HDTenEightyP/NetNews huggingface dataset:
From: wwhitman@nevada.edu (MICHAEL WISE)
Subject: Re: Books with a sense of humor (was: A modest proposal)
Organization: University of Nevada System Computing Services
Date: Wed, 16 Dec 1992 19:31:16 GMT

>>As this is rec.arts.books how about a thread about books with a sense
>>of humor.  For instance: I thought Dostoyevski's _Notes From the
>>Underground_ was very very funny. 
>
>How about books by witty women?  THE AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF ALICE B. TOKLAS
>by Gertrude Stein, for example.  Especially fun if you dislike Hemingway,
>as I do.
>
A fat old lesbian living it up in Paris on her parent's
money and her brother's good taste, who can't write a line of prose beyond
a third grade reading level, meets a diligent young man decorated
for fighting in a foreign army, a journalist by day to keep food
on the table and a writer by night whose creations revolutionized the
way we think about prose, and explains to him how superior she is.
Hemingway-bashing at its finest; a dike might even call it literature.



___________________________________________________________________________
Michael Wise 	(wwhitman@nevada.edu)	UNLV English

"Now I want you to tell me just one thing more. Why do you hate the South?"
"I dont hate it," Quentin said quickly, at once, immediately; "I dont
hate it," he said. I dont hate it he thought, panting in the cold air, 
the iron New England dark: I dont. I dont. I dont hate it! I dont hate it!
				--William Faulkner, Absalom! Absalom!
From: das@voodoo.boeing.com (Deb Schwartz)
Newsgroups: rec.arts.books
Subject: Re: question for Arabian Nights fans
Date: 15 Dec 92 22:26:29 GMT
Organization: Yet Another Graphics Project, Bellevue, WA

Those who are big Burton fans would do well to visit used book stores
in search of 'Sinai Tapestry' by Edward Whitemore.  Strongbow, one of the
main protagonists, is obviously based on Sir Richard.  It, and its 
sequel 'Jerusalem Poker', are two of my all-time favorite books.
(The third in the series, 'Nile Shadows', was disappointing.)

P.S.  Just for the envy factor:  I own a 12-volume set of Sir Richard's
Arabian Nights, published in 1895, leather spines and corners, Latin
footnotes, private publication.  
------
Debbie Schwartz // das@voodoo.ca.boeing.com  // ....uw-beaver!bcsaic!voodoo!das
Newsgroups: rec.arts.books
From: vince@cadence.com (Vince Gibboni)
Subject: Re: excellent reading!
Organization: Cadence Design Systems, Inc.
Date: Fri, 18 Dec 1992 00:51:15 GMT

mtaranto@shearson.com (Mark Taranto) writes:
>So -- to Heather:
> 
>        I do not approve of Tom Maddox telling you to
>        Fuck off and Die, just because you were snotty to
>        him.  And I do not approve of you being snotty to
>        him just because you THOUGHT he was being snotty
>        to someone else.
> 
> That is my opinion, and from the number of responses in this thread,
> I suspect that it is the opinion of a number of other individuals.
> 

    Well, I am a bit late, and it's entirely possible that no one cares,
    but, nonetheless, I feel a strange obligation to point out that, in 
    the words of the late Annete Bergmann, "I thought Tom was just being
    a jerk".


          Vince (me)

--
                                                         vince@gda.cadence.com

    Man, you should have seen them kicking Edgar Allan Poe
        - John Lennon
Xref: sparky rec.arts.books:22853 misc.books.technical:1798
From: sean@cobra.dra.com
Newsgroups: rec.arts.books,misc.books.technical
Subject: Re: The Online BookStore Announcement: The Internet Companion
Date: 18 Dec 92 11:01:52 CST
Organization: Data Research Associates, Inc.

In article <BzFIoy.I7q@cs.uiuc.edu>, tthiel@cs.uiuc.edu (Terry Thiel) writes:
> How can it be a best selling book when it just came out?  Ed Krol's Whole
> Internet looks much better anyway.

As weird as it seems, yes it can be a best selling book (as the book industry
counts things) before the public can buy copies of it.  It is also common
to see a book go "out-of-print" before its expected release date.  The public
can continue to buy whatever stock is still in the system.  It just means no
new orders.  Every industry has its quirks, this is just one of those
publishing things.

I sometimes think publishers use the same accounting system as Hollywood :-)
-- 
Sean Donelan, Data Research Associates, Inc, St. Louis, MO
Domain: sean@sdg.dra.com, Voice: (Work) +1 314-432-1100
Newsgroups: rec.arts.books
From: scottj@magic.dml.georgetown.edu (John L. Scott)
Subject: Re: All this moral and s*x stuff..
Followup-To: rec.arts.books
Organization: J. Random Misconfigured Site
Date: Thu, 17 Dec 1992 20:35:53 GMT
X-Posted-From: iamac-1.dml.georgetown.edu
NNTP-Posting-Host: sol.ctr.columbia.edu

In article <1gqjhjINN374@usenet.INS.CWRU.Edu>, bh419@cleveland.Freenet.Edu
(Ted B Samsel) wrote:

> Read THE SELFISH GENE, by Richard Dawkins(?). That should knock
> all this pontificatory rambling into a proverbial "cocked" hat.
> No free will here...

Richard Dawkins takes great pains to assert that we are *not* ruled by our
genes.  Nothing is THE SELFISH GENE should be taken to mean that there is
no free will.

John L. Scott
Newsgroups: rec.arts.books
From: kamorgan@athena.mit.edu (Keith Morgan)
Subject: Re: question for Arabian Nights fans
Organization: Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Date: Fri, 11 Dec 1992 21:44:01 GMT

In article <4064@randvax.rand.org> jim@rand.org (Jim Gillogly) writes:
>In article <1992Dec11.181400.22319@athena.mit.edu> kamorgan@athena.mit.edu (Keith Morgan) writes:
>>			David Haan inquires:
>>		Anyone out there have thoughts on the recent Burton bio?
>>
>>	I enjoyed it for expanding my understanding of Burton, for
>>clarifying the unfortunate actions of Mrs. B. after his death, and for
>>some evaluation of his reputation. That said, I didn't find it particularly
>>incisive. The author had done his homework by reading everything by
>
>Which biography are you guys talking about?  The Edward Rice bio ("Captain
>Sir Richard Francis Burton") and the Frank McLynn bio ("Burton:  Snow Upon
>the Desert") both came out in 1990, and I don't know of any since.  Is
>there a more recent bio of Burton that I haven't had in my fambles yet?
>Publisher?  Author?  ISBN?

	Egad! My assumption. I have only read Rice, and never heard of
McLynn's, and couldn't recall Rice's name. That's why I used the
anonymous "the author". So, David, were you talking about Rice? And
Jim, what about McLynn?

	Whew,

	Keith
--
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
Keith Morgan		 	|A nice man is a man of nasty ideas.
kamorgan@athena.mit.edu  	|		Jonathan Swift
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
Xref: sparky rec.arts.books:22734 alt.comedy.british:2810 soc.culture.british:17747 alt.fan.monty-python:10119
From: shindle@ocf.berkeley.edu (Richard Michael Shindle)
Newsgroups: rec.arts.books,alt.comedy.british,soc.culture.british,alt.fan.monty-python
Subject: Re: Get fucked. Was: Re: Git (was re: Et in Arcadia ego)
Date: 18 Dec 1992 07:39:15 GMT
Organization: U.C. Berkeley Open Computing Facility
NNTP-Posting-Host: planecrash.berkeley.edu

Now, I've noticed a tendency for this email to get rather vulgar. Now I do
my best to keep things moving along, but I'm not having things getting
vulgar. Those last two post I read got very vulgart indeed, and that last
one about the git was even more vulgar. Now, nobody likes a good swear
more than I do...except perhaps my wife and some of her friends...oh yes
and Captain Johnson. Come to think of it most people like a good swear
more than I do. But that's besides the point. Now let's have a good clean
healthy outdoor post. Get some air into your lungs. Ten, nine, eight and
all that.
-- 
It's not love, it's deep seated neurosis. Don't confuse the two.
From: lnh@soliton.physics.arizona.edu (sometimes a Wombat)
Newsgroups: rec.arts.books
Subject: Re: Trivia question.
Date: 9 Dec 92 14:55:50 GMT
Distribution: na
Organization: Society for the Appreciation of Janni Lee Simner

pauly@nnsgs50.lon40.nt.com (Paul Why) writes:
> "They first met when he was nine years old and she was eight years old,
> and although they exchanged very few words, she fired him with love and
> inspiration forever after and appears as a central character in one of
> the world's great literary creations.  What was this girl's name?"

Let's see how many other people's responses appear before you see this
net.lagged one.

Bice Portinari, bka Beatrice.  Seek thou her in Il Comedia.

	Larry "The sick comedy" Hammer
--

                         \   The work is rather too light, and bright,
LNH@physics.arizona.edu   \  and sparkling; it wants ... a long chapter
sometimes a Wombat         \ of solemn specious nonsense. -- Jane Austen
Newsgroups: rec.arts.books
From: rafem@gvlf7-e.gvl.unisys.com (Ralph Marrone)
Subject: Re: Silverlock (Was Re: Quotes, quotes, quotes)
Organization: Unisys Defense Systems, Great Valley Labs, Paoli, Pa
Date: Fri, 18 Dec 1992 12:24:55 GMT

>In article <1992Dec14.215759.20860@leland.Stanford.EDU> jbaxter@leland.Stanford.EDU (Joel Kent Baxter) writes:
>>I can't place the quotes, but this post reminded me of a book I read several
>>years ago that was practically a continuous allusion to a smorgasbord of 
>>mythology, fairy tales, "classic" fiction, etc.  The book is <Silverlock>, by
>>(I think) John Meyers Meyers (sp?).  Although not on the same "literary plane"
>>as many of the books bandied about in this group, it was fun to wade through;
>>obvious allusions to things like the <Odyssey> were mixed in with references
>>to Russian folklore and Kipling.  As I recall, it got a warm reception from the
>>speculative-fiction group of writers and readers.  Anybody out there read this,
>>or know of some similar books?  Just curious...
>>
>>					JB


John Myers Myers wrote a sequel to _Silverlock_ called _The Moon's
Daughter_;  at least I think that was the title.  It was along the
same allusive lines as _Silverlock_.  One of the neat things about 
this book is that parts of speech actually show up as characters.
The book also purports that beer (or was it ale?) was the driving 
force behind the rise of western civilization.  Sounds good to me!

Speaking of John Myers Myers, has anyone read his book on the Alamo?


Regards,


Ralph Marrone

Newsgroups: rec.arts.books
From: tmaddox@netcom.com (Tom Maddox)
Subject: Re: Call For Discussion: rec.arts.books.reviewed
Organization: Netcom Online Communications Services (408-241-9760 login: guest)
Date: Fri, 18 Dec 1992 23:39:10 GMT

	Some modest proposals for an entire r.a.b hierarchy:

r.a.b.books

r.a.b.randroids

r.a.b.spinsters

r.a.b.fuckoffanddieheather

r.a.b.zelenyagainstall

r.a.b.rightwinglunatic

r.a.b.reviews

r.a.b.reviews.chat

r.a.b.reviews.chat.d

r.a.b.config.chat.d

	And of course, 

r.a.b.maddoxisasnot

and

r.a.b.maddoxisasnot.noheisnt [chat.d]

	God grease us everyone,


-- 
				Tom Maddox
		    	    tmaddox@netcom.com
	"That's a bird bone, chair, Bob.  I don't know if I should sit there."
				Tom Waits
From: mtaranto@shearson.com (Mark Taranto)
Newsgroups: rec.arts.books
Subject: Re: All I want for xmas
Date: 16 Dec 92 22:41:05 GMT
Organization: Yale CS Mail/News Gateway



wismith@amelia.nas.nasa.gov (William Sburgfort Smith) writes:

> This is posted on the ice box in hopes that people WILL GET THE HINT,
> so I might as well post it here.  Many of the titles are from r.a.b.
> recommendations.  Roughly in the order of interest.  Drum roll, please...

. . .

> Halo                            Tom Maddox              sf
                                                          ^^

I hope Sburgfort was smiling when he wrote that.

On the other hand, Tom should be pleased that it is so high on his
list.

> Brazzaville Beach               William Boyd            monkeys & marriage

I want this too.  I like Boyd (as I've mentioned many times).

> Maid Marian                     Thomas Love Peacock     Robin Hood Story

Ah -- the influence of Francis.  

> Ragtime                         E.L. Doctorow

This book sent me scurrying to the library to discover what was real, and
what was not.  Good book.

Mark
Xref: sparky rec.arts.books:22256 alt.politics.homosexuality:7886
From: gsmith@polyhymnia.iwr.uni-heidelberg.de (Gene W. Smith)
Newsgroups: rec.arts.books,alt.politics.homosexuality
Subject: Re: Making a virtue of complacency
Date: 12 Dec 92 17:21:03 GMT
Organization: IWR, University of Heidelberg, Germany

In article <1992Dec12.151110.4884@athena.cs.uga.edu>
fuller@athena.cs.uga.edu (James P. H. Fuller) writes:

>
>     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." 

Why is it that everyone who says that hate speech is bad immediately
suspected of wanting to pass laws to stop it?  Is the operating
assumption that government must attempt to stop all bad things?

This is absurd.  If Browne says there outta be a law, then argue with
him if you want, but why are so many people proactively arguing
against a position which hasn't been put forward?

-- 
     Gene Ward Smith/Brahms Gang/IWR/Ruprecht-Karls University 
               gsmith@kalliope.iwr.uni-heidelberg.de
Newsgroups: rec.arts.books
From: ggm@brolga.cc.uq.oz.au (George Michaelson)
Subject: Re: Quotes, quotes, quotes
Organization: Prentice Centre, University of Queensland
Date: Sun, 20 Dec 1992 23:32:52 GMT

jmc@SAIL.Stanford.EDU (John McCarthy) writes:

>What's a dipper?  Surely not what an American would call a dipper.
>The latter, which I haven't seen since I was a child, is made of
>metal (say aluminum) has a long handle and sits next to a barrel
>of rain water.  It would not fit into the milieu of a gentleman.

There is every chance they are related. Georgian Upper class boozers seem to
have a penchant for punchbowls containing suitably watered down booze,
with dainty cup-ettes suspended round the rim. Apart from dipping your
saliva-laden beaker into the collective tub, some kind of ladle would
seem obvious.  In fact I can see barly-suger twisted glass numbers with
buxom nymphs carved therein coming to hand pretty nicely.

You can see these bits of schmaltz in any decent Museum glass
collection, Along with pint-sized containers which must be bumpers as
in "raise your bumpers three times three and salute [his|her|their] Magesty"

I note that forks come in table and garden variety, as do sherry butts and
rain water butts. No problem with dippers having a poor cousin to the gilt-
edged variety here...

	-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,alt.politics.homosexuality
From: ecl@cbnewsj.cb.att.com (Evelyn C. Leeper)
Subject: Re: Facts on FAQs
Organization: AT&T
Date: Fri, 18 Dec 1992 18:19:35 GMT

In article <1gsobtINN7vi@morrow.stanford.edu> francis@oas.stanford.edu (Francis Muir) writes:
> Evelyn C. Leeper writes:
> 
> 	I should also note that the rec.arts.books FAQ does mention
> 	rec.arts.sf.reviews as a place to find book reviews.
> 
> I am a regular user of the net and have been for some time, and while I
> know what a FAQ is (some might not) I haven't a clue how to get into one.
> It would be helpful if FAQ reminders described what a FAQ was and informed
> on their use.

What we have here is a bootstrapping problem.

A FAQ is a "Frequently Asked Questions" list posted regularly to the
group; in this case the Subject: line would be "rec.arts.books
Frequently Asked Questions".

The use of FAQs is discussed in the various documents in
news.announce.newusers.

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
From: stame@emunix.emich.edu (Stewart Tame)
Newsgroups: rec.arts.books
Subject: Re: Esquimaux Nell
Date: 15 Dec 92 18:07:26 GMT
Organization: Eastern Michigan University

In article <scottg.724436087@rintintin.Colorado.EDU> george@windslc.nrel.gov writes:
>
>When a man grows old and his balls grow cold,
>and the knob on the end turns blue,
>and it bends in the middle like a one-string fiddle,
>he can tell you a tale or two.
>
>and goes on for 30 or so more verses.
>
>If David can remember the rest of _his_ ballad (whatever it is), I'll mail
>him the complete Eskimo Nell. I've got it in 2 or 3 different books.
>
>Is Kipling really the author? None of my versions credited anyone with it.

I only have one version and it credits Enid Blyton.  Dunno how accurate
that is though . . . 

		-- Stewart "where skeletons rattle in sexual battle" Tame

****************************************************************************
 I understand it's obligatory to mention Kibo somewhere in one's postings.
****************************************************************************
		Email:  stame@emunix.emich.edu
****************************************************************************
Disclaimer:  Not only do my opinions represent those of Eastern Michigan
University, but also those of Dan Quayle, Richard Nixon, Frank Zappa,
Pee-wee Herman, Bart Simpson, Tipper Gore, Murphy Brown, Maggie Thatcher,
and the Easter Bunny.
From: jjh00@diag.amdahl.com (Joel Hanes)
Newsgroups: rec.arts.books
Subject: Re: All I want for xmas (Was: something by MMGardner, before that, KMorgan)
Date: 16 Dec 92 19:21:03 GMT
Reply-To: jjh00@diag.amdahl.com
Organization: Amdahl Corporation  Sunnyvale California


  mworley@mathcs.emory.edu (Meg Worley) writes:
>
>Let's hear everybody else's.

_Biodiversity_, Wilson
_Evolutionary_Biology_, Futuyama
_The_Natural_History_of_Trees_, Peattie

_Britannia_, 11th ed, or (probably) failing that,
 the recently published volume of excerpts therefrom

_Book_of_Knots_, Ashley

OED, either the huge set or on CD ROM (I can dream, can't I?)

Anything by Daniel Dennett
Anything by Sharon Kaye Penman
Anything by Dorothy Dunnett, who seems to be
 completely out of print
Anything by Thorne Smith

_Envisioning_Information_, Tufte
_Conservation_Biology_, (?)
_Field_Guide_To_The_Paleozooic_of_Iowa_

John McPhee's new book, the one about California geology,
which was excerpted this fall in the New Yorker, but doesn't
seem to be out yet in hardback.

_Xenocide_, Card
_Halo_, Maddox

the entire Loeb Library

library priveleges at Stanford

---
Joel Hanes
Newsgroups: rec.arts.books
From: cramer@optilink.COM (Clayton Cramer)
Newsgroups: rec.arts.books
Subject: Re: Making a virtue of complacency
Date: 16 Dec 92 19:52:41 GMT
Organization: Optilink Corporation, Petaluma, CA

In article <1992Dec12.172103.22422@sun0.urz.uni-heidelberg.de>, gsmith@polyhymnia.iwr.uni-heidelberg.de (Gene W. Smith) writes:
> In article <1992Dec12.151110.4884@athena.cs.uga.edu>
> fuller@athena.cs.uga.edu (James P. H. Fuller) writes:
# #     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." 
# 
# Why is it that everyone who says that hate speech is bad immediately
# suspected of wanting to pass laws to stop it?  Is the operating
# assumption that government must attempt to stop all bad things?
# 
# This is absurd.  If Browne says there outta be a law, then argue with
# him if you want, but why are so many people proactively arguing
# against a position which hasn't been put forward?
# 
#      Gene Ward Smith/Brahms Gang/IWR/Ruprecht-Karls University 

The reason that people proactive argue against that position is
because liberals usually follow the, "This is immoral or bad" statement
with "There oughta to be a law!"

Examples: homosexual antidiscrimination laws, hate speech laws,
college speech codes, lawsuits to stop boycotts, and the all the
rest of the liberal/fascist mentality.



-- 
Clayton E. Cramer {uunet,pyramid}!optilink!cramer  My opinions, all mine!
C++ is to C, as lung cancer is to lung.
Newsgroups: rec.arts.books
From: evanh@sco.COM (Evan Hunt)
Subject: Re: Story name required
Organization: The Santa Cruz Operation, Inc.
Date: Tue, 15 Dec 1992 10:23:35 GMT


samuel@shemp.cs.wisc.edu (Samuel Bates) writes:
>	out.  On the question whether horrifying stories are appropriate
>	for children, read Bruno Bettelheim's _The Uses of Enchantment_.
>	Bettelheim was a student of Freud, and his book discusses common
>	fairy tale themes and their psychological relevance.  He makes
>	a strong case for the usefulness to the child's psyche of working out
>	violence/anxiety/what-have-you through precisely these horrifying
>	themes.

For a rather different viewpoint, see Maria Tatar's _Off With Their
Heads!_

-- 
"Hey, if Christmas is coming, can Halloween be far behind?"
	- Wendy Betts, at the Valley Fair Mall, August 1992
Newsgroups: rec.arts.books
From: markm@netcom.com (Mark Mavroudis)
Subject: Re: Call For Discussion: rec.arts.books.reviewed
Organization: Team Mavroudis
Date: Sat, 19 Dec 1992 01:23:07 GMT

In article <1992Dec18.233910.26526@netcom.com> tmaddox@netcom.com (Tom Maddox) writes:
>	Some modest proposals for an entire r.a.b hierarchy:

[many, MANY, proposals]

but, leaves out

r.a.books.cliqueless_lurkers

Mark....
-- 
Mark Mavroudis markm@netcom.COM
Newsgroups: rec.arts.books,misc.books.technical,alt.internet.services,comp.org.eff.talk
From: phoffman@orac.holonet.net (Paul E. Hoffman)
Subject: Re: The Online BookStore Announcement: The Internet Companion
Organization: HoloNet National Internet Access BBS: 510-704-1058/modem
Date: Sun, 20 Dec 1992 23:10:02 GMT

>How can it be a best selling book when it just came out?
Book publishers' hyperbole. If the initial reviews are good for the
book, it will sell better than 90% of the other dreck you publish,
and therefore will be a "bestseller" for you.

I speak as an author of over a dozen books. A-W's marketing dept. is
one of the best, IMHO, and one of the hardest-working.

>>Paul Hoffman
-- 
||  Why quote someone else?  ||
Newsgroups: rec.arts.books