World’s Worst Novel: Chapter Eight

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40 Responses to World’s Worst Novel: Chapter Eight

  1. EO says:

    Without resorting to the google, I’m going to take a wild ass guess that the I and E in “PIE root” stand for Indo-European, which is a “thing” as far as languages go…

    But lets face it, the root of any good pie, is of course, lard.

    and…Good Morning!

  2. EO says:

    And btw, yes I do have a BUY signal on gold as of yesterday, at 1314. Another whipsaw in the making? I have no idea.

    Bonds remain on a BUY, for about the last three or four months now, depending on which fund or index you choose to measure, and a very nice little rally indeed.

    Stocks remain on their historic BUY, with a record breaking trend going all the way back to November 2012, and up around 40% since then. By record breaking, I mean the number of consecutive days above it’s 200 day average. Yes there are people who track that sort of thing. Maybe the same people who seem to make up new sports statistics out of thin air. There have been articles on this record run lately, and if I can find one of them again, I’ll post it.

    And though I occasionally fall off the wagon, I hereby reiterate my oath not to comment at all on the trends in the silver or miner markets. I’m just not interested under any circumstances.

  3. xty says:

    I do remember thinking, when Dagney boasted that she had hidden 900,000 ounces (yes, I am sure that was the number) of silver in the mountains of BC, that she was practicing inverse mining. You are right about the mining industry being a nightmare for investing. No more home runs.

    As to people asking for money at the side of the road, there is always someone on the offramp that leads to our house, and I cannot pay a dollar a day or more to them. For us it is like feeding the bears, and the Sally Ann and local mission have both asked that people not give them money. But that guy did not look like a down and out druggie or alcoholic, which is what we have on our hands.

  4. xty says:

    Or mentally ill person, I should add, and they really need something other than street drugs. Tricky call.

  5. Dryocopus pileatus says:

    Angie needs a longer boat hook, and some type of a repeater flare gun. do they make revolving cylinder, or even fully automatic flare guns?

    i cannot find the reference to “pierrot” (sp). am i just too lazy? i clicked all the links in the story.

    well, i get to be first to remind all to enjoy the summer. it is officially here!!!

  6. Dryocopus pileatus says:
  7. xty says:

    PIE was in the etymology of one of the words, mendacity?, maybe, and I had no idea what it meant, but EO is going to be right with his Indo-European. And the P stands for Proto, but if my hasty research proves anything it is that linguistics is a field of pinheads to a large extent, and they make up stuff and then use intense guild-speak to make everyone else feel dumb:

    We describe our development of an Indo-European Lexicon, comprising our “Pokorny Master” listing of Proto-Indo-European (PIE) etyma and, in principle for each etymon, a list of Indo-European (IE) reflexes derived therefrom (see, e.g., the PIE root ag- ‘to drive, lead’). PIE etyma are described by Semantic Fields, and reflexes are …

    Building an Indo-European Lexicon

    Is anyone awake at the back of the class?

    But my inquiries seems to have lead me somewhere much more germane, and I shall be back in a mo …

    And good morning, if possible.

  8. EO says:

    Nothing like some good socialist rage.

  9. EO says:

    I think this is a fairly interesting article. It seems to fit pretty well with what I’m seeing in my kids, nieces, nephews.

    5 industries that Millennials are destroying

  10. Dude says:

    IRISH STEAK AND MUSHROOM PIE Choice Tenderloin Tips baked with Wild
    Mushrooms in a strong-flavored Irish Stout Demi-Glaze and topped with a Homemade
    Puff Pastry Crust. A Delicious Irish Meal, with our Highest Recommendation. ………………. 17.99

    Copied from McGuire’s Irish Pub menu, Destin, Fl. Now that’s a pie. Washed down with their house brewed Irish Red- $5.04/glass. $.04? Maybe they think the bartender will get a $.96 tip each time.

  11. Dude says:

    Someone mentioned feeling “shaky” the other day and got this started in my head, and now we talk of pie- gotta do it.

  12. Dryocopus pileatus says:

    Fig Jam & Spam Breakfast Pie

    http://www.mrbreakfast.com/recipe_print.asp?recipeid=3204

    looks like we have found our topic. what an eclectic bunch. 😛

  13. Dryocopus pileatus says:

    OK – off topic again, but this is worth watching. i hope this video goes viral.

  14. EO says:

    Eric O’s “Keep It Simple, Stupid” Apple Pie recipe:

    2 cups flour
    1 teaspoon salt
    3/4 cup lard (cold)
    5 Tablespoons cold water (more or less, according to feel)

    4 cups apples, heaping a bit ( we like tart early macintosh)
    3/4 cup sugar (use less with sweeter apples)
    1 teaspoon cinnamon

    Put flour, salt, and lard in a bowl and start cutting it up with one of those pastry tools, and a butter knife, until about the size of peas. Start adding water a bit at a time and stir with a fork.

    When it will all hold together, take half your dough and start rolling it lightly on a clean, floured countertop. Turn often, adding some flour each time to prevent sticking. Don’t overdo it. Gently. When an inch or two larger than the pie pan, put it in the pie pan and trim off the excess with a scissors, with just a little overlap. Add apples, sugar, cinnamon, ( I premix the sugar and cinnamon)saving a bit, you’ll know why in a minute. Do your top crust, same way. Crimp the edges any way you like.

    You should end up with enough crust from the trimmings to make an additional small single serving pie. That’s why you need some of your apples yet. Mrs. O’s Grandma always did this for her when she was little and now we can’t do without it.

    Put a large pan or foil on your lower rack to catch drippings, and preheat to 425 degrees, F. 15 minutes at 425, then about 20 minutes at 350. Take out the small pie, and give the large one an additional 20 minutes. At all times, trust the toothpick test, not the timer. You want the apples soft and the pie starting to ooze sugary cinnamony goodness.

    If you make extra, they freeze wonderfully. I usually top them with foil and then into an old bread bag. Reheat at 350 for 20-30 minutes, or until warm enough for you. Stick a fork in the middle and touch it to your tongue. You’ll know. Even a little icy in the middle is fine if you just can’t stand waiting any more.

  15. EO says:

    Oh yeah, poke some holes in the top before baking to let some steam out, and also sprinkle with a little more sugar and cinnamon. If you forget, meh, no big deal, get ’em next time.

  16. EO says:

    Daughter took placement exams this morning. Heading up shortly to pick up and spend some quality time on the UW campus. :mrgreen:

  17. EO says:

    Before I go, I just have to say, I’m already seeing a lot of permabull ideologues crowing about how right they were, how they called the bottom, yada, yada, yada. Seriously? You are the same fuckers who have been telling people to buy every fucking dip all the way down! How many “bottoms” did you have to call before you finally got one right? Assholes like these need to be permanently banished to some special place in hell. Anyone who listens to these guys deserves whatever happens to them.

  18. EO says:

    And it remains to be seen whether you even have one right as of yet. I’m not even conceding that point.

  19. Dryocopus pileatus says:

    read this…

    http://www.theburningplatform.com/2014/06/21/grapes-of-wrath-2011/#comments

    this particular blog is becoming moderate in it’s views. i think it deserves a second look by those like me who gave up on it some time ago.

    yes, this article is a repost. but the site had become inundated by partisan political opinions, especially right wing “Tea Party” and me, me, me and Ayn Rand type stuff since then.

  20. EO says:

    Correct me if I’m wrong, but didn’t TBP used to have a “I support OWS” bug on their front page? That suggested to me that at least to some degree they were not already a wholly owned subsidiary of the RightWingNutters.

    And to comment on the article itself (OK I skimmed), Holy Shit! You mean that eager lenders and eager borrowers, both driven by greed, somehow conspired to expand the money supply, even in the era of the Austrian Nirvana of the Classical Gold Standard? How is this theoretically possible? Could it be? Could it be? That human nature predates and overrules both Austrians and Keynesians alike? It boggles the mind….

  21. EO says:

    How many here have actually read “The Grapes of Wrath”? And just seeing the movie doesn’t count. I also recommend “The Jungle” by Upton Sinclair.

  22. EO says:

    Oh, wait. I kept reading. By 1929 Hayek and von Mises were already pissing and moaning like a couple of little bitches about the inflation of the money supply. Apparently they never read any history, in the fact that even before the creation of the dreaded Federal Reserve, all through the later 1800’s, the common man was living nothing but a series of Depressions with a Capital D.

    Apparently, we’d all be better off with no “fractional reserve banking” at all! It could be just like during the Thirty Years War, when cannibalism was the order of the day. Where does this jihad against “fractional reserve banking” originate from, anyway? Is it strictly a Bible Thumper thing, where we find some way of continuing to snidely stick it to Da Joooooos? Truth hurts, but just sayin and fuck you.

    The ancient lineage between the Hard Money Goons and the White Supremacists have been revealed.

  23. EO says:

    Yeah, apparently all our troubles began in 1913 with the creation of the Fed. It was a Utopia before that. Riiiiigggghhhhhttttt……

    TBP, you just lost me, just as you had a few years ago. Blow me.

  24. EO says:

    OK, so I went and ran the dogs, and had some time to think about all this. Did I go too far? Too crude? Did they not understand my penchant for over-the-top drama to make my point?

    Well, ya wanna know what I really think? I didn’t go nearly far enough. Sites like TBP are an insidious part of the problem, not any sort of part of the solution. They are a trojan horse. Suck in the Tom Joad’s of the world with a lot of warm and fuzzy, and then, sure enough, get back around to the script that has been handed to you by your plutocrat paymasters. It’s all about how we need hard money, End the Fed, outlaw fractional reserve banking, blah, blah, blah, yada, yada, yada.

    Sucker in Average Joe, and deliver him into the hands of his oppressors.

    Fuck You, TBP.

    And just to make sure I wasn’t completely offbase, I went back and tried to read more of the article. Oh, yeah, it’s the tax code that is bad too! Well, La Dee Frickin Da!!

    If only we could End the Fed and Kill the IRS, the working man would be freeeeeeee!!!!!!!!! Oh, shit, what a fraud. They are banking on the fact that a drowning man will clutch at any straw that he can reach.

    I wanna see where TBP gets it’s money from. It would be highly illuminating.

    Fuckem, fuckem, fuckem all.

    Oh, yeah, and now that I’ve been on that site a few times, I probably have a virus. Buggiest site known to man.

  25. Dryocopus pileatus says:

    the article was non partisan. that was the first thing i noticed. and i agree to almost everything said about the Federal Reserve, and much of the criticism of Keynesian economics, in general, just not the stuff in the article. but at the most basic level, i believe you just cannot leave the power of money creation to banks/government. so i basically believe that a pure gold standard is better than what we have now.

    i am a moderate – you guys know that by now. i don’t think any of the economic dogmas have it all right. it’s not hard science. i saw something lately that i could post, but would have to find it first. but it basically summed up the whole of economics in 6 common sense bullet points.

    that was an impressive rant none the less EO. my last one petered out after only two posts. i just don’t think anyone cares anymore. nihilism wins.

  26. EO says:

    Yeah, whatever. I could go on, but it’s almost time to get the turkey out and make the gravy. :mrgreen:

    That is the risk though, isn’t it? Online or off, if you dare to utter what you really think, you risk losing all your friends and having to quit all your blogs.

    The last thing I need to get off my chest, is that The Fed, The Income Tax, Social Security, and Medicare are about the only things keeping Average Joe from having to literally eat his own children to survive these days. No wonder the Plutocrats have been fighting tooth and nail against these for 70 to 100 years. A desperate labor pool is the best possible labor pool. Feudalism was “the good old days” to these people.

    And now you can add Obamacare to the list. No wonder they are so agitated. They’ll spend the next 100 years trying to kill that too. Fuck them. They won’t win as long as my kith and kin have a breath left in our bodies and a buck left in our wallets.

    And now, to lighten the mood, a tune…

  27. EO says:

    And btw, I think a gold standard would be a disaster. And people can go back and forth and say “well, I mean a PURE gold standard, blah, blah,blah”, kinda like the apologists for capitalism that say “well, I mean PURE capitalism, not this crony stuff, blah, blah, blah”. All chasing unicorns. Shit that has never existed, and will never exist.

    And i forgot to turn on the potatoes, I got so worked up, so it will be a while yet…

    Oops, and the peas…

  28. Dryocopus pileatus says:

    i just don’t have any fight in me right now – you guys know why.

    anyway, the basic situation is not a right/left thing, or a Keynesian vs. Austrian thing, etc. at its core. it is the latest incarnation of selfishness and greed rising to the top of a society, only to be eventually stopped by violent uprising. we are almost there. just listen to the rhetoric of the far right. yup, they’re going to get their good old days alright.

    EO – you know what i researched lately. there is little difference anymore between the two parties – look at their actions. it is all a propaganda war. keep the public dumbed down and fighting for crumbs.

    the internet is crawling with paid sock puppets now, so it is good to be skeptical of these “do gooder” self-righteous bloggers too. but i still stand by that article. much better than some of the other crap over there lately.

    ramble off.

  29. EO says:

    It’s freaky. Just two nights ago, daughter and I watched “Pitch Perfect” on DVD, and now tonight we found it on cable, so we’re watching it again. We never get tired of that movie.

    The turkey was awesome, btw. Now I suppose the CPI calculators will again tell us there’s no inflation, because I swapped in turkey at 99 a pound instead of beef which is going “to da moon!” 🙄

  30. EO says:

    Back to the unicorns for a minute. And not picking on you in particular, but in general, it makes me crazy when people say:

    I’m for PURE (fill in the blank).
    Yeah. PURE capitalism, without all the evil that happens every time.
    PURE socialism, without all the bad stuff that has been proven.
    PURE gold standard, without all it’s proven failures.
    On and on.

    All unicorns. All things that don’t exist, and will never exist. What a convenient debate tactic that is. How is one supposed to argue against these pure virginal ideas, with no baggage at all? I guess, just to say, well it’s never worked yet, so why would it start now?

    Well, people didn’t do it right.

    Yeah, well, it involved human beings, so of course they fucked it up, and always will.

    Let me be clear. I don’t have a party or a candidate that I think you should vote for to make everything all better. I don’t have an economic theory that I think will fix everything. I think there’s some agendas out there that will just make everything worse, but largely I think things are just going to ebb and flow, cycles, turnings, etc, and it’s up to each of us to just try to navigate as best we can.

    That turkey tryptophan must be mellowing me out….

  31. Dryocopus pileatus says:

    do you mean that you are a moderate? i don’t think we disagree on too much at all.

    i am watching a movie, so i’ll be back later or tomorrow.

  32. xty says:

    Here’s what I think. Good-bye friends, hello friends.

    We have a gold standard, and that is why the BIS operates at its base in gold. But in the modern economy it is way in the background. I think the economy has evolved much faster than money, and money is just catching up. One of the things the article about the millennials hinted at but didn’t come out and say is that one of the things the younger generation is shunning is the money economy as much as possible. They value things somewhat differently, and four bedrooms and two cars is not their goal.

    I think the bible is right that excessive usury is a very bad thing, but basic capitalism is not a bad thing, and that is what lending is meant to be, risk included.

    We do not know what we wrought when we tried to remove so much risk from the economy, and the history of guaranteed deposits by governments is not one based on financial prudence.

    A blend of socialism and free-enterprise works as well as anything yet devised. Obama care is flawed in that it leaves the insurance companies paying the doctors – better to go all the way and get the government paying the doctors, and leave some room for the super rich to buy their own shit and fuel research in their quest for the fountain of youth. Obamacare promises health care to the insured, not health care to the people. At least our poor people can just go to a hospital. It may well be an improvement, but it isn’t actually socialized, at least not from where I am sitting.

    Insurance companies acting as a way to avoid income taxes, which is all they do in health care and dental stuff, jacking up salaries with untaxable bonuses, has made the cost of going to the dentist prohibitive. Everything priced to exactly max your insurance.

    Their is something completely fucked up with how much war and weaponry is going on, and most people sense that. The financing of the arms trade through geo-politicking is disgusting.

    Global warming has stopped us from talking about local pollution and that is too bad.

    Americans are very polarized, and the country is too big to be managed from the top. Big in general is bad and allows for resource allocation that has consequences way beyond the life-spans of the people who direct the enormous things, whether it is Pepsi-Co or France.

  33. xty says:

    And Good Morning. I love you.

  34. EO says:

    I’m a moderate? Tee hee, I don’t think I could really say that with a straight face. Most of what I see on the Right disgusts me. The Left, however, seems mostly characterized by naivete, ineptitude, and quite a fair number of rank sellouts. So where does that leave me? I don’t know what I’d call myself. But a moderate probably ain’t it.

    Let me put it this way. We all lament the prospect of voting for the lesser of two evils. I guess I’m feeling like turning that equation around. I prefer to think of it as rejoicing in having the chance to vote against the greater of two evils. And as far as I’m concerned, that means always voting against the Republicans. And not by tossing it away on a fringe candidate either. I vote against the Republicans in the only way that has any practical potential for keeping them out of office, i.e. voting for those goofy ass Democrats.

    In 2000, fringe lefty votes for Nader ended up giving us Bush II instead of Al Gore. And Gore, even with all his faults, which are legion, would still have been much better than Bush. And Obama? Blech. In the end, maybe the best thing we can say is that he kept McCain and Romney out, and that’s important. Hillary stinks too, but if she can keep (fill in the blank) out of there, that’s all that matters.

    And, good morning!

  35. xty says:

    Is there still hope that someone might challenge Shillary? Strategic voting is all we have left, and I certainly sympathize. Al Gore is almost exactly as rich as the Clintons are now, whatever that says.

    And yes, I have read The Grapes of Wrath. Someone breastfeeds an adult I think. It was a long time ago, but I remember the extreme poverty well.

  36. xty says:

    In fact, I just donated some money to a candidate for our city council, something I have never done before, and it is entirely in order to get rid of the current candidate. Voting for the better of two evils.

  37. EO says:

    I don’t know. Sometimes I feel like anyone who actually wants to run for office, should probably be instantly disqualified on psychological grounds. Hillary is way too much of a WarHawk for my tastes (that’s why I tossed her overboard in ’08), and also very much in bed with Wall Street. But if she can keep the GOP goons out, then, by all means. And I’m currently in no mood to support a challenge from the left about it, and risk splitting the party with a lot of bad blood. The stakes are too high with all this Tea Party nonsense going on. Those people need to be fought on all fronts and with all resources available, even if it means taking money from JPfuckingMorgan.

  38. Pete Maravich says:

    hi & love to all.

  39. Pete Maravich says:

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