you could use that butterface idea in many ways, butterbutt, butterback, butternose.

My made up word of the day is ...*drumroll*......

Gloffennail. When you realize you need to cut your toe nails but just don't feel like it.

Posted by: Guy Mohawk at March 16, 2014 07:10 AM (0Kobm)

54 Not a book, but the animated film The Secret of Kells kinda sorta tells the story of the monks preserving the gospel.

Posted by: Lauren at March 16, 2014 07:10 AM (hFL/3)

55 Yo Kinder! Been reading "Coolidge" by Amity Shlaes [sp??]. very interesting
how he went from quiet loner in college [Amherst] to something of a
toastmaster and speaker at his graduation [selected by vote of his senior
class]. Best on camera speech - I think he was the first Prez to do that. He finishes, then just walks off camera! Priceless!

Posted by: Geezer der Mensch at March 16, 2014 07:10 AM (6aFlV)

Christopher Carlton Tompkins age 20 working on a survey crew. Four men walking down the side of the road fifty feet apart at 1:30pm. One worker glances back and Tompkins is there last in line and he glances again a couple of minutes later and he vanished. They found one boot and some tools but no trace of Tompkins. Google it.

Posted by: Larsen E. Whipsnade at March 16, 2014 07:11 AM (vPqUt)

57 Speaking of library sales, Mommy will no longer go with me to our local one after that Unfortunate Incident where I may or may not have had to borrow a hand cart to haul the boxes of books out to my car.

Posted by: alexthechick - come for the Global Warming stay for the SMOD at March 16, 2014 10:57 AM (Gk3SS)

Well that's just unreasonable of her/

Posted by: Colorado Alex at March 16, 2014 07:11 AM (lr3d7)

58 I am struck again by what a passel of losers the inner circle was. That's politics for you. Obama was a terrible law-review editor, didn't do squat as a community-organiser, slept through his tenure in the Illinois legislature, and his Presidency speaks for itself.

Posted by: boulder toilet hobo at March 16, 2014 07:12 AM (78Zg2)

59 and...somewhat related - in highschool, my friend and I would invent
german words fer fun [both took Deutsch, btw]. Rothalsiger - redneck,
Gunschlassen - sunglasses. bored teens @ work, you see...

Posted by: Geezer der Mensch at March 16, 2014 07:13 AM (6aFlV)

60 59 I was thinking that the entire time, BTH!

Posted by: All Hail Eris at March 16, 2014 07:13 AM (QBm1P)

61 A good recommendation: 'Saxons, Vikings, and Celts: The Genetic Roots of Britain and Ireland' by Bryan Sykes Lots of genetics, but clear enough for the layman to understand.

Posted by: Dr. Varno at March 16, 2014 07:13 AM (V4CBV)

Hello everyone from Down Under on Monday morning!

My book for being a good read, " K2 Triumph and Tragedy" by Jim Curran, first published in 1987

It details the disastrous year, 1986, when 9 expeditions attempted K2, the world's 2nd highest mountain - and mountaineers died in terrible conditions

It's a great absorbing read, especially if you're interested in mountain climbing like I am (even though the only thing I've ever climbed is a ladder)

It's on Kindle as well as via Book Depository/Amazon

Posted by: aussie at March 16, 2014 07:16 AM (yeSac)

63 Crazy. Do you have the author, Larsen? I'd like to read the book, not finding it on Amazon.

Posted by: Emile Antoon Khadaji at March 16, 2014 07:17 AM (/8qpd)

64 And may you be dead for many hours
before the Devil knows you're gone.

Posted by: Bitter Clinger and All That (Awaiting Armageddon) at March 16, 2014 07:19 AM (LSDdO)

65 David Paulides. It's three books in all. also check out canammissing.com has more info.

Posted by: Larsen E. Whipsnade at March 16, 2014 07:20 AM (vPqUt)

66 I'm Scots-Irish on my dad's side. I always thought that pretty much meant Scots usurper, but my dad had a DNA test done and there's a pretty high percentage of Irish in there ( 40%), as well. So now I can wear the green without feeling like an imposter.

Posted by: Gem at March 16, 2014 07:23 AM (zw+pb)

67 Some of those Bulwer-Lytton lines aren't bad for comedy writing at all. I think they neighbors might have heard me laughing over that mermaid line.

Posted by: Burn the Witch at March 16, 2014 07:23 AM (gBnkX)

68 Posted by: Bitter Clinger and All That (Awaiting Armageddon) at March 16, 2014 11:19 AM (LSDdO)

Good movie.

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt00292963/

Posted by: CharlieBrown'sDildo at March 16, 2014 07:24 AM (QFxY5)

69 Posted by: Bitter Clinger and All That (Awaiting Armageddon) at March 16, 2014 11:19 AM (LSDdO)

Good movie.

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt00292963/

Posted by: CharlieBrown'sDildo at March 16, 2014 07:24 AM (QFxY5)

70 "Another Bullshit Night in Suck City" is a decent read. (SPOILER): it is in part the memoir of a man who volunteers at a homeless shelter, and finds that one of the frequent residents is his own alcoholic, unstable, absentee father. Worth checking out.

Posted by: Knemon at March 16, 2014 07:26 AM (W2i8s)

71 "Another Bullshit Night in Suck City" is a decent read. (SPOILER): it is in part the memoir of a man who volunteers at a homeless shelter, and finds that one of the frequent residents is his own alcoholic, unstable, absentee father. Worth checking out.

Posted by: Knemon at March 16, 2014 07:26 AM (W2i8s)

72 Good reminder that Libertarians have some good ideas -- but also a lot of really shitty ones. Today is Open Borders Day, and the leading American libertarian voices are celebrating it, of course. Cause they don't believe America has a moral right or duty to enforce its borders. They think that is immoral. Marginal Revolution ‏@MargRev Open Borders Day!: Today is Open Borders Day, a day to celebrate the right to emigrate and the right to immigr... http://bit.ly/1iRTqDy Expand

Posted by: Flatbush Joe at March 16, 2014 07:26 AM (ZPrif)

73 Good reminder that Libertarians have some good ideas -- but also a lot of really shitty ones. Today is Open Borders Day, and the leading American libertarian voices are celebrating it, of course. Cause they don't believe America has a moral right or duty to enforce its borders. They think that is immoral. Marginal Revolution ‏@MargRev Open Borders Day!: Today is Open Borders Day, a day to celebrate the right to emigrate and the right to immigr... http://bit.ly/1iRTqDy Expand

Posted by: Flatbush Joe at March 16, 2014 07:26 AM (ZPrif)

74 Another leading American libertarian voice Volokh Conspiracy ‏@volokhcom [Ilya Somin] Open Borders Day: Today is Open Borders Day Â– an international event created toÂ… http://goo.gl/fb/sjgtG

Posted by: Flatbush Joe at March 16, 2014 07:27 AM (ZPrif)

75 Posted by: aussie at March 16, 2014 11:16 AM (yeSac)

"Into Thin Air," by Krakauer is another great read in the same vein.

Posted by: CharlieBrown'sDildo at March 16, 2014 07:28 AM (QFxY5)

76 And another leading American libertarian voice, Bryan Caplan Bryan Caplan ‏@bryan_caplan 1h .@fabiorojas on open borders, short but sweet: http://orgtheory.wordpress.com/2014/03/16/open-borders-day-is-today/ Â… #OpenBordersDay

Posted by: Flatbush Joe at March 16, 2014 07:28 AM (ZPrif)

77 Here's the libertarian Open Border sales pitch. Remember, many on the Right are saying we need to become more Libertarian, need to purge the traditional Right. Here's what they believe: -- March 16 is Open Borders Day, the day where we draw attention to the right to peacefully move across national borders. The Open Borders position is that borders are unethical and have harsh consequences. March 16 was chosen because the Open Borders web site opened for business on that day last year. If you are interested in Open Borders Day, you might want to participate in the following way: Tweet about Open Borders. #OpenBordersDay is our hashtag. Write a blog post. Use the image above as your banner image on Facebook. If you participate in some other way, please email me and IÂ’ll link to it. IÂ’ll wrap up this post by talking a little bit about why Open Borders is such an important issue. First, it is massive. We could easily and quickly lift millions of people out of poverty with the simple policy of not stopping people from migrating. Second, this is a policy that is consistent with most political beliefs. Hate inequality? Open the borders. Hate racism? Open the borders. Want to help abused women? Open the borders. Like free labor markets? Open the borders. Want to encourage families to stay together? Open the borders. Liberals, conservatives, and libertarians should all stand united for freedom of movement. Open borders!

Posted by: Flatbush Joe at March 16, 2014 07:31 AM (ZPrif)

78 64 It's a great absorbing read, especially if you're interested in mountain climbing like I am (even though the only thing I've ever climbed is a ladder) Posted by: aussie at March 16, 2014 11:16 AM (yeSac) I'm afraid to do even that.

Posted by: rickl at March 16, 2014 07:31 AM (sdi6R)

79 For any that are interested, I'm emptying out my library via ebay. My nick is J_baldilocks. I'm not even close to being done posting them. Most start at 99 cents.

Posted by: baldilocks filipova at March 16, 2014 07:32 AM (36Rjy)

80 Finished 'Brave New World' by Huxley, hadn't read it since school (many, many years ago). Writing is fine though rarely sharp and memorable. Not as scary as it's twin, '1984', though also portrays the death of human freedom and achievement. Not as believable an ugly future, with all the test tube babies and free sex as Winston Smith's paranoid Good Truth culture. Currently reading Patrick Rothfuss' fantasy 'The Name Of The Wind', long way to go but entertaining so far.

Posted by: waelse1 at March 16, 2014 07:35 AM (x+P8L)

74 CBD

Yes, that was the first book I read from Jon Krakauer - a great read

I have read all his books since then !

Posted by: aussie at March 16, 2014 07:35 AM (yeSac)

82 My parents were born in Ireland, and I have never had green beer. They were always amazed at the way the day was celebrated here. In Ireland when they were growing up, it was a holy day of obligation. Now it's an all weekend party.

Posted by: Megthered at March 16, 2014 07:37 AM (iR4Dg)

83 Both sets of Grandparents were Irish immigrants. Back in '89, my family decided to get together and tour Ireland. One fun thing we did was create our own family crest. So it became (on top) Shamrock/glasses, then below book/pint of beer. We had it printed on green t-shirts.

And one of the areas we visited was where Ford had filmed 'The Quiet Man'.

Ran into a local who claimed he had doubled for John Wayne. This guy owned a pub, and actually I believed him as he was a pretty big guy, and seemed to be about the right age.

Posted by: HH at March 16, 2014 07:39 AM (XXwdv)

84 Backwards Boy @#3 (apologies if I read past an earlier correct answer to your riddle): Paddy O'Furniture is what's green and stays out all night. In the same vein: What's green and has 50,000 assholes? BTW, "St. Paddy" would be correct if the man was Irish and named Padraig. Since he was a British Roman and named Patricius, St. Patty is the correct short name.

Posted by: Little Miss Spellcheck at March 16, 2014 07:42 AM (a5ljo)

85 Michael "Hagarism" Cook has a new book out - http://tinyurl.com/mm5ft2t "Michael Cook takes an in-depth, comparative look at political identity, social values, attitudes to warfare, views about the role of religion in various cultural domains, and conceptions of the polity. In all these fields he finds that the Islamic heritage offers richer resources for those engaged in current politics than either the Hindu or the Christian heritages. He uses this finding to explain the fact that, despite the existence of Hindu and Christian counterparts to some aspects of Islamism, the phenomenon as a whole is unique in the world today. The book also shows that fundamentalism--in the sense of a determination to return to the original sources of the religion--is politically more adaptive for Muslims than it is for Hindus or Christians." If Dr Cook's summary differs from the "Counterjihad" contention that Islam is the apotheosis of Dark Age obscurantism, and that it cannot be reformed whilst remaining Islam - I am not seeing how.

Posted by: boulder toilet hobo at March 16, 2014 07:42 AM (78Zg2)

77 rickl

Take a ladder ,have someone hold it, take a drink (alcohol preferred) and go for it!

Seriously, the photography in these mountaineering books is so good - and I always feel as if I'm there in the death zone when I read these books

Got hooked into mountain climbing stories years ago after reading Sir Chris Bonington's story of his team's successful 1975 ascent of Mt Everest

Posted by: aussie at March 16, 2014 07:43 AM (yeSac)

87 Since you opened with St Patrick's Day-

Sam Adams is officially boycotting the parade because they didn't cave to the homosexual lobby.

Never drank them before and now I never will.

Posted by: Typo dynamofo at March 16, 2014 07:47 AM (IVgIK)

88 For any that are interested, I'm emptying out my library via ebay. My nick is J_baldilocks. I'm not even close to being done posting them.

baldilocks, can you post a link? I tried searching eBay but couldn't find you.

Posted by: Retread at March 16, 2014 07:47 AM (cHwk5)

89 Gerard K. O'Neill's The High Frontier has been republished as a Kindle edition. There is a review here: http://tinyurl.com/k2rmbax He lays out a detailed plan for space colonization, using currently available technology. I stayed up all night reading it as a teenager when it first came out in the 70s. It was very inspiring. It's frustrating and depressing that here we are 40 years later, and have made nearly zero progress towards his goal.

Posted by: rickl at March 16, 2014 07:47 AM (sdi6R)

90 Posted by: aussie at March 16, 2014 11:43 AM (yeSac)

Was that 'Everest the Hard Way'? Read that book and loved it.

About K2. When I was growing up my mom used to tell us of someone she knew who had climbed it but there were several deaths on the expedition. Years later I saw some documentary about K2 and that very expedition was mentioned.

My mom knew some interesting people.

Posted by: HH at March 16, 2014 07:49 AM (XXwdv)

91 Sam Adams was boycotted for participating in the parade, so withdrew. Totally folded. I love Sam Adams Boston Lager, but I'm going to make an effort to not buy it for a couple months, maybe they'll see a sales dip. I hate the pieces of human shit who force people to take sides on simple stuff like an Irish parade in Boston.

Posted by: Lincolntf at March 16, 2014 07:50 AM (ZshNr)

92 Once I finish the first two Posleen books (got them free on Amazon last Sunday), I should know if I like the series enough to keep going up to Watch on the Rhine (which I got first due to discussion here, but then someone said it was best to start from the first one, so ... ) Posted by: Empire1 at March 16, 2014 10:35 AM (70ROn) Like you, I discovered the "Posleen War" series due to discussion of Watch on the Rhine. That book, while set in the same universe, seems to be a free-standing and can be read independently from the rest of the series. The only weakness of that approach is a lack of context so it gets a little difficult to have a clear mental image of the aliens' equipment. I would caution you that, if the profanity in A Hymn Before Battle bothered you, the carnage in Watch on the Rhinegets pretty graphic.

Posted by: Retired Buckeye Cop at March 16, 2014 07:53 AM (1htQa)

93 In Ireland when they were growing up, it was a holy day of obligation. Now it's an all weekend party. ------------ Exceptionalism, baby!

Posted by: All Hail Eris at March 16, 2014 07:58 AM (QBm1P)

...and may the wind at your back never be your own.

Posted by: furious at March 16, 2014 07:59 AM (8lw4l)

95 87 For any that are interested, I'm emptying out my library via ebay. My nick is J_baldilocks. I'm not even close to being done posting them. baldilocks, can you post a link? I tried searching eBay but couldn't find you. Posted by: Retread at March 16, 2014 11:47 AM (cHwk5) I just changed the username, so it still might be under luo_american. Thanks!

Posted by: baldilocks filipova at March 16, 2014 08:01 AM (36Rjy)

Yes it was that book that got to me in a way I never imagined (as I'm petrified of heights and not a sporty outdoors type)

Sir Chris Bonington became my hero..

I now have quite a collection of excellent mountaineering books which I read often - or just look at some of the wonderful pictures

Your Mum certainly knew someone interesting - actually going to K2 and climbing it!

Posted by: aussie at March 16, 2014 08:03 AM (yeSac)

The Martian by Andy Weir. Got it from Amazon in hardback (also available in e-book form). Have not finished it yet but a very good read, especially if you like hard science/spaceflight stuff. Synopsis: third manned mission to Mars. Crew lands, sets up camp for a month's stay, than after 6 days a really bad sandstorm hits. It's so bad, their return vehicle is at risk of being blown over and wrecked, so NASA calls an abort. One crew member is left behind on the surface, the others thinking he is dead, caught by the storm and killed. Except he's not. The story is about how this guy, alone on the surface of Mars, with limited life support and the next visit to the planet not scheduled for another four years, uses his wits and what tools he does have to survive.

The author, Andy Weir, is an IT guy who really did his homework for this story, in terms of how a flight to Mars would likely take place. And the story does move right along; hard to put down. There are only a couple of relatively minor downticks I would give this guy. One is that he seems to have swallowed the "diversity" pill in a major way, in terms of his characters. I chalk this up to his youth and the indoctrination kids get in school these days.

The other is that it appears he has never worked for NASA nor any of it's contractors, and has no idea how that organization gets the stuff it uses. That is, NASA buys everything it needs from contractors, whether they be the aerospace giants like Boeing or Lockheed, to some mom and pop shop that makes zero-g toilet paper. For instance, he has the spacecraft used in the story designed and built by JPL. Huh? JPL is and has always been strictly the "unmanned" side of the spaceflight house. And they too go to some outfit like Lockheed or Ball to actually have the hardware they fly built.

One other groaner Weir slipped in was a crack about some minor item, in this case a plastic bag, "costing $50,000". I guess Andy is yet another one who has never heard of the FARs (that's Federal Acquisition Regulations) and how these are why this or that government agency ends up paying fifty Gs for a hammer, or $1 million for a toilet seat, or what have you. And the FARs all came straight from the Congress, with their origins going back to the Civil War. And oh yes, Congress had nothing but the best of intentions when they started this mess, too. But we all know what the road to Hell is paved with...

But despites these relatively minor groaners, "The Martian" is still a very good read, especially if you are a "hard SF" type.

Posted by: The Oort Cloud at March 16, 2014 08:04 AM (NKoXJ)

98 Where I live, we also drink copiously and set off small explosives on New Year's Eve, and for Fiesta. The US Army at Ft Sam sets off the Fiesta fireworks. The city, plus several thousand free lance citizens do the New Year's fireworks.

Posted by: stace at March 16, 2014 08:05 AM (9PXzx)

99 OT Malaysian flight It has also been revealed that the pilot's wife and three children moved out of the family home the day before the plane went missing maybe they should find out where they moved to

Posted by: thunderb at March 16, 2014 08:05 AM (zOTsN)

100 baldi nothing comes up for either

Posted by: phoenixgirl @phxazgrl at March 16, 2014 08:06 AM (u8GsB)

101 RBC, the carnage doesn't bother me that much, at least as long as I know it's fictional. But the profanity ... well, let's just say that when I was growing up, "hell" and "damn" were really bad, and rarely used by my family or our friends. So while I know profanity these days is unavoidable, I truly dislike it.

Although several years ago I did use a very heartfelt "Shit!" when my car slid off the road into a ditch during a snowstorm.

Posted by: Empire1 at March 16, 2014 08:10 AM (RRu6o)

102 I would say that all the one star reviews for Mr. Limbaugh's book are by libs who haven't bothered to read it. They see Rush's name and immediately react negatively. Also there's that frustration that they've never found a way to destroy him and they are jealous of his success. The idiots fail to realize that their impotent temper tantrums prove every Rush says about them. Too stupid to realize they fall into that trap.

Posted by: Tuna at March 16, 2014 08:11 AM (M/TDA)

103 TO BETTY J: HAPPY ST. Patrick's Day!

Posted by: Paul St. Paul at March 16, 2014 08:12 AM (rPV8C)

104 Got it this time using J_baldilocks. can't tell what I was doing wrong before.

FWIW, phoenixgirl, I used advance search and waaay down at the bottom is a search seller button.

Posted by: Retread at March 16, 2014 08:12 AM (cHwk5)

105 phxgrl, I found baldi's auction here:

http://tinyurl.com/ksa9x9g

Posted by: OregonMuse at March 16, 2014 08:14 AM (fTJ5O)

106 Some interesting Scotish history. The Scoti, a tribe from Ireland, ultimately became the dominate tribe in Scotland. "The Steel Bonnets" by George MacDonald Fraser is a good book about the the "Border Reivers" along the Scotland-England border. Think land pirates, on both sides. Early 80s I visited Dumfries, Scotland to do some research about my ancestors the Maxwell Clan (Lowlanders). That's when I found out about the Border Reivers. Some old guys in the hotel bar I was staying at told me it was like our Hatfield-McCoy feud, only with dozens of families feuding with each other on both sides of the border.

Posted by: ExSnipe at March 16, 2014 08:15 AM (LKJt3)

107 I also enjoyed "The Martian". The way the story was written, in diary form, was interesting. That is why I was a little dissapointed in the ending. Without spoiling it for others, I wish the author would have delved a bit deeper in the conclusion. It seemed as if he was told the story is too long, finish it now.

Posted by: SnowyBits at March 16, 2014 08:18 AM (K4PlY)

108 Hey AtC.

Yeah that mermaid sentence. Oh my...

Brad, "So did you eat your new girlfriend out?"

Chet dripping wet but with giant smile on face, "Once I put her in garlic and butter."

Brad, "Kinky."

Posted by: Anna Puma (+SmuD) at March 16, 2014 08:19 AM (EIDkK)

109 I would say that all the one star reviews for Mr. Limbaugh's book are by libs who haven't bothered to read it. - A couple were from people who thought Rush isn't far enough to the right.

Posted by: WalrusRex at March 16, 2014 08:21 AM (/0Xze)

110 Yeah, you need to do an "advanced search" if you want to search eBay by seller.

Posted by: OregonMuse at March 16, 2014 08:22 AM (fTJ5O)

111 101 I would say that all the one star reviews for Mr. Limbaugh's book are by libs who haven't bothered to read it. They see Rush's name and immediately react negatively. Posted by: Tuna at March 16, 2014 12:11 PM (M/TDA) Whenever you see lots of 5-star and 1-star reviews on Amazon, it's a dead giveaway that it is a good and important book that has struck a nerve among its detractors. Diana West's American Betrayal is like that, too. Almost all 5-star and 1-star, with practically nothing in between. As the saying goes, "When you're taking flak, you know you're over the target."

Posted by: rickl at March 16, 2014 08:23 AM (sdi6R)

112 I like this prayer of St. Francis: Christ Be With Me by St. Patrick Christ with me, Christ before me, Christ behind me, Christ in me, Christ beneath me, Christ above me, Christ on my right, Christ on my left, Christ where I lie, Christ where I sit, Christ where I arise, Christ in the heart of everyone who thinks of me, Christ in the mouth of every one who speaks to me, Christ in every eye that sees me, Christ in every ear that hears me. Salvation is of the Lord. Salvation is of the Christ. May your salvation, Lord, be ever with us. ~~~~~~ For me, it beats the heck out of green beer, but I'm not much of a beer drinker green or otherwise.

Posted by: FenelonSpoke at March 16, 2014 08:24 AM (XyM/Y)

113 OregonMuse, I figured out the problem with the computer (stupid cookies...). Anywho, thanks so much for your offer of help. I appreciate it!

Posted by: Tami [/i][/b][/u][/s] at March 16, 2014 08:26 AM (bCEmE)

114 I finished "Kursk: Clash of Armour" by Geoffrey Jukes. This is from the old Ballantine Books Illustrated History of WWII. It is a decent overview of the campaign and covers both the battle and the following Soviet counter-offensive. The book has sufficient maps to give a clear understanding of the situation at an operational level. The only criticism I have for the book is that a fair number of the photographs are dark with poor contrast (this is an artifact of the low production values of a book that sold for $1.00 in 196

. The book is limited by the fact that the only Soviet records available were the ones that the Communist government wanted to be seen. Also read Kursk: Hitler's Gamble, 1943 by Walter Dunn. This is a more detailed look at the battle. If you want to know which German infantry divisions had three regiments each with two battalions as opposed to the divisions with two regiments of three battalions, this is the book for you. It has more information about the tactical decisions. A major weakness of this book is the lack of any maps (almost inexcusable for this level of scholarship). Another quibble is that some of the data should have presented in tabular form.

Posted by: Retired Buckeye Cop at March 16, 2014 08:27 AM (1htQa)

115 111 FenelonSpoke, a version of that prayer is part of one of my favorite hymns, "St. Patrick's Breastplate".

Posted by: OregonMuse at March 16, 2014 08:28 AM (fTJ5O)

116 Whenever you see lots of 5-star and 1-star reviews on Amazon, it's a dead giveaway that it is a good and important book that has struck a nerve among its detractors. An important book, perhaps; but that depends on what "important" means. Michelle Malkin's "Defense of Internment" made a daring case, and came out with much controversy. It got a lot of 5s and 1s. Turns out the 1s were right.

Posted by: boulder toilet hobo at March 16, 2014 08:29 AM (78Zg2)

117 Tami, that's good news, I'm glad you were able to avoid having to do a repair install.

Posted by: OregonMuse at March 16, 2014 08:29 AM (fTJ5O)

118 Q: What's the difference between and Irish wedding and an Irish funeral?
A: One less drunk!

Posted by: Travis McGee at March 16, 2014 08:31 AM (Ph479)

119 "Your Mum certainly knew someone interesting - actually going to K2 and climbing it!"

My mom was a nurse, and I think it was a doctor she knew who had done the climb.

And in it's a small world kind of thing, she also knew Will and Arial Durant. They wrote a series of books called 'The History of Civilization'. If I remember correctly, she went to school with one of their kids, and that's how she knew them.

Odd thing is, I got into medicine, moved to Los Angeles, worked at a major hospital there, and wound up taking care of both Durants at the end of their lives.

My mom grew up in Long Island, N.Y. So that's a long, weird connection.

Posted by: HH at March 16, 2014 08:31 AM (XXwdv)

120 I am reading (again) "The Imitation of Christ" by Thomas A Kempis who lived in the late 1300's to the middle 1400's and was a brother in a religious order in Germany. I find the works by Christians writers written during this time to be very inspiring. We look around at the troubles in the world today but these people were dealing with plague and economic upheavel and they still emphasize entire submission to- and trust -in God

Posted by: FenelonSpoke at March 16, 2014 08:31 AM (XyM/Y)

121 99 baldi nothing comes up for either Posted by: phoenixgirl @phxazgrl at March 16, 2014 12:06 PM (u8GsB) Well ebay is banned here, even short links. Try (small) j_baldilocks.

Posted by: baldilocks filipova at March 16, 2014 08:34 AM (36Rjy)

122 Interesting legend behind St. Patrick's Breastplate: Patrick and two of his companions were being pursued by some pagans, and although they hid themselves, there was little chance the pagans wouldn't find them. So Patrick composed and prayed the Breastplate on the spot. Lo and behold, the pagans ran right past them because all they saw were three deer, not three humans. Thus, the alternate title is Faeth Fiada, The Deer's Cry. (And I know all this because my big calligraphy project for next weekend is a 24"x36" copy of the Breastplate in Old Irish!)

Posted by: Elisabeth G. Wolfe at March 16, 2014 08:36 AM (Aiwi+)

123 I find the works by Christians writers written during this time to be very inspiring. We look around at the troubles in the world today but these people were dealing with plague and economic upheavel and they still emphasize entire submission to- and trust -in God

I know, right? We whine and bitch about how crappy our lives are because Obama did this or the economy did that, but compared to those guys, we live lives of unalloyed security, prosperity, health and comfort.

It truly staggers me how well off we are.

Posted by: OregonMuse at March 16, 2014 08:37 AM (fTJ5O)

124
Over at The Guardian, author Richard J Evans is bitching about the sub-genre of Alternate History:

It's a form of intellectual atavism: "what-ifs" are almost invariably applied to political, military and diplomatic history: they represent a "kings-and-battles" view of the past that historians know is thoroughly outdated Â– outdated because it is crudely simplistic and desperately unsophisticated. ...You seldom find counterfactuals about topics such as the transition from the classical sensibility to the Romantic at the end of the 18th century, or the emergence of modern industry, or the French revolution, because they're just too obviously complicated to be susceptible of simplistic "what-if" speculation.

http://tinyurl.com/kscxevj

Seen this sort of rant against Alt-History before. Typically by "real" historians who are "this is serious stuff, you guys!" no fun types, and especially Leftists who loath the whole idea of the individual being able to effect their destiny.

Posted by: Laurie David's Cervix at March 16, 2014 08:37 AM (kdS6q)

125 Since it's topical now I'll re-mention JP Mallory, "origins of the irish". One of the strange parts: even though the Irish language is clearly related to the "Celtic" languages of Europe, the Irish didn't know they were Celts until the 18th / 19th century linguists and archaeologists told them they were. Irish legend pointed to Iberia. (There were Celts in Iberia too of course, but the Celts there were secondary to native Iberian tribes.)

Posted by: boulder toilet hobo at March 16, 2014 08:40 AM (78Zg2)

126 (And I know all this because my big calligraphy project for next weekend is a 24"x36" copy of the Breastplate in Old Irish!)

Once this is completed, could you do me a favor, if you have time, take a photo of it, and e-mail it to me? I'd be very interested in seeing it.

thanks

Posted by: OregonMuse at March 16, 2014 08:40 AM (fTJ5O)

127 105 Think land pirates, on both sides.

It's the Crimson Permanent Assurance!

Posted by: Anachronda at March 16, 2014 08:41 AM (U82Km)

128 118?

Posted by: HH ?

It is a small world- my MIL was friends with a famous writer ( whose name escapes me ) who "summered" on Jekyll Island. When they left, she got their canaries. Had 'em for years...

Posted by: backhoe at March 16, 2014 08:41 AM (ULH4o)

129 the difference between and Irish wedding and an Irish funeral? The classical historians marveled that the Gauls would mourn at a wedding and throw a raucous piss-up at a funeral.

Posted by: boulder toilet hobo at March 16, 2014 08:42 AM (78Zg2)

130 Posted by: Elisabeth G. Wolfe at March 16, 2014 12:36 PM (Aiwi+)

Posted by: OregonMuse at March 16, 2014 12:40 PM (fTJ5O)

You know the rule "Pics or it didn't happen!"

Posted by: Hrothgar at March 16, 2014 08:43 AM (o3MSL)

131 OM, I'd be very glad to do so. If I don't get the picture taken this week, I definitely will next week.

Posted by: Elisabeth G. Wolfe at March 16, 2014 08:43 AM (Aiwi+)

132 Go to Advanced Search and search by seller. If you liked The Martian, you might also enjoy Red Rising by Pierce Brown

Posted by: Tammy al-Thor at March 16, 2014 08:44 AM (CEKeN)

133
And in 'ol Blighty, the campaign to enforce gender-neutral children's books continues to steamroll. Coming soon to an elementary school library near you:

A national campaign to stop children's books being labelled as "for boys" or "for girls" has won the support of the UK's largest specialist bookseller Waterstones, as well as Children's Laureate Malorie Blackman, poet laureate Carol Ann Duffy, Philip Pullman and a handful of publishers.

The Let Books Be Books campaign seeks to put pressure on retailers and publishers not to market children's books that promote "limiting gender stereotypes". Just a week after it launched it has received backing from publishers Parragon and Usborne, as well as authors including Ros Asquith, Mary Hoffman, Eileen Browne, and the former children's laureate Anne Fine.

http://tinyurl.com/lhfs6w5

Remember kids, gender is just a concept that has no place in our enlightened society -- unless their's a job to be filled or a check to be handed out. In which case, minimum 50% for the gals or we call our lawyers.

Posted by: Laurie David's Cervix at March 16, 2014 08:44 AM (kdS6q)

134 I have a laminated card from my favorite eatery/bar in Pensacola, FL , McGuire's, that clearly states I am an "Official Irishman" . I was even smart enough to have a lucky 4 leaf clover to add to it as I ran it through the laminator. Sadly, my last name starts out Mac, not Mc so I'm more Scottish than Irish but I like to pretend, at least one day a year, then I go back to my liquid cardboard.

Posted by: Gmac-Pondering the coming implosion, and hoping its 404care at March 16, 2014 08:45 AM (baiNQ)

135 It may have been --Eugene O'Neill. Not positive, but it rings a bell.

Posted by: backhoe at March 16, 2014 08:46 AM (ULH4o)

136 Thanks, Oregon muse. I didn't know "St Patrick's shiled as a hymn but here it is-with nice photos: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1dxJGf2u8TI

Posted by: FenelonSpoke at March 16, 2014 08:46 AM (XyM/Y)

137 Seen this sort of rant against Alt-History before. Typically by "real" historians who are "this is serious stuff, you guys!" no fun types, and especially Leftists who loath the whole idea of the individual being able to effect their destiny. Random chance also has an effect. Progressives (and Whigs) don't believe in random chance either, mind. They believe in Divine Providence, the goddesses History and Reason. That's where Jonah Goldberg's "Liberal Fascism" was so important (and good). The Progressives hated "social darwinism" and petitioned the State to install philosopher-kings to eliminate chance.

Posted by: boulder toilet hobo at March 16, 2014 08:48 AM (78Zg2)

138 And before I forget again.

April is Camp NaNoWriMo.

https://campnanowrimo.org/sign_in

Posted by: Anna Puma (+SmuD) at March 16, 2014 08:52 AM (EIDkK)

139 Reading 'Words of Radiance', again. I was too excited to finally get to Book II the first time through.

Posted by: garrett at March 16, 2014 08:54 AM (ZpK9e)

140 One really great thing I've found about learning the history of hymns is how many were written in response to major crises in the lives of the authors. There's one-I have posted it my morning hymn selection but I'm having a senior moment on the title- and the words were written by a pastor in Germany during the Hundred years War. His walled village was cut off and they were starving and dying of disease. He might have been the only pastor left in the town and was basically during funerals all day including that of his wife and he wrote this hymn that was still about God's love and grace. People such as that man are heroes to me and I hope I get to meet them on God's eternal Kingdom.

Posted by: FenelonSpoke at March 16, 2014 08:55 AM (XyM/Y)

141 132 How about we Let Kids Be Kids? I read books that were not gender or age/reading level appropriate, and played with toys that were not specifically marketed to the pink-and-lavender set, and I somehow did this all on my own, without the guidance of social engineers. There's nothing wrong with being a tomboy or sensitive lad, but neither is there anything wrong with being a girly princess or boy's boy. Kids will naturally gravitate to the kind of toys they enjoy, indoctrination be damned -- whether it's pink and blue segregationalism, or rainbow gender-free b.s.

Posted by: All Hail Eris at March 16, 2014 08:56 AM (QBm1P)

142

"A national campaign to stop children's books being labelled as "for boys" or "for girls" has won the support of the UK's largest specialist bookseller Waterstones, as well as Children's Laureate Malorie Blackman, poet laureate Carol Ann Duffy, Philip Pullman and a handful of publishers."

I read an interview with Pullman a few years back. He struck me as being an even more stridently obnoxious leftist atheist asshole than ususal and that's saying something. His goal in life seems to be being the anti-CS Lewis. He's the sort who, if you made a casual reference to God or going to church in conversation, would immediately start berating you for believing in the Flying Spaghetti Monster. Fortunately for him, it's not like he runs into many churchgoers in the modern UK. That's the funny thing about him and Dawkins - they ALREADY live in a post-Christian society. How's it working out for them?

Posted by: Donna and V. (no ampersand) at March 16, 2014 08:59 AM (R3gO3)

143 FenelonSpoke, have you ever read Walter Hilton? He's not as well known as Thomas a Kempis (who I keep meaning to read), but he's from roughly the same time period, and his works are also very good. The two main ones are commonly, if somewhat inaccurately, known as The Epistle on the Mixed Life and The Ladder of Perfection. The Modern English translation I have is Toward a Perfect Love: The Spiritual Counsel of Walter Hilton, trans. and ed. by David Lyle Jeffrey; it was originally published by a Protestant press, so some of the material that was deemed "too Catholic" was edited out, but it's still quite good. A little further back, some of my favorites are Bernard of Clairvaux, Bonaventure, and William of St. Thierry. And Bede's commentaries are quite good; in fact, his Commentary on the Catholic Epistles has one of the best, most concise explanations of the "Faith without works is dead" section of James I've ever read. Even as a Protestant, I find a lot to treasure in the medievals!

Posted by: Elisabeth G. Wolfe at March 16, 2014 09:00 AM (Aiwi+)

144 I have read "The Ladder or Perfection" and I also like Bernard of Clairvaux and "The Cloud of Unknowing" by some anonymous medieval fellow. I've also been going through "The Essential Writings of Christian Mysticism" edited by Bernard McGinn which goes way way back-200? A.D. up to Thomas Merton and also includes some Protestant mystics such as George Fox. Yes, indeed, there is a lot for Protestants to appreciate in the medievals.

Posted by: FenelonSpoke at March 16, 2014 09:11 AM (XyM/Y)

145 Phillip Pullman will never become the anti C.S. Lewis. He doesn't write as well, is not as smart and seems to be a less pleasant fellow because of his stridency, IMO. Of course, I'm terribly biased, but you knew that. ;^) Is his one of the Evangelical Atheists who is afraid to take Islam head on but thinks he's terribly courageous for denouncing Christianity? Meh.

Posted by: FenelonSpoke at March 16, 2014 09:17 AM (XyM/Y)

146 I read an interview with Pullman a few years back. He struck me as being an even more stridently obnoxious leftist atheist asshole than ususal and that's saying something. His goal in life seems to be being the anti-CS Lewis. He's the sort who, if you made a casual reference to God or going to church in conversation, would immediately start berating you for believing in the Flying Spaghetti Monster. Fortunately for him, it's not like he runs into many churchgoers in the modern UK. That's the funny thing about him and Dawkins - they ALREADY live in a post-Christian society. How's it working out for them? Posted by: Donna and V. (no ampersand) at March 16, 2014 12:59 PM (R3gO3) Have you read His Dark Materials books? He makes Nietze look sunny. My kids were little when his books were big, and I chose not to let them read them, because frankly, those themes are not appropriate for impressionable minds. But I guess he is hoping to get to kids and promote his worldview as soon as possible, to stop them believing in the sky daddy. My kids did start to read them when they were older, and said they were boring and preachy. So there you go.

Posted by: moki at March 16, 2014 09:19 AM (EvHC8)

147 It's the Crimson Permanent Assurance! Posted by: Anachronda at March 16, 2014 12:41 PM (U82Km) Heh. But a lot more bloody. Scots against English against English against Scots against Scots. A really brutal and bloody time. Then there were the "Letters of Fire and Sword" given to some Scottish Clans from the English King to wipe out other Scottish Clans by any means.

Posted by: ExSnipe at March 16, 2014 09:19 AM (LKJt3)

148 Nood. Travel and Open Thread for Politics.

Posted by: Y-not at March 16, 2014 09:43 AM (zDsvJ)

149 Sam Adams was boycotted for participating in the parade, so withdrew. Totally folded. I love Sam Adams Boston Lager, but I'm going to make an effort to not buy it for a couple months, maybe they'll see a sales dip. I hate the pieces of human shit who force people to take sides on simple stuff like an Irish parade in Boston.

Posted by: Lincolntf at March 16, 2014 11:50 AM (ZshNr)

So Sam Adams is betting that offending less than 2% of the population is better than pissing off the rest? Boycott on.

Posted by: Captain Hate at March 16, 2014 09:46 AM (YvXkB)

150 Thanks to whoever the moron was that recommended the author Robert Crais. I checked out his first book in the Elvis Cole series, The Monkey's Raincoat, and really enjoyed it. I've checked out another one from the library and will get to it sometime this week. It kind of threw me when the detective kept having to find pay phones to contact his buddy or the police. I guess the advent of the everywhere-cell-phone hadn't quite made the scene in 1986, when his first book was written.

Posted by: grammie winger at March 16, 2014 09:51 AM (oMKp3)

151 127 When they left, she got their canaries.

Not gonna check urban dictionary. Wouldn't be prudent.

Posted by: Anachronda at March 16, 2014 09:56 AM (U82Km)

152 150 - Crais - Most are about Elvis Cole with occasional appearances by Joe Pike. Some of the newer books center on Pike, and are my favorites. Others have neither Cole nor Pike, but are quite enjoyable. Check out the author's website. Re: Bruen - I've enjoyed quite a number of his books. Another noirish author I enjoy is George Pelecanos. He was also a contributor to HBO's "The Wire." His books are centered on the seamer side of D.C. (No, not politics. The other seamy side.)

Posted by: doug at March 16, 2014 09:59 AM (ceYnm)

153 150 Thanks to whoever the moron was that recommended the author Robert Crais. I checked out his first book in the Elvis Cole series, The Monkey's Raincoat, and really enjoyed it. I've checked out another one from the library and will get to it sometime this week. It kind of threw me when the detective kept having to find pay phones to contact his buddy or the police. I guess the advent of the everywhere-cell-phone hadn't quite made the scene in 1986, when his first book was written.

If you see the Two Minute Rule available, check that one out as well.

Posted by: Charlotte at March 16, 2014 10:09 AM (T8iq6)

154 Deep Survival is an outstanding book. Highly recommended.

Posted by: Rolf at March 16, 2014 11:09 AM (41Kyj)

155 Recently finished: Zero's Return by Sara King, Metal Boxes by Alan Black, The Programmed Mind by Vox Day, and Worlds Apart: Book 9 by our very own moron Gregory of Yardale. Now reading The Grey Man Vignettes by JL Curtis, gunbloggers may know him as Old NFO.

Posted by: GGE of the Moron Horde, NC Chapter at March 16, 2014 11:58 AM (yh0zB)

156 Finished Words of Radiance by Brandon Sanderson. Starts off slow but ends well. Recommended. Started Havana Nocturne about the mob in pre-Castro Cuba.

Posted by: Achilles at March 16, 2014 12:22 PM (oj0hw)

157 Gah! I thought Words of Radiance wasn't going to be out until later this year and now I'm behind and ohcrapgottagobye.

Posted by: Long-time Commenter, First-time Reader at March 16, 2014 12:23 PM (pl1y3)

158 I don't think Sam Adams is betting anything. I think they were faced with being unable to sell their products in their own home City/State/Region and decided that that would kill them. I don't like that they folded, but the gay mafia carries the force of law and regulation these days, challenge the fisting fascists at your own peril. How many more examples have to be made before it is recognized that this is the new norm. If a guy sucks a dick he has the right to fuck with everything in your "straight" life, because fairness.

Posted by: Lincolntf at March 16, 2014 12:25 PM (ZshNr)

159 "The Ginger Man" by J.P. Donleavy tells about an American expat living and supposedly studying in Dublin. Not a new book but one of the funniest things you'll ever read.

Posted by: Libra at March 16, 2014 12:55 PM (GblmV)

160 Posted by: FenelonSpoke at March 16, 2014 12:55 PM (XyM/Y)

Sorry to be nitpicky but the 100 years war was in France in the middle ages. The 30 years war was in Germany in the 17th century. The 30 years war was probably the most horrific and destructive event in European history until World War II. Sieges and massacres were not uncommon. It would require extraordinary faith to not despair.

Posted by: Obnoxious A-hole at March 16, 2014 03:10 PM (PD6iL)

161 Good book about Irish History: Trinity, by Leon Uris.

Posted by: seamrog at March 16, 2014 04:49 PM (CU6EB)

162 [Last week] Worlds Apart Book 09 is online http://tinyurl.com/ksf9cau Dang. I think you mentioned this last week, and I forgot to do a write-up for today's thread. Sorry. I'll get to it next week. Posted by: OregonMuse at March 09, 2014 12:33 PM (fTJ5O) Third time's a charm?

Posted by: BornLib at March 17, 2014 06:12 PM (zpNwC)

163 I'm almost done with "Cold City" by F. Paul Wilson. It is the first book of the "Repairman Jack: The Early Years" trilogy. Enjoyable little thriller/crime drama and very Moron friendly.

Posted by: BornLib at March 17, 2014 06:16 PM (zpNwC)

164 155 Recently finished: Zero's Return by Sara King, Metal Boxes by Alan Black, The Programmed Mind by Vox Day, and Worlds Apart: Book 9 by our very own moron Gregory of Yardale. Now reading The Grey Man Vignettes by JL Curtis, gunbloggers may know him as Old NFO. Posted by: GGE of the Moron Horde, NC Chapter at March 16, 2014 03:58 PM (yh0zB) Old NFO wrote a book? Neat, I'm grabbing the Kindle sample of that for later.

Posted by: BornLib at March 17, 2014 06:51 PM (zpNwC)

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