HDTenEightyP/NetNews huggingface dataset:
From: jjh00@diag.amdahl.com (Joel Hanes)
Newsgroups: rec.arts.books
Subject: Re: Books with a sense of humor (was: A modest proposal)
Date: 16 Dec 92 19:56:35 GMT
Reply-To: jjh00@diag.amdahl.com
Organization: Amdahl Corporation  Sunnyvale California


 joan@med.unc.edu (Joan Shields) writes:
>
>As this is rec.arts.books how about a thread about books with a sense
>of humor.  ...
>   Books that may not have been funny to
>most others but that you thought were a riot.

I'm currently reading _Middlemarch_ -- it cracks me up
about once per chapter.  "George Elliot"'s irony is
so deft, so gently done, that it's easy to cruise
right past a skewering of some person, social convention,
or received idea, unless one is paying attention.

I'm learning to pay attention, and having a fine time.

---
Joel Hanes
From: loosemore-sandra@cs.yale.edu (Sandra Loosemore)
Newsgroups: rec.arts.books
Subject: Re: "The Making of the Atomic Bomb"
Date: 20 Dec 1992 17:34:41 -0500
Organization: staff hacker @ Yale Haskell project
Distribution: rec
	<1992Dec20.191340.28969@leland.Stanford.EDU>
	<1992Dec20.214647.25014@blaze.cs.jhu.edu>
NNTP-Posting-Host: functor.systemsz.cs.yale.edu
In-reply-to: callahan@biffvm.cs.jhu.edu's message of Sun, 20 Dec 1992 21:46:47 GMT

callahan@biffvm.cs.jhu.edu (Paul Callahan) writes:

   I found my copy among several nearly mint editions at a used bookstore.  I 
   wonder if this mean the trade paperback didn't sell as well as they hoped.  

I wondered about this too.  I suspect that the title and subject
matter and picture on the cover put a lot of people off.  I've also
wondered about how accessible the book is to average people who might
be interested in history, say, but who have little or no scientific
background.

-Sandra
Xref: sparky rec.arts.books:22733 misc.books.technical:1785 alt.internet.services:2038 comp.org.eff.talk:7778
From: dsew@troi.cc.rochester.edu (David Sewell)
Newsgroups: rec.arts.books,misc.books.technical,alt.internet.services,comp.org.eff.talk
Subject: Re: The Online BookStore Announcement: The Internet Companion
Date: 18 Dec 92 07:18:01 GMT
Organization: University of Rochester - Rochester, New York

In <1992Dec18.060506.27811@galileo.cc.rochester.edu> dsew@troi.cc.rochester.edu (David Sewell) writes:

>But I think LaQuey's might be a
>better intro book for someone clueless about the Internet as persuasion
>to get them onto it.  

Plus, as you'll see if you download tracy.gif from world.std.com,
Tracy L. is almost certainly cuter than Krol...  :-)

DS
Newsgroups: rec.arts.books
From: gwr@hedonist-1.lanl.gov (Graham W. Redgrave)
Subject: Standard of Living Books?
Organization: Los Alamos National Laboratory
Date: Tue, 15 Dec 1992 20:22:57 GMT

Are there books or online sources that give some comparison of 
standards of living for different parts of the country?  This 
r.a.b.elaisian may be on the move in the near future and I'd 
like to know how the bay area compares to New Mexico (Santa Fe).

Thanks very much.


Yours in seeking the perfect habitat,


-- 
Graham Redgrave    |    --  I don't speak for the government, 
gwr@life.lanl.gov  |        but I wish the government would speak for me ...  --
Newsgroups: rec.arts.books
From: ecl@cbnewsj.cb.att.com (Evelyn C. Leeper)
Subject: Re: Call For Discussion: rec.arts.books.reviewed
Organization: AT&T
Date: Wed, 16 Dec 1992 13:01:35 GMT

In article <1992Dec16.041506.21110@grebyn.com> fi@grebyn.com (Fiona Webster) writes:
> So it seems to me the problem must not be the frequency of reviews,
> but rather their identifiability--that is, too many of the subject
> headings don't shout out: "This is a review."  I admit that several
> of my reviews were buried under such illuminating subject headings
> as "have you read this book?"  :-) 
> 
> I don't have a strong feeling one way or the other about this
> proposed newsgroup, but better labeling of review postings might
> be a possible solution to this "problem."

I agree.  Before rec.arts.movies.reviews, many people used the movie
title in all caps to signal a review (this was not universal, of
course), and the book title in all caps, optionally with the author's
name, still usually signals a review in rec.arts.books.  Certainly
"REVIEW: BOOK by author" should make this clear.

I used to post more reviews here.  Now that they go to
rec.arts.sf.reviews, a moderated group, it's difficult to cross-post
them here, and I never post them separately, so my contribution has
dropped.  On the other hand, people interested in reviews of science
fiction books can easily subscribe to rec.arts.sf.reviews, which has
only a few articles a week (as opposed to the inundation that used to
be in rec.arts.sf-lovers).

Evelyn C. Leeper  |  +1 908 957 2070  |  att!mtgzy!ecl or  ecl@mtgzy.att.com
--
"God does not play dice with the universe."  --Albert Einstein
"Albert, stop telling God what to do."  --Niels Bohr
Xref: sparky rec.arts.books:22357 rec.boats:8540
From: spb0457@rigel.tamu.edu (SubGenius)
Newsgroups: rec.arts.books,rec.boats
Subject: Re: Sea Shanty:  See `shanty'
Date: 14 Dec 1992 09:00 CST
Organization: Texas A&M University, Academic Computing Services
Distribution: world
NNTP-Posting-Host: rigel.tamu.edu
News-Software: VAX/VMS VNEWS 1.41    

R.J.Hare writes...
>This is a wind-up isn't it? Whether it is or not, I can't resist replying,
>just in case someone really thinks that Kipling wrote 'The Good Ship Venus'.
>Everyone knows that 'The Good Ship Venus' is not a sea-shanty - it is a
>traditional rugby(*) song.
>Kipling, of course wrote the much better known 'Eskimo Nell' first published
>in 'Plain Tales from the Locker Room'.
>(*) Rugby - a game which American football tries (and fails) to imitate
>( :-) ).
>Roger Hare.

+-----------------------------------------SubG------------------------------+
Uh-huh.
I'd almost believe this (`almost' being up to the point of actually doing it,
which I wouldn't), if it wasn't for a couple of rugby lads who opined that
a couple of Robert Burns songs were actually coined in the midst of some
scrummage.






Yours etc.,




SubGenius


Xref: sparky rec.arts.books:22311 alt.politics.homosexuality:7940
From: HERSCH@auvm.american.edu
Newsgroups: rec.arts.books,alt.politics.homosexuality
Subject: Re: Making a virtue of complacency
Date: 13 Dec 92 21:05:23 GMT
Article-I.D.: auvm.92348.160523HERSCH
Organization: The American University - University Computing Center

In article <1992Dec12.151110.4884@athena.cs.uga.edu>, fuller@athena.cs.uga.edu
(James P. H. Fuller) says:
>
>     I'll cheerfully agree, as long as you don't take the step I
>think you're leading up to -- something on the order of "Surely we
>must deny to evil people the right to use language that licenses
>such crimes."  In fact it is precisely the language you like least
>and fear most that you must tolerate if you have any interest in
>protecting your *own* freedom of speech.

I was leading up to no such thing, so you're safe agreeing with me.
My point was *only* that speech and writing can have consequences
that are morally evil. I believe in an absolute right to say
or publish anything whatsoever, including deliberate libel, state
secrets, "hate speech", or the wacky philosophy of M. Zeleny.
Does this satisfy you?

H.

Herschel Browne
"The" American University
Xref: sparky rec.arts.books:22851 news.groups:24703
From: stcmille@panix.com (Steve Miller)
Subject: Food Slang (Once:Re: Goober, a Southernism??
Date: Fri, 18 Dec 1992 17:16:49 GMT
Organization: PANIX Public Access Unix, NYC



Then there's the famous Mexican huevos for balls.  A friend of mine's
dad almost got laughed out of a town for asking for huevos for
breakfast.  He should have asked for blanquitos.


-- 

__________________________________________________________
Steve Miller				stcmille@panix.com
		A Famous Rock Star!
Xref: sparky rec.arts.books:22405 rec.arts.comics.info:148
From: thomas@smaug.uio.no (Thomas Gramstad)
Newsgroups: rec.arts.books,rec.arts.comics.info
Subject: New mailing list: Modesty Blaise
Date: 12 Dec 92 19:06:47 GMT
Reply-To: thomas@smaug.uio.no
Followup-To: rec.arts.comics.misc
Organization: University of Oslo


Purpose:  Discussion and information exchange centered
on Peter O'Donnell's _Modesty Blaise_ books and comics,
such as characters, plot, artists, relevant articles, etc.
Digest/newsletter format.  Contact: thomas@smaug.uio.no
- ---------------------------------------------------------
Thomas Gramstad            thomas@smaug.uio.no


--
-Brian V. Hughes
	     "If you could care less, then why don't you?"
Newsgroups: rec.arts.books
From: carlj@muppet.bt.co.uk (Carl)
Newsgroups: rec.arts.books
Subject: Re: Violence in Literature
Date: 14 Dec 92 17:23:05 GMT
Reply-To: carlj@muppet.bt.co.uk
Organization: British Telecom
NNTP-Posting-Host: mugwump.muppet.bt.co.uk

In article 1277@lth.se, dat91msu@ludat.lth.se (Martin Sunnerdahl) writes:

>I am on a quest for knowledgeand truth. Or rather, I am looking for 
>interesting books on violence in literature.

Almost anything by Hubert Selby Jr and, of course, DeSade, 
especially 100 Days Of Sodom.

C
Newsgroups: rec.arts.books
From: gwr@hedonist-1.lanl.gov (Graham W. Redgrave)
Subject: Foul and to the point (Was:  Git)
Organization: Los Alamos National Laboratory
Date: Mon, 14 Dec 1992 21:37:30 GMT

Mark Taranto writes:
|>  
|>  
|> I've found that "foul" language is most common among those who value
|> language the least, and those who value it the most.  For the former,
|> it is indeed from laziness and lack of imagination.  For the latter,
|> they are simply words which can be used to punctuate and accentuate.
|>  
|>  
|> Mark

Well said, sir!  Examples from literature?  I can think of John Parlabane,
but that's about it... I think my head has dried up and might blow away.

Yours, bemused,


-- 
Graham Redgrave    |    --  I don't speak for the government, 
gwr@life.lanl.gov  |        but I wish the government would speak for me ...  --
Newsgroups: rec.arts.books
From: ggm@brolga.cc.uq.oz.au (George Michaelson)
Subject: Re: Tintin
Organization: Prentice Centre, University of Queensland
Date: Mon, 14 Dec 1992 10:07:47 GMT

'Tintin' by Harry Thompson, Hodder & Staughton. New(ish) english language
biog (not a translation of a belgian or french one) is worth a read.

Seems mostly to re-hash stuff in the french books, but does have a slightly
different slant.

-George

--
                         George Michaelson
G.Michaelson@cc.uq.oz.au The Prentice Centre      | There's no  market for
                         University of Queensland | hippos in Philadelphia
Phone: +61 7 365 4079    QLD Australia 4072       |          -Bertold Brecht
Newsgroups: rec.arts.books
From: hhenderson@vax.clarku.edu
Subject: RE: excellent reading!
Organization: Clark University
Date: 12 DEC 92 00:31:18 GMT

mtaranto@shearson.com (Mark Taranto) writes:

>hhenderson@vax.clarku.edu (Heather) writes: 

>> Why Tom, you're so cute when you're mad! 

>Interesting.  I pictured Tom snickering to himself as he responded, 
>rather than being mad.  

Well, the quaint phrase Mr. Maddox used -- "fuck off and die" -- indicated to
me that he was angry.  I've occasionally used the similar phrases "fuck off"
and "eat shit and die", but only 1) when I've been really mad, or 2) when
kidding around with close friends, in which case I smile, so the intent is
clear.  Mr. Maddox has used this phrase twice now.  Perhaps he's teaching his
pet reptoid to speak?

>I found Tom's original one-liner amusing, and not the least bit snotty. 

I can see how it would appeal to you.

>ObBook -- School for Scandal. 

ObBook -- The Virginian, by Owen Wister 

Heather
HHENDERSON@vax.clarku.edu
From: dougm@hal.com (Doug Moran)
Newsgroups: rec.arts.books
Subject: Re: Backhanded compliments and other things I get
Date: 18 Dec 92 17:54:11 GMT
Reply-To: dougm@hal.com (Doug Moran)
Organization: HaL Computer Systems, Inc.; Campbell, CA
NNTP-Posting-Host: gizmo.hal.com
In-reply-to: kate@cactus.org (Katherine M. Catmull)

In article <1992Dec17.223855.1706@cactus.org>, kate@cactus (Katherine M. Catmull) writes:
>>spb0457@rigel.tamu.edu (SubGenius) writes:
>> 
>>> Which, belatedly, brings me to the point of my commentary, the crux of my
>>> query--can anyone else think of, or has anyone else been the subject of
>>> comparisons that could be interpreted as either praise or condemnation?
>> 
>> 
>
>(from someone who has just seen me on stage) "Say, you should work in    
>films!"

o) "Your eyes remind me of my dog."
o) "Spelling ability is no proof of native intelligence, and you're a
   perfect example of that."
-- 
    Doug Moran        |  You're a mean one, Mr. Grinch;
   dougm@hal.com      |  you're a nasty, wasty skunk.
 {...}!hal.com!dougm  |  Your heart is full of unwashed socks,
 HaL Computer Systems |  your soul is full of gunk, Mr. Grinch.
From: jim@rand.org (Jim Gillogly)
Newsgroups: rec.arts.books
Subject: Re: question for Arabian Nights fans
Date: 12 Dec 92 00:30:25 GMT
Organization: Banzai Institute

In article <1992Dec11.214401.28165@athena.mit.edu> kamorgan@athena.mit.edu (Keith Morgan) writes:
>Jim, what about McLynn?

Frank McLynn, "Burton: Snow Upon the Desert", John Murray: London, 1990.
It's #19.95 -- I think I must have ordered it through Blackwell's.
ISBN 0-7195-4818-7.

I confess I'm only into the first chapter -- after it came in the mail I
discovered the following sentence in the preface: "This is not the first
life of Burton to approach him from the perspective of 'psycho-history',
but anyone acquainted with the work of Fawn Brodie will see at once that
my approach and conclusions are very different." I'm not sure why I found
this a bit off-putting.  Psychoanalysis from 100 or so years away always
gives me the pip, and I like Brodie in general (though I like her Burton
least of her three bios that I've read (Thomas Jefferson and Joseph
Smith)).  Still, I'm so captivated by Burton that I'll eventually overcome
the prejudice and press on.  It's a very nicely-produced volume, clear type,
and some pictures I hadn't seen before.

This bio draws on some info that others haven't used, including Burton's
correspondence with the F.O. and the Royal Archives at Windsor Castle, so
if the psychoanalysis isn't too obnoxious it should be an intereting addition
to the bookshelf.

-- 
	Jim Gillogly
	U.S. National Debt: $4,166,318,559,075
	Your Share: $16,279
Xref: sparky rec.arts.books:22450 alt.comedy.british:2774 soc.culture.british:17550 alt.fan.monty-python:10045
From: bocmunro@bnr.co.uk (Bruce Munro)
Newsgroups: rec.arts.books,alt.comedy.british,soc.culture.british,alt.fan.monty-python
Subject: Re: Git (was re: Et in Arcadia ego)
Date: 15 Dec 1992 16:28:55 GMT
Organization: BNR Europe, New Southgate, London.
NNTP-Posting-Host: bnsgs179.bnr.co.uk

In article <DJOHNSON.92Dec14191856@cayenne.gac.edu> djohnson@cayenne.gac.edu (Daniel P Johnson) writes:
>In article <1992Dec13.193526.7387@netcom.com> sue@netcom.com (Sue Miller) writes:
>.In article <ryh2g_b@rpi.edu> kasprj@rpi.edu writes:
>.>In article <1992Dec12.184931.18852@nevada.edu>, wwhitman@nevada.edu (MICHAEL WISE) writes:
>.>
>.>|> stop telling that there own fucking dialect is so fucking superior to 
>.>.......^^^^^
>.> You might try taking some fucking grammar lessons while you're at it.
>.>That usage is wrong on either side of the fucking pond. 
>.> 
>.> (Don't fucking flame me, it's a fucking joke!)
>
>.You've just gone and fucking done just the fucking kind of followup
>.about which he was making a fucking complaint.
>
>Fuck fucking fuck, fuck the fuck in "fucking fuck" fuck, and fuck the
>fucker's fucker...And fuck fuckin' fucking, and fuck fuck while you're
>at it.

Cunt.

-- 
Bruce Munro.  <B.Munro@bnr.co.uk> || ...!mcsun!uknet!bnruk!B.Munro
BNR Europe Ltd, Oakleigh Rd South, London N11 1HB. | Note the change
Phone : +44 81 945 2174 or +44 81 945 4000 x2174   | of e-mail address.
"There are no strangers, only friends we don't recognise" - Hank Wangford
From: ah@dunaad.co.uk (Alan Hunter)
Newsgroups: rec.arts.books
Subject: Re: Help with a title
Date: 12 Dec 92 07:53:19 GMT
Organization: Johnson Hunter Limited

In article <NICHAEL.92Dec10160637@kariba.bbn.com> ncramer@bbn.com writes
to Francis: 

>Hey Francis, speaking of titles, what's the scoop on the King an' Di?

If I may intrude?

It was revealed by Peter Cook last night on Britain's premier news analysis
programme (Have I got news for you- BBC2 2200) that the so called
separation is in fact a tax dodge. (You will recall that the royals will
start paying tax next year).  

I surmise that the Inland Revenue were baulking at the claiming of the
costs of running more than 20 houses as being "wholly and necessarily"
incurred in the furtherance of their occupation.  With a formal seperation
they can justify another three dwellings as being deductible.  We may
confidently expect young Willy to be stepping up to the judge and
demanding a "divorce" from his parents within the year. 

>(Better yet, do you have Fergie's home number?)

Available through the usual channels I understand.

Alan


-- 
Alan Hunter
Johnson Hunter Ltd
Isle of Islay, Scotland
A.Hunter@dunaad.co.uk          fax: +44-496-2336         voice: +44-496-2286
From: gardiner@lib.uwo.ca (Margaret Martin Gardiner)
Newsgroups: rec.arts.books
Subject: Books for Christmas
Date: 15 Dec 92 22:21:55 GMT
Organization: Relayed-by-Sendmail
X-Mailer: ELM [version 2.3 PL11]
To: rec.arts.books@julian.uwo.ca


	As a followup to an earlier post I saw on this topic (sorry,
did not save the original post), the books below are the five which
kept me thinking the most after putting the books down:
	-A small sound of the trumpet: women in medieval life_ by
Margaret Wade Labarge.  This is a readable book on women in the
middleages and talks not only about particular women at the various
levels of society, but also about the difficulties for historians in
finding primary materials on women.  
	_Sexing the cherry_ by Jeanette Winterson.  This was a
challenge.  The actual reading was deceptively easy; it was as though I was
pulled on by the lyrical quality of the writing.  But like poetry, you
are left making sense of the words and puzzling out what is being
said.  I need to read this again, but when there is more time.  It is
ironic that poems and books like this one which are quite small,
actually take more time to read.
	_Remains of the Day_ by Kazuo Ishiguro.  To me this was a mood
piece of writing - a feeling of sadness from confronting misplaced
loyalty and sense of duty.
	_Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistle Stop Cafe_ by Fannie
Flagg.  This book reinforced something I learned as a child: that many
things are acceptable in a community as long as they are not
talked about, i.e., as long as you are not forced to make a decision.
	_Blitzcat_ by Robert Westall.  This a young adult book and
looks at the adventures of a cat during WWII.  
	The problem is that the folks I give gifts to would not thank 
me for the above books and so books I have purchased so far have been
a mix of murder mysteries.
	How about a topic on books r.a.bbers would like to receive for
Christmas!

Margaret MG
Newsgroups: rec.arts.books,alt.politics.homosexuality
From: mtaranto@shearson.com (Mark Taranto)
Subject: Re: excellent reading!
Organization: Yale CS Mail/News Gateway
Date: Sat, 12 Dec 1992 23:04:03 GMT


Heather Henderson writes:

> Hey, I bear no malice toward any of you folks, even after being told to
> "fuck off and die".  I just think you're an amusingly self-absorbed
> little clique. 

Well, at least we're amusing.

Mark

Newsgroups: rec.arts.books
From: wilmoth@b30.ingr.com (Shelley Wilmoth)
Subject: Re: Making notations in your books?
Keywords: books notations 
Organization: Intergraph
Distribution: na
Date: Fri, 18 Dec 1992 22:44:56 GMT

In article <BzGL01.8ou@world.std.com> kieran@world.std.com (Aaron L Dickey) writes:
>burgin@ecsvax.uncecs.edu (Robert Burgin) writes:
>
>>	isn't you.  (By the way, your concern about resale
>>	value puzzles me somewhat.  Do you restrict your
>>	reading to books that you think have a potential
>>	"financial value"?  Obviously, one would think
>>	twice before annotating or highlighting a rare
>>	first edition.)
>
> When you get right down to it, I'm most worried about this: Often
>when I but a book, I think not only of the enjoyment I'll get out of it,
>but also any possible enjoyment my kid (or kids) may someday be able to
>receive from the same books.  I'm just afraid that by marking them up, my
>kids won't want to bother trying to wade through the mess, and the books
>will be destined to spend eternity gathering dust on the shelves of my heirs.
>
>--Aaron

But if your mother's scribblings in books didn't deter *you* from
reading, why would your scribblings bother your kids?

Personally, I think it's a gut-level thing, whether you feel it's
ok to write in books or not.  You don't need a reason to not write
in your books beyond "it just doesn't feel right to you".

I often write (doodle, even) in my technical books, but I hate it
if someone else writes in them or any other of my books.

Shelley
Newsgroups: rec.arts.books
From: mtaranto@shearson.com (Mark Taranto)
Subject: Re: A modest proposal (was: Git)
Organization: Yale CS Mail/News Gateway
Date: Wed, 16 Dec 1992 16:32:08 GMT



hhenderson@vax.clarku.edu (Heather) writes:
 
> "Knickers in an uproar": what a splendid phrase!!  Even though we Yanks
> would use the word "panties"...
 
I've always heard it as "Don't get your panties in a bunch."
 
Mark

Xref: sparky rec.arts.books:22690 sci.philosophy.tech:4581
From: PL436000@brownvm.brown.edu (Jamie)
Newsgroups: rec.arts.books,sci.philosophy.tech
Subject: Re: A note on Modal Logic that has nothing to
Date: Thu, 17 Dec 1992 18:29:11 EST
Organization: Brown University - Providence, Rhode Island  USA
NNTP-Posting-Host: brownvm.brown.edu
News-Software: BNN via BNN_POST v1.0 beta

zeleny@husc10.harvard.edu (Michael Zeleny) said:

>Finally, logicians quantify over all sets all the time; that's what
>the notion of a proper class is for.

(I have no quarrel whatsoever with the other points Zeleny makes
in that most recent posting).

I would like to discuss this very point, if there is interest.

I suppose we can quantify over all the sets. But can we quantify over
everything at once? Intuitively we certainly can. "When I say
'everything,' I mean 'EVERYTHING.'" Didn't I just quantify over
everything at once? EVERYTHING at once?

But I have a feeling that there is trouble lying this way.

I know that Richard Cartwright has written about the issue, in a paper
I think is called "Speaking of everything." I thought there were
some problems in the paper.

I also know that Dummett has said some cryptic things about it.

Does Zeleny think it is possible to quantify over everything?

I mean, REALLY everything?

(I just keep worrying that my 'everything' isn't actually encompassing
everything. There it goes again.)

Jamie
Newsgroups: rec.arts.books