Intermarkets' Privacy Policy Support
Donate to Ace of Spades HQ! Recent Entries
Yom Kippur Cafe
NYT: The Secret Service is Understaffed and Unable to Protect Its Clients Because a Lot of Secret Service Veterans Are Quitting Is America's Embarrassing Alcoholic Ex-Sidepiece Collapsing? New York Times: It's Time to End Masculinity. All Masculinity. Even the So-Called "Positive Masculinity" Exemplified by Tim Walz and Doug Emhoff. Plus: GAINZZZ As Kamala's Polling Stops Bringing Joy, the Campaign Brings In the Big Manly Men to Appeal to Male Voters CBS "News" Continues Hiding the Real Video of Kamala Harris' Word-Salad Nonsense Answers, and Also Refuses to Make a Transcript of Her Real Words Available, Too Polls Are For Strippers: An Explanation THE MORNING RANT: After Moving All-Star Game from Charlotte in Solidarity with LGBTQ, NBA Opens 2024 Season in Abu Dhabi, where Homosexuality is a Crime Mid-Morning Art Thread The Morning Report — 10/11/24 Absent Friends
Bandersnatch 2024
GnuBreed 2024 Captain Hate 2023 moon_over_vermont 2023 westminsterdogshow 2023 Ann Wilson(Empire1) 2022 Dave In Texas 2022 Jesse in D.C. 2022 OregonMuse 2022 redc1c4 2021 Tami 2021 Chavez the Hugo 2020 Ibguy 2020 Rickl 2019 Joffen 2014 AoSHQ Writers Group
A site for members of the Horde to post their stories seeking beta readers, editing help, brainstorming, and story ideas. Also to share links to potential publishing outlets, writing help sites, and videos posting tips to get published.
Contact OrangeEnt for info:
maildrop62 at proton dot me Cutting The Cord And Email Security
Moron Meet-Ups
|
« Sunday Morning Open Thread |
Main
| Elon Musk Unveils His Latest Taxpayer Boondoggle »
August 11, 2013
Sunday Morning Book Thread 08-11-2013: Modern Weaponry, Good and Bad [OregonMuse]Actually, This Was Only A Test
So this week marked the anniversary of the atomic bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, So here are a couple of books that were recommended by morons in those threads: The first one, With the Old Breed: At Peleliu and Okinawa by E.B. Sledge, has become a classic. It brutally portrays the horror of those Pacific campaigns, and you wonder how the survivors could be whole or sane ever again. And as to what the American and Allied armed forced were up against, moron commenter Vashta Nerada recommended The Knights Of Bushido by Lord Russell of Liverpool, a history of Japanese war crimes during WWII. Lord Russell was a British judge advocate in charge of war crimes trials. This book will tell you what the soldiers of the Imperial Japanese Army did to Allied soldiers on the battlefield, to POWs they captured, and civilians who just happened to be in their way. I haven't read this one, but I'm told the accounts of the war crimes are astoundingly horrific. To me, it sounds like a book that you have to read in small doses, otherwise you just get numb to it all as you go on page after page. Solzhenitsyn is kind of like that, too. You just find it difficult to believe that such horrors can possibly exist. So, there's no question that Truman's decision to use the atomic bomb saved thousands, if not millions, of lives, both American and Japanese. Pew! Pew! Pew!
I've just finished A Choice of Treasons by Jim Doty, which I've recommended before, and I'm doing so again. It's a very enjoyable read. But I noticed something interesting about it: even though it takes place 2-3K years in the future, and all the characters zip around the galaxy in ships run with advanced computers and powered by some sort of FTL drive, the weaponry is all ballistic. Sidearms carried by soldiers fire bullets and the fighting ships shoot guided warheads at each other. Laser or particle-beam weapons do not exist in the Treasons universe. The reason for this is explained in the book's afterwards:
The aforementioned author's rant on laser weapons is a worthwhile read. The science seems sound, but if it weren't, I'd never know. I don't know enough about the physics involved to have an opinion that's worth a toot. I do seem to recall an article in Scientific American making pretty much the same points back sometime in the 1980s as a (negative) response to the Reagan Administration's announcement of the Strategic Defense Initiative. Actually, it sounds like Doty may have done a little bit of SDI work himself back then. I always wonder about these things. It all sounds right, but there's always this 'and yet..' clause lurking in the background. I used to know this guy, back in the 70s, who was a bona fide nuclear physicist. Had a big-ass Ph.D in nuke physics and everything. And he swore up and down to me on a stack of Bibles that the neutron bomb didn't exist, because it couldn't exist. And he explained to me the reasons why, I forget exactly, but I couldn't argue with him because I didn't know the science like he did. And yet, he was wrong. Wasn't he? Do we not have stockpiles of neutron bombs somewhere? ___________
A lurker who occasionally posts comments under his nom de moron HungarianFalcon e-mailed me to recommend the book His Grace on a Rollercoaster: memoirs of a grateful survivor by Mark Jagger, MD. HF says Dr. Jagger was a remarkable man who pursued a dream of flying militarily only to have that dream cut short by health issues. He then went on to become an eye doctor (the medical kind, not an optometrist), before ultimately succumbing to health issues at an early age. The book...is an effort by him and his wife to tell his life story and the proceeds benefit the family. Also While it is on Amazon under the title "His Grace on a Rollercoaster" the family does a lot better, off the sale, if you order it thru them. All profit is going to the "Jaggers' Family Fund" for the kids, so this is Mark's way of taking care of them from beyond. If you are interesting in ordering it directly from the family, you can contact Dr. Jagger's daughter Meredith for a copy. Her email is 'mjaggers' followed by the "'a' in a circle" symbol, then 'purdue' and then dot, and then the letters ee, dee, you. I hate to sound paranoid, but since this isn't my blog, I should tell you all that I'm posting this in good faith. I have not verified any of this information, but it appears to be legit. Even so, and I hate to have to say this, but caveat emptor always. But it does sound like he led an inspirational life that might be worth reading about. ___________ So that's all for this week. As always, book thread tips, suggestions, rumors, threats, and insults may be sent to OregonMuse, Proprietor, AoSHQ Book Thread, at YOURPANTSaoshqbookthread, followed by the 'at' sign, and then "gee mail", and then dot cee oh emm. But don't forget to remove YOURPANTS, otherwise I won't get your e-mail. What have you all been reading this week? Hopefully something good, because, as I keep saying, life is too short to be reading lousy books. | Recent Comments
BurtTC:
"Kamala Harris @KamalaHarris 8h
My message to ever ..."
Ace-Endorsed Author A.H. Lloyd: "I misread that first line as Whitmer caned. Had to ..." Divide by Zero [/i]: " Skip - Wrong link https://event.donaldjtrump. ..." Deplorable Jay Guevara[/i][/s][/b]: "AtC said it wasn't a religious reference at all, b ..." rhennigantx: ""Nepotism, favoritism, corruption -- that is part ..." I'm Gumby Damn It!: "38 For heaven's sake! The man is barely cold! L ..." Deplorable Jay Guevara[/i][/s][/b]: "Kamala Harris @KamalaHarris 8h My message to ever ..." nurse ratched : "205 197 Whitmer caved after being condemned by the ..." Divide by Zero [/i]: " [i]Wow! Guessing you need a connection to get ii ..." Romeo13: "So, the Judge in the Jack Smith persecution, has a ..." SMOD: "The back roads of Pennsylvania Berks and Bucks cou ..." haffhowershower: "197 Whitmer caved after being condemned by the Mic ..." Recent Entries
Yom Kippur Cafe
NYT: The Secret Service is Understaffed and Unable to Protect Its Clients Because a Lot of Secret Service Veterans Are Quitting Is America's Embarrassing Alcoholic Ex-Sidepiece Collapsing? New York Times: It's Time to End Masculinity. All Masculinity. Even the So-Called "Positive Masculinity" Exemplified by Tim Walz and Doug Emhoff. Plus: GAINZZZ As Kamala's Polling Stops Bringing Joy, the Campaign Brings In the Big Manly Men to Appeal to Male Voters CBS "News" Continues Hiding the Real Video of Kamala Harris' Word-Salad Nonsense Answers, and Also Refuses to Make a Transcript of Her Real Words Available, Too Polls Are For Strippers: An Explanation THE MORNING RANT: After Moving All-Star Game from Charlotte in Solidarity with LGBTQ, NBA Opens 2024 Season in Abu Dhabi, where Homosexuality is a Crime Mid-Morning Art Thread The Morning Report — 10/11/24 Search
Polls! Polls! Polls!
Frequently Asked Questions
The (Almost) Complete Paul Anka Integrity Kick
Primary Document: The Audio
Paul Anka Haiku Contest Announcement Integrity SAT's: Entrance Exam for Paul Anka's Band AllahPundit's Paul Anka 45's Collection AnkaPundit: Paul Anka Takes Over the Site for a Weekend (Continues through to Monday's postings) George Bush Slices Don Rumsfeld Like an F*ckin' Hammer Top Top Tens
Democratic Forays into Erotica New Shows On Gore's DNC/MTV Network Nicknames for Potatoes, By People Who Really Hate Potatoes Star Wars Euphemisms for Self-Abuse Signs You're at an Iraqi "Wedding Party" Signs Your Clown Has Gone Bad Signs That You, Geroge Michael, Should Probably Just Give It Up Signs of Hip-Hop Influence on John Kerry NYT Headlines Spinning Bush's Jobs Boom Things People Are More Likely to Say Than "Did You Hear What Al Franken Said Yesterday?" Signs that Paul Krugman Has Lost His Frickin' Mind All-Time Best NBA Players, According to Senator Robert Byrd Other Bad Things About the Jews, According to the Koran Signs That David Letterman Just Doesn't Care Anymore Examples of Bob Kerrey's Insufferable Racial Jackassery Signs Andy Rooney Is Going Senile Other Judgments Dick Clarke Made About Condi Rice Based on Her Appearance Collective Names for Groups of People John Kerry's Other Vietnam Super-Pets Cool Things About the XM8 Assault Rifle Media-Approved Facts About the Democrat Spy Changes to Make Christianity More "Inclusive" Secret John Kerry Senatorial Accomplishments John Edwards Campaign Excuses John Kerry Pick-Up Lines Changes Liberal Senator George Michell Will Make at Disney Torments in Dog-Hell Greatest Hitjobs
The Ace of Spades HQ Sex-for-Money Skankathon A D&D Guide to the Democratic Candidates Margaret Cho: Just Not Funny More Margaret Cho Abuse Margaret Cho: Still Not Funny Iraqi Prisoner Claims He Was Raped... By Woman Wonkette Announces "Morning Zoo" Format John Kerry's "Plan" Causes Surrender of Moqtada al-Sadr's Militia World Muslim Leaders Apologize for Nick Berg's Beheading Michael Moore Goes on Lunchtime Manhattan Death-Spree Milestone: Oliver Willis Posts 400th "Fake News Article" Referencing Britney Spears Liberal Economists Rue a "New Decade of Greed" Artificial Insouciance: Maureen Dowd's Word Processor Revolts Against Her Numbing Imbecility Intelligence Officials Eye Blogs for Tips They Done Found Us Out, Cletus: Intrepid Internet Detective Figures Out Our Master Plan Shock: Josh Marshall Almost Mentions Sarin Discovery in Iraq Leather-Clad Biker Freaks Terrorize Australian Town When Clinton Was President, Torture Was Cool What Wonkette Means When She Explains What Tina Brown Means Wonkette's Stand-Up Act Wankette HQ Gay-Rumors Du Jour Here's What's Bugging Me: Goose and Slider My Own Micah Wright Style Confession of Dishonesty Outraged "Conservatives" React to the FMA An On-Line Impression of Dennis Miller Having Sex with a Kodiak Bear The Story the Rightwing Media Refuses to Report! Our Lunch with David "Glengarry Glen Ross" Mamet The House of Love: Paul Krugman A Michael Moore Mystery (TM) The Dowd-O-Matic! Liberal Consistency and Other Myths Kepler's Laws of Liberal Media Bias John Kerry-- The Splunge! Candidate "Divisive" Politics & "Attacks on Patriotism" (very long) The Donkey ("The Raven" parody) |