May 04, 2014

Sunday Morning Book Thread 05-04-2014: 'F' Is For Fake [OregonMuse]
— Open Blogger


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Good morning morons and moronettes and welcome to AoSHQ's stately and prestigious Sunday Morning Book Thread. All non-book discussion should go in Andy's open thread below. Thanks.


Pious Frauds

For my money, the second best conservative blog on teh internets is The Other McCain, where Robert Stacy McCain dishes up long, deep think pieces on an almost daily basis. Like in this one, where he notes the importance of "the authority of experience" in feminist writing, and how one particular writer uses some horrific circumstances of her earlier life to buttress the political point she's trying to make. McCain smelled a rat, so he searched for other articles by the same author, and in every one, she tells a different, yet painfully dramatic, personal story to argue her point. This happens so often that after awhile, you start to wonder how all the stories she's told about herself can possibly be true. McCain's chief complaint is the unverifiable nature of these anecdotes, particularly from a pseudonymous author. I suspect that if someone took all of these author's stories, tried to relate them to each other, establish timelines, etc., in order to set them on an objective foundation, they'd soon run into contradictions and impossibilities that couldn't be reconciled.

As I was reading McCain's piece, I was reminded of something similar that happened a number of years ago in the Christian circles I hang out in.

Back in the late 1980s, in the wake of some dubiously prosecuted child abuse cases, there was a big stink made over what was called "satanic ritual abuse". A sensational book by a Christian publisher was released, Satan's Underground by Lauren Stratford, who claimed to be an adult survivor of SRA, that detailed how her mother and succession of men kept her prisoner and made her perform all sorts of obscene and disgusting sex acts (that were filmed), and even making her get pregnant on multiple occasions so the baby could be used in sacrificial rituals. The stories told by Stratford were horrific and gruesome and so the book became a big seller.

Apparently, someone at the Christian magazine Cornerstone smelled a rat. So they investigated Stratford's claims, interviewed the people involved, tried to verify the details of her narrative, and discovered that the whole thing was pretty much a lie. Stratford was a deeply disturbed woman who lived at the intersection of evil and mental illness. She had been telling these sorts of lies about those around her for pretty much most of her life. Her 'sacrificial babies' never existed.

Funny thing is, you can still buy her completely fabricated sham of a book, though. The original publisher dropped it, but amazingly, another publisher picked it up.

After she was busted by Cornerstone, Stratford made herself scarce. But then she resurfaced several years later as "Lauren Grabowski", a child survivor of Nazi concentration camps and the Holocaust. She got busted for that scam, too. She passed away in 2002.

And then there's that other Christian fraud, Michael Warnke. Wrote a best-selling book detailing his life as some big leader of a Satanist cult. And then he got pantsed by the guys at Cornerstone. His response was one of those weak-tea minimal apologies, and to play the victim card.

I don't think that very many of you morons are going to be surprised when I tell you that both Stratford and Warnke both have their defenders and followers even today, even after they've been exposed as frauds. Go read the 5-star Amazon reviews. Frauds Pt. 2: Narrative Trumps Evidence

So a number of men in my church read this book, Confessions of an Economic Hit Man and thought very highly of it. So why would a bunch of conservative presbyterian guys be impressed by a book that enforces the progressive foreign policy agenda? Well, they're big Luap Nor fans and his isolationism fits in nicely with the "America is the root of all evil" narrative of the progressive left. I didn't read the book, but a number of negative reviewers pointed out that the author adduces absolutely no evidence whatsoever to support the narrative. But that didn't seem to bother them.

On Amazon, one fan of the book gushed:

Many of the reviews here refute the truthfulness of this book because Perkins does not provide evidence for every one of his claims. But, this is precisely what makes the book an exciting and fast read...[f]rom my perspective, it all seems to add up.

And that's pretty much what I got from the men in my church. "It just sounds so right", I was told. "It fits so well with what you would expect." I said, "of course it looks like what you expect, that's what makes frauds appear plausible. Look at a counterfeit $20 bill. It looks just like a $20 bill, doesn't it?" But I didn't convince them. To them, the narrative was so good, so perfect, there was no need to investigate and confirm the author's claims. They were self-attesting.

I need to point out that no one has proved that John Perkin's "Economic Hit-Man" book is fraudulent, like Cornerstone Magazine did with Stratford and Warnke. But it appears to me that he's blowing quite a bit of smoke. Especially when you consider other stuff he's written, namely, how-to books on "shape-shifting" and "psychonavigation", you have to ask yourself how reliable is this guy?

But everyone likes a good story, and there's no doubt in my mind that guys like Mike Warnke and John Perkins are gifted and talented storytellers who can hold audiences spellbound. And when you confront someone in the grip of the glorious visions that such spells produce, it seems kind of petty and, I guess, gauche to ask about low, grubby little things like evidence and verification. Who wants to be the turd in the punch-bowl?

And lastly, the wildly popular inspirational book Three Cups of Tea is, as it turns out, also fraudulent, or at least most of it is.


Authorisms

This HuffPo piece discussed some words coined by famous writers, and surprisingly enough, they're not all invented by Shakespeare, even though he is responsible for approximately half of the English language. Charles Dickens, Louisa May Alcott, and O. Henry get to invent words, too.

In fact, there's an entire book devoted to this topic.


Another e-Book Classic

The author Harper Lee has given permission to allow an e-book version of 'To Kill A Mockingbird' to be released. HarperCollins has set July 8th as the release date.

J.D. Salinger's 'Catcher in the Rye' is still holding out.


Banned in Toronto?

OK, so some clown has asked the Toronto Public Library to pull the Dr. Seuss classic Hop on Pop. Why?

"The complaint was that it was violent and encouraged children to be violent with their fathers," Vickery Bowles, the Toronto Public LibraryÂ’s director of collections management, told CTV News Channel on Tuesday.

Wait a minute, I remember reading Hop on Pop. At one point, it says. "Stop. You must not hop on Pop." So wouldn't that make it against violence directed at fathers?

Well, no matter:

The patron recommended the book be removed, and requested the Toronto Public Library not only apologize to Greater Toronto Area fathers but pay damages resulting from the book's violent message.

Holy cow, what an idiot. What kind of neutered male or little old lady in tennis shoes would do something like this? Remember that German word, 'backpfeifengesicht' we talked about a few weeks ago? Well, This is where it fits perfectly.

Fortunately for common sense, the library rejected the request.

Toronto mayor Rob Ford had passed out for the day and was unavailable for comment.


I Love It When Progressives Fight

Pass the popcorn:

A small, independent publisher with historic ties to the radical British left is at odds with a multilingual radical website, the Marxists Internet Archive at Marxists.org. At issue: the right to use the 50-volume “Marx Engels Collected Works.”

Why is this even an issue among this commies? Isn't this a capitalistic dispute? How can there be intellectual property in a communist utopia where there is no such thing as private property? Isn't everything owned by 'the people'?

The Marxists at Marxists.org have responded with a flurry of angry anticapitalist rhetoric. And with a petition at Change.org signed by more than 4,000 supporters.

“It is immensely ironic that a private publishing company is claiming the copyright of the collected works of Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels, the philosophers who wrote against the monopoly of capitalism and its origin, private property, all their lives,” the petition says.

The irony is indeed delicious, especially when flavored with butter and salt.


Books of Note

I'm sure all of you morons are just dying to pay top dollar to read Elizabeth Warren's biography. No word if it contains any authentic recipes, or results from her DNA test.

Or, if that's not good enough for you, you can read The Baby Boom: How It Got That Way (And It WasnÂ’t My Fault) (And IÂ’ll Never Do It Again), the latest by conservative/libertarian humorist P.J. O'Rourke.

Here is a conversation between O'Rourke and another funny man, Dave Barry, author of You Can Date Boys When You're Forty: Dave Barry on Parenting and Other Topics He Knows Very Little About.

___________


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

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

Posted by: Open Blogger at 05:50 AM | Comments (227)
Post contains 1640 words, total size 12 kb.

1 Morning all. Reading "The Girl With All the Gifts" by Mike Carey. Pretty different take on the zombie genre (I know, I know).

Posted by: kalel666 at May 04, 2014 05:54 AM (lXOCT)

2 Writers of such tripe as that "Economic Hit-Man" book peddle to preconceived notions.  They are writing for a built in choir.  Not going for market expansion, just a steady paycheck. 

Fiction writers makes no bones of when they write for a market.  They are going for a paycheck to keep being fed.  They admit to being mercenaries.

Posted by: Anna Puma (+SmuD) at May 04, 2014 05:58 AM (/FZPk)

3 So are the Marxists protesting that the iconic Che image on their t-shirts and murses puts money into the bank account of Che's family?

Posted by: Anna Puma (+SmuD) at May 04, 2014 05:59 AM (/FZPk)

4 Does anyone know what punishment that President Obama will give to that old racist guy that owns the Clippers for saying blacks are stooped and lazy.

Posted by: Dorcus Blimline at May 04, 2014 06:03 AM (hP/Mt)

5 Half way through Leviathan Wakes by Corey. Really enjoying it. Natural character development that doesn't feel forced. Everything moves the story forward with little extra fluff. I'll be pushing it on people based on progress so far.

Posted by: Todd Wiley at May 04, 2014 06:08 AM (lrkg9)

6 Oh dear - I had some friends who were pretty well convinced of the verity of Mike Warnke and his tales of a satanic abuse cult. I never could talk them out of it. Sigh. Nice people, but a bit gullible.

I'm working on Conn Iggulden's "Wars of the Roses: Stormbird" via advance copy from Amazon Vine. It won't be out until July, but so far, pretty good. He has a good set of notes in the book, outlining the kind of things that good writers of historical fiction do - that is, explain why they did what they did, characters and plot-wise.

If any of the 'rons and 'ronettes are going to be in South Texas next weekend, my daughter and I will have a booth at the Bulverde Market Days spring market next Saturday - it will be in the Beall's parking lot at the intersection of Bulverde Crossing and Hwy 36W (off 281.) Look for the screaming pink pop-up pavilion with the zebra-striped roof. I'll have my books, she will have hand-made origami jewelry and household ornaments.

Posted by: Sgt. Mom at May 04, 2014 06:09 AM (Asjr7)

7 Currently reading "A Wind in the House of Islam," from the thread last week (ordered it Sunday, received it on Wednesday, so I'm impressed with the quick shipping!). I'm enjoying it thus far, especially how the author investigates the background of the Muslim conversion, taking into account how many of the "conversions" were forced and not willing, therefore not true conversions. Unfortunately, I'm not too far into it due to a distraction by my book club book by Francine Rivers, "The Lineage of Grace," a biblical historical fiction detailing a fictional account of the five women in the lineage of Christ. As a general rule, I do not read Christian fiction, but I've actually enjoyed the fictional retelling of these women's lives, although somewhat hokey at times.

Posted by: Mary at May 04, 2014 06:14 AM (2wZs/)

8 Wow. Slow here today. I read the whole thread, some related articles, then dozed off, came back here, and still only a few comments. The last book I finished was The Swiss Family Robinson, but that was a month ago. I've been having a tough time reading lately, not sure why.

Posted by: .87c at May 04, 2014 06:17 AM (qZPXs)

9 Good stuff. Content at the HQ has been a little weak, you are making up for it.

Posted by: Nip Sip at May 04, 2014 06:18 AM (0FSuD)

10 Read the first 3 of the "Home" books by A. American. Entertaining take on the US after an emp. The lesson for me so far - I'm woefully unprepared for when tshtf.

Posted by: weirdflunkyonatablet at May 04, 2014 06:18 AM (YyiOI)

11 I've read a bit more in Lone Survivor. I'm impressed with Lutrell as a storyteller. If he used a pro to help things flow on paper he picked a good one. Binge read the 1st Honor Harrington last week on a cold rainy day. Thanks to all the horde readers that recommended David Weber and that series in particular.

Posted by: PaleRider at May 04, 2014 06:19 AM (vL0Nv)

12 O'Rourke has gone soft in the last 15-20 years. His best work is behind him.

Posted by: packsoldier at May 04, 2014 06:20 AM (rg9pm)

13 2 book Sci-fi series (so far) to recommend: Hard Luck Hank Screw the Galaxy and Bucket Full of Crap. Fun and at times laugh out loud hilarious mixed with great characters. I think I should have bought Dale Carnegie sooner than 52. Speaker For The Dead: just started it and the authors introduction (1990?) Is worth the price alone just for the insights about writing and character development. Neptune Craig Symonds on the naval part of the Normandy invasion. I'm at chapter 4 and I have rarely been as disappointed in a book as this. Glaring errors, tired rehashing of the history of the war and not yet one word on Operation Neptune. It better get better!

Posted by: whatmeworry? at May 04, 2014 06:25 AM (dZGNV)

14 Listened to 'A Short Victorious War' by David Weber, Honor Harrington #3.  As the books progress she wins more honors and titles and gets bigger ships to drive around.  This time the planet Haven is stirring up trouble with Honor's planet of Manticore, there's a big fight and Honor gets a love interest.  Enjoyed it quite a bit, look forward to book #4.

Posted by: waelse1 at May 04, 2014 06:25 AM (0tHG6)

15 @12 Agreed. He's living off the fat.

Posted by: Nip Sip at May 04, 2014 06:26 AM (0FSuD)

16 Just finished the first book in a new medieval mystery series by Denise Domning, " Season of the Raven". Pretty good. Interesting characters, good period detail, decent mystery. The author set up what I assume will be the subject of the next book, a child serial killer, so that you are anxious about whether the hero will be able to save the next victim. Looking forward to the 2nd book.

Posted by: Tuna at May 04, 2014 06:30 AM (7KPIw)

17
A new trend for sharing photographs of oneÂ’s book collection has taken social media by storm.

Dubbed the ‘shelfie’, Instagram and Twitter users have been busy capturing their favorite titles from the 'Complete psychological works of Sigmund Freud' to the 'Complete Works of William Shakespeare.'Currently there are more than 37,000 photographs on Instagram bearing the hashtag 'shelfie' and thousands more on Twitter.

http://tinyurl.com/pguaboe

Posted by: Laurie David's Cervix at May 04, 2014 06:34 AM (kdS6q)

18 Wow. Slow here today

Yeah, it sure is. But sometimes it takes awhile for the thread to start picking up steam.

Posted by: OregonMuse at May 04, 2014 06:37 AM (fTJ5O)

19 Been re-reading a fan-fiction book: Harry Potter and the 7th Horcrux. There are a few similarities to the real book 7 (regarding events and characters) and the story is pretty good. The author takes a little more liberty regarding a group of teenagers with raging hormones, but aside from that, it is a very plausible story with some definite twists that will surprise you. Google search and you can find links to it.

Posted by: John C at May 04, 2014 06:39 AM (UeU18)

20 Two books about the Renaissance-- one by Thomas Cahill (meh),  & another by Theodore Raab.

Cahill is a lively writer, but Raab is much better at explaining  "WHY."

Btw & off-topic, I propose that for conceptual purposes, the Thirty Years War should be thought of as "World War I."  This is my own idea.

Posted by: mnw at May 04, 2014 06:39 AM (u7Xps)

21 Jack Cashill wrote a whole book on frauds like Margaret Mead, Rachel Carson, and Ward Churchill, called "Hoodwinked: How Intellectual Hucksters Have Hijacked American Culture I can't recall if it was Cashill who figured out Ward Chuchill's trick of inserting footnoted "facts" like that the military purposely gave the Indians small pox-infested blankets, but if you bothered to check the footnoted source (which no one did, apparently) it said no such thing. Kinda like that Michael Belseils guy who faked the supporting documentation for his anti-2nd Amendment book. I haven't read Hoodwinked, I just saw him discuss it on C-SPAN. One of those books I keep meaning to check out...

Posted by: Lizzy at May 04, 2014 06:42 AM (8zTpe)

22 Well for the first time in awhile I have actually been writing instead of just spinning off story ideas or commenting here.  I am at a point in the story where a character is asking her mother, "tell me about my father."

Posted by: Anna Puma (+SmuD) at May 04, 2014 06:43 AM (/FZPk)

23 Posted by: whatmeworry? at May 04, 2014 10:25 AM (dZGNV)


I'm also reading 'Speaker', and enjoying it so far. It was one of those books I've had sitting around for years and never got to. But someone loaned me the movie "Enders Game", so I figured I'd give it a try.


Funny thing is I wanted to re-read Ender first, but I can't find it. But as I was rooting around some boxes came across books that I had no idea I had. A lot of old sci-fi books that my brother had given me, including a number by RA Lafferty whom we were discussing several weeks ago.


So now I have more stuff to read then I know what to do with. Or even where to start.

Posted by: HH at May 04, 2014 06:43 AM (XXwdv)

24 RE: Post 20:  Make that "Theodore Rabb"

Posted by: mnw at May 04, 2014 06:44 AM (u7Xps)

25 I can actually connect this post to a book: After Virtue by Alasdair MacIntyre. Specifically his parts about emotivism and how that's pretty much all we have left.

Posted by: tsrblke, PhD(c) (No Really!) [/b] [/i] [/s] at May 04, 2014 06:45 AM (HDwDg)

26 Content at the HQ has been a little weak, you are making up for it. Posted by: Nip Sip at May 04, 2014 10:18 AM (0FSuD) The gardening thread sucked yesterday. The idiot that wrote the first half doesn't know the difference between one n and two! He probably thinks an apostrophe means "Here comes an S!". OM, people like the serial hoaxers you mentioned will never go away. Such people are obsessed with being important, and their trials and tribulations make them feel that way. Ultimate exposure doesn't matter to them, it's the fawning and attention in the moment that validates them to themselves. Used to be one could keep it up for a lifetime, but the internet is making that almost impossible, which is a good thing, bad thing is that online the signal to noise ratio is so high that many times they can still keep up the lie by obscuring the truth in a maelstrom of obfuscation.

Posted by: Weirddave at May 04, 2014 06:48 AM (N/cFh)

27 L.H.O.O.Q.

Posted by: Pete in TX at May 04, 2014 06:48 AM (2jnL4)

28 My, my... we sure have a knack for taking swipes at Christians, don't we? I wonder, do you swipe at Jews and Muslims the same way? I highly doubt that. Just sayin'

Posted by: Patrick in Michigan at May 04, 2014 06:49 AM (OhrW4)

29 An interesting controversy about a possible biography fraud concerns The Forgotten Soldier by Guy Sajer (a pseudonym). It is the story of a half-German, half-French soldier who fights on the Eastern Front. Some have argued that minor discrepancies indicate it is a fraud. My opinion, and I think the majority opinion, is that it is factual despite some errors. It is a very good book despite some translation problems; e.g., "grenade thrower" is a mortar.

Posted by: WalrusRex at May 04, 2014 06:49 AM (Mogjf)

30 Read "The Stars Came Back" by Rolf Nelson on Kindle. Think it was a book thread recommendation. It was good with lots of "laugh out loud and read to nearest person" lines. Looks like there's definite room for a sequal but the story was fairly well wrapped up. Oh. It is in script form which apparently was a problem for some readers but I didn't find it to be an issue.

Posted by: Polliwog the 'Ette, assault Hobbit at May 04, 2014 06:49 AM (GDulk)

31 Too bad about Warnke. The guy was actually pretty funny.

Posted by: Insomniac at May 04, 2014 06:50 AM (mx5oN)

32 Posted by: Patrick in Michigan at May 04, 2014 10:49 AM (OhrW4) Stupid troll is stupid.

Posted by: Insomniac at May 04, 2014 06:51 AM (mx5oN)

33 Insomniac, they obviously confuse their ranting as being thoughtful.

Sajer's book is pretty interesting and good gosh been a very long time since I read it.  I wonder if the debunkers have some ulterior motive, see what this age of heightened conspiracy paranoia has done to me...

Oh well back to writing while listening to XM Radio.

Posted by: Anna Puma (+SmuD) at May 04, 2014 06:55 AM (/FZPk)

34 Probably the most successful fraud was Rigoberto Menchu whose faux biography won her a Nobel Peace Prize (and I'm sure it is mere coincidence that it is full of commie propaganda).

Posted by: WalrusRex at May 04, 2014 06:55 AM (Mogjf)

35 28 Swipes at Islam? Daily. Swipes at Jews? Only the self loathing kind that continue to vote for Leftists like 0 at their own great peril Dumb troll.

Posted by: Tuna at May 04, 2014 06:56 AM (7KPIw)

36 Finished "Master and Commander" and was relieved that Aubrey's court martial trial ended up positively despite his having earned the animosity of one of the higher ups by banging his wife.  Once I got over the hump of the plethora of early 19th century nautical terms, I came to really enjoy this as character studies of all involved, as did some, but not all, of the book group I'm in.  I'm moving on to "Post Captain", the next book in the Aubrey/Maturin series.  The book group is tackling "Tender is the Night" which I consider blackballing because it's one of those F Scott Fitzgerald blah blahs that tend to bore me.  I've read a few chapters and it's ok but it's the type of 20th century fiction that I don't find particularly interesting.


Made some progress in "Red Fortress" and have reached the point where Napoleon's people torched the place after capturing it (and getting a few people blown up from mines planted in the retreat) and melted down all the gold and silver (although when they pulled down a gold cross on top of one of the cathedrals it turned out to be gilded wood).  The carnage was pretty appalling.


Continuing to make progress on the Crusades by reading Zoe Oldenbourg's book and Thomas Asbridge's more recent one, recommended by a fellow moron.  I can't find anything on which they disagree, including the opinion that the Crusades weren't done due to any immediate problems between the moooooslims and the Christians.  Leaving aside how difficult communications over distances were then, I guess I'm willing to be disabused of my opinion that the rock worshipers tend to cause all these problems by being savage vermin if I find out that real non PC history dictates otherwise.

Posted by: Captain Hate at May 04, 2014 06:58 AM (C2UDb)

37 'Pious frauds' could include Al Gore.

Posted by: --- at May 04, 2014 07:01 AM (MMC8r)

38 Slow today. People must be out and about this lovely spring morning.

Posted by: Tuna at May 04, 2014 07:03 AM (7KPIw)

39 Probably the most successful fraud was Rigoberto Menchu whose faux biography won her a Nobel Peace Prize (and I'm sure it is mere coincidence that it is full of commie propaganda).

Posted by: WalrusRex at May 04, 2014 10:55 AM (Mogjf)



That lying trash was, and may still be, forced on immature and gullible minds in the public extended day care and indoctrination centers.

Posted by: Captain Hate at May 04, 2014 07:04 AM (C2UDb)

40 Speaking of out and about, I need to head over to my Sisters' place to oddly enough, return some books.


Later.

Posted by: HH at May 04, 2014 07:05 AM (XXwdv)

41 Warnke was kind of funny back in the day. I got started in the evangelical community back in the mid-70s, and a lot of folks I knew were into him. Hope he manages to get his life together - hard to get over being a lying celebrity.

Posted by: RightWingPRof at May 04, 2014 07:07 AM (RtR5I)

42 Two good books on art forgeries: Provenance: How A Con Man and a Forger Rewrote the History of Modern Art, by Salisbury and Sujo and The Forger's Spell: A True Story of Vermeer, Nazis and the Greatest Art Hoax of the Twentieth Century, by Edward Dolnick.

Posted by: biancaneve at May 04, 2014 07:08 AM (2sR50)

43 I am so sorry Dudes and Dudettes. I never claimed to be a feminist writer. HAH! How much more trashy can this get?

Posted by: The Walking Dude at May 04, 2014 07:09 AM (1xQO9)

44 Do you remember when we were young? We shone like the sun!

Posted by: The Walking Dude at May 04, 2014 07:11 AM (1xQO9)

45 Posers never can get their lies to line up with reality, which, when I think about it is a good thing.

Just like when you scratch an ecotard you find a communist.

Posted by: Gmac - Pondering ... something at May 04, 2014 07:12 AM (baiNQ)

46 Picked up 'Solaris' when Kindle offered it for .99. I'll read half of it and keep it around to 'get to later,' like I do with everything.

Posted by: --- at May 04, 2014 07:13 AM (MMC8r)

47 I read "Economic Hitman" about 6 years ago. If you haven't read it I would recommend you do so. Not because I think that there is any veracity to the claims or Perkins narrative, but just to a) see exactly how the progressive mind strings this crap together and b) marvel at how tightly he ties everything together without specific proof. It's kind of amazing. Saw Leviathan's Wake mentioned above. I agree pretty good story well worth the read I thought. One that was a little disappointing to me - I picked up the ARC of the latest by Larry Correria "Monster Hunter Nemesis". Overall I have liked this series but this one just didn't gel with me. Too many big changes to one of the major characters and not enough Owen Pitt. That character really makes the books and he is almost entirely missing. That's all I can say without spoilers.

Posted by: chad at May 04, 2014 07:14 AM (gYowz)

48 I'm not sure what  the economic hit man thing is, but  it reminded  me of the "Biblical money code"  ads that run during Rush's show (locally, anyway  I have no idea whether it's a national campaign or not). 

If  you're not familiar, the gist is, former pastor stumbled on the Biblical money code, now advises people how to use the code for themselves.

All you have to do is, blah blah blah.  Free video, blah blah blah. 

Posted by: BurtTC at May 04, 2014 07:14 AM (BeSEI)

49 45 - "Just like when you scratch an ecotard you find a communist." The watermelon principle.

Posted by: Emile Antoon Khadaji at May 04, 2014 07:15 AM (CrJzY)

50 Now reading Leonardo and the Last Supper by Ross King. Entertaining history, like his previous Brunelleschi's Dome. I am a complete sucker for the Italian Renaissance.

Posted by: real joe at May 04, 2014 07:15 AM (xXhgd)

51 I've been tearing through John C. Wright's _The Hermetic Millennia_. It's a very good science fiction novel. The one-sentence description is "Lazarus Long fights The Master using Seldon's Plan on the Last and First Men." If that is unhelpful, it's about a struggle to shape the course of future human society and physical evolution, waged over thousands of years between a man who wants to preserve freedom (mostly his own) and one who wants to turn humanity into slaves. It's a little slow in the beginning because it's the second in a series and you have to get up to speed on the world he's built, but then it moves along nicely. I'm going to track down some of Wright's other stuff now. He has a blog, too, which is very entertaining. Anyone interested in the recent struggle for the soul of science fiction fandom should check it out.

Posted by: Trimegistus at May 04, 2014 07:16 AM (VJAV8)

52 49 45 - "Just like when you scratch an ecotard you find a communist." The watermelon principle. Posted by: Emile Antoon Khadaji at May 04, 2014 11:15 AM (CrJzY) Heh. Green on the outside, red on the inside.

Posted by: Insomniac at May 04, 2014 07:16 AM (mx5oN)

53 [If you're not familiar, the gist is, former pastor stumbled on the Biblical money code, now advises people how to use the code for themselves.[/i]

I see those "pastor finds Biblical money code" spam ads on web pages I sometimes visit.

Posted by: OregonMuse at May 04, 2014 07:19 AM (fTJ5O)

54 53 -

I must admit I am curious as to  what  the claims are, but  I guess you would have to buy into the "program"  to find out.  I'm not that curious. 

Posted by: BurtTC at May 04, 2014 07:24 AM (BeSEI)

55 Bible money code?  I guess someone has decided to use the Bible code program hoopla to create wealth.  For themselves.

Oh Captain Hate.  Something to add to your reading pile.  Just stumbled across it on Gutenberg.  No idea of value of such.

Christianity and Islam in Spain by C.R. Haines, MA.  1889
http://www.gutenberg.org/files/15262/15262-h/15262-h.htm

Posted by: Anna Puma (+SmuD) at May 04, 2014 07:24 AM (/FZPk)

56 Read the Last Witchking by noted evil racist homophobe Vox Day. Collection of 3 short stories, last one got nominated for a Hugo award and caused a bit of controversy over the author's badthink. Was an interesting read, especially the goblin/orc one in the middle.

Posted by: ConservativeMonster at May 04, 2014 07:24 AM (M9BzG)

57 Lem is a very interesting writer. His short stories are interesting if a bit satirical, but his novels seem to be focused on institutional deceit. What sticks in my head are The Futurological Congress and Memoirs Found in a Bathtub. Never read Solaris. Have the DVD but never got the gumption up to break it open.

Posted by: Aguacate, la fruta de la muerte at May 04, 2014 07:25 AM (BsFYx)

58 Forgot to mention ealier, I found a book which I think was Satan's Underground on my parents' bookshelf when I was in junior high or so. I was just thinking about it last week, realizing it wasn't in their collection anymore and not being surprised, since it doesn't fit too well next to Lewis or the Purpose Driven life. But if it's a fraud on top of that, that makes even more sense. I don't recomend leaving it around for kids to find. I also read a novel which was I think inspired by somebody reading that first book, which was entitled Dead Air. Same kind of idea but the hero is a local talk-radio host who discovers all this and works to bring it to light. Similarly not recommend for kids to find, though I was a huge talk radio fan at the time (probaby still am, but don't have the time and can't abide idiot callers) and enjoyed the use of the host as the hero.

Posted by: .87c at May 04, 2014 07:25 AM (qZPXs)

59 Green Eggs and Ham promotes cow murder and the consumption of bad eggs.

Posted by: Bertram Cabot Jr. at May 04, 2014 07:25 AM (27KaM)

60 That'll teach me. I suggest Davy Crockett's autobiography. It is also found for free on Gutenberg

Posted by: Kindltot at May 04, 2014 07:26 AM (BsFYx)

61 I'm surprised you didn't mention James Frey and "A Million Little Pieces" Then there's that Gambino son (or grandson?), and all the stolen valor asshats that I'm sure have been published... So many frauds have profited from their work that you could probably make this a weekly series.

Posted by: shredded chi at May 04, 2014 07:27 AM (xsTvq)

62 is it supposed to give him credibility in certain circles that he was a former pastor-who now is making make people rich. Let me take a guess-he's a former prosperity preacher and now he's living it. Bah!

Posted by: FenelonSpoke at May 04, 2014 07:28 AM (XyM/Y)

63 Jack Cashill wrote a whole book on frauds like Margaret Mead, Rachel Carson, and Ward Churchill, called "Hoodwinked: How Intellectual Hucksters Have Hijacked American Culture

I was thinking of doing a thread on why so many of the progressive world view's supporting texts are discredited, outdated, or fraudulent. Looks like Cashill beat me to it.

Posted by: OregonMuse at May 04, 2014 07:28 AM (fTJ5O)

64 59 Green Eggs and Ham promotes cow murder and the consumption of bad eggs.Posted by: Bertram Cabot Jr. at May 04, 2014 11:25 AM (27KaM)
I mean pig murder.

Posted by: Bertram Cabot Jr. at May 04, 2014 07:28 AM (27KaM)

65 Counterpoint to Three Cups of Tea. http://tinyurl.com/mcuqy34

Posted by: WalrusRex at May 04, 2014 07:28 AM (Mogjf)

66 Never read Solaris. Have the DVD but never got the gumption up to break it open.

Posted by: Aguacate, la fruta de la muerte at May 04, 2014 11:25 AM (BsFYx)



Like most Tarkovsky, it's extremely ponderous but very well done.  I never bothered with the remake featuring pretty  boy hilljack George C Looney, but figured it was greatly inferior.

Posted by: Captain Hate at May 04, 2014 07:29 AM (C2UDb)

67 Couple of free books linked to on Insty right now: a long-term futurology book looking at advances in economics and science and what it could allow, and what looks like a short story by Sarah Hoyt.

Posted by: .87c at May 04, 2014 07:30 AM (qZPXs)

68 Wait a second, I assumed you own the Tarkovsky version and not the more recent.  Perhaps I was in error

Posted by: Captain Hate at May 04, 2014 07:30 AM (C2UDb)

69 28 My, my... we sure have a knack for taking swipes at Christians, don't we? I wonder, do you swipe at Jews and Muslims the same way? I highly doubt that. Just sayin' Posted by: Patrick in Michigan at May 04, 2014 10:49 AM (OhrW4) You must be new here. Just sayin' And real Christians know that no one--except Jesus the Christ--is without sin or above criticism.

Posted by: baldilocks at May 04, 2014 07:30 AM (36Rjy)

70 Speaking of potential Christian frauds, did anyone ever read He Came to Set the Captives Free by Rebecca Brown MD? it was an exciting spooky read also about The Satanic underground and the power of Christ's deliverance. After writing the book, she was supposedly on the run from angry satanists who wanted to kill her. In my adult years I now suspect the book was highly, um, embellished. Does anyone know of any investigations into the claims?

Posted by: chique d'afrique (the artist formerly known as african chick) at May 04, 2014 07:33 AM (r+7wo)

71 Hi baldilocks, hope you are doing well.

I know the temptation is great, but please don't feed the troll.  Thanks.

Posted by: OregonMuse at May 04, 2014 07:34 AM (fTJ5O)

72 No, it is the Clooney version that I picked up for $.99. The only Classic Lem movie I've seen was the MST3K treatment of First Spaceship to Venus.

Posted by: Kindltot at May 04, 2014 07:35 AM (BsFYx)

73 "The Necklace (al-`Iqd)" by `Abd Rabbih This series of books is in the process of translation; currently available are the first ten, wrapped into three volumes published by Garnet in the UK. I've been reading the first six / two. `Tis called the Necklace (usually al-`Iqd al-Farid, the Unique Necklace) because it strings together hadiths. The hadith - the anecdote - is pretty much *the* form of Arabic prose. This collection is gathered around topics; like duties to the caliph, or ways in which rebels have thumbed their nose at the caliph; about Arabic dialects, or ways in which people failed to speak Arabic. It is, as you can see, very diverse. I think the term "I laughed, I cried" might even apply here. There are very touching elegies to poets' deceased children for instance. And then... well. Volume 2 page 86: Ibrahim [al-Nakhai] commented, ‘Tell [Said bin Jubayr] to soak his buttocks in cold water.’ ” So I said to Said what Ibrahim had ordered me to say, and Said commented, “Tell him, ‘If you pass by the valley of the stupid, camp in it.’ ” I nominate Ibn Jubayr for AOSHQ membership. And then there's this: Volume 2 page 255: Muawiya said to Sasaa ibn Suhan, “Go up on the pulpit and curse Ali.” Sasaa refrained and said, “Will you exempt me from that?” “No,” Muawiya replied. So Sasaa ascended the pulpit, praised God and lauded Him, then said, “O ye people, Muawiya has commanded me to curse Ali, so curse him – may God curse him.” Lastly - there's too much awesome in the book to quote here, but here is the Amir of the Believers, al-Walid, conqueror of Spain: Volume 2, page 264: A nobleman from Quraysh went to see al-Walid ibn Abd al-Malik. [Wanting to ask him who was his father-in-law,] al-Walid [wrongly] said, “Man khatanaka?” [(“Who circumcised you?”) instead of “Man khatanuka?”] So the nobleman said, “So-and-So, the Jew.” “What are you saying? Woe to you!” al-Walid said. The nobleman said, “Perhaps you are asking about my father-in-law, O Commander of the Faithful. He is So-and-So, the son of So-and-So.”

Posted by: boulder t'hobo at May 04, 2014 07:35 AM (30eLQ)

74 Integrity of one's work is more important than any tainted narrative one may be tempted to portray and any publishing or documentary should be thoroughly reviewed for accuracy. Like my work.

Posted by: Michael Moore at May 04, 2014 07:35 AM (AseeF)

75 chique d'afrique, I hadn't heard of that one. Let me poke around and see if I dind anything.

Posted by: OregonMuse at May 04, 2014 07:35 AM (fTJ5O)

76 With all this talk of books recountng things that never happened, my thoughts drift to Obama. Funny that...

Posted by: fairweatherbill at May 04, 2014 07:38 AM (FiH9D)

77 The thing about Cashill's book is that he covers a lot of the Left's heroes whose stories have been debunked, yet they are still embraced. Just look at how much they love Margaret Sanger, unabashed eugenicist.

Posted by: Lizzy at May 04, 2014 07:38 AM (8zTpe)

78 chique, here is what one 1-star Amazon reviewer has to say about Dr. Brown's book:

I have read this book several times and years ago have written to the author to get her story as well. The author's real name is Ruth Bailey, who had her medical license revoked in the state of Indiana. She also got in trouble with the medical board for giving her patients an unusually high dose of Demerol, for having delusions about patients suffering from demonic oppression, and for repeatedly misdiagnosing her patients. (All these findings have been documented by Bob and Gretchen Passantino and researcher John Baskette in the Answers in Action website, along with investigative research by Rev. G. Richard Fisher and other pastors, and Pastor Charles Younts. These are people who have done their research and spoken to the authors in person. Just Google: Rebecca Brown or Ruth Bailey and you'll find these links).

Caveat emptor.

Posted by: OregonMuse at May 04, 2014 07:39 AM (fTJ5O)

79

Re;  fakes.  "The Forger's Spell" by Edward Dolnik tells the story of Han von Meegeren who faked Vermeers and sold them to the Nazis during WW II.  The ironic part is that they didn't even look like Vermeers, everybody simply thought that they did.  Sort of the global warming of the art world.

 

Arrested after the war for selling national treasures, von Meegeren wiped out a Vermeer in his jail cell among his critics who still refused to believe he was turning out fakes.  Ultimately, he was convicted for forging Vermeer's name.

Posted by: Libra at May 04, 2014 07:40 AM (GblmV)

80 63 -

Oh!  Look for Paul Johnson's "Intellectuals."  Similar concept, longer historical view, I assume. 

Johnson reserves some special vitriol for Rousseau, so it's well worth  the read. 

In fact, I think I just now convinced myself it's time to pick  it up again.

Posted by: BurtTC at May 04, 2014 07:40 AM (BeSEI)

81 I always figured the books about conversions to Christianity in the dâr al-islâmi were bogus. Arabs don't normally go for stuff they see as weak. Conversions in Africa? Sure. India? I could buy it. Maybe even Indonesia. But the Arabic-speaking nations - er, no. Not Persians either, really; they're so nationalistic I'd expect them to go Bahai or even back to Zoroastrianism.

Posted by: boulder t'hobo at May 04, 2014 07:41 AM (30eLQ)

82 53 If you're not familiar, the gist is, former pastor stumbled on the Biblical money code, now advises people how to use the code for themselves. I see those "pastor finds Biblical money code" spam ads on web pages I sometimes visit. Posted by: OregonMuse at May 04, 2014 11:19 AM (fTJ5O) These people count on the fact that many otherwise intelligent Christians will see The words God, bible, or Jesus and immediately buy into anything. I hope they know that they will pay very heavily in the afterlife for committing fraud under the cover of "God". They clearly don't believe in God in any meaningful sense otherwise they'd be too scared to do it, IMO. Don't mess with The Lord.

Posted by: chique d'afrique (the artist formerly known as african chick) at May 04, 2014 07:43 AM (r+7wo)

83 Been too busy to read but I've got two recommendations. First is Emperor Mollusk versus The Sinister Brain by A. Lee Martinez. It's told from the point of view of the supervillian - a genius mollusk in a robotic suit. A quick read I found odd and fun. Second is Confessions of a Master Jewel Thief by Bill Mason. It's an autobiographical account of a very successful catburglar. I found it fascinating.

Posted by: Achilles at May 04, 2014 07:43 AM (V9dzw)

84 I can't get over how people try and pass off these fabrications as the truth.

Posted by: Clifford Irving at May 04, 2014 07:44 AM (N7iJs)

85 Frauds and cults go hand in hand. Who can forget the origins of Wicca? Margaret Murray (an Egyptilogist) wrote a book claiming the witches of the witch hints were really misunderstood nature worshippers, only to have that Gardner guy claim the cult was real and still alive and guess what, he was their supreme leader! Once women got tired of just being naked decorations for the rituals they demanded a bigger role so the cult switched gears and started worshipping a goddess and then you pretty much created a religion so that plain/ugly people could feel interesting.

Posted by: Rory at May 04, 2014 07:45 AM (AQgqK)

86 or the origins of Kwaanza..

Posted by: Soothsayer § at May 04, 2014 07:45 AM (oNNJp)

87 Actually, there are reports a lot of Muslim converts who get converted through visions, mainly in hostile Middle Eastern countries. This is attested to by reputable, non-kooky people. And I believe it. Of course, if one doesn't believe in the supernatural or that God can speak to people this way, I can understand one's skepticism.

Posted by: chique d'afrique (the artist formerly known as african chick) at May 04, 2014 07:46 AM (r+7wo)

88 78 -

I just ordered the book.  Very inexpensive on Amazon. 

The author has a rather... colorful collection of titles to his name.  I'll  give this one a read, then see whether  it's worth looking into his Obama books, or some  of the  others. 

Posted by: BurtTC at May 04, 2014 07:49 AM (BeSEI)

89 Thanks, OregonMuse!

Posted by: chique d'afrique (the artist formerly known as african chick) at May 04, 2014 07:49 AM (r+7wo)

90 Nassim Nicholas Taleb's recent "Antifragile: Things that Gain from Disorder" has stayed with me and set me to thinking. In it, he develops the concept of "anti-fragility," which is not the same as robustness or resilience, but rather describes systems that adapt to disruption by actually becoming stronger, like bones or muscles. I've been asking myself, what would "Anti-Alinksy" look like? Some sort of big-tent opposite of "divide, ridicule, scorn, and destroy," I think, that can perhaps be rooted in natural law/conservative principles even as it hijacks the (hypocritical) inclusive terminology of the Left. Thinking, thinking...

Posted by: Piercello at May 04, 2014 07:50 AM (JybVy)

91 #85,

 Heh.

Posted by: OregonMuse at May 04, 2014 07:50 AM (fTJ5O)

92 Posted by: boulder t'hobo at May 04, 2014 11:41 AM (30eLQ) Many are associated with literal "come to Jesus" experiences that I suspect overshadow the powerless view of Christianity.

Posted by: Polliwog the 'Ette at May 04, 2014 07:52 AM (GDulk)

93 85 I can't get over how people try and pass off these fabrications as the truth. Posted by: Clifford Irving at May 04, 2014 11:44 AM (N7iJs) We can't either.

Posted by: Elders of Zion at May 04, 2014 07:53 AM (8c12T)

94 Oh Captain Hate. Something to add to your reading pile. Just stumbled across it on Gutenberg. No idea of value of such. Christianity and Islam in Spain by C.R. Haines, MA. 1889 Haines is very influential in subsequent histories, and is very good for the Christian experience after 850 AD or so; but he is dated, especially for the early years. One point of interest - It was a thing in Spain, following 850, for Catholics to go out and seek martyrdom. They'd generally do it by insulting the Prophet. So many Christians were killing themselves in this way (and by the way, *not* gaining additional converts) that the local bishops had to call a synod and condemn the practice. But before 850, there've been questions on whether the Arab invaders were predominantly Muslim at all (yet). They'd brought over a lot of Berbers, see. And Berbers had only recently converted to Islam themselves. So the force was probably an ungainly mix of some Muslims, some semi-Muslim heretics (Harurites, they were called), some semi-CHRISTIAN heretics, Jews, and pagans.

Posted by: boulder t'hobo at May 04, 2014 07:55 AM (30eLQ)

95 >>I can't get over how people try and pass off these fabrications as the truth. Posted by: Clifford Irving at May 04, 2014 11:44 AM (N7iJs) We can't either. - - - - - - I know, right?

Posted by: Alex Haley at May 04, 2014 07:56 AM (8zTpe)

96 I remember watching one of the Sunday morning shows back in 71 or 72 when Howard Hughes called them up in the middle of the broadcast with Clifford Irving to denounce him as a fraud. It was the last time he ever spoke on such a public platform.

Posted by: Jinx the Cat at May 04, 2014 07:57 AM (N7iJs)

97 Love Henri Charrière. Don't care if Papillon is not "75%" true like he claimed.

Posted by: whatmeworry? at May 04, 2014 07:58 AM (dZGNV)

98

What was the name of the freaks that killed themselves during the Hale Bop Comet?  I remember going out with some friends with a microscope, the next day these weirdos were dead.

Posted by: Infidel at May 04, 2014 08:02 AM (pTP6v)

99 96 -

Well as you know, we here at the New York Times have always  been stalwart defenders of the truth, and would never ever ever ever allow fraud to go unpunished.

Why yes, that IS Walter Duranty's Pulitzer behind me, why do  you ask? 

Posted by: The New York Times at May 04, 2014 08:02 AM (BeSEI)

100 Looking back my memory of that show 4 decades ago is a little rusty. I do remember Hughes' phone call though. I cannot vouch that Irving was present on the broadcast or not. Veil of time and all that.....

Posted by: Jinx the Cat at May 04, 2014 08:03 AM (N7iJs)

101 I remember going out with some friends with a microscope, the next day these weirdos were dead. With a telescope surely. But they were the Celestial Temple and the comet was Hale-Bopp.

Posted by: boulder t'hobo at May 04, 2014 08:04 AM (30eLQ)

102 This man who was an Asian Indian-Sundar Singh-was converted to Christianity having had had a vision of Jesus. He was an itinerant missionary and disappeared in the foothills of the Himalayas. His various theological reflections are interesting. He was what I would call a Christian mystic: http://www.ccel.org/s/singh

Posted by: FenelonSpoke at May 04, 2014 08:04 AM (XyM/Y)

103 I only reread books about roses this time of year & the bimonthly ARS magazines that I have gotten during winter months. I forget new tips & products unless I read them when I can use them. I've got roses to plant today, still. I didn't go outside until later in the day yesterday. I hope everyone has a nice Sunday afternoon.

Posted by: Carol at May 04, 2014 08:05 AM (gjOCp)

104 It seems some of the "Christian" frauds may have been suffering from mental illness, which would make them not as evil as the others.

Posted by: chique d'afrique (the artist formerly known as african chick) at May 04, 2014 08:06 AM (r+7wo)

105 Hale-Bopp was a boring dud. 

I was the precursor to SMOD.  No  one worships me.  I'm a sad, sad comet.

Posted by: Schumaker-Levy at May 04, 2014 08:07 AM (BeSEI)

106 I know that I can look this up, but who is Clifford Irving; Pardon my ignorance.

Posted by: FenelonSpoke at May 04, 2014 08:08 AM (XyM/Y)

107 Just amazing in that I was reading about Warnke a week or so ago online. He dropped out of sight and then came back and is slowly trying to build up a base of support. Money is the strongest lure of all to these hucksters.

Posted by: Dack Thrombosis at May 04, 2014 08:09 AM (oFCZn)

108 Recommended: False Impressions—The Hunt for Big-Time Art Fakes by Thomas Hoving.   A wonderful nonfiction introduction to the science of exposing art frauds and an amazing rogue's gallery of characters.

Posted by: richard mcenroe at May 04, 2014 08:10 AM (XO6WW)

109 107 -

Claimed to have the Howard Hughes  diaries(?),  and sold them for hundreds of thousands of dollars before Hughes himself came out of seclusion to declare him  a  fraud. 

Posted by: Schumaker-Levy at May 04, 2014 08:12 AM (BeSEI)

110 I know that I can look this up, but who is Clifford Irving; Pardon my ignorance.

Was responsible for writing a fake 'autobiography' of reclusive billionaire Howard Hughes. Did jail time for it.

Posted by: OregonMuse at May 04, 2014 08:12 AM (fTJ5O)

111 Money is the strongest lure of all to these hucksters. Good thing there's none of that in the field of secular Christian scholarship. Heard the one about gay bathhouse Jesus who was gay?

Posted by: Morton Smith at May 04, 2014 08:12 AM (30eLQ)

112 Im actually just doing a lot of writing this week. I should have a short story for the horde's consumption by next week. A thriller/satire about PC in the workplace run even more amuck. Although, at the rate we're going it may not be satire by next week...

Posted by: Lauren at May 04, 2014 08:12 AM (ejehg)

113

Ok, BTH, I missed a  letter.  I still have a photo from the microscope from out in Whitewater and another from the shores of lake Michigan.  Totally different but the same.

 

And those people are still dead.

Posted by: Infidel at May 04, 2014 08:13 AM (pTP6v)

114 In all seriousness, "Hop on Pop" is absolutely brilliant. Its really one of the best books I've ever seen for teaching small kids (2-3) to learn how to read.

Posted by: looking closely at May 04, 2014 08:14 AM (TZsWx)

115 They'd brought over a lot of Berbers, see.
Oh no! Boulder t'hobo is channeling Edward G. Robinson!
The power of Bogart compels you! The power of Bogart compels you!

Posted by: [/i]andycanuck[/b] at May 04, 2014 08:14 AM (9IMoS)

116 Okay, telescope.  I need sleep.

Posted by: Infidel at May 04, 2014 08:16 AM (pTP6v)

117 72 Hi baldilocks, hope you are doing well. I know the temptation is great, but please don't feed the troll. Thanks. Posted by: OregonMuse at May 04, 2014 11:34 AM (fTJ5O) Got it. I pray you are well, too!

Posted by: baldilocks at May 04, 2014 08:16 AM (36Rjy)

118 [Warnke] dropped out of sight and then came back and is slowly trying to build up a base of support.

I larfed when he said he 'forgave' the Cornerstone guys for, basically, exposing him as a liar.

Posted by: OregonMuse at May 04, 2014 08:17 AM (fTJ5O)

119 Okay, bookworms, it's been 2.5 hours.

Posted by: Soothsayer § at May 04, 2014 08:20 AM (oNNJp)

120 99 What was the name of the freaks that killed themselves during the Hale Bop Comet? I remember going out with some friends with a microscope, the next day these weirdos were dead. That comet must have been much smaller than I remember if you were observing it with a microscope. "Heavens Gate". Believe it or not, there was a survivor. Some blond chick. They found her under the sink in the compound. She was looking for the Comet.

Posted by: Weirddave at May 04, 2014 08:21 AM (N/cFh)

121 And let me just say in a completely partisan way that if anyone could use a vision of Jesus to get them out of the death cult of radical lIslam it would be women who are oppressed. distressed and subjugated by it. ****DIsclaimer-Yes, I understand that are lovely Muslims who are egalitarian and fine people. They aren't the ones who are doing the stonings.

Posted by: FenelonSpoke at May 04, 2014 08:21 AM (XyM/Y)

122 Phew book thread is still up, I had a good book I wanted to tell you guys about. It is called "Bomb" by Steve Sheinkin. It is a scholastic book for middle grades. But I read it too and it was a great account of the making of the atomic bomb and the Russian spies who stole the plans. I was concerned it would be revisionist and anti-bomb, but it wasn't. The author did an amazing job of using source material to tell the story. I learned a lot about the making of the atomic bomb that I never knew.

Posted by: ParanoidGirlinSeattle at May 04, 2014 08:22 AM (+0txR)

123 weirddave, yeah you're right. I was thinking of, uh, Deep Space Nine. I'll go hide in the barrel now

Posted by: boulder t'hobo at May 04, 2014 08:22 AM (30eLQ)

124 Thanks for the tip, PGiS, that's exactly the kind of book my son reads!!

Posted by: Lizzy at May 04, 2014 08:25 AM (8zTpe)

125 121 -

Re:  the survivor...

Heh. 

Posted by: BurtTC at May 04, 2014 08:25 AM (BeSEI)

126 "Heavens Gate". Believe it or not, there was a survivor. Some blond chick. They found her under the sink in the compound. She was looking for the Comet. Posted by: Weirddave at May 04, 2014 12:21 PM (N/cFh) nyuck nyuck

Posted by: baldilocks at May 04, 2014 08:26 AM (36Rjy)

127 I think it would be sort of fun (probably because I'm a former theatre type) to go into a library in some liberal town and pretend to be some crazy leftist who wants a book removed for the most ridiculous reasons. I mean "Hop on Pop" because it promotes violence?!! Someone could come up with something worse that that and do it with a completely serious demeanor. And no, I'm advocating books be removed. It would be an acting exercise and to see if the librarians would catch on.

Posted by: FenelonSpoke at May 04, 2014 08:27 AM (XyM/Y)

128 I don't know if non-Canadian-ISP users can view the video but here's looking at whether a work was a genuine Vermeer, a period work by a different artist or a Van Meegeren fake from the Fake or Fortune? show.

In 1945 Van Meegeren was charged with treason for selling Vermeer national treasures to the Nazi hierarchy; his (true) defence was that he had been forging them so he was innocent of treason. He "won" so was convicted of fraud-related charges only and sentenced to one year in prison but died before serving any time.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Han_van_Meegeren

I hope you can watch the show. It's interesting.

Posted by: [/i]andycanuck[/b] at May 04, 2014 08:29 AM (9IMoS)

129    If you want to really see some creative forms of cheating, lying, and outright fraud, just check out what passes for the martial arts community in this country. 


      There are all kinds of MA frauds out there.  Guys claiming they can kill people with a single touch (but can't prove it, obviously, because they don't want to go to prison.  Just Google "Count Dante" and "Dim Mak" for some cheap laughs.)  Stories of 80-year-old Chinese/Japanese/Korean/etc... "masters" who can use their chi (or ki) to do all sorts of crazy things.  Self defense instructors (that were, naturally, SEALs in Vietnam, snipers in the CIA, etc...) who claim that they can teach petite women to beat the crap out of multiple male attackers in only 5 or 6 sessions.  And on and on....

       One of the good things about the explosive spread of mixed martial arts and grappling in the last 20 years is the dampening effect it has had on the bizarre and outrageous claims that used to be taken as gospel truth when I was a kid.  But there are still lots of martial arts bullshitters out there and I think they are pretty much a permanent part of that community now....

Posted by: Pave Low John at May 04, 2014 08:30 AM (NSdTG)

130 What was the name of the freaks that killed themselves during the Hale Bop Comet? - They cut off their balls for a free comet ride.

Posted by: WalrusRex at May 04, 2014 08:32 AM (Mogjf)

131 Oh yeah.  I remember Michael Warnke.


This week I finished Corrie Ten Boom's sequel to her classic "The Hiding Place", entitled "Tramp for the Lord".  It details Miss Ten Boom's journey following her release from the Nazi prison camp where the rest of her family died for hiding Jews during the war.  When the war ended and she was liberated, she went on to become a zealous missionary for the Lord, and was a much sought-after speaker up until the time of her death. 

The title references the fact that she never had a place of her own following the end of WW2.  She traveled all over the work from place to place, telling the Gospel message of forgiveness and redemption out of a suitcase well into her  80s. 

Now I'm going to go back and re-read her original "Hiding Place".

Posted by: grammie winger at May 04, 2014 08:33 AM (oMKp3)

132 #129 Oops. The show is hot-linked in my sock. There are probably parts/all of it on YouTube too.

Posted by: [/i]andycanuck[/b] at May 04, 2014 08:33 AM (9IMoS)

133 I was going to suggest banning Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What do you See because of it's negative views on voyeurism and lettuce-guacamole-bacon-tomato BBQ sandwich lifestyle, but they tried to ban it for other reasons.

Posted by: Kindltot at May 04, 2014 08:34 AM (BsFYx)

134 Okay, bookworms, it's been 2.5 hours.

OK, this is the part where we DANCE!

Posted by: OregonMuse at May 04, 2014 08:34 AM (fTJ5O)

135 Okay, bookworms, it's been 2.5 hours.

Break time's over. Get back on your heads.

Posted by: OregonMuse at May 04, 2014 08:34 AM (fTJ5O)

136 129 -

Nope.  Can't be viewed in the normal world, apparently. 

Posted by: BurtTC at May 04, 2014 08:35 AM (BeSEI)

137 Am I the only one who didn't know that they release book trailers now?  This looks cool.  I just might buy it.   Which I guess is the point of book trailers, eh?



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lhhx4hNDzYI

Posted by: grammie winger at May 04, 2014 08:36 AM (oMKp3)

138 >>"Heavens Gate". Believe it or not, there was a survivor. Some blond chick. They found her under the sink in the compound. She was looking for the Comet. Posted by: Weirddave I thought they scrubbed that story.

Posted by: Aviator at May 04, 2014 08:37 AM (3rrMW)

139 OK, now is the time for the part where we DANCE! http://tinyurl.com/meln4vf

Posted by: WalrusRex at May 04, 2014 08:40 AM (Mogjf)

140 130 -

There's a movie,  possibly  not quite the same thing you are talking about, called  "The Foot-Fist Way," with Danny McBride.

I  haven't seen it, some people say it's funny, but McBride's work is very hit-and-miss (no pun  intended). 

Posted by: BurtTC at May 04, 2014 08:40 AM (BeSEI)

141 re book trailers on Youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pxBTP8dGT1s Here is one for Harry Harrison's West of Eden trilogy - (Dinosaur civilization trying to wipe out the hunter-gatherer human civlization) in Hungarian translation. It's pulled together from clips for lost world and 10,000 BC but it makes the book look really exciting. There are some in Russian for the Zelazny's Chronicals of Amber too

Posted by: Kindltot at May 04, 2014 08:43 AM (BsFYx)

142 Oh, I forgot.  I also read John Hagee's "Four Blood Moons".  Long on scripture, short on getting to the point.  I think I was halfway through the book before he ever started discussing the astronomical phenomena and its relationship to the Jewish calendar.    Interesting, but the writing style kind of gets in the way.  At least it did for me.  YMMV.

Posted by: grammie winger at May 04, 2014 08:44 AM (oMKp3)

143 And one of my favorite stories about a "vision" of Jesus concerns John Woolman who lived from 1720-1772. He was a tailor in Burlington NJ and a Quaker and felt compelled to speak against slavery. He travelledaround the colonies urging the Quakers lovingly and gently to give up their slaves. He says in his "Journal"- which is a diary about his life and convictions and well worth a read-that he was resting in a house one evening. It was a moonless night yet suddenly there was about a nine inch strip of light on the bedroom floor with a larger part of the center. He "heard" a voice. It wasn't audible but it wasn't his own thinking he said, and it said. "Certain evidence of divine truth" which was repeated again. Then the light and the voice disappeared. He felt it was a confirmation of his mission against slavery. John Woolman was a luminescent personality and I think a completely truthful man, so if he says he had a vision of light and a message I believe him. He also has some wonderful essays on various religious topics including peace and the use of money (in a thoughtful way). He downsized his business so he wouldn't be tempted by having too many things and making money into an idol.

Posted by: FenelonSpoke at May 04, 2014 08:45 AM (XyM/Y)

144 Speaking of banned books, did you know that when the Diary of Anne Frank was first published her father had scrubbed the sex scene from it? There is an excellent exhibit at the New York Public Library right now called The ABC of it, why Children's Books Matter. If you are in New York and love books I recommend seeing it. It is at the one with the lions on 5th avenue.

Posted by: ParanoidGirlinSeattle at May 04, 2014 08:45 AM (+0txR)

145 #138

I agree, grammie, that's an impressively constructed book trailer. I'll have to check out the book.

Posted by: OregonMuse at May 04, 2014 08:47 AM (fTJ5O)

146 Posted by: grammie winger at May 04, 2014 12:33 PM (oMKp3) Sounds like a good book. I haven;'t read that one. Thanks for the recommendation, Grammie Winger/ Are you feeling any better dear?

Posted by: FenelonSpoke at May 04, 2014 08:49 AM (XyM/Y)

147 I can tell you anecdotally that my father hated "Hop on Pop," because I ignored the warning not to. But when you have a kid with behavioral problems, and you're in advanced cirrhosis with a distended belly, you really should have seen that coming.

Of course those things probably indicate one isn't capable of making wise choices.

Posted by: Oschisms at May 04, 2014 08:51 AM (oSS/M)

148 Posted by: whatmeworry? at May 04, 2014 10:25 AM (dZGNV) I'm also reading 'Speaker', and enjoying it so far. It was one of those books I've had sitting around for years and never got to. But someone loaned me the movie "Enders Game", so I figured I'd give it a try. Funny thing is I wanted to re-read Ender first, but I can't find it. But as I was rooting around some boxes came across books that I had no idea I had. A lot of old sci-fi books that my brother had given me, including a number by RA Lafferty whom we were discussing several weeks ago. So now I have more stuff to read then I know what to do with. Or even where to start. Posted by: HH I read Ender's Game last year and just finished Speaker for the Dead a few days ago. Loved it. I had some difficult moments with parts of it in that biologist characters should not act the way these do but somehow Card makes it work. If you have a similar background just let it go as the payoff is fantastic. Impressive. Daybrother says, "check it out". Great post BTW. Reminds me of "The Denial Symptom™". So many things are assigned TDS to make them work: You: "The Rosenbergs are still claiming their parents were innocent and promised never to do it again. What frauds." Troll: "Well, you're a Conservative. Conservatives are always in denial about the People's Truth".

Posted by: Daybrother at May 04, 2014 08:52 AM (rQ3Sg)

149 A fascinating post and comments.
Anyone else smell something rotten about "Heaven is For Real" or am I just being crusty?  NDE have some interesting revalations, but that one doesn't pass the test.

Posted by: Dan Patterson at May 04, 2014 08:53 AM (sb5pD)

150 #130

When I was working in a book store in the early 90s, it was always notable when stocking the magazine rack that the martial arts mags were still obsessing over Bruce Lee twenty years after his death. Like JFK, it seems the worshipers couldn't accept the fact of his demise without a great conspiracy bringing it about.

Posted by: Epobirs at May 04, 2014 08:58 AM (Icq+V)

151 Posted by: Dan Patterson at May 04, 2014 12:53 PM (sb5pD) I haven't paid much attention to it since my grandmother (one of the most truthful people I've ever known) *had* a NDE. I'm not worried about heaven *not* being real.

Posted by: Polliwog the 'Ette at May 04, 2014 08:58 AM (GDulk)

152 91 Nassim Nicholas Taleb's recent "Antifragile: Things that Gain from Disorder" has stayed with me and set me to thinking.

In it, he develops the concept of "anti-fragility," which is not the same as robustness or resilience, but rather describes systems that adapt to disruption by actually becoming stronger, like bones or muscles.

This one got me to do a lot of thinking as well.  Of course, "The Black Swan" did as well.

Posted by: Charlotte at May 04, 2014 08:59 AM (euQHa)

153 I think it would be sort of fun (probably because I'm a former theatre type) to go into a library in some liberal town and pretend to be some crazy leftist who wants a book removed for the most ridiculous reasons. I mean "Hop on Pop" because it promotes violence?!! Someone could come up with something worse that that and do it with a completely serious demeanor.

And no, I'm advocating books be removed. It would be an acting exercise and to see if the librarians would catch on.

Posted by: FenelonSpoke at May 04, 2014 12:27 PM (XyM/Y)


You know, I wouldn't be surprised if that complaint about "Hop On Pop" at the Trawna Library wasn't somebody trying to mock leftard book bannings.

Posted by: Alberta Oil Peon at May 04, 2014 08:59 AM (TKUw7)

154 I read the book and saw the film. I think the kid saw what he claims he saw and there were a lot of things that seemed too unusual to be made up. Plus, call me naive but I'd like to think the pastor is a truthful guy.

Posted by: FenelonSpoke at May 04, 2014 09:00 AM (XyM/Y)

155 5 Half way through Leviathan Wakes by Corey. Really enjoying it. Natural character development that doesn't feel forced. Everything moves the story forward with little extra fluff. I'll be pushing it on people based on progress so far. Posted by: Todd Wiley at May 04, 2014 10:08 AM (lrkg9) That is a pseudonym and the book is by two people, Check out the Dragon's Path

Posted by: Patrick from Ohio at May 04, 2014 09:01 AM (b6koZ)

156 "... or am I just being crusty?" Posted by: Dan Patterson I saw an interview where it was revealed that the boy did not actually code but, "Kids that sick could go just at any moment". Strike one. Kid's father just happens to be a Pastor. Strike two. Last interview I saw kid says he can't remember much now except that you absolutely have to accept Jesus Christ as Lord to go to heaven; no other way to afterlife. That is Three. Call me Crusty.

Posted by: Daybrother at May 04, 2014 09:04 AM (eqgxe)

157 Working my way through *Cally's War.* It's a good enough story, but ... well, I'm one President older than Vic, and for my tastes, there's entirely too much graphic sex, which makes it almost embarrassing to read the book. Is the rest of the series this way, or can an old lady read it without feeling, "Yuck, way TMI"?

Posted by: Empire1 at May 04, 2014 09:05 AM (NILeI)

158 Plus it's explained in the movie that his son didn't have a near death experience. Those usually come from people whose heart has stopped. This kid was very very sick but he didn't die clinically. He says he had a vision. Some of these things are made up, but since I read a lot of Christian mystics who claim to have had visions of Jesus while alive or have miraculous experiences-that others attest to them I can't completely discount it.

Posted by: FenelonSpoke at May 04, 2014 09:05 AM (XyM/Y)

159 And no, I'm advocating books be removed. It would be an acting exercise and to see if the librarians would catch on. - Lonesome Dove is about a bunch of violent red neck racist who are trying to profit from bovine murder and commit a little genocide on the way.

Posted by: WalrusRex at May 04, 2014 09:07 AM (Mogjf)

160 Here's the YouTube of the Van Meegeren episode...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GTYbv295a74

Posted by: [/i]andycanuck[/b] at May 04, 2014 09:08 AM (9IMoS)

161 Your callousness never ceases to amaze. What of all the poor, abused pops across this great land? Will nobody think of them?

Posted by: A Hopped-On Pop Who Has Had Enough at May 04, 2014 09:08 AM (IN7k+)

162 I listened to Dave Barry's latest, and there was nothing new under the sun. It was mostly the same old jokes. On the other hand, I also listened to "Insane City" which is a Dave Barry novel and it had its moments. I am currently reading "Gulp" by Mary Roach and it's very entertaining. Out of my ridiculous mass of library books, I have pulled to read next a book on dog body language, and something called "Sex with the Queen" which is, I'm guessing, about various scandals involving sex with queens.

Posted by: Tonestaple at May 04, 2014 09:08 AM (B7YN4)

163 @64 I mean pig murder. Posted by: Bertram Cabot Jr. at May 04, 2014 11:28 AM (27KaM) **** Not necessarily. You should meet my three-legged pig some day. He's a hero after all.

Posted by: S. Muldoon at May 04, 2014 09:09 AM (mvenn)

164 You know, I wouldn't be surprised if that complaint about "Hop On Pop" at the Trawna Library wasn't somebody trying to mock leftard book bannings.
I have an alibi. Honest.

Posted by: [/i]andycanuck[/b] at May 04, 2014 09:09 AM (9IMoS)

165 I had a heart attack where my heart did stop and they brought me back. I remember watching everything from above. It just wasn't my time. My brothers said I probably saw flames and just started running back. Gotta love the family.

Posted by: abbygirl at May 04, 2014 09:09 AM (iR4Dg)

166 Oh Captain Hate. Something to add to your reading pile. Just stumbled across it on Gutenberg. No idea of value of such.

Christianity and Islam in Spain by C.R. Haines, MA. 1889
http://www.gutenberg.org/files/15262/15262-h/15262-h.htm

Posted by: Anna Puma (+SmuD) at May 04, 2014 11:24 AM (/FZPk)



Just saw this; thanks for the heads up and the subsequent comment by boulder t'hobo.  The Horde is my most valued source for history book advice.

Posted by: Captain Hate at May 04, 2014 09:13 AM (C2UDb)

167 RE: "Heaven is Real" I work with sick children enough to treat this tale with a healthy dose of skepticism. Parents who are anguished over sick or dying children will do a whole lot of projecting. I once knew a family whose son got on the Make-A-Wish program. His wish was a family trip to Hawaii. Oh, he was two years old, and as we all know, every two-year-old dreams of going to Hawaii.

Posted by: S. Muldoon at May 04, 2014 09:13 AM (mvenn)

168 Plus, call me naive but I'd like to think the pastor is a truthful guy. Posted by: FenelonSpoke I don't think you are naive, personally I'm just very cynical. I happen to be very religious and a big collector of NDE stories but that doesn't mean I'm buying it. Then again I'm often wrong; and sometimes about important things.

Posted by: Daybrother at May 04, 2014 09:13 AM (c//Hw)

169 I'm not really interested in reading the heaven vision books. Too skeptical. I know heaven is real and out of this world (literally and figuratively speaking) but I don't trust human beings. I'm not saying I think they're all fake. Not saying I disbelieve them. I just choose not to believe them, if you catch my drift. Someone's vision of heaven is just not that important to me, and I'm not that curious either.

Posted by: chique d'afrique (the artist formerly known as african chick) at May 04, 2014 09:18 AM (r+7wo)

170 Also, the little boy says that the Jesus he saw didn't have long hair. That to me argues in favor of it being real. He was four years old-the only pictures of Jesus he would be likely to be exposed to would be the ones that was shown in books with Jesus with long hair. If it's made up why not say Jesus had long hair It's kind of related to the Shroud of Turin. I think it's real (for one reason) because the nail marks are in the wrists-not in the hands. The only pictures (artwork) of Jesus from the time the shroud came to light show the crucified Jesus with nails marks in his hands , which is not how crucifixion was done. I wasn't intending to get off topic on the Shroud of Turin. It's just that my high functioning autistic son is fascinated by it and is reading lots of the websites and books. Fenelon Jr thinks it's real and at the moment describes himself as a Deist. Have a nice afternoon everyone. I am about to hit the hay. I always get tired after Sunday services because I really am an introvert who has to function as a extrovert for that time period. :^) Also, i didn't want to get on the wall of shame and I'm headed there. ;^) I always enjoy the book thread and the contributions of everyone. Thanks OM.

Posted by: FenelonSpoke at May 04, 2014 09:19 AM (XyM/Y)

171 You guys are concerned with near death experiences. I still trying to have a near life experience.

Posted by: WalrusRex at May 04, 2014 09:20 AM (Mogjf)

172 163: _Gulp_ is very good, though you might not want to read it just before (or after) eating. Great bathroom reading, though.

Posted by: Trimegistus at May 04, 2014 09:22 AM (VJAV8)

173 You want to know the truth about a near-death experience. You'd settle for having a near-life experience. You'll get a near-beer experience.

Posted by: S. Muldoon at May 04, 2014 09:23 AM (mvenn)

174 Someone gave me the book and kept asking me about it. Since they were a congregation member I didn't want to not read it, but I don't make a habit of reading this sort of thing.

Posted by: FenelonSpoke at May 04, 2014 09:23 AM (XyM/Y)

175 I'm proudly from a Pentecostal background and we have our share of kooks. I believe in miracles and healings (seen them first hand in my own family) and the gifts of the Spirit, but I still keep a skeptical but open mind. I'm so glad my Assemblies of God church approaches these things in a biblical way instead of the forced showiness that can be found in some other churches.

Posted by: chique d'afrique (the artist formerly known as african chick) at May 04, 2014 09:24 AM (r+7wo)

176 Not a near death experience of a vision of heaven, but my kid had an interesting experience with an angel once.

He was about 5 or 6 and we were teaching him how to ride a two-wheeler.  He's about 3 houses down from us when his foot slips off the pedal and gets caught in the spokes and he starts to fall.  We hear a giant wrenching CRACK as his ankle got all twisted up and his foot went in a very wrong direction from his leg.  So we ran over to him, I'm freaking out, expecting to deal with a compound fracture.

We get over to him, he stands up just fine.  Not even a wince.  Then he says to me, "Mom, who was that man that caught me and got my foot out of the bike?"  We should say thank you to him ". 


Posted by: grammie winger at May 04, 2014 09:25 AM (oMKp3)

177 The Lost Regiment about a Civil war regiment that gets transported to an alien world, and the people they find there are Human but still in the Medieval times. Then they find out that the peasants are really just food for the dominant Alien Race.

Posted by: Patrick from Ohio at May 04, 2014 09:26 AM (b6koZ)

178 "We have our share of kooks" LOL. Take care everyone.

Posted by: FenelonSpoke at May 04, 2014 09:27 AM (XyM/Y)

179 Hi Grammie winger. The Bible does say people have entertained angels unawares. That's an amazing story. Praise be to God.

Posted by: chique d'afrique (the artist formerly known as african chick) at May 04, 2014 09:28 AM (r+7wo)

180 Posted by: grammie winger at May 04, 2014 01:25 PM (oMKp3) Tangible expressions of grace and mercy are awe inspiring. I guess that's sort of the point though?

Posted by: Polliwog the 'Ette at May 04, 2014 09:28 AM (GDulk)

181 Bye FenelonSpoke. Enjoy the rest of your day!

Posted by: chique d'afrique (the artist formerly known as african chick) at May 04, 2014 09:29 AM (r+7wo)

182 Posted by: chique d'afrique (the artist formerly known as african chick) at May 04, 2014 01:24 PM (r+7wo) I have *personally* experienced both a vision and miraculous healing. When I say "My bones *know* my savior is and that he's alive" I mean it literally.

Posted by: Polliwog the 'Ette at May 04, 2014 09:30 AM (GDulk)

183 Not saying I disbelieve them. I just choose not to believe them, if you catch my drift. Like FenelonSpoke I also have read a lot of Western Christian mystics. Belief is a very personal experience. One of the most under rated movies ever IMO was, Contact. The Ellie Character is an atheist and yet she experiences the same disbelief for her "conversion" as she showed Palmer Joss for his.

Posted by: Daybrother at May 04, 2014 09:30 AM (tAI3S)

184 Praise be to God.

Posted by: chique d'afrique (the artist formerly known as african chick) at May 04, 2014 01:28 PM (r+7wo)




Amen.

Posted by: grammie winger at May 04, 2014 09:31 AM (oMKp3)

185 I have *personally* experienced both a vision and miraculous healing. When I say "My bones *know* my savior is and that he's alive" I mean it literally.

Posted by: Polliwog the 'Ette at May 04, 2014 01:30 PM (GDulk)



Me too.   Same here.

Posted by: grammie winger at May 04, 2014 09:32 AM (oMKp3)

186 If you go to the Omaha Herald website: http://tinyurl.com/lax3auo there is an article that is set to become a book, about a Rembrandt painting in the Joslyn museum that was demoted to basement storage as a student version and later rescued by the Rembrandt Project, restored, and back on display this weekend. Great article on art history, how paintings are proved or disproved, and Rembrandt. Will make a good book when it comes out, if you dig art history and how frauds, copies,and 'school of's' get sorted out.

Posted by: OG Celtic-American at May 04, 2014 09:33 AM (W7zKe)

187 I was at a friends Baptism and after the ceremony the GrandParents went up to the Priest and thanked him for saying it in Polish for them as they don't speak English that well, the Priest said he was talking in English the whole time.

Posted by: Patrick from Ohio at May 04, 2014 09:33 AM (b6koZ)

188 We get over to him, he stands up just fine. Not even a wince. Then he says to me, "Mom, who was that man that caught me and got my foot out of the bike?" We should say thank you to him ". Posted by: grammie winger That story I can believe.

Posted by: Daybrother at May 04, 2014 09:34 AM (mIilc)

189 During a time of worship and prayer in a hotel room near Disney Land, my Dad was instantaneously healed of pain that had been plaguing him for years and years. Even when he got sick and eventually passed away 2 decades later, that particular pain never returned. Another healing took place in the family that day.

Posted by: chique d'afrique (the artist formerly known as african chick) at May 04, 2014 09:35 AM (r+7wo)

190 Posted by: Patrick from Ohio at May 04, 2014 01:33 PM (b6koZ) I love the way G-d shows people he loves them and knows their need.

Posted by: Polliwog the 'Ette at May 04, 2014 09:36 AM (GDulk)

191 By the way. I was there. We were on a family vacation.

Posted by: chique d'afrique (the artist formerly known as african chick) at May 04, 2014 09:37 AM (r+7wo)

192 Posted by: OG Celtic-American at May 04, 2014 01:33 PM (W7zKe) Art authentication seems to be a *very* challenging field.

Posted by: Polliwog the 'Ette at May 04, 2014 09:38 AM (GDulk)

193 I have a copy of the original Leftist's 'F is for Fake': "The Gentle Tasaday" by John Nance. Stone-aged people living in a cave in the Philippines. Follow the money!

Posted by: Cicero Kid at May 04, 2014 09:40 AM (Fp7JI)

194 Gotta go. Enjoy the day all.

Posted by: Daybrother at May 04, 2014 09:41 AM (e1X4T)

195 Posted by: Cicero Kid at May 04, 2014 01:40 PM (Fp7JI) Were the Tasaday fictional or just their gentleness?

Posted by: Polliwog the 'Ette at May 04, 2014 09:42 AM (GDulk)

196 Posted by: chique d'afrique (the artist formerly known as african chick) at May 04, 2014 01:35 PM (r+7wo) Awesome! I've been meaning to ask since you're the resident Nigeria expert, is the area all those schoolgirls have been kidnapped from anywhere near your hometown/city? I have to admit to having only a hazy idea of the geography there.

Posted by: Polliwog the 'Ette at May 04, 2014 09:44 AM (GDulk)

197 OT: What Donks think Mostest importantest thing ever: Washington Redskins racist name. Completest waste of time: Benghazi lies.

Posted by: WalrusRex at May 04, 2014 09:58 AM (Mogjf)

198 31 Too bad about Warnke. The guy was actually pretty funny. Posted by: Insomniac at May 04, 2014 10:50 AM (mx5oN) ---------------------------- Yeah he was. His was one of the few concerts I attended as a teen. But I guess he taught me a lesson about both me and the modern church believing what we wanted to believe about people. His claims were easily tested and found lacking, but no one bothered until "Cornerstone" because he said what we wanted to hear. Heck, I know that one of his wives(Rose I think) had already written "The Great Pretender" exposing him before "Cornerstone" came out with their exposé, but no one paid it any attention.

Posted by: 29Victor at May 04, 2014 10:01 AM (ES9R7)

199 An interesting, at least to me, novel about fraud is Umberto Eco's "The Prague Cemetery".


It concerns a master forger in Europe during the mid to late 1800's. He has a personality disorder , knows it, but does what he does best.  His crowning achievement is The Protocols of the Elders of Zion.


Just be warned. It's Eco, and maybe not to everyone's taste. But I liked it.

Posted by: HH at May 04, 2014 10:05 AM (XXwdv)

200 50 "Brunelleschi 's Dome" was excellent as was "Michaelangelo and the Pope's Ceiling".

Posted by: Tuna at May 04, 2014 10:06 AM (7KPIw)

201 Hi Polliwog, I'm no expert - I stopped keeping up with Nigerian news a while ago. They were kidnapped in the heavily Islamic north. It's quite dangerous to be a Christian or the wrong kind of Muslim up there. They were burning churches even back when I was a kid, but things weren't terrible. They started getting really bad when our awful military (Muslim) dictator died in the early 2000s, I believe, much to the glee and rejoicing of Nigerians across the globe. But as we know, nasty dictators can be good at clamping down in religious violence. So we got a new "Christian" (LOL) president and northern states started declaring sharia law up and down in a secular country. And now, we have Boko Haram, which is still mind boggling to me. We are not a suicide-anything culture, even the Muslims. At least before. Anyway, my family lives in the South, which is majority Christian and is far away from all of that horrible stuff. And the Muslims in the south (mostly Yoruba) are actually those elusive moderate Muslims. Many have intermarried with Christians for a long time. Which is why I think the Northern Muslims don't consider them to be authentic. I think my mom visited the states where the girls were kidnapped for some Christian type of work a couple of months ago. Thankfully she's fine.

Posted by: chique d'afrique (the artist formerly known as african chick) at May 04, 2014 10:09 AM (r+7wo)

202 Ok. Gotta go. It was nice hanging out with you guys, even if I haven't read a book in years.

Posted by: chique d'afrique (the artist formerly known as african chick) at May 04, 2014 10:11 AM (r+7wo)

203 Posted by: chique d'afrique (the artist formerly known as african chick) at May 04, 2014 02:09 PM (r+7wo) Thanks for the info Chique.

Posted by: Polliwog the 'Ette at May 04, 2014 10:21 AM (GDulk)

204 Next up on the reading list:  "The Edge of Normal" by Carla Norton.  The wife read it and praised it to high heaven.  A true crime story (Norton's specialty) but with excellent character development.  Seems to get a lot of mainstream notice and wide sales too.

Just finished Paul Johnson's "The History of the Jews."  Most excellent both for historical settings and for the development of the theology.  It was hard to put down.

Half way through "Ratification - The People Debate the Constitution 1787-1788" by Pauline Maier."  It is depressing to see all the flaws and weaknesses criticized by the opponents of ratification that have come true.  However, it was great to watch as the Americans worked together and compromised to get a workable constitution in place.

Posted by: Whitehall at May 04, 2014 10:34 AM (k876Y)

205 I just came across an interesting except from a book published in 2005. It's in a piece over at The Last Refuge (aka The Conservative Treehouse):
http://tinyurl.com/k7v7e3g

The book is "Some Assembly Required" by Maxine Lee. They have all of the first chapter and en excerpt from chapter 2. It contains Lee's memories from growing up. She was born in South Dakota in 1929 and the excerpt has her at ages 5-6.

I'm a sucker for these kind of stories - told from the innocence of a child's perspective - yet still providing a window into a particular time in our country's history.

Oddly, they don't link to anyplace you can buy the book. I did find a signed edition at Amazon, but obviously, that isn't an ebook.
http://tinyurl.com/ng2lbk5

Anyway, the excerpt is an interesting read, so I thought I'd pass it along.

Posted by: Anon Y. Mous at May 04, 2014 10:42 AM (IN7k+)

206 Instead of "Heaven Is For Real" I recommend Eben Alexander's "Proof of Heaven" because it's written from the point of view of a skeptic and a credentialed doctor who was gravely ill, in a coma, and recovered. It is scholarly at times but entirely uplifting. I don't think he used a ghostwriter the way many of those in this genre have, so it rings true. He is also putting his money where his mouth is, so to speak, and has really begun a network of those who have had Near Death Experiences and is actively exploring the phenomenon both from a faith and science point of view.

Posted by: Marta Richards at May 04, 2014 10:45 AM (GVA22)

207 Hop on Pop... instructions were a little confusing.

Posted by: Sun-Yi Previn, too lazy to check if this sock has been worn at May 04, 2014 10:56 AM (KVnkf)

208 Concerning "Hop On Pop", I shamelessly quote myself (from VodkaPundit):

"Heck, read "The Wind in the Willows" with a PC-adapted eye, sometime. Rampant lawlessness, transvestitism, vigilantism, racial stereotyping and violence and more!

I suppose the transvestitism would get a pass, though."

Posted by: PersonFromPorlock at May 04, 2014 11:03 AM (UYiBe)

209 <i>[74]"The Necklace (al-`Iqd)"<i>

This looked amusing so I googled it. Vols. I and II are on archive.org. The same version you're quoting (Garnet). Yay!

Posted by: microcosme at May 04, 2014 11:11 AM (KvsiG)

210 Sorry I don't think my html code worked.....

Posted by: microcosme at May 04, 2014 11:11 AM (KvsiG)

211 I just checked Clifford Irving's author page at amazon and in his bio, he implies that he got thrown in prison because his fake on Howard Hughes "pilloried Nixon." What a drama queen. On the other hand, I have read at least one of his mysteries - I think it was "Final Argument" - and, leaving aside the politics of the death penalty in Florida, it didn't suck.

Posted by: Tonestaple at May 04, 2014 11:20 AM (B7YN4)

212

Sorry I don't think my html code worked.....

And a good thing, too. If you look at it, you'll see you blew the closing italics tag, which would earned you a stint in the barrel.

Posted by: OregonMuse at May 04, 2014 11:38 AM (RwTMN)

213

I just checked Clifford Irving's author page at amazon and in his bio, he implies that he got thrown in prison because his fake on Howard Hughes "pilloried Nixon." What a drama queen.

This is typical behavior of hucksters when they get caught, namely, do anything to divert attention from the fact that everyone now knows they're complete frauds.

Warnke's been doing this for years.

Posted by: OregonMuse at May 04, 2014 11:43 AM (RwTMN)

214 Sorry I don't think my html code worked.....

Posted by: microcosme at May 04, 2014 03:11 PM (KvsiG)

I continue to be amazed at how many people will make humorous remarks about this particular issue without bothering to explain how to fix it.

This blog does not allow the use of html in comments.  The menu bar above the comment box shouldn't even be there, because it was disabled ages ago.

Instead, you can use BB code for simple formatting.  Basically it just substitutes square brackets for the "pointy" ones.  There are articles online that can explain it further if you are interested. 


Posted by: CQD at May 04, 2014 12:28 PM (tcvYF)

215 The American Revolution by Edward Countryman, some good background on the culture and mindset of the Colonies. The New Testament and the People of God,by NT Wright. Almost done with an illuminating and exhausting treatise, includingextensive discussion of the worldview of 1st Century Jews.

Posted by: Hal Dall at May 04, 2014 12:39 PM (qasbp)

216 Tom Kratman's latest Carreraverse novel is available in eARC at Baen's web site.

Me, I have been rereading The Unremembered Empire by Dan Abnett. I do love the WH40K novels.

Posted by: SGT Dan's Cat at May 04, 2014 02:05 PM (VZyOx)

217 Oh, before that I reread "And The Rain Came Down" by Army airborne vet and Texas gun owner Seth Anderson Bailey.

Posted by: SGT Dan's Cat at May 04, 2014 02:20 PM (VZyOx)

218 Back from a long and busy day at church. I enjoyed reading everyone's witness of God's grace and mercy. I, too, know that God is real. When I was about five, I decided to become an atheist. God let me know in a very real way that He does exist and that whether I chose to believe or not was up to me, but life would be less joyful if I turned my back on Him. Needless to say, I instantly gave up being an atheist. My faith wavers from time to time, but down deep in my core, I know that God lives and that we have a Savior.

Posted by: biancaneve at May 04, 2014 02:57 PM (2sR50)

219 troll this....

Posted by: Patrick in Michigan at May 04, 2014 03:20 PM (OhrW4)

220 Patrick, if you should drive your RV by the valley of the stupid, park in it

Posted by: boulder t'hobo at May 04, 2014 05:59 PM (30eLQ)

221 221 Ha!

Posted by: OregonMuse at May 04, 2014 06:48 PM (fTJ5O)

222 From the link for Harper Lee:


Lee was in the news last year when she sued her agent for copyright to “Mockingbird.” The author alleged that the son-in-law of her agent used her failing health to convince her to sign the copyright for “Mockingbird” over to him. The suit was settled, but Lee later sued the Monroe County Heritage Museum in her hometown of Monroeville, Ala. for allegedly exploiting her personality and trademark rights. The lawsuit was also later settled.


I love how this thread just keeps on going because I need to unburden myself.  I think the above quote identifies Harper Lee as a mercenary harridan who caught lightning in a bottle and is determined to make every fucking penny she can from it.  I like To Kill a Mockingbird ok but the effusive praise for it just drives me up the fucking wall.  After all, Flannery O'Connor mockingly pointed out that it's a "child's book".  I mainly picture a bunch of clueless white people (other than the opinion stated here, exactly like me) sitting around reading it wanting people to admire them for how fucking much they're enjoying it.  For the love of God, it's a fairly simple tale told pretty well  NOTHING MORE.  But instead we're supposed to genuflect to it as being some work of high culture.  Fuck that shit.


I feel unburdened.

Posted by: Captain Hate at May 04, 2014 06:56 PM (C2UDb)

223 I was at ground zero for the Cornerstone takedown of Mike Warnke. Living at JPUSA at the time, and travelled to the CBA convention in Dallas where that issue was released. Warnke was there at the time promoting his book "Healing from divorce" or somesuch, with his wife Rose, who had like 8 marriages between them. It was fascinating and sad.

Posted by: TexasDan at May 04, 2014 08:36 PM (OKrkW)

224 158 Working my way through *Cally's War.*

Posted by: Empire1 at May 04, 2014 01:05 PM (NILeI)

I think that one is the only one with excessive sex and a spy type story. All the others are action adventure/mil-sf. A Hymn Before Battle is the first in the series.

Posted by: gingeroni at May 05, 2014 08:16 AM (mbdiY)

225 I think the above quote identifies Harper Lee as a mercenary harridan who caught lightning in a bottle and is determined to make every fucking penny she can from it.

Hey Cap'n, when I first read that, I thought, wow, she certainly does like to sue people, doesn't she? So I agree with your assessment of her, but due to the lateness of the hour when I was compiling material for the book thread, I didn't have time to get into it. I was going to introduce her as 'one-hit wonder author Harper Lee", but that just seemed petty. It's the truth, though.

And it amazes me how long the book thread sometimes keeps going.

Posted by: OregonMuse at May 05, 2014 09:24 AM (I8YZX)

226 AWAKE IN THE NIGHT by John C. Wright is a free download on Amazon today http://t.co/vDCxS0DFG0

Posted by: BornLib at May 07, 2014 05:53 AM (zpNwC)

227 Redacted test .███████████

Posted by: Mike Hammer at May 07, 2014 11:03 AM (aDwsi)

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