Brad Nelson
Administrator
עַבְדְּךָ֔ אֶת־ הַתְּשׁוּעָ֥ה הַגְּדֹלָ֖ה הַזֹּ֑את
Posts: 11,027
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Post by Brad Nelson on May 29, 2020 11:01:37 GMT -8
Either will work.
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Post by timothylane on May 29, 2020 11:20:19 GMT -8
I thought the usual pattern was for the sun to shine out of someone's posterior upon his posterity.
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Brad Nelson
Administrator
עַבְדְּךָ֔ אֶת־ הַתְּשׁוּעָ֥ה הַגְּדֹלָ֖ה הַזֹּ֑את
Posts: 11,027
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Post by Brad Nelson on May 29, 2020 13:30:01 GMT -8
Possibly posterity. Probably posterior. Potentially partial paisley patterns projected.
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Post by kungfuzu on Jun 4, 2020 16:45:02 GMT -8
I just went outside to get the mail and there on my porch was a box with Amazon Prime logos on it. My first thought was, I didn't order anything from Amazon. I looked at the label and it said some guy in Oregon sent it to me. It then hit me what I was holding in my hands.
Thanks Brad. I appreciate all the books including the special gift of "The World's One Hundred Best Short Stories" vol. X. Technically, they are all special gifts so what can I say. Again, thanks.
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Brad Nelson
Administrator
עַבְדְּךָ֔ אֶת־ הַתְּשׁוּעָ֥ה הַגְּדֹלָ֖ה הַזֹּ֑את
Posts: 11,027
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Post by Brad Nelson on Jun 10, 2020 7:05:10 GMT -8
I use an intermediary for the UPS labels. He has an account and doesn’t mind printing me out the labels.
I hope you enjoy the books. They are yours to keep. I used to love reading short stories so I hope you find something of interest in your bonus book.
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Post by kungfuzu on Jun 10, 2020 7:55:12 GMT -8
The first thing I read when I received the books was the short story "The Custody of the Pumpkin" by P.G. Wodehouse. Although I first heard of Wodehouse when I was in my twenties, I have read quite a bit by him since. Luckily, "The Custody of the Pumpkin" was a new one for me. Like all of Wodehouse's writings, this story has many scenes which make me laugh out loud.
I started vol. I of "The Great Battles of All Nations," several nights, ago and finished the opening chapter on the battle of Marathon. The author spends a lot of time on subjects which have nothing to do with the battle per se, but do have to do with the situation in Greece and Asia building up to the battle, as well as how the battle changed the course of history. As I read it, Marathon was the beginning of the ascendancy of the West over the East. We are now seeing the reverse take place. I have to wonder how many Americans today even know about Marathon?
The two volumes were printed in the 1890s, but are still in good shape. They are very heavy and still showing no sign of falling apart. People knew how to make books in those days.
Thanks again.
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Brad Nelson
Administrator
עַבְדְּךָ֔ אֶת־ הַתְּשׁוּעָ֥ה הַגְּדֹלָ֖ה הַזֹּ֑את
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Post by Brad Nelson on Jun 10, 2020 9:34:15 GMT -8
“The Custody of the Pumpkin” is available in Blandings Castle for $9.99. I can’t find it anywhere else. I’ve got a couple of his collections, including The Man with Two Left Feet, and Other Stories and Six Short Stories, neither of which includes “The Custody of the Pumpkin.” And neither of which I have read. Yes, great bindings indeed. A pleasure to see. And I know those books are in the hands of someone who will appreciate them.
And I wonder if what we’re witnessing today the ascendancy of the West over the West. Suicide via good intentions.
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Post by kungfuzu on Jun 10, 2020 10:24:44 GMT -8
You may very well be correct that it is the West over the West, but I see very few good intentions behind it. I see a lot of nasty, evil, cruel, resentful, power-hungry, duplicitous people behind it.
Lenin is the perfect role model. He also coined the term for the rest, "useful idiots."
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Post by timothylane on Jun 10, 2020 10:56:56 GMT -8
Lenin also noted that the last capitalist would sell the Bolsheviks the rope they would hang him with. But with corporate America trying to assuage the crocodile by giving money to Black Shakedowns Matter, the new Bolsheviks won't even have to buy the rope. It's being given to them, and corporate America will learn that tossing others to the crocodiles in order to be eaten last only delays being eaten when the crocodile has an insatiable appetite.
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Brad Nelson
Administrator
עַבְדְּךָ֔ אֶת־ הַתְּשׁוּעָ֥ה הַגְּדֹלָ֖ה הַזֹּ֑את
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Post by Brad Nelson on Jun 10, 2020 11:42:11 GMT -8
Yes, of course. "Nice" people don't usually slander entire races, burn down things, throw stuff at cops, and/or try to intimidate people who have done them no wrong.
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Post by kungfuzu on Jun 10, 2020 11:53:46 GMT -8
One would think that is obvious, but clearly many dummies do not understand this. Unfortunately, it must be pointed out on a regular basis.
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Post by kungfuzu on Sept 28, 2020 20:33:04 GMT -8
I finished vol. 1 of "The Great Battles of All Nations" yesterday.
The first thing which stands out is that the editor/authors hold the great warriors in very high regard. I guess this should be obvious as who else would spend the amount of time on writing about such things. This regard cut both ways. The winners and losers were generally handled nicely in this book.
In summary, I would say the book is first, a panegyric on the manly virtue of war. Second, it is a tribute to the West. Finally, I would say it had a bit of a bias toward England.
Of course it is much more than that. So much more that I believe something like a third of the book could have been edited out and little would have been lost.
Some of the pieces appear to have been written in the 1850s and some in the period between that and the 1890s when the book was published. The writing is therefore somewhat archaic. I can truly say I learned a number of things by reading this book, but I don't know if I could recommend it for the casual reader, or even the somewhat earnest history buff. It is not a page turner. Reading it is more like digging for gold. You eventually reach it, but the quantity was not great and the work required to do so was back breaking.
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Brad Nelson
Administrator
עַבְדְּךָ֔ אֶת־ הַתְּשׁוּעָ֥ה הַגְּדֹלָ֖ה הַזֹּ֑את
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Post by Brad Nelson on Sept 30, 2020 7:34:53 GMT -8
Thanks for the capsule review, Mr. Flu.
When I saw this book, it had your name written all over it. I saw this large boulder and thought of you as Sisyphus. The only difference is that I thought the book would be enjoyable for the real history buff and certainly not a punishment.
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Post by kungfuzu on Sept 30, 2020 8:10:07 GMT -8
You were correct. It is the type of book which very few people would enjoy, but it is something that I look for. As I have said to you in the past, my philosophy with books is that plowing through 500 pages is worth it, if I learn one new thing in a book. I learned a lot more than one thing from this book.
I have started on the second volume which starts with the Battle of Saratoga.
One thing which is very interesting about these books is that they give you an insight to the views of earlier historians. Many of the battles which are covered in the second volume would not be in any modern version of this type of book.
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Brad Nelson
Administrator
עַבְדְּךָ֔ אֶת־ הַתְּשׁוּעָ֥ה הַגְּדֹלָ֖ה הַזֹּ֑את
Posts: 11,027
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Post by Brad Nelson on Oct 2, 2020 17:35:38 GMT -8
I think I get more pleasure out of knowing that some old books that would have been overlooked by 99.99% of the population are appreciated by someone.
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Post by kungfuzu on Oct 2, 2020 19:45:49 GMT -8
That is good to know. Still, by your calculation there are still about 32,499 other possible interested parties out there somewhere in America. So now I have to find one of them after I have finished the books.
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Post by timothylane on Oct 2, 2020 20:51:37 GMT -8
Well, there's me, but I have little capacity to store books in my half-room in the nursing home. Still, I can handle some. I'm sure ARtraveler would like it, too. That's about 1/10,000th of the number of possible readers, so it should be a good start.
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Post by artraveler on Oct 3, 2020 9:28:01 GMT -8
I'm sure ARtraveler would like it, too. Yes, although wifey doesn't think I need more books. On my move to Fayetteville from SLC I packed 10,000 lbs of books. I have not reduced that total but Kindle has saved a lot of space and weight. Some of my books already count as classics I bought them at Stanford in 68.
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Post by kungfuzu on Oct 3, 2020 9:41:15 GMT -8
I would be happy to send you or Artler both volumes after I have finished. My wife would be even happier.
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Brad Nelson
Administrator
עַבְדְּךָ֔ אֶת־ הַתְּשׁוּעָ֥ה הַגְּדֹלָ֖ה הַזֹּ֑את
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Post by Brad Nelson on Oct 3, 2020 10:32:17 GMT -8
10,000 lbs. of books. That's a healthy library. I have roughly the equivalent of two bookshelves worth of books. I just like having them around me even if I'm mostly Kindle these days.
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