Jim (drneutron) Reads: Volume 2

I'm Jim, 58, husband of 35 years, father of a son in a PhD program in Comp Sci at Notre Dame, who reads pretty much anything. We're in central Maryland with roots in Louisiana. I like to read (obviously), cook, want to learn to fly fish, and trail bike riding/kayaking with mrsdrneutron. Of course, LT is a big time sink, but mrsdrneutron seems to have come to terms with my LT addiction...

Thanks for joining me in kicking 2020 to the curb!

Duplicate

The List (So Far)
1. Magpie Murders by Anthony Horowitz
2. In the Garden of Beasts: Love, Terror, and an American Family in Hitler's Berlin by Erik Larson
3. The Twisted Ones by T Kingfisher
4. Atlas Obscura by Joshua Foer
5. Untraceable by Sergei Lebedev

5. Untraceable by Sergei Lebedev

Kalinin developed chemical weapons, untraceable poisons, for the Soviet Union until the new Russian Federation emerged from the post-Soviet chaos. He defected, and has spent the remaining years in hiding. Except now he’s been found, and an agent has been sent with his own poison to kill him.

Lebedev’s novel isn’t an action-packed thriller like that description would make you believe. Instead, it’s a study of these two men, what made them who you are, and the possibility of redemption for horrific sins. The language is beautiful in spots, though the story is ugly. I’ll be visiting this author again.

Open for business!

Happy new thread!

Happy New Thread!

Happy new one, Jim!

>6 quondame:, >7 mahsdad:, >8 katiekrug: Thank, Susan, Jeff, and Katie!

Happy new thread!

Thanks!

Happy new thread, Jim!

>4 drneutron: Lebedev seems an interesting writer. I looked him up, his name sounds so faimiliar, but I can't really find where I heard it before. But his other books sound interesting as well.

Happy new thread!

>12 EllaTim: Yes, I was scratching my head to figure out where I heard the name before, but never came up with anything. but yes, I'm gonna look for more of his work.

>13 thornton37814: Thanks!

Happy new one, Jim.

Happy new thread and have a wonderful sunday!

Happy reading Sunday, Jim!

>15 PaulCranswick:, >16 SirThomas:, >17 PersephonesLibrary: Thanks, Paul, Thomas, and Käthe!

Happy new thread, Jim. Two already!

Happy Sunday, Jim. Happy New Thread. Have you read The Book Woman of Troublesome Creek? If not, you should slap it on the list. Just sayin'...

Happy new one, Jim!

>19 BLBera: Thanks!

>20 msf59: On the list it goes!

>21 Crazymamie: Thanks, Mamie!

Stopping by to mark the spot. Go, Spot, go.

Apropos Untraceable, I note that Alexei Navalny returned to Moscow and was arrested before he got off the plane. Whereabouts now unknown.

Happy new one!

>23 weird_O: saw the news about Navalny too. Lebedev makes no bones about his book being based on the history of political poisonings by the Soviets/Russians Federation. I think he even calls it semi-fictional.

>24 figsfromthistle: Thanks, Anita!

Happy new thread, Jim!

Thanks, Anita!

Happy new thread, Jim

Thanks, Reba!

Happy new thread, Jim. I see that you read Magpie Murders. I enjoyed that one and now have a few others on the shelf that I want to get to. I wonder if the second one will be as innovative as the first.

Happy Thread

# !!!!

Second thread in 16 days, amazing! I see Atlas Obscura on your list. I just added it to my reading requests from the library. Luckily I have a wonderful library system here in King County, Washington. What I request comes rapidly and there's a nice remote pickup system to mitigate COVID transmission.

Happy new thread, Jim!

>30 Familyhistorian: I’ve heard good things about the second, so I reserved it on Overdrive from the library. I’m hoping it comes in soon!

>31 Berly: Thanks, Kim!

>32 brewbooks: Your library system sounds like ours here in Howard County, Maryland. I’m glad I’ve been able to take advantage of it over this past year!

>33 AMQS: Thanks, Anne!

Happy new thread Jim, mate.

Thanks, John!

Two changes are coming up to the Group page:

- Group admins will be able to pin topics to the top of the message list on the Group page. I plan to pin the Welcome to New Friends and Message Board topics. Don't want to pin too many because that'll be too crowded, but am willing consider suggestions for pinning others.

- There will be a section on the right where I can post links. I plan to put the Threadbook and Group Wiki links there. Any others that I should consider (for example, TIOLI?)

Happy new thread!

>38 ChelleBearss: Thanks!

Coming to check in: my group page is presenting strangely. I can see the two pinned posts up top, but the rest of the posts don't seem to be in any particular order. Normally the thread with the most recent post is at the top? I'm trying to figure out the best way to navigate through this group since what I've been doing for years is not working... at least today. Thoughts?

>40 AMQS: Click on "New/Total" to sort with the newest msg at the top.

>41 FAMeulstee: Thanks, Anita. I did that and it still wasn't right. But clicking "Last Message" got it to appear as it usually does. It has worked the same way for so many years that seeing it differently really threw me off!
eta: I wish it would stick, too! If I click the back button to get out of a thread and back to the group page it reverts to the old way. *Sigh* Change is hard.

>42 AMQS: Sorry, Anne, my fault, I ment "Last message".
My head is not yet clear after watching the inauguration.

It sticks if you go to groups again before continuing.

Thanks, Anita, for jumping in!

Anne - I think something was going on with the rollout of the new Group pages. You're not the only one I've seen reporting this. I'm pretty sure it'll stick like Anita says.

>43 FAMeulstee:, >44 drneutron: Thanks!

Happy new thread!
Lebedev seems an interesting author.

Hello!
I finally joined the party. Boy oh boy, the threads are smokin' hot for filling up, huh?

Do come and visit me. Although I might be off reading/skimming threads and take awhile to be back there...

>46 hatzemach: I’m definitely going to find more of his.

>47 SandyAMcPherson: I’m glad you’ve joined us again! Skimming is allowed... 😀 it’s nice to have everyone participating so much, but it can be overwhelming.

So mrsdrneutron and I decided (one year into the lockdown, 'cause you know, we're quick on the uptake) that we would get a treadmill. Now, I've been known in the past of making fun of these fancy machines with their online workouts and such. But we got one that we can use with iFit. First day on it, took a tour of lower Manhattan. Second day out, Bora Bora. Third day, Iceland. This thing's pretty cool!

Mmm, that crow tastes good...

Hi Jim, I see you have read Magpie Murders. I just finished Moonflower Murders which involves Magpie Murders in the plot. Horowitz is a favorite of mine. He created and wrote "Midsomer Murders" and "Foyle's War" for PBS. I'm a big fan of both.
Your treadmill touring sounds fun!

>49 drneutron: We recently had to replace our really old treadmill and even though the new one is pretty much bottom-of-the-line, it seems *so* fancy in comparison! Look, buddy, I love it.

>50 Oregonreader: I've got Moonflower Murders on reserve - just waiting for my turn. Plus, I've added some of his others to the TBR. And yeah, Midsomer Murders is a fave, though I've not watched Foyle's War.

>51 scaifea: Well, we got last year's model nordictrack to save a little, so it doesn't have a built-in tablet. But I hook up to it with my iPad and bluetooth and iFit can still control speed and inclination. I love it too!

Cheers to your new thread, Jim!

Happy new thread, Jim. I noticed the pinned threads on the group page. I like the ones you've chosen.

>53 Carmenere: Thanks!

>54 karenmarie: I'm trying not to overdo it, but would really like to have the Message Board more accessible. This new pinning thing works great for that.

>49 drneutron: - Oooh, you fancy!

>56 katiekrug:



And that's the shape I'm in these days...

>57 drneutron: - Handsome fellow!

Happy New Thread, Jim!

>57 drneutron: *snork!*

Morning, Jim! I've done my fancy new treadmilling for the day - woot!

>60 scaifea: I think I'm gonna redo the Iceland walk from yesterday. That one was pretty scenery!

>61 drneutron: Oh, nice!

>37 drneutron: I don't think I have thanked you for putting up the thread in general and for your work yet. So: Thank you! :D Happy reading weekend, Jim!

My pleasure! I hope you get some good reading in this weekend too!

Hi Jim, hope that you and Danica are having a good start to the weekend mate, sending love and hugs to both of you from both of us dear friend.

Thanks, John! I hope yours is a good one as well.

>57 drneutron: You and I both, Jim! After allowing Belle her debut hair-cutting gig, I have as much hair as the bear too!

Funny that "Starred Topics" which is probably the thing I use most on LT, is mow one extra mouse click away (First "more" then "Starred") Not a big deal but a surprise.

Since I'm not an admin i wish the "groups you admin" was just not on my menu page - but I can live with it.

grumble grumble, grumble.

>68 magicians_nephew: 😀 well, with the treadmill and weights mrsdrneutron is getting. I hope to get to be a little less fluffy anyway.

>69 drneutron: so one way to fix that could be to use a browser with tabs and just leave that page on a tab. The when you want to look at it, just refresh the page. That’s how I use LT - a tab for Talk, one for my catalog, one for the Threadbook, and one for the group wiki. That plus half a dozen others from different websites are my default tabs in safari.

Jim, we have two new-to-us Ben Macintyre titles on the TBR shelf at our house.

The hubs already whistled through them and loved them both:
I ordered The Spy and the Traitor: The Greatest Espionage Story of the Cold War after your encouragement (last November). It was a Christmas gift plan...
and when it wasn't showing up by the middle of December, I had no giftie for him, so lo and behold, I found A Spy Among Friends: Kim Philby and the Great Betrayal on the remainder cart at a local bookshop, $4.99 (CAD) - yay.

Of course two days later, the ordered book arrived. Ha. Both waiting for me to read, now that I have read my backlog of library holds.

>70 SandyAMcPherson: His Rogue Heroes was pretty good too! I’m glad your gift plan doubly worked. 😀

>71 drneutron: We had Rogue Heroes from when it first came out. In fact that was my first experience of Macintyre's writing. I reviewed it back in 2019. Feels longer ago, but that was my first year with the 75-er group.

Yeah, well, 2020 seemed like an entire decade, so I get why it seem long ago... 😀

>73 drneutron: - And 2021 already feels like its been a long year and we aren't out of the first month yet. Just sayin'....;-)

>68 magicians_nephew: Bless you! That is how I navigate and thought I had peeked under all the menus.

Happy new thread!

Thanks! And glad you got the new Groups system help.

Update Time!



6. Baptism of Fire by Andrzej Sapkowski

Third (in publication order) of Sapkowski’s excellent Witcher series. After the events of the last book, Geralt is moving through a war zone, looking for Ciri, and building a fellowship along the way.



Velocity Weapon by Megan E. O’Keefe

Sanda Greeve was a gunnery sergeant on a space cruiser blown up in a battle between Ada, a planet of the Protectorate, and Icarion, a planet trying to break the stranglehold the Protectorate has on interstellar travel. Now, after both planets have been destroyed in the war, she is rescued from her survival pod some 250 years later by a sentient ship that was the weapon that destroyed both planets. Except lots of things aren’t adding up, and there’s more to the story than the ship is telling...

Top, and I mean top, of the line science fiction from this new voice in the field. Good characters, some twists that turn unexpected, tight writing. Now I have to run out and get the second!

>68 magicians_nephew: I was grumbling about the same thing and someone pointed out that if you hit More and leave it expanded, it will show up expanded every time. So Starred is always visible, not a click away. Still seems awkward - Starred probably has a _lot_ more users than Groups You Admin - but at least it's as accessible as before.

BB for Velocity Weapon.

>78 jjmcgaffey: Oh, I think you’ll like it!

>79 drneutron: Sure sounds like it!

Frickin’ iFit. Take a nice stroll on Kauai they said. Beautiful scenery they said. 10% grade at 3.5 mph with the trainer from hell.

Gonna feel this one tomorrow...

>81 drneutron: Ha! Too funny

I did that on the bike accidentally last week. Thought a nice stroll through New York would be lovely until I saw the incline! Ugh

>83 drneutron: 😀

>81 drneutron: *snork!!*

You got me with Velocity Weapon.

>81 drneutron: *belly laugh* But really, I am sorry for your pain.

>84 scaifea:, >85 Crazymamie: 😀 This is what I get for being old and trying to act like I'm not.

>85 Crazymamie: Awesome! I hope you like it!

Velocity Weapon sounds like my kind of book - thanks for the tip.

I've heard people talking about O'Keefe - time to get on board.

Thanks for the recommendation of Magpie Murders - I enjoyed it very much.
And also for some more BB's.
Have a wonderful Wednesday!

>87 magicians_nephew: Definitely!

>88 SirThomas: I'm glad you liked it! I hope yours is wonderful too.

Happy Wednesday, Jim. I am really enjoying my current read, Sutton. Have you read or heard of this one? If not, this would definitely be your cuppa. Sorry, for dropping another BB on your thread but the Warbler can't control himself.

I saw it n your thread and am interested - haven't checked to see if it's available from the library, but I' m guessing it it. No apologies needed for BBs!

>90 msf59: I loved Sutton when I read it a few years ago...I would have thought you were one of the reasons I picked it up, but I guess not?

Happy newish thread, Doc! *socially distanced (half a planet) wave*

>81 drneutron: :0D We went to Kauai on our honeymoon; most of the island is inaccessible by car so you have to take a boat - or a helicopter.

Hope you've recovered.

>93 humouress: Yeah, i didn’t get too sore. Scenery was beautiful - I’d love to visit at some point.

I added Velocity Weapon to my library request list. I have so many books at home and requested right now, that the way I do that is to request a book and then suspend it for six weeks. So, maybe March?

Magpie Murders is already on my list ....

I just joined the Glacier Consevancy's book club to try to read a few more outdoor titles. First up for me will be Engineering Eden.

Oooo, that one looks good!

Marko Kloos: yea or nay?

Never tried anything by him. Have you?

One short work, a novella (maybe? short story? has "Thirteen" in the title) in his main series that didn't offend or delight me. I'm considering the eyeblink-usage-versus-remaining-years algorithm in respect to starting the series (I got the first one free).

Given the fact that I can't summon up any memory of the shortie, I'm canvassing for input.

Update Time!

8. The Lost Plot by Genevieve Cogman

Fourth in the Invisible Library series, The Lost Plot sees Irene and Kai pulled into another political mess, this time dealing with a contest between two dragons to decide who takes an important court position and who dies. Still a boatload of fun, still one of my favorite series right now.

9. Speculative Los Angeles edited by Denise Hamilton

Akashi Books has been publishing some really good noir short story collections based in cities around the world. Now they’ve branched out into speculative fiction - slow horror, weird, suspenseful, fantasy, sf - set in and around Los Angeles. Usually with collections like this, only about half the stories catch my fancy. With this book? Every single one.

>100 drneutron: Hmm. I've been avoiding the Noir collections...but this series may snag me.

Another one who took a book bullet for Velocity Weapon, Jim. It's on the wishlist and the library has it.

>101 jjmcgaffey: I've gotten a couple through ER, then this one came through ER too. But honestly, I'd have bought this one.

>102 ronincats: Great!

Hi Jim,
Back before the re-design, LT had a spot on the website at the bottom of the page with the number of members currently online. Did that stat get dropped or is it moved to a different place?

Seemed for me to correlate with how slow (or not) the website as a whole loaded. Possibly a spurious correlation, though I did like mentally noting times of large numbers of logged in members.

>104 SandyAMcPherson: I hadn't noticed, but yeah, it looks like it's not at the bottom of pages anymore. I'll poke around and see if I can find it again.

Just catching up and wanted to say hello, Jim!

Hey, Tamara!

>104 SandyAMcPherson: That stat is still at the bottom of my Home Page...not in Talk, though.

Yup, mine too.

>108 laytonwoman3rd: >109 drneutron: Oh, too funny!
I never trolled through to look at other page footers.
I hardly ever go to the home page. My LT bookmark is set at the 75-challenge Group Talk page.

>108 laytonwoman3rd: >109 drneutron: >110 SandyAMcPherson: Gosh, it's been ages since I noticed that number. Looks like there are only 59 members online right now. Seems a bit low, doesn't it? I mean, I know it's the middle of the night in the US and Europe is just waking up, but it is an international site with a fair number of members.

There was, for a long time, a thread in...Site Talk? tracking number of members online (people copying and pasting that stat). I'm not sure it's still going, though.

Yeah, I don't think I've seen that thread in a while. I'm also not sure how they calculate the number, so don't really know how to interpret it. But it seems reasonable that it should correlate with site activity.

Looks like you hit thread-goers with a number of book bullets from that Velocity Weapon review, Jim. Me, too!

😀 I think you'll like it!

Hi Jim!

>100 drneutron: Speculative Los Angeles is now on my wish list.

Proof positive that I'll never abandon your threads, Jim!

>116 karenmarie: Great! I often pass on the ER books I get - this one was a keeper.

>117 PaulCranswick: Never had a doubt. 😀

>118 drneutron: I often request specific ER books because of the potential for passing on the book. This broadens my inclination for requesting the YA and children's genre. ER books (available as actual physical books) seem to favour those genre in Canada.

I used to feel it was a bit weird that Canadian readers were so limited that way, but of course, if the publisher is in the USA, they're going to be put to a fair bit of expense because we're a furrin country, doncha know? Mind you, no limits if the request comes from Alaska...

😀 I suspect the selections are more about copyrights and international licensing than anything else.

Kidding aside, I’ve been a bit disappointed in the Ear selections lately and this one was a refreshing change.

Helluva Super Bowl when the best commercial by far is Will Ferrell...

We’re coming for you, Norway! 😂😂

>121 drneutron: - Yep, that was probably the best commercial. The game was terrible, the half-time show was lame, the ads were mostly forgettable....

The mother-in-law got her first Covid shot today! We had signed her up for the mega-site at the Baltimore Convention Center and got an email this morning of an opening today. Fortunately, I was able to bail out of work and help mrsdrneutron get her there - quite a bit of excitement for a 92 year old!

It must be MIL vaccination week! Mine (also 92) got her first shot yesterday....drove the several blocks to her local hospital by herself...in light snow. She's a wonder.

Wow. Unfortunately, my MIL isn't able to do much on her own anymore. But yeah, yours sounds like a wonder!

10. Secret Service by Tom Bradby

Somewhat light, somewhat implausible spy vs spy novel based around the head of MI-6's Russia department and the possibility that the Russians may be trying to get an agent elected as Prime Minister. The most interesting thing about it was the intrigue as every character was suspected as a double agent and also trying to root out that double agent.

I'd read more of his novels, but probably won't go out of my way to find them.



11. Sutton by J. R. Moehringer

On Christmas Eve in 1969, Willie Sutton, bank robber extraordinaire, was released from prison after serving several decades. Moehringer imagines what it would have been like for Willie to escort a reporter around New York City to remember his past and the one love that drove everything.

Really imaginative writing, great character, a compelling story - this is one to seek out. Thanks to Mark for suggesting it!

>126 drneutron: #11 Well, it's lucky I've already been book-bulleted by that one. It is a compelling story, isn't it?

And yay for MiL's vaccination! A week from tomorrow is the facility's second dose. I'm downright eager for their visit.

>126 drneutron: - And it's currently only $2.99 on Kindle!

>127 richardderus: Great! I think mrsd and I will be waiting a while, but at least we're getting the most vulnerable one of us done. I hope your second dose goes as well as the first.

>128 katiekrug: That's a a good price - well worth it. I don't often buy ebooks, but that's one I'll take.

>126 drneutron:, >128 katiekrug: Thanks, Jim and Katie! I loved J.R. Moehringer's book The Tender Bar, so I just bought the Kindle version of Sutton.

>126 drneutron: Hooray for Sutton! I am glad you enjoyed it, Jim. My warbling paid off.

>128 katiekrug: Thanks for supplying that Kindle Deal for Sutton, Katie.

>130 kidzdoc: Yup, he’s definitely on my list now, so I’m going to be looking for that one.

>131 msf59: yes, it did! I think Paul is interested too.

Thanks for bringing my attention to Sutton. The German publisher managed to ruin that book... just look at the cover and its title "Knapp am Herz vorbei" (translated: "just missed the heart").



Now, you can probaly see why I wasn't interested in the German edition... the English editions looks and sounds way more capitavating!

That’s just awful. I don’t know how good the German translation is, but the original is well worth the reading.

Hello Jim! Happy Belated New Year! I hope all is well with and your wait for Prodigal Son is not too much longer.

>77 drneutron: Excellent review and recommendation for a book I had not head of. When you rec come so high, I'll have to check it out.

>126 drneutron: This sounds interesting. Loved your comments, but not sure if its my cuppa.

>135 brodiew2: Happy new year! Velocity Weapon is a winner for me - she's definitely an author I'll be watching.

Glad to hear your MIL got her first dose! The rollout has been so bungled in Canada (Ontario in particular) that it makes me relieved to hear of vulnerable folks in other places actually getting theirs. It's a big world, we all need this to work.

Looks like you've had some great reads lately! I've considered trying the Witcher series, I'm not interested in watching the show but potentially intrigued by the novels. Haven't heard a bad thing about them, anyway.

Well, it was smooth getting the shot, but the systems for making appointments just simply weren’t done well. I chalk it up to Trump’s failure to let the federal government lead - so all the state and local distribution systems are different and stand-alone. We actually had her on five different waiting lists.

Witcher! Interestingly, the series is following the books in chronological, not publication order. If you decide to read them, you may want to consider which order you want to read them - pub order works well, but there’s back story on the main characters you don’t get until you read the prequels written after the main series.

>139 PaulCranswick: I read the first book and thought it was ok. TV series also not at all bad.

I hear you're interested in recommendations for fantasy books to read. One of my recent faves was the series starting with Senlin Ascends. Creative setting, interesting characters, fun story.

>136 drneutron: Hello Jim! I read the Kindle sample on Velocity Weapon and made the purchase. What an opening and pretty interesting concept. O'Keefe grabs you immediately. It looks to be a fun ride.

I finished up S5 of The Expanse last night. It looks like S6 will be the last. After a smaller focused, but none the less good, S4, S5 came back gangbusters.

I'm also reading Light of the Jedi which is the start of Star Wars new publishing event. It's pretty good. I'm calling it a reintroduction to Star Wars. Have you heard of it The High Republic publishing event?

I seriously need to get back to The Expanse. We dropped off after season 3 and need to catch up. Haven’t heard of Light of the Jedi, but will check it out.

I hope you enjoy Velocity Weapon!

Know why I love America? For dinner I had chicken shawarma wrapped in a tortilla served with fries and a coke. Mmm, good!

Can't say I knew much about shwarma before I saw that Avengers post credit scene. Sounds like a great American dinner.

Middle Eastern spicy chopped chicken - really good. This particular version is Afghan - from a family-run restaurant. Their kabobs are really good too! 😀

>143 drneutron: A lot of the kerfuffle over cultural appropriation seems misguided to me for exactly that reason.

Also, I want that. Now. With cucumber mint lassi instead of fizzy death-juice.

>143 drneutron: Heh. After a long day at the new job and facing a business meeting shortly, I ordered shawarma for dinner. Not the best I had from that place, but what can you expect when it's delivery during an arctic vortex.

>146 richardderus: I really haven't heard complaining about cultural appropriation with regard to food, though I don't doubt it happens. Clothing, music, dance and other emblems of displayed identity are the usual arena. Most people are fine with us buying food from them or even providing ingredients for us to make our own attempts.

>143 drneutron: That. Sounds. Amazing.

Shawarma is a favorite here at Casa Krug, too. And now I want some...

>146 richardderus: Yup. Though I sometimes wonder about the various “gumbos” I’ve seen. Tofu gumbo?? 😂

>147 justchris: Wow, great minds and all that! 😀 We’re having a polar vortex day today, so I’m not sticking my head out til probably Saturday.

>148 quondame: most people seem happy to share their foods with others. Which makes me happy, because I love to eat! 😀 I like that we live in an area with lots of different kinds of food prepared well.

>149 scaifea: It. Was.

One of my faves from that particular Afghan place.

>150 katiekrug: My work here is done...

Afghan shawarma...hmmm. Love both, I've never had a combo. I wonder if anyone around here makes it. Or if it's just a relabeled kabob...don't know.

That's one of the rare things I miss here where I am living: international food. London was a food paradise and you could get e-v-e-r-ything. Shawarma sounds delicious!

There is a terrific Afghani restaurant I discovered that's right near a small theatre I have gone to several times here in Toronto. The food is outstanding! it's called Naan and Kabob and even the atmosphere inside the restaurant is beautiful. And, amazingly, the prices are quite good: https://nandk.ca/

Now I am hungry!

Hi Jim - I was just watching the Perseverance feed from JPL and assuming you were doing the same... :)

>152 jjmcgaffey: Ours is definitely not chopped up kebabs. 😀 Though they do make great kebabs too!

>153 PersephonesLibrary: I really want to visit London one of these days - maybe a retirement trip.

>154 jessibud2: And my work here is done again... 😀

>155 katiekrug: Unfortunately, I was in a meeting, so I didn’t watch the live feed. But we’ve been tracking it. I have friends on the science team.

>4 drneutron: Untraceable sounds good. I finished the book titled Bomb.A National Book Award Finalist, set in WWII, it contains great information not only on building the bomb, but also the race to do so.

>155 katiekrug: Oh, there's a feed? I'm just following whatever comes through on BBC WS radio.

>148 quondame: I've not heard grumbling about cultural appropriation with regards to food. I really like fusion cuisine. Mind you, if there was a big hoo-haa about it, all the Asian foods would have to pull out the chillies, since chillies originated in the Americas ;0)

>158 humouress: Oh no, ingredients aren't cuisine! I don't imagine anyone giving up potatoes for anything. And would you deprive Italy of tomatoes?

>157 Whisper1: Sounds good! I'll see if I can find it.

>158 humouress: JPL has a live feed of the re-entry - live here meaning about 15 minutes delayed due to the round trip light time.

>158 humouress:, >159 quondame: 😀 perfect examples!

The Perseverance news is so cool!

Absolutely!

TWO book bullets, both Velocity Weapon and Senlin Ascends, both of which are available through the library.

Shame on you!!

Sorry nor sorry!

Both were lots of fun.

>146 richardderus: and >148 quondame: and >151 drneutron: and >158 humouress: and >159 quondame: and >160 drneutron: Like I know y'all are kinda joking, but also showing how much you don't get it too.

Concerns about cultural appropriation are because the people from those cultures who tried to follow their cultural traditions were actively punished for it, for being who they were. Sometimes quite violently so. But when the colonizers decide that tradition is cool and interesting and grab it for our own uses, and worse, turn capitalism onto it and make shit-tons of money and transmogrify it without any respect or consideration or even acknowledgment of its cultural context and meaning (while still punishing the original practitioners!)--that's cultural appropriation. It's about who has power and who doesn't. Who gets to take without asking. Who is harmed and who profits. And often the cultural practices stolen in this way are very spiritually significant in the origin culture.

See for example, New Age spirituality that flat out stole a lot of its ideas and practices from different indigenous religions. While Native American kids are still not allowed to express any of their religious practicesl and forced to sing Christmas carols and the like in schoo.

It's like people walking into a church, deciding the communion wafers and wine and hymns and vestments are cool, walking out with the church's supply, and opening up a fun park based on those items next door, selling souvenirs shorts made out of the vestments, with the wine being marketed for drinking games, and the wafers as targets in a shooting gallery, and remixed hymns set to a funky beat for pole dancers to perform to. But wait, they also went to the synagogue and stole the Torah and menorah, which would make great mood lighting and a cool format for the restaurant menu, not to mention calling the MC of the show the rabbi with his cantor showgirls. Then burning down the church and synagogue when complaints are raised. That's cultural appropriation.

Food is rarely the topic of criticism with respect to cultural appropriation because it has always, always been the entree and welcome point of others into a culture/from another culture. That's why every ethnic restaurant ever. We all eat in community at some point--one could consider it the very definition of community, nay, civilization. Which means at some point we welcome the "other" to join us over a meal--pretty much all cultures have some tradition of hospitality.

Moreover, with respect to stuff like potatoes, and tomatoes, and chile peppers, and corn, and chocolate and other foods from the Americas that are now globally ubiquitous--they became that exactly because global Empire and colonialism. No one's suggesting that all those colonized cultures give back the ingredients introduced by the colonizers. But that dynamic was not cultural appropriation. It was cultural domination. And making lemonade.

>165 justchris: Ah, I see. When you put it like that, I remember that there is definitely a sensitive basis to 'cultural appropriation'. However, I'm worried that it will become a thing where people from one country say to those from another 'You can't copy me' - just because.

I'm sitting in Asia and my kids go to an international school where respecting each others' cultures is more than encouraged. Around Chinese New Year there's a mufti day where the kids can wear Chinese clothes or red and gold; similarly for Deepavali, Singapore National Day, International Cultural Exchange day and so on. It's not a huge step (maybe it's a bit trite) but I do think it predisposes the kids to be more accepting of other cultures, subconsciously at least - which is where it really counts. And lower down the school they do actually learn about the culture behind the event.

I'm just worried that the powers that be will look at it and say 'We mustn't be seen to be misappropriating cultures' and take it away, which would then be a big step backwards. I think it's a good thing to mix cultures as long as it's done with respect and not to make money on a fad.

>165 justchris: I wasn't in the least joking about food. If I were to copy the hand loomed pieces my grandmother purchased off the backs of Peruvian women in the 1930s, and sell them yes, that would be cultural appropriation.

As ghastly as the rape of the western hemisphere was, the process of food dissemination is something that has been going on as long as people moved from one place to another whether in small trade caravans, armies or whole populations. Food that was available in the north east probably originated far to the south just as cherries made their way from Asia to Europe and apricots became smeared all over genoise (love genoise hate apricots). I cannot imagine the any scenario of contact between the western continent and the Eurasian-African continents that wouldn't have smeared them both with each other's crops and livestock.

// >167 quondame: Just yesterday I did my weekly stint with horses. 'Smearing' and 'livestock' in the same sentence does not conjure a felicitous image in my mind ;0) //

>165 justchris:, >166 humouress:, >167 quondame: Yes, I get the issues with cultural appropriation, and I do my best to be sensitive to it. But I agree that food is and has always been the best way to meet and appreciate new people. And while I was being light-hearted in my original post, I think this is a good thing - the more we can share with each other, the better we are.

>168 humouress: 😂 I can imagine!

>156 drneutron: That's too bad that you were in a meeting. Chloe's class has been talking about it and she really wanted to watch some videos and see pictures from it. She's decided she wants to be an astronaut and her bedroom is covered in space art right now

Update Time!

14. Pulp by Ed Brubaker

Brubaker’s graphic novel is a beautifully drawn story of an old man trying to do the right thing at the end of his life in 1939 by drawing on his early life as an outlaw and rancher in the Old West. Brubaker’s got several other graphic novels I want to try.

15. This is Shakespeare by Emma Smith

Shakespeare’s life and works have probably been written about more than anything else on the planet. So why read another book? Well, that’s kind of the point of Smith’s book. Shakespeare’s plays don’t offer much in the way of stage direction, and Smith says this “gappiness” offers the opportunity for Shakespeare to be continually reinterpreted, then goes on to show this in twenty of the plays. Interesting book, but somewhat repetitive by the end.

>170 ChelleBearss: Good for her! I’d go to space in a heartbeat if given the opportunity.

Hi Jim!

>123 drneutron: I’m glad to hear that your MiL got her first Covid shot. I’ve got my second one on Wednesday.

>138 drneutron: Wow. 5 different waiting lists. It just shouldn’t have to be that way.

>156 drneutron: My husband submitted our names to be on Perseverance before it was even named Perseverance.

Still have my copy of Shakespeare's Stagecraft which I bought in London in the 90's for seven shillings and sixpence.

Great discussion by a working director of (a) how they may have staged things in Shakespeare's day and (b) how they take the text and re-imagine it in these days.

>173 karenmarie: Things could have been so much more organized if the federal government had stepped up from the beginning. But at least Maryland’s governor has really done the best job that could be done under the circumstances.

I’m glad they did the names thing! We had over 4 million names submitted on Parker.

>174 magicians_nephew: Gonna have to look for that one!

>165 justchris:, >166 humouress:, >167 quondame: Very interesting discussion.

Regarding the ethnic food recipes dissemination, if you haven't peeked at Cumin, Camels, and Caravans: A Spice Odyssey, you might find a few interesting nuggets here, especially reading of the relationship between the spice trade and culinary imperialism. The author's family lineage dates back to the time they were spice traders in the Arabian peninsula.

The reason I mention Nabhan here is that, in the introduction, he discusses how a colleague (Eugene Anderson, an ethnobotanist) was writing about the Yin-shan cheng-yao, a Chinese doctor's recipe manual for treating the Imperial Emperor Tutemur's chronic ill health (a descendent of the famed Kublai Khan, he ruled 1328 - 1332 CE).

The Imperial physician (Hu Szu-hui) lived on and his legacy of a dietary manual contained precise recipes that turned up in a 1939 handwritten recipe book of Spanish-origin families living in the southwest of the USA: some halfway around the world from where Hui and the Mongolians had traded for the spices needed in these recipes.
The recipe that sparked Anderson's interest was for a lamb-garbanzo bean stew which was nearly identical to Hui's recipe from 7 centuries ago.

I scanned pages with this anecdote but I have to transcribe them if they're going to be readable to share for anyone interested here (it is bound to take a longish time).

I think I got carried away, and you can go read my review if you are interested...
I had to re-read my scanned pages to remind myself of the background and was surprised I had never entered the book in my LT catalogue! Fixed now.

Sorry Jim. I kind of hijacked your thread for a longish post! But the topic is part of my Academic training... And obviously, I need to visit LA for the FOOD!

>176 SandyAMcPherson: That sounds like a fascinating book! Lamb-garbanzo bean stew sounds like a winner too, though I'd bet it doesn't have tomatoes.
Yes, by all means. Our local Korean-Mexican has lost their store front lease and there are no longer any carnitas on offer, but that might be fixed once the quarantine is over, there are bound to be a few storefronts for hire, and anyway, there is much else to enjoy. What would you like to try that you think you could find here?

>176 SandyAMcPherson:, >177 quondame: Definitely sounds like an interesting book. On my list now!

>165 justchris: Interesting post and good explanation!

There was a protest here in Holland concerning food and cultural appropriation, I read about it and found it hard to understand, but I think it's a bit clearer to me now. A Dutch supermarket had taken a famous Thai soup, and made an instant packaged soup out of it. Thai people protested about this, saying they had botched the recipe. The supermarket has withdrawn the soup, probably also because it didn't sell. I know that good food, careful preparation are important in Thai culture, so having their recipes abused can then rankle. I once had dinner in a very small Thai restaurant where the cook had worked for the king of Thailand. Their soup was delicious.

>176 SandyAMcPherson: Interesting book!

Have a nice weekend Jim.

>179 EllaTim: Yeah, that sounds like a real bad decision on their part...

Here's a picture of Perseverence hanging from the parachute about a minute before landing. This was taken from MRO about 700 km away.

Oh yeah, love that shot. I loved the shot from the skycrane just before touchdown. Can't wait to see the other hi-res shots once they make it back.

Was just on a telecon for the first track after our latest Venus flyby. First, nailed the flyby, couldn't have been better. Second, there's gonna be a big release of Perseverance pics and movies on Monday!

Congrats on the Venus flyby!! That thing's got my name on it. And looking forward to the Perseverance media on Monday.

>177 quondame: What would you like to try that you think you could find here?
That's a tough one, because if I do ever visit, the foodie objective depends where I stay, since I am not fond of traversing huge cities and coping with heavy traffic.

What I miss the most is genuine Lebanese and Syrian cookery with Turkish and the Barbary coast as close seconds. I had a fantastic Tibetan/Nepalese dinner in St. Paul's (MN) years ago, 'Everest on Grand'. And I have had Mongolian food I liked here in Saskatoon, because we have an exchange program with the agricultural people in crop development in U-Bat (Mongolia). They couldn't entirely get the authentic ingredients but whatever, it was yummy. In a private home, that's a different situation.

>181 drneutron: I haven't figured out how to see anything via my computer. And can you explain what this JAL feed is for this space news? Would love to geek out more on what's happening in this space research...

>185 SandyAMcPherson: I have within a mile good Lebanese, great Tibetan, and there was a Turkish place nearby, not sure if it survived Covid. Mongolian not so much though there is a place in Santa Monica, but some Korean is local, not the best which is 3 miles(20min) away. I'm not far from Santa Monica, straight south from UCLA with about a dozen Persian restaurants between it and me. My favorite local restaurant is the Bosnian place which declares it serves Mediterranean food and has really great bread.

>181 drneutron: Fascinating, Jim.

Loving all the food talk and of course being from Malaysia what is exotic for many is commonplace here!

>140 drneutron: Thanks for the recommendation.

>181 drneutron: 😍

>179 EllaTim: Well, I've just gone through my Hamlyn All Colour Cookbook from the 1970's (which used to be my mum's) and the ethnic recipes - even the European (ie non-UK) ones - are ... well, interesting.

But food always gets adapted. I've had Chinese food all around the world and it always tastes different according to the country I eat it in. Most familiar to me is Chinese food from UK. In Asia (places like Sri Lanka), it tends to be spiced up a bit. In Singapore, I'm sure it's more authentic but it's not quite the same as what I used to get in the UK. But I also notice that in some food outlets, Indian and Malay influences creep into the mix.

My dad's favourite 'Chinese' dish is Singapore noodles, which you can find in UK and Australian Chinese restaurants. But they've never heard of them in Singapore.

It even changes in families; my food isn't quite like my mum's but she has three sisters and their cooking all tastes different.

>189 humouress: Interesting! I had just started to read 1493, and it was so surprising to see how ingredients have been travelling the world. Like the story of tomatoes, originally from South America, but almost inedible, then being improved in Mexico, and then arriving all over the world. I don't think there would be much left on our table when we would take all that away. Potatoes, tomatoes, pumpkins etc.

Chinese cooking is a story in itself. Here in Holland there always have been lots of Chinese restaurants providing relatively cheap meals, familiarising people with exotic cooking. But it has been adapted to Dutch expectations. So it's better to call it Dutch-Indonesian-Chinese cooking. From the sixties people started arriving from Surinam(including Chinese). So now we have Dutch-Surinam-Chinese-Indonesian restaurants, where you can have Pom, and Bakkeljau, and Babi Pangan, nothing any original Chinese would recognise. (Babi Pangan is an Indonesian dish). I used to like Nasi goreng Singapore. Don't know if it resembles your noodles;-)

Chinese restaurants have been suffering from their reputation and have lately been improving their skills, making their kitchen more Chinese. The result has been surprising and very different.

Hope you don't mind this food discussion on your thread Joe.

Can. Not. WAIT. for the Monday photo release! And yay for the successful flyby.

Week-ahead busyness assured to be interesting, then, Doc.

>184 ronincats: Thanks! What’s amazing to me - when designing this thing, we never expected to have to do these major operations over Zoom! It’s pretty interesting that we can actually do this.

>185 SandyAMcPherson: Mmm, those sound like great restaurants!

>186 SandyAMcPherson: The feed I was talking about was from the Jet Propulsion Lab’s mission operations center for Perseverance. Generally, I’d keep an eye on nasa.gov for news.

>187 quondame: Those sound great too!

>188 PaulCranswick: As you’re aware, I’m definitely hoping for a culinary intro some day. 😀

>189 humouress: Glad you liked the pic!

>190 EllaTim: Oh, I’m loving the food talk, so I’m happy to host.

>191 richardderus: Yep, I’m especially looking forward to the video of the landing from the sky crane looking down at the rover.

>192 drneutron: Duuuh, I should have realized what JPL meant. I was thinking it was some geeky TV network down your way. I even have that website bookmarked.

>194 SandyAMcPherson: 😀

>195 drneutron: OK. So is that YouTube video of Perseverence landing a digital mock up?
Or are the various machines so outfitted with cameras, that all the angles are being recorded? It seems make-believe ~ as if an outside viewer is there with a device to beam images back to Earth.

And how come no dust when the landing occurred? And, and and....

Even if it's a digital rendering it was pretty neat.

That one is a digital rendering. But... they did put a number of cameras on the sky crane and the rover and I hear they’re releasing video of the actual landing tomorrow!

>194 SandyAMcPherson: Well, I have been conditioned by listening to my kids talk to think football - Japanese Premier League?? - but I'm guessing that's not it. Or is it?

>176 SandyAMcPherson:, >177 quondame: - hah! I just made an Iranian lamb and chickpea stew - with tomatoes. Abgoosht. It was very tasty. Kind of funny setup, though - you cook it like stew, meat and veg in liquid. Then drain the liquid off, mash the solids, fold them into bread (lavash) and dip it in the broth to eat.

>193 drneutron: Thanks Jim! We have been in this semi-lockdown where restaurants are closed for what feels like ages. I guess I am missing it.

>199 jjmcgaffey: Sounds great!

>181 drneutron: I love it! This is so cool!

Hi, Jim. Glad you enjoyed Pulp. This GN team is one of our favorites.

>198 humouress: Nah, Jet Propulsion Lab - they built Perseverance and are operating it from a mission operations center there.

>199 jjmcgaffey:, >200 EllaTim: Never heard of that, but sounds like something I should try!

>201 msf59: Yeah, that one really surprised me - the coordination needed to land while MRO had a view of it is pretty difficult.

Hi, Jim. Jeesh, too much has happened since I last came by. Let's see.

It's so cool with Perseverance. I saw the helicopter yesterday.

I really enjoyed the Witcher tv series. That's a perfect part for that big guy actor, *checks*, Henry Cavill. Thanks for the heads-up about the book order.

Hooray for Pulp! As Mark is indicating, his teamups with Sean Phillips are really special.

>203 jnwelch: Yeah, it's been busy. 😀 Perseverance is definitely a fun mission!

Yeah, I think Cavill has one a bang-up job with the part. I'll be interested to see what you think of the books.

I'm definitely planning to read more of them. I think Hoopla has three more of their gns.

>199 jjmcgaffey: I haven't tried that, but am absolutely in love with the lamb and celery stew. And the little meat patties, and the fava bean rice with dill. OK, if the fridge weren't over full just now it would surely be time for a Persian food run.

>204 drneutron:
I read the first book in the Witcher series - Last Wish and thought the writing was crappy. The plot was good and the characters were interesting but the writing was simplistic and the storyline was confusing. Of course, it really is a book of short stories and NOT a novel. I went ahead and purchased the next three novels in the series, but they haven't attracted me since a year ago. I honestly think that if I had not been trapped in an airport and then on a plane I would not have finished the book. So far I wouldn't put this fantasy series in the same league with the Witchlands, Grishaverse, or Throne of Glass series. I would like to see the series as I think it is clear from the book that there is a reason why it was short stories and not a novel.

Maybe I just talked myself into digging out those next three novels and digging into them. Hummm.

>205 quondame: you’re making me hungry.... 😀

>206 benitastrnad: So Last Wish is indeed a set of short stories, as is the next. The Witcher Saga starts with volume 3, Blood of Elves, and is the main story of Gerald and Ciri. I’ve enjoyed the first three in the Saga, though I can imagine that others might not.

>207 drneutron: RE: ">205 quondame: quondame: you’re making me hungry."
Yes! Especially Persian food. YUM!

>196 SandyAMcPherson:, Jim, RE: dust, there was LOTS! Wasn't it exciting!

Thanks everyone for the generally positive responses to my lecture in >165 justchris:. I was worried about reactions because no one likes a heavy. And yet, silence is complicity and all that--so I do feel the need to speak up about problematic/controversial/misunderstood topics.

>166 humouress: Your kids' school sounds like it's taking a hands-on approach to educating international students about local cultures. A far cry from my cringeworthy childhood memories of construction paper headdresses and pilgrim hats to celebrate Thanksgiving (wince!)--a holiday I can no longer innocently celebrate but instead use as a day to make a significant donation to a Native American organization.

>199 jjmcgaffey: Yum! I too love lots of food from lots of different cuisines but haven't dug into Persian much. I recently got Delights from the Garden of Eden and look forward to exploring some historical Iraqi dishes. I've enjoyed most of the stuff I've made from the Anonymous Andalusi cookbook.

>206 benitastrnad:
So - are you telling me that I shouldn't expect much from the next two volumes? 😩

I may have set my expectations to high on this series - but that doesn't mean that every book in the series is not the best. At least the first book and humor and characters that were generally likable and interesting.

>208 SandyAMcPherson: Yup. It’s a pretty cool video! I wish we had found a way to do more of this on Parker, but a camera pointed to the sun would last about 30 seconds at perihelion. 😀

>209 justchris: I thought your post was a good one. It’s a serious, complicated issue - one I think we’re all trying to do our best with. I’m glad you felt comfortable in speaking up!

>210 benitastrnad: Well, there’s no shame in deciding these aren’t for you! 😀 Seriously, keep going and see if you think the later ones get better. If not, life’s too short to waste time...

>209 justchris: I think the school's going in the right direction. My boys, on the other hand, usually wear a football kit - and if I'm lucky, it'll have some vague relationship to the colours that they're supposed to wear (red and white for Singapore National Day, for instance). *sigh* Kids!

>202 drneutron:, >209 justchris: I'm a Foreign Service brat - I grew up in Afghanistan and Iran. So that's my comfort food...but most of it requires two or three wives to cook properly, so I don't make it often. Fortunately there's good Afghan restaurants around here, and Persian/Iranian ones too. But this stew used an Instant Pot and was extremely simple to make.

I can't share the recipe (yet) - it was a test cook for Cook's Illustrated/America's Test Kitchen. Apparently they're doing a cookbook that will include it - not sure if it will be in the magazine before that or not. But I can't give the recipe until they publish it.

>213 jjmcgaffey: Looking forward to it!

>213 jjmcgaffey: You don't have enough wives?

>215 humouress: Well...there's the Instant Pot, and the Ankarsrum, and the KitchenAid...maybe I do.

Slightly more seriously - a lot of food from that area needs separate parts to be worked on simultaneously. It really is designed to be made by a group, not by one person. The most obvious group is the multiple wives, though it would work just as well for a bunch of roommates (assuming everyone had at least minimal levels of cooking experience). And actually, with the kitchen gadgets, it _can_ be done by one person (probably, most recipes) - but it does take some practice to get everything to happen in the right order and be done at the same time.

>216 jjmcgaffey: Ankarsrum, oh, I'd not seen that before. It looks an entire level up from KitchenAid. I did a lot of the less skilled work in my mother's kitchen, but at most it was the two of us and while her cooking was as good as a home kitchen with only electricity and no stainless steel pots could get, organization and efficiency in operations was not her skill set. She could get 3 dinners for 6 from 1 chicken though, so she understood the efficient use of materials.

Hi Jim, just peeping in to see what's going on here. A lot! Happy Wednesday.

Thanks for stopping by, Coonie!

>216 jjmcgaffey: It sounds like a community-spirit type activity. Now, if only I could convince my sons to cook with me. One will only cook by himself - limited menu but yummy. When he condescends to give me some. The other issues disclaimers the instant he gets a whiff of a recipe; although he came home last Friday and said he got an A in Technology for making naan bread so he made some for dinner for us by himself. The super cautious mum in me even let him use the sharp knife to crush/ chop garlic without too many qualms.

>217 quondame: Organisation and efficiency isn't my forte either, which is probably why I don't cook as much as I could.

>217 quondame: Yeah. There aren't a lot of them around - I ran across it, entirely by luck, at a yard sale (estate sale I think - the seller's parent. Or she'd never have let it go...). I don't have all the accessories, and I regularly go drool over the attachments, but it does a fantastic job of kneading bread and mixing cookie dough (I do the latter more often in the KitchenAid - I forget about the Ankarsrum until it's already started). I have one recipe for - well, they're called prince-biscuits. It's a medieval travel bread/cookie, tastes fantastic, and never goes bad - just dries up until you have to dunk it or break a tooth. They're better fresh, but still excellent dry (and dunked). The recipe says to combine all the ingredients and then beat for an hour - in the Ankarsrum, it takes 20 minutes (the first time I did it for the full hour, but the texture didn't change between 20 and 60 minutes - it goes from dry and crumbly to fluid in the 20 minutes). I don't make that in the KA, since there are warnings on the recipe that it will burn out the KA's motor...Ankarsrum has absolutely no problem with it.

>221 jjmcgaffey: Sounds like lembas!

Come join me on my new thread!

>222 quondame: I've called them that before! Not quite food for a day, but a nice fill-me-up when you're hungry (then drink some water and you'll stay full for hours).

>221 jjmcgaffey: Wow! I just looked up the Ankarsrum too. That'll go on the wish list after 'get my cooking up to chef standard'.