1 Yay! I've got one ready to roll - - -

"In The Shadow Of The Sword", Tom Holland

The book aims to explain Late Antiquity up to 600 AD and to show how Islam developed from that. The last century of Late Antiquity happens to be much better documented than is first century Islam. The bulk of the book amounts to an introduction.

The prose is florid, yet interspersed with vulgarities. Holland is inordinately fond of the low, cant term "screwed" when discussing tax extraction. It felt to me like he was trying too hard to keep our interest.

Fortunately he has marshalled an impressive array of facts behind his narrative. I was impressed that he had stayed so close to the cutting edge, especially in the Persia / Parthia sections. Much of that distills Pourshariati, "Decline and Fall of the Sasanian Empire"; that book came out only in 2008.

The book is careful to contrast classical Islamic jargon against the way people (including Arabs) thought during the 600s. Two examples are the Quraysh, who might not have been a "tribe" yet; and Maqam, which back then meant "holy site". He could have gone further - he applies the apocalyptic term Fitna to the First Civil War, but that term likely wasn't used for this war except amongst Kufan Shia. GHA Juynboll in the early 1980s showed that most Muslims agreed to apply Fitna only to the (far more destructive) Second Civil War.

Holland addresses the scholarly arguments over Islamic origins obliquely. I read in p. 306 that the scholarly consensus claims to have "disproved" that the Qur'an is a forgery... but the footnote 22 refers only to Wansbrough, Rippin and Hawting - all of whom accept that the book *is* a faaake. Later on, he'll note several contradictions between Arab rule and orthodox Islam, for instance Mu'awiya's consistent reference to the Crucifixion of Christ (which, as Holland points out, sura 4 denies). I suspect that he personally prefers the skeptic side; he just won't admit it.

He is (much) more openly skeptical about the history of Mecca. He doesn't think Muhammad ever set foot there and he doesn't even think that the Zubayrite anticaliphate was based there. It felt odd to see him (ostensibly) support the Qur'an and then to reject FREAKIN' MECCA.

This book is valuable to all who are interested in Islamic origins and Late Antiquity, especially Persian Late Antiquity.

2 Audie Murphy needs your vote.
http://tinyurl.com/caofxs

3 There is another ebook converter, called "Calibre" and it converts all manner of formats from one to another. It is freeware, but I use it enough that I donated to the programmer. You can easily find it by doing a search for it.

I have no affiliation with the software, other than recommending it.

4 Damn. Blu-ray burner cannot detect a disc in the drive. Which means I have to open up the machine and uninstall the damn thing and replace it with another when I can get by the store.

Books. Last thing I read was called Jenna Starborn by Sharon Shinn. A science fiction retelling of Jane Eyre. I do not know what possessed me to even consider it but if you like that sort of thing you'll like this a lot.

5 I read How Will You Measure Your Life by Clayton Christensen. Excelent! He is a Harvard business professor who applies business management theories to see why smart people wind up unhappy. A real eye opener.

6 I use Calibre all the time. Very fast and very easy to use. I'm selling my Kindle Fire for $100 to a friend, and buying a Samsung Galaxy Tab for $150. Fair deal, huh? I loved my Kindle, but I really hated that it had no expandable memory. The Samsung Tab solves that problem, so I can keep all my comics and books on the go. I finished 'The Amateur' on Friday and am now reading 'The World America Made' by Robert Kagan.

7 Thanks to all who recommended Miller's "A Canticle For Leibowitz" last week. Halfway through it and enjoying it immensely.

8 Software--ditto on the recommendation for Calibre. And not that I'd know anything about it, but I've heard there are plugins for it that can remove the DRM from your legally purchased ebooks.

Books--I'm reading The Prophet by Amanda Stevens (atmospheric, heavily emotional horror), and looking for a survey of the southwestern Indians that doesn't a) condescend to the Indians, b) excoriate whites.

9 Completed the first book in the Sword of Truth series on the Kindle which was available last weekend for .99.  LOL, it was hook because they want 10 bucks for the next one.

But they did have the Mary Stuart Arthurian saga (Crystal cave) in a 4 book bundle for 6.99.  I am reading that now. So far it is pretty good. It is a combination Arthur book, middle ages history novel much like the last Authur movie.  


http://is.gd/FIPyPO

10 I have two ereaders for this PC.  mobi pocket reader and Kindle for PC.

Both work great.

11 Just finished Winter King: Henry VII and the The Dawn of Tudor England by Thomas Penn.  If you're into English history, this one is a good read on a king who kind of gets lost in the shuffle between the Wars of the Roses and the Henry VIII melodrama.

12 Yes on the Canticle! Halfway through also.

13 Am I just started reading "Ameritopia" by Mark Levin.

Good so far.

14 Hey Vic, I have the entire Sword of Truth series that I'd be happy to "loan" you.

15 Chemjeff: I don't know, but I have heard that Audacity is a commonly used piece of sound editing software that works under linux and many other operating systems. You might want to check it out.

16 You mentioned search results. Have you ever tried duplicate searches on DuckDuckGo? I find the results refreshing, uncluttered, clean kind of, and you are not being tracked there, if that matters to you.

17 Hey Vic, I have the entire Sword of Truth series that I'd be happy to "loan" you.

Posted by: Tunafish at May 20, 2012 11:27 AM (tiqiJ)

Thanks, but I have the whole series in paper format already.  But for .99 I would get them for the Kindle.

18 Hey Vic, I have the entire Sword of Truth series that I'd be happy to "loan" you.


Posted by: Tunafish at May 20, 2012 11:27 AM (tiqiJ)


Thanks, but I have the whole series in paper format already. But for .99 I would get them for the Kindle.

This IS in Mobi format for the Kindle.

19 I'm reading;

>The Cherokee Home in the East

>Myths of the Cherokee and Sacred Formulas of the Cherokees

>The Earth Shall Weep: A History of Native America

Still no mention of the venerable Warren bloodline.

20 @11 I have not used Audacity on Linux, only on Windows (ver. 2.0 now) and it works well. There are a variety of plugins available, to suit almost every task. The Linux version, for various distros, is on SourceForge. It may be the 1.3 version, but that would probably not matter to you. Just search and you will find the download.

21 Thanks, but no need to go to all that trouble.

22

I finished 'The Amateur' on Friday and am now reading 'The World America Made' by Robert Kagan.

 

Posted by: Joffen, fucking sunshine patriot at May 20, 2012 11:12 AM (+ZI77)

 

How was "The Amateur"? I'm thinking of getting it on my Razr/Kindle.

23 @11 "editing" is kind of a big topic, but if you can click and drag, you can "edit". :-)

24 Hey you pervs, Put down the vodka bottle, bag" o" coke and joint and pick up the Bible. Bible...most read book in "da world" and no review? Like you guys could even begin to review it! While I'm not a very good Christian (means Christ like), at least I'm no toe tapping democrat or republican homo. That gives new meaning to the govt "hard" at work. Heh , heh. When not clinging to the Bible, I'm clinging to my guns. But that's another story.

25 Still no mention of the venerable Warren bloodline.

Posted by: Fritz at May 20, 2012 11:35 AM (/9E6Z)

Check the Boston Social Register. The chapter on prominent Indians is pretty short so she's easy to find.

26 How was "The Amateur"? I'm thinking of getting it on my Razr/Kindle. ------ If you are quick to anger, don't get it. I was surprised with how much access the author got. It was a very good book, but it made me very angry.

27 Nukeboy, you forgot the hookers and/or trannies.  Dumbass.

28 I was able to get 'The Amateur' for free on my Kindle. This is the second book that I meant to pay for, but due to some weird error on Amazon's part, I never got charged. Weird.

29
When not clinging to the Bible, I'm clinging to my guns. But that's another story.

Posted by: NukeBoy at May 20, 2012 11:38 AM (I92QX)


I have a buttstock on my AR that has a space inside for my miniature King James.
I can cling to both simultaneously.

30 Posted by: NukeBoy at May 20, 2012 11:38 AM (I92QX)


Related question:  If you were interested in introducing someone to the Bible to read as a matter of Christian faith, where would you start and how would you plan the reading path?

31
4 Damn. Blu-ray burner cannot detect a disc in the drive. Which means I have to open up the machine and uninstall the damn thing and replace it with another when I can get by the store.
...
Posted by: epobirs at May 20, 2012 11:04 AM (kcfmt)

First, have you installed any software that reads/writes to disks lately? If yes, the problem might be in your registry. After I installed iTunes my computer wouldn't recognize both my CD and DVD drives. Not even in file manager. If your blu-ray shows up in device manager but not file manager you may have a registry error. If all your removable disks disappear from file manager it's 99% certain that's your problem.

32 I read the Mary Stewart Arthur books years ago, and probably still have them at the back of the bookcases. They were good enough to set me reading nearly every Arthurian tale I could find, and I still haven't broken the habit. (Does everyone else double shelve books? It's a pia to find specific books sometimes but otherwise I'd have to line every wall in the house with bookcases!)

Based on a moron recommendation last week I borrowed Jay Winik's The Great Upheaval from the library. He has an easy-to-read style and sets the American Revolution in context of world events leading up to and during. My only complaint, and it's a mild one, is that the book over 600 hundred pages and awkward to hold. Yes, I've been spoiled by the Kindle.

Another interesting find is Silent Cal's Almanack edited by David Pietrusza, a Kindle edition for a few bucks. We should have listened when Silent Cal spoke. A lot of what he warns about creeping government has happened. Turns out Cal was a very articulate man.

33 You can download the Bible from Guttenberg free.

34 You probably know already, but here is a link to the Amazon page for the May $3.99 or less Kindle book list. Oh, and you should find what you want first and then come back to the AoSHQ and use the Ace's widget to do your actual purchase. Noodles and cheese ain't free! http://tinyurl.com/broyryr

35

I was surprised with how much access the author got. It was a very good book, but it made me very angry.

 

Posted by: Joffen, fucking sunshine patriot at May 20, 2012 11:42 AM (+ZI77)

 

So, I should read it AFTER Obama gets his ass whipped in November.

36 (Does everyone else double shelve books? It's a pia to find specific books sometimes but otherwise I'd have to line every wall in the house with bookcases!)


Yes, and and every available wall in my house IS filled with bookcases.

37

You can download the Bible from Guttenberg free.

 

Posted by: Vic at May 20, 2012 11:55 AM (YdQQY)

 

In NIV?

 

KJV makes my eyes cross.

38 Fritz, My profuse apologies..hookers and trannies! My mistake! I left em out! Beto..mini bible in the stock? That's thinking out of the box! The wee King James version! Thanks....I'm going to look into that. AR-15, I don't have one, I'm more of an SKS, AK, Mosin sniper, Finn M-39 PPS-43 guy myself (I'm on a budget ). Not that Stoner's AR design isnt a fine rifle, its the price of the ammo on the milsurp market that tweaks me away from it.

39 Am reading "Tailspin: The Strange Case of Major Call," the story of the Air Force major that went AWOL in the mid-50s and went on a burglary spree, killing people that got in the way.

One of them was Dr Sam Sheppard's wife in Bay Village, Ohio, and the editor of the Cleveland Plain Dealer made it his personal mission to see that the good doctor got put away for the crime.  Nasty.

Nice time capsule from almost 60 years ago, and it shows how powerful a newspaper could be at the time.  It is also a great piece about the workings of the FBI.

The Sheppard case was the basis of the great TV series, and later, the movie, "The Fugitive."

40 Currently reading a book by Fredric Brown. Guy was an SF/noir writer who had his heyday in 50s & 60s. Known for his clever plots and twists at the end. This book is one of the noir stories "His Name Was Death", where an innocent interaction sets off a cascade of murder. The set up is a bit longish but in this story character and psychological motivation is key. And since the novel is only about 150 pages it's a fast read. I'm about halfway through and so far so good. I'd recommend it. Brown's had a couple of novels made into movies- most prominently "The Screaming Mimi" whose weirdest incarnation was in the movie "The Bird with Crustal Plumage" by Dario Argento(Suspiria).

41 Since you have a Kindle now, Vic, take a look on Amazon for several editions of Jefferson's Bible. I found two free, or nearly free.

KJV makes my eyes cross. Posted by: ErikW

Remarkable how tastes vary. I like the KJV, but maybe because it's what I grew up with. Many phrases are pure poetry, and, like Shakespeare, it's meant to be heard out loud.

42 I have touted this before, and an important element of it is my sock, but if you like "Canticle for Liebovitz" you should follow it up with Russell Hoban's "Riddley Walker."

43 Oh, a-a-a-and the NCAA Div 1 Lacrosse tourney just came on- Right now, Virginia vs Notre Dame. ND just scored. 1-0. Nice goal. Face-offs will be key. Later, Colgate vs Duke. check it out.

44 In NIV?

KJV makes my eyes cross.

Posted by: ErikW at May 20, 2012 11:57 AM (7duYd)

I didn't see one for that but I didn't page through the hundreds of hits.

45 [ We should have listened when Silent Cal spoke. A lot of what he warns about creeping government has happened. Turns out Cal was a very articulate man.[/i]

No, see, he was a Republican. That means he was dumb. Or evil.

46 I like the KJV myself.

47

Remarkable how tastes vary. I like the KJV, but maybe because it's what I grew up with. Many phrases are pure poetry, and, like Shakespeare, it's meant to be heard out loud.

 

Posted by: Retread at May 20, 2012 12:06 PM (joSBv)

 

 

I didn't actually start to "seek the Lord" until about 5 years ago and the first study Bible I picked up was a Quest NIV.

 

I tried reading KJV but I just couldn't get past the language. Mostly because I'm a drooling idiot.

 

And speaking of Bibles, I have a Zondervan "Archaeology Study Bible" that friggin' rocks. The price is a touch hefty at 50 bucks.

48 How about the ESV for free from Amazon

http://is.gd/m8t6kp

49 Posted by: Vic at May 20, 2012 12:10 PM (YdQQY)

There is an elegance and rhythm to the language in the KJV that I find missing in any other translation.

50 I'm a Catholic, so our Old Testament has more books than the KJV, but I have a miniature KJV New Testament in my backpacking backpack. As an earlier poster said, it's beautiful to read aloud, at night, in the woods.

51

Posted by: Vic at May 20, 2012 12:14 PM (YdQQY)

 

I don't believe I've read ESV, I'll check it out.

 

Thanks, Vic!

52

My favorite book series is Dune 1-6 (tried jumiors prequels, but they stink on ice). And, I've read 'em 20? times. Anyone wanna throw out a suggestion? Gracias.

53 I have the RSV and KJV, I like the KJV.

54 Hey, since we're on the Bible, does anyone know of some sort of searchable Bible app or something?

55 Read a little KJV and then a slice out of The Book of Mormon.  See why Mark Twain called it "chloroform in print?"

I'm just sayin' . . .

But hey, if you are up for a velvet-gloved hit piece on a couple of famous Mormons, Mitt and Ann Romney, just check out Jodi Kantors' piece about them in today's NYT.

56 Hey, since we're on the Bible, does anyone know of some sort of searchable Bible app or something?

Posted by: ErikW at May 20, 2012 12:19 PM (7duYd)

You can search any kindle ebook with your kindle.

57 Another option is to download a pdf copy and use adobe to search.

58 @ 56 If you get one of the free versions and use the Kindle app on your phone they'll be searchable.

If you want something for a PC, try this:

http://www.kingjamesbibleonline.org/

As you can see it's the KJV but since I like that I didn't look further.

59 I just bought the short story, but that means I won't be upgrading to the AOSHQ platinum membership this year.

60 Posted by: ErikW at May 20, 2012 12:19 PM (7duYd)

Old or New?

61 I've been devouring Transmetropolitan over the last week or so, nearly done (in volume . Kinda scary how similar aspects of The Smiler are to our "Present" leader...

62 Hrothgar , (thatÂ’s a unusual name, are your brothers Loki and Thor?)..just kidding. Anyway, Mr. Hrothgar asked me about the reading path in the Bible if I was introducing Christianity to others. First of all, to my shame, I donÂ’t introduce Christianity to many. But to pointÂ…the Bible isnÂ’t arranged in chronological order. There is a 400 year gap between the old and new testament. God was so POÂ’ed at em he didnÂ’t even want to talk anymore for a spell. Job is much older than all the books around it (babylonian in origin? Who frickin knows?). Its one of my favorite books though! I would start at Genesis , and the 4 other books that follow, for a grounding in history. Skip to the New testament (the Gospels) then back to the OT to read the rest, (Jesus fulfilled the law, etc. etc.) then back up to the NT..Acts..and all the other the letters to Churches, with Revelation and related books for last. The Bible is like Thermodynamics. You canÂ’t understand or appreciate it on the first read. The second time thru, you think you understand it, but you really donÂ’t, or at least I did not. By the third time, one realizes the Bible is so deep, you need to pray for understanding, but by that time you are so comfortable with it, it does not matter. ThatÂ’s my poor sinner take on it anyway.

63 "I would start at Genesis , and the 4 other books that follow..."

Posted by: NukeBoy at May 20, 2012 12:28 PM (I92QX)

Yes, it's called the Torah!

64 does anyone have any recommendations for MP3 editing software for Linux?

Posted by: chemjeff

EAC, exact audio copy runs, on linux. I think you decompress the file first, edit it then recompress.

65 Posted by: Vic at May 20, 2012 12:21 PM (YdQQY)

That and the instant word look-up are my favorite parts.

On the other hand, my Kindle's software died last night and I had to rebuild it from scratch. Apparently the hack I used to get rid of the screen savers and replace them with tasteful nudes was not in the long-term best interest of the program.

66

You can search any kindle ebook with your kindle.

 

Posted by: Vic at May 20, 2012 12:21 PM (YdQQY)

 

 

Sorry, I didn't phrase that well. I meant more like an app that allows you to search a particular Bible version using text or the verse "address."

 

For instance, sometimes I come across a situation during the day that reminds me of a certain piece of Scripture but I can never remember what Book of the Bible or even the correct text.

 

 

67 Apparently the hack I used to get rid of the screen savers and replace them with tasteful nudes was not in the long-term best interest of the program.

Posted by: CharlieBrown'sDildo (NJConservative) at May 20, 2012 12:32 PM (nEUpB)

When you first posted that you hacked it, I went out and looked for hacks.  Found a bunch but they looked complicated and dicey, so I left it alone.

68 For instance, sometimes I come across a situation during the day that reminds me of a certain piece of Scripture but I can never remember what Book of the Bibleor even the correct text.

Posted by: ErikW at May 20, 2012 12:34 PM (7duYd)

You can do that pretty good just using Bing. I have done it before.

69 ESPNU people... Notre Dame vs Virginia 1st q all tied up 3-3. By the way, did you know my people invented the game of lacrosse? Originally, you had to shoot an Oklahoma Land Crab into a jar of mayonnaise to score a goal. The evil white man changed the crab to a ball and the net to the goal. It's history people.

70 New thread up, so non-book stuff can migrate to new thread.

71 Just finsihed reading a new sci-fi book called Ready Player One by Ernest Cline. Very good stuff. Easily the best near-future sci-fi I've read since Snow Crash.

72 Hey, since we're on the Bible, does anyone know of some sort of searchable Bible app or something?

Best free Bible app for Windows, multiple translations, great search function:

http://www.e-sword.net

73

@26 - Nukeboy, how right you are.  Last fall my 9-12 group watched David Barton's "American Heritage" series, which contained umpteen references from the Founders about their reliance on the Bible as our instruction manual for earth.  They considered it not so much a religious tome but a guidebook for life in general.

 

One of the signers of the Declaration had read it cover to cover by the time he was 4, which was not uncommon at the time.  The Founders believed in reading it in its entirety every year.

 

So, if it was good enough for them, it's good enough for me.  My New Year's Resolution was to read it through in 2012.  I got the One Year Bible Companion from Amazon and use it as a daily tool to provide the readings and explanations.  It takes only 15-20 min. per morning, and it's outstanding.  For a lifelong Catholic who never read the Bible, I'm surprised at how I look forward to that block of time.  Highly recommended.

74 http://ecmarsh.com/SeedMaster.htm

I have this version and I got it back in the windows 3 days.

75 I finished two books this week: Wolf Hall by Hilary Mantell and The Zookeeper's Wife by Diane Ackerman. The first is a historical novel about Henry VIII, Cromwell, Anne Bolyn, etc. which I enjoyed. The second is a true story about the zookeeper of the Warsaw zoo and his wife who saved the lives of hundreds of Jews during World War II. It is an inspiring tale of bravery and goodness in a world of evil.

Started Jonah Goldberg's The Tyranny of Cliches. Very good, so far.

76 I'd suggest a newbie  start with John.

77 Posted by: Vic at May 20, 2012 12:34 PM (YdQQY)

It worked for more than one year, but I noticed that it was getting slower and slower, and then it died on my wife during a business trip. I got it running, but it died again, so...

However, the amusement factor of her having to wade through the soft-core photos evry time she opened the Kindle to read was just great!

78 There is an elegance and rhythm to the language in the KJV that I find missing in any other translation.

Gotta agree with you there. I use the Catholic Revised Standard. I really dislike the New American which I have to teach out of and which my children use and which is used in the mass. It's like a version with low vocabulary for dummies.

79 Face it. Electronic books suck.

I'm going back to paper.

80 Calibre is great, easy to convert between ebook formats. Just bought Paul Johnson's Intellectuals last night, I'll start reading once I'm done with the last Dresden Files book Ghost Story, which is kind of meh so far. I found that I liked the supernatural politics in the Dresdenverse more than Dresden himself, and this book is all about Dresden so far. So yeah, meh.

81 32 I would have them read the New Testament. But I would probably steer them toward trying to read it with the liturgical calendar and accessing a good bible study to go along with it. For example, http://tinyurl.com/7j7ue9x is today's bibly study for the Ascension. It would be hard to start reading just with the liturgical calendar so I would suggest starting at the beginning and then trying to do the current gospel at the same time until things got synchronized.

82 I've been here, on Twitter, or playing WoW too much to get very far reading. Happy to say that the "Last Elf of..." book has improved at least. Otherwise, it's mostly been gardening catalogs. I have delusions of growing berry bushes and beautiful flowers and the catalogs help keep the dream alive.

83 Charlie Browns dildo...Yep, the first 5 books are 'da Torah"..don't even get me started on your name. Don't ask me about Nukeboy, I won't ask ya about that moniker.. First rule about fight club..we don't talk about fight club. Rushbabe, No matter what the liars say, the founding fathers were very religious people, but did not want to impose religion on others in a "Church of England" fashion. Very well thought out when you think about it. I'm in Godless Commie China working now, because I can't find meaningful work in the US. There are some Catholic churches here, but bishops appointed by commies. Some underground churches..but since there is no 2nd amendment here..I don't go. I do miss my guns over here. I do read an online Bible..There is an NIV searchable version at www.biblegateway.com. I'm an old King James guy myself. There is KJV at www.kingjamesbibleonline.org. Now legend has it that ole King James tasked the translators with translating the Bible to perfection or their heads would decorate London Bridge like Christmas ornaments. Gotta love it. That guy reminds me of me. God does work in mysterious ways. Oh BTW I feel very guilty, typing about the Bible while swilling Chinese beer in my apartment. I'm sure there is special place in hell for me.I hope the brew is cold, I'm sure the women will be very hot, sizzling even!.

84 One of the signers of the Declaration had read it cover to cover by the time he was 4, which was not uncommon at the time. The Founders believed in reading it in its entirety every year.

So, if it was good enough for them, it's good enough for me. My New Year's Resolution was to read it through in 2012. I got the One Year Bible Companion from Amazon and use it as a daily tool to provide the readings and explanations.

Factoid for the book thread: W reads the bible through annually.

Thanks for the tip for the One Year Bible Companion.

85

Re Bible studies,  since I started on my journey, I've met some old-school Methodists and one Baptist who are deadly serious about their study.  Both Methodist couples have been very successful in their careers and search out study facilitators in the area to broaden their views.

The Baptist is an older single lady who owns her own business and seems to have opportunities fall into her lap every time she turns around.  In our conversations about the Bible she has recounted how she uses four or five concordances (if I've got the right word) to search disputed interpretations.

 

The Founders believed your chances of material success were also multipled by reading and following the Good Book, as G-d did not put us on this earth to be miserable and poor.

86 One last thing.  I said G-d's covenant w/Abraham.  That should've been "Moses."  Just saw this link at The Blaze.  Those interested in the Bible might like this:  http://bit.ly/K6Hm1D

87 Rush Babe, Concordances are cool...a must have. I was a 'Church of Christ guy" back in the day. They had this process called exegesis kind of a critical way to examine a document. Basically they would line up the whole thing, read every verse about a subject, in its context, to ascertain the meaning. For example.."An eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth"..most often misquoted of the Bbile. If you read the whole thing it says.. "You have heard that it hath been said..an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth. , But I say unto you, that ye shall not resist evil: but who shall ever smite thee on the right cheek, turn the other to him also." Book of Matt, Chap 5. Thats a hard one for me to take. I would be more likely to fill someone who hit me so full of lead..they would make pencil marks when laid out on that steel slab. It's Not right, but that's just me. Now there is another verse that reminds me of the ole gay loving..big eared SCOAMF... "Woe unto you, scribes and pharisees, hypocrites. For ye are unto white sepulchres (Tombs), which indeed appear beautiful outward, but within are filled with dead mens bones and all manner of uncleaness." Just sayin!

88 I'm reading "Organic Gardening Under Glass" that I got at a used book sale this week.  Thinking about trying out some of the organic insect spray formulas.

89

The Moron Horde pointed me in the direction of "Canticle" last year and it was the best book I'd read in years. So, enjoy, new readers. 

 

I'm reading "They Met at Gettysburg" right now; fascinating.  I've been much more of a Civil War buff since my son and I drove from Chicago to the Outer Banks a few years ago and we passed/visited so many historical sites.  Did not get to  Gettysburg, itself, unfortunately, but that's definitely on the bucket list. 

 

Can I talk about "Fifty Shades of Grey" as in, WTF is this shit? I got the sample from Kindle and the first chapter was so bad I couldn't believe it.  Reading the scathing reviews was much more enjoyable.  Did someone pay off the "Today Show"?  Have we descended this low culturally?  Someone summed up the book as "twice as bad as the worst Harlequin romance you ever read, with the most awkward BDSM scenes you've ever read." And this is the Number One bestseller at ten bucks a pop on Kindle?  Sheesh.

90 I don't know why anyone would buy a Nook or Kindle. I have a generic Android tablet with a Nook, Kindle and epub reader apps. Don't have to worry about ebooks format at all. The screen is surprisingly good. I've read for hours with no eye-strain. My $.02. but don't really give a sh!t. H.B.

91 #92 Which tablet, which version of Android, how man $$

92 I downloaded go launcher on my kindle fire and it now has the same utility as my wife's Xoom. I can hit the kindle launcher Icon and turn it back into a fie instantly to take advantage of amazon's free stuff and exclusive stuff. I liked my fire before, but now that I have gotten rid of that carousel, I love it. If you are looking for a generic droid tablet consider the kindle fire.

93 #94 I've been holding out for Ice Cream Sandwich (aka Android 4.x) because of the fragmentation problem. I'd love to get an Android tablet & the Kindle Fire came very close, but lacked the ability to add flash storage. That was the single killer feature missing in KF. Small built-in storage is OK, but you have to have a micro SD clot.

94 #33

It appears to be a defective drive. Everything about it works except it cannot tell when a disc has been inserted. Explorer knows about the drive, IMGburn knows about it and even knows when the tray is open, the LG bundled software knows it's there but none of them can tell a disc is present in the drive. This is usually done by an IR beam, somewhat like the way later floppy drives determined the position of the write protect tab.

It's a common out of the box defect for optical drives but the first time I've had one turn up bad in at least a decade.

95 Found a diagnostic and repair tool that confirms it. It checked everything in Windows relating to drive functionality. When it came to actually reading a disc it gave up after a few minutes, saying either a readable isn't in the drive or it's broken.

I know the disc is readable. It works fine in the DVD-RW burner directly above.

96

Searchable Bible site:  www.biblegateway.com.  And you can pick the translation you prefer.

 

Bible in chronlogical order:  http://tinyurl.com/c22fb84

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

98 100!

99

IÂ’ve enjoyed the recommendations and critiques of others readings. Here are some of mine.

Kevin Williamson. The politically incorrect guide to socialism.

John Stossel. No, they can't: why government fails--but individuals succeed.

Both WilliamsonÂ’s and StosselÂ’s books are quick, easy reads from a liberatarian (classical liberal) perspective. A bright high-schooler or beginning college student would like these.

Philip Kerr. Prague fatale: a Bernie Gunther novel.

This is the 8th book in the Bernie Gunther series. Although the series follows Gunter chronologically from the early 1930’s to the middle 1950’s, this one can be read independently of the others without any problem. Gunter, a former Berlin detective, than a PI, is ‘invited’ by Reinhard Heydrich to provide protection at a gathering of military officials in the former Czechoslovakia. When a murder occurs, he must solve it to Heydrich’s satisfaction. The atmosphere is dark, with lots of double-dealing and amoral ruthlessness. If you like this one, you’ll want to read the rest of the series.

John Birmingham. Angels of vengeance: a novel.

This is the 3rd book of his Without Warning trilogy. During the buildup to the invasion of Iraq in 2003 an energy wave engulfs most of North America, reducing the US population to 20 million suvivors and global chaos ensues. The angels of vengeance are special agent Caitlin Monroe hunting down the terrorist who threats her family, Sofia Peiraro, a teenage girl who seeks revenge for the murder of her family and Julianne Balwyn, a British-born aristocrat turned smuggler who is trying to discover who put out a ‘contract’ on her. I think Birmingham does a good job with his female characters. The series is great fun.

100 I can attest that The Aristotelian is more than worth the price of admission. The Holmes canon would benefit from incorporating at least some of this story. I don't like giving reviews, but if you feel bad about the buck you spent feel free to take it on me. The Platonist/Aristotelian conflict feels a little shoe horned, but mostly I could forgive that since it is such a fundamental split even today. My criticism would be that it would be better to work the difference more subtly instead of portraying it like an overt difference over church affiliation. There are no overt Platonist or Aristotelian splits today, although they are in fact everywhere, and I can't believe there were such overt philosophical splits in the 19th Century from all the reading I have done for that time. That is a sin of compression in a story driven by characters. The next draft will be book length, I hope.