Ace of Spades HQ

May 13, 2012

Sunday Morning Book Thread 05-13-2012: 1/32^nd Edition [OregonMuse]
— Open Blogger

Good morning, morons and moronettes, it's time once again for the ever-popular, widely-read, winner of the coveted Bill Keller 'Excellence In Unbiased Journalism' Award Sunday Morning AoSHQ Book Thread. Accept no substitutes.

Now with 100% recyled content!

Here is a typical AOSHQ Sunday Morning Book Thread
reader. She's obviously very intelligent, alert, and is keenly aware of
her surroundings.

What a great photo.

This week I started reading Power Down by Ben Coes. The author was recommended by a moron in last week's thread (I think it was Vic, thanks Vic!) and as I was able to pick up the Nook edition for $2.99, I broke into Mrs. Muse's piggy bank and took enough pennies out to buy it. It's a fun read, a real page-turner and Coes knows how to tell a story. Since I do my reading in the evening, I have to ration myself to one or two chapters at a time, and then forcibly tell myself to put the book down and turn the lights out, otherwise, I'd be up all night.

I think there are two ways you can be a good author. You can be a good writer or you can be a good story-teller, either one will work. Of course you can be both, but it's not a requirement.

Good examples of modern story-tellers are John Grisham and Stephen King. Not great writers, but they can hook you and you can't put their books down.

Here's a surprising example of a good writer who is also a good storyteller. I remember reading this book years ago and thinking, "Dang, now that's just good writing." I wish I knew how to explain what I mean by good writing (as opposed to bad writing), but I can't. Objective literary criticism is a very difficult task, where you distinguish between 'I like this' and 'this is good'. Hardly anybody can do it.

As always, book thread tips may be sent to aoshqbookthread@gmail.com

So, what have you all been reading this week?

Posted by: Open Blogger at 07:06 AM | Comments (115)
Post contains 349 words, total size 2 kb.

1 Wow Deroy Murdock is an incredibly powerful speaker against the global warming hysteria. I hope Fox puts him on a lot.

Posted by: Ohio Dan at May 13, 2012 07:14 AM (JKNDp)

2 Morning guys. Really looking forward to that new book about Obama, "The Amateur". Oh, and here's Newsweek's new cover: http://tinyurl.com/7oyhqfc

Posted by: Joffen, fucking sunshine patriot at May 13, 2012 07:17 AM (+ZI77)

3 I hate to link to politicrap, but picture the dumbest Newsweek cover about Obama's gay marriage announcement that you can. Then click. (hint: he's ****ed if all his sycophants still think it's 200

http://tinyurl.com/7oyhqfc

Posted by: The Mega Independent at May 13, 2012 07:17 AM (AlYnQ)

4 Ben Coes is the new Mitch Rapp guy. Power Down is a great book.

I am re-reading The Sacketts by Louis L'Amour on the Kindle.

And don't forget Ben Coes' latest book; COUP DÂ’Ã‰TAT

Posted by: Vic at May 13, 2012 07:18 AM (YdQQY)

5 Just got my Kindle Touch on Monday. Already polished off two books. He Who Whispers by John Dickson Carr, which is a great old detective novel, and Robopocalypse by Daniel Wilson, which is one long Hollywood script I regret laying eyes upon. I should've listened to the reviews. Kindle Daily Deal is 20 books that inspired movies for 99 cents each. Picked up Slaughterhouse Five and Day of the Triffids, have one dollar left and not sure what else to get.

Posted by: JDTAY at May 13, 2012 07:19 AM (sFP59)

6 For those of you that follow juvenile literature, any suggestions on fiction that promotes the concept of liberty? Categories include historical, fantasy, science fiction, picture books. Age ranging from picture books to young adult, emphasis on middle of that range.

Posted by: ThroughtheRavenglass at May 13, 2012 07:21 AM (CI22O)

7 I'm friends with Ben Coes on FB. He is almost as much fun to follow as Brad Thor.

Posted by: osoloco at May 13, 2012 07:23 AM (4DKt+)

8 For those of you that follow juvenile literature, any suggestions on fiction that promotes the concept of liberty? Categories include historical, fantasy, science fiction, picture books

The early Heinlein juveniles were great at this. Emphasis on freedom/personal responsibility.

Posted by: OregonMuse at May 13, 2012 07:23 AM (fPBIw)

9 Kindle Daily Deal is 20 books that inspired movies for 99 cents each. Picked up Slaughterhouse Five and Day of the Triffids, have one dollar left and not sure what else to get.

Posted by: JDTAY at May 13, 2012 11:19 AM (sFP59)

If you haven't read it yet pick up Wizard's First Rule by Terry Goodkind. (SF)

Posted by: Vic at May 13, 2012 07:23 AM (YdQQY)

10 Canticle is a great book. Although I think he bottled lightening on that one and broke down. I'm partway thought the sequal and don't find as enjoyable as the first one. (Granted Miller Committed suicide while writing the sequal and was polished and finshed by someone else.) It just didn't draw me in like the original did.

Posted by: tsrblke at May 13, 2012 07:23 AM (22rSN)

11 What recycled content?

BTW, this thread has really nice wallpaper but it could use an ottoman.

Posted by: andycanuck at May 13, 2012 07:24 AM (nU/dt)

12 >>3 Morning guys. Really looking forward to that new book about Obama, "The Amateur".

I'm going to pe-order that one

Currently reading Jonah Goldberg's latest. Smart and funny.

...and I learned that Voltaire never said what everyone thinks he said regarding his "defending to the death" your opinions.

Posted by: Albie Damned at May 13, 2012 07:27 AM (Yhu4q)

13 A new low in commercial obnoxiousness. Vince selling the lint roller called "stchiky." I know I will be subjected to that obnoxious shit's ad 1000's of times the next few years.

Posted by: Ohio Dan at May 13, 2012 07:28 AM (JKNDp)

14 @10 Okay, got. Too bad I can't get more Amazon credit 'til tomorrow.

Posted by: JDTAY at May 13, 2012 07:29 AM (sFP59)

15 As I pointed out earlier, Jose Rodriguez's 'Hard Measures' is a very good read, he offers a corrective to the pap over 'torture' that Mayer and her source, Soufan offered over that poor misunderstood KSM and that mistreated
fellow Abu Zubeydah, and gives us a better track on how we honed in on Bin Laden

Posted by: Cthluthu at May 13, 2012 07:32 AM (nZW/8)

16 I think Newsweek's new cover would have made a lovely pic for the Book Thread, but it would also make a lovely thread on its own later on.

Posted by: the new, improved arhooley -- now with 10% more cynicism! at May 13, 2012 07:34 AM (oS2lG)

17 Juvy literature:

Cassandra Clare: Mortal Instruments series; now five books, I think, and Infernal Clockwork series with two. Titles are City of Bones, City of Ashes, City of Glass, etc., etc. Just search on the author's name.

Suitable for teenagers at age 14 or 15 and up. Bits of light lovey-dovey but no real sex.

Posted by: Popcorn at May 13, 2012 07:34 AM (/D7mN)

18 All I can think is, "how the hell did they get an elephant to do that?" Elephants are smart- smarter than liberals.

Posted by: Truman North at May 13, 2012 07:36 AM (I2LwF)

19 When I'm not sniping at Democrats or blowing some blue helmet or CAIR or Muslim thingy the freak up (dont snipe at me..if Obumbler wins many of you will be doing the same out of need for survival): I read books. Not some cool ace kindle thingy (love the advertising for kindle and kindle clones Ace, how is that cash stream working out? I hope you get an endorsement..your blog rocks!) In my spare time I just love some Stephen King, CLIVE Barker (Great and Secret show if I remember correctly), and Dean Koontz. I like horror because it takes my mind off the current reality, Obumbler, which is horror too. Dean isn't really a great writer, but he is a great story teller. Lightening was the first book I ever read by ole Dean. It's one you should read too. Its a love story, so even the moronettes (who ain't lesbians) will like it.

Posted by: NukeBoy at May 13, 2012 07:37 AM (41r/v)

20 Last time I saw wallpaper like that it was 1970.

Posted by: Corona at May 13, 2012 07:37 AM (fh2Y7)

21 @9 I was considering adding a category for self-reliance/personal responsibility stories. Any of those Heinlein juveniles particular favorites of yours?

Posted by: ThroughtheRavenglass at May 13, 2012 07:38 AM (CI22O)

Yes, yes. Newsweek has turned a beautiful connection between a mother and her child into an offensive borderline-pornographic in-your-face political statement with all the subtlety of crapping on a police car. This photo is the literal definition of the word "profane."

Those enlightened progressives. Always playing three-dimensional chess and all that shitfuck.

Posted by: Truman North at May 13, 2012 07:38 AM (I2LwF)

23 I made the mistake of reading the excerpt of that Coes book at the link. So now I am poisoned, and I only read the part about the knife fight on the rig. Time to shop!

Posted by: And Irresolute at May 13, 2012 07:39 AM (RC3M9)

24 I have enjoyed the Iron Druid series, which was recommended on this thread a couple of weeks ago. Hearne is the author. Likewise for Nassise's Templar Chronicles, although he needs to finish out the series because he's left us all hanging!

Now reading some Greywalker books; author is Kat Richardson.

Gutenberg the Geek talks about Gutenberg as an entrepreneur, which is quite interesting.

Civilization: The West and the Best by Niall Ferguson is very good history.

Terry Prachett's latest, Snuff, is pretty good, as well. I think it might be fine reading for teenagers who are old enough to deal with irony and sarcasm.

Posted by: Popcorn at May 13, 2012 07:40 AM (/D7mN)

25 Started 'The Book of the Short Sun' by Gene Wolfe this week.

Posted by: garrett at May 13, 2012 07:40 AM (5vGDA)

For the book collectors out there, a common problem with the older books is that the dust jackets don't always survive intact while the book itself is still in good condition.

I found a company called Facsimile Dust Jackets LLC that sells high-quality reproductions. He only deals in jackets with expired copyrights. The cost is not cheap ($25 with shipping) although the jacket comes with a mylar cover. However, if you've got collectable book, he seems to be the only game in town.

I've used him a couple times; he takes Paypal and ships fast. If interested:

www.facsimiledustjackets.com

Posted by: Retired Buckeye Cop at May 13, 2012 07:41 AM (M0NzJ)

27 Oh, hell! I almost forgot to use the Amazon widget! Mercy!

Posted by: And Irresolute at May 13, 2012 07:42 AM (RC3M9)

28 Marine One by Huston Just couldn't stop reading...first book i have read by him and i will be searching for more

Posted by: sunny at May 13, 2012 07:43 AM (aB78O)

29 1 Wow Deroy Murdock is an incredibly powerful speaker against the global warming hysteria. I hope Fox puts him on a lot.

Posted by: Ohio Dan at May 13, 2012 11:14 AM (JKNDp)

--Any video of it online?

Posted by: logprof at May 13, 2012 07:43 AM (4GWvE)

30 Now that I think about it, I actually can get more Amazon credit today. Are any of the other Kindle Daily Deal books (besides Slaughterhouse Five, Triffids, and Wizard's First Rule) worth walking half a mile to Rite Aid for?

Posted by: JDTAY at May 13, 2012 07:43 AM (sFP59)

31 Rumors of a Kindle Fire 2 coming sometime later this year...

Posted by: Joffen, fucking sunshine patriot at May 13, 2012 07:44 AM (+ZI77)

Heinlein juvelniles that have particular emphasis on self reliance/personal responsibility?

Tunnel in the Sky

Time has not made this story obsolete or passe'. Story of teenagers and college students sent to an unsettled world to pass their survival class. They were meant to be there 72 hours. A nova breaks the interspatial transport thingy that makes it possible to travel to other worlds easily (a stargate, if you will), and it looks like they may be stuck there for a very long time. They have to make the best of things, it's enough to cry.

It's not Gilligan's Island, though.

Posted by: Reader C.J. Burch writes.... at May 13, 2012 07:44 AM (sJTmU)

33 Power Down? Can somebody explain to me how a hydroelectric dam can work A) on the shoreline B) with the ocean flowing landward It Makes No Sense. And that chemical explosive the terrorists are in love with is, approximately as powerful as a plutonium bomb. Really?

Posted by: Comrade Arthur at May 13, 2012 07:47 AM (5H1lG)

34 Yesterday I mentioned that I owe BurtTC big time for a rec he gave me last week on "The Great Upheaval: America and the Birth of the Modern World 1788 - 1800" by Jay Winik. At first I didn't think I'd get around to it for a while but, on a hunch, I found it at the county library where you can renew non popular stuff, which history books tend to be, for over a year. The copy I got looks like I'm the first person to take it out and it came out in 2007 (don't get me started on the purpose of libraries being a repository of culture versus a free video store). I thought I'd look at the very beginning and *bang* I was hooked.

Quite frankly this is the best work of non-fiction I've read since "Bloodlands" and has a lot in common with the approach taken there with looking at overarching things that were going on versus dwelling on specific minutiae while not completely ignoring it. Plus Winik is such a good writer on how he makes history come vividly alive. To give one example, he talks about how Peter the Great endured watching the Streltsy slaughter members of his family and others in a huge bloodbath before placing his cousin in charge over him. At the age of 24 Peter came back at those fuckers and tortured and hung every goddamned one of 'em in an act that would be comparable to crushing the Russian mob. When I read that shit I was totally hooked; it reminded me of why I love to read. Hell I almost skipped playing basketball to read more of it except Mrs H would've thought I had a fucking stroke and I'd still be enduring MRIs. And yes I kicked ass at basketball.

Additional bonus, reading the bio of Winik I see that he's a senior scholar at the University of Maryland, reminding me of why I'm proud to be a Terp. He gives credit in the bibliographic notes to Simon Schama for his research but to be honest, Schama's writing on the French Revolution was much dryer than here (his better written work, imo, is "Landscape and Memory") and one of the reasons BurtTC recommended this is how vivid he made the brutality of events. I've already experienced some of that when it was pointed out what the founding fathers faced if they failed in the Revolutionary War: a British judge's sentence of Irish traitors being hung but cut down before they were dead and disemboweled while alive before having their heads cut off. And some twats think waterboarding is bad?

Posted by: Captain Hate at May 13, 2012 07:47 AM (HfgvZ)

35 @24 I like Red Planet and Starship Troopers.

Warning, do not watch the movie version of Starship Troopers. Liberal dickbag director Paul Verhoeven (may his body rot with 1,000 festering sores and pustules!) mangled it beyond all recognition. The book is very, very different.

Posted by: OregonMuse at May 13, 2012 07:48 AM (fPBIw)

36 "Last time I saw wallpaper like that it was 1970. " I miss the 70's. Disco. Got to find my bell bottoms and platform shoes. Ladies loveed my shaggy haircut I remember people wearing ostrich- feather boas draped over their shoulders and zippered jumpsuits.

Posted by: Lampshade at May 13, 2012 07:48 AM (lkdo/)

37 Just finished "Go, Dog, Go" by TheodorE Geissel. Although its obvious he's attempting to teach a lesson throughout the book, its done in an entrtaining way. Plot and character development are somewhat weak, but not so much that it would prevent younger readers from enjoying a quick read.

Posted by: Blanco Basura at May 13, 2012 07:50 AM (6tcGd)

38 OregonMuse: meh, I appreciated that Verhoeven was trying a parody of the book. He's not the first critic to notice that the book is militaristic and Bismarckian, nor the first to worry the Heinlein system would end up as fascist. It didn't quite work, mainly because deep down Verhoeven *admires* fascism; but it was interesting.

There's a 3-D cartoon series of Starship Troopers which is more faithful to the book and respectful as well. Verhoeven was involved in that, too.

Posted by: Boulder Toilet Hobo at May 13, 2012 07:54 AM (QTHTd)

39 To echo previous posters, most of Heinlein's juveniles are still readable and still mean a lot... and "Starship Troopers" movie sucked so bad it left a dimple in my TV screen... And yes, "Canticle"... a superb book, outstanding, easily one of the best I've ever read.

Posted by: GuyfromNH at May 13, 2012 07:54 AM (YOe1f)

40 Additional bonus, reading the bio of Winik I see that he's a senior scholar at the University of Maryland, reminding me of why I'm proud to be a Terp. He gives credit in the bibliographic notes to Simon Schama for his research but to be honest, Schama's writing on the French Revolution was much dryer than here (his better written work, imo, is "Landscape and Memory") and one of the reasons BurtTC recommended this is how vivid he made the brutality of events. I've already experienced some of that when it was pointed out what the founding fathers faced if they failed in the Revolutionary War: a British judge's sentence of Irish traitors being hung but cut down before they were dead and disemboweled while alive before having their heads cut off. And some twats think waterboarding is bad?

Posted by: Captain Hate at May 13, 2012 11:47 AM (HfgvZ)

--Cool, another Terp!

Also, libraries aren't just free video stores; they're porn portals for hobos.

Posted by: logprof at May 13, 2012 07:54 AM (4GWvE)

41
I'm reading Devil in the White City, and I've got enough of the "devil" part to skip it and read only the parts about the Chicago World's Fair. Also, Larson isn't the best prose writer around.

I don't know why I'm telling you this.

Posted by: the new, improved arhooley -- now with 10% more cynicism! at May 13, 2012 07:54 AM (oS2lG)

42 @9 I was considering adding a category for self-reliance/personal responsibility stories. Any of those Heinlein juveniles particular favorites of yours?

Posted by: ThroughtheRavenglass at May 13, 2012 11:38 AM (CI22O)

------------>

My favorite Heinlein juvenile would have to be Starman Jones. Once you get past the anachronism of piloting spaceships while using slide-rules, Heinlein disguises a healthy scepticism of guilds (unons) and mindlessly following rules in a good story.

Another sci-fi author from that period that I really like is H. Beam Piper. Four Day Planet involves a teenaged protagonist fighting government corruption. A really fun idea is explored in Planet for Texans (sometimes found as Lonestar Planet) where it is not illegal to assinate politicians found to be infringing on civil liberties.

Posted by: Retired Buckeye Cop at May 13, 2012 07:55 AM (M0NzJ)

43 Hm. Great Upheaval does sound good. Just pulled it down to read it.

Posted by: Popcorn at May 13, 2012 07:55 AM (/D7mN)

44 A Canticle for Liebowitz is a terrific book, a well-written story and - in an amazing twist - one with a compelling moral center and a very sympathetic portrait of Catholicism and the clergy.

Posted by: vivi at May 13, 2012 07:56 AM (OTPxW)

45 "1453" by Roger Crowley tells the story of the siege and conquest of Constantinople by the Ottoman Turks under Mehmet II. An amazing read and one that will reassure you that Islamic mindsets are pretty much the same almost 600 years later.

Posted by: Libra at May 13, 2012 07:56 AM (kd8U8)

46 From Heinlein, Space Cadet and Citizen of the Galaxy are favorites and very good for shaping the juvenile mind in liberty - libertarian directions.

Posted by: Popcorn at May 13, 2012 07:56 AM (/D7mN)

47 @38 It's been a long time since I read Starship Troopers and I haven't read Red Planet. Will take a look at those.

Posted by: ThroughtheRavenglass at May 13, 2012 07:57 AM (CI22O)

48 Just finished "Go, Dog, Go" by TheodorE Geissel.
-----------------

Okay, that was funny.

But srsly, I love reading Dr. Seuss books to my little kid friends. I get all hammy and do "voices."

Posted by: the new, improved arhooley -- now with 10% more cynicism! at May 13, 2012 07:58 AM (oS2lG)

49 This morning I finished writing an epic 2000-plus word review of Robert Spencer's "Did Muhammad Exist?". I submitted it to The Blogmocracy. Will link to it here when/if they post it.

Posted by: Boulder Toilet Hobo at May 13, 2012 07:59 AM (QTHTd)

50 Another good Heinlein juvenile is Glory Road. That was the first book by him that I read way back in the 60s.

Posted by: Vic at May 13, 2012 07:59 AM (YdQQY)

51 I'm reading Here Be Dragons by Sharon Penman. Thanks to whoever recommended her books. I'm enjoying it enormously.

Posted by: huerfano at May 13, 2012 07:59 AM (bAGA/)

52 @Popcorn, you're on track with "The Great Upheval" a big book that never lets down. The author (Jay Winik) manages to move from America through Europe with incredible ease. Don't know how he dunnit. One of the best histories I have ever read.

Posted by: Libra at May 13, 2012 08:02 AM (kd8U8)

53 Crowley's got a very good book on Venice, unfortunately some copies I saw, they dropped off part of the index, just sloppiness,

Posted by: Cthluthu at May 13, 2012 08:02 AM (nZW/8)

54 "Canticle" doesn't appear to have a Kindle edition. DoJ should prosecute whoever is responsible for this.

Posted by: JDTAY at May 13, 2012 08:02 AM (sFP59)

55 Captain Hate: You forgot the part about having "their privy member cut off."

Posted by: Fox 2! at May 13, 2012 08:03 AM (RJOgX)

56 @7, Heinlein, Tunnel, hell yeah. I gave my son the "juvies" when he was about eight, and this week I am at the Academy for his commissioning ceremony. So, RAH, FTW.

I am very fond of "Johnny Tremain" by Esther Forbes, and "Trouble on Titan" (long out of print, but there are some cultists) by Alan E. Nourse (warning, there is a novella by the same name, different author).

Posted by: Comatus at May 13, 2012 08:03 AM (xqqfi)

57 In a few weeks all the gays are going to be rather pissed the gave more campaign cash to Obama when it becomes clear he isn't going to push any policy for them and that the whole interview thing was only "a personal belief".

Posted by: Blue Falcon in Boston at May 13, 2012 08:03 AM (KCvsd)

58 Let's see, what else have I wanted to get off my chest about books?

Okay, I love Shakespeare -- WAIT, you don't know what I'm going to say!

Okay, I just want to tell you to skip the femmy takeoffs:

- Falling for Hamlet by Michelle Ray
- Ophelia by Lisa Klein

But John Updike's Gertrude and Claudius is pretty cool.

Posted by: the new, improved arhooley -- now with 10% more cynicism! at May 13, 2012 08:03 AM (oS2lG)

59 Has the thread gone OT yet?

Posted by: Niedermeyer's Dead Horse at May 13, 2012 08:04 AM (piMMO)

60 In a few weeks all the gays are going to be rather pissed the gave more campaign cash to Obama when it becomes clear he isn't going to push any policy for them and that the whole interview thing was only "a personal belief".
Posted by: Blue Falcon
-----------------

Assuming the press presses him on what he'll DO. Instead it'll probably be "On a scale of one to ten, how awesome are you for saying those words?"

Posted by: the new, improved arhooley -- now with 10% more cynicism! at May 13, 2012 08:05 AM (oS2lG)

61 OT but crapola - Bamma called Barnard College (on the Upper West Side, no surprise) and asked them to shove aside the executive editor of the NYTimes so he could give a speech.

Not much difference in the message and it will mess up traffic Monday. Interesting that the student speaker was just on TV saying she hopes he talks about jobs.

Posted by: vivi at May 13, 2012 08:05 AM (OTPxW)

62 YO Fools! Mitt Romney won't shove your little girl-He'll rescue your little girl!

Posted by: Mr. T at May 13, 2012 08:07 AM (KcINh)

63 Has the thread gone OT yet?
Posted by: Niedermeyer's Dead Horse
---------------------

I think so, but I still want to say that I WANT that room that girl is reading in. Including the elephant. Is it available at Pier One?

Posted by: the new, improved arhooley -- now with 10% more cynicism! at May 13, 2012 08:09 AM (oS2lG)

64 Beware of Stobor!

Posted by: nickless at May 13, 2012 08:10 AM (MMC8r)

65 "I think there are two ways you can be a good author. You can be a good writer or you can be a good story-teller, either one will work. Of course you can be both, but it's not a requirement." One guy who is both is David Poyer--his "Navy Cycle" is outstanding, good story-telling by a genuinely good writer.

Posted by: Cobalt Shiva at May 13, 2012 08:10 AM (1iauC)

66 Just finished "The Gentlemen's Hour" by Don Winslow. Okay little thriller. The guy can write though - this book is sort of Philip Marlowe by way of surf bum. The first book in the series "The Dawn Patrol" is a better story. I can recommend any of the books written by him from "California Fire and Life(?)" through "The Dawn Patrol". His last book, "Savages" pretty much blows because it's chock full of Obama-fellating and Republican sucker punches. I guess going full O-tard was a pretty good career move though. "Savages" is his first book to be made into a movie. Coming this summer, I think. Strangely, enough "The Gentlemen's Hour" drops the Obama-fellating and has only one Republican sucker punch delivered early on (something is described as "white as the Republican nat'l committee"). Guess he figured alienating at least 50% of your audience is a poor move. I wasn't going to buy this book(No Obama-dick sucking in my fiction thank you very much) but my kiddo got it for my birthday. Anyway, it's an okay read. Ruined at the last minute when Winslow destroys the hard-choices and moral seriousness of his story and main character by having everyone get together for an old-fashioned Mickey Rooney/Judy Garland "let's put on a show in a barn". Okay, not really....but that's about the level of reality on display. The hero's multi-ethnic, multi-cultural, multi-aged, multi-gender surf gang has a throw down with a gang of MMA-trained, white surf-Nazis and kicks their asses off the beach for EVAH!!! YAYYYy!!! Really? Surf-nazis? In 2012? That's your big menace? Surf-Nazis? Winslow... Dude. Just- Dude...

Posted by: naturalfake at May 13, 2012 08:10 AM (G9qZk)

67 #64, I don't expect the press to do anything but feel the thrill all over their legs again. But I'm sure some of the donors and activists seeking support will start asking questions. If a question slips by the censors... I mean moderators... at a presidential debate and Barry isn't prepared for the particular specifics of the question, I fully expect a drama ensuing popcorn meltdown moment with that particular voting block.

Posted by: Blue Falcon in Boston at May 13, 2012 08:11 AM (KCvsd)

68 @45 Once you get past the anachronism of piloting spaceships while using slide-rules,

Oh, thanks for bringing that up. While reading Heinlein, my son asked me about slide-rules. I had one, so showed him some of its secrets. He absolutely ruled middle school advanced math after that. When he went to the Academy, I bought him a good one and double-dog-dared him to use it (and also wear it in a holster).

In Academy courses, you have to show all your work (also credit all your references, which can get tricky). Turned out the head of Physics has his own slide-rule museum, and of course can tell slide-rule based math notes from calculator crib sheets, so called my kid out as being the only one in his year who could use a slipstick, and yes he mentioned Heinlein. The little sumbitch was golden after that.

Posted by: Comatus at May 13, 2012 08:12 AM (xqqfi)

69 On the fiction side, anything by John Barnes is good, somewhat reminiscent of Heinlein. For nonfiction, animal-loving morons in particular should look for Temple Grandin's 2005 book "Animals in Translation: Using the mysteries of Autism to Decode Animal Behavior." Also, I cannot recommend strongly enough Norman Doidge's 2007 book on neuroplasticity "The Brain that Changes Itself: Stories of Personal Triumph from the Frontiers of Brain Science." My copy is out again, but so far everyone who has borrowed it has bought one of their own, and often several for their friends.

Posted by: Piercello at May 13, 2012 08:13 AM (L4NUg)

70 I think so, but I still want to say that I WANT that room that girl is reading in. Including the elephant. Is it available at Pier One?

****

Was trying to think of what it was that it reminded me of. Pier One! That's it!

Posted by: Niedermeyer's Dead Horse at May 13, 2012 08:14 AM (piMMO)

71 Lots of good suggestions, thanks.

Posted by: ThroughtheRavenglass at May 13, 2012 08:15 AM (CI22O)

72 I'm sure some of the donors and activists seeking support will start asking questions.
---------------

One would hope. I've been reading some of the femmy meltdowns at Kos and they're all sobbing for joy that "the most powerful man in the world" just made the historical, world-changing move of throwing some cheap words affirming the status quo unbacked by any action or pledge. In the upcoming weeks and at debates, one HOPES that Romney will point this out.

Posted by: the new, improved arhooley -- now with 10% more cynicism! at May 13, 2012 08:16 AM (oS2lG)

73 heheheheheee

My other boyfriend, Rand Paul, speaking at the Iowa Faith and Freedom Coalition event:

"He said that his views were evolving on marriage. Call me cynical,
but I didn't think his views on marriage could be any gayer," Paul said.

He's in deep shit now!

Posted by: Niedermeyer's Dead Horse at May 13, 2012 08:16 AM (piMMO)

74 @57 Cthluchu, Crowley has written three histories so far. My favorite remains "Empires of the Sea" which I consider to be a minor masterpiece regarding the siege of Malta and the Battle of Lepanto. The Malta bit is incredible and I have yet to find any work of fiction that comes near it. The Kinghts of Malta (Hospitallier) versus Suleman and his Islamic horde. It don't get no better than that.

Posted by: Libra at May 13, 2012 08:16 AM (kd8U8)

75 Was trying to think of what it was that it reminded me of. Pier One! That's it!
Posted by: Niedermeyer's Dead Horse
--------------

This Sunday book thread is gold!

Posted by: the new, improved arhooley -- now with 10% more cynicism! at May 13, 2012 08:16 AM (oS2lG)

76 Comatus, Which Academy? Hudson High, Canoe U, or Space Patrol (Blue Zoo)?

Posted by: Fox 2! at May 13, 2012 08:18 AM (RJOgX)

77 @72

Do they still even make slide rules any more?

Posted by: OregonMuse at May 13, 2012 08:19 AM (fPBIw)

78 #7 The trilogy by Madeline L'Engle is very good for older grade school/ middle school age:

A Wrinkle in Time
The Wind in the Door
A Swiftly Tilting Planet

Subjects covered include liberty, individualism, true right and wrong, the real presence of evil. All in a science fiction package with interesting discussions of physics, biology, and astronomy. A little theology thrown in as well.

Posted by: Miss Marple at May 13, 2012 08:19 AM (GoIUi)

79 The first Heinlein I remember reading was "Have Space Suit, Will Travel." Which also mentions slide rules.

Posted by: Fox 2! at May 13, 2012 08:20 AM (RJOgX)

80 I remember the first line of "A Wrinkle In Time": "It was a dark and stormy night". The book did get better, as you say.

Posted by: Boulder Toilet Hobo at May 13, 2012 08:22 AM (QTHTd)

81 Of course, Canoe U would be proud of RAH, being one of their own.

Posted by: Fox 2! at May 13, 2012 08:22 AM (RJOgX)

82 >>Just finished "Go, Dog, Go" by TheodorE Geissel.

Hey, I own two copies. My original is held together with athletic tape. It was the first book I learned to read, and I've been putting it in baby shower giftsand first-birthday presents for the last twenty years (yes, I'm one of those dipshits who gives children books instead of TV-based toys or My First Stripper Heels).

>>I'm reading Devil in the White City, and I've got enough of the "devil" part to skip it and read only the parts about the Chicago World's Fair.

Yeah, he did a lousy job of tying the two things together; it really should have been two separate books. And it was hard to slog through. I picked it up at a library sale for a dollar, and they can resell it at the next one.

I liked Larson's book about the US Ambassador to Nazi Germany and his slut Commie daughter better.

Posted by: HeatherRadish at May 13, 2012 08:24 AM (hO8IJ)

83 I remember the first line of "A Wrinkle In Time": "It was a dark and stormy night". The book did get better, as you say.

****

The night was SULTRY!

Posted by: Niedermeyer's Dead Horse at May 13, 2012 08:25 AM (piMMO)

84 @80 My altitude is 7,258 feet above sea level, which ought to tell you.

Far, far above...

Posted by: Comatus at May 13, 2012 08:26 AM (xqqfi)

85 As usual, nothing high brow on my reading list. Burning through a couple of old Robert B. Parker's (Spenser) and yesterday picked up Michael Connolly's The Fifth Witness -- I am all atwitter with anticipation, it's the latest in his Lincoln Lawyer series.

Happy Mother's Day to all the fine mom-ettes!

Posted by: Peaches at May 13, 2012 08:28 AM (lJ2es)

86 Do they still even make slide rules any more? The hard part is finding the batteries for it. And Seuss did NOT write 'Go, Dog, Go.'

Posted by: nickless at May 13, 2012 08:28 AM (MMC8r)

@31. I read Marine One shortly after it came out & was inspired to read all of Huston's earlier novels. Dunno why he's not better known.

His first 2? 3? revolve around an interesting use of the issuance of letters of marque and reprisal by Congress. A current Congress. Against pirates.

@54. Penman is the best if you like historical fiction. Her medieval mysteries are ok, too, but I like Brother Cadfael better....

Posted by: ColoComment at May 13, 2012 08:29 AM (3e9GA)

88 @85 Oboy! Heinlein fight! Well, let's get goin'...

Yes, Annapolis veddy veddy good to him. But the Navy tossed him overboard. Later they let him play with the fun toys, though. Just like with Adm King, "When they get into trouble, they send for the SOB's."

You do know where RAH built his own house, don't you?

Posted by: Comatus at May 13, 2012 08:31 AM (xqqfi)

89 If anybody likes lacrosse The NCAA tournament starts in about 30 mins(12 CST) on ESPN. Couple of great games yesterday. Also great game for your boys. Fast, hard-hitting, and most important- good sportsmanship is stressed. Check it out.

Posted by: naturalfake at May 13, 2012 08:31 AM (G9qZk)

90 Comatus,

Congratulations on the graduation and commissioning.

Posted by: ThroughtheRavenglass at May 13, 2012 08:32 AM (CI22O)

91 The film version of 'Savages' has Taylor Kitsch and Blake Lively, as the leads, I think they are running their career into the ground, one with John Carter, and the other with 'Green Lantern, but they may recover.

Posted by: Cthluthu at May 13, 2012 08:32 AM (nZW/8)

92 @95 Thank you. I promise you, your money has not been wasted.
And they pay for those Cecil B deMille uniforms themselves. Saber, too.

Posted by: Comatus at May 13, 2012 08:35 AM (xqqfi)

93 This is Moron worthy. http://tinyurl.com/3m93akn

Posted by: Ohio Dan at May 13, 2012 08:36 AM (JKNDp)

94 @81 - Yes, there is one company left still making slide rules, albeit sorta crappy plastic ones. I bought one through ThinkGeek last year for Dad's birthday; he's an 85 y/o retired EE/Comm Professor, and still rants about how much better they are than calculators. He is also still writing and "perfecting" software for the Apple ][ series, so that should give you all the insight you need to his baseline of technology.

Posted by: John the Baptist at May 13, 2012 08:37 AM (9wtwi)

95 I still have my old slide rule.

Posted by: Vic at May 13, 2012 08:41 AM (YdQQY)

96 New non-book thread up.

Posted by: Vic at May 13, 2012 08:42 AM (YdQQY)

97 Congrats, Comatus.

Posted by: Cthluthu at May 13, 2012 08:43 AM (nZW/8)

@45 Once you get past the anachronism of piloting spaceships while using slide-rules,

Oh, thanks for bringing that up. While reading Heinlein, my son asked me about slide-rules. I had one, so showed him some of its secrets. He absolutely ruled middle school advanced math after that. ...

so called my kid out as being the only one in his year who could use a slipstick, and yes he mentioned Heinlein. The little sumbitch was golden after that.

Posted by: Comatus at May 13, 2012 12:12 PM (xqqfi)

----------->

When you use a slide rule, you have to keep track of the exponents in your head. You therefore have a much better idea of the magnitude of the correct answer.

When I tutor kids in physics, one of the major failings I see is that they just want to start punching buttons on their magic box (i.e, calculator) without any regard for the "rightness" of the numbers that are spit out at the end. Another issue is order-of-operations and most calculators have a very simple chain reading built in; for example, 2 * 2 + 2 * 3 will not equal 10 in most calculators, you need to key (2 * 2) + (2 * 3) to get the correct answer. That is why I like Reverse Polish Notation calculators (HP, FTW!!).

Posted by: Retired Buckeye Cop at May 13, 2012 08:44 AM (M0NzJ)

99 18 looks like a good answer.

Posted by: ThroughtheRavenglass at May 13, 2012 08:47 AM (CI22O)

100 @96 The story itself isn't bad- could play out like a Tarantino-inspired, menages a trois oriented, violent little thriller if they don't keep all the O-sucking in the script. My guess is, though, that they keep sticking Obama's mug and speeches throughout the movie as a symbol of hope and inspiration among all the so rid and gruesome goings on. Lots of Obama posters, and TV appearances in the background. If they really want to go full O-tard cliche, they start the movie with Obama's inaugural speech and our three protagonists stoned out of their gourds gazing in wonder at it. I'm pretty sure its a complete pass for me.

Posted by: naturalfake at May 13, 2012 08:48 AM (G9qZk)

101 Got a book from Amazon yesterday that I devoured as soon as I cracked it open. "The Complete Roman Army" by Adrian Goldsworthy. Beautifully
illustrated and written in a style that makes it accessible to those that might not normally be interested in the subject. What really amazes me is how many artifacts have survived from that era. For instance a daily duty roster from Legio III Cyrenaica and Egypt, 1st century. Lists a lot of the legionnaires by name, doing the usual military stuff like guard duty, patrols, etc. One poor bastard named Domitius Celer had the daily duty of cleaning latrines, he must have been the unit's equivalent of private Pyle and got on
the Centurion's shit list somehow. Some things about the military never change.

Posted by: JHW at May 13, 2012 09:11 AM (Em/DQ)

102 JHW, in other words, Goldsworthy knows his shit.

Seriously, I can attest that Goldsworthy is an excellent historian of the Roman era. "Why Rome Fell" is a classic. (Peter Heather was also good here.)

Posted by: Boulder Toilet Hobo at May 13, 2012 09:13 AM (QTHTd)

103 #107 Yes,I'm kind of thinking about trying his other books, his style of writing isn't dry at all and he obviously knows the subject well. Truly sumptuous illustrations in the book I mentioned.

Posted by: JHW at May 13, 2012 09:18 AM (Em/DQ)

104 Oliver Stone's directing it, what do you think they will do.

Posted by: Cthluthu at May 13, 2012 09:18 AM (nZW/8)

105 Go Dog Go, Revisited.

Posted by: Dr. Varno at May 13, 2012 09:24 AM (PJ2pJ)

106 Ideas have Consequences by Richard Weaver.. A little heady but outstanding read...

Posted by: Clemenza at May 13, 2012 09:25 AM (YlSwz)

107 @109 Yikes! Did not know that. So, not only will "Savages" suck- it will be a black hole of light-bending suck. How Stone can get any job at all after totally screwing up a big budget movie about Alexander the Great is beyond me. Talk about a gimme.

Posted by: naturalfake at May 13, 2012 09:29 AM (G9qZk)

108 Hasn't the Bill Keller Award been retired by David "Hachet-faced Hack Nose Sutured to SCOAMF's Sweaty Rumphole" Gregory of NBC?

Posted by: JewishOdysseus at May 13, 2012 09:32 AM (1X/a4)

109 The Iron Druid series are page turners, but he can't help letting his politics ooze out in places. You can tell he is a raging commie. Not bad enough to make you put it down, but irritating nonetheless.

Posted by: redclay at May 13, 2012 09:47 AM (RLMC6)

110 After getting brow beat by my wife to read Pride and Prejudice a few years ago I picked up "Pride and Prejudice and Zombies" by Seth Grahame-Smith. I loved it so much I am now reading "Abraham Lincoln Vampire Hunter." A little history lesson and a lot of vampire killin'. Great fun.

Posted by: Jay at May 13, 2012 12:20 PM (nojhZ)

111 Absolutely agree with #78-- just finished "Empires of the Sea" by Crowley-- highly recommended-- we continued fighting Muslims long after the crusades and still are today--

Posted by: tomc at May 13, 2012 12:36 PM (avEuh)

112 Obama is a stuttering clusterf*ck of a miserable failure.

Posted by: steevy at May 13, 2012 12:41 PM (7W3wI)

113 Comatus,

Is your new Lt going to flight school or another AFSC?

-Phat (Class of '8

Posted by: Phat at May 13, 2012 12:53 PM (VBeir)

114

Posted by: steevy at May 13, 2012 04:41 PM (7W3wI)

Yeah, but he's a published author...

Why are looking at me like that?

Posted by: HH at May 13, 2012 12:55 PM (v+ExF)

115 #73

Mother of Storms is still good if you completely ignore Barnes bizarre concept of how big networks operate. The setup that serves as a plot point in his book would grind to a halt very quickly due to bandwidth consumption.The goofy thing is that he had no shortage of experts he could have asked. I can remember meeting him for the first time at a con with some of the people who actually built the DARPAnet in attendance as well.

Posted by: epobirs at May 13, 2012 03:16 PM (kcfmt)

Hide Comments | Add Comment | Refresh | Top

Comments are disabled. Post is locked.

137kb generated in CPU 0.0915, elapsed 0.2131 seconds.
64 queries taking 0.186 seconds, 243 records returned.
Powered by Minx 1.1.6c-pink.