Brett L
I have read just absolute trash for most of the month. Also, Breath, which seems like absolute fiction, but also hits me like Gary Taubes or Michael Pollen as truish enough to be worth examining some of the science in more depth. I’m not ready to tape my mouth shut when I sleep, but I do try to breath through my nose more when awake. I find the stuff about dental collapse absolutely fascinating. On the one hand, it doesn’t seem possible that if we just breathed through our nose and chewed more we’d have fewer dental problems, but on the other hand, it is not the first time I have heard that through a semi-credible source. Also, I have also been reading Captain Underpants to my children. Because it is important they internalize the lesson that school is a prison and the administration IS out to get you, personally.
mexican sharpshooter
Captain Underpants. No, seriously. Due to semi-homeschooling I was told to have my youngest read books with chapters. This fits the bill and soon I won’t have to help him read anymore. Which gives me more time for other pursuits.
They use a U to spell words like color, but there appears to be little else British about it.
OMWC
Classic “drugs falling out of my ass” this month for me, since it’s a book that’s old hat from most of you and gets mentioned regularly. Many years ago, I bought, devoured, and thoroughly enjoyed the first edition of Thomas Sowell’s Basic Economics. I gave it away to someone I thought could profit from it. Many years and many editions later, this book has grown so much, I popped for the thirty clams to get the current edition. And it is not only broadened in scope, it’s a lot more detailed and less breezy than Edition Prime. And that means, holy shit, it’s a delight.
SP
I’m reading the latest Scot Harvath installment from Brad Thor, book 19, Near Dark. For some reason, this one hasn’t grabbed me the same way that some others have. It’s possible that this is because I’ve missed a few books here and there; even though I’ve acquired them they just haven’t made it to the top of my TBR pile. I don’t know. But, along with my usual skimming past the rah-rah government and law enforcement bits, I’m just feeling kind of meh about this one.
Maybe it’s because Brad is using the old “tortured and drinking too much to cope” cliche. That generally turns me off a protagonist. There are many other ways to deal with the vagaries of life, and it would be more interesting, perhaps, if those were explored instead.
WebDom
I’m reading Backlash by Brad Thor. Backlash is the Scot Harvath installment right before SP’s current read Near Dark. So far my biggest issue with this book is that I don’t want to put it down and go to sleep. I meant to only read for 30 minutes last night. Three hours later I had to force myself to stop reading.
For Glibs unfamiliar with Scot Harvath, Harvath is a former SEAL who has a habit of foiling the bad guys’ plans. And — as I’ve learned in this book — Harvath has some pretty impressive survival skills which are being put to the test.
Backlash is a pretty quick read. I’ll probably finish it in the next day or two, and then I’m on to Near Dark.
I’ve also been skimming The Modern Herbal Dispensatory. My biggest takeaway from COVID so far is that I don’t want to be reliant on the system for things like food or medicine. I’ve been educating myself about how to use different medicinal herbs. This book has been quite informative and even goes so far as to talk about what preparation methods should be used for each part of the plant.
SugarFree
Among other things, I read two more overlooked horror novels from recommendations in Paperbacks From Hell by Grady Hendrix, both by Ken Greenhall: Elizabeth (1976) and Hell Hound (1977, variant title Baxter.)
They veer close to being the same story in many ways, alienated loners who don’t really understand the world and therefore feel free to manipulate or even destroy to get their way. And things go very, very wrong in so many delightful ways.
In Elizabeth, the character is a 14-year-old girl who believes herself possessed by an ancestor who was burned at the stake as a witch and speaks to her through mirrors. The plot and set-up are well-done but the star is the writing, all first-person by Elizabeth:
We pretended that our appetites could be satisfied with toast and cereal; that our knowledge of evil was limited to what we learned of it from our morning newspaper.
Hell Hound is the same conceit, but this time from the point-of-view view of a quite psychotic bull terrier who is unhappy to be the pet of a kindly old lady:
What are the possibilities of my strength? That is a thought I have never had before. What if some morning as the old woman stood at the head of the staircase she were suddenly to feel a weight thrusting against the back of her legs? What if she were to lunge forward, grasping at the air, striking her thin skull against the edge of a stair? What would become of me if she were found unmoving at the bottom of the stairway?
I am going to seek out his other novels; the narrative voice he writes in is so compelling.
STEVE SMITH
STEVE SMITH LIKE POETRY BOOK.
STEVE SMITH LIKE POETRY. HIM NEW POETRY BOOK HAVE GOOD POEM. IT CALLED “HATE BIRD”
Hate Bird, Hate Bird, foulest fowl.
Snapping beak below venomous scowl.
Floats aloft like a feathery dreg,
I need it like I need a hole in my leg.
I’m not currently reading other people’s works.
I am writing “Prince of the North Tower” and have passwd 105,000 words. I just have to finish the main plot, and it’s more or less a straight shot from where it’s at.
Once I finish that, I’m going back to “On Unkown Shores” From the pacing, it may end up being the middle book of a trilogy. Which is bad – because then I have to come up with a conclusion which isn’t anticlimactic.
Damn, that’s quite a password.
Don’t be too impressed its just P@ssw0rd 105,000 times.
(;
*contemplates how secure of a password that would be (assuming a maximum password length of 1M characters) *
We can First if we want to, we can leave your friends behind. Because if you don’t First and if you don’t First well your know friend of mine.
come again? oh wait no ignore that
I think he’s saying he’s reading a mistranslation of australian singers.
Wait they’re canadian?
Now it makes no sense whatsoever.
Men Without Hats…Canada is America’s Hat…The Hat is America’s Hat…it all becomes clear now!
Some Men are At Work, some have No Hats. But not the same ones.
Besides, everyone knows that “Safety Dance” wasn’t their best song
Rhythm Of Youth is a truly fantastic album that got overshadowed by the track ‘Safety Dance’ getting way too much airplay from Dr. Demento. Seriously, listen to every other track on the album; beautiful ’80s synthy dancey stuff.
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL296E3CAFF6EA69D3
That dance wasn’t as safe as they say it was.
I’m officially accusing UCS of cheating. That was a pre-typed post because he knows the release schedule for articles beforehand.
Anyone who has ever written an article here can see the article calendar. It’s not our fault you’re too untalented to have written an article.
I am not sure this is true. you need to be a contributor, submit your own articles. some send article by mail. My first few were like that.
You don’t even need to check the calendar, some topics are always in the same time slots – SugarFree, the Links, What Are we Reading, NA’s Stargazing, the not-beer reviews by MS, and so on.
I know that.
ouch!
What are you even talking about? Everyone knows noon on the lst friday of the month is “What are we reading”. I love literary posts.
Nerds know those things.
And you choose to hang out with a bunch of Nerds. Admit it, you’re just like the rest of us.
You’ll feel better.
That’s an insult to the rest of us.
Screw you guys, I’m going home.
Punchline – Brochettaward is working from home.
Bro – I’ve supported your firsting… and twice in a week you’re reduced to whinging about not being First. This is a sad state of affairs.
Tee hee.
I don’t think I could ever get to the 19th book in a series. would get bored and look for different world building
Also children should not read the same things as parents. rebellious youth and all that .
Years ago an author I enjoy wrote a bit about how no series should be longer than three books, it was mostly about cop/detectives and he had a good point that the heroes all get repeatedly shot/beaten near to death/stabbed/ and what not then a book later they’re just fine. Of course his series about a cop is now on book 8.
“I have a healing factor, but it only works in-between volumes.”
The other issue is power creep. Keep throwing stronger and stronger villains, and the heroes need to keep getting stronger as well. Look to the Dresden files for a good example (I still like the books though).
I see this is one of the series I’m reading. Humans acquired an extinct apex species’ AI and used it to climb the galactic pecking order. By book 8 or 9, it became self-referential where the protagonist was supposed to blow everybody’s mind by coming up with some off the wall solution to the problem, and the AI magicked away any issues with the solution.
Too much escalation too fast, and the story arc ended up with a backwater world kicking the current apex species’ asses with a pair of cobbled together ships.
If I like a protagonist and the writing is good, I enjoy reading series. “Too much of a good thing can be wonderful.”
Complete coincidence we are both reading Brad at the same time. Neither of us knew the other was doing so.
Now I have this sitcom-esque image in my head of the two of you reading the same physical copy and both going “Who keeps moving my bookmark?”
I understood from the last post that WebDom does not live in the flames of Hades
That just makes it funnier.
ah some sort of space time disturbance. intriguing. there is also a time lag since they are not on the same book.
If you ladies dig that stuff, give Vince Flynn a try. My sister helped edit his first novel, Term Limits, and he became a good friend of our family.
You may recall a movie called Mitch Rapp, who is the protagonist in Vince’s novels (although shockingly NOT an ex-Seal). Vince died a few years ago and another writer is continuing on the series, but I don’t care for them as much. Stick to the the originals and I think you’ll enjoy them.
I’ve read some of his work and enjoyed it, but it’s been a while. Will revisit. Thanks!
I hated the first Mitch Rapp book by the new guy – it felt like the author never even read the original books and now Mitch was just the caricature of an unstoppable killing machine. I didn’t continue.
excuses excuses
There are 41 novels in the discworld series. but that is broken up into at least seven different narratives ( Rincewind, Death, Witches, City Watch, Wizards, Tiffany Aching, Moist von Lipwig)
Some of the Moist VL got a little repetitive, but mostly because they all came as a chunk at the end. The other narratives intertwine and break up the repetitiveness.
Never got bored, but I did start reading them almost 20 years ago and finished the last a year or two ago.
Discworld I always read the first third of each novel, the setup, and get bored and don’t finish. I love some quotes and some parts but for me all novel could be much shorter, the fun part cannot be sustained
There’s only so many puns a man can take, and Discworld books hit the limit rather quickly.
Stay far away from Spider Robinson’s Callahan books then. They’re full of delightful puns that may very well kill Swiss.
I’ve read many long series, but not continuously reading them from start to finish. I’ll take a break, then go back to them later.
I read revelation space. t’was okay.
All this ‘reading’ shit sounds very anti-Black. /Woke totes not racist prog
*throws flare into library*
I just re-read “House of Assassins” by Larry Correia in preparation for “Destroyer of Worlds”, which I’m now ~ 80% through and I’m enjoying very much.
I had a free Kindle credit so I picked up “Say Nothing”, which is about The Troubles in Northern Ireland – I’ve had it recommended repeatedly.
Before that, I was working through the Destroyer books – easy, popcorn reading.
I like Larry as an online presence, but did not read much. I read the first Monster Hunter novel and I found it entertaining but not that good and never read anything else, although I assume the writing may have improved with experience. Also his house is ugly. Lots of land, which is good, but the architecture is meh. And the view is not to my taste
Well, if it isn’t to your taste, he should knock it down and rebuild it in a better style and place, per your specs!!!
hey it is not my fault Utah is ugly. I cannot rebuild a view.
If you have enough money you can.
sadly Romania does not have the required nuclear arsenal
You would have liked to have seen Montana, though.
I dunno how Montana is… but seeing once is different than a permanent view.
My problem with Utah and other mountain places is that, at least in Romania, mountains in summer are green and densely forested. I like lots of trees in a view. And if no trees, green grass. The views I saw from the area Larry lives it was like shrubs and shit, with occasional bits of trees. Not trees as far as the eye can see. And it was not as green as I would like. Montana being more north may be greener. Or maybe not. You Americans seem to have a lot of prairie that is not very green.
Green requires lots of rain. Which the Great plains aren’t known for.
Come to the PNW in the spring. If you want to see smaller trees and green, go to the gulf and eastern seaboard.
Your Romanian experience is throwing you off. Utah and the inter mountain west are at a much higher elevation, both minimum and average.
look no mountain needs more than 2544 meters
That’s okay, you should measure them in Miles.
Eastern mountains would be to your liking – the various Appalachian ranges (Blue Ridge, Smokies, Alleghenys, Greens, Whites, Berkshires, etc), Adirondacks, or Catskills.
No papers?
if by papers you mean the ones with presidents on them I don’t have as many as I like, yes
And raise rabbits, and have his wife cook them for him?
Are we crossing the streams to Of Mice and Men or was that an earlier scene?
No, that’s what Vasiliy tells Ramius that he wants in Montana.
Borodin: Do you think they will let me live in Montana?
Ramius: I should think they’ll let you live wherever you want.
Borodin: Then I will live in Montana, and marry a round American woman and raise rabbits, and she will cook them for me. And I will drive a pickup truck. Or….possibly even….a recreational vehicle.
Sonny : Is there any special country you wanna go to?
Sal : Wyoming.
Sonny : Sal, Wyoming’s not a country.
His skills as a writer have improved _massively_ since his first book – he works at it, and it shows.
Try https://www.baen.com/sonoftheblacksword (first in the series I’m reading).
My problem with the first Monster Hunter was that the Monsters were too tough. How did anyone kill them without modern weapons?
Oh, and now that the second one is out, I’ll finally pull the trigger on the new Dresden Files books (I was told it’s really just one big-ass book and “Peace Talks” just abruptly ends in a cliffhanger).
More of a cliffhanger than getting sniped on his way to FINALLY bang the cute chick with the great butt?
The 2nd half of Peace Talks (Battle Grounds) is supposed to be out next week on the 29th of Sep.
I’m not sure if you should call Peace Talks a cliff-hanger, since it was really just a half of a long book.
I recently finished Say Nothing. Intere
intere f pl
feminine plural of intero
Etymology
From Latin integer, integrum, from Proto-Italic *entagros, from Proto-Indo-European *n̥-th₂g-ro-, from *teh₂g-.
Mojeaux – saw your “saudade” comment on the last thread – love some Thievery Corp, but the first two album remain my favorites.
If I’ve not mentioned it before, Groove Salad is in that vein and my go-to soundtrack for work.
I’ll try those first two albums then. Some of their other stuff, I have not liked.
I forget about SomaFM when not at Christmastime because I can remember that they have in-store Christmas muzak, and I love that stuff. Who hurt me?
From the first album. A great track and was nigh inescapable as movie/TV/commercial background music for a while.
Hell, I remember hearing it as a bed during one of the NFL broadcasts.
Rain, rain, rain, rain, rain, rain, rain, rain, rain, rain, rain, rain, rain, rain, rain, rain, rain, rain, rain, rain, rain, rain…
Go away
Little limey
wantsneeds toplaywork outdoorsCome again another dayFuck right off and fuck off some more and go dump yourself out at sea and in the uplands insteadWind can fuck off, too
So as you can see, I just solipsistically read my own ad-hoc poetry. I’d like to donate most of the rainfall I get to farmland instead, where it’s useful.
Send some our way. we could use some rain.
Sure thing. UPS okay?
When?
I haven’t been reading. I’ve been watching TV. Just finished both seasons of Cobra Kai last night, which was painful. The fan-service to GenXers is WONDERFUL (Trapper Keeper!) and the character exploration is great, but it’s really too great because there are real cringe moments that I’ve had and still cringe at.
Me: “Johnny makes some bad decisions.”
Mr. Mojeaux: “Don’t we all.”
Hence, painful.
I’m also not writing anything. I have to put my characters through hell, and right now I am at a level place and I want to stay there. Therefore, I’m not going to put my characters through hell when I just don’t want to be there myself.
Also, cross stitching and running my little Etsy shop which is quite fulfilling since I’m getting some money decluttering from my half-assed and semi-aborted attempt at a needlework design company.
So. All is well. I want to keep it that way, which right now are benign activities that don’t include reading.
How’s that Etsy working out? Are the fees worth it? Does it make your stuff easy to find by folks that might want to buy it?
I totted up my fees for a friend–16% of gross. What they do is promote your stuff without you opting in, then charging a fee. That is mildly irritating but it also means people see my stuff.
I find it worth it for my purposes, which was to get rid of a whole bunch of fabrics and threads and beads (although a friend bought all my beads, so I didn’t have to list those). I bought all this at wholesale (I still have my wholesale accounts everywhere), so I’m making a profit. I just can’t be arsed to figure out how much of one because this stuff is >10 years old.
I have some original patterns that I put up, but nobody buys those. They’re there just in case. Now…patterns.
[rant on]
Most of the most popular “designers” are Russian chicks who have a network of galleries of vintage and ancient patterns they pass around like cross stitch P2P. THEN they take those patterns, plug them into a modern pattern maker and sell them as their own work. I can now spot what’s stolen (Hi, Hyperbole!) and what’s original.
My moral dilemma is this: Is my buying them unethical BECAUSE I KNOW WHERE THEY CAME FROM? Or am I also buying the extra work that went into making clean patterns? I don’t know. Some of them are patterns I’ve wanted for decades (yes, most are decades old). Does it even matter because they’re mostly out of print? Some of them are patterns that go to expensive kits with fabric and floss I don’t want and am going to throw away and use my own.
Since I’m an author whose works are pirated, I’m having a real struggle with this. OTOH, I know that most readers (and, I assume, stitchers) just hoard books and never get around to reading them.
[/rant off]
I use eBay for rare patterns I find that I know are worth a lot of money. I cleared out my collection of old patterns a couple of years ago on eBay using the auction feature. THREE cross stitch patterns made my mortgage that month, never mind the rest of them.
But yes, I’m having a good experience with Etsy and I don’t find the fees onerous. They collect the sales tax for you. They don’t regulate what you charge for shipping (although they make statistical recommendations). I find it much better than eBay, since eBay fucked over their sellers and cap your shipping regardless of what it really costs.
I’m thinking about wholesaling more fabric if I can get a handle on what people want that everybody else isn’t already selling.
If the patterns are old enough, they might be in the public domain.
Most of them are from the 80s and 90s, so not public domain. However, 1988 was only like 4 years ago!
When you said decades, I thought they were actually from decades ago, you know, end of the nineteeth century.
Send in the jack-booted thugs
Following a surge of coronavirus cases at the University of Colorado-Boulder, health officials announced Thursday that 18 to 22-year-old individuals were banned from gatherings of any size for two weeks.
“We must take stronger action to stop the spread of this virus in our community,” Boulder County public health director Jeff Zayach said in a news release. “We have researched the actions we can take that would be effective while minimizing the burden on those who have not been the source of increased transmission. We believe this strategy can achieve both goals.”
Whether indoor or outdoors, anyone aged 18 to 22 years old will not be allowed to gather for two weeks beginning Thursday at 4 p.m. It also includes a list of 36 addresses in Boulder, Colorado, where residents have “repeatedly violated public health orders,” health officials said.
NEEDZ MOAR TASERS AND HANDCUFFS
SHAME THE WITCHES
Sounds illegal.
FYTW, eh?
That seems arbitrary and vindictive. I would hope that would end up in mass gathering and/or court…but as we have seen for the past 6+ months people enjoy a boot on the neck and the government up their ass. Not judging here of course.
Besides, the young adults will do what young adults always do…go out of town.
They’re learning a valuable lesson about their overlords…
https://www.thedenverchannel.com/news/coronavirus/boulder-students-speak-out-against-new-public-health-order-banning-gatherings-for-those-ages-18-22
Screw them.
From a few weeks ago: Nearly 26,000 Students on 29 Campuses Identified with COVID – But ZERO Hospitalized, ZERO Deaths
My son says lots of people tested positive and were quarantined at his school. When he and his roommates got sick a few weeks ago, they didn’t tell anyone. They were better in 3 days.
So much for Korematsu being decisively overturned.
Huh. I never knew Steve Smith and Quato were acquainted.
I’ve been rereading the USPSA rules. I don’t recommend it except as an exercise in imagining what happened to necessitate them putting a particular rule in there.
Like Brett, I too read Breath after hearing Nestor on a bunch of podcasts. Unlike Brett, I have been doing the mouth taping. Since I track my sleep, I can go back and see longer sleep, less movement, lower heart rate and NO SNORING!
I’m a believer.
Another book I can recommend is Sacred Cow, by Robb Wolf and Diana Rodgers. It’s a really comprehensive look at regenerative agriculture and it’s place in a healthier environment. They challenge a lot of widely held opinions about raising animals, particularly ruminants. I found it fascinating. Also Wolf says that they have pissed off people from all sides, so clearly they did something right!
Also read one of SF’s recommendations, Gridlinked. I’m not a scifi dude, but it was fucking awesome. I will be buying more.
Finally, I’m currently reading Roll dem Bones, by our very own Thought Not A Sermon. So far I dig it a lot. The talent we have here never ceases to amaze me.
Does he sermonize?
Nope. He has a very readable style.
I’m the greatest talent. The best. First.
You didn’t get a lot of hugs as a child, huh?
Sorry, man.
I did. Oh, hugs! nevermind.
?
Your new theme song:
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=HwuSZAwUysM
Well, you and Brett have sold me. I’ll pick up “Breath.”
Seishi Yokomizo The Honjin Murders *** Japanese closed room murder mystery, by what is called Japans most famous and prolific mystery writer. The ‘mystery’ itself isn’t all that compelling though I may be missing soimething due to cultural differences, but I liked the style will read more as they become available in English, or learn Japanese (I’m not going to learn Japanese)
Fredric Brown The Fabulous Clipjoint ***½ and The Fredric Brown MEGAPACK ®: 33 Classic Science Fiction Stories **** The former is a noir-ish murder mystery, 40’s gangsters and gun molls and bent coppers, really good. The collection is well a collection some stories are very good other just good. Pi in the Sky was the stand out to me.
Not even after all the Anime Titties posts teaching you?
Will look for the Yokomizo, thanks.
Is the Brown Clipjoint sci fi as well as mystery, or just regular mystery?
I think there are only two of the Yokomizo’s in English so far. the Clipjoint is straight mystery no sci-fi, think Chandler/Hammet etc.
*perks up*
Thanks, Hyp!
Also, cross stitching and running my little Etsy shop which is quite fulfilling since I’m getting some money decluttering from my half-assed and semi-aborted attempt at a needlework design company.
Speaking of your Etsy store… how do your customers find you? Do they come from your other site(s)? Do you advertise? Or do th just randomly stumble through your “door” instead of somebody else’s?
When I look at sites like Etsy or Cafe Press, it looks like a hopelessly random jumble of products. How do you get people to buy from *you*?
Etsy opts you in for their promotional services and then charges you a nominal fee for it. I found that mildly irritating at first, but it’s more than worth it. They want you to make money so if they promote you and you sell, they get more money.
And one part of it is, you have to have good keywords because people are looking for specific things.
I’ve found paying a little extra for their promotions to be more than worth the price.
Thanks. I may try that.
Linky to your store?
My handle. NSFW.
I read the first two books of Peter F. Hamilton’s Salvation series. He’s pretty good at universe building and really like the idea of wormholes.
Now I’m reading the White Devil Robert Rogers biography.
I haven’t been reading much except stuff here on Glibs and stuff for work.
Anna karenina, which I don’t why it’s called that since her last name is karenin. Anyways a great read but it is taking forever. I’ve been reading a few hours a night for the last 20 years or maybe it’s only been a few weeks, feels the same.
Next up is old man and the sea, followed by “the technician” by Asher.
LOL
That was my feeling when reading AK and War and Peace, as well.
Faulkner for me. It was torture.
What’s funny is it’s not torture. I really am enjoying the book, but I feel like I’m not making any progress. The Asia saga by James clavell were long books but I felt like I burned through the whole series fairly quickly.
SP, do you recommend War & Peace, or definitely on the “NEVER AGAIN!” list?
I liked it except for the end where Tolstoy pontificates on his theories of history.
I hesitate to recommend it because it is a long read and not for everyone.
I’ll probably put it on the back burner then. I like to space out my Long commitment reads. Informal poll:
What’s the worst book purchase of your life?
Me: “Being and Nothingness” by Jean-Paul Sarte.
I’ve read VCR instructions that held my interest better.
I have a few candidates.
The Silmarillion, because it just kept repeating itself (printing error where I had repeats of whole sections)
An incomplete copy of Bernal Diaz’s “The True History of the Conquest of New Spain”.
There were a few audiobooks that I abandoned, but those probably don’t count.
Toss up.
“Das Kapital” – took forever to read but at least I learned a little about my enemies.
“The Pirate Organization” – I thought it would some information about pirate organizations, and instead it was a thinly disguised and poorly written anti-capitalist screed.
“Would have some information”. At least “The Pirate Organization” was a quick read.
I’m tempted to say Moby Dick but since it taught me that just because a book is considered a “classic” doesn’t mean its any good, and led directly to me creating my hundred page rule, so at least I l gained something from the experience. Now Gravity’s Rainbow on the other hand…
Moby Dick was a great book, interrupted by some prattle about some sailors. Learned a lot about whaling.
Pure rubbish.
I did like them both. But I read them when I was a teenager, which was more than a couple years ago.
You could go for Life and Fate instead – I think it’s better.
Really? In the English translation her name is Anna Karenin? I thought it wasn’t really a secret that most Russian last names have masculine and feminine versions.
I wouldn’t lie to a grizzly bear.
I recently ordered this book: The Storm of Steel: Original 1929 Translation by Ernst Junger. It’s a first hand account written by a German WW 1 soldier. I’ve read several first hand accounts from WW II but none from WW 1. Haven’t done much reading lately, hoping this book is a page turner.
Yeah, that book is pretty crazy.
Apparently he revised it several times throughout his life, so I’m not sure which version I’ve read.
From the Amazon reviews I’ve read the 1929 original translation is the one to get. The version by Penguin Publishing has supposedly been revised and “sanitized” according to people who have read both.
TW! Bookmarked.
It’s a good read. I’m not sure if it’s because of the translation, but it feels like he talks about the war so casually, as if it was no big deal.
I’ve always wondered how representative Junger was of German veterans, because it seems hard to believe that many of them viewed combat with the relish he did.
What led to me to this book was watching this YT vid: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dU6j3qC3Yn8
I’m nearing the end of UCS’s Lucid Blue from his Tarnished Sterling superhero series, and he’s been gracious enough to allow me to do some beta-reading of the above-mentioned work-in-progress Prince of the North Tower.
Next on my To Be Read list, a book I acquired from our local art museum, a volume which features artworks depicting women reading. Happily, rather than just being a “picture book.” it has more text than I expected. The title: Women Who Read Are Dangerous.
When I get to my home email, I have a question regarding which sequence of events would work better to round out the narrative.
Can’t send it from work, and it’s obviously major spoilers given how little of the book is left to write.
I’ll watch for it & try to respond ASAP.
Sent.
I had read Ilium by Dan Simmons a few years back, but never got around to reading the sequel, Olympos.
Anyways, this month I re-read Ilium and now I’m about a quarter of the way through Olympos.
I’m reading The Dragons and the Snakes (attempt at link here , but y’all know I fuck this up routinely), a non-fiction work subtitled “How the Rest Learned to Fight the West.”
Good stuff for defense knotheads like me.
If you haven’t read them, you might enjoy Lester Grau’s trilogy: The Bear Went Over The Mountain, The Other Side Of The Mountain, and The Soviet-Afghan War: How A Superpower Fought And Lost. They are largely translations of Red Army/Frunze Academy after action reports and get into the weeds about the tactical changes needed to wage war against dismounted irregulars when one’s tanks are useless because the barrels don’t elevate high enough to fire into the mountains and one’s helicopter support stops at higher elevations due to the thin air.
these are all great, also all available in full PDF form online from various sources.
Say, a little off topic here, but do any of you happen to know the bulk conductivity (or resistivity) of ballistic gelatin?
Electrical? I think it’s inconsistant depending on the formulation used.
Yeah, nobody has a useable number online.
I guess I will find out!
Can you say what sort of testing it’s for?
The specification is for the dry weight of gelatin used. I don’t know if there’s a spec on the water used for dissolution.
You might check Google Patent for a common formulation. I used to do that when I did process simulation. Even if you can’t find the number in the patent, it usually has a chemical formula for product (or mass % of formulae). Also, you may just google around for 2 or 3 curve fit formulas for organic molecules of similar weight and properties. Those were good enough for GTG mass, energy, water, and waste estimates.
Water content will drive it. Order of magnitude is likely to be 10^6 ohm-cm.
I love that this question got so many serious answers. I don’t know where else you get this interesting a community.
Just finished “Why we get Sick” – Ben Bikman. Readable (but with a lot of references to published science – some not insignificant fraction of the book is references) discussion of insulin resistance and its relation to a myriad of diseases, causes and mitigation. I’m familiar with most of the data and arguments, but it’s nice to have a concise reference.
Almost finished with “Road to Reality” – Roger Penrose. Maybe I’ll finally finish it soon, been working on it for the better part of a year. Just finished 31.8 – WTF! I still have 3.5 more chapters to go!?
“Charter Schools and their Enemies” – Thomas Sowell. His usual style – not much of a polemic, but again lots of data. Only through chapter 2, so haven’t gotten into the “Hostility” chapter yet. I’m sure that will, much like the LA unified school district teacher union “demands”, have a deleterious effect on my blood pressure. I’ll have to re-read some of Bikman’s book to see if I can fix that.
“Season of Storms” – Andrezej Sapkowski. Part of “The Witcher” series of books. Mostly light, enjoyable reading. Nice to have something that you can read a couple of pages and fall asleep. Though I have had moments with e.g. “Sword of Destiny” (trying to read as chronologically as possible), where I stayed up well past my bed time, “Just one more chapter…” I find this story to be very good light fare, relatively easy reading and entertaining. Of course, I have a lot of background in the ‘lore’ from the video games; not sure how the books would fare if I didn’t know a lot of the story/world already.
BTW, thanks to all who provided suggestions regarding a CC holster for my Sig P365. Ended up with the Black Arch single clip Protos-M. Comfortable – almost forget it’s there after a full day, carrying at roughly 4-5 o’clock – passed on the appendix carry, not because I’m worried about shooting my dick off or severing my femoral as I don’t carry one in the chamber, but I didn’t find it too comfortable. And it didn’t really seem more ‘concealed’ than at 4 o’clock. Just have to remember to pull my shirt down periodically, especially when sitting. Almost wish it had a ‘claw’ to push back into the body a bit, maybe minimize the shirt riding up over the butt. heh.
Oh, thanks! I made a note to get the Bikman book and forgot about it. I heard him on a podcast and really liked his ability to lay out the biology.
Haven’t heard him, but also meant to pick this one up. You guys are hard on my wallet today.
I need a GlibFin intervention. 😉
Likewise – I was looking forward to “Sacred Cow” earlier this year, but forgot about it. It’s on it’s way now (yes, ‘hardware’ reading me, not ‘software’).
I’m reading the Witcher series right now, just finished Baptism of Fire. I agree, it’s a light and enjoyable read, without being dumb. Taking a break from the series to read Ann Leckie’s fantasy novel, The Raven Tower.
That looks nice. Which clip did you go with?
Grip hook 1.5″
Thanks!
Thomas Sowell is getting some live from our readers today! I have his Wealthy, Poverty, and Politics but in hardcover so I don’t read it as often as kindle books.
Still good!!
Vision of the Anointed was the one I really remember. I’d like to go to a dime store and come across a bunch of his secondhand paperbacks.
A Conflict of Visions is also good and remains relevant even now, 30+ years after it was written.
My 6 year old wants to read the Goosebump series, so uh, that’s what I’ve been reading to her at bedtime. I guess it does bring back some nice childhood memories.
I never read any but I watched the Jack Black movie. It was okay for a children’s movie.
Mostly Inspector Rebus novels these days. They take place in the 90s and early 2000s so it’s a good break from the present.
I read Grisham’s An Innocent Man about a series of wrongful convictions back in the 80s, some of which landed the defendants on death row… it’s pretty infuriating. The prosecutor walked away with nothing but a bruised ego after a couple convictions were overturned. Two men his department buffaloed into false confessions are in prison over thirty years later.
My favorite series ever. I actually drank at the Ox when I was in Edinburgh. They gave me a special Rankin bookmark!
Second. Started reading those twenty years ago and will still pick up a new one.
his departmenthis cronies in the Ada police departmentSay, a little off topic here, but do any of you happen to know the bulk conductivity (or resistivity) of ballistic gelatin?
Building your own
taserelectric chair?Yesterday we got to see people arrested for singing hymns outside and watching a football game.
Last night a mob attacked people in a car after they got away they were chased down and assaulted again. When it was all over, the cops arrested… just the driver of the car who was attacked.
Defunding the police would improve my safety at this point.
Yeah, I started with great concern over police brutality. BLM/ANTIFA quickly shifted me to a strong desire that cops take control and restore order. Then, as if on que, they started only arresting and hassling defenders while letting the thugs off the hook. Now, I just hate everyone involved.
Yep. Hating all of them checks out.
What was the dumb shit driver doing there in the first place?
The rioters need to be disposed of.
Not sure what to say about the cops…they are probably just doing as they are told.
String the mayor and governor up.
https://www.amazon.com/Constructing-World-David-J-Chalmers/dp/019960858X
This is pretty good, as is anything by Chalmers.
Ron Paul may have had a stroke today.
Oh, that was awful to watch.
Oy, am not sure I can. No podcast yet today; usually drops just before noon his time.
Update: hospitalized.
On the bright side, he got immediate attention. They can do wonders if they get you into treatment there soon enough.
Just finished Jane Jacobs’ The Nature of Economies – a highly recommended take on economics from a non-orthodox source (and view).
Just starting Sowell’s Wealth, Poverty and Politics – no more need be said.
Remembered the Jacobs book is still sitting in my Amazon cart since the last time you (probably?) mentioned it, so I went ahead and ordered it. I read her Death and Life of Great American Cities several years ago, may be due for another glance through.
I finished the Harbringer series by Jeff Wheeler. It was pretty interesting until he Deus Ex Machina’ed the shit out of the 2 concluding books of the 5 book series.
I finished the Beggar King by Oliver Potzsch. A good thriller set in 17th century Holy Roman Empire
It’s been a mixed month for reading. Some not worth recommending, some very high quality re-reads, only 2 new ones worth recommending.
Middlegame, Seanan McGuire. I love McGuire’s work, but it tends to be YA or YA-adjacent. This is an interesting coming of age story of crafted twins meant to embody god-like powers. A good solid enjoyable read. It lacks the traces of PC/SJW found in her other works.
Stars Uncharted and Stars Beyond, S.K. Dunstall. These are rather quirky but all in all great fun. They’re also the recommendable ‘new ones’.
American Elsewhere, Robert Jackson Bennet. A favorite re-read by a favorite author. Some Hitchcock, some Lovecraft, the American Southwest, and the weirdest small town you’re likely to encounter. Highly recommended, as I may have done in a past WWAR.
Lexicon, Max Barry. Another re-read, an excellent story and one that has resonances with the media world today. Science fiction of a sort. Two thumbs up.
The Long Price Quartet, Daniel Abraham. Abraham also writes as James Corey and collaboratively as James S.A. Corey (The Expanse). A very strong fantasy with very nearly none of the usual fantasy elements. The focal culture is vaguely Chinese/Japanese, the sole bit of magic is unique, the moral dilemmas and character studies are strong and well done. Highly recommended.
In non-fiction, a first read of Thomas Sowell, Race and Culture. Need I say more?
Yeah, I don’t see anything by NATJAS or Mojeaux on there…
I have started Great North Road by Peter Hamilton.
Haven’t gotten too far because I am busy doing landscaping around the house while the weather is nice.
Interesting so far.
I’ve been reading job descriptions and assesments, once I’m working, I intend to finish Ozy’s Book, which is pretty good so far
Any promising leads?
several, I may just take the Meijer stocking job, keeps me close to home and easier to get to in the Winter,
got new tires for the Kia, and buying the rest of my Winter gear, thanks for asking UCS!
Hope things go well. Good luck, man.
MI is no place for skinny people.
I’m still wearing shorts, but I’m good to about -40 or so, Layers!
*fast forward to January*
*Yusef wears his entire wardrobe daily.*
I blew my Sisters mind when she saw all my Polar gear, she said I’ll be fine, and sh’s a local,
Funny though!
It’s not just the cold — you need the extra mass to keep from being drained by the mosquitos.
I hope I don’t get carried off by one…
what’s the carrying capacity of an unladen MI mosquito?
Only about three pounds, it’ll take a few to lift even you off the ground.
Best wishes!
Gov. DeSantis Announces the Immediate End to COVID Restrictions in Florida
I like this guy.
Good news for once!
Now if we can expand that to all the remaining states…
He and his wife have 3 small kids. I assume that’s driving some of his common sense.
good man. my hero.
See: Mizzou
I was skeptical when he ran for governor, but he was running against Andrew Gillum. He might as well have been running against Pete Wheeler. Been pleasantly surprised.
+1. I thought he went too far in covid response. I didn’t realize at the time the rest of the country had lost its goddamn mind.
Another viewpoint
Gov. Ron DeSantis suggested on Thursday that Florida could create a “bill of rights” to protect college students who face expulsion for attending parties under the strict Covid-19 guidelines schools are attempting to enforce.
Calling the policies “incredibly draconian” at a public health event, the Republican governor said the state is exploring its options for students without going into much detail. The idea comes as school leaders in Florida and beyond threaten stiff penalties for breaking social distancing rules in an effort to keep coronavirus transmission low and campuses open throughout the full semester.
“I personally think it’s incredibly draconian that a student would get potentially expelled for going to a party,” DeSantis said Thursday. “That’s what college kids do.”
He’s a mass murderer, he is.
Bankruptcy, bankruptcy, and more bankruptcy. The Act, the rules, the local rules, the official forms, the local forms, the case law, and more.
New practice is ongoing and the learning curve is steep. We’re going to see a tidal wave of personal bankruptcies in 2021. Not sexy law, but in light of what the various state and federal
governments and agenciesgoons have done to small biz owners, I’m preparing to help the people who have had their lives upended get back on their feet.Leisure reading will come when the business is running.
Also, OT, but I thought the Glibertariat would like to know that Pelosi is now making more, louder calls for Biden not to debate Trump – surprising exactly no one here. I suspect that Biden is getting worse, Team Blue knows it, and this is their attempt to float the trail balloon to get him out of debating Trump.
https://www.foxnews.com/politics/pelosi-doubles-down-biden-shouldnt-debate-trump
Also, OT, but of coronavirus interest, a scientist provides a nice primer on vaccines and debunks a bunch of the Media horseshit around it. Slightly different take on where excess deaths might be coming from.
https://www.aier.org/article/a-primer-for-the-media-on-viruses-vaccines-and-covid-19/
Alright, back to work.
If you can’t beat Trump in a debate you know you got serious problems.
“We’re gonna… you know… the thing… where… Greek horse-people… ran… world war three.”
Watched actual live TV last night, with tons of political ads. He sounds awful even in his own ads.
Local Cleveland news has been talking about all the plans for the “historic” debates happening next week. DeWine has already activated the National Guard.
Good luck Ozy, Istill need to finish your book, but business first
Amen to that, Brudda!
Hope you enjoy it, nutpunches and all.
Cheers.
~S~!
It’s nut-punch-tastic.
“Caste” by Isabel Wilkerson; and “Gridlinked” by Ian Cormac (on the recommendation of several people here)
Whoops … Neal Asher is the author of the second book, Ian Cormac is the (anti?)hero of the book.
This month I’m three books into Neil Asher’s Polity Universe.
Gridlinked – Great intro to the Author and universe
Line of Polity – Even better follow up novel. The alien creatures he creates are always horrifying.
Brass Man – Best so far. Combines past characters and themes in new ways. The action is great in most of the book, but there is time taken to build the characters.
Polity Agent – Will be starting this soon.
The great combination of space opera, cyberpunk, and spy type novels impressed me more than the last few moderns authors. So I checked on the last 10 years of Hugo winners to see if this guy won any.
The Hugo awards look to have gone completely woke since the last time I looked at the results.
Read this terrible review of the controversy over George RR Martin’s hosting of the 2020 Hugos.
https://www.esquire.com/entertainment/books/a33532809/george-rr-martin-hugo-awards-2020-controversy-explained/
I would suggest reading Prador Moon and The Shadow of the Scorpion after Line of Polity before proceeding to The Technician. Although a prequal, Scorpion is the end of the Cormac storyline and introduces characters heavily involved in Technician. (And Technician is the end of the Masada/gabbleduck storyline started in the Cormac series.)
Prador Moon is just OK. Very short, very frustrating in missed opportunities. It is fun, but honestly skippable.
And, if you are really into what happens after Technician you would be OK to jump straight to the Rise of the Jain trilogy. The intervening Transformations trilogy is great, but self-contained and doesn’t have much bearing on Rise
As before thanks for the introduction and the suggestions. I haven’t read like this in a long time.
I really happy that you like them. He’s been my favorite living author for years now. I just happened to pick up Gridlinked in a British edition when I was in Toronto when it had just been published and I’ve been hooked since.
I blew through the first two Agent Cormac books, and have the third ready to go. Good recommendation, SF.
Oh – and file this with the ‘no such thing as voter fraud with mail-in ballots’ department:
https://www.foxnews.com/politics/texas-attorney-general-ken-paxton-voter-fraud
In CA that’s legal. In entirely unrelated news, a bunch of contested congressional races in SoCal flipped to the Ds after the harvested ballots were counted.
The destruction of the Marine Corps continues.
Marines Weigh Closing Parris Island and San Diego to Open New Coed Boot Camp
Fire all the Obama generals.
Now.
Generals don’t staff Congress.
What’s that got to do with anything?
I just want them gone.
What new law is being referred to?
I have no idea. The only way to save it might be to do like the Army and separate basic training by MOS. Infantry and other combat MOS recruits go to one place, the cooks, clerks, techs, and truck drivers to another. They’ll send some women to the combat basic and 99.9% will physically fail and get sent off with the truck drivers.
Nope. Benning is coed. And combat arms are open to women.
https://www.ledger-enquirer.com/news/local/military/article151534017.html
The whole thing is a bad joke. Infantry is brutal on the human body. Even a lot of men get broken down by a single infantry enlistment. I don’t care how fit a woman is, their musculoskeletal system is not designed to withstand that kind of pounding.
Ask any male Marine who went through Parris Island – every female platoon you’ll ever see will always have a bunch of female recruits straggling behind formations during movements, wearing running shoes instead of boots and many of them on crutches. Male platoons might have two or three, but female platoons often have as many as ten+. Boot camp alone is punishing enough for them. Now have them go on humps with full packs all the time and see how many of them develop serious, debilitating injuries, particularly to their hips and pelvises.
I know. I went through when it was Benning School for Boys and not that bastardized MCOE (I was too young for Harmony Church so got the cakewalk Sand Hill version). Twenty years later and I remember how many people ended up on profiles for injuries. Or the rehab platoon at the reception battalion for those too injured to even continue training on profiles.
Shit. Closer to 25 now. Where did the time go?
Infantry school in NC in August – we would march all damn day. You would regularly pass guys passed out or in convulsions for heat stroke. The corpsmen would dunk the in an ice tank to get their temp down (more wild convulsions), then stick them with an IV and back to the training platoon the next day. That was brutal – but 2 years later we were training with the 7th Marines when the word came down that they were walking 60 miles in Kuwait before the ground war officially kicked off.
We weren’t even allowed female visitors in our barracks because there were too many rapes. The televisions and pool tables were all removed from the common areas and if we had male visitors, they could only be in the room if the door was left open.
I saw Harmony Church and Sand Hill and my heart started pounding. 54 years later and still in my memory. I’m glad that fun is over but still happy to have had the experience.Thanks GL,
That dilutes the “We ALL ate the same shit – we’re ALL Marines.” But the Corps is fucked anyway.
https://www.congress.gov/bill/116th-congress/senate-bill/1790/text
Sec 565 of the 2020 defense authorization bill, signed by his highness President Trump. Also bans burn pits.
What an idiot.
Can’t pin this one on Obama generals, huh? The Hair needs to punch Donald in the face for that one.
Well, that’s the second time today I’ve gotten pissed off at Trump.
Absolutely fucking disgraceful. Destruction is exactly the right word. There will still be a service calling itself the United States Marine Corps, and they’ll still wear cammies and dress blues and EGAs, but it will NOT be the United States Marine Corps any longer.
And the next time we elect a warmonger President, we are going to end up with a serious military debacle.
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0081375/mediaviewer/rm1018832384
Song that mentions Parris Island.
Hah, I knew it was Goodnight Saigon, as anyone from Long Island would.
A new coed boot camp? You’ve got to be shitting me.
It is sad. Much like with many things in this world, people focus on the process rather than on the results, when it should be the opposite. I read somewhere, don’t question the process if the results are sound. And most likely, if you change the process the results will change. But the woke desk jockeys who change the process will never understand why the corps can’t fight as effectively anymore, and will blame the corps itself for being stubborn and resistant to change. Some traditions need to stay in place, because they achieve results.
Uffda.
WTF is going on? Coed platoons have to be one of the dumbest things I have ever heard of. And sacrificing all the tradition of San Diego and Parris Island?
Fucking Marine generals should be resigning in protest. They better hope that Zombie Chesty doesn’t get them.
Do they take light rail to the range(s). Walking is tiring. Need to take a number to use a hair dryer. I’m not laughing at the Marines, I’m crying for the Army. The “Spirit of the Bayonet” is no longer “To Kill, Sir”!!.
Dammit, I’m recieving direct sunlight.
These curtains, they do nothing!
I’m hot, in the shade, it’s 74 degrees, WTF happened to Desert Boy?
You met Humidity?
I know it well, and have clothing for that as well, the new tech fabrics work well in the sticky,
Just another half an hour and the work week is over.
I appear to have made it, I can start getting ready to go home.
I thought it was only Pie who was vulnerable to that.
It’s not going to kill me, but I do burn easily.
If you must, expose youself to the Light, We Gingers must adapt to carry on our Souless Tribe!
Gingers Forever!
SPF Infinity FTW!
I live near here, a nice brewery in town, serving lunch, not a mask in sight,
Reed City,
https://photos.app.goo.gl/X3hPX31BxTdDuwv1A
Looks like a nice place.
It’s all little towns in all directions, then you get to Traverse City, Cadillac, Grand Rapids and Muskegon, draw a circle, I’m in the center on the shore,
Nice.
And still doing diagonal parking.
Whatever happened to diagonal parking. I miss it. Yes I can parallel park just fine.
Been readin/watcing way too much current events. Channeling the ghost of Andy Rooney, two things are bugging me.
1. People, stop recording your videos in portrait mode. I want see wtf is going on. No, moving the phone herky-jerky from side to side does not compensate for the narrow field of view. Portrait modes is for….portraits.
b. Why does every Important Person when pronouncing their diktats or answering questioins/giving excuses have to have a group of stiffs standing behind time looking awkward and with their hands over their crotches. Said stiffs always seem to include an obvious Karen in a white lab coat and a donut-eating cop. Are we supposed to be impressed by this?
Agreed on #1 to infinity, Fucking Kids!
Mikey, you may not have noticed this, but it’s more comfortable to hold a phone in portrait mode. Landscape mode is awkward. So in a heated moment, the shortcomings may never come to mind.
People, stop recording your videos in portrait mode.
So much this.
it’s more comfortable to hold a phone in portrait mode
How so? I think its actually more natural to hold it in landscape position. When I raise my arm, my palm naturally faces down, I have to rotate my wrist from its natural position to hold a phone in portrait mode.
When I raise my arm, the palm faces the midline of my body unless I deliberately turn it. Thus it is most comfortable to wrap the fingers around the back of a phone, nestling it against the palm and the inside joint of the thumb.
Clearly, you are raising your arm wrong, then. ?
I really like watching the sign language interpreters. They look like bass players who lost their instruments.
Now I really want someone to lay down a bass line over one of the videos in time with the interpreter.
Lori Lightfoot’s Census Cowboy ran his horse on pavement for seven miles… without shoes.
What sort of monster takes a shoeless horse on pavement for miles?
WTF?
Fucking morons.
I’m ok with flaying Hollingsworth for seven miles.
A monster indeed.
Whatever happens to this guy, I hope it’s really fucking painful. What a scumbag.
As long as the horse didn’t collapse and die in Lightfoot’s neighborhood, I’m sure she is cool with it.
The occasional really bad apple or sensational, blatantly political case draw our attention and it is easy to forget sometimes. Prosecutors have very important jobs and there are a lot of people out there that really need prosecuting. Most prosecutors do a decent job.
I hope this fucker Hollingsworth suffers.
I’m unsure what type of “experts” she consulted but I’ve never heard any debate about the need to protect the hooves on hard surfaces. while, admittedly, not fond of horses. I really, really hate people who are cruel to animals.
saddle sores are common
Bull. Fucking. Shit.
I’ve known actual working cowboys, who would sit the same horse all day, riding it over all kinds of terrain. A saddle sore puts a horse out of commission for days, and they practically never happened to their horses. People who know what they are doing, know how to put the blanket and saddle on a horse so it doesn’t get saddle sores.
Saddle sores are the same class of wound as a bedsore.
Both are preventable.
I’m reading Paul Johnson’s “Modern Times”, which was a Tom Woods recommendation from a few months back. It’s an overview of 20th century world events. Given I’ve got some major holes in my historical knowledge, this book is hopefully doing a bit to plug that. I’d say Johnson comes off as a bit too pro-intervention, but otherwise he’s definitely coming at things from a conservative perspective. I’m at the part in the book where he’s going through the tinpot dictators in Africa – some of them sound like real asshoe.
I’ve got the abridged version of Gulag Archipelago on the back burner, after which I think I need to do a deep dive into American history. For that I picked up the Federalist Papers as well as a random book I came across in an antique store, “Three Months in the Southern States”.
Lastly, I’ve got Rothbard and more Sowell on my to-get-to list – I’ve yet to read any of the former and have only read the latter’s “Black Rednecks and White Liberals”, which was a great read.
this Paul Johnson? He’s very good and touches on aspects I hadn’t heard before,
https://www.youtube.com/c/FallofCivilizationsPodcast
Yusef – I cant find confirmation as to whether it’s the same one. The Johnson I’m reading is an older English gentleman, so if the guy from the podcast has an English accent, I’d bet they’re the same one.
The About page for that identifies him as Paul MM Cooper.
Paul Johnson’s Intellectuals is quite good fun as well.
I try to re-read Modern Times every 3 or 4 years just to remind what I missed. Johnson is an old-school British conservative which, of course, is not the same as an old-school American conservative. And, while I think everything he includes in MT is accurate, he is sometimes accused of “sins of omission.” That is, he’ll omit things that tend to make his perspective look bad.
https://www.foxnews.com/politics/ron-paul-hospitalized-for-precautionary-reasons-in-texas-fox-news-has-learned
I just re-read Marcus Aurelius Meditations for about the third time.
mmmm, good reading there,
I think SP posted some other stoic’s works on this here website. Free reading material!
I’m working my way through The Daily Stoic. Mostly him, Seneca, and Rufus.
For a change of pace I started Simon Scarrow’s series about two soldiers in the Roman Army. I finished volumes 1-6 this month. They have been solid and he has announced the end of the series so it shouldn’t go on forever.
I chipped away at the sailing racing rules explained book. It is not to be read in a go, but I am learning some interesting bits and pieces.
I re-read the biography of Mao by Chang. It is a thick read, but just seeing how much a sociopath he was from his youth until literally his final day on his deathbed. Just a perfect read to see what BLM and the SJW have in mind for us, especially people like in this group. (And a no finer compliment could be given.)
I also read too much on the People’s Liberation Army Navy for work. They are focusing on the WWII Guadalcanal Campaign in their senior training academies and colleges which is worrisome.
They are focusing on the WWII Guadalcanal Campaign in their senior training academies and colleges which is worrisome.
Our Jungle Road to Beijing. Great.
Hello Everyone,
There was a discussion about the viability of asteroid mining yesterday. I leaned a great deal about how it might be done by this book.
A great hard Sci-fi Juvenile novel by Charles Scheffield and Jerry Pournelle.
https://www.amazon.com/Higher-Education-Jupiter-Charles-Sheffield/dp/0812538900
There is a good series of short juvie Sci-fi novels by this pair that tried to bring back the genre (Jupiter Series).
Microsoft Flight Simulator’s first major update focuses on Japan
Now I’m trying to see if I they have a B29 available…
Option to fly a 747 without a stabilizer?
Ruth Bader Ginsburg’s personal trainer pays tribute to her with push-ups in front of her casket
So dreamy!
Also there is nothing dorkier than calling her the notorious rbg. what a bunch of dorks.
End dorks!
Bruh, she was swole bruh.
More manly than Colbert
I have a new hero:
With only a barrel, frame, slide and recoil spring, the GB-22 can be made at home with steel plate and bar stock by use of a hacksaw, file and drill. Attaching the barrel to the frame can be done via welding, roll pins, or screws. The roll pin method is detailed in the plans, though the user can easily adapt them to welding. The concept is to be able to make a simple, working gun for whatever reason you want– though he stresses that you could sell these at gun buybacks for a profit.
Supposedly the parts cost is <$20.
Mark Serbu is an… interesting person.
Serendipitous, as I just watched Gun Jesus talk about the Serbu .50BMG – https://youtu.be/rXD3AIyo99Q
Charlie Kaufman’s Antkind.
It is very strange and funny and fun – Kaufman is creative a mug.
I would compare it to like accessible Pynchon or stranger Tom Robbins.
the first edition of Thomas Sowell’s Basic Economics
I recently bought a first edition of Basic Econo. ics. I went on a Sowell buying spree before he passes and they get much more expensive. I probably won’t buy all editions of Basic Economics, but I will get the latest, sooner or later.
About halfway through The Black Echo by Michael Connelly. A fair departure from what I was expecting as I’ve watched Bosch on Prime, which has been modernized (Gulf v. Vietnam vet).
Also, have fairly recently finished the third (final?) in the Roger of Huntley saga by Roger Broomhall, Death and Glory. Dude also does some seriously good westerns.
And prior to that read the three Jack Carr books, the first, Terminal List was the best of the three.
I dropped fiction long ago. I want to get a complete Thomas Sowell collection.
I am currently reading this: https://www.amazon.com/Honey-Graham-Ambrose-Langstroth-Hardcover/dp/B011SK3D18
I went to a convention a couple of years ago and they were selling hard back copies for 35 bucks. I should have bought two at that price.
It contains the sum total of human knowledge about honey bees.
I’m waiting ’til it comes out in Classic Comics. They’re still 15 cents, aren’t they? Maybe get 2, one for my bee partner.