Or the newest conspiracy theories that explain MH370.

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Another Ides of March successfully navigated. Now, on to green beer day.

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Today's open thread for all non-book discussions is brought to you by Private SNAFU:
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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.
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The Mega Millions lottery is now up to $400 million.

If you are in one of the states that participates, are you playing? How much have you spent?

If you win, what is the first thing you would do?

The first person you would tell?

The first purchase you would make?

What dream would you make come true?

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The reintroduction of wolves to Yellowstone has had a number of major positive impacts on the ecosystem. This video claims that wolves have even changed the course of the river.

Via @johnekdahl. more...

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Evidently, sin taxes should now be applied to anything that reduces tax revenues to the government. E-cigs have doubled in use this past year and analog cigarette use is on the decline. So what's a politician to do? Behold so-called Republican Chris Christie's latest budget proposal which includes jacking up the tax on e-cigs equal to real cigarettes. Now just how are they going to apply a per pack tax on e-cigs when e-cigs aren't packaged like analog cigarettes? Are they going to tax the battery? The atomizer? The nicotine juice? What if the vaper is someone who is vaping zero nicotine? Is the mere act of using an e-cig then a taxable offense? And if they tax the nicotine juice, then how about taxing the patch and gum then at the same rate? more...

Posted by: CDR M at 06:02 PM | Comments (777)
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Here's an open thread for those of you who don't want to talk about gardening.

It's looking like officials in Malaysia are now saying that the Malaysian Airlines jet was hi-jacked:

KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia (AP) -- The Malaysian jetliner missing for more than a week was deliberately diverted and continued flying for more than six hours after severing contact with the ground, meaning it could have gone as far northwest as Kazakhstan or into the Indian Ocean's southern reaches, Malaysia's leader said Saturday.

Prime Minister Najib Razak's statement confirmed days of mounting speculation that the disappearance of Malaysia Airlines Flight 370 to Beijing was not accidental. It also refocused the investigation into the flight's 12-person crew and 227 passengers, and underlined the complicated task for searchers who already have been scouring vast areas of ocean.

Hat tip: Twitchy, where I go for most of my "I need to catch up on what's happening" needs.

Posted by: Open Blogger at 08:03 AM | Comments (261)
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Welcome to the I'm exhausted so you get the shaft edition of the Saturday Car Thread.

Countrysquire loves Whealers Dealers, the English show which has aired on Discovery’s Velocity channel for a while now. The show started as Mike Brewer buying modern classics in need of a little attention, then 6’7 mechanic Edd China doing the repair work in order to get them ready to sell. Finally, Mike would try to sell the car for a profit, finalizing the deal with “’old out your ‘and, you’ve bought a crackin’ motor!” They have done a lot of different types of cars over the years, but the premise has remained the same. In a sea of auto related shows which either have phony deadlines and drama, or spend half the time advertising some crap, this one stands out. Before you wade in, be aware that the English have some different terms for auto parts. Our door panels are there door cards. We have aluminum, they have aluminium. The chaps over at lotus-europa.com have prepared a chart to convert from English to…err…English.

Now armed with the English-to-English translator above, have a look-see:

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This thread brought to you by Be Prepared:

From your host, WeirdDave:

Y-not has been on vacation this week, so the bulk of the gardening thread falls to me. She has promised to contribute some photos, perhaps her standing in front of the worldÂ’s largest ball of kittens, or maybe this place:
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