Goofy Post of the Day
 

I think you mean "frightened" if he was thinking he was down at basement level with me.

Goofy Post of the Day
 

Be nice. Wonkster once called me a bus. I'm not quite sure what that means, but I'm pretty sure it means I'm really bangable.

It better mean I'm really bangable.....

If he meant something else, then he's a nutknuckle.

Who's going to watch The Bachelor tonight? There's a set of twins on it. How much you wanna bet they both make it through the first round? Isn't that a common fantasy for all men?

Goofy Post of the Day
 

I think it means you have an enormous ass. Some people like that -- but it's a niche market. No general appeal.

Goofy Post of the Day
 

oh well. better than being an enormous ass, I guess....

Goofy Post of the Day
 

I think it entitles you to a gun license in Georgia.

Goofy Post of the Day
 

That would be him.

Goofy Post of the Day
 

Holy shit. Arby has a concealed carry permit?

pointy ears
 

In an attempt to break the all Texan party, I've been told the one with pointy ears is hot. I think she's got an ugly face and bad implants. What's the deal?

Sept. 24 — Red alert! “Star Trek” is under attack, and the damage report is far from promising. Is it time to put the Starship Enterprise into dry-dock for good, or is there still some speed left in those warp engines after all? Increased competition for audience share-of-mind notwithstanding, Trek’s latest incarnation, “Enterprise,” is up against an unprecedented number of disgruntled fans.
Much of the venom — including an online petition to have him replaced — has been directed at longtime Trek executive producer Rick Berman, who picked up the mantle from creator Gene Roddenberry and has guided every series and movie from “The Next Generation” forward.
And it’s not just fans who think Trek is in trouble: In July, video game manufacturer Activision filed suit against media giant Viacom, claiming that the company let its Trek franchise “stagnate and decay.” Viacom disputed the claims, but the charges struck a collective chord with fans. Trek, they say, is off track.

And is it over for Star Trek?

http://a799.g.akamai.net/3/799/388/a...ws/2017111.jpg

Book Lovers' Poll
 

I spent some time book shopping this weekend and picked up one long-awaited item, the new novel by Jhumpa Lahiri, whose Pulitzer-winning "Interpreter of Maladies" was among the most magnificent short story collections I've ever read. Also the new novel by Chuck Pahlaniuk, which sort of fits in this poll and sort of doesn't.

Which leads me to this poll. What book do you most want to see published? Based on either topic, author, or whatever, but what is the book you look for whenever you browse in a store?

For me, I look for new novels by Helen DeWitt and by Arundhati Roy pretty much every time I'm in a bookstore. DeWitt wrote the brilliant "Last Samurai" several years ago, blending superb writing, a moving story, and a creative level of formal construction better than anything new I've read in quite awhile. Roy's first novel was the Booker-winning "God of Small Things." In the past few years, DeWitt seems to have fallen off the writing planet, while Roy seems to prefer writing political commentary that's occasionally engaging but more often annoying, if not downright offensive.

You can be the President; I'd rather be the Pope.
 

You can't get fired, but you can quit. Only we call it "abdicate," which is the term I will use in my next letter of resignation.

Chevy Disclosure: The Catholic Encyclopedia . It goes on:

I lack any information to the contrary of the above.

Book Lovers' Poll
 

Excellent poll.

I looked for Lahiri because Interpreter of Maladies was exquisite and look for Roy because God of Small Things is an all time favorite.

I also look for something new by Jim Crace, who wrote Quarantine and Being Dead.

Edited to add: I see Crace has a new novel (finally) that was just released this month.

Book Lovers' Poll
 

I used to watch for another book from Dave Eggers, after reading A Staggering Work of... but after reading his attempt at a novel last year, that desire has been quelled. I did just buy a memoir from one of his fellow McSweeney's alums though, so I'll let you all know how that goes -- Dan Kennedy, Loser Goes First.

book
 

this is nonresponsive but I'm halfway through the Namesake and cannot wait to get home to finish it tonight. It is completely absorbing.

I guess I keep waiting for maybe a female Catcher in the Rye- that becomes part of that high school literary canon.

You can be the President; I'd rather be the Pope.
 

Thank you, Atticus. After all my lengthy discourses on things Middle Eastern on the politics board today, you have saved me from being the biggest nerd in the place today. I salute you.

So can the Pope, like the President, step down temporarily due to disability? Cf. West Wing.

Book Lovers' Poll
 

Sadly, mine are all too obvious. I look forward to Sedaris, Pynchon, Rowling (sad but true) and The Collected Works of Pretty Little Flower.

Oh, and I voraciously read novels written by Harper Lee just as quickly as they are released --- the most manageable of my vices.

Goofy Post of the Day
 

It is. It's an even bigger fantasy to make it with both of them, regardless of round...

While it has become a reality show cliche, this is one show that may want to invest in a bigger hot tub.

You can be the President; I'd rather be the Pope.
 

No, you lose all authority and return to private station when you abdicate. No take-backs, though I guess the College of Cardinals could reelect you.

However, note the conditional abdication of Pius VII, who, before setting out to crown Napoleon, signed an abdication effective in the event he was imprisoned in France. Shame to go to all that trouble merely to have the crown yanked from your hands, and to have the moment memorialized in artwork with you looking like The World's Biggest Schlimazel.

You can be the President; I'd rather be the Pope.
 

Post picture?

You can be the President; I'd rather be the Pope.
 

What, trying to improve your Laziness Score?

http://www.ddg.com/LIS/InfoDesignF96...coronation.jpg

A bigger link is here.

That is so 2000
 

Woman is shocked that her boyfriend dumped her by IM - http://www.philly.com/mld/inquirer/n...ly/6844602.htm . She was obviously not one of us, or at least the not one of us who dumped me by IM well over three years ago now. I, of course, followed up by sending our friends a "Don't Save the Date" e-mail.

Book Lovers' Poll
 

Book Lovers' Poll
 

A fine list, though I observe that Pynchon has, for me at least, declined in quality as he ages. On the other hand, Umberto Eco's works have continued to shine. Replace Pynchon, reluctantly and with heavy heart, with Eco for me.

Rowling is particularly fun with children who are into it, but I now add to Rowling several other kids' series (Droon, Protector of the Small). They can't really leave Protector of the Small as a four book set, can they? This would be sad.

And, of course, I have a secret love of Tracey Kidder books (though I've not picked up the latest). I know they're no heavy lifting, but I find them interesting in a conversational kind of way.

Goofy Post of the Day
 

But having to dismiss only one of them is not a fantasy.

They last through tonight so he can assess whether they're close or hate each other. If they're close, he's got to ditch them both -- immediately, or at least before the point when he's ditching only one at a time. If they hate each other, well, fantasy time!

Book Lovers' Poll
 

Most authors that I really look for bring out at least one new book a year, and sometimes three (that go together) in three months! If more than a couple years go by with no new books, I usually forget who the authors are and rely on friends/relatives to pick up the books and then lend them to me.

Edited to say that if Dorothy Dunnett weren't dead, I'd be looking forward to a new series from her. Her stuff is not nearly as trashy as a lot of stuff I read. But she's dead. There's one book of hers I haven't read because I accidentally sent it to my parents' house when I ordered it and now I have to wait until I see them to get it.

Lazy Test
 

Piker.

42% Lazy

FYI, you are not quite lazy enough to require help with de-panting

FUN FACTS...

people lazier than you (65%)
people just as lazy as you (4%)
people less lazy than you (30%)

BONUS FUN FACTS...
48% of the people who have union jobs take naps at work.

74% of the people who have trust funds have nice breasts.

16% of vegetarians gave blood after September 11th.

Protesters like to dance.

And the laziest person at TheSpark is Greg McKenna and he is mexican and desires money from a bitch.



Which leads to the more important question, how many trust fund babies here?

sf

Lazy Test
 

No trust fund, but I am 44% lazy.

According to the site, I do not require help with de-panting, but today I am wearing a skirt.

Tales from the jungle
 

B&B, I sure remember how. Best seven dollars I've ever spent.

:P

Edited to add: Damnit, I need to read before I post. Or just not post at all. No comments from the peanut gallery, please.

Book Lovers' Poll
 

Heresy! I cannot accept this.

Other authors besides He Who Did Not Scribe The Letters Of Wanda Tinasky After All whose stuff I eagerly anticipate the discovery of in the bookstore:

Peter Carey
W.G. Sebold (but he's dead)
Paul Fussell (last one was a stinker, though)
Charles Portis
Elaine Pagels
Alan Furst
Rick Bass

Surely I'm missing someone obvious.

In other news, I'm only 20% lazy. 96% of people are lazier than me, and only 2% of people are less lazy. Someone be ready to catch my SO when I tell her this.

Book Lovers' Poll
 

So how come you are not named Zoyd Wheeler?

Lazy Test
 

This is EXACTLY the answer I got. So did you say you had nice breasts, too?

(Edited to say, no trust fund here, but someday I'm going to inherit the trailer home).

Book Lovers' Poll
 

George RR Martin has three books called "The Song of Ice and Fire" series. I can't wait for the fourth. I look for new Dave Duncan books too, and to a lesser extent, more space opera crap from Lois McMaster Bujold. And any good new bridge books.

In response to yesterday's poll about the most amazing thing you've ever seen, I think mine is when I played in a national bridge event and my partner came down with a 29 point hand, something like

Ax
AKQx
AKx
AKQ

We mis-bid it and wound up in six spades, but ended up winning the event anyways.

Book Lovers' Poll
 

I could tell by the running dinosaur.

Book Lovers' Poll
 

'Cause I can't imagine having a daughter named Frenesi? Because I don't have any faith that I'd be rescued from the next Brock Vond? Because I'd rather dodge rockets than jump through windows? Dunno. But I think Vineland is wildly underappreciated.

And clearly you missed all of the allusions I make in my posts about huge rolling cheeses.

Book Lovers' Poll
 

That too, but it's been pushed back so many times I am starting to think it doesn't actually exist at all.

Book Lovers' Poll
 

Let me amend my poll to say that updates on Erisa authority do not count.

Book Lovers' Poll
 

Very funny. Madeleine Hunter, Jo Beverley, Mary Jo Putney, Mary Balogh etc. may not even know what ERISA is. Madeleine Hunter has three (3) books coming out before the end of the year.

Book Lovers' Poll
 

I was sufficiently underwhelmed that I never finished it. Got about 1/2 way through. But Frenesi is a fine name, and the jumping through windows I kind of liked.

Sometime I'll tell you my own, personal, huge rolling cheese story. I did survive, but it wasn't a foregone conclusion. Crazy kids. (Edited to add, I should also tell you my story about the cheese pig, even if it's not quite as good as the huge rolling cheese story. Ah, the power of Cheese!)


Perhaps what's most surprising about the huge rolling cheese story is that I decided it wasn't the strangest thing I've ever seen. I'm still thinking about that one.

Book Lovers' Poll
 

What's more amazing is that he only had 12 cards and you still made the contract.

:P

Flinty, the Contract Bridge Timmy.

Flinty is a doofus
 

It was four years ago, give me a break.

Book Lovers' Poll
 

Antonia Frasier, Tim Severin and Bryce Courtenay. Works by Severin and Courtenay are hard to find in the States. Severin's older works are out of print and Courtenay's stuff is rare in the States, amazon.com only lists The Power of One.

Can anyone recommend a good mystery or historical fiction series? I've gone through all the Dorothy Sayers, Elizabeth George, Dorothy Dunnett, and Conan Doyle among others. I'm looking for something new for hibernation season.