What are you currently reading?

[Moonfish]

That's an interesting list. I've seen the majority of those, but some I've never even heard of.

Yes, it is a great compilation. A bit on the expensive side though...

[ZauberdrachenNr.7]

I just finished "The Way Hollywood Tells It: Story and Style in Modern Movies" and am now reading "Minding Movies: Observations on the Art, Craft, and Business of Filmmaking" Both are by David Bordwell, the second co-authored with his wife, Kristin Thompson.  I don't know why suddenly I'm all psyched to be reading about movies again after having lost interest for years...

Bordwell (among other things) is an authority on Ozu and provides commentaries or appreciations (sometimes with his wife) on Criterions.  I believe Ozu and Mizoguchi are his "desert-island" directors.

[Jaakko Keskinen]

Rereading Jedi search.





As older I have started to see the flaws in Kevin J. Anderson's writing. The best parts of the book to me are those involving Natasi Daala who ironically is almost universally loathed by fans, I am one exception. I however see the problem many people have with this character. The most defining part of her character to many people is her complete failure to win a single battle. However, imo, it wasn't first that bad, her incompetence grew steadily in the books of other authors and some have even tried to explain rather clumsily that her incompetence is a result of brain damage or alternately (this seems a bit more well done saving throw) that she simply excelled in infantry tactics and therefore she had no experience with battling in space. However despite her incompetence I find her a very interesting character. The bad parts... well, let's just say that the dialogue really gets cheesy in parts that describe Leia's hardships as a mother to Jacen and Jaina. Oh well, Anderson is no Timothy Zahn who has pretty much flawless writing style. After I've reread book version of original star wars I think I'm going to move to remaining books in jedi academy trilogy.

[ZauberdrachenNr.7]

For the benefit of GMG members and Moonfish (run or swim very fast!) I took the liberty of translating Ken B's Modest Proposal.  Bracketed bits are grammatically improved.

La chair riche en pétrole de Moonfish le rend idéal pour la plupart des types de méthodes de cuisson, de pan-brûlante de la grille. Plus communément appelé opah, poissons lune est un grand poisson tropical se trouve principalement dans les eaux profondes entourant Hawaii. Moonfish ont différente couleur chair dans divers domaines de leur corps, mais la plupart de la cuisson jusqu'à ferme et blanche. Semblable à l'espadon, poisson-lune est le plus souvent coupé en filets de steak épais. Cependant vous avez décidé de les faire cuire, les servir avec une sauce sucrée qui complète sa saveur, comme une salsa de fruits épicés, ou une sauce à base de miel ou d'érable.

The rich, oily Moonfish flesh makes it ideal for most types of cooking, [from searing to the grill].  Formerly known as opah, moonfish are a large tropical fish found principally in deep waters around Hawaii.  Moonfish have different color flesh in various parts of their bodies, but [most cook until firm and white].  Similar to swordfish, moonfish is most often cut into thick steak filets.  However you decide to cook them, serve with a sweet sauce that complements its flavor, like a spicy fruit salsa or a maple honey-based sauce.

Speaking personally, the flesh of the Zauberdrachen, particularly #7, is tough and sinewy, bien dégoûtant. 

[Moonfish]

For the benefit of GMG members and Moonfish (run or swim very fast!) I took the liberty of translating Ken B's Modest Proposal.  Bracketed bits are grammatically improved.

La chair riche en pétrole de Moonfish le rend idéal pour la plupart des types de méthodes de cuisson, de pan-brûlante de la grille. Plus communément appelé opah, poissons lune est un grand poisson tropical se trouve principalement dans les eaux profondes entourant Hawaii. Moonfish ont différente couleur chair dans divers domaines de leur corps, mais la plupart de la cuisson jusqu'à ferme et blanche. Semblable à l'espadon, poisson-lune est le plus souvent coupé en filets de steak épais. Cependant vous avez décidé de les faire cuire, les servir avec une sauce sucrée qui complète sa saveur, comme une salsa de fruits épicés, ou une sauce à base de miel ou d'érable.

The rich, oily Moonfish flesh makes it ideal for most types of cooking, [from searing to the grill].  Formerly known as opah, moonfish are a large tropical fish found principally in deep waters around Hawaii.  Moonfish have different color flesh in various parts of their bodies, but [most cook until firm and white].  Similar to swordfish, moonfish is most often cut into thick steak filets.  However you decide to cook them, serve with a sweet sauce that complements its flavor, like a spicy fruit salsa or a maple honey-based sauce.

Speaking personally, the flesh of the Zauberdrachen, particularly #7, is tough and sinewy, bien dégoûtant.

Carnivorous humans!!!!! 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4K_6-OccmXo
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4K_6-OccmXo

[Ken B]

Carnivorous humans!!!!! 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4K_6-OccmXo
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4K_6-OccmXo

Bouillabase

OOPS Thought this was the one-word thread. Apologies.

[ZauberdrachenNr.7]

Bouillabase

OOPS Thought this was the one-word thread. Apologies.

KB :  surprised you didn't say:  "Boulezabase."  But then, I'm kinda grateful you didn't!

[Mookalafalas]

Bordwell (among other things) is an authority on Ozu and provides commentaries or appreciations (sometimes with his wife) on Criterions.  I believe Ozu and Mizoguchi are his "desert-island" directors.

  Yeah, he's the authority on a lot of stuff.  His book on Hong Kong cinema was my bible for a long time, although over the long run I suppose my favorite of his book is his "Narration and the Fiction Film"...where has that gotten to? I need to did that up and give it another look...

[Bogey]

Third in the series.  The grind of the plots in the first two were magical. Made me feel as if I was there.  Crime writers Maj Sjöwall and Per Wahlöö have created a character and a "theme" that I will savor throughout the run.

[Ken B]

Third in the series.  The grind of the plots in the first two were magical. Made me feel as if I was there.  Crime writers Maj Sjöwall and Per Wahlöö have created a character and a "theme" that I will savor throughout the run.

An excellent series. I have read most of them twice.

Are you Kvant and me Kvastmo, or vice versa? 

[Moonfish]

Third in the series.  The grind of the plots in the first two were magical. Made me feel as if I was there.  Crime writers Maj Sjöwall and Per Wahlöö have created a character and a "theme" that I will savor throughout the run.

Yes, that series is a classic one in Sweden. I think there even was a few movies made of the books. Hmm..  I wish I could find some copies in the original Swedish. They read much better in Swedish than in English!

[asin] 6304702000[/asin]
[asin] 1567301479[/asin]

[Todd]

A Taste for Intrigue.  I decided to take a break from bios of American leaders and instead focus on a French one, namely Francois Mitterrand.  I'm a few chapters in, up to the point up France's liberation, and Philip Short's work is as good a bio on a Frenchie as I can imagine.  His prose is clear and crisp, his detail and research impressive, his footnotes filled with irresistible tidbits – for instance, Mitterrand referred to Hitler as the God of Bayreuth during the Anschluss, leading me to think he my not have loved Wagner later in life – and his description of the rather nasty French political scene of the 20s and especially pre-war 30s puts current events into perspective.  It's also a very fast read, at least so far, making me think that 600-ish page length should be digested fairly quickly.  My only beef is with the name - the US edition should have stuck with the original Mitterand: A Study in Ambiguity. 

[stingo]

Started Babel-17 by Samuel R. Delaney.

[asin]B00HE2JK4Y[/asin]

[Karl Henning]

Why Sam Adams' church is selling a bit of its history to pay for its future

The congregation authorized the auction of one of its two copies of the Bay Psalm Book, one the first books ever published in North America. Only 11 copies remain of the original printing, published in 1640 by the first printer in the Massachusetts Bay Colony, Stephen Daye. The church's two copies have been kept in the rare book collection across the street at the Boston Public Library since 1866. Other items, which will be sold privately, include 19 pieces of Colonial-era silver held in Boston's Museum of Fine Arts since 1939.

[Karl Henning]

Never mind where Joe DiMaggio has gotten to: Where have you gone, John Quincy Adams?

When called, Adams served, whether as a lowly state senator, as a U.S. Congressman (eight terms after his White House tour), U.S. Senator, Secretary of State (he authored the Monroe Doctrine), diplomat to myriad European courts, War of 1812 peace negotiator, and distinguished advocate before the U.S. Supreme Court. He was 73 in 1841 when he argued successfully for the freedom of the Amistad's enslaved Africans. Now that's a resume.

This son of our second president had a quaint view of public service and personal rectitude. He put duty before personal or political considerations. When his conscience and his career were in conflict, he chose the former. He resigned his senate seat in 1808 when he believed his Federalist party was placing its interests above the welfare of the country; he was well aware that his bipartisan advocacy had doomed his reelection chances in an era when state legislatures elected senators. Modern "mavericks" pale in comparison to John Quincy, who would leave the White House poorer than when he had entered it.

[Ken B]

Never mind where Joe DiMaggio has gotten to: Where have you gone, John Quincy Adams?

The best part of Adam's career was breaking the congressional gag order on slavery in the 1840s. He fought that with persistence, cunning, and a wicked sense of humour, for years.

[stingo]

Finished Babel-17. Re-reading Wool for the book club to which I belong.

[Moonfish]

Finished Babel-17. Re-reading Wool for the book club to which I belong.

How was Babel? I read Nova a couple of years back, but have not yet tackled other Delany works. Babel has a strong linguistic twist, right?

[stingo]

How was Babel? I read Nova a couple of years back, but have not yet tackled other Delany works. Babel has a strong linguistic twist, right?

Yes. I liked it, and will probably more of his works in the future. And yes, it's about language and how it affects the speaker, their thoughts and the wider world about them.

[listener]

The KEILLOR Reader
Garrison Keillor celebrating the 40th anniversary of the Prairie Home Companion with back stories about Lake Woebegon and his own life