Glibertarians.com 2019 Archive

Author: Glib Staff

  • What Are We Reading – December 2019

    SugarFree

    I enjoyed Paperbacks from Hell: The Twisted History of ‘70s and ‘80s Horror Fiction, Grady Hendrix’s romp through the post-Stephen King boom in horror publishing. I’m consumed quite a bit of horror from this era and I still found quite a few books–bizarre, deranged, amazing books– that I want to read.

    For example, here is Hendrix describing Toy Cemetary, by William C. Johnstone:

    Toy Cemetery (1987) achieves maximum Johnstone. Vietnam vet Jay Clute returns to Victory, Missouri, where he grew up, with nine-year-old daughter Kelly in tow. Within hours of his arrival, Jay discovers that the two major local landmarks are (1) an enormous doll factory in the center of town run by an obese pedophile named Bruno Dixon, who films satanic kiddie porn in it, and (2) a high-security hospital/mental institution/underground research facility that houses the “products of incest,” enormous man-monsters with apple-sized heads and superhuman strength. Tiny toys run amok, as does incest. Jay and his daughter almost hook up their first night, only to snap out of it when the crosses they’re wearing clink together.

    Reading this book is like driving through a dust storm while in a post-concussion haze: the harder you try to focus, the more everything slips away into an insanity vortex. A supermarket check-out girl’s head explodes, but no one seems to mind. Possessed teenage boys follow Kelly through town, waggling their inappropriate boners until she fights them with karate and kills one with an ax. Everyone has a secret doll collection. A tiny French general leads a toy army.

    Johnstone piles incident on incident, trope on trope, and if something isn’t working he keeps on piling. When time itself needs to be brought to a screeching halt, Jay Clute just pulls out his gun and shoots a clock. Because clocks make time, right? In William W. Johnstone’s world, why not?

    Who could possibly resist?

    OMWC

    Partway through painful progress on Quantum Mechanics and Path Integrals by Richard Feynman and Albert Hibbs. At one time, this would have been light reading for me… in any case, this is a much deeper dive into the basic concepts outlined in Volume 3 of the Feynman Lectures at a math level that’s challenging but not impenetrable. Feynman basically disassembled the foundations of quantum theory and recast it in a novel approach to least-action and uses this method to attack the classical problems in quantum theory (e.g., harmonic oscillators, many-body, perturbation theory) in literally a more dynamic fashion than the basic Heisenberg/Schroedinger/Dirac approaches I was taught.

    Yes, I’m a geek.

    SP

    I’ve been reading more escapist books. This month it’s been the Ruth Galloway series by Elly Griffiths. Ruth is a forensic archaeologist in Norfolk, England, who is sometimes brought in by the local police to lend her expertise when bones crop up in various places and situations. One of her best friends is a practicing Druid. Good, light reading.

    Brett L

    I haven’t read a damn thing worth a damn this month. Limitless Lands is probably the best of a bad bunch on Kindle Unlimited. I’m coming out of the closet, I’m kind of a Lit-RPG fan. Anyhow, I like the character and the writing of this one. A little military worshipful for me, and the character somehow joins a faction that is basically the Roman Empire if it had outlawed slavery and other brutal practices.

    Jesse.in.mb

    The Vine Witch by Luanne G. Smith. A light read, pretty perfect for a flight and killing time while I can’t sleep on CET. Some of the plots go unresolved, but nothing too egregious.

    JW

    I feel like I’ve graduated. This morning, I read the back of an oatmeal box. Did you know that Quakers had buckles on their shoes?

  • Christmas Night Open Post

    TPTB are all either: a) exhausted; b) drunk; or c) lazy.

    So you get to enjoy an Open Post tonight. Or, you don’t have to.

     

     

     

  • What Are We Reading – November 2019

    Brett L

    I finished Mark Lawrence’s newest trilogy (Impossible Times). It is a closed loop time-travel story centering around a British D&D group. It starts in the early 80s, where the teen protagonist has cancer. He is visited by a future version of himself, who is focused on getting an advanced technology to record memories to his past version so they can record the memories of their sweetheart who will have a serious brain trauma in 30 years. Like all of Lawrence’s stuff, its very readable. I was disappointed about the deus ex machina in the third book that tied everything up in a neat “they all lived happily ever after” bow. Although I will say that the effort put into making the characters’ D&D campaign foreshadow the actual story is fun. Would read again, especially at the cheap price-point.

     

    jesse.in.mb

    Grindr.

    Martin L. Shoemaker – The Last Dance (The Near-Earth Mysteries Book 1). I don’t know that it’s quite a mystery novel. The facts of the case are clear from the start and it’s a matter of context and judgement that make up the suspense of the novel. The sentiments are libertarianish about judgements needing to be made close to home. The cadence of the book was enjoyable, though maybe not to the point of being gripping. I’ll be interested in where Mr. Shoemaker takes the series.

    JW

    Krispy Kritters box. Man, this has really given me a new outlook on life.

     

    mexican sharpshooter

    I am afraid I have nothing for you this month.

    OMWC

    I have even less than mexican unless you want to hear about exciting things like Dow Guide to Flexible Foams. Having Mom here pretty much takes all my non-work time. The books are on the shelf crying in loneliness.

     

    SP

    I’m a little burnt out, so I’ve been reading escapist books. Mostly John Rebus books by Ian Rankin.

    I also read The Red Baron of Arizona  which could serve as a useful primer on how to become a con artist. This guy was seriously dedicated, going to great lengths to pull it off. The book was made into a movie starring Vincent Price, but it’s part of The Criterion Collection, so I haven’t seen it yet.

    Does anyone here subscribe to the The Criterion Channel (TedS?)? Is it worth it?

     

    SugarFree

    I’ve been reading books about murderous children: Carrie and Firestarter by Stephen King, The Bad Seed by William March, The Midwich Cuckoos by John Wyndham, The Other by Thomas Tryon, “The Little Assassian” by Ray Bradbury, “Children of the Kingdom” by T. E. D. Klein. No real reason why, I just got interested. There are more for me to read. It’s a substantial subgenre.

     

     

     

  • Thanksgiving Night Open Post

    You know TPTB are out of commission…or in jail…by now. So have a Thanksgiving Night Open Post for dessert!

    Carb, calorie, and guilt free!

     

  • What Are We Reading for October 2019

    It’s October, which means you’ve all been reading the copy of The Collected Works of SugarFree we sent C/O your direct supervisor, right? I hope it didn’t get lost in the mail. Binding books in the skin of genuine Subaru drivers is both time consuming and expensive.

    jesse.in.mb

    Suzanne Crowder Han: Korean Folk & Fairy Tales. I brought this home with me from Daegu  and read it at the time, but had forgotten just how odd some of the folk tales could be (especially when filtered through cultural and linguistic translation. The main thing is if you ever get a chance to trick a dokkaebi  (도깨비) out of xer bangmangi (방망이), you should definitely do it and then explain to your shithead older brother who had disinherited you after your father died how you went about it so that he can get his comeuppance when he acts out of greed rather than innocence.

    S. Blyth Stirling: Naked Scotland: An American Insider Bares All. I’d be lying if I said that cover had nothing to do with me picking the book. I was mostly looking for a primer on cultural mishaps beyond calling slacks “pants” or discussing the inexplicably-popular-again “fanny packs.” The book is breezy and fun and sits comfortably in the American Abroad and Travelogue genres.

     

    SP

    I’ve been reading thrilling textbooks on subjects as fun as medical law and ethics. Or trying to get time to read them, anyway.

    However, I’ve been taking small bites of some cookbooks and ways-of-eating books. You’ll notice a theme.

    The MIND Diet

    The MIND Diet Plan and Cookbook

    Diet for the MIND

    The Healthy Mind Cookbook

    Deep Nutrition

    If there is any interest, I’ll write a post about the MIND diet.

     

    Tulip

    I am re-reading all of Susan Wittig Albert’s China Bayles series.  China Bayles is a former Houston criminal defense attorney who leaves the rat race behind to run an herb shop in the fictional Texas hill country town of Pecan Springs.  Like many fictional towns, Pecan Springs has a crazy high murder rate and China helps to solve them.  If you like cozy mystery series, this one is great.  There are over 20 books in the series, the characters actually evolve over time, and Albert includes recipes and further reading in every book.  So far, every recipe I have tried from the series has been great.

     

    OMWC

    I’ve barely had time to wind my wristwatch. Wait, do people still wind wristwatches? Let me tell you about the onion on my belt…

    But at least I can get a few minutes in while relaxing in the smallest room of the house. And what’s in there includes Frederik Pohl and Jack Williamson’s Farthest Star,  a rather pedestrian SF novel with some crafty writing but nothing particularly novel (cough, cough) to say. Painful for me to write this since I am a huge fan of Pohl. The genre is often termed “Big Dumb Object” and I think that’s fitting. This book is perfect for the application.

    The other book gracing the bathroom is the oft-thumbed Valve Amplifiers, 4th Edition. Geeks only, please, but if you are consumed with electronic anacrophilia as I am, this will delight.

     

    SugarFree

    Lovecraft, all Lovecraft. I reread it all every couple of years. Going back to him after spending the summer reading the antecedents to his fictional universe and the descendants that followed it, going back to the man himself is very comforting.

    Fun Fact: On a word count basis, all the fiction Lovecraft ever produced is still less to read than Stephen King’s It.

     

    Mad Scientist

    How To Restore British Sports Cars by Jay Lamm. This isn’t really a “how to” book so much as it is generalized advice applicable to many vehicles. Not necessarily British. Not even necessarily cars.

    mexican sharpshooter

    This month I picked up a classic with a twist.  Mary Shelly’s Frankenstein: Annotated for Scientists, Engineers, and Creators of All Kinds.  I was given the option of reading it in high school but I instead picked a different book to report on.  I want to say it was War of the Worlds but I don’t recall.  What I do recall is my English teacher simply citing the phrase “undead” to describe the book.  As much as I enjoyed his class I am happy to say he was wrong.  I am rather enjoying it, though it is taking longer than I anticipated.  The entire book is annotated by a number of experts in the field of chemistry, physics, sociology, and ethics.  The book itself is nothing like how it was portrayed in Hollywood, especially given how intelligent the monster is throughout the book and draws many questions all too often posed in science fiction, such as, “What is the whole human thing anyways?”

  • What Are We Reading – September 2019

    SugarFree

    Still working on re-reading The Expanse series. (Too much Borderlands 3, brah.) I hadn’t read the last two books, so I’m into new stuff, finally. Not sure how the TV show is going to handle the [censored]. But the end of the 6th books, Babylon’s Ashes, wouldn’t be the worst place to stop the show so they might not have to worry about it. I should be done with the series in time for my all-horror October tradition.

     

    OMWC

    I will confess that most of my book reading this past month has been in the bathroom. And nothing particularly interesting. Lots of magazines, though. Geeky, geeky magazines.

    So this will be prospective: I’m about to take a plane trip, and my reading on the way will be something beyond geeky. Bob Cordell’s Designing Audio Power Amplifiers was sent to me as a courtesy copy, and I’m anxious to dig in. This is the shit you do when you don’t actually have a life, but it will sustain me through 8-10 hours of airplane and gate area entertainment..

     

    jesse.in.mb

    Atkins New Diet Revolution. The boyfriend wanted to “go keto” and I suggested we maybe read a book about it instead of basing our diet on the whims of Redditors. The BF continued to read random things from Redditors and is getting a bit crazy. I need a beer to handle this and cannot have one. Weep for me Glibertarians.

    Finally finished The Boys which I started months ago and just picked up when I had 20 minutes and a tablet in hand. It was good. The humor felt ’90s transgressive (even though it’s from the mid-aughts): sort of ham-fistedly offensive for the sake of offense, and there was a massive lull of filler stories in the middle but I was glad I finished it up and would still recommend it even with what I perceive as shortcomings.

     

    mexican sharpshooter

    I promised everyone I would read something this month; I finally came through on a promise!  First time this week…

    I read Universal Basic Income:  For and Against by Anthony Sammeroff.  This name might strike a few of you as familiar as this is the person Andrew Yang was scheduled earlier this month to debate regarding UBI, but apparently found better things to do.

    He does go through the arguments for UBI, and many of the theoretical benefits it may provide such a society, and does so in as objective manner one could expect from an opponent of the idea. He doesn’t spend a lot of time arguing against it in this book, rather he questions why modern necessities became so expensive.  Half the book cleverly spells out the reason UBI is not needed, by pointing out all the things proponents of UBI insist is needed because of it’s great expensive is a result of the deleterious effects of government policy on the market.  He discusses housing markets for example, as one area one might spend their monthly stipend, then discusses all the ways government regulations limit housing development, dry up supply, and therefore drive up housing prices.  The market he argues, creates competition necessary to drive the cost of luxuries down to where they are not really luxuries anymore, which raises the standard of living for those at the bottom of the income ladder.

    He even discusses automation and cites case studies performed by the US Air Force that found the drone programs actually increased the number of Airman and contractors needed to make the drones fly—in spite of the fact the drone does not have a pilot and aircrew on board.

    Ultimately the message is remove that one thing that keeps the market from functioning in its natural form, and we don’t really need an arbitrarily defines standard of living issued to everybody.

    JW

    I’m back to cereal boxes, but I’ve expanded my reach to high bran cereal. That gives me time to take the box into the toilet with me for reading.

     

     

  • Friday Night All Star Cryptid Advice Round Up 2

    She will not be giving advice.

    Greetings, Glibertariat. We at Glib HQ decided to do the All Cryptid Advice Rodeo, Goat Rope … Festival? Uh, whatever you would call all 3 Guest Cryptids giving advice in one post, once again. So, without further delay, we will turn to our Senior Cascadia Correspondent, STEVE SMITH. STEVE?

    DR. STEVE SMITH, FCRAP.

    STEVE SMITH HONORED BE FIRST. HIM GIVE GOOD ADVICE. IT TAKE TO TODAY FOR STEVE SMITH BRAIN NOT BE AFRAID, BECAUSE SUGARFREE POST. BUT HIM HERE HELP OUT! SILLY SLATE HOOMANS NEED STEVE SMITH GIVE BETTER ADVICE.

    Q: I have a pretty straightforward problem: My girlfriend only gets properly wet during sex when we talk about her having sex with other men. She talks about a lot of men from her past—stories that I assume are part fantasy, though I know she’s had a lot of partners. I didn’t take this personally at first, but it is literally every single time. After a long streak of this, I tried to say “Not this time, OK, babe?” She agreed, but then it became clear it needed to happen for her to be properly aroused. I go down on her and there is plenty of foreplay, but nothing else works. I suppose we could try lubing her up to help pave over her not being turned on enough, but that seems like it skirts the real problem. Is there any way to help her move on from her fixation on this kink? I nearly love the gal and other elements of our relationship tell me we’re attracted to each other, but I can’t spend the rest of my life listening to what other men have done to her every time we have sex.

    – Storytime

    A: THIS EASY. TAKE GIRLFRIEND TO STREAM. THROW IN WATER, RAPE. NO WORRY ABOUT MAKING SILLY TALK. STEVE SMITH LIKE WHEN HIM CATCH HOOMANS FISHING IN STREAMS. SAVE TIME. AND WEAR TEAR. BUT IF NO HAVE STREAM, GET TAPE. MAYBE TENNIS BALL? IT US OPEN TIME, SHOULD BE SALE OF TENNIS BALL! THAT STOP BLAHBLAHBLAH. LAST IDEA – MAYBE YOU JUST BAD AT SEX? WATCH STEVE SMITH, LEARN.

    FREE CASCADIA! (AND NO READ SUGARFREE UNLESS WELL LIT AREA AND HAVE TEDDY BEAR NEAR)

     

    … OK then. Thank you, um, DR. SMITH. We will next hear from our Head-on-the-Scene at the Vortex, ZARDOZ. Over to you, ZARDOZ.

     

    ZARDOZ SPEAKS TO YOU, HIS CHOSEN ONES. ZARDOZ WILL MAKE SURE THE CHOSEN ONES REMAIN ON THE ONE TRUE PATH….THE VORTEX PATH. ZARDOZ WILL SPEAK ADVICE THAT WILL GUIDE THE CHOSEN ONES TO THE WAY OF CLEANSING THE BRUTALS WHO PLAGUE THE EARTH. AND WRITE SYNDICATED ADVICE COLUMNS… GO FORTH AND READ!

    Q: I am a single male in my early 50s who looks younger. A married couple approached me and expressed their desire for me to become intimate with them as a couple. They are only acquaintances. I was surprised but interested when they told me they have an open marriage and would like me to participate with the wife. They are into threesomes, swinging and swapping. I have never participated in such activities, although I admit that I am now very curious. They know I am a religious person and told me that they don’t consider it to be adultery or coveting since they are willing participants and there are no secrets or desire to break up their marriage. I told them I’d think about it and get back to them.

    When I discussed it with my married brother, he was all for it. But when I talked about it with my divorced sister, at first she thought I was trying to recruit her as a participant, which I was not. Once I cleared that up, she voiced no opinion. I am a clean-cut boy-next-door type of person. I don’t flirt with women, and I’m discreet about my personal life. This could be why this couple approached me. I would appreciate your thoughts. — CURIOUS IN CALIFORNIA

    A: MISERABLE BRUTAL – YOU ARE BIPEDAL PROOF THE PENIS IS EVIL! HAS NOT ZARDOZ INSTRUCTED ALL OF YOU ON THIS MORE THAN ONCE? NOW YOU SEEK TO DOUBLE THE PENIC ACTIVITY WITH THE FEMALE BRUTAL?! STOP SHOOTING SEEDS THAT CREATE NEW LIFE, LEST YOU BE STRUCK DOWN BY AN ANGRY ALLAH, VENGEFUL YHWH OR PLUGGED BY A BRUTAL EXTERMINATOR WIELDING THE GIFT OF THE GUN. ZARDOZ CAN ONLY HOPE YOU GO TO CONFESS YOUR ERROR AND GET CLEANSED BY YOUR LOCAL RELIGIOUS AUTHORITY.

    None of that!

    ZARDOZ HAS SPOKEN.

    …

    Not really a theological prescription I had expected to hear, but it is the Cyptids’ post… Soooo. Last, but by no means least, we have our Maritime Correspondent, SEA SMITH. SEA, what do you have for us?

    SEA SMITH HEAR ORANJ MAN WANT BUY GREENLAND? SEA SMITH HANG OUT THERE!

     

    SEA SMITH IS MOST POLITE CRYPTID! HE ALWAYS SAY PLEASE, THANK YOU WHEN RAPE SHIP AND CREW! HE READ ADVICE AND THINK, HE DO BETTER THAN SILLY LAND HOOMAN, MS. MANNERS! COME SEE SEA SMITH MANNERS ADVICE. IT BEST!

    Q: When one person is already in a narrow hallway, and another person comes down the stairs and tries to enter the hallway and pass by the person already in the hallway, what should happen?

    A: THIS ALWAYS HAPPEN WHEN SEA SMITH BOARD SHIP! CREW RUN SCREAM AND TRY GO THROUGH HATCH AND HIDE BELOW. THEM RUN INTO OTHER CREW HOOMAN IN HALL. WHAT SHOULD HAPPEN? THEM GET ALL TANGLE UP, FALL DOWN AND MAKE EASY FOR SEA SMITH CATCH ALL THEM. BY CATCH, MEAN RAPE.

    THIS EASY! TRY NEXT.

    Q: Could you please tell me proper etiquette for a wedding reception that has now been changed to a “pre-elopement party”? Does this call for the same gift as a wedding?

    A: SEA SMITH USUALLY BRING SAME GIFT ALL PARTIES. GIFT OF RAPE. BUT IF PRE-ELOPMENT PARTY, BRING TWO GIFT. FISH, AND RAPE. THEM NEED MORE GIFT, SINCE THEM RUN AWAY. MOST HOOMANS RUN AWAY SEA SMITH….IT NOT MATTER WEDDING OR ELOPE!

    ONE MORE!

    Q: If someone is riding in the back seat of a car with friends, and the driver drops off the other friends first, should the remaining one in the back seat move up to the front seat?

    A: SEA SMITH NO RIDE IN CAR. BUT WHEN HE GET IN BOAT, ALL OTHER GIVE SEAT SEA SMITH, WHEN THEM JUMP OVERBOARD. SO SEA SMITH ADVISE, GO WHERE WANT. DRIVER OBJECT, RAPE THEM, TAKE CAR.

     

    COME ON IN, WATER IS FINE!

     

    Uhhh… yeah. That…that will wrap up this installment of the Great Cryptid Advice Roundup.

  • What Are We Reading – August 2019

    JW

    I picked up a refurbed Kindle Paperwhite recently, so I’m actually reading something, other than the articles in Playboy.  I took it with me on vacation and started “Leviathan Wakes”, by James S.A. Corey; book 1 of what “The Expanse” is based on.  I enjoyed the series greatly, so I thought it would be fun to see how much it differs from the book.  Short answer, if you go by the show’s seasons, quite a bit.  None of the gubmint characters who figured prominently in the show’s early episodes have been introduced as yet.  No Mars-Belt war in the show either.

    But, it’s solidly enjoyable read and good for the show’s background material, as I like punishing myself with that kind of minutia.

    Who knows, now that I have a Kindle just lying around, maybe I’ll finally start reading regularly again.  Maybe.

    jesse.in.mb

    Finally finished The Last Policeman. It should’ve been an enjoyable procedural set just before the world ends, but I had too much going on to read it in a single siting and it suffered by being broken up into little bits and pieces. I’m currently working on Anne Corlett’s The Space Between the Stars because it was available in the local public library’s audiobook section and it had name recognition from io9’s review of it. It’s actually pretty enjoyable. A plague wipes out everyone but a handful of people were isolated for various reasons spread across Earth’s far-flung colonial system. The government is made up of assholes and the main character just wants to be left alone.

    mexican sharpshooter

    I ain’t got nothin…I’ll pick something up for next time around.

    OMWC

    Most of my reading time has been with such fascinating places as LinkedIn and Monster. But I did pull down an old favorite off the shelf, Charles Coulson’s Valence. One of my long-time geekeries and the thing in college that sidetracked me from an original career aim of engineering to becoming a chemist was an inordinate fascination with what holds molecules together and why they have the shape they do. This book and Pauling’s Nature of the Chemical Bond were almost fetish objects to Young Man With Candy. Did I mention I was a geek? If you were always itching to have a really lucid comparison of the molecular orbital and valence bond approaches to understanding molecular structure and dynamics, you have found Nirvana. The math level is low enough that even old and rusty guys like me can deal with it- basic differential equations and linear algebra.

    Side note: Coulson was also a religious author and coined the phrase “God of the Gaps.” He was the PhD adviser to Peter Higgs of the Higgs Boson fame, and an early advocate of using science to improve food production in the Third World- I would not be surprised to find that he was an inspiration for Norman Borlaug.

     

    SugarFree

    I’m rereading The Expanse series, including all the prequels and interstitial stories. It is some really solid science fiction, something rare these days. I hope Amazon doesn’t screw the pooch with the new season.

    As a side note: Another Life, on Netflix, may be the worst science fiction television of the decade. The plot is derivative–a mash-up of a few other things and done poorly, relies on the “everyone’s an asshole!” model of character development to create drama, the science is laughably bad (why in the fuck would you need to do a gravity slingshot around a sun if you have FTL drive?) and it is seemingly produced and written by people who hate science fiction.

    Brett L

    I went and picked up one of The Expanse novellas, this one the back-story on Amos. Had I read it before the particular book that dealt with Amos’s return to Baltimore (still a shithole, OMWC!, even in 2250) I might have liked it more. It really didn’t add much. As an aside, I binge watched the first three seasons of The Expanse. Although the character playing Amos is too young and thin, the guy playing him does a great job of capturing Amos’s core character as a nice guy who thinks kids should be protected and all other human life is completely worthless. It is a strange, friendly, dead-eyed psychopathy that the actor pretty much nails.

    I also read the first book of Larry Correia’s Monster Hunter series. I give it a solid B. It breaks no new ground, the characters are fine, and the story moves along. It does kind of feel like the Koch brothers funded vision of The Laundry Files.

    For business, I picked up Effective Azure DevOps, because while I’m not drinking the devops Flavor-Aid, I did just lose a senior resource, and anything I can do to standardize and automate our build and deploy process will help me deliver a more consistent product and not have to do as much rework, which I no longer have the resources to indulge in where avoidable. Like any other set of IT practices, one should always be aware that your business is not necessarily the one the authors had when they created the process.

     

  • Um, is this where the links should be?

    So, it looks like TPTB dropped the ball yet again.

    But we’ll blame Brett L because he’s apparently in Communicado, wherever that is.

    Here’s an open post for you while you wait for CPRM’s new Animated H&H tonight!

     

     

  • What Are We Reading for July 2019

    OMWC

    One of my “reading words” is “chrestomathy.” I have no idea how to pronounce it, and I keep forgetting to look it up. At least I know what it means, a selection of passages from an author to aid in understanding a language. So between reading “help wanted” ads, writing 75 different versions of my resume, and finishing up a couple paid articles, I grabbed the two volumes of HL Mencken’s eponymous Chrestomathies off our shelves for some comfort. And they really are quite soothing if you are a cantankerous and cynical person, as I am. In this case, the chrestomathy is designed to teach the language of criticism and invective, with a sharp turn toward literary and social insight. Besides his considerable wit, Mencken had a wonderful ear for the sound of language.

    It is not by accident that there has never been a book on Socialism which was also a work of art. Papa Marx’s Das Kapital at once comes to mind. It is as wholly devoid of graces as The Origin of Species or Science and Health; one simply cannot conceive a reasonable man reading it without aversion; it is as revolting as a barrel organ.

    -from “Jack London”

    He is a man who has lied and dissembled, and a man who has crawled. He knows the taste of boot-polish. He has suffered kicks in the tonneau of his pantaloons. He has taken orders from his superiors in knavery and he has wooed and flattered his inferiors in sense. His public life is an endless series of evasions and false pretenses. He is willing to embrace any issue, no matter how idiotic, that will get him votes,and he is willing to sacrifice any principle, however sound, that will lose them for him. I do not describe the democratic politician at his inordinate worst; I describe him as he is encountered in the full sunshine of normalcy

    -from “Notes on Democracy”

     

    SugarFree

    I was all over the place this month, reeling drunkenly from short story to short story, genre to genre, the only novel of note was a re-read of Fight Club, which I’ve done every couple of years since it was published in 1996. It is very, very close to being a perfect novel: black as night, funny and angry, well-written and bold. The novel has been overshadowed by the movie adaption, but the movie is all straight from the book, even lifting large chunks of dialogue directly, but neither diminishes the other. Both should be studied as how to adapt a piece of fiction for the screen, namely, if there’s a good reason to adapt it, maybe don’t throw out all the parts that made the work worth adapting in the first place. [casts Swiss’ patented narrowed-gaze at Altered Carbon, Less Than Zero, World War Z, Starship Troopers, Wanted, ad infinitum]

     

    jesse.in.mb

    My will to read has been blunted by two months of legal documents, application forms and fixing the sub-literate internal and outward-facing forms, paperwork and notices of my workplace. Perhaps I’ll finish the novel I’ve been 2/3 of the way through for four months on my flight to New Jersey today, but I’ll probably just watch a shitty movie on the in-light entertainment system instead.

    mexican sharpshooter

    I am afraid the only thing I read of consequence in the last month is my company’s compliance policy with GDPR, the SOP related to it, and the proposed rewrite I drew up and sent to the lawyers for approval.

    JW

    This week JW is reading palms…with his dick. Drop by JW’s Boutique Palmistry shop and find out the intimate details of your future by giving JW a handy.*

     

    *Lubricant will be provided gratis by jesse.in.mb, apparently this shit has an expiration date.

    SP

    I’m continuing to work my way through Jon Talton’s David Mapstone series in eBooks borrowed from the Maricopa County Library District. I’m on High Country Nocturne. I’m still enjoying them, but the emotional drama with the protagonist’s personal relationships has started wearing on me. I don’t do emotional drama in my own relationships, and I generally don’t want to deal with it in my escapist reading, either.

    However, what I’m mostly concentrating on currently are books on Alzheimer’s, dementia, memory loss, cognitive decline, and how to be an effective caregiver to people undergoing the process. I’m not necessarily fooling myself that we’ll be able to reverse it, but we might be able to slow the progression. Maybe.

    The neuroscience is always fascinating to me, but right now I am really reading to understand more of what my mother-in-law is experiencing and learn new ways to cope with the exhaustion and sadness I am encountering as we enfold her into our home and daily life. We didn’t expect it to be easy, but I’m not sure I fully understood how draining it is emotionally to witness her struggle all day every day.

    If I find any of the books particularly helpful or insightful, I’ll write a standalone post on the topic in August.