Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

When I decide to be condescending, you won’t have to dream up a fantasy about it.

Live so that if you miss a day of work people aren’t hoping you’re dead.

Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

They love authoritarianism, but only when they get to be the authoritarians.

Michigan is a great lesson for Dems everywhere: when you have power…use it!

Damn right I heard that as a threat.

Celebrate the fucking wins.

Democracy cannot function without a free press.

Republicans: slavery is when you own me. freedom is when I own you.

They punch you in the face and then start crying because their fist hurts.

You come for women, you’re gonna get your ass kicked.

Is it negotiation when the other party actually wants to shoot the hostage?

Museums are not America’s attic for its racist shit.

You know it’s bad when the Project 2025 people have to create training videos on “How To Be Normal”.

You can’t attract Republican voters. You can only out organize them.

Let’s delete this post and never speak of this again.

We’ve had enough carrots to last a lifetime. break out the sticks.

Mediocre white men think RFK Jr’s pathetic midlife crisis is inspirational. The bar is set so low for them, it’s subterranean.

Stamping your little feets and demanding that they see how important you are? Not working anymore.

DeSantis transforming Florida into 1930s Germany with gators and theme parks.

Only Democrats have agency, apparently.

I really should read my own blog.

Their freedom requires your slavery.

When you’re in more danger from the IDF than from Russian shelling, that’s really bad.

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147Comments

  4. 4.

    Gordon, The Big Express Engine

    Those Steig Larsson books are really good.

    Also, has anyone here read 2666 by Roberto Bolano? I am in the final pages and while parts of it were incredible, I am still trying to make sense of it all…

  5. 5.

    Comrade Mary

    Yes, MikeJ, and I know he’s from Toronto, but I’ll be damned if I can find his site that I’m pretty sure I bookmarked a few months back.

  6. 6.

    ellaesther

    I’m finally reading the Two Towers, mere pages (in Tolkien terms) from the end with plans to read Return of the King.

    I think they’ll finally laminate my geek license now.

  9. 9.

    debit

    I just got back from the maiden voyage of the doggie trailer for the bike. Chloe was not impressed or amused. Mostly she just wanted out. Obviously, this will be a process.

    The cats, on the other hand, think it’s the coolest thing ever. As long as it’s not moving.

  10. 10.

    Comrade Mary

    OMG. Did you not get video? (I assume you were busy navigating or consoling, but seriously — get a confederate to film the next attempt!)

  12. 12.

    ellaesther

    @Gordon, The Big Express Engine: Indeed. And Ian McKellen is the one hollering it.

    I really, but really disliked FoTR (the book). Absolutely refused to move forward (having loved The Hobbit and read it several times) — so I actually DID NOT PASS.

    But I’ve watched the movies so many times now, and love them with a love that would be stalker-esque, if they were people, and I finally decided I had to go back to the source material.

    I’m enjoying TTT, but I could not swear that that’s not because I’m seeing the movie as I read.

    But still — that geek card. That’s worth it!

  13. 13.

    Mark S.

    @ellaesther:

    How did you ever get even a non-laminated geek license if you haven’t read LOTR yet? I call for an immediate investigation!

  15. 15.

    donnah

    Why aren’t you playing with your iPad?!

    I got mine the same day you got yours and I’m having such a great time with it. I’ve added apps and music and my photo files.

    I added Pages app and will be using this for some note-taking and writing. I also have a couple of books on my shelf.

    It’s the best toy; I can’t believe you aren’t all over it.

  16. 16.

    That's Master of Accountancy to You, Pal

    I interviewed for a job with the IRS. I’m fairly confident, because I did the same thing 18 months ago and they offered me a position, sort of.[footnote] I think I can do it again.

    The only problem is that it’s for a position in Boston. I don’t object to the idea of living there. I don’t even object to the idea of moving there, in principle. It’s the actuality of doing so with 3-4 cats that is giving me problems. I don’t want to buy a house if I go there, but I’m worried about finding an apartment that will let me have them.

    More, they send you for a month’s training right after you start the job, so the sequence would be that I get to Boston, stay there for two weeks and then leave for a month. The idea of finding someone to take care of the furry critters in a brand new city is a bit overwhelming. It’s also not fair to the cats to just abandon them after a move.

    It’s a little harder since I need to find a place without carpets. Eddie has stopped using the litter box. I’m going to get one that’s uncovered and see if that helps, as I think that’s an issue with him. It’s a good thing he’s so damned sweet.

    [footnote] [I’m sure as hell not going to leave asterices lying around in my posts.] They called me one morning and offered me a GS7 position. I said I’d take it. Then the woman asked me, “I just want to be sure. Have you taken a class in advanced accounting?” I asked her what she meant by advanced accounting. Basically, the best she could do was to say that the course should have the word “Advanced” in the title. I told her that, no, I hadn’t, and that I’d sent a copy of my transcript with my application, just liked they’d asked, so she ought to know exactly what classes I’d taken.

    The offer was withdrawn.

  17. 17.

    ks

    Think I am going to read that new Barry Eisler book sitting on my stand.

    Wouldn’t a chair be more comfortable?

  19. 19.

    That's Master of Accountancy to You, Pal

    @ellaesther: The second quarter of Fellowship is a trainwreck. The first quarter makes for nice set up, and once they get to Bree things start to move. Between there, though, what you have is a frustrated author (Tolkien, at that point of his career) throwing in little pieces of all of his unpublished manuscripts in order to impress his kid that he is doing something.

    The reason it seems like Tom Bombadil doesn’t fit anywhere in the concept of Middle Earth is because he doesn’t. It’s a pure self-indulgent digression. Cutting him was the smartest thing Peter Jackson did.

  20. 20.

    HRA

    I just finished Eiffel’s Tower by Jill Jonnes.

    The one I read before it is Johnstown Flood by David McCullough.

  21. 21.

    debit

    @Comrade Mary: No video or even pics; I was too eager to try it out. I’d love to see what she’s doing back there, so I’ll have to browbeat my daughter into coming along one of these times. That, or figure out a way to mount a camera on my rear rack.

    For anyone thinking of purchasing something like this for their smallish dog, I highly recommend this trailer. Very light and easy to pull, took about 2 minutes to assemble, nice solid construction. And the flag is very jaunty.

  23. 23.

    jeffreyw

    Those of you with eReaders of some sort may enjoy the free download of Rudy Rucker’s Ware Tetralogy available in several formats here.
    Also available in HTML and PDF, same place. It’s an interesting read, esp for a series that started in 1982 (iirc).
    I downloaded the PDF before I got the Nook, I’m reading it on the Nook but there are pagination issues. Wish I had seen the ePub download before now.

  24. 24.

    ellaesther

    @Mark S.: I think it was my dedication to The Hobbit, Star Trek, and Guy Gavriel Kay.

    And the fact that I skipped school to see the first showing of Empire, and subsequently saw it something like 11 times over the course of the summer, at one point just staying in my seat and watching it twice in a row (with friends. I stress: I had friends with whom I did all this stuff). And I had genuine arguments, all summer long, as to whether Darth Vader was lying or not.

    (I actually very recently told someone that “I am geeky above my skill-set,” and that’s just the truth).

  28. 28.

    asdf

    Fried green tomatoes? Good work, jeffreyw. I assume that topping is feta? Personally, I just use a little blue cheese salad dressing but I’ll take feta under advisement.

    Had a BLT with fried green tomatoes in Charleston, SC last year. Best thing ever.

  29. 29.

    jl

    @jeffreyw: Damn you jefferyw, you are going for my weak spots tonight. Scones with jam and lemon curd? Fried green tomaters?

    I tried to reach through the screen, but couldn’t get them.

    I need a fix! Right now!

  33. 33.

    General Stuck

    Here is tiny cactus flower I photographed today in a field while walking Charlie. It is some kind of Barrel Cactus but I am too lazy to look it up.

    And as often occurs, we ran across a group of deer and Charlie went crazy, but this time when he bolted out to chase them, when he got to the end of the leash, he also jumped into the air. And did a complete flip and landed on his feet. So funny, wish I had a video recorder.

  34. 34.

    ellaesther

    @That’s Master of Accountancy to You, Pal: …aaaand you have just cut straight to the heart of the matter.

    Tom Bombadil was the worst of it, but there was a LOT in that book that just made me clutch my head and long for an editor — “little pieces of all his unpublished manuscripts” is certainly how it felt.

    As a person who spent most of her adolescence reading science fiction and fantasy, I’m not sure how I never got around to the trilogy before, but one year my husband just went “That’s it, here you go” and gave it to me for Hanukkah. And, given my reading background, I got to the end knowing full well that Gandalf would be coming back (in fantasy as in science fiction, if you don’t see the body, they’re not really dead) — and I didn’t care. And I just went: Wow. If Tolkien couldn’t make me care if Gandalf comes back? I believe I’m done here.

  35. 35.

    jeffreyw

    @asdf: Yup, the feta was handy. I have some Maytag blue cheese I need to put on something other than a cracker. Haven’t decided yet what.

  36. 36.

    mr. whipple

    How did things end up this way? We’ll never know whether the administration could have passed a bigger plan; we do know that it didn’t try.

    Krugman still can’t count fucking votes.

    Even if the stimulus was doubled(politically impossible), what would unemployment be today, 8.5% or so? And that would be acceptable?

    I also fault Obama for not trying to give me a glittery pony. He could have at least tried.

  38. 38.

    Adam Collyer

    Anyone watching Dateline tonight? This whole story of Billy Cope, false confessions and DNA exoneration is insane.

    It’s a bar reviewing student’s best friend and a great Criminal Procedure review, but what a nightmare…

  39. 39.

    eemom

    There’s some babbling going on over at memeorandum about Clarence Thomas’ nephew getting tased. Dunno what he did, but jeez, you’d think being Thomas’ nephew would be punishment enough.

    I can’t focus on it right now though — I’m still trying to come to terms with the basketball dude moving to Miami.

  40. 40.

    SIA

    @General Stuck: Being an east-coaster, it’s incredible to me the colors and shapes of the flowers in your neck of the woods. And the light is so different. Really beautiful.

  41. 41.

    That's Master of Accountancy to You, Pal

    @ellaesther: In fairness, it’s important to keep in mind that none of Tolkien’s Middle-Earth stuff was written with the intention of publication. The Lord of the Rings was written as a serial that he sent in pieces to his son when the son (I can’t remember which one, though it would be fitting if it were Christopher) was posted overseas during WWII.

    Tolkien always thought of Middle-Earth as a hobby, not his work. His work was translation of Old English epics. Publishing The Hobbit was almost an accident, and LOTR was just the follow up. Everything after that (such as The Silmarillion) was published posthumously by Christopher. As it happens, I’m very glad that Christopher Tolkien has gone to the trouble of publishing everything possible. It provides a fascinating look at the evolution of the Middle-Earth stories. It’s just that very little of it should be mistaken for something that J.R.R. Tolkien thought ought to be seen by the public.

    Then again, I also love The Silmarillion and think the world would be the worse for it never having seen the light of day. Opinions on this differ. Wildly.

  42. 42.

    That's Master of Accountancy to You, Pal

    @General Stuck: I just left a reply to your Bagram question hours after everyone else left that thread. Just in case you weren’t going back there.

  43. 43.

    Nellcote

    Ann Coulter goes anti-war

    Coulter says the Iraq War was “magnificently successful,” but nation-building in Afghanistan is a lost cause and huge drain of resources. “I thought the irreducible requirements of Republicanism were being for life, small government and a strong national defense, but I guess permanent war is on the platter now, too,” she wrote.

    Jeebus, these assh*les could give a person whiplash!

  46. 46.

    Nellcote

    @mr. whipple:

    I also fault Obama for not trying to give me a glittery pony. He could have at least tried.

    There’s an anonymous hold on it in the senate.

  47. 47.

    General Stuck

    @SIA: Thanks sia. The lighting is different and enhances photography out here imo. But it is the desert, and most everything is brown, with some green as I am close to the mountains. The wildflowers are awesome in their colors, but they are not abundant like back east. It’s funny, I am terribly envious of folks who live in the tropics with the variety of wildlife of all kinds. Will never go there but love to see photos on flickr. The internet makes travel to far off places possible without leaving your house.

  48. 48.

    Svenser

    I posted this on another thread. There is definitely a dead critter involved, if not 4 dead critters…

    OT, but speaking of sporting life—we seem to have a, ahem, very dead groundhog under our shed, judging from the smell and the number of flies. The shed (which was here when we bought the joint) has a concrete base and is not movable. Any ideas for cutting down on the odor and the flies? (Question is, is it just the mom, the mom and all 3 pups, or a variety?)

    Is it wrong to celebrate the death of a fellow creature? Particularly one that is quite cute? And fat from eating ALL MY VEGETABLES?!

    The smell, she is not so good, tho.

  49. 49.

    Svensker

    Oh, John, I’m in moderation cuz I mis-spelled my name. Different computer. Sorry.

  54. 54.

    Svensker

    OK, imma post this yet again, but things are getting really stinky. (You know who else got stinky?)

    OT, but speaking of sporting life—we seem to have a, ahem, very dead groundhog under our shed, judging from the smell and the number of flies. The shed (which was here when we bought the joint) has a concrete base and is not movable. Any ideas for cutting down on the odor and the flies? (Question is, is it just the mom, the mom and all 3 pups, or a variety?)

    Is it wrong to celebrate the death of a fellow creature? Particularly one that is quite cute? And fat from eating ALL MY VEGETABLES?!

    The smell, she is not so good, tho.

  60. 60.

    corkbouy

    longtime lurker here.
    I just read the Eisler book and have to say it was enjoyable. A big step up from the previous book featuring the new character.

    Also now in the middle of matterhorn. for the first 100 pages I thought it was a sub standard 13th valley, but I’m glad I’ve continued since the characters have grown on me and the way the politics/networking is handled is excellent.

  61. 61.

    Zuzu's Petals

    Just discovered my 19-year-old cat peeing in my shower, thirty feet from his litter box.

    I guess I’m mostly just glad he didn’t find a virgin area on my hardwood floors. That of course, would have required a LOT of detective work.

  62. 62.

    hamletta

    I fixed my DVD player! Woot!

    Stupid $30 thing, but I just bought it last fall. Couldn’t stand the thought that anything under $200 is supposed to be disposable, so I took off the cover, plugged it in, and loaded it up. The platter wouldn’t spin, so I gave it a little nudge, and all was well. Gonna try again with the good player El Cheapo replaced.

    Re: Fried green ‘maters: I once tried to make mayonnaise in the blender. It just wouldn’t come together, so I kept adding one more egg yolk. Finally got it to thicken up, but it didn’t taste so much like mayonnaise as some very eggy stuff.

    Few days later, got some green ‘maters, fried ’em up; and I remembered the eggy mayo. Got it out, added a forkful each of minced garlic and horseradish. Gave the ‘maters a schmear, and Oh. Mah. God.

  63. 63.

    Mnemosyne

    For some reason, I recently decided I wanted to read the Dorothy Sayers Lord Peter Wimsey novels, which somehow I’d never quite gotten around to in my various fits of reading mysteries. They really are pretty goddamned good, and I’ve gotten at least five of them electronically from Inkmesh.com.

    Don’t ever let anyone tell you that the 1930s were a more innocent time. Sayers’ Whose Body? makes it extremely clear that the detective knows from the start that the naked body found in the bathtub couldn’t possibly be that of the missing Jewish financier because of what the body is not missing. And I’m about halfway through Strong Poison, where Wimsey meets Harriet Vane, his eventual wife, when she’s put on trial for murdering her live-in boyfriend and there’s not even an hint that she’s somehow tainted for having lived with a man without being married.

    (To bring it back to Tolkien, apparently Sayers was an unofficial Inkling since she was a friend of CS Lewis, but she didn’t get to attend meetings, what with being a chick and all. Bah.)

  64. 64.

    debit

    @hamletta: The trick is to slowly add the oil. Really, really slowly. But then I can only make mayonnaise, for some reason, with a mortar and pestle.

    Before I go to bed, from the depths of the dog trailer, Luther stares at thee. (Sorry about the graininess, the iphone just doesn’t cope well after the sun goes down.) So far, all three cats have been in it to nap, hang out and just generally exude attitudes of, “This is so fucking cool. No, I am so fucking cool. Yeah! In the dog trailer, I am a god!”

  65. 65.

    Mnemosyne

    @debit:

    I’m really tempted to get a dog trailer for our cat Annie to ride in. I have a feeling she would really dig it once she got over being freaked out.

  66. 66.

    debit

    @Mnemosyne: You could try it as a stroller first, and see how she did at walking speed. I would recommend a harness and a short tie (there are d rings on each corner inside) to keep her from bolting should she claw through the mesh.

  68. 68.

    SIA

    @Mnemosyne: Whose Body is one of Sayer’s best. I also really like Unnatural Death.

    Won’t comment on Strong Poison since you’re reading it, but I love the Harriet Vane character.

    If there were enough of them to last, I could spend the rest of my life reading Austen, Trollope, and the Golden Age mystery writers including Sayers, Ngaio Marsh, Ethel Lina White & Agatha Christie. LOVE that genre.

    Edit: remove the word “love” at least once.

  70. 70.

    Mnemosyne

    @SIA:

    Have you read Kate Ross’ four books? If not, they’re a great blend of Sayers and Austen since they’re set among the gentry and aristocracy in Regency England. Whom the Gods Love, in particular, is extremely Sayers-like (though I didn’t realize it at the time since I’m only just reading Sayers now).

    Sadly, Ross died of cancer before she could publish more, but they’re terrific mysteries.

  72. 72.

    hamletta

    @Mnemosyne: Not surprising at all to a pre-code movie fan.

    America was ready for frankness back then, but the League of Decency and various state and local pecksniffs would have none of it.

    I’ve never heard of any of those bluenoses of yore using homoerotic imagery like “shoving it down our throat” in relation to Jimmy Cagney, but I could be wrong.

  73. 73.

    IndyLib

    @ellaesther:

    I love GGK, he’s one of my all-time favorite authors.

    As for the geek card, I’ll substitute reading every single Thomas Covenant the Unbeliever and The Second Chronicles of Thomas Covenant book for LOTR. I read all of LOTR, but meh.
    And I’ll substitute Star Trek for Star Wars. Don’t get me wrong, I love Star Wars, but as a 10 yr. old girl Capt. Kirk and Mr. Spock spoke to me in a way that Luke and Darth Vadar just didn’t (don’t ask me what that says about me, I’m sure I don’t want to know).

  74. 74.

    Elizabelle

    @b-psycho:

    re the Rick Barber op ed in Fred Hiatt’s Washington Post.

    Wow. Museum quality piece of peak wingnut, and a few years ago one would have been surprised that it ran in the Washington Post.

    OTOH, it’s so out there, maybe it will alarm some people into looking a little closer at what electing fools like this might bring?

  75. 75.

    Elizabelle

    PS: b-psycho: what did you think was a dogwhistle? I thought the whole piece was pretty blatant … but it might have been too subtle for me.

  76. 76.

    Yutsano

    @Elizabelle: It’s not just one dog whistle in there, it’s full of them. He bemoans the politics of fear and yet feels free to utilize those politics to advance his own career. Of course there are enough folks out there who will buy the cwap and vote for him without hesitation. It’s why the teabaggers aren’t letting up, if they win just one election they’ll take that as a sign they are on the ascendancy and double down on the crazy. It’s gonna get worse before it gets better.

  77. 77.

    b-psycho

    @Elizabelle:

    The Obama administration has inflated our money supply by more than 120 percent, refused to connect the dots between self-proclaimed jihadists and Islam and done nothing to secure our borders, all the while insisting that more government is the answer to our nation’s problems.

    Translation: “muslim = terrorist, dammit!! Who are you covering for!?”

  78. 78.

    Mnemosyne

    @hamletta:

    Nope, not surprising, but fun to shove peoples’ noses into.

    If you’re into pre-Code movies, I found a really fun book in a thrift store called Complicated Women — I keep meaning to buy the companion, Dangerous Men. It really gives you a whole new look at stars like Norma Shearer, whose post-Code work makes you wonder why the heck they were stars in the first place. And then you see, say, The Divorcee or Riptide and go, “Oh, I get it now!”

  79. 79.

    jank_w

    Hey John, since you talk about tv series you sometimes watch (though I don’t understand your unhealthy fascination with Chuck), I caught one I’d never heard of today called The Good Guys. A kind of funny cop show by the Burn Notice guy with Bradley Whitford in a mustache. Made me laugh, I was surprised I’d never heard of it, could probably recommend it based on the what I saw if you’re looking for a decent show. http://www.hulu.com/the-good-guys

  80. 80.

    b-psycho

    BTW: the failure by xenophobic wingnuts to realize that the type of immigration law enforcement they clamor for would involve the same “big government” they bitch about otherwise is always good for a chuckle.

  81. 81.

    Steeplejack

    @Mnemosyne:

    Even though they didn’t have much to do with the original novels, I liked the Masterpiece Theatre adaptations of the Wimsey novels with Ian Carmichael as Wimsey back in the ’70s. I shudder to think how they would hold up on viewing now, though.

    But, yeah, Sayers always struck me as a little “edgier”–not the proper term for those times, of course–than Agatha Christie.

  82. 82.

    Steeplejack

    @burnspbesq:

    Aussie Rules, of course. Go, Geelong Cats!

    (As usual, I am disappointed that neither of my favorite teams is playing–Footscray or St. Kilda. Just love the names.)

  84. 84.

    Steeplejack

    @jank_w:

    Jeez, I have been promoting that here–unsuccessfully–over the last month or so. The writing is still fumbling around a bit, but the show is pretty damn funny. Bradley Whitford is hilarious as the ’80s throwback cop, and Colin Hanks is a pretty good straight man.

  85. 85.

    Steeplejack

    Okay, always a bad sign when you have four posts in a row (now five, I guess) on a thread. Back away slowly, don’t make eye contact. The curse of the night shift.

  86. 86.

    Mnemosyne

    @Steeplejack:

    I’ve been a big PG Wodehouse fan since high school (20mumble years ago) and it’s really entertaining to see the conscious connections Sayers makes between Wimsey and Bertie Wooster, to the point where characters within the book make the comparisons. IIRC, Wodehouse would often return the favor and reference Sayers’ work in his stuff.

    In fact, I’m such a huge Wodehouse geek that I have a book in my collection called Wooster Proposes, Jeeves Disposes, Or, Le Mot Juste that does a full literary analysis of the Jeeves and Wooster books and stories. And a surprisingly amusing one, with a lot of insight, especially about how Wodehouse plays with the detective genre.

  87. 87.

    Yutsano

    @Steeplejack: Breathe now, it’s okay, just relax. The men in the white coats are your friends, you’ll see, it’ll all be all right?

    (Was that soothing enough? No? Tase him then.)

  89. 89.

    Steeplejack

    @Mnemosyne:

    I’ll have to check out that book. I love Wodehouse, both as a writer and in the filmed adaptations (Wodehouse Playhouse and Laurie and Fry’s Jeeves and Wooster).

    Haven’t seen Wodehouse Playhouse in ages, but I recently discovered that it is available on DVD. I’m a little nervous to see if it holds up.

  92. 92.

    Platonicspoof

    @jank_w:

    . . . though I don’t understand your unhealthy fascination with Chuck . . .

    I picture ‘all your remote controls belong to Tunch’, and Cole watching just so he knows what Tunch is watching planning to do with the evidence.

  93. 93.

    Elizabelle

    Hello evening shift.

    Who’s an insomniac, a West Coaster, or just plain a night owl?

    Good book suggestions. Have this terrible feeling we are all going to have a lot more time to read in the coming years. Inexpensive pastime.

    ====
    b-psycho: thanks re dogwhistle explanation. Is being overtaken by Islamists or becoming a cog in the totalitarian state worse?

    I thought your dogwhistle was this:

    [Obama’s] actions, words and policy suggest that he doesn’t much care for the free market or our American heritage.

    as in, OUR American heritage, not his.

  98. 98.

    Mnemosyne

    @Elizabelle:

    West Coaster night owl. I need to sign off soon, though — cleaning people are coming tomorrow morning. Why did I have to be an ADD slob who has to have cleaning people come twice a month lest her apartment look like one of those houses on “Hoarders”?

  99. 99.

    Yutsano

    @Mnemosyne: I did want to let you know I was watching TV tonight and saw the most amazing restaurant: Stella Mare in Montecito. I know it’s a bit further north than you are, but it’s in a greenhouse next to a bird sanctuary. And crab stuffed sole! Seems like a great place for a special evening.

    EDIT: the website.

  100. 100.

    Steeplejack

    Book-mo:

    I just finished Alan Furst’s Spies of the Balkans, which is pretty good. I suspect Furst may be a bit of an acquired taste. His specialty is the mise–en–scène of Europe just before and during World War II, before it became apparent that Germany would lose. Lots of angst and dread, but in a good way. Some of his books can be maddening in the way that things are not resolved–and by “not resolved” I mean they just stop in the middle of things–but I recommend him for the bracing experience. The Polish Officer is probably my favorite, followed by The Spies of Warsaw.

    They don’t have to be read in sequence, except for the pair The World at Night and Red Gold, which relate the (downward spiraling) experiences of a Parisian film producer after the Germans take over France. Those two are the most frustrating of all Furst’s books: the second ends literally with a knock on the door in the middle of the night. Room service? The Gestapo? WTF?!

    And now I’m just starting Don Winslow’s “war on drugs” epic The Power of the Dog as a prelude to his new book, Savages, which, according to the New York Times, is going to be his breakout book.

  104. 104.

    Mnemosyne

    @Yutsano:

    It’s too far for a single night, but we go to Santa Barbara a couple of times a year and keep meaning to go to Stella Mare. We rented bikes and rode around the bird refuge and spotted it then. It’s definitely a gorgeous location. Hmm. Maybe we’ll have to go next time we’re up there. Thanks!

    If you’re ever looking for lunch in downtown Santa Barbara, I can highly recommend the Tupelo Junction Cafe (though I wasn’t super-impressed with their dinners). New Southern food with the most dee-lish vegetarian red beans and rice (and I’m not even a vegetarian).

  105. 105.

    asiangrrlMN

    @b-psycho: I read the first few paragraphs before my brain froze (when he was explaining why he was being intentionally provocative with the slavery shtick) and refused to comprehend any more. It’s a good thing, really, as the fury was causing me to almost literally (but only figuratively, really) see red.

    @Elizabelle: I am an insomniac and a night owl, located in the Midwest.

    @Steeplejack: Dude. It happens to me all the time. I just talk amongst myself until someone else happens along.

    P.S. Hi, Yutsy. I love Dr. D.

  107. 107.

    Elizabelle

    tech question: how do you fit the links into a sentence?

    As in, link in blue within “LA Times re earthquakes.”

    I am such technical road kill.

  108. 108.

    Yutsano

    @Mnemosyne: Fried green maters. Saw enough, I’m there!

    @asiangrrlMN: For some bizarro reason I’m watching a Sidney Crosby commercial over and over on YouTube. RedKitten may be involved somehow although I haven’t determined her exact involvement yet.

    @Elizabelle: I’ll be honest: I cheat. The sequence that shows up when you hit the reply button is the exact same method for linking to text directly. You just modify it to take out the comment and insert the website you want and then replace the person’s name with whatever text you want and you’re set.

  109. 109.

    Mnemosyne

    Since we’re talking about literature books, here’s an all-time internet classic with someone taking down his guilty pleasure, books that he can barely believe were actually published and that cause him to periodically stop and scream the following phrase just to retain his sanity while reading them:

    OH JOHN RINGO NO.

    ETA to add the writer’s word of warning:

    I feel about the PALADIN OF SHADOWS series the way that a lot of people feel about ALL-STAR BATMAN AND ROBIN: it is so horrifically awful that it becomes TOTALLY FUCKING AWESOME. Unless, of course, you have triggers about some or all of this stuff, in which case my recommendation is TO RUN AS FAR AND AS FAST AS YOU CAN.

    So read with caution if you’re easily triggered.

  111. 111.

    Elizabelle

    @Mnemosyne:

    It will take our mind off those in our country going nuts.

    David Broder has a column today that’s beyond parody. He interviews someone from the American Enterprise Institute who says lots of nice things about Ronald Reagan.

    Broder thinks the Tea Party has to put on its sunnier face.

  114. 114.

    Yutsano

    @Elizabelle: I am many things, a techno geek I am not. I am never above finding an easier method for accomplishing a task if it can be done. When it occurred to me that the methods were more or less the same it was pretty easy to just adjust from there.

    @asiangrrlMN: BTW dear meant to show you this the other day when I stumbled upon it. Absolutely atrocious picture of her but the interview was great.

  115. 115.

    asiangrrlMN

    @Elizabelle: If you look above the commenting box, there is a link button (it’s in blue). If I want to link something, I copy the link I want to past, then I highlight the text I want to link, say the name of a song, Is There Anybody Out There by Floyd. Then I hit the link button, and a link box will come up. Then, I insert the link. Voila! Link with text in blue! Hopefully, this will work.

    @MattR: Sorry! I fixed it. I realized that mistakes were made.

  116. 116.

    MattR

    @Yutsano: @Elizabelle: Y’all don’t have a row of buttons between where it says “Comments” and the actual box where you type your comment?

    @asiangrrlMN: What a tease with that link. You didn’t even pick out a good version for me to listen to :)

  117. 117.

    Yutsano

    @asiangrrlMN: I did try that once. Either that link box no likey FireFox (entirely possible, FYWP) or I r doing it wrong. Since I couldn’t rule out PEBCAK, I’m relying on my slightly more complicated but thus far more reliable method.

  118. 118.

    asiangrrlMN

    @Yutsano: That was wonderful. You are right that the picture sucks, but I forgive her. Sigh. She’s such a guilty pleasure for me.

    @MattR: Ooooh, I like! One great thing about BJ is that the late-night shift has such good taste in music. You turning in? Night!

  119. 119.

    Yutsano

    @asiangrrlMN: FWIW she more than likely didn’t pick that, some idiot editor did. Considering how luminous she looks in the video, you would think they would have selected a better shot. Oh well.

    Did FH #1 get eaten by an exploding cake?

  121. 121.

    asiangrrlMN

    @Yutsano: No kidding. I am SURE she didn’t pick it. Dunno where FH#1 is. He flits in and out to his heart’s content. I hope he graces us with his presence BEFORE I hit the sack.

    @MattR: I am waiting for it to load, but I have to ask, WTF are pooties and woozles? P.S. I envision you in NYC for some reason. Right or wrong?

  125. 125.

    MattR

    @asiangrrlMN: I’ll go with “Tunches and Lilys” next time to prevent any confusion. I lived in NYC for a while in my 20’s but now live in the land far, far away called New Jersey. I’m currently a whopping 35 minute drive from Manhattan without traffic (which never happens). And I may end up a bit closer if/when I find a house to buy.

    And this is the only video for a band that put on perhaps the greatest live show that I have seen. I actually don’t remember many details other than having no idea who they were going in and ended up being blown away by the end of their 40 minute set. Sadly, the video is for a song that is a tribute to Kurt Cobain but the video is a tribute to two members of the band who were killed in a van accident while touring after their first album had been made.

  129. 129.

    asiangrrlMN

    @MattR: Sad story behind the song, but great song. So you’re in Jersey. Hm. I will continue to picture you in NYC if that’s OK with you.

    @Steeplejack: I know. I was just teasing you. As for the Sade video. Um, yeah. I’ll be back in a few minutes….

  135. 135.

    Steeplejack

    I’m out. Sudden systems failure in Sector 5. Mañana.

    (I think it was Sade and Helena Christensen colliding in the massive hardon hadron accelerator. Waiting for black-box analysis.)

  136. 136.

    Yutsano

    @Steeplejack: Cold shower. Cold shower! Else you shall have to knock boots with wifey. Come to think of it…you both would enjoy that. Ignore first instruction please. Carry on my good lad, carry on.

  138. 138.

    asiangrrlMN

    @MattR: I dig that second song very much. Night. Sweet dreams in NYC Joisey. I am not fake-married to Steepman, so it would be outside of my fake-marriages sex. And your robot chicken link did not work. You fix! (h/t Steepman).

    @Steeplejack: Sultry dreams to you, Steepman!

    @Yutsano: Hey, what, huh? I’m knocking boots and don’t even know it? How did that happen?

  140. 140.

    MattR

    @asiangrrlMN: Ah. I can’t keep up with all your fake husbands. In that case, carry on. :)

    Not sure why the robot chicken link is not working. There is kind of a long pause as it loads that commercial so that may be throwing you off. If it still isn’t working, here is some different Star Wars material to hold you over.

  141. 141.

    asiangrrlMN

    @MattR: Oh, I will! Carrying on is one of my fortes. I’m getting an error message for the first vid. I will get it to work. I am stubborn like that. Gr. It’s not working. Now I haz a grumpy. Oh well. I don’t like Star Wars, anyway.

    @MattR: This one I’ve seen before. It’s hi-larious.

  142. 142.

    Yutsano

    @asiangrrlMN: You got lost in Alan Rickmany goodness and poof before you knew it it was happening. Personally I say it about damn time you did a BJer.

    @MattR: FWIW link worked just fine for me. Not certain what the exact issue is there.

    And on that note I’m pooped. Night y’all.

  143. 143.

    MattR

    @asiangrrlMN: You definitely dont want to go to sleep with a grumpy. You can go to the youtube search and type “robot chicken star wars gary” and go with the first result.

  146. 146.

    Svensker

    @Steeplejack:

    Even though they didn’t have much to do with the original novels, I liked the Masterpiece Theatre adaptations of the Wimsey novels with Ian Carmichael as Wimsey back in the ‘70s. I shudder to think how they would hold up on viewing now, though.

    They’re still really good. Ian Carmichael was too old, which really shows in The Nine Tailors, but he really was Wimsey — he felt Peter in his bones. He was actually the force behind getting the shows done because he loved the books so.

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