Intermarkets' Privacy Policy Support
Donate to Ace of Spades HQ! Recent Entries
Hobby Thread - Sept 7, 2024 [TRex]
Ace of Spades Pet Thread, September 7 Gardening, Puttering and Adventure Thread, Sept. 7 The "rules-based international order" vs. free speech? The Classical Saturday Morning Coffee Break & Prayer Revival Daily Tech News 7 September 2024 The Bric, The Brac, The Craic & All, Lets Call It An ONT TGIF Cafe The Week In Woke Dick Cheney Is Voting for Kamala Harris 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
|
« Gun Thread (11-17-2013) |
Main
| Here Is Today's Jaw-Dropping Healthcare.gov Article »
November 17, 2013
Sunday Morning Book Thread 11-17-2013: Unnatural Disasters [OregonMuse]![]() Legacy Good morning morons and moronettes and welcome to the award-winning AoSHQ's prestigious Sunday Morning Book Thread.
Having been put in a perversely enjoyable mood (yet another link to Jonah Goldberg's schadenboner piece) by the events of the last week, I did a search for "disaster" on Amazon to see if anything interesting would turn up. Gone at 3:17: The Untold Story of the Worst School Disaster in American History tells the story of an horrific catastrophe I had never heard of: At 3:17 p.m. on March 18, 1937, a natural gas leak beneath the London Junior-Senior High School in the oil boomtown of New London, Texas, created a lethal mixture of gas and oxygen in the school’s basement. The odorless, colorless gas went undetected until the flip of an electrical switch triggered a colossal blast. The two-story school, one of the nation’s most modern, disintegrated, burying everyone under a vast pile of rubble and debris. More than 300 students and teachers were killed, and hundreds more were injured. Ouch. This tragedy, by the way, is why they now have to put that additive in (naturally odorless) natural gas to make it stinky. Another book takes us back to July, 1919, when Chicago couldn't catch a break: Chicago suffered a devastating 12 days. It began with the crash of the blimp, Wingfoot Express. The blimp caught fire and crashed in the heart of Chicago killing many innocent citizens. This is followed by the search for a young missing girl who turns up murdered by a predator, a transit strike, and deadly racial riots that result in the burning of many parts of the city. All of this is recounted in City of Scoundrels: The 12 Days of Disaster That Gave Birth to Modern Chicago, as well as the over-arching political rivalry between corrupt Chicago mayor Bill "Big Bill" Thompson and the Republican governor of Illinois, Frank Lowden, both of them trying to use these disasters for their own political advantage. The end result was Lowden's downfall as a national politician and the nomination of Warren G. Harding. And let's not forget the Great Depression: The Worst Hard Time: The Untold Story of Those Who Survived the Great American Dust Bowl, details the dust storms which devastated the midwestern states during the 1930s. This book has been mentioned in several previous book threads, and is now available on Kindle for only $2.99. And then there's Cleveland Area Disasters, but I always thought Cleveland itself was a disaster (rimshot!). And that book led me to this author, who is making a career out of writing bad stuff about Cleveland, for which there is apparently a crap ton of material: The Maniac in the Bushes: More True Tales of Cleveland Crime and Disaster But getting back to the immediate subject, here is the text of the Affordable Care Act, AKA Obamacare, in all its glory. Read it, all ye mighty morons, and despair. ![]() "...On The Other Hand, We Were Able To Sign Up Only 6 People, So It's Not That Bad."
Here is something that looks like fun for those of us who are fascinated by words: The Forgotten English 2014 Daily Calendar brings you a different archaic, no-longer-used word every day, along with a literary excerpt demonstrating usage, and another historical reference connected to the date. I've always found Tolkien good for this sort of thing. It was in the LOTR books that I was first exposed to words such as "dwimmerlaik" and "trothplighted". Also "fell" used as an adjective meaning fierce or deadly. Thanks to moron commenter artemis for this.
Christopher Taylor hasn't been around for awhile, but he used to comment here quite frequently. His first book, Old Habits, has been recommended by a number of morons. Mr. Taylor has just published his second book, Snowberry's Veil, and you can get it on Kindle for a buck ninety-nine. Here's the blurb: Serving the king as a Ranger has never been boring, but once Erkenbrand takes on the responsibility of scouting for a caravan of settlers heading to the wilderness, he faces challenges like never before. ___________ Occasional commenter "Kort" e-mailed to let me know she has just published her first book. The Out of Order Detective is a series of short stories about a time-traveling detective whose clients are mostly of the supernatural variety: Spying on cheating monsters, being kidnapped to the past and chasing after a husband she didn't want who's been abducted by aliens is all part of the job for Eliza Carlisle, PI. This collection of super short stories (under 1500 words each) gives a glimpse into her life and her clients. Available for $2.99 on Kindle. ___________ So that's all for this week. As always, book thread tips, suggestions, rumors, threats, and insults may be sent to OregonMuse, Proprietor, AoSHQ Book Thread, at aoshqbookthread, followed by the 'at' sign, and then 'G' mail, and then dot cee oh emm. What have you all been reading this week? Hopefully something good, because, as I keep saying, life is too short to be reading lousy books. | Recent Comments
gp:
"111 Concur. ..."
gp: "110 I was mainly worried that I had offended the w ..." NaCly Dog: "Last week as I was approaching the house I had a b ..." USA: "Thistle would give me heartburn. I'm sure of it. ..." gabapentin drug price: "You really make it appear so easy with your presen ..." Aviator: ">>I assume the site blacklists certain IP addresse ..." Way,Way Downriver[/i][/b]: "@96 Rufus T. has got it. Somewhere in your normal ..." Stateless: "Thanks Kindlot! He seems good as can be. Aft ..." Aviator: ">>Aviator, hope you are both well. Posted by: B ..." gp: ""I had that problem when using a VPN." That may ..." Eromero: "102 "Did you use your Indian name?" gp stands f ..." Ben Had: "Aviator, hope you are both well. ..." Recent Entries
Hobby Thread - Sept 7, 2024 [TRex]
Ace of Spades Pet Thread, September 7 Gardening, Puttering and Adventure Thread, Sept. 7 The "rules-based international order" vs. free speech? The Classical Saturday Morning Coffee Break & Prayer Revival Daily Tech News 7 September 2024 The Bric, The Brac, The Craic & All, Lets Call It An ONT TGIF Cafe The Week In Woke Dick Cheney Is Voting for Kamala Harris 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) |