January 04, 2013

Friday Night Open Thread and Recommendations
— Ace

Recommendations as in got anything to recommend? I put up a lot of recommendations; I like hearing some, too.

Incidentally, to whomever recommended Matt Helm: Turns out Titan books (a paperback press) is going to republish them in 2013, so hopefully they'll be on Kindle. I assume they will. Now I kind of want to read some Matt Helm.

Anyone keeping to those New Year's declarations? I'm continuing trying to learn French (as you may have guessed by my sudden interest in French movies). It's slow going. I need a more systematic approach than the Think Method from the Music Man. I've been trying immersion-- natural learning, sort of -- and I guess I know some stuff but it's slow. And I still fall apart listening to it. Reading it, fine. I'm reading the Three Musketeers in French and, with the help of dozens of look-ups and guesses, I can manage to at least get the structure of the sentence, even though my actual comprehension is limited to "D'Artagnan placed his [something] against the guy's [other thing] and then had made [some reflexive verb I've never seen before, but context suggests it might have something to do with a horse. Shoeing a horse? Something like that.]."

I'm mostly using "French in Action," an immersion course from the 80s, which used to run on PBS. Anyone remember it? I actually did remember it -- seeing it here and there -- and it stuck in my mind chiefly because the main actress is gorgeous and has the highbeams on in 30% of her scenes (here, at about 1:40-2:00). I remember actually watching it just for the highbeams.

When the videos were used at Yale, three female students lodged a protest due to "sexism" -- because the girl's legs get featured a fair amount, and, of course, her highbeams. Which, in fairness, are halogen. Blinding.

But just further proof that Yale feminists are just hateful and horrible.

Anyway that's all over the internet now, on YouTube, and hosted at Annenberg Learning Center. It's actually got a fan site.

What are you guys up to?

Posted by: Ace at 03:50 PM | Comments (448)
Post contains 336 words, total size 2 kb.

1 SILVER DIMES !!!!!

Posted by: LuaP noR at January 04, 2013 03:51 PM (3/eDT)

2 I recommend Aim toothpaste, at Big Lots, 45 cents a full-size tube.

Posted by: Merovign, Dark Lord of the Sith at January 04, 2013 03:52 PM (bxiXv)

3 A little late for recommendations isn't it? But I'll try and think up something.

Posted by: Whatev at January 04, 2013 03:52 PM (lreFA)

4 Watching Raiders of hte Lost Ark on Spike.

Posted by: Anna Puma (+SmuD) at January 04, 2013 03:52 PM (Xb7i3)

5 the president is a scoamf

Posted by: phoenixgirl, Merry 11th day of Christmas at January 04, 2013 03:53 PM (GVxQo)

6 NEOCONS TOOK THE THREAD !!!!!

Posted by: LuaP noR at January 04, 2013 03:53 PM (3/eDT)

7 Also, WTF is up with the name "Big Lots?" I liked it better when it was MacFrugals, that has personality. It's not even descriptive, they don't sell big lots, they sell items like any normal store. Big Lots sounds like something you should talk to your doctor about.

Posted by: Merovign, Dark Lord of the Sith at January 04, 2013 03:54 PM (bxiXv)

8 Oh, thread delete fuckberries.

Posted by: Merovign, Dark Lord of the Sith at January 04, 2013 03:54 PM (bxiXv)

9 I also have a wet spot in my lap  Ooo la la!!!

Posted by: DAve, whose interest is purely medical at January 04, 2013 03:54 PM (XDC0v)

10 Try Cocteau's 'La Belle et la bete" (Beauty and the Beast).  Like The Three Musketeers, you'll benefit from the fact that you already know the story.  Plus, it's a fairy tale, and the dialogue is not excessive, and they speak it rather slowly.   I'd recommend French silent movies for the same reason - the intertitles are brief, and you'll be able to figure them out because you're also watching the action.  (But silent movies aren't for everyone, I know.)  Anyway, congratulations on sticking with it - Bonne chance!

Posted by: Dr. Mabuse at January 04, 2013 03:54 PM (FkH4y)

11

just watch the opening scene in Das Boot for some french singing. and german fighting and puking.

Posted by: dudeinsantacruz at January 04, 2013 03:56 PM (z4+1a)

12 I'm studying accounting, taking Intermediate I, to get the hours I need for the CPA exam. I've taken cost accounting and government accounting already. I'm better at cost accounting.
As I study it more, I'm beginning to understand that all of the times I thought the higher ups were idiots they were actually making sound decisions.

Posted by: CozMark at January 04, 2013 04:05 PM (dm7Ev)

13 Yesterday I watched Katherine Hepburn in a fantastic movie called "Dragon Seed" about the Japanese invasion of China. Think "Red Dawn" meets... something Asian. Highly recommended.

Posted by: JohnJ at January 04, 2013 04:05 PM (Tt6ky)

14 Aw yeah, les hooters.   One of  my favorites, although there was a rumor that she was killed in a motorcycle accident.  Why do I know this? Because shut up, that's why.

Posted by: pep at January 04, 2013 04:05 PM (6TB1Z)

15 Or watch the black and white French horror movie 'Eyes Without a Face' from 1960.  French surgeon's daughter is disfigured.  So he sets about trying to graft other girl's faces onto her disfigured face....

Posted by: Anna Puma (+SmuD) at January 04, 2013 04:05 PM (Xb7i3)

16 Speaking of inopportune videotaping. Last summer was videotaping some event. As I'm taping my friends 12 year old daughter and her 40 year old brother sitting there eating lunch, I looked away at something for about ten seconds. The end result of the tape was both their faces, then a slow pan down to the daughters breasts for 10 seconds, then back to their faces. Uncomfortable silence as we all watched the tape back at the house.

Posted by: Whatev at January 04, 2013 04:06 PM (lreFA)

17 She also appeared nekkid in the movie "Aria".

Posted by: pep at January 04, 2013 04:06 PM (6TB1Z)

18 I'm continuing trying to learn French (as you may have guessed by my sudden interest in French movies). It's slow going. I need a more systematic approach than the Think Method from the Music Man. I've been trying immersion-- natural learning, sort of -- and I guess I know some stuff but it's slow. And I still fall apart listening to it.

----------

One thing I've done to help my Russian is trawl youtube, swiping music videos and turning them into MP3s.

I have one of those brains that is always going in the background. If I don't give it something to do while I'm working (like listening to music), it'll keep interrupting me with hare-brained schemes it's cooked up.

So I've been letting it listen to Russian music while I work. I think it's helped quite a bit.

Posted by: Citizen Anachronda at January 04, 2013 04:06 PM (1c58W)

19 or you could go on to french news sites or use one of the autotranslators (for improving word knowledge at the expense of grammer) and read sites you do anyway.

Posted by: dudeinsantacruz at January 04, 2013 04:06 PM (z4+1a)

20 >>> I'd recommend French silent movies for the same reason yeah but I'm not watching the movies for movie purposes, I'm watching them for their immersive value. A silent doesn't help. And reading as I said isn't the problem. the problem is understanding oral speech. I've looked for cartons and kid shows for the "speak slowly and in simple words" factor but can't find any. I'll look for beauty and the beast.

Posted by: ace at January 04, 2013 04:07 PM (LCRYB)

21 Uncomfortable silence as we all watched the tape back at the house.


When do you have to register and let your neighbours know?

Posted by: EC at January 04, 2013 04:08 PM (doBIb)

22 The original Red Dawn, I meant. Not the recent remake.

Posted by: JohnJ at January 04, 2013 04:08 PM (Tt6ky)

23 Neato! I had lots to say about the now dead threads I missed. Fueled now by an egg-topped burger and 3 beers (9% abv), and unburdened by two year old dictators, I shall grace you morons with wisdom.

Posted by: DC in Towson at January 04, 2013 04:09 PM (Ai+tZ)

24 >>>One thing I've done to help my Russian is trawl youtube, swiping music videos and turning them into MP3s. I've read that, that that's a good way to do it. I don't have the technical know-how, though. I've also heard songs, generally, are a good way to get trained to hear the words. On that point, I just added an intentionally silly French version of Hotel California to the post.

Posted by: ace at January 04, 2013 04:10 PM (LCRYB)

25 Audio only, but worth it: "The Dark Knight Rises" motion picture soundtrack, Deluxe Edition. It's almost like a great metal album, just played with classical instruments.

Posted by: A Liberal AoSHQ Reader, Really! at January 04, 2013 04:10 PM (ZiYQG)

26 Travis McGee stories by John D. McDonald

House boat owning freelance PI (unlicensed) takes cases/gets involved with various situations (most in Florida) of danger and complication.

Sexy women (but not steamy scenes to clutter up the who dunnit), car chases and crashes, shoot outs and dangerous situations.

The read well and quickly yet keep your attention as other than the underlying premise, you're not sure what's going to happen next (other than he usually makes out and solves the puzzle alive.)

John D. is dead so their won't be anymore but I found this series to be a little more cerebral and less brain dead than a lot of similar tales of this genre.

A color is always part of any title.

Posted by: Bitter Clinger (aka 3 tooth) at January 04, 2013 04:10 PM (3E2th)

27 >>>or you could go on to french news sites or use one of the autotranslators (for improvingword knowledgeat the expense of grammer) and read sites you do anyway. that's a good idea!

Posted by: ace at January 04, 2013 04:10 PM (LCRYB)

28 Annenberg? Didn't Bill Ayers and Arnie Duncan Have some connections with that outfit?

Posted by: Chuck at January 04, 2013 04:10 PM (dSkY8)

29 My son's Nintendo DS has a French language trainer "game".  It doubles as a French-English dictionary as well.

Pretty damn awesome.

Posted by: EC at January 04, 2013 04:11 PM (doBIb)

30 I'm mostly using "French in Action," an immersion course from the 80s, which used to run on PBS. Anyone remember it?

I was told from a friend in college that the best way to learn a foreign language was to sleep with your textbook.

I denounce myself.

Posted by: John P. Squibob at January 04, 2013 04:11 PM (kqqGm)

31 I recommend thinner rope.

Posted by: David Carradine at January 04, 2013 04:11 PM (QKKT0)

32

Hubby and I instant Netflixed "Bernie" the other day,  starring Jack Black, in a whole 'nother character, if you can believe it. It was very enjoyable! Sort of a documentary, not really a mockumentary, but kind of.  I couldn't believe I had never even heard of this movie before, but I am a bit sheltered, so...

Posted by: kalneva at January 04, 2013 04:11 PM (S+/pH)

33 You could try Rue Sesame, which is the French version of Sesame Street.

Hey, America's paying for it. You might as well get some use out of it.

Posted by: JohnJ at January 04, 2013 04:11 PM (Tt6ky)

34 I recommend Amana.

Posted by: Indiana Jones at January 04, 2013 04:12 PM (QKKT0)

35 Also, I recommend a Kimber .45, Remington 870, and a Colt M4. And all the ammo you can afford.

Posted by: Chuck at January 04, 2013 04:12 PM (dSkY8)

36 Uncomfortable silence as we all watched the tape back at the house. Posted by: Whatev at January 04, 2013 08:06 PM (lreFA) --- On the bright side, she (the mom) voted for Obama, so we no longer speak.

Posted by: Whatev at January 04, 2013 04:12 PM (lreFA)

37 You could read Molière in the original French. Some of them were pretty good as I recall, if you like plays.  I liked good looking women, and the class had plenty, which is why I took it. I could give a flip what women at Yale think.

Posted by: BoGart at January 04, 2013 04:12 PM (Ugngr)

38 actually now i'm reading the german translation of the ace home page. it's fun

Posted by: dudeinsantacruz at January 04, 2013 04:12 PM (z4+1a)

39 I recommend a Plan B.

Posted by: Rachel Corrie at January 04, 2013 04:12 PM (QKKT0)

40 While we're on an Annenburg jag I can not highly enough recommend The Western Tradition with Eugen Weber:  http://tinyurl.com/a9gj5ae  Worth it just for the way he talks

Posted by: DAve at January 04, 2013 04:12 PM (XDC0v)

41 >>>Annenberg? Huh, I didn't make any connection. I sure hope it's not the same one.

Posted by: ace at January 04, 2013 04:12 PM (LCRYB)

42 A pro-lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender group issued a statement today urging President Barack Obama not to nominate Chuck Hagel as secretary of defense.

Un groupe pro-lesbiennes, gays, bisexuels et transgenres ont publié une déclaration exhortant aujourd'hui le président Barack Obama de ne pas nommer M. Chuck Hagel, ministre de la Défense.

Somehow, it is slightly less bizarro in French.

huh.

Posted by: T.Hunter - laisser brûler at January 04, 2013 04:13 PM (EZl54)

43 Big lots smells like failure and disappointment

Posted by: conservative mom in Maryland at January 04, 2013 04:13 PM (JY/eu)

44 I recommend pie.

Posted by: Joe Biden at January 04, 2013 04:13 PM (QKKT0)

45 You have to love Drudge's headline: "Gays Turn On Obama Pick".

ba-dum-bum!

Posted by: JohnJ at January 04, 2013 04:14 PM (Tt6ky)

46 Someone mentioned Russian music videos?  Should make BCochran, Invictus, Sean, and others to bunk.

http://youtu.be/0TQPPGl-W8c

Posted by: Anna Puma (+SmuD) at January 04, 2013 04:14 PM (Xb7i3)

47 I watched a frog film on Amazon Prime recently, since it was free. If you could suspend disbelief long enough to believe some little dudes going all Bruce Lee in the muz ghettos, it wasn't too stinky. The chick was kinda hot.

Posted by: Invictus at January 04, 2013 04:14 PM (OQpzc)

48 37 You could read Molière in the original French.

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

Hmm. I wonder how hard it would be to get your hands on some Asterix and Obelisk books in the original Klingon French. A friend had English translations of some of them and they were quite humorous.

Posted by: Citizen Anachronda at January 04, 2013 04:14 PM (1c58W)

49 I read an article somewhere recently, possibly here but I doubt it, in which it was pointed out that the best writing is now for some TV shows.  Actors once aspired to be in movies because that was the more prestigious form, but that's changed, at least in some cases.  I can say that with very few exception, there are almost no movies that interest me anymore.  I'd much rather watch Sherlock, or Foyle's War, or something else of high quality. The long form that TV provides allows for much better character development, and usually prohibits the excessive use of special effects as a substitute for a plot.

Posted by: pep at January 04, 2013 04:14 PM (6TB1Z)

50 Well, I'll get to the wisdom after a while. There's boobehs to talk about. Now that I think about, there's my recommendation: boobehs. Theyrrrrrrrre grrreat!

Posted by: DC in Towson at January 04, 2013 04:14 PM (Ai+tZ)

51 I recommend not looking at this week's pay stub. Holy mother fucking shit! Really obama?? Fuck you! Fuck you KayHagen! Fuck all you democrat pieces of shit! My formerly good but now obamacared insurance is crap and is more expensive than a new "assault rifle." loss for words. never in my worst nightmare did I think I would see America come to an end in my lifetime. it's on the way.

Posted by: traye at January 04, 2013 04:14 PM (MIzFD)

52 Best way to learn French?  Sleep with the horse nose from MA.


Why frog?  Spanish is what you need.  No frogs coming over the border from Canada.  It's a dead language. 

You going to St Barts or the Congo?  Good, use your french. 

Posted by: Billy Bob, Pseudo Intellectual at January 04, 2013 04:15 PM (wR+pz)

53 DC! How drunk are you? Drunk enough to grace us with pics of the Cougar? Hey Anna, got any new auctions? Win anything?

Posted by: BCochran1981 at January 04, 2013 04:15 PM (IvVLN)

54 I recommend a cover over the thermal exhaust port.

Posted by: Darth Vader at January 04, 2013 04:15 PM (QKKT0)

55 La Balance 1982

In my top 10 French flicks.

Posted by: sTevo at January 04, 2013 04:16 PM (VMcEw)

56 I recommend the Book of Daniel.

Posted by: mama winger at January 04, 2013 04:17 PM (P6QsQ)

57 Someone mentioned Russian music videos? Should make BCochran, Invictus, Sean, and others to bunk.

http://youtu.be/0TQPPGl-W8c

Posted by: Anna Puma (+SmuD) at January 04, 2013 08:14 PM (Xb7i3)


In the next world, I nominate Anna to be the Moron Minister of Propaganda and Morale.


Holy crap, how the hell did we ever win the cold war?  Those stupid Russians could have just had them at the border checkpoints and we would have surrendered.

Posted by: EC at January 04, 2013 04:17 PM (doBIb)

58 Posted by: ace at January 04, 2013 08:07 PM (LCRYB) I am with ya.... I took french for 3 years in school. I can read it and write it but I cant understand a word a French person is saying. Its too fast and blends together.. plus add in slang.. forget it.

Posted by: Jumbo Shrimp at January 04, 2013 04:18 PM (DGIjM)

59 I am having an extra glass of wine or five after dinner, I recommend y'all do too.

I second the recommendation for pie.  And seconds on pie.


ps - that Johnny Football can play,  whoa.

Posted by: Guy Mohawk at January 04, 2013 04:18 PM (69Mdf)

60 "?What are you guys up to?" I'm watching the f-in high beams. Ooh la la.

Posted by: West at January 04, 2013 04:18 PM (vEjs1)

61 Also cashmere socks.

Posted by: mama winger at January 04, 2013 04:18 PM (P6QsQ)

62 We'll always have Paris.



http://tinyurl.com/y7hpywc

Posted by: Richard Blaine at January 04, 2013 04:19 PM (wR+pz)

63 Anybody watch The Assault on Netflix about the 94 takeover of a French Airliner pretty good movie.

Posted by: Patrick at January 04, 2013 04:19 PM (6WpNC)

64

I recommend Adrian Goldsworthy's How Rome Fell and Peter Heather's The Fall of the Roman Empire for history on the Fall of Rome. Two different, but not mutually exclusive, perspectives.

Posted by: Grey Fox at January 04, 2013 04:19 PM (/D/u1)

65 I recommend never going to Chicago in the winter. I was just there for a few days.. came home and now I have a terrible cold. I blame Bush.

Posted by: Jumbo Shrimp at January 04, 2013 04:20 PM (DGIjM)

66 The Dark Knight Rises made me envy the blind. What a steaming pile of dog squeeze.

Posted by: FURPC at January 04, 2013 04:20 PM (0ImZM)

67 Ace, you should learn a useful language, like Klingon! Shakespeare in the original Klingon: "taH pagh taHbe'" http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CiRMGYQfXrs

Posted by: General Martok at January 04, 2013 04:21 PM (Vk2pI)

68 Oooh, 'Eyes Without A Face' is so creepy!  My sister recommended it to me so I downloaded it.  I had to fast-forward over the surgery scene because it was starting to make me sick, and that's without any graphic gore or even a soundtrack playing.  It was just so horribly tense.  No, Ace, French kids' programs aren't that helpful because they're often in funny high-pitched voices, and they're not really that slow.  Kids like things that are fast and peppy, after all.  One thing that might help a bit is to find English movies that you've already seen and know pretty well, and watch the French dubbed version.  You'll be able to connect what you're hearing with the English dialogue you've already learned from the original.  When you're not struggling to figure out what's happening you can relax because you understand; then you'll find the sound of the French voices becoming more natural as you continue to listen.

Posted by: Dr. Mabuse at January 04, 2013 04:21 PM (FkH4y)

69 46 Someone mentioned Russian music videos? Should make BCochran, Invictus, Sean, and others to bunk. http://youtu.be/0TQPPGl-W8c Posted by: Anna Puma (+SmuD) at January 04, 2013 08:14 PM (Xb7i3) Damn woman. You trying to make me embarrass myself in front of the fam? "Grandma, why is daddy's computer in the air instead of on his lap? What's holding it up?"

Posted by: BCochran1981 at January 04, 2013 04:21 PM (IvVLN)

70 Matt Helm was a piker. Our Man Flint would have kicked his ass.

Posted by: Buzzsaw at January 04, 2013 04:22 PM (qo244)

71 I recommend a cover over the thermal exhaust port.
Posted by: Darth Vader at January 04, 2013 08:15 PM (QKKT0)

And why is there a thermal exhaust port anyway?

It's fucking SPACE! It's a VACUUM! It can't absorb heat. Heat "exhausted" will not dissipate.

Geez Louise.

Read a fucking Physics book Lucas.

Posted by: Bitter Clinger (aka 3 tooth) at January 04, 2013 04:22 PM (3E2th)

72

Ace

 

Go to France.

Go to some small town where hardly anyone speaks English.

Stay at some small hotel or motel and watch cable TV.  There will likely be an American movie on that is dubbed in to French.   I watched "Open Range" a few years ago at a small motel in a small town in France, and it was a hoot watching Robert Duvall dubbed into French.

 

Now that's immersion. I can't really speak or understand French, but sometimes I catch the meaning of a conversation by the attitude.

 

My 15 year old son is taking French in high school, and is doing poorly.

Posted by: Reader C.J. Burch writes.... at January 04, 2013 04:22 PM (Md8Uo)

73
I recommend pausing that Russian Girls video at certain points.

Posted by: Guy Mohawk at January 04, 2013 04:23 PM (69Mdf)

74 >>>I read an article somewhere recently, possibly here but I doubt it, in which it was pointed out that the best writing is now for some TV shows i actually did say that here but it's not a novel observation. Movies have gotten quite dumb, and uniformly dumb. There have always been dumb movies, but there was more of a spectrum. Now they're mostly just written for foreign audiences, so everything's dumbed down. The thing is, stage plays are a writer's medium, and to a lesser extent so is TV. In stage writing, the writer is king; the director is just the guy who executes his plan. On TV, the showrunner (main producer/series overseer) is king, but writers have more freedom and are afforded more respect. In movies, the writer is actually a very low-ranking member of the team. Movies are a director's medium-- he has all the control, and in fact usually rewrites the script himself (or has someone due it per his specifications). Directors can't get screenwriting credit from the Writers Guild except under extremely specific conditions (or else they'd always take credit, as they're always rewriting a script), but in fact the "writer" credit in Hollywood kind of conceals the fact that that writer really might not have written the script at all. Although he probably did write important things that people often don't appreciate the importance of (the structure, the order of events). But even in those things he did so at the direction of the director and the studio executives and the producer. So, ultimately, writers interested in actually being authors sometimes go to TV, where they're not the low man on the totem pole. The other way to do it is to become a director, so you have the power to do the story the way you want to do it. Shane Black's done that, so has Christopehr McQuarrie, writer/director of the new tom cruise "Jack Reacher" movie. I heard one writer-turned-director say, "I'm a writer by choice, a producer by opportunity, and a director out of self-defense."

Posted by: ace at January 04, 2013 04:23 PM (LCRYB)

75 I watched Downfall again.  I'd intended to watch only a few minutes, especially the "Steiner" scene, but it really sucks you in.  Good movie.

Posted by: pep at January 04, 2013 04:23 PM (6TB1Z)

76 But the Death Star with an Edsel horse collar radiator to dissipate heat, well next you will want to add 1959 Cadillac fins for the TiE fighter bays.

Posted by: Anna Puma (+SmuD) at January 04, 2013 04:23 PM (Xb7i3)

77 I recommend a top post of Michelle Jenneke, in an endless loop, serving pancakes.  Pick any language you prefer.

Posted by: Fritz at January 04, 2013 04:24 PM (w3+gB)

78 "No frogs coming over the border from Canada."

Lest you offend real Frogs, I believe the appropriate slur for Les Habitants is "Frenchies," which George St. Pierre considers comparable to the n-word.

Posted by: Anthropolizer at January 04, 2013 04:24 PM (I88Jc)

79 Well glad EC and BCochran do like the video.

Just think if they had remade Red Dawn with those Soviet soldiers...

Posted by: Anna Puma (+SmuD) at January 04, 2013 04:24 PM (Xb7i3)

80 BC, not just yet, for two reasons. One, she's feeling the effects of the month long bender from turkey day to new years. So much so that she is quitting the booze until the super bowl. (yay, designated driver...DD if you prefer) Two, she would *literally* kill me in my sleep, and I've come to enjoy being alive.

Posted by: DC in Towson at January 04, 2013 04:24 PM (Ai+tZ)

81 If I had a teenaged son, I bet he'd Google the real Mme. Highbeam "Valery Allain nude" to see what the Mischief inside that sweater looked like in the plain light of day. If I had a son.

Posted by: ChampionCapua at January 04, 2013 04:24 PM (KZi9D)

82 10 Beautiful movie. Gorgeous imagery, sets et costumes. The actress who plays Belle est tres lovely.

Posted by: Tuna at January 04, 2013 04:24 PM (M/TDA)

83 Just think if they had remade Red Dawn with those Soviet soldiers...

We're being invaded and I just don't care!!!

Posted by: EC at January 04, 2013 04:25 PM (doBIb)

84

Open thread topic suggestions:

-Ideas for expatriation

-Ideas to hide/shelter income (for example, MLPs are still a good option for tax deferment)

-Ideas for getting cash income on the side that can't be found by the IRS

-Ideas for encouraging suicidal liberals to go through with it

-Whether to just say "FUCK IT!" and blow all your monthly $ surplus on strippers and vodka.  (This is actually just a plea for advice on whether my decision was the right one)

 

 

Posted by: Reactionary at January 04, 2013 04:25 PM (jfeoD)

85 Matt Helm was a pussy compared to Eddie Chapman aka Agent Zigzag.

Posted by: Steff McKee at January 04, 2013 04:25 PM (ecSgd)

86 I recommend pausing that Russian Girls video at certain points.>>

And Imagining that is pudding that their washing off.

Posted by: Buzzsaw at January 04, 2013 04:25 PM (qo244)

87

You can't fool me, Anna. I've been to the former USSR. Every one of those girls will weigh 300 pounds in ten years. They are nearly as bad as Polynesians in gaining girth.

 

But, right now? Yeah, I'd hit that like a grazer hittiing a crippled LAC.

Posted by: Invictus at January 04, 2013 04:25 PM (OQpzc)

88
French in Action actress - Valerie Allain

Oh my, she did nude sceenes in movies.

Je serai dans mon lit.

Posted by: Laurie David's Cervix at January 04, 2013 04:25 PM (kdS6q)

89 speaking of Hitler movies, Valkyrie is really good, I think.

Posted by: ace at January 04, 2013 04:26 PM (LCRYB)

90 Just started reading Game of Thrones. Highly recommended if you like that genre.

Posted by: Warden at January 04, 2013 04:26 PM (HzhBE)

91 A few options:

French radio stations are available on the internet.  You can find ones focused on the news to listen to.  You might also be able to find television news in a few places online.

Watch movies in French with the English subtitles on.  Even better, you can watch movies you've already seen with the language switched to French.

If you live in a place with a Maison Francaise, you can go to one of their programs to interact with people in French.

Posted by: AD at January 04, 2013 04:26 PM (4R+Nb)

92 "Our man Flint..." Pardon me ma'am, I speak porpoise.

Posted by: teej at January 04, 2013 04:26 PM (5gfow)

93 I never quite made it past the ability to read other languages, I fall apart in real time conversation. After years of trying, I gave up and learned guitar instead.

Posted by: mugiwara at January 04, 2013 04:26 PM (hpYnL)

94 >>>French in Action actress - Valerie Allain yeahhhh... I know. I need to find those movies.

Posted by: ace at January 04, 2013 04:26 PM (LCRYB)

95 If I had a teenaged son, I bet he'd Google the real Mme. Highbeam "Valery Allain nude" to see what the Mischief inside that sweater looked like in the plain light of day.

If I were a dirty old man, I would google that.

If I were a dirty old man...

Posted by: EC at January 04, 2013 04:26 PM (doBIb)

96 When I was on my Spanish kick I would read sports, gadget news, and politics news in Spanish. Basically, things I would normally read in English. So I had all the context. Spanish Engadget iPhone story. Yahoo Mexico's NFL write-ups. That sort of thing. Also, there's no substitute for vocab drilling. Flash cards. There's software and apps for that. If you memorize the 1000 most common words that's a good start. And each domain (sports, tech, politics) has it's own specialized vocab.

Posted by: Flatbush Joe at January 04, 2013 04:26 PM (ZPrif)

97 I guess I'd better start practicing Russian.  Sure, Putin is a douche, but that 13% flat tax is looking pretty good.  I recommend putting Bailey's in your hot chocolate. 

Posted by: no good deed at January 04, 2013 04:26 PM (mjR67)

98 Two, she would *literally* kill me in my sleep, and I've come to enjoy being alive. Posted by: DC in Towson at January 04, 2013 08:24 PM (Ai+tZ) Come on man, you're not a newb. You don't tell her!!! 83 Just think if they had remade Red Dawn with those Soviet soldiers... ------------- We're being invaded and I just don't care!!! Posted by: EC at January 04, 2013 08:25 PM (doBIb) Just so we're clear, I'd sell out every last one of you for a night with any of those girls.

Posted by: BCochran1981 at January 04, 2013 04:26 PM (IvVLN)

99
Almost all of my kids cartoon movie dvd's have french and spanish language, do that and turn on the closed captioning.

Also kindle has alot of free audio books that follow the bouncing ball, not sure if they have french ones.

Posted by: Guy Mohawk at January 04, 2013 04:27 PM (69Mdf)

100 69 46 Someone mentioned Russian music videos? Should make BCochran, Invictus, Sean, and others to bunk. Here, let me help you with those belts....

Posted by: Sean Bannion at January 04, 2013 04:27 PM (lfs+r)

101 Goroveet ly vey po Angleski tovarich?

Posted by: Anna Puma (+SmuD) at January 04, 2013 04:27 PM (Xb7i3)

102 I just finished reading Vince Flynn's "The Last Man" another good Mitch Rapp story. But, I find myself often confusing Mitch Rapp with Scot Harvath, Brad Thor's main character, so then I'm baffled by references in the story like the computer hacker, who I think is the dwarf with the big dogs, but that's in Thor's books. And I can never remember which tangled and doomed love relationship belongs to which character.

Posted by: ParanoidGirlInSeattle at January 04, 2013 04:27 PM (RZ8pf)

103 ace....do you think putin is going to make you a russian citizen?

Posted by: phoenixgirl, Merry 11th day of Christmas at January 04, 2013 04:27 PM (GVxQo)

104 I recommend pausing that Russian Girls video at certain points.

Yeah, a lot of fast cuts.

Some things are meant to be lingered over and savored.

Posted by: Waterhouse at January 04, 2013 04:28 PM (BoHve)

105 Read a fucking Physics book Lucas.

Posted by: Bitter Clinger (aka 3 tooth) at January 04, 2013 08:22 PM (3E2th)

 

Crazy huh? The problem isn't freezing to death, but heat dissipation.

Posted by: Invictus at January 04, 2013 04:28 PM (OQpzc)

106 >>>Just started reading Game of Thrones. Highly recommended if you like that genre. It's a good series, but books 4 and 5 are very much padding and not very good at all. 1-3 are good. 1 great, 2 okay for sequel, 3 very good. 4 and 5, padding. When recommending "Game of Thrones" people should be told the genre isn't what they're expecting-- it's not heroic fantasy. It's like I, Claudius with some light fantasy trappings.

Posted by: ace at January 04, 2013 04:28 PM (LCRYB)

107 Watching GIJoe on Netflix.  It's amazing how hilariously goofy these things are.

Posted by: Bevel Lemelisk at January 04, 2013 04:29 PM (uhAkr)

108

So those Russian girls, are they big boned?

 

Is is healthier for them after they get heavier?

Posted by: Reader C.J. Burch writes.... at January 04, 2013 04:29 PM (Md8Uo)

109 Tools like jmemorize use the Leitner method for vocab drilling and work well. It's flashcards but it remembers which ones you get right and focuses on the ones you don't know. But it also retests you on the ones you got right at periodic intervals. The intervals are designed to maximize retention. If you enter the data and do it every day you will memorize pretty much anything.

Posted by: Flatbush Joe at January 04, 2013 04:29 PM (ZPrif)

110 Just started reading Game of Thrones. Highly recommended if you like that genre. Posted by: Warden at January 04, 2013 08:26 PM (HzhBE) Good luck with that.

Posted by: BCochran1981 at January 04, 2013 04:29 PM (IvVLN)

111 49 I read an article somewhere recently, possibly here but I doubt it, in which it was pointed out that the best writing is now for some TV shows. Actors once aspired to be in movies because that was the more prestigious form, but that's changed, at least in some cases. I can say that with very few exception, there are almost no movies that interest me anymore. I'd much rather watch Sherlock, or Foyle's War, or something else of high quality. The long form that TV provides allows for much better character development, and usually prohibits the excessive use of special effects as a substitute for a plot. Posted by: pep at January 04, 2013 08:14 PM (6TB1Z) I think the shorter seasons of six to thirteen episodes work much better than longer ones. You can tell a story without the need of filler. Boss and American Horror Story are not hurt by shorter seasons. Yes Boss was cancelled, but not for lack of quality. For things worth watching Strike Back, not the original but the movie channel one. Great fun. Season two had an episode where Scott shot an enemy and the enemy didn't die. He walks over and starts beating the shit out of him after saying "Body armor, fucking pussy". I laughed my ass off. Australian cop show Rush. Australian lawyer show Rake. New Zealand show Outrageous Fortune. Brit show, not the crappy US rip off, Shameless. Frank Gallagher is the man a gutter philosopher who knows exactly who he is and where he wants to be. Mostly drunk and doped. If you haven't seen it watch The Raid Redemption.

Posted by: Mike Hunt at January 04, 2013 04:29 PM (G6kli)

112 Je suis officiellement en vacances!

Oh pool boy, another cocktail, s'il vous plaît.

Merci.

Posted by: mon nom est mpfs at January 04, 2013 04:29 PM (Mkhiu)

113 Recommendation: Danner boots.

Posted by: West at January 04, 2013 04:29 PM (vEjs1)

114 Just so we're clear, I'd sell out every last one of you for a night with any of those girls.

Not if I rat you out first!

"There's a guy named BCochran that has microfilm with secret stuff on it!  He lives right over there!!!  Ok, I'm ready for the girls now."

Posted by: EC at January 04, 2013 04:29 PM (doBIb)

115 The moose actually used his elliptical twice this week. Unfortunately I'm not able to hit the Rugby field for a little while until I sort out some gastritis. Maybe next season.

As far as other forms of self improvement. I've actually done quite good with my philosophical readings and have been reliably working through my course material from the teaching company that I started last year in order to broaden my philosophical understandings for better discourse.

As far as my personal interests go. I've not managed to brew any beer lately. I've fallen off the wagon a bit on project breakfast during the holidays and need to get it started again. I've managed to punch out two loaves of bread from my kitchen in the past 3 weeks, which I had promised I would take up more cooking endeavors last year and didn't. So mixed results there.



Posted by: MikeTheMoose is Shrugging at January 04, 2013 04:29 PM (0q2P7)

116 Read all of the Tarzan books recently. Kindle has them all for $2.99, I think. First few are the best.

Posted by: ChampionCapua at January 04, 2013 04:29 PM (KZi9D)

117 At a HS basketball game watching son. Obama can't ball at all.

Posted by: Navin Johnson at January 04, 2013 04:30 PM (5t9Tj)

118 Here you go Ace:

"Chaque homme normal doit être tenté parfois pour cracher sur ses mains, pour lever le drapeau noir, et pour commencer à fendre des gorges."

Sound familiar?

Posted by: CraigPoe at January 04, 2013 04:30 PM (BVkEs)

119 Just finished watching Cloud Atlas. 2 hours and 52 minutes of WTH? Enjoyed it oddly, but I'm going to have to digest on it a bit to decide if it had a point or not.

Posted by: toby928© for TB at January 04, 2013 04:30 PM (QupBk)

120 >What are you guys up to?

At the moment? Watching this french girl's tits.  Thanks Ace!

Posted by: DanInMN at January 04, 2013 04:30 PM (khf9A)

121 40 Oh my gosh. I watched that series every time it popped up on our local PBS channel.

Posted by: Tuna at January 04, 2013 04:31 PM (M/TDA)

122 110 Just started reading Game of Thrones. Highly recommended if you like that genre. Posted by: Warden at January 04, 2013 08:26 PM (HzhBE) Good luck with that. Posted by: BCochran1981 at January 04, 2013 08:29 PM (IvVLN) Well written but should have been finished by now. Fuck it's like reading the same week from twenty different viewpoints all describing everything including food in excruciating detail. No real "likeable" characters. Though Jaimie is starting to grow on me.

Posted by: Mike Hunt at January 04, 2013 04:31 PM (G6kli)

123 According to Wiki, VA is alive and a mom.  Good for her.

Posted by: pep at January 04, 2013 04:31 PM (6TB1Z)

124 The PRC's Pink Army
http://youtu.be/S4DZQhfrl5Y

Posted by: Anna Puma (+SmuD) at January 04, 2013 04:31 PM (Xb7i3)

125 "There's a guy named BCochran that has microfilm with secret stuff on it! He lives right over there!!! Ok, I'm ready for the girls now." Posted by: EC at January 04, 2013 08:29 PM (doBIb) Ladies, that's bullshit. In case you're curious, I love vodka and have lot's of it. Also, I played baseball all the way through college. Strong hands. Excellent dexterity.

Posted by: BCochran1981 at January 04, 2013 04:31 PM (IvVLN)

126 Posted by: ParanoidGirlInSeattle at January 04, 2013 08:27 PM Hey, good to fake internet see you! I've developed a cure for that problem: when a new Flynn or Thor book is due out, I re-read the last one (or maybe two) from that author about a week before the release date. That way I'm all caught up and the story is fresh in my mind. Plus, two Flynn or Thor books back-to-back. So, double win.

Posted by: DC in Towson at January 04, 2013 04:31 PM (Ai+tZ)

127


[When recommending "Game of Thrones" people should be told the genre isn't what they're expecting-- it's not heroic fantasy. It's like I, Claudius with some light fantasy trappings.]

In some ways, it's like Robert Jordan's Wheel of Time series. Except good, not annoying and tedious.

Posted by: Warden at January 04, 2013 04:32 PM (HzhBE)

128 Concerning French.

Heard about this.  I'm giving German a try.  Haven't gotten very far since I'm not at home and aware very often.

http://duolingo.com/

Posted by: douglas at January 04, 2013 04:32 PM (mbM03)

129 Just finished watching Cloud Atlas. 2 hours and 52 minutes of WTH? Enjoyed it oddly, but I'm going to have to digest on it a bit to decide if it had a point or not.

I found out that the actress who plays Sonmi is my cousin recently.  I had no idea until my dad told me during Thanksgiving.  I've got Hollywood connections now1

Posted by: EC at January 04, 2013 04:32 PM (doBIb)

130 At the moment? Watching this french girl's tits. Thanks Ace! --- I read that three times before I realized you were "watching" not "washing". I had thought I found a reason for ace to learn French. And that some people take multi-tasking a little too far. But turns out I just need sleep.

Posted by: Jenny Tries Too Hard at January 04, 2013 04:33 PM (b+8h9)

131 No one mentioned the joint novel The Mongoliad.

Posted by: Mike Hunt at January 04, 2013 04:33 PM (G6kli)

132 Ladies, that's bullshit. In case you're curious, I love vodka and have lot's of it. Also, I played baseball all the way through college. Strong hands. Excellent dexterity.Posted by: BCochran1981 at January 04, 2013 08:31 PM (IvVLN) Ahem. You were a pitcher. That means you can't bat. IYKWIMAITTYD

Posted by: Sean Bannion at January 04, 2013 04:33 PM (lfs+r)

133 I gave up reading The Wheel of Time series.  Did the new author revive it any?

Posted by: no good deed at January 04, 2013 04:33 PM (mjR67)

134 I found out that the actress who plays Sonmi is my cousin recently. Wow. She's a pretty lass.

Posted by: toby928© for TB at January 04, 2013 04:34 PM (QupBk)

135 124 The PRC's Pink Army http://youtu.be/S4DZQhfrl5Y Posted by: Anna Puma (+SmuD) at January 04, 2013 08:31 PM (Xb7i3) Kinda disappointing. I kept waiting for them to strip the uni's off like the russians....

Posted by: BCochran1981 at January 04, 2013 04:34 PM (IvVLN)

136 Mitch Rabb and Scott Horvath call Matt Helm "Sir."

Posted by: richard mcenroe at January 04, 2013 04:34 PM (qvify)

137 The PRC's Pink Army
http://youtu.be/S4DZQhfrl5Y


Women in uniform, sometimes they look so cold
Women in uniform, but, Oh! They feel so warm

Posted by: EC at January 04, 2013 04:34 PM (doBIb)

138

So I tried going back through that UK article on pedophelia from this mornings news dump thread trying to make some sense of it and I'm still coming up with nothing.

 

I've had it shoved in my face that sexual orientation is something you're born with or whatever, and they're trying to tell me now that pedophelia is a sexual orientation and that it's learned and can be unlearned. 

 

Was anybody else able to make any sense of it or the whole gender/sexual orientation crap that's been spewed forth in the last 40 years?

Posted by: Burn the Witch at January 04, 2013 04:34 PM (IgvLC)

139
At the moment? Watching this French girl's tits. Thanks Ace!
Posted by: DanInMN





And since she was doing her nude scenes in the 80's/90's, she's got a bit of Le Old Bocage, if you know what I mean.

Posted by: Laurie David's Cervix at January 04, 2013 04:35 PM (kdS6q)

140 Here you go BCochran
http://youtu.be/0RVIQ0EIy-Q

Posted by: Anna Puma (+SmuD) at January 04, 2013 04:35 PM (Xb7i3)

141 [133I gave up reading The Wheel of Time series. Did the new author revive it any? Posted by: no good deed at ]

 

Around book 4 or 5, I hurled my paperback to the floor, startling my wife, and exclaimed, "Fuck this tiresome BULLSHIT!"

She's the one who got me started on the series. I loved it at first, but DAMN ... get to the POINT!

Posted by: Warden at January 04, 2013 04:35 PM (HzhBE)

142 Ahem. You were a pitcher. That means you can't bat. IYKWIMAITTYD Posted by: Sean Bannion at January 04, 2013 08:33 PM (lfs+r) Au contrair. I DH'ed in high school.

Posted by: BCochran1981 at January 04, 2013 04:35 PM (IvVLN)

143 I can't believe those bastards cancelled Boss. What a great show.

Posted by: JohnJ at January 04, 2013 04:35 PM (Tt6ky)

144

And since she was doing her nude scenes in the 80's/90's, she's got a bit of Le Old Bocage, if you know what I mean.

Those hedgerows were killer!!!

Posted by: EC at January 04, 2013 04:35 PM (doBIb)

145 122 "No real "likeable" characters. Though Jaimie is starting to grow on me." He's the only character worth my attention. If Martin kills him off will I be mad!

Posted by: Tuna at January 04, 2013 04:36 PM (M/TDA)

146 Well- open thread so I'll go for it.

I just released a game for iOS: Marble Kicker - its a sort of 3d mini-golf game where you swipe to kick the ball.
http://tinyurl.com/bb36gv5
It's free so...
Also, some total &*&## has put up a (false) review claiming it doesn't work- so if you do try it- please, please, please put up a good review.

On the language front, I created an app, Estudiar Verbs (also free), for drilling on spanish verb conjugations. I did it partly to help with my own attempts to improve my Spanish, which haven't really made much progress.

And lastly, Obama is a stuttering clusterfuck of a miserable failure.

Posted by: Bill at January 04, 2013 04:36 PM (fTEm2)

147 I recommend any French movie starring that famous Russian bastard  Gerard Depardeiu

Posted by: Lassie at January 04, 2013 04:36 PM (tdaam)

148 >>>It's fucking SPACE! It's a VACUUM! It can't absorb heat. Heat "exhausted" will not dissipate.

Actually space is nearly an ideal heat sink. You can exaust high energy matter into it at practically any speed. And you can conduct irradiative heat transfer into it at the highest possible efficiency for such a transfer with your given materials.

Posted by: MikeTheMoose is Shrugging at January 04, 2013 04:36 PM (0q2P7)

149

This could possibly explain Ace's new-found fascination with all things French. Est-ce vrai? Go fish! Gold fish! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rbw_c7THPhg

Posted by: Cicero Kid at January 04, 2013 04:36 PM (b1VIZ)

150 140 Here you go BCochran http://youtu.be/0RVIQ0EIy-Q Posted by: Anna Puma (+SmuD) at January 04, 2013 08:35 PM (Xb7i3) You are both wonderful and cruel.

Posted by: BCochran1981 at January 04, 2013 04:36 PM (IvVLN)

151 I like the convenient camera zoom right after the water spills.  Clearly a supreme moment in film making.
 

Posted by: Grindingmetal at January 04, 2013 04:37 PM (Gim9y)

152 Bannion!

Bonjour!

Posted by: mon nom est mpfs at January 04, 2013 04:37 PM (Mkhiu)

153 And for one of the most outrageous funniest shows ever Mrs.Browns Boys. Utter genius.

Posted by: Mike Hunt at January 04, 2013 04:37 PM (G6kli)

154 125 "There's a guy named BCochran that has microfilm with secret stuff on it! He lives right over there!!! Ok, I'm ready for the girls now." Posted by: EC at January 04, 2013 08:29 PM (doBIb) Ladies, that's bullshit. In case you're curious, I love vodka and have lot's of it. Also, I played baseball all the way through college. Strong hands. Excellent dexterity. Posted by: BCochran1981 at January 04, 2013 08:31 PM (IvVLN) Both those guys are double-agents! I'm the one with the real dope. But, I have this medical condition wherein I can only sell out my countrymen whilst mid-orgamsm. So I'm not worried, I've heard Russkiy babes are lousy lovers, it would probably take all of you all night.

Posted by: DC in Towson at January 04, 2013 04:37 PM (Ai+tZ)

155 And since she was doing her nude scenes in the 80's/90's, she's got a bit of Le Old Bocage, The Bocage? Nasty country. We used to put blades on the front of our tanks to cut through the hedgerows. Yes, we are talking about the same thing.

Posted by: Sean Bannion at January 04, 2013 04:37 PM (lfs+r)

156 what is jmemorize? I looked it up; it's a flash program. Do I enter the words as I find them myself, and then it, what, flashes them on flashcards to me?

Posted by: ace at January 04, 2013 04:37 PM (LCRYB)

157 Ace: Best thing for you to do is to find a group of fluent French speakers and take the plunge. Failing that, try to find and read everything French; children's boos and newspapers. Before you know it, you'll pick it up. But the best thing is to speak it every day in conversation.

Posted by: J.J. Sefton at January 04, 2013 04:37 PM (XkWWK)

158 Watched the latest Red Dwarf season. Bit odd as they are all about 50 years old now. Lister's rebel/slacker chav thing gets sillier the older and fatter he gets. And Rimmer and the robot have the Data problem of explaining why they keep aging if they are a hologram and a robot. Odd how British TV works as the drib drab episodes over the span of decades. Market forces dictate it I guess.

Posted by: Flatbush Joe at January 04, 2013 04:37 PM (ZPrif)

159 Wow. She's a pretty lass.

My dad said the Wachowski's saw her in Air Doll and wanted her for the Sonmi part.  He also told me that for some reason, she is not well liked in S. Korea and her films do not do very well.  In Japan, however, she's a huge fucking star and has fans out the ass.  Air Doll was a massive hit over there.  Very strange.

Posted by: EC at January 04, 2013 04:38 PM (doBIb)

160 If you read either 'The Making of 2001' or 'Lost Worlds of 2001' they discuss heat and USS Discovery.  Since the ship uses nuclear motors and all.  They finally ditched putting radiators on USS Discovery so they would not have to explain why a ship in space had wings.

Posted by: Anna Puma (+SmuD) at January 04, 2013 04:39 PM (Xb7i3)

161 Ace, look into the Michel Thomas Method... a good friend of mine recently got into the Foreign Service, she and her husband used it to learn French before getting posted to Paris (*after* being posted to Juarez, Mexico-- the State Department doesn't fuck around with their hardship postings, but at least they do reward you after the fact).

Anyway, she said it wasn't super-deep-- you're not going to become a native speaker from the method alone-- but she raved about it in comparison to the State classes, and definitely found it better than the usual off-the-shelf stuff like Rosetta.

Posted by: Dave at Garfield Ridge at January 04, 2013 04:39 PM (Ys6PL)

162 ...and then I saw what she looks like now.  Nothing gold can stay...

Posted by: DAve. lamenting the ravages of time at January 04, 2013 04:39 PM (XDC0v)

163 "Amelie " is a sweet movie. Audrey Tautou is adorable.

Posted by: Tuna at January 04, 2013 04:39 PM (M/TDA)

164

DC in Towson, but if I did that I'd probably want to read another one, and then another one, and then a week will have gone by without me doing a damn thing but sitting on the couch, zoning out and reading those books. As it is, I killed pretty much the whole afternoon finishing The Last Man.

Posted by: ParanoidGirlInSeattle at January 04, 2013 04:39 PM (RZ8pf)

165 "Was anybody else able to make any sense of it or the whole gender/sexual orientation crap that's been spewed forth in the last 40 years?"

Yes, liberals believe that people are not responsible for the decisions that they make, and so they push theories that excuse people. But then they realize that if people aren't responsible for the decisions they make, it might make sense to simply eliminate people who make undesirable decisions. So liberals are trying to find a way to excuse people from personal responsibility while also trying to control their behavior.

Posted by: JohnJ at January 04, 2013 04:40 PM (Tt6ky)

166 jmemorize was a java program I used. Had to download it and install it. Probably better websites now. Key is the Leitner system that will track your progress and use the algorithms to optimize your memorization. There are sites like flashcardexchange where people share their data sets. Lots of french and spanish vocab sets. If you google "flashcards" you'll find a lot of options.

Posted by: Flatbush Joe at January 04, 2013 04:40 PM (ZPrif)

167 So I'm not worried, I've heard Russkiy babes are lousy lovers, it would probably take all of you all night. Posted by: DC in Towson at January 04, 2013 08:37 PM (Ai+tZ) That bastard insulted you?!?! Allow me to worship you. Here, here's another glass of vodka for each of you lovely ladies.

Posted by: BCochran1981 at January 04, 2013 04:40 PM (IvVLN)

168 Right now I am sitting my tour on a drillship in the gulf of Mexico, making sure the rig doesn't go boom while drilling for oil As for reommendations I have only two 1. Read Birth of Fire by Jerry Pournelle (get it free from baen.com 2. Start thinking about what being prepared for the Tyrant Obama zombie apocalypse really means.

Posted by: Silentbrick at January 04, 2013 04:40 PM (HOLXG)

169 Posted by: mon nom est mpfs at January 04, 2013 08:37 PM (Mkhiu) Bonsoir, mon cherie!

Posted by: Sean Bannion at January 04, 2013 04:40 PM (lfs+r)

170 Nothing Gold Can Stay by Robert Frost
Nature's first green is gold, Her hardest hue to hold. Her early leaf's a flower; But only so an hour. Then leaf subsides to leaf. So Eden sank to grief, So dawn goes down to day. Nothing gold can stay.

Posted by: DAve. lamenting the ravages of time at January 04, 2013 04:40 PM (XDC0v)

171 Have you seen this film, EC? I don't want to exchange spoilers I don't guess but I would like to know if anyone thought it had any real meaning, or was just an okay story with five timelines going simultaneously?

Posted by: toby928© for TB at January 04, 2013 04:40 PM (QupBk)

172

No real "likeable" characters. Though Jaimie is starting to grow on me.

 

 

I read one of them - the third, I think - and that is what jumped out at me: there really was no one for whom to root. I have never been strongly tempted to read any more.

Posted by: Grey Fox at January 04, 2013 04:40 PM (/D/u1)

173 "Market forces dictate it I guess."

Very droll indeed, sir.

Posted by: Anthropolizer at January 04, 2013 04:41 PM (I88Jc)

174 google "flash cards with the leitner system" and you'll get a lot of info. I think it's generally regarded as one of the fastest, most reliable ways to burn data into your brain. Takes time. More about consistency.

Posted by: Flatbush Joe at January 04, 2013 04:42 PM (ZPrif)

175 "....A color is always part of any title.

Posted by: Bitter Clinger (aka 3 tooth) at January 04, 2013 08:10 PM (3E2th)"


I remember reading "A Flash of Green" from this series. Second that recommendation.

Posted by: Alberta Oil Peon at January 04, 2013 04:42 PM (29+x5)

176 I DH'ed in high school. Posted by: BCochran1981 at January 04, 2013 08:35 PM (IvVLN) You no doubt suffered from premature DH.

Posted by: Sean Bannion at January 04, 2013 04:43 PM (lfs+r)

177 Here's one site: http://flashcarddb.com/leitner

Posted by: Flatbush Joe at January 04, 2013 04:43 PM (ZPrif)

178 I'd really like someone to explain to me what happens to heat exhausted into space if it's not dissipated. Where does it go? What happens to it?

Posted by: JohnJ at January 04, 2013 04:43 PM (Tt6ky)

179 I know this isn't a book thread, but it is a recommendations thread, and it kind of ties in to the earlier lead discussion, I just finished a book called "The Disappearing Spoon" which is about stories of the periodic table of elements, some of the individual elements, and some of the scientists responsible for discovering the elements. It's really good, an easy read for non-scientists. And, for once, surprisingly little political or environmental bias (though he does touch on lead being bad for you, and instead of saying the giant chemistry reference book is the Bible for chemists, he says it is the Koran--but I put that down to some annoying editor changing it to be PC)

Posted by: ParanoidGirlInSeattle at January 04, 2013 04:43 PM (RZ8pf)

180 ave you seen this film, EC? I don't want to exchange spoilers I don't guess but I would like to know if anyone thought it had any real meaning, or was just an okay story with five timelines going simultaneously?

No, but I heard the book was a little easier to follow.

Posted by: EC at January 04, 2013 04:43 PM (doBIb)

181 In some ways, it's like Robert Jordan's Wheel of Time series. Except good, not annoying and tedious.

Posted by: Warden at January 04, 2013 08:32 PM (HzhBE)

 

I love WoT. I want it to go on forever.

Posted by: Invictus at January 04, 2013 04:43 PM (OQpzc)

182 That bastard insulted you?!?! Allow me to worship you. Here, here's another glass of vodka for each of you lovely ladies. Posted by: BCochran1981 at January 04, 2013 08:40 PM (IvVLN) Don't be fooled, he's trying to give you Tito's, and American vodka! From Texas, even! I have Chopin. First, we conquer that, then you can try to, er, squeeze the information out of my me.

Posted by: DC in Towson at January 04, 2013 04:44 PM (Ai+tZ)

183 What's new and exciting Bannion?

I'm winging my way to Miami tomorrow then off to Jamaica, Grand Cayman and Cozumel.

I need this vacation.

Posted by: mon nom est mpfs at January 04, 2013 04:44 PM (Mkhiu)

184 Why not learn Spanish? Much more applicable in this country.

Posted by: The Pullitzer Commitee, padding the sock puppet numbers at January 04, 2013 04:45 PM (CN2Eq)

185 You have to love Drudge's headline: "Gays Turn On Obama Pick".

ba-dum-bum!

Posted by: JohnJ at January 04, 2013 08:14 PM (Tt6ky)



Sure they didn't mean to put a "D" where the "P" is?

Posted by: Alberta Oil Peon at January 04, 2013 04:45 PM (29+x5)

186

I enjoyed the book Predictably Irrational, which is largely about how consumers think they're making logical choices, but aren't.

Make sure to search for it in ace's Amazon widget!

Posted by: Warden at January 04, 2013 04:45 PM (HzhBE)

187 You no doubt suffered from premature DH. Posted by: Sean Bannion at January 04, 2013 08:43 PM (lfs+r) Weeeeeaaaaak. Lol. Btw, I've just started The Dwarves by Markus Heitz. First of a series. It seems good so far. Interesting. Anybody have any familiarity with the series?

Posted by: BCochran1981 at January 04, 2013 04:45 PM (IvVLN)

188 Regarding learning French, a few observations for English-speakers... The r is a problem. Get the r, and you're 25% there. (Pro tip: if you've got Hebrew's resh, just dial it back 'til you sound French.) The vowels are the next problem, May be why the French are the way they are. Luckily, there are only so many combinations to practice. Elision may be a stumbling point. After that, verb conjugations and vocabulary, as with any other new language. Full disclosure department: I never admit understanding French. I will try to speak it, if necessary. My proficiency improves if she has her high-beams on. Especially after 2 or 3 French movies in a row. If I know I'm going to need it, thankfully, there are enough really, really good French movies to suffice me. "La Belle et la Bête" (1946) "Le Ballon rouge" (1956) "Mon Oncle" (195 "Les Parapluies de Cherbourg" (1964) "Le journal d'une femme de chambre" (1964) "Week-end" (1967) "Le charme discret de la bourgeoisie" (1972) "La Femme Nikita" (1990) "Banlieue 13" (2004) And too many others to mention.

Posted by: Thorvald at January 04, 2013 04:45 PM (1V6Pv)

189 jmemorize.org has the jmemorize software. I prefer having data in the cloud so I can access it anywhere.

Posted by: Flatbush Joe at January 04, 2013 04:46 PM (ZPrif)

190 I'm getting into running this year. I highly recommend "Born to Run" by Christopher McDougall. It has a great cast of characters. Part history of running shoes, part secret long distance race in Mexico, part biology of humans, and why we are the greatest long distance running animal on the planet (it's true).

Posted by: Eaton Cox at January 04, 2013 04:46 PM (q177U)

191

Just got the Vorpatril book yesterday.

 

Ivan would make a good Moron.

Posted by: Invictus at January 04, 2013 04:46 PM (OQpzc)

192 >>>I'd really like someone to explain to me what happens to heat exhausted into space if it's not dissipated. Where does it go? What happens to it?

Heat can take the form of electromagnetic waves (Infra red light) and once in that form travel indefinitely in the nothingness. It is the only known way to "dispose" of entropy is to radiate it into the absolute vastness of space; where in theory the heat can travel indefinitely and never encounter matter with which to interact. ever again.

Posted by: MikeTheMoose is Shrugging at January 04, 2013 04:46 PM (0q2P7)

193 179 I'd really like someone to explain to me what happens to heat exhausted into space if it's not dissipated. Where does it go? What happens to it? Radiation travels through space just fine. So do hot particles ejected from a spacecraft.

Posted by: The Pullitzer Commitee, padding the sock puppet numbers at January 04, 2013 04:47 PM (I2LwF)

194 >>>think it's generally regarded as one of the fastest, most reliable ways to burn data into your brain. Takes time. More about consistency. Will do. I've been looking for flashcards.

Posted by: ace at January 04, 2013 04:47 PM (LCRYB)

195 Posted by: ParanoidGirlInSeattle at January 04, 2013 08:39 PM I save the epic series readings for sick days. But, for instance, when I saw The Last Man was about to come out, I pulled up American Assassain on the kindle and gave it another read. Because I had already read it, I didn't need to stay up till 0400 wondering what happens next. At the end, begin Last Man. Easy, peasy.

Posted by: DC in Towson at January 04, 2013 04:48 PM (Ai+tZ)

196 So even tho it's 5:45 here in socal brown truck santa just delivered me 280 rds. of 30-30 FSP and 1000 rds. of 9 JHP.  Yay!!!

Posted by: DAve. lamenting the ravages of time at January 04, 2013 04:48 PM (XDC0v)

197 In space you use radiators to dissipate the heat generated by the space craft systems. 

For a real world example, look at the Space Shuttle.  As soon as a shuttle enters orbit the cargo bay doors are opened.  This is not to get ready for the scheduled tasks but because the shuttle's radiators are located on the inside of each door.  If they do not open the doors quickly there is nowhere for the heat generated by the human crew or electronic systems  to go.  Heat is bad for human and equipment.

An exhaust port is an even worse idea because of Newton.  Exhaust implies a jet.

Posted by: Anna Puma (+SmuD) at January 04, 2013 04:48 PM (Xb7i3)

198 I need this vacation. Vacation score: mpfs - 4 Bannion- 0 I do not feel your pain. However, I am happy to see you.

Posted by: Sean Bannion at January 04, 2013 04:48 PM (lfs+r)

199 I HIGHLY recommend the first Blue Murder album which is five or six bucks on Amazon. And Whitesnake's self-titled album. Both albums feature John Sykes on guitar.

Posted by: Robert at January 04, 2013 04:48 PM (LUnTP)

200 French would be lots easier if it were just like English. Fucking brilliant!

Posted by: Killerdog at January 04, 2013 04:49 PM (gYvhT)

201 >>>After that, verb conjugations and vocabulary, as with any other new language. there's two other stumbling blocks, I think: the alien word order (direct object pronouns coming before verbs) and the constant "qui's" before every dependent clause (and, I swear, even without dependent clauses).

Posted by: ace at January 04, 2013 04:49 PM (LCRYB)

202 In grad school, I took a class in French media, which was basically just watching a movie in French every week.  I found that the Francophone African and Caribbean movies (yes, they do exist) were the easiest to understand since generally they spoke quite a bit slower than, say, movies from France.  Not sure how you'd go about getting those movies, though, unless you had one of those hipster video stores that have way too many obscure foreign movies like I did then in Norfolk.  Also, for some reason, French action/war movies were easier to follow dialogue-wise than the dramas.  I highly recommend Section 317, which is about the French in Vietnam just before they got booted out.

Posted by: Professor Marius von Totenkopf (formerly Hoss Fuentes) at January 04, 2013 04:49 PM (aozUR)

203 I have Chopin. Posted by: DC in Towson at January 04, 2013 08:44 PM (Ai+tZ) He would give you that Polish crap? Here ladies, I have Stolichnaya. Russians deserve Russian vodka.

Posted by: BCochran1981 at January 04, 2013 04:49 PM (IvVLN)

204 An exhaust port is an even worse idea because of Newton. It's important to keep them to way less than two meters across, even if they are ray shielded.

Posted by: toby928© for TB at January 04, 2013 04:50 PM (QupBk)

205 I also recommend this cup of coffee if you can pry it from my cold, dead hands.

Posted by: Robert at January 04, 2013 04:50 PM (LUnTP)

206

Re: Game of Thrones. After Martin kills off 90% of the characters you've come to give a shit about in four mega-books in about 20 pages, all you want to do is hunt him down and torture him to death.

 

I will never give that worthless fuck another penny. I may sue him for being a world class asshole.

Posted by: Invictus at January 04, 2013 04:50 PM (OQpzc)

207

133I gave up reading The Wheel of Time series. Did the new author revive it any?

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

Brandon Sanderson?

 

Dunno.  But he's a good author in his own right.  You should check out his Mistborn series.  It's got three books (the series proper) and then another novel set a couple of centuries later that's basically Victorian England, gunfighters, and the very unique magic system from Mistborn.  The plot of the latter is completely unrelated to the plot of the original three.

 

Posted by: junior at January 04, 2013 04:50 PM (UWFpX)

208 German is pretty easy to learn for English speakers.

Posted by: toby928© for TB at January 04, 2013 04:50 PM (QupBk)

209 My new year has kicked solid ass.  But that's because I spent so much time and effort in 2012 making it that way

Posted by: DAve. lamenting the ravages of time at January 04, 2013 04:51 PM (XDC0v)

210 Invictus, in that book I felt sorry for Gregor.

Posted by: Anna Puma (+SmuD) at January 04, 2013 04:51 PM (Xb7i3)

211 Recommendations?  Exercise and low carb/calorie diets, but you need to learn Spanish  ...the French aren't invading ...maybe you planning to move to Canada?

Posted by: dogfish at January 04, 2013 04:51 PM (N2yhW)

212 Thanks Bannion. 

I just know I would have a blast with you on this vacation.  Never a dull, sober moment.

This may be my last vacation for a long time. I'm going to enjoy every fucking moment.

Posted by: mon nom est mpfs at January 04, 2013 04:52 PM (Mkhiu)

213 191 I'm getting into running this year. I highly recommend "Born to Run" by Christopher McDougall. It has a great cast of characters. Part history of running shoes, part secret long distance race in Mexico, part biology of humans, and why we are the greatest long distance running animal on the planet (it's true). Posted by: Eaton Cox at January 04, 2013 08:46 PM (q177U) Agreed. Cannot recommend this highly enough. I had been running in five fingers before I read this, but I learned why all my knee and hip pain was gone, expect ally at longer distances. One of the top fitness books out there, along with Rippetoe's books.

Posted by: DC in Towson at January 04, 2013 04:52 PM (Ai+tZ)

214 That sounds like heat being dissipated. But I've been assured that heat cannot be dissipated into space, so does it just lay there or what?

Posted by: JohnJ at January 04, 2013 04:52 PM (Tt6ky)

215 German is pretty easy to learn for English speakers I agree and that was something that surprised me when I was stationed there.

Posted by: Sean Bannion at January 04, 2013 04:52 PM (lfs+r)

216 I understand Brandon Sanderson turned the final volume of Wheel Of Time into three seperate books. I got the first ten books for my mother when Borders/Waldenbooks was going out of business. She hated it. She ended up giving them to my brother's girlfriend.

Posted by: Robert at January 04, 2013 04:52 PM (LUnTP)

217 My proficiency improves if she has her high-beams on.

Funny, mine drops dramatically.  My proficiency, that is.

Posted by: pep at January 04, 2013 04:52 PM (6TB1Z)

218 Fafhrd and the Gray Mouser have been translated into French. Fritz Leiber ou un phénix au royaume des mortels + This is the preface (p. vii-xv) and an illustration from Le cycle des épées by Fritz Leiber, published in Paris by Opta in 1970 as no. 5 in the series Collection "Aventures fantastiques," which is a French translation of three novels, Swords against Wizardry, Swords in the mist, and The Swords of Lankhmar, from the Fafhrd and the Gray Mouser saga. -

Posted by: Le BumperStiquerist at January 04, 2013 04:52 PM (RuUvx)

219 >>>German is pretty easy to learn for English speakers.

Well English borrows its sentence structure (If you want to call what English does to words "structure") from German.

Posted by: MikeTheMoose is Shrugging at January 04, 2013 04:52 PM (0q2P7)

220 I learned how to make french toast with Savannah. http://tinyurl.com/83rn344

Posted by: CDR M at January 04, 2013 04:53 PM (dKV5k)

221 Radiation travels through space just fine. So do hot particles ejected from a spacecraft.

Posted by: The Pullitzer Commitee, padding the sock puppet numbers at January 04, 2013 08:47 PM (I2LwF)

 

Please splain how you radiate heat with no atmosphere to radiate it with.

Posted by: Invictus at January 04, 2013 04:53 PM (OQpzc)

222 >>>German is pretty easy to learn for English speakers. Nicht fur mich.

Posted by: ace at January 04, 2013 04:53 PM (LCRYB)

223 Anyone interested in Medieval noir try Jeri Westerson's Crispin Guest series. Disgraced knight making his way on the mean streets of 14th century London as a private eye. She gets better with each book. Easy, light reading.

Posted by: Tuna at January 04, 2013 04:53 PM (M/TDA)

224 This may be my last vacation for a long time. I'm going to enjoy every fucking moment. Posted by: mon nom est mpfs at January 04, 2013 08:52 PM (Mkhiu) Exactly how vacations should be spent.

Posted by: BCochran1981 at January 04, 2013 04:53 PM (IvVLN)

225 Jagerschnitzel mit pomme frittes bite.  Ein gross Coca-Cola ja?

About all the German I remember.

Posted by: Anna Puma (+SmuD) at January 04, 2013 04:53 PM (Xb7i3)

226 Also, German is the best language that I know of for haranguing people. It's the fifteen syllable words.

Posted by: toby928© for TB at January 04, 2013 04:53 PM (QupBk)

227 222 If you were five feet from the sun would it be hot?

Posted by: DAve. lamenting the ravages of time at January 04, 2013 04:54 PM (XDC0v)

228 "No frogs coming over the border from Canada."

Lest you offend real Frogs, I believe the appropriate slur for Les Habitants is "Frenchies," which George St. Pierre considers comparable to the n-word.

Posted by: Anthropolizer at January 04, 2013 08:24 PM (I88Jc)


The slur you seek: "Pepsi".  Not kidding.

Posted by: Alberta Oil Peon at January 04, 2013 04:54 PM (29+x5)

229 fwiw Thai Ladyboy hookers speak French ... I'm told.

Posted by: Le BumperStiquerist at January 04, 2013 04:54 PM (RuUvx)

230 159 Watched the latest Red Dwarf season. Bit odd as they are all about 50 years old now. Lister's rebel/slacker chav thing gets sillier the older and fatter he gets.

-----------

Most recent one I've seen is season 8; the one where the nanites rebuild Red Dwarf. Guess I'll have to poke around on NetFlix...

Posted by: Citizen Anachronda at January 04, 2013 04:54 PM (1c58W)

231 I will never give that worthless fuck another penny. I may sue him for being a world class asshole.

Posted by: Invictus at January 04, 2013 08:50 PM (OQpzc)


The world is depressing.  There are no heroes.  Everyone in a position of power is just out to screw everyone else to improve their own position and probably have a disgusting sexual fetish.  WE FUCKING GET IT, GEORGE!  Vietnam and Richard Nixon pissed you off, and you haven't just fucking let go.  Get over yourself, you fat fucking fuck!


George R. R. Martin is why I'm debating getting back into the Dresden Files books.

Posted by: Professor Marius von Totenkopf (formerly Hoss Fuentes) at January 04, 2013 04:54 PM (aozUR)

232
Please splain how you radiate heat with no atmosphere to radiate it with.
Posted by: Invictus




Stars, how the eff do they work?

Posted by: Laurie David's Cervix at January 04, 2013 04:55 PM (kdS6q)

233 The film, "The Battle of Algiers," is good. I should watch it again this weekend.

Posted by: Anthropolizer at January 04, 2013 04:55 PM (I88Jc)

234 I just know I would have a blast with you on this vacation. Never a dull, sober moment. Ha! I'm a sheepdog, hon. As much as would have hated it I would have self-selected as "the responsible one"

Posted by: Sean Bannion at January 04, 2013 04:55 PM (lfs+r)

235 OK I know the Navy is part of the Federal Government, so by definition it is sometimes dysfunctional, but this is pretty funny. Next weekend they have scheduled 5X the number of patients we usually see. Almost 1/4 of of all the Sailors/Seabees/ Marines we see in a Fiscal Year in one Weekend. And as they say in the Navy " Are you Ready?", we always answer "Always Ready!" so we doing what we have to get the job done. But then tonight I get a memo that they are "Requiring" at least 1/2 of the Provider ( Drs) and Nurse Corps Officers to take a mandatory Leadership Course that weekend and that weekend only, thereby stripping us of the very same people who have to sign off on these Exams for a deploying Unit? It's actually pretty funny

Posted by: Nevergiveup at January 04, 2013 04:55 PM (79ueO)

236 You should check out his Mistborn series.

Thanks, junior, I will.  I thought Mistborn was an RPG.

Posted by: no good deed at January 04, 2013 04:55 PM (mjR67)

237 221 I learned how to make french toast with Savannah. http://tinyurl.com/83rn344 Posted by: CDR M at January 04, 2013 08:53 PM (dKV5k) This, this is a quality site. Good for you CDR M. http://tinyurl.com/au4r8zz

Posted by: BCochran1981 at January 04, 2013 04:56 PM (IvVLN)

238 Nicht fur mich. Heh. My French is now pretty much limited to Je ne comprends pas.

Posted by: toby928© for TB at January 04, 2013 04:56 PM (QupBk)

239 I'm watching season 3 of Ice Road Truckers...not really on ice roads this season...kinda lame.

Posted by: canadave at January 04, 2013 04:56 PM (voRpZ)

240 Bannion,

No need for a designated driver on a cruise ship.

Posted by: mon nom est mpfs at January 04, 2013 04:57 PM (Mkhiu)

241 If I want good fantasy with lots of meat on the bone and characters I care about, I read two authors - Elizabeth Moon and P.C. Hodgell.

Posted by: Anna Puma (+SmuD) at January 04, 2013 04:57 PM (Xb7i3)

242 He would give you that Polish crap? Here ladies, I have Stolichnaya. Russians deserve Russian vodka. Posted by: BCochran1981 at January 04, 2013 08:49 PM (IvVLN) First, Mr. Cochran obviously has subtlety whoosh safely over his head. Russkies loves conquering Poles and taking their stuff. Second, you ladies are proper Soviets Russains, not idiot college girls. Let's leave the Stoli on the bottom shelf, where it belongs.

Posted by: DC in Towson at January 04, 2013 04:57 PM (Ai+tZ)

243 For an American, learning a foreign language is, realistically, mostly a waste of time on a pure cost/benefit basis. I did it cause it was fun and a good way to stretch my brain, get it out of my normal habits and ruts. Language translation software has improved dramatically and will only get better. I can get the gist of nearly any article in any language with Google Chrome auto-translating for me. The time I spent learning Spanish would, most likely, have been better spent learning some other skill or field. And 2nd language skills are very perishable. My Spanish skills have already noticeably atrophied. It's still a fun challenge, though. For comparison, I taught myself the basics of accompaniment piano and guitar years ago and I never seem to forget it no matter how long I go without playing. I'm worse at it and my fingers will hurt but I don't forget the chords and basic patterns. Whereas with my Spanish I'll try to to say something and realize -- Oh, last year I knew the word for this. With music I do forget the individual songs, but I just look up the chords on the internet.

Posted by: Flatbush Joe at January 04, 2013 04:57 PM (ZPrif)

244 Please splain how you radiate heat with no atmosphere to radiate it with. Posted by: Invictus Stars, how the eff do they work? Posted by: Laurie David's Cervix at January 04, 2013 08:55 PM (kdS6q) Pixy farts. Really, you insects got all your vaunted "science" completely fucked up.

Posted by: Betelguese at January 04, 2013 04:57 PM (LUnTP)

245 As an aside, I learned to speak the abba-dabba version of Zoom Talk, the kids television show (We're gonna Zoom Zoom Zoom ah-Zoom ...) It works FANTASTICALLY well for cussing. Sounds like a Slavic language, you can become fluent in it in an afternoon, and there's no chance that the person speaking French, German, Dutch, Italian, Russian, Pole, Hindu, Spanish and other, lesser, languages speaks it. So you get bonus points for one-upping them. Ab-its Grab-ate, yaboo maborabons. _

Posted by: BumperStickerist at January 04, 2013 04:57 PM (RuUvx)

246 Ha! I'm a sheepdog, hon. As much as would have hated it I would have self-selected as "the responsible one" Posted by: Sean Bannion at January 04, 2013 08:55 PM (lfs+r) That can, and should, be cured.

Posted by: BCochran1981 at January 04, 2013 04:58 PM (IvVLN)

247
German is pretty easy to learn for English speakers.
Posted by: toby928




However, learning German can screw up your English.  I still tend to toss the verb to the end of a sentence, and I put Qs and Zs in the oddest places.

Posted by: Laurie David's Cervix at January 04, 2013 04:58 PM (kdS6q)

248 Highly recommend Scaramouche, by Sabatini. I read the English translation, but if you want, go with the French. It is one of the finest fiction novels I've ever read. Great story. Wonderful lessons about power. My favorite movie is also French, and one of the best ever made, and it contains a wonderful lesson about what happens to people when they reject long-established societal norms; great movie--La regle du jeu (The Rules of the Game).

Posted by: kharve3 at January 04, 2013 04:58 PM (Oq/20)

249 CDR M
French toast doesn't count.

Now Camille Crimson speaks francais.

Posted by: mon nom est mpfs at January 04, 2013 04:58 PM (Mkhiu)

250 >>>Please splain how you radiate heat with no atmosphere to radiate it with.

Infra red waves. You've heard of them. They are light waves below the visible spectrum. They are made up of heat energy.

ALL OBJECTS above absolute 0 radiate infrared waves. The hotter you get the more waves (and higher frequency) you emit. If you get hot enough those waves actually make it into the visible spectrum (see "The Sun" and "Incandescent Light bulb" ) those light waves can

a. Strike a distant object and heat it up. (See "The Sun" there isn't a trail of gas between the Earth and the Sun that allows it to warm us, it does so through irradiative heat transfer using light waves)

b. Not strike an object and travel forever into space.

Posted by: MikeTheMoose is Shrugging at January 04, 2013 04:59 PM (0q2P7)

251 That can, and should, be cured. You're safe, I only get that way around the fairer sex.

Posted by: Sean Bannion at January 04, 2013 04:59 PM (lfs+r)

252 My name in high school French class was "Francoise". Hated it.

Posted by: Tuna at January 04, 2013 04:59 PM (M/TDA)

253 I recommend posting the snippet of Levin talking to Ted Cruz from tonight's show.  Damn, but Cruz was inspirational and commonsensical when it came to talking about the REAL leverage the repubes have!  It was surely a "right on, right on, right on" moment.

Posted by: RushBabe at January 04, 2013 04:59 PM (tQHzJ)

254

Anyone who isn't following this alleged rape cover up in Steubenville ... damn!

http://tinyurl.com/b4sj795

Yeah, I know, I know. Duke Lacrosse. But this looks legit.

Posted by: Warden at January 04, 2013 05:00 PM (HgbO+)

255 Spanish is interesting in that if the Spanish speaker is willing to talk slow, and maybe say the same thing several different ways, you can understand what they are talking about. The problem I have is that, at least the Mexican people I know, speak way too fast for me.

Posted by: toby928© for TB at January 04, 2013 05:00 PM (QupBk)

256 @218 I can talk a good game, anyway. So I've got that going for me anyway. Which is nice.

Posted by: Thorvald at January 04, 2013 05:01 PM (1V6Pv)

257 Now Camille Crimson speaks francais. Posted by: mon nom est mpfs at January 04, 2013 08:58 PM (Mkhiu) You had to mention Camille didn't you!

Posted by: CDR M at January 04, 2013 05:01 PM (dKV5k)

258 248--Years of Latin did the same to me...like the Romans of yore, I fell in love with the passive voice and the implicit notion therein that sometimes (often in fact) shit just happens to you. The hand of heaven must be borne with resignation, that of the enemy with disdain (Im talking to you now, Boehner.)

Posted by: kharve3 at January 04, 2013 05:01 PM (Oq/20)

259 No need for a designated driver on a cruise ship. Yeah, but I'd spend the night making sure you found your cabin.

Posted by: Sean Bannion at January 04, 2013 05:01 PM (lfs+r)

260 First, Mr. Cochran obviously has subtlety whoosh safely over his head. Russkies loves conquering Poles and taking their stuff. Second, you ladies are proper Soviets Russains, not idiot college girls. Let's leave the Stoli on the bottom shelf, where it belongs. Posted by: DC in Towson at January 04, 2013 08:57 PM (Ai+tZ) I have the only Pole that needs conquering ladies. And Mr. Towson clearly doesn't realize that Stoli comes in multiple types and is high quality. Finally, I live in Florida. Which is warm year round. No freezing winters, plenty of food and you can play with waterhoses to your heart's content.

Posted by: BCochran1981 at January 04, 2013 05:02 PM (IvVLN)

261 Baise espagnol

Posted by: mon nom est mpfs at January 04, 2013 05:02 PM (Mkhiu)

262 Banning, stay sober enough to win a fight. Only a cruise ship, that's all that's required. I know, first hand. Almost got kicked off the boat in Grand Cayman. no shit, they had my bags packed and me in handcuffs.

Posted by: DC in Towson at January 04, 2013 05:02 PM (Ai+tZ)

263 Whatever language you want to learn, go to a 2nd hand bookstore and pick up some kid's books in that language.  Pictures, no English just the language you want to learn.  Learn it like we did as youngsters.

Posted by: dogfish at January 04, 2013 05:02 PM (N2yhW)

264 I have the only Pole that needs conquering ladies Thread winner, and Game. Set. Match.

Posted by: Sean Bannion at January 04, 2013 05:03 PM (lfs+r)

265 dogfish, re : kids books.  Tried that in Germany with comic books.  Not a real big help.  More I remember what I actually used while in Germany.

Posted by: Anna Puma (+SmuD) at January 04, 2013 05:04 PM (Xb7i3)

266

I gave up reading The Wheel of Time series. Did the new author revive it any?


It's definately a different author, but not awful.  The final book comes out on Tuesday.

Posted by: Colorado Alex at January 04, 2013 05:04 PM (o1kXv)

267 Remember when those were "Polish" jokes?

Posted by: dogfish at January 04, 2013 05:04 PM (N2yhW)

268 @221 OMG! The only things that video lacks are bungee cords and a 60cm Swiss ball.

Posted by: Thorvald at January 04, 2013 05:04 PM (1V6Pv)

269 Err, wrong thread.

Posted by: dogfish at January 04, 2013 05:04 PM (N2yhW)

270 I've been trying immersion-- natural learning, sort of -- and I guess I know some stuff but it's slow. And I still fall apart listening to it.

That's exactly how it works, Ace. If learning another language were quick, we'd all be polyglots.

It took me a good four to five months in another country to be able to distinguish the individual words consistently if only to segment the ones that I knew from the ones I did not.

One idea; find a 'language group' and go drinking. It works amazingly well when you are trying to build responses. You don't have to get drunk, just buzzed enough to ignore the normal hesitation or second-guessing when responding.

Posted by: weft cut-loop [/i] [/b] at January 04, 2013 05:05 PM (KDq5l)

271 Further elaboration.  German translation of Dominion Tank Police, they took the US English translation and translated that into German.  What still cracks me up is what they called Britain in it - Der squad fuhrer Britain!

Posted by: Anna Puma (+SmuD) at January 04, 2013 05:05 PM (Xb7i3)

272

I eliminated my blood sugar crashes mostly through diet and exercise. For the last 10-15% of the problem, I took a supplement called maca.

It's grown in Peru and Bolivia and used primarily as a sexual stimulant and to fight fatigue. I didn't notice any of those effects. The reason I take it is it's supposed to help your cells eliminate insulin resistance. I've definitely noticed positive effect. I can't remember the last time I had a crash.

Posted by: Warden at January 04, 2013 05:05 PM (HgbO+)

273

So, you are saying a spaceship, which is not currently being consumed by fusion fire, can dissapate enough waste heat to operate a fusion reactor, a life support system, and weapons to survive the heat death of the ship?

 

Next thing you'll tell me there is such a thing as a stealth spaceship.

Posted by: Invictus at January 04, 2013 05:06 PM (OQpzc)

274

I recommend eating lead.

Posted by: Slackjawed Yokel at January 04, 2013 05:06 PM (69Mdf)

275 I know, first hand. Almost got kicked off the boat in Grand Cayman. no shit, they had my bags packed and me in handcuffs. Posted by: DC in Towson at January 04, 2013 09:02 PM (Ai+tZ) Gather round children, Uncle Towson is about to tell us a story.

Posted by: BCochran1981 at January 04, 2013 05:06 PM (IvVLN)

276 No need for a designated driver on a cruise ship.


Ummmmm

Posted by: Capt. Francesco Schettino and Joe Hazelwood at January 04, 2013 05:06 PM (6TB1Z)

277 Okay DC,

Fess up.

Posted by: mon nom est mpfs at January 04, 2013 05:07 PM (Mkhiu)

278 Anna Puma, that is the best way ...immersion.  But picking up the nouns via the kids books works pretty well.

One more language suggestion Ace, subscribe to something like dictionary.com's "word of the day" for your language.  It helps pick up how native speakers use words.

Posted by: dogfish at January 04, 2013 05:08 PM (N2yhW)

279 Time to distract BCochran
http://youtu.be/sD4ZRlqRvNk

Posted by: Anna Puma (+SmuD) at January 04, 2013 05:08 PM (Xb7i3)

280 Some dear soul created a blog that has categorized the writings of Mencius Moldbug and provides a link to each piece.

http://moldbuggery.blogspot.com/

If you're new, start with the "gentle introduction" series.  I don't agree with everything he proposes, but it certainly is mind-expanding.  Almost like a legal hallucinogen delivered in text.

Posted by: Links at January 04, 2013 05:09 PM (RgIRJ)

281 I have the only Pole that needs conquering ladies. And Mr. Towson clearly doesn't realize that Stoli comes in multiple types and is high quality. I told you he's a double-agent! Finally, I live in Florida. Which is warm year round. No freezing winters, plenty of food and you can play with waterhoses to your heart's content. Posted by: BCochran1981 at January 04, 2013 09:02 PM (IvVLN) Real Russian women embrace the cold, plus the fires and the bearskin rugs he would deny you. You wont be cold in a few minutes, i promise. Pick meeeeee!

Posted by: DC in Towson at January 04, 2013 05:09 PM (Ai+tZ)

282 I went through the Defense Language Institute program in Monterey. 47 weeks of eight hour a day language training. Graduated w/ honors. Haven't used it once since I got out of the USAF. good times ... /twitch/ ... good times. _

Posted by: BumperStickerist at January 04, 2013 05:09 PM (RuUvx)

283

I am watching season two of the 70s show called "Eight is Enough" which was one of my favorite shows as a kid. Now I find some of the episodes kind of shocking, like when the oldest daughter seems like she is about to date a black guy and the dad kind of freaks out, but then freaks out over being freaked out because he considers himself liberal.

 

What's most odd about the show, since it was the 76-79 timeframe is how much of the old references to things like the energy crisis, teachers unions, the military industrial complex, etc. are so eerily relevant to today.

Posted by: ParanoidGirlInSeattle at January 04, 2013 05:09 PM (RZ8pf)

284 Ok, since we're talking languages...I've had a "Learn Gaelic" thing sitting on my bookshelf for a loooong time. Really want to learn but I've heard it's a complete bitch of a language to learn. It's scared me off. Any experience?

Posted by: BCochran1981 at January 04, 2013 05:09 PM (IvVLN)

285 190 jmemorize.org has the jmemorize software.

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

Don't suppose you know offhand if it supports combining unicode diacritics? I'm mostly interested in the combining accent, used for marking stress.

I bought a cheap-ass Android tablet at Big Lots with the intent of doing my own flash card app (excuse to learn Java and Android). Had a heck of a time figuring out a way to display text in Java that supports combining diacritics; wound up having to display each card as a little web page.

But mostly, all it's done is piss me off.

There's this XML file for describing the layout of an Android app. But the various attributes it uses to control the size and placement and the buttons and whatnot are not well documented. If you search for help on why your layout isn't working, what you find are lots of folks who say "do it this way; I don't know why this works, but it does". Which is great until you want to something just slightly different than that fellow did.

I've also found Java annoying. The problem I've having with Java is that the placement of the source files depends on the name of the package. I wrote a Lua script to generate the portion of the app that initializes the card deck (haven't figured out how data files work in Android yet), so I have  source code with one key file that I can generate from an HTML page containing my deck of flashcards. But if I generate a *new* version of the program from a different deck, I can't load it into the tablet alongside a different version because the files are in the same place, so the tablet thinks it's the same program. And in order to move the files to make it look like a different program, I have to edit *all* the sources by hand to change package names.

To this Java and Android noob, it just feels like a toy system.

Posted by: Citizen Anachronda at January 04, 2013 05:10 PM (1c58W)

286 Next thing you'll tell me there is such a thing as a stealth spaceship. Posted by: Invictus at January 04, 2013 09:06 PM (OQpzc) All I know is *I* don't have one. Damit.

Posted by: Merovign, Dark Lord of the Sith at January 04, 2013 05:10 PM (bxiXv)

287 If you want to learn French then I suggest you get yourself to Montreal. It's a French/English culture where you can speak to people in either language. So you can speak French in social situations but fall back to English when you need to. They also have some of the best strip clubs in north America.

Posted by: General Woundwort at January 04, 2013 05:11 PM (zOP5o)

288 Music is a great way to stretch your brain. I taught myself guitar and piano as an adult with zero musical training, so it can be done. Now, I'm not very good. But I'm not horrible. I'm much better than I imagined I could be what I started. And I can entertain myself and friends and family which is all I wanted. I can basically play "campfire" style on piano and guitar -- ie I can play recognizable but kinda crappy versions of pretty much any popular song on the guitar and piano. Maybe a bit better than "campfire" since I know how to change the rhythm with syncopation to keep it interesting. I just need the chord progression. But I don't play melody. Somebody has to sing that. One great site for that is http://bettylou.zzruss.com/ Betty Lou's Site For Guitar Underdogs. It's just nicely formatted chord progressions of thousands of popular songs. She puts up one or two a day and has been for years. All genres, all decades (going back to 19th century). Very nice, simple site.

Posted by: Flatbush Joe at January 04, 2013 05:11 PM (ZPrif)

289 Insty had a amazon.com link yesterday to the Rosetta Stone (and the like) computer stuff on sale.  I've never used it, myself.  Sony's bravia (sp?) service now has a Russian video news service online.  Nifty.

Posted by: mrp at January 04, 2013 05:11 PM (HjPtV)

290 I've started rereading Robert Harris' "Imperium".  It's a novelization of the life of Cicero.  It's a facinating historical book and timely too.  How a Republic turned into a tyranny.,

Posted by: Smaug at January 04, 2013 05:11 PM (M46Lc)

291 Also Montreal is less than an hour away by plain

Posted by: General Woundwort at January 04, 2013 05:13 PM (zOP5o)

292 By plain monsiuer?  Que?

Posted by: Anna Puma (+SmuD) at January 04, 2013 05:13 PM (Xb7i3)

293 Bumperstickerist, I too went to the DLI.  My hubby had a chance to practice Russian while in Manas.  The only time I've used it was to speak to an old Russian couple on the streets of New Orleans. 

Posted by: no good deed at January 04, 2013 05:14 PM (mjR67)

294 Avion

Posted by: General Woundwort at January 04, 2013 05:14 PM (zOP5o)

295

Ace: Florence King's book "With Charity Toward None" has a chapter about Gustave Flaubert (who apparently hated just about everyone). King has this to say about "Madame Bovary" : "The language is so simple, the sentences are so direct, the scenes are so logically arranged around unifying points, that anyone with a few years of French under his belt can read it with ease in the original, even when schooldays are long in the past. Madame Bovary, the work of a man who hated people, is the most user-friendly novel ever written."

 

I can't vouch for that myself, since I haven't read "Madame Bovary" in French (I read an English translation long ago.) But I thought of King's recommendation when I read your post. It might aid you in your goal of becoming an International Man of Mystery.

 

Has anybody tried or used Rosetta Stone? The commercials make it sound as if within 2 weeks you're able to chatter away like a native.

 

I return now to what may be my death bed *cough, cough.*

Posted by: Donna V. at January 04, 2013 05:14 PM (BStAJ)

296 >>>So, you are saying a spaceship, which is not currently being consumed by fusion fire, can dissapate enough waste heat to operate a fusion reactor, a life support system, and weapons to survive the heat death of the ship?


Yes and remarkably easily.

Posted by: MikeTheMoose is Shrugging at January 04, 2013 05:14 PM (0q2P7)

297 re: immersion I recommend you, Ace, volunteer to take in a French foreign exchange student. I think those programs might even pay you a token monthly stipend for your troubles. I think you can be gender specific in your request and ask for a femme. You waive the monthly stipend in exchange for light housekeeping work with an emphasis on proper uniform required. Oui?

Posted by: L, elle at January 04, 2013 05:14 PM (0PiQ4)

298 @18 re: internet immersion. Radio Frog: http://preview.tinyurl.com/7undtth (but the last 3 songs in a row have had English lyrics).

Posted by: Thorvald at January 04, 2013 05:15 PM (1V6Pv)

299 What's most odd about the show, since it was the 76-79 timeframe is how much of the old references to things like the energy crisis, teachers unions, the military industrial complex, etc. are so eerily relevant to today.

Posted by: ParanoidGirlInSeattle at January 04, 2013 09:09 PM (RZ8pf)


Have you ever watched Milton Friedman being interviewed on the Donahue(!) show and the topics they discuss?  It's like they're talking about today.

Posted by: Tami at January 04, 2013 05:15 PM (X6akg)

300 Matt Helm was a piker. Our Man Flint would have kicked his ass.

Posted by: Buzzsaw at January 04, 2013 08:22 PM (qo244)




Dean Martin as Matt Helm was America's number 1 loaded weapon

Posted by: TheQuietMan at January 04, 2013 05:15 PM (VQnP8)

301 282 I have the only Pole that needs conquering ladies. And Mr. Towson clearly doesn't realize that Stoli comes in multiple types and is high quality. --------------- I told you he's a double-agent! Posted by: DC in Towson at January 04, 2013 09:09 PM (Ai+tZ) http://tinyurl.com/b459zdn See ladies? He lacks in the vodka knowledge. No, we have no fires or bearskin rugs here, but we do not need them to survive. For warmth? Vigorous nocturnal activity.

Posted by: BCochran1981 at January 04, 2013 05:15 PM (IvVLN)

302 Rosetta Stone (and the free clone LiveMocha) are very good for beginners. The best ultra-beginner course is the Pimsleur tapes. They are great. Expensive though.

Posted by: Flatbush Joe at January 04, 2013 05:15 PM (ZPrif)

303 Posted by: BCochran1981

No, but but before traveling there, I wanted to pick up a few words, and I would agree with a big hells yeah that it is a bitch of a language to learn.  I still don't get their pronunciations and syntax.  Given that my ancestors are from there all I can say is WTF.

Posted by: dogfish at January 04, 2013 05:15 PM (N2yhW)

304 sorry, don't know about jmemorize and diacritics.

Posted by: Flatbush Joe at January 04, 2013 05:16 PM (ZPrif)

305 Dammit. *hangs head and heads to barrel*

Posted by: BCochran1981 at January 04, 2013 05:16 PM (IvVLN)

306 One idea; find a 'language group' and go drinking. It works amazingly well when you are trying to build responses. You don't have to get drunk, just buzzed enough to ignore the normal hesitation or second-guessing when responding.

 

 

I'm trying really hard to picture the Ewok out drinking with effeminate frogs.  Now I want video.

Posted by: RushBabe at January 04, 2013 05:17 PM (tQHzJ)

307 Im watching gold rush.. (love that show) but of course.. moonbats are pissed off about it. ‏@GigglesMcGill #GoldRush Rules, stickin it right in Mother Natures #hineyhole for a few ounces of gold! #rapeunspoilednatureporn and ‏@arsenaux007 .@Discovery do the people of #GoldRush replant the trees they dig up? If not they are destroying this environment with their machines.

Posted by: Jumbo Shrimp at January 04, 2013 05:19 PM (DGIjM)

308

Dean Martin as Matt Helm was America's number 1 loaded weapon

 

Some starlet was roasting Dino (Angie Dickinson, I think) back in the '80s and was recounting how dashing he was in the Matt Helm series..."except we called him James Bombed."

Posted by: RushBabe at January 04, 2013 05:20 PM (tQHzJ)

309 Invictus: Yes, you can dump that much heat, but you need big-ass radiators and you need to run them cherry-red hot. For an in-depth discussion of this and a whole bunch of other fun spaceship stuff, see Winchell Chung's "Atomic Rockets" web site at projectrho.com.

Posted by: Trimegistus at January 04, 2013 05:20 PM (9mhRN)

310 ace could do the Full Romney Convert to Mormonism and go on a two year mission to France. _

Posted by: BumperStickerist at January 04, 2013 05:20 PM (RuUvx)

311 Also Montreal is less than an hour away by plain

Posted by: General Woundwort at January 04, 2013 09:13 PM (zOP5o)



But if you go by way of the mountains, it's a Hell of a hike.

Posted by: Alberta Oil Peon at January 04, 2013 05:22 PM (29+x5)

312 The Rho Agenda - on Kindle for cheap - if you haven't read it yet. Starts like a late-teen superhero novel but it's nothing like. Newer writer and you can tell. Three books so far, I'm on #2, not too bad so far for new material.

Posted by: Big Giant Head at January 04, 2013 05:22 PM (Itkub)

313

If you can find cartoons in French it helps with the basics.

What I don't recommend is eating a shrimp cocktail and drinking fruit punch vitamin water.  I don't know what I was thinking.

Posted by: Cheri at January 04, 2013 05:22 PM (EAgmr)

314 A friend went to Guatemala for a 6 week immersion language course thing. Apparently that's a mini-industry in Guatemala. People come from all over the world - US, Europe, Japan, Australia - and they live in some Guatemalan village. Idea is you take classes in the morning than live immersed in Spanish rest of the day. Reality was he took Spanish classes in the morning and then all the, mostly 20-something, language tourists spoke to each other in broken English the rest of the day. You also get summer camp style flings with hot German chicks. Or at least he did.

Posted by: Flatbush Joe at January 04, 2013 05:22 PM (ZPrif)

315 Once upon a time No shit, there I was, must've been 12/13 years ago, when I was but a hint of the warrior man-god I would later become...several of us were in the night club of the ship, and this guy is dancing very aggressively with my sister, who was there with two of her girlfriends. She looks at me and says help me. I tap the guy on the shoulder and say "look buddy, the lady doesn't want to dance with you, maybe go grab another beer" He says ok, turns to walk away and turns back with a right hand that I never saw. Luckily, he was big and strong, but not a fighter. I close with him, lock his arms up and toss him right over my head to the deck. Quick scramble, I end up on top and start alternating elbows and head butts until these 4 stoned Jamaicans in white jumpsuits pull me off of him. I end up in the brig, he in the infirmary. They tell me I'm getting kicked off at the next port and that they would escort me to pack my bags. Ok, whatever, still worth it. But my sis found another girl that had been scared by this guy as well, and between the two of them, it was his sorry ass they kicked off in the Caymans. I am still not allowed to sail with Royal Carribbean though.

Posted by: DC in Towson at January 04, 2013 05:23 PM (Ai+tZ)

316 Yes, Ace surreptitiously smoking Gauloises and making odd noises, on the lookout for Bloomberg's nicotine gestapo ...

The beret is too tight.   The beret is too tight.

Posted by: mrp at January 04, 2013 05:23 PM (HjPtV)

317 The Rho Agenda - on Kindle for cheap

I was eye-balling that one earlier this evening.  I'll give it a try too. 

Posted by: no good deed at January 04, 2013 05:23 PM (mjR67)

318

 

Ma bicyclette ne marche pas.

Posted by: otho at January 04, 2013 05:24 PM (yBF/9)

319 Highbeams on that French actress look terrific, but I'm guessing there's a drapes/carpet mismatch on that one. I'm kinda picky.

Posted by: hannitys_hybrid at January 04, 2013 05:24 PM (MmH0Z)

320 "Also Montreal is less than an hour away by plain"

As a young lady from la belle Frawnce once told me: "In Montreal they speak -Norman- French,  with many English words   phhhtt  phhtttt phhhttt."

Posted by: mrp at January 04, 2013 05:26 PM (HjPtV)

321 Posted by: DC in Towson at January 04, 2013 09:23 PM (Ai+tZ) Fuck yeah. I knew there was a reason we're internet friends.

Posted by: BCochran1981 at January 04, 2013 05:26 PM (IvVLN)

322 Vid game question:

Steam has RAGE for $5 and Borderlands for $10.

Is either worth the sale price?

Posted by: weft cut-loop [/i] [/b] at January 04, 2013 05:27 PM (KDq5l)

323 I dunno about the Steubenville case. Right now if a bunch of "Anonymous" assholes think a rape occurred, my reflexive reaction is to think it's bogus.

Posted by: Trimegistus at January 04, 2013 05:28 PM (9mhRN)

324 Maybe I should google her and see if I'm right.

Posted by: hannitys_hybrid at January 04, 2013 05:28 PM (MmH0Z)

325 Really good firearms sites: Pistol... Encyclopedia of Bullseye Pistol http://preview.tinyurl.com/aqoo63m Rifle... 6mm BR http://preview.tinyurl.com/6pgjp2

Posted by: Thorvald at January 04, 2013 05:29 PM (1V6Pv)

326

Have you ever watched Milton Friedman being interviewed on the Donahue(!) show and the topics they discuss? It's like they're talking about today. Posted by: Tami at January 04, 2013 09:15 PM (X6akg)

 

Yeah, except that today,  lib talk show hosts would never invite someone like Friedman on (I note Thomas Sowell never seems to be invited on MSNBC.) Or if they did, he wouldn't be allowed to speak - after 3 words, he'd be cut off and and mocked and called a racist or heartless or evil for daring to question the wisdom of King Putt.

 

I never could stand Donahue, but he was a gentleman and scholar compared to someone like Chrissie Matthews or Ed Schultz - or Douche Gregory.

Posted by: Donna V. at January 04, 2013 05:29 PM (BStAJ)

327 Anyone with young kids looking to introduce them to Rush? Cause I think I found what you need. http://www.rockabyebabymusic.com/rush.html

Posted by: Robert at January 04, 2013 05:29 PM (LUnTP)

328 I had decent luck with Pimsleur Japanese series. Enough to get by at a gig.

Posted by: Bokuwa Nihongogay scoshi wakarimas at January 04, 2013 05:30 PM (KZi9D)

329 Is this BCochran's fantasy when it comes to Russian girls?
http://youtu.be/hcRlypUPvGI

Posted by: Anna Puma (+SmuD) at January 04, 2013 05:30 PM (Xb7i3)

330 If you wanna learn French, get the texts used by the Alliance Francaise


The original academy has been in Paris for ages, with lotsa branches.  They teach French to people coming from all over the world, so the texts are entirely in French--but meant to lead you along

Posted by: Frank in Frankfurt at January 04, 2013 05:30 PM (Dll6b)

331

"I remember actually watching it just for the highbeams."

 

I watched that series for the same reason back in college. Major Boehner materiale. Sacrebleu.

Posted by: Ben Ghazi at January 04, 2013 05:31 PM (NLwjv)

332 Law enforcement officials from a New York region where a local paper published a map identifying gun owners say prisoners are using the information to intimidate guards. Rockland County Sheriff Louis Falco, who spoke at a news conference flanked by other county officials, said the Journal News' decision to post an online map of names and addresses of handgun owners Dec. 23 has put law enforcement officers in danger. "They have inmates coming up to them and telling them exactly where they live. That's not acceptable to me," Falco said, according to Newsday.

Posted by: entropy at January 04, 2013 05:31 PM (YUttk)

333 Whatever they speak in Quebec ain't quite French.


sort of, like French spoken with marbles in yer mouth.

Posted by: Frank in Frankfurt at January 04, 2013 05:33 PM (Dll6b)

334 Yeah, except that today, lib talk show hosts would never invite someone like Friedman on (I note Thomas Sowell never seems to be invited on MSNBC.) Or if they did, he wouldn't be allowed to speak - after 3 words, he'd be cut off and and mocked and called a racist or heartless or evil for daring to question the wisdom of King Putt.

I never could stand Donahue, but he was a gentleman and scholar compared to someone like Chrissie Matthews or Ed Schultz - or Douche Gregory.

Posted by: Donna V. at January 04, 2013 09:29 PM (BStAJ)


Yes, all true.  Friedman knocked down everyone of Donahue's arguments but Donahue was gracious about it.....or maybe frustrated.

Posted by: Tami at January 04, 2013 05:33 PM (X6akg)

335 FIA is a very good series for picking up a little Fwench. Et, la belle Mireille...formidable!

Posted by: Brit F*ckin Hume, GOP Shop Steward at January 04, 2013 05:33 PM (+kznc)

336 New national security team coming into focus By Julie Pace - The Associated Press Posted : Friday Jan 4, 2013 18:54:31 EST WASHINGTON — President Barack Obama may round out his new national security leadership team next week, with a nomination for defense secretary expected and a pick to lead the CIA possible. Former Republican Sen. Chuck Hagel of Nebraska is the front-runner for the top Pentagon post. Acting CIA Director Michael Morell and Obama counterterrorism adviser John Brennan are leading contenders to head the spy agency. White House aides say the president has not made a final decision on either post and won't until he returns from Hawaii, where he is vacationing with his family. Obama is due back in Washington Sunday morning. Obama nominated Massachusetts Sen. John Kerry as his next secretary of state in December, his first step in filling out his second term Cabinet and national security team. 'National Security Team"? Shit we are so fucked

Posted by: Nevergiveup at January 04, 2013 05:33 PM (79ueO)

337 Dammit to hell.

Husband and I announce to a couple over dinner tonight we're going to start a Beck-inspired TFG jar.  Any time one of us mentions That Fucking Guy, we have to put $20 in the punishment jar.

As we drive into the garage tonight, I mentioned Barry's name. 

Into the barrel and $20 in the TFG jar for me.

Posted by: Jane D'oh at January 04, 2013 05:36 PM (UOM48)

338 And let me amend my previous post, TFG has to be mentioned as Obama.

Posted by: Jane D'oh at January 04, 2013 05:37 PM (UOM48)

339 And now that the US and Fwance are both socialist, freedom sucking Eurostates, without demonstrable difference on the liberty front, you may want to consider whether you'd like to spend your last years sucking down French food and wine, or the burgers and KFC that Uncle Socialist and his minions prepare and consume.

Posted by: Brit F*ckin Hume, GOP Shop Steward at January 04, 2013 05:37 PM (+kznc)

340 "I'm continuing trying to learn French (as you may have guessed by my sudden interest in French movies). It's slow going."

Ace.......try Rossetta Stone.  My son has learned Cantonese, Korean, German, French, and Austrian (OK, that's a joke) with their software.  He travels a lot for his work, and has actually learned Russian just by being stuck there for 45 days a few years ago.  He has an 'ear' for language.  Learned Farsi when stationed in Iraq while in the service.  But he swears by Rosetta Stone for learning a language you aren't immersed in in real time.
Me....I speak a decent hillbilly...and my english is getting better all the time ( I'm a born and raised American).

Posted by: JMKN1 at January 04, 2013 05:37 PM (JMKN1)

341 On TCM after Tarantula is The Incredible Shrinking Man - alas its not about TFG.

Gee BCochran is that second video even safe?  Asking for age? 

Posted by: Anna Puma (+SmuD) at January 04, 2013 05:37 PM (Xb7i3)

342 On the language topic, I just finished Bill Bryson's "Mother Tongue" which was an excellent read all about English and why it is the way it is, and before that, same author, "At Home" another easy, funny, interesting examination of modern houses and why they are the way they are ( when did people stop liing with their livestock, who started actually mowing lawns and more about the Great Stink of London than you ever wanted to know. .... Most of his books are great nerdy reads, not overly political, A Walk in the Woods is another favorite.

Posted by: Goldilocks at January 04, 2013 05:37 PM (ac2bL)

343 Ace, look up Gregory Delaunay on YouTube. He's got videos of himself making a couple of swords (his three long videos). Kind of mesmerizing to watch. At least one isn't subtitled; watch the subtitled one(s) first to pick up the vocabulary. (I think my French is at the same level as yours; I catch a word here and a sentence there, then there are whole sections that go completely over my head. It does improve as you watch them again.)

Also, French in Action is what we used when I took it in college. There are little dialogues here and there in the book that the prof would have us memorize and recite. Extremely useful: you end up with a bunch of memorized sentence templates; so you can swap out the various words to say what you want, and know you've at least got the pattern right.

Posted by: pestilential at January 04, 2013 05:38 PM (3SW88)

344 hai, is this the thrad for the Depends© Bowl?

Posted by: soothsayer, king of siam at January 04, 2013 05:38 PM (KwX0v)

345 Why is it only a handful of low-information voters commenting on the Obama blowing a cool $20 million on Hawaiian vacations? What, do they need something to do when Dancing With the Stars isn't on? Come to think of it, Obama worship *is* just another fandom for the low-information voters, isn't it? I'm debating on whether or not to just refer to him as President Kardashian from now on, because urban trailer trash seems to think it's just East Coast celebrityspotting for rich white people with a cheap-o sense of taste.

Posted by: The Ghost of Flannery O'Connor at January 04, 2013 05:38 PM (mMtFx)

346 @334 Yes but it is a French speaking province and it's closer and less expensive than going to France. Also did I mention that they have some of the best strip clubs in north America?

Posted by: General Woundwort at January 04, 2013 05:38 PM (zOP5o)

347 Gee BCochran is that second video even safe? Asking for age? Posted by: Anna Puma (+SmuD) at January 04, 2013 09:37 PM (Xb7i3) Your music video or my oil one?

Posted by: BCochran1981 at January 04, 2013 05:39 PM (IvVLN)

348

I dunno about the Steubenville case. Right now if a bunch of "Anonymous" assholes think a rape occurred, my reflexive reaction is to think it's bogus.

 

Here are the young doofi (Latin plural of doofus) talking about it: 

 

 

http://bit.ly/UuFEeU

Posted by: RushBabe at January 04, 2013 05:39 PM (tQHzJ)

349 Must-read story about a professional pickpocket, worth it just for the awesome Penn Jillette story in the intro.

http://tinyurl.com/b6vfty6

Posted by: Rocko at January 04, 2013 05:40 PM (Ys6PL)

350
BTW - Congress certified the vote of the Electoral College today.

Romney, "the most electable candidate", officially got his ass kicked 206 to 332.

Mitt's next stop, a 5 point question on the AP American History test.



Posted by: Laurie David's Cervix at January 04, 2013 05:40 PM (kdS6q)

351 Mandarin is the language we all should get to know. Pretty soon we will be selling our carriers to them to back up our debt. If the US federal government sold every asset it holds would we come up with 16 trillion dollars worth of goods? My recommendation is a Korean film called My Way. I found it to be a superb story that was filmed and acted well. It can be found on Netflix streaming.

Posted by: ALL_IS_LOST at January 04, 2013 05:41 PM (T/L2Z)

352 The whole masculine/feminine thing could get bothersome.

OK, does this go with pole or hole. It's way to distracting for me.

Posted by: sTevo at January 04, 2013 05:42 PM (VMcEw)

353 Your oil of course.

Posted by: Anna Puma (+SmuD) at January 04, 2013 05:43 PM (Xb7i3)

354 I like pie, and high beams.

Posted by: Bosk at January 04, 2013 05:43 PM (QkFee)

355 Young doofuses bragging about their manhood doesn't prove anything. Look, this could be legit, and those responsible for anything criminal should be punished. But I prefer a legal system based on old-fashioned stuff like laws, trial by jury, stuff like that -- not accusations by nameless script kiddies wearing Burger King masks. When a court of law finds that rape occurred, then let punishment be done. Until then, let the rights of the accused be protected. An online lynch mob is still a mob.

Posted by: Trimegistus at January 04, 2013 05:43 PM (9mhRN)

356 Actually, Ace, I recommend you give up this entire pursuit of learning French. I spent 5 months backpacking across Europe. I hated the French the most. My experience was that they were as obnoxious, snobby, and anti-American as they are stereotyped to be. My group of friends was berated by some jackass Parisian for asking directions to the McDonalds bc French cuisine is so much better than McDonalds or nonsense like that. Thankfully, he spoke so fast, I couldn't understand him, but I am pretty sure he told me to shut up more than once. So, to sum up, you have no hope of getting laid by some French girl.

Posted by: L, elle at January 04, 2013 05:44 PM (5SlKF)

357 Google Heart plays Stairway to Heaven you wont be disappointed.....thank me later

Posted by: big swingin package at January 04, 2013 05:44 PM (OZtuG)

358 The Wheel of Time:  12th book was broken into 3 parts.  "A Memory of Light."  I say you can't really tell it's a different author, because most of it isn't a different author.  If you listen or read some of Brandon Sandersons interviews about TWoT, he explains how most of his job was adjusting the book for structure, and doing a final write.  most of he chapters he said he left alone.  What is different about the A Gathering Storm and Towers of Midnight is that it's a conclusion of an Epic, requiring a lot of loose ends getting tied up.  That's the real difference and also why they were much more enjoyable than the middle 4 or 5 books.

Heat in Space:  heat has three modes of transporting energy.  Conduction, grabbing a hot pan, which requires a medium.  Convection, a cold wind, which uses a light medium to transfer energy in the form of heat, and Radiation: which is the direct transfer of heat into it's environment by changing it's form.  All energy engages in a radiative affect.  Like heat turns into light as the energy dissipates into the thinner air.  Or IR in a complete vaccuum.

Languages:  Insty linked that http://duolingo.com/ the same day he linked the amazon deals shortly before christmas.  It's set up like a course, and it's kinda neat.  Has a syllabus, and when you enter your E-mail you are notified of how long it's been since your last lesson.

Posted by: douglas at January 04, 2013 05:44 PM (mbM03)

359 Ace: You really want to learn French? Get yourself a french speaking girl friend. You will likely eat and drink better too.

Posted by: Evil Blogger Lady at January 04, 2013 05:44 PM (XkmMw)

360 253253 My name in high school French class was "Francoise". Hated it. Posted by: Tuna at January 04, 2013 08:59 PM (M/TDA) I would have guessed le thon; ou, Charles le thon. Francoise le thon?

Posted by: Brit F*ckin Hume, GOP Shop Steward at January 04, 2013 05:44 PM (+kznc)

361 Les Mis is forever ruined for me, by my having to read the entire novel in French and write a two page report on it...in French. 

Ugh.  And I was in advanced French class.

Posted by: Jane D'oh at January 04, 2013 05:45 PM (UOM48)

362 If Ace goes to France, he needs to get a second identity from Balls.

Posted by: Cicero at January 04, 2013 05:45 PM (b1VIZ)

363 Ukraine's Got Talent
http://youtu.be/w6YZl_Wu254

Yes they seem to.

Posted by: Anna Puma (+SmuD) at January 04, 2013 05:46 PM (Xb7i3)

364 Trying to picture Ace in a beret.  Not working.

Posted by: Jane D'oh at January 04, 2013 05:46 PM (UOM48)

365 >> you wont be disappointed...
---

Except when the JEF shows up. Other than that, I was impressed.

Posted by: sTevo at January 04, 2013 05:46 PM (VMcEw)

366

I'm writing another book. Going to create a website with a blog to accompany it.

I expect lefty hackers to come at me. Any suggestions for maximizing security?

Posted by: Michael Rittenhouse at January 04, 2013 05:46 PM (2Oas0)

367 I declare it to be....eeeeexxxxxcellent.

Posted by: BCochran1981 at January 04, 2013 05:47 PM (IvVLN)

368 Re: Brit. paedophilia boosting from this a.m. I read it. Their premise was "consenting" relations. Those are impossible, as a minor is, by definition, under the age of consent. Dolts. L'il Barry, of course, was all over THAT out there in Djakarta and Hawaii. Asia is different, I hear.

Posted by: Thorvald at January 04, 2013 05:47 PM (1V6Pv)

369 Posted by: pep at January 04, 2013 08:14 PM (6TB1Z) Lincoln was pretty good.

Posted by: Caustic at January 04, 2013 05:47 PM (/b8+5)

370 Ace, I'd recommend the french film  "La 317eme Section" (1965). Indochina war. A french/laotian section attempts to fight it's way out through Vietminh lines.

Posted by: otho at January 04, 2013 05:48 PM (yBF/9)

371 What are you guys up to? I'm catching up on all of Stephen Hunter's "Swagger" books. Haven't read any for a few years so I did "47th Samurai" a week or two ago and have been pounding away since. Just started "Soft Target" last night. Then I get to my review copy of "The Third Bullet" and then I'll have the time do the research for my WW2 project. And some "Metal Saga" (ps2 rpg). Just found out that I can have the assembly shop make weapons even if I don't have the blueprints so i need to find out what I can get with my stockpile of weird loot.

Posted by: Comrade Arthur at January 04, 2013 05:49 PM (qkP36)

372 @365 They sure do! http://preview.tinyurl.com/yc9u2vr

Posted by: Thorvald at January 04, 2013 05:49 PM (1V6Pv)

373 185 Why not learn Spanish? Much more applicable in this country. Posted by: The Pullitzer Commitee, padding the sock puppet numbers at January 04, 2013 08:45 PM (CN2Eq) I was thinking "why not Chinese?". The french are such crybabies.

Posted by: Caustic at January 04, 2013 05:50 PM (/b8+5)

374 Talked weapons over dinner tonight with a nice couple.

Funny, the conversations we have now in the Age of TFG.

Posted by: Jane D'oh at January 04, 2013 05:50 PM (UOM48)

375 What are you guys up to?


Plowing through a pile of books on my nightstand from the past year.  I've been awful, trying to read two or three at a time and losing track.

Must. Focus. on one at a time.

Posted by: Jane D'oh at January 04, 2013 05:52 PM (UOM48)

376 It strikes me that a lot of women would like to teach Ace to speak french.

Posted by: Caustic at January 04, 2013 05:52 PM (/b8+5)

377 365 Ukraine's Got Talent http://youtu.be/w6YZl_Wu254 Yes they seem to. Posted by: Anna Puma (+SmuD) at January 04, 2013 09:46 PM (Xb7i3) That was a superb display of skill. Topped only by the Argentinian Dancing With the Stars.

Posted by: BCochran1981 at January 04, 2013 05:52 PM (IvVLN)

378

363 Les Mis is forever ruined for me, by my having to read the entire novel in French and write a two page report on it...in French.
-------------------------------

The abridged version, I hope.

I read *most* of the unabridged version in English.  But you really have to be able to not mind too much when Hugo interrupts the story to spend the next five chapters writing about Parisian street kids, or the history of a particular convent.  There were times when I just said, "Screw it," and moved on to the chapter where he went back to the story.

 

I've got Rosetta Stone for Russian.  My Dad inexplicably gave it to me Christmas last year, probably because I took a semester in college a very long time ago.  It's decent, but I didn't ever do the on-line stuff (mostly because I'm not quite sure what the on-line stuff involves, and the orientation courses were ALWAYS scheduled for when I'm at work), and it probably would have been better if I'd gotten involved with those.

 

Posted by: junior at January 04, 2013 05:55 PM (ezcIS)

379 Top 5 frog flick.

Les Liaisons Dangereuses 1959

Juliette and Valmont are a cruel couple intent on breaking hearts.

This one also has a good sound track if you are into late 50's jazz.

Posted by: sTevo at January 04, 2013 05:56 PM (VMcEw)

380 Ace- Immerse yourself in French at a Carribean island! But why do you want to learn French? Arabic might come in handy in France.

Posted by: Justamom at January 04, 2013 05:57 PM (Sptt8)

381

From ann Barnhardt's blog post today:  With every posting of the Lord's Prayer, I will add an image of a statue, fresco, mosaic or painting of a saint, angel or Christian layperson wielding an ASSAULT WEAPON.

Posted by: RushBabe at January 04, 2013 05:59 PM (tQHzJ)

382 The French "La Femme Nikita"

Posted by: Justamom at January 04, 2013 06:00 PM (Sptt8)

383 Well I think I shall wander off.  Perhaps work on story.  Or just watch a movie Queen AlextheChick wont watch - Tarantula.  Unless Invictus cooks up the critter. 

Posted by: Anna Puma (+SmuD) at January 04, 2013 06:00 PM (Xb7i3)

384 380
363 Les Mis is forever ruined for me, by my having to read the entire novel in French and write a two page report on it...in French.
-------------------------------
The abridged version, I hope.


Nope.  Unabridged.  I was a junior in high school.


Ugh.  Plowing through that novel for days was hell on earth.

Posted by: Jane D'oh at January 04, 2013 06:00 PM (UOM48)

385 Le premier methode - French Canadian films. They speak French a bit slower and clearer than the French do! Les Boys - highly recommend And "Jesus of Montreal" is my favorite film ever!

Posted by: BlackOrchid at January 04, 2013 06:02 PM (J6kXj)

386

President Barack Obama's 2008 campaign has been fined $375,000 by the Federal Election Commission for reporting violations related to a set of donations received during the final days of the campaign.

The fines are among the largest ever levied on a presidential campaign by the FEC and stem from a series of missing filings for nearly 1,200 contributions totaling nearly $1.9 million. Campaigns are required to file the reports during the final weeks of the campaign.

 

Care to guess what the fine will be for 2012?

Posted by: Cheri at January 04, 2013 06:03 PM (EAgmr)

387

Hi.

Did I miss anything?

I'm drinking vodka. Svedka, which is a step or two above Valu-rite. But I do not speak Swedish, or Norse, or whatnot.

Posted by: Pug Mahon at January 04, 2013 06:03 PM (6rcHp)

388 Ace, Tu dois utilizer Skype avec nous. Ma petite peut parler tres bien apres avoir ete au Lycee pour seulement un an et demi. C"est tout.

Posted by: Sassy at January 04, 2013 06:03 PM (ZCzVM)

389

@Cheri,388

Either zero, or 16 trillion and change.

Posted by: Pug Mahon at January 04, 2013 06:04 PM (6rcHp)

390 Bridget Bardot threatens to follow Gerard Depardieu to Russia:

http://tinyurl.com/b3o63t7

Posted by: Jane D'oh at January 04, 2013 06:05 PM (UOM48)

391 ewok poilue!

Posted by: Cheri at January 04, 2013 06:06 PM (EAgmr)

392 Heading off to bed, horde.

'Night.

Posted by: Jane D'oh at January 04, 2013 06:06 PM (UOM48)

393 From ann Barnhardt's blog post today:>>

Went and looked at the whole post and took away this. Molon Labe in American is "Nuts"

Posted by: General Anthony Clement at January 04, 2013 06:06 PM (qo244)

394

ewok poilue!

 

I'm guessing that should be Monsieur Ewok Poilue to Le Horde.

Posted by: RushBabe at January 04, 2013 06:07 PM (tQHzJ)

395 Yes, we are all fined now.

Posted by: Cheri at January 04, 2013 06:08 PM (EAgmr)

396 I dug this book: "This Dark Earth" by John Hornor Jacobs. Zombie apocalypse yarn with epic overtones. More of a sense of literary richness than most such books; possibly unique in that regard. Does not come off 100% - it fades a little towards the end - but I'd give it 4 out of 5 stars. An engaging, good read.

Posted by: shoeless hunter at January 04, 2013 06:09 PM (9196u)

397 @358 Some old buds of mine were hitching in France and the guy who picked them asked (in French) where they wanted to go. Mark (who had his A-levels in French) said, in English, they wanted to go to Paris. "Où??" "Paris." "Où??" "Paris." "Ahhhh, Pah-rrrrreeee! Mais certainement!" Against that, my oldest son found Brittany to be very amiable.

Posted by: Thorvald at January 04, 2013 06:09 PM (1V6Pv)

398 Pimsleur and Tin Tin comic books helped me learn Farsi and Spanish.

Posted by: Exasperated Expat at January 04, 2013 06:09 PM (xV30b)

399 Taxes are good....Much

Posted by: Walter Sobchak at January 04, 2013 06:10 PM (uis79)

400 If you have 6 weeks to spare in the summer, spend it at Middlebury College in Middlebury Vermont. They have amazing foreign language schools which offer programs of complete immersion. Students and faculty must sign a contract to only speak the language of study while on campus. Every activity - sports; recreation; dining; socializing is done in the language of study. I have seen students begin a session with no knowledge of their chosen language and in six weeks they are conversant and writing in their new language. Also, the foreign language schools schedule so many activities that there is almost no time to leave campus, so you never really have to know you are in Vermont! oh..and the CIA heavily recruits students from Middlebury, especially from their Chinese and Russian schools.

Posted by: RondinellaMamma at January 04, 2013 06:10 PM (53riN)

401 { "D'Artagnan placed his [something] against the guy's [other thing] and then had made [some reflexive verb I've never seen before, but context suggests it might have something to do with a horse. [/i]" ... add le music d'bow-chika-wow-wow" in the background, and certain ... subtle nuances ... implied by the language, might become more apparent

Posted by: Lance le Beouf, Member, The League of Ugly Shirted Gentlemen at January 04, 2013 06:10 PM (/kkxJ)

402 A little bit late to the party, but that's me...

For language learning I suggest hanging around
HowToLearnAnyLanguage.com
It is especially for those learning Autodidactically (how about that for a big word?!) and there are many different languages and topics.

Generally speaking the Assimil language learning series is highly recommended and Rosetta Stone is frowned upon.

Watch out for anyone who may have a red beard.

:wq!

Posted by: Insert Clever Name Here at January 04, 2013 06:11 PM (SS8WM)

403 Not gonna rummage through this whole thread, but I always liked "Murius der Marsmensch." fun stories, excellent comic art.

Posted by: Pug Mahon at January 04, 2013 06:12 PM (6rcHp)

404 When you search for "German in action" on Youtube, you get videos of the Waffen SS. Is this how one learns Deautsche?

Posted by: Andy in FL at January 04, 2013 06:12 PM (q72+j)

405 And "Jesus of Montreal" is my favorite film ever! Posted by: BlackOrchid at January 04, 2013 10:02 PM (J6kXj) I love that film!

Posted by: RondinellaMamma at January 04, 2013 06:13 PM (53riN)

406 When I was a kid, I loved Dean Martin in Matt Helm movies. I also loved his television Show, I think it was on Thursdays.

Posted by: CarolT at January 04, 2013 06:14 PM (s0f54)

407 Deutsche

Posted by: Andy in FL at January 04, 2013 06:16 PM (q72+j)

408 Oh!   I am so sorry!
It is supposed to be:
how-to-learn-any-language.com

Gotta have the dashes in there...

:wq!

Posted by: Insert Clever Name Here at January 04, 2013 06:17 PM (SS8WM)

409 406 Andy in FL:
There was a TV series similar that is called Fokus Deutsch, but you <italic>really</italic> need the textbook to follow that one.  Also, the Annenberg site no longer hosts the videos, but they are "out there."

:wq!

Posted by: Insert Clever Name Here at January 04, 2013 06:21 PM (SS8WM)

410 @395 My kids tell me that "molon labe needs a comma. It's a Laconic expression (well, it would be) that translates to "Having come, take." McAuliffe's "Nuts" works for me. I also like , "Yeah? Well, f**k you!" http://preview.tinyurl.com/3te6qb4 I also like, "Drink leaden death, Commie rat!"

Posted by: Thorvald at January 04, 2013 06:21 PM (1V6Pv)

411 RE: Rosetta Stone. I've used it for German and found it very good. The most difficult thing is letting go of the "typical" language learning technique of translation from your native language to the target language. Rosetta teaches you like you learn as a child, through imagery and repetition. Once you give up trying to figure out what they heck they're saying in English, you relax into learning the way they want you to learn.

I found it fun, but it needs to be taken in small doses. You'll get drawn in and an hour or so goes by and your brain is worn out. I've tried driving through that "learning wall" and just ended up not retaining anything beyond.

The online Rosetta stuff is full immersion conversation with an online group. From start to finish you must speak the target language. It's intimidating because you have to speak an unfamiliar tongue and there is no bailing out.

I think Rosetta is worth it because it's ready made, you just plug and go. The courses are well organized and segmented so you aren't forced to fatigue.

YMMV

Dude

Posted by: The Liberty Dude at January 04, 2013 06:22 PM (I2ng+)

412 when i was a kid i loved emergency.....it's on metv and i can't understand why i liked it.....it's awful.....

Posted by: phoenixgirl, Merry 11th day of Christmas at January 04, 2013 06:22 PM (GVxQo)

413 In the not too distant future we'll all have free real-time audio translation of all major languages. It'll be built into our future phones. And the Google Glasses augmented reality idea will eventually work -- it will just take any sign or menu and translate it into English.

Posted by: Flatbush Joe at January 04, 2013 06:24 PM (ZPrif)

414 Recommendation: K-1 kickboxing.

Posted by: Chromoly Man at January 04, 2013 06:24 PM (m3uqP)

415 when i was a kid i loved emergency.....it's on metv and i can't understand why i liked it.....it's awful.....>>

What age? Maybe you just liked that pretty boy dark haired one.

Posted by: Buzzsaw at January 04, 2013 06:27 PM (qo244)

416 414 when i was a kid i loved emergency.....it's on metv and i can't understand why i liked it.....it's awful..... lol. i'm astonished at the cheap junk tv that mesmerized and enchanted me as a kid. although some of it does hold up, eg, warner bros cartoons, and early 30s popeye.

Posted by: shoeless hunter at January 04, 2013 06:28 PM (9196u)

417 We must abandon all national languages and speak the Universal tongue: ESPERANTO!

Posted by: L.L. Zamenhof at January 04, 2013 06:28 PM (9mhRN)

418 208
133I gave up reading The Wheel of Time series. Did the new author revive it any?
-----------------------
Brandon Sanderson?

Dunno. But he's a good author in his own right. You should check out his Mistborn series. It's got three books (the series proper) and then another novel set a couple of centuries later that's basically Victorian England, gunfighters, and the very unique magic system from Mistborn. The plot of the latter is completely unrelated to the plot of the original three.

Posted by: junior at January 04, 2013 08:50 PM (UWFpX)


solid world-building. well written.

Posted by: redclay at January 04, 2013 06:29 PM (+PlLU)

419 Since nobody will read this far down: Django Unchained LACMA's exhibit for Carravagio Bacon-wrapped buffalo wings.

Posted by: CAC at January 04, 2013 06:29 PM (C5oqp)

420 although some of it does hold up, eg, warner bros cartoons, and early 30s popeye.>>

The Rifleman was slightly before my time but I love it. Not an episode passes without some scumbag getting shot.

Posted by: Buzzsaw at January 04, 2013 06:30 PM (qo244)

421 249 Highly recommend Scaramouche, by Sabatini. I read the English translation, but if you want, go with the French. It is one of the finest fiction novels I've ever read. Great story. Wonderful lessons about power. My favorite movie is also French, and one of the best ever made, and it contains a wonderful lesson about what happens to people when they reject long-established societal norms; great movie--La regle du jeu (The Rules of the Game).

Posted by: kharve3 at January 04, 2013 08:58 PM (Oq/20)


it is good. "Captain Blood" is a better page turner, tho

Posted by: redclay at January 04, 2013 06:30 PM (+PlLU)

422 419 L.L. Zamenhoff:

Hahahahha!  I get it! A total language nerd joke! LOL!

Mi estas komensanto de esperanto. Vi?

:wq!

Posted by: Insert Clever Name Here at January 04, 2013 06:34 PM (SS8WM)

423 buzzsaw it ended when i was in 8th grade....i don't remember liking anyone on the show but i remember my sister ,my brothers and i could never miss an episode.....now rewatching it i'm trying to figure out why....it's like all of them phoned in their performances....and the extras are pathetic..... the bob newhart show and mary tyler moore show have held up well.....

Posted by: phoenixgirl, Merry 11th day of Christmas at January 04, 2013 06:38 PM (GVxQo)

424 392 Bridget Bardot threatens to follow Gerard Depardieu to Russia:

-----------

I wish her luck. The official excuse for granting Depardieu citizenship was the awesomeness of his recent portrayal of Rasputin (according to Putin's press secretary).

http://tinyurl.com/a6wqwct

Posted by: Citizen Anachronda at January 04, 2013 06:41 PM (1c58W)

425 423 "it contains a wonderful lesson about what happens to people when they reject long-established societal norms" i love that movie, though i've never been able to put my finger on "what it means," or its overarching theme or lesson, if any. your take is a pretty good stab at it, although i'm not sure i agree with it. i'd have to watch it again to see if that interpretative key is indeed the master key.

Posted by: shoeless hunter at January 04, 2013 06:41 PM (9196u)

426
it ended when i was in 8th grade....i don't remember liking anyone on the show but i remember my sister ,my brothers and i could never miss an episode>>

TV when we were kids/remotes was a completely different experience A crappy buffet of limited choices.

Posted by: Buzzsaw at January 04, 2013 06:44 PM (qo244)

427 @411Â… thanks!

Posted by: Andy in FL at January 04, 2013 06:45 PM (q72+j)

428 419 We must abandon all national languages and speak the Universal tongue: ESPERANTO!

----------

As the Esperantinos would say, "Bonvolu alsendi la pordiston?  Lausajne estas rano en mia bideo!" And I think we all know what that means.

Posted by: Arnold J. Rimmer BSc SSc at January 04, 2013 06:47 PM (1c58W)

429 French in Action! We used that in my high school French class curriculum in the late 80's, and even I had a bit of a crush on the girl--Mireille. And I'm a girl who likes boys. From it I learned that "Le Drageur" means "the pick-up artist." That's the main thing that sticks with me. Also my bitterness that her love interest Robert was not a very interesting or good-looking young man. I did end up learning enough to communicate at least marginally on my few visits to Paris.

Posted by: Gypsy at January 04, 2013 07:03 PM (Pej6C)

430

OMG... Last Tango in Paris. One of the hottest movies of all time. Maria Schneider? OohLaLa!

Posted by: CWKing at January 04, 2013 07:05 PM (d3WTl)

431 Ace,

As s/o who is native fluent in French (starting learning at the relatively old age of 25), I would recommend sticking w/French in Action...it is excellent for learning to converse and understand spoken French. I would also recommend watching movies on DVD. Most come w/subtitle that you can turn off and on. In my teaching days I would make my students watch scene w/o subtitles, then turn them on the next go round to fill in the blanks. Someone mentioned radio, RFI was one of my staples. Also BDs, aka comics, Astérix is great. Read anything in areas that interest you... bon courage.

Some recommendations on movies: Ponette, My New Partner (les Ripoux), Le Diner des Cons (the dinner game).

Posted by: bill-o at January 04, 2013 07:20 PM (AWwDY)

432 Free Recommendations: 1) Password Safe (or whatever password manager you like.) Can't live without a password mgr these days. You can set up separate strong pswds different for every site (I've got 98 personal pswded sites, plus dozens more for work.) You can also generate and store strong pswds for those "security questions", like "Mother's maiden name," instead of filling in the actual answer (which hackers can guess.) 2) Spotify is like God's jukebox, with a huge selection of content, and a superbly-designed app to explore it. 3) Public library. There's some stuff you want to read that still isn't free online. A little bit of it is at the library. 4) FlightGear. Amazing free flight sim software for Windows and Linux.

Posted by: gp at January 04, 2013 07:25 PM (mk9aG)

433 I recommend "In Bruges" and "The Guard" and, when it comes out, "Seven Psychopaths," which I haven't even seen.  But the McDonough brothers are excellent film-makers.

Posted by: BeckoningChasm at January 04, 2013 07:33 PM (xjpRj)

434 I was looking up Terry-Thomas on imdb the other day and noticed he was in a movie called School for Scoundrels, which was based on Stephen Potter's books of Gamesmanship, Lifemanship and One Upmanship.  I haven't seen the movie yet, but I remembered Ace's post several weeks back about the books and have added it to my netflix queue.

Posted by: biancaneve at January 04, 2013 07:37 PM (6bYlh)

435

This looks like a dead thread, but - Mon Ocle!

http://tinyurl.com/56ep7h

Also - at 9:30 PT spike is running Cinderella Man. One of the five best films made since 2000.

Posted by: Vertov at January 04, 2013 08:10 PM (rRr9n)

436 Dead thread, butÂ… Hurrah for Matt Helm. Read my first Helm book back in, oh, 1980 or thereabouts. LOVED it. Read every other novel Donald Hamilton wrote. Helm was portrayed as a tough and tough minded hero. Closest contemporary would probably be Mitch Rapp. Although Helm makes Rapp look sentimental and emotional by comparison. I also remember being heartbroken by the Dean Martin / Matt Helm movies. I love them both, just not together. Oy. For current work, just finished Jim Butcher's latest Dresden Files novel. Loved it as usual. His twists and turns are amazingly unpredictable.

Posted by: JohnInOhio at January 04, 2013 09:37 PM (BxfK8)

437 I highly recommend the 1986 PBS documentary:"The Story of English".  It was from a time when public television actually produced worthwhile programming.  At least occasionally.  It's on YouTube and is a great way to waste 8 hours, 43 minutes.

Posted by: Rufus T. Firefly at January 04, 2013 09:54 PM (2obW7)

438 Shit, Ace, you have no reason to ever feel bad about anything. read the comments. your readers love you from afar. And. Ardently.

Posted by: L, Elle at January 04, 2013 10:22 PM (0PiQ4)

439 For French -- I recommend two books:

Easy French Reader by R. de Roussy de Sales, and
First French Reader by Applebaum.

Although the Applebaum book says "First" in the title, it's best saved for a second book, because it's harder.  The de Sales book is progressive, starts at a fairly basic level (present tense passages), and ends pretty much at the level that the Applebaum books begins.

I also like the Daily French Pod podcast.  They're short readings of French news, where he reads a passage from a news source, mostly human interest stories, then goes back over it in detail.  All in French. 

I also like Rosetta Stone, but it's expensive.  There's also Duolingo (online), which is pretty good (and it's free).

I don't like grammar guides, but learning a little grammar instruction can go a long way.  There's a great 10-page grammar summary in the front of my French verbs book.  It's one that's printed by Barron's.  (Not the 500 Verbs series, but a smaller, pocket-sized one.  It has the best verb-construction summary I've ever seen.)

Posted by: Phinn at January 05, 2013 05:05 AM (oFH2D)

440

The real FITS (Fly in the Soup) in terms of getting real Matt Helm to the big screen is that Austin Powers was close enough to the Dean Martin ones *spit* that DreamWorks bought the rights. 

 

The success of the 007 reboot shows audiences are primed for a real Matt Helm.  The big question would be would they try and do it period, or let the screen writers "update it" *shudder*.   And of course they could also try and screw it up by having 6'4" Helm played by Tom Cruise.  I'm optimistic ...

Posted by: Stephen at January 05, 2013 06:05 AM (2HzUl)

441 Ace, have you tried reading French comics, in French? Asterix the Gaul, Tintin etc.?

Posted by: Chromoly Man at January 05, 2013 06:34 AM (qGXZB)

442 I don't think Matt Helm is good fodder for modern movies. They're bleakly funny but fundamentally serious, and way too much that's important in a Matt Helm story is what doesn't happen (and Matt doubling as the narrator often has to explain to the reader what isn't happening and why), and Matt himself is harsh. You would really have to do it as spy noir, and I don't mean send-up noir, ironic-comic noir, Frank Miller over-the-top pseudo-noir, Tarentino-style exploitation or whatever; I mean if you start with a check-list of film-noir characteristics you should hit probably every one. And who is there who is going to make a movie like that nowadays? Matt Helm's characteristic response to a voice crying out of the darkness, help, for the love of God, I'm dying! is to wait patiently and silently for the victim to bleed to death, and then patiently, professionally and cautiously investigate what happened and how it might affect him. Hey, it might have been a trap, and anyway if you wanted someone to do the heroic thing you should have called a cop, or not gotten yourself stabbed or shot in the first place. To make Matt Helm remotely acceptable to modern audiences, every aspect of your film has to make it clear why in his world it's necessary to be like that, and why people in his profession who aren't like that have short careers. The first time you do that little bit of over-the-top extra action that audience expect now but that would be wrong, or the first time you wink to the audience, you are dead. Another reason not to do a Matt Helm film is it's too late to use the perfect actor: Christopher Lee when he was young.

Posted by: Chromoly Man at January 05, 2013 07:09 AM (qGXZB)

443 Watched "Looper" on demand last night with college son. Really liked it, got into extensive discussion with him afterward about its meaning. Cool concept that is well executed. It's a movie that perhaps could have been a little bit better, but also could have been a whole lot worse in the hands of the wrong director. Overall a thumbs up from me.

Posted by: rockmom at January 05, 2013 07:44 AM (qe2/V)

444 Oh, and I am still reading "Les Miserables" on my Nook. Skipping over a lot of the historical fluff to get to the story, which is really good and very well written. Though I did read the entire section on the battle of Waterloo, which is fascinating. My daughter is just starting a unit in her AP European History class on Napoleon, so at least I will be able to discuss it intelligently with her. I cannot imagine reading the entire thing in French. Yeesh. What a slog.

Posted by: rockmom at January 05, 2013 07:47 AM (qe2/V)

445 I can't abide Victor Hugo.  I don't know what's wrong with me, I'm supposed to think his work is sublime...

Anyway, this is the best first French lesson I think,  and I wish Ace would make a series of videos in which he tells stories as well.

http://vimeo.com/2113477

Posted by: SarahW at January 05, 2013 08:12 AM (LYwCh)

446 "287 Next thing you'll tell me there is such a thing as a stealth spaceship"

Well, yes. A spaceship following a ballistic path with its drive expended or shut down, especially if surfaced with a low-albedo radar-absorbent material, would be virtually invisible at interplanetary distances.

Posted by: richard mcenroe at January 05, 2013 09:44 AM (qvify)

447 I'm not sure where you live (and just perused the Ace site, so just ran across this thread), but: Other than anything you can watch on TV with subtitles, and not sure where you live, but buy a French newspaper. When I lived in LA, they had a couple of really good news shops with newspapers from all over the world. Some can be pricey, but fun stuff.

Posted by: beachie weekend at January 05, 2013 05:02 PM (LpQbZ)

448 and, get on the .fr sites

Posted by: beachie weekend at January 05, 2013 05:04 PM (LpQbZ)

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