glowlights

Never mind, wrong thread!!!

Good to know, thanks! I haven't been around here lately and now I see there's this new little button for me to accidentally push... Can I add an AMEN to this?

I've made a habit of putting down whatever it is I'm reading/doing in order to stare at whoever is having a loud cell phone conversation in public. They clearly want attention, so I'm happy to oblige. :) eta: oh my god, I've almost hit "report" instead of "like" TWICE in less than a minute; you guys, if anyone gets reported by me please know that I didn't mean it, I love you all, and it's only because of my innate derpy-ness, sorry in advance!!! jeez

Hey Jackie, Sorry if you took offense - wasn't meant as an insult. Honestly recall someone else just like you, same speech, mannerisms, everything. You have a doppelganger. :) Hope it's all going well at Coopersburg.

Thank you everyone for recommendations!!! I am off to Powell's to search... He has liked Follett, Forsyth and Ludlum in the past so will see if there is anything else by those authors that he hasn't read. Look forward to searching on the other authors mentioned. Thanks a million you guys!

Maybe you guys could help with some book recs for my husband? He really enjoys John Le Carre and John Grisham. What I'm hoping for is some new or (newer) releases by similar authors. Help? TIA

I guess it depends on the building/community. The complex we live in specifically requests that we address complaints to management. For one thing, management wants to be on top of issues. For another, they don't want neighbors to start a-fussin' and a-feudin'. Typically, they will send out a friendly reminder to all residents rather than make it personal, unless it's really egregious or there are multiple complaints. On the other hand, it wouldn't occur to me to complain about noisy guests on one night. Jeez. Maharincess, I'm so sorry to hear about the harassment from your neighbor. Something similar happened to me (though no online smear campaign thank god) and it turned out to be the person who had actually complained decided to blame me in order to deflect. They had the nerve to try and laugh about it, like it was some harmless caper. I do hope your situation sorts out soon. p.s. Benadryl Anti-Itch Gel works great for bites (it used to be called Band Aid gel).

Wow, great catch! I remember those scenes but not GT. Will def rewatch. Nausea. Pure nausea.

You (peach) are better off without the travesty known as Y&R, but lord how your recaps are missed. Hope your summer is going great! Happy 4th, everyone! (And Happy Belated Canada Day, too.)

Has he read Isaac's Storm or Dead Wake: The Last Crossing of The Lusitania? Both by Erik Larson, who wrote Devil In The White City. Neither of them are survival stories, per se, but interesting history (imo) and really terrific writing. Here are the summaries from Amazon, in case either sound like they might interest your husband: Isaac's Storm: September 8, 1900, began innocently in the seaside town of Galveston, Texas. Even Isaac Cline, resident meteorologist for the U.S. Weather Bureau failed to grasp the true meaning of the strange deep-sea swells and peculiar winds that greeted the city that morning. Mere hours later, Galveston found itself submerged in a monster hurricane that completely destroyed the town and killed over six thousand people in what remains the greatest natural disaster in American history--and Isaac Cline found himself the victim of a devestating personal tragedy. Using Cline's own telegrams, letters, and reports, the testimony of scores of survivors, and our latest understanding of the science of hurricanes, Erik Larson builds a chronicle of one man's heroic struggle and fatal miscalculation in the face of a storm of unimaginable magnitude. Riveting, powerful, and unbearably suspenseful, Isaac's Storm is the story of what can happen when human arrogance meets the great uncontrollable force of nature. Dead Wake: On May 1, 1915, with WWI entering its tenth month, a luxury ocean liner as richly appointed as an English country house sailed out of New York, bound for Liverpool, carrying a record number of children and infants. The passengers were surprisingly at ease, even though Germany had declared the seas around Britain to be a war zone. For months, German U-boats had brought terror to the North Atlantic. But the Lusitania was one of the era’s great transatlantic “Greyhounds”—the fastest liner then in service—and her captain, William Thomas Turner, placed tremendous faith in the gentlemanly strictures of warfare that for a century had kept civilian ships safe from attack. Germany, however, was determined to change the rules of the game, and Walther Schwieger, the captain of Unterseeboot-20, was happy to oblige. Meanwhile, an ultra-secret British intelligence unit tracked Schwieger’s U-boat, but told no one. As U-20 and the Lusitania made their way toward Liverpool, an array of forces both grand and achingly small—hubris, a chance fog, a closely guarded secret, and more—all converged to produce one of the great disasters of history. It is a story that many of us think we know but don’t, and Erik Larson tells it thrillingly, switching between hunter and hunted while painting a larger portrait of America at the height of the Progressive Era. Full of glamour and suspense, Dead Wake brings to life a cast of evocative characters, from famed Boston bookseller Charles Lauriat to pioneering female architect Theodate Pope to President Woodrow Wilson, a man lost to grief, dreading the widening war but also captivated by the prospect of new love. Gripping and important, Dead Wake captures the sheer drama and emotional power of a disaster whose intimate details and true meaning have long been obscured by history. (edited to correct spelling)

Wow, this place is magic! No sooner did I complain about Those Who Must Be Validated and the main offender in my life blew a major deadline and, um, basically engaged in a big no-no. So she is soon to be off my radar. PTV: Peeve, and ye shall receive! !!!! LOL I agree that wanting/needing a thank you for every single task is OTT. Maybe your mom doesn't feel as useful now that she's older and is sort of looking for ways to feel like she's contributing, or she wants you to know that she very competent to care for your child? In any case, it would bug me to have to say thanks for every little thing, because it would start to feel like a guilt trip. She Who Needed To Be Validated Before She Screwed Up Bigtime used to do something similar. Like, a person might say, "I had a meeting." She would say, "I got up an hour early, then I had to shower, then I had to get in my car, then I had to start the car, then I had to drive to the freeway, then I had to drive down the freeway, then I had to find the right exit, then I had to find the building, then I had to park, then I had to walk to the elevator, then I had to find the office, then I had to announce myself to the receptionist..." etc. etc. etc. And really wanted praise and high fives for all of it. WTF? Okay, first of all I feel your pain about people not respecting your food boundaries. I'm a strict vegetarian and it really peeves me when people can't just respect that, and instead demand a justification, as if they will decide whether or not my reasons are good enough. Did we all not learn about boundaries in kindergarten? Anyway, I'm kind of fascinated by your aversion to the orange wedges. If you don't mind me asking, what is it that bothers you? I have a full aversion to chocolate covered cherries. The runny liquid and then the squishy dead cherry in there.... it's an assault on my tongue. Your story about the coworker's food offerings had me in stitches. No offense to her, but I kind of hope she was actually trying to exact revenge against everyone by fooling them into eating baby poop pudding and fish head chex mix. Like, maybe she's really from Poughkeepsie and it was all an elaborate scheme to drive you guys crazy? That would be kind of awesome. P.S. I cannot believe the pernicious LIES you all are telling about baby carrots. They are not whittled down, they are wee miraculous offerings from the carrot fairies! I would wish everyone a Happy Belated Canada Day and Happy Independence Day Weekend, but what with the carrot slander...

From her recent post it seems she will be following the trial. Let's hope it results in a great book: https://wildbluepress.com/mcstay-murder-case-moves-trial-questions-remain/ Before I commit myself to writing a true crime book on a specific case, I must weigh many factors, including the logistical challenges of covering a trial as well as the strength of the prosecution’s case. But by the end of the prelim yesterday, when the judge listed all the factors that persuaded him to hold Merritt over for trial, I was convinced that this story is most definitely book worthy. I recall having a very sad, heavy reaction to Cullen's book on Columbine, although I thought it was very well-written. And then I watched a relative of one of the victims reduce the whole crime into the victims being specifically martyred for their Christianity, which turned my stomach. And then later I heard Chris Rock's take on it, and call me cold but I felt like the voice of reason had arrived. :/ I'm interested to learn more now about inaccuracies in Cullen's account, so thank you for the other recommendations, bubbls. Will check out Ghettoside (what a title).

Holy crap, do we share the same ex? Mine used to flip out that I was not boiling the pasta at EXACTLY the correct level, among other control freak behavior. (And sandwiches had to be assembled JUST SO or else a meltdown would ensue.)

Hoo boy, I am peeved today. Hail, fellow peevees. Today's peeve (actually it has been going on for months now but today I am ready to explode) pertains to the way certain personality types require "validation" and "recognition" for their "efforts" every time they simply show up for something or, oh let's say, squeeze out a half-baked, typo-riddled, one paragraph so-called report. I guess their mommies and daddies gave out a participation medal and ticker-tape parade everytime these people farted. I swear to god the next time I see/hear a self-righteous "thank you for the validation, I wish everyone knew how important it is to recognize efforts" complete with quivering lip and a wee tear? Ugh. Recognition is EARNED, people. And validation is for parking tickets.

Rother is purportedly writing a book about the McStay murders. Hope she owns a pair of hip waders, she'll need them. :/ Some true crime recommendations. I found all three of these to be very well-written and hard to put down: Lost Girls - An Unsolved American Mystery by Robert Kolker A fairly damning account of the investigation into the Long Island Serial Killer and the way the victims may have been failed by law enforcement's (and society's) view of one of our most vulnerable populations. Kolker takes the stories of five slain women who were "just prostitutes" and treats like them thinking, feeling human beings who are equally deserving of justice. American Eve: Evelyn Nesbit, Stanford White, The Birth Of The "It" Girl, And The Crime Of The Century by Paula Uruburu I've been fascinated by the story of Evelyn Nesbit ever since she was introduced as a character in E.L. Doctorow's Ragtime. This account of Nesbit's terrible upbringing and exploitation, early success as international "It" girl, and the fatal shooting of Stanford White by Nesbit's husband, Harry K Thaw, could easily have read like a lurid Sidney Sheldon paperback, but imo Uruburu handled the material very well. One of those "stranger than fiction" tales. The Shark Net by Robert Drewe Part coming-of-age memoir, part ode to the Western Australia of yore, part true crime thriller. Drewe grew up in Perth and lived through the reign of terror of serial killer Eric Edgar Cooke (one of Drewe's own friends became a victim). If you're looking for a simple, straightforward account of Cooke's crimes this isn't it, but it was a great read, and I was really compelled by Drewe's first-person perspective on how residents' daily lives were affected by the spree - the story behind the story, if you will.

It's hard without knowing what everyone else's tastes are. Someone upthread mentioned To Kill A Mockingbird. And it seems many enjoyed The Book Thief, so perhaps The Kite Runner?? I have to re-read Carmilla by Sheridan Le Fanu if that's up anyone's alley. Here are some of the better-known authors on my current list, if anyone else is interested in anything written by: Donald Barthelme Michel Houellebecq Kelly Link Sofi Aksanen Umberto Eco Don DeLillo John Irving Joyce Carol Oates David Gilbert Ian McEwan John Williams A.M. Homes John Gardner Jeffrey Eugenides Chuck Klosterman Richard Yates Etgar Keret Chuck Palahniuk F Scott Fitzgerald Iris Murdoch Richard Ford Russell Banks Richard Russo Orhan Pamuk

.... or the type of person (like my bil) who waves his hands and shouts I DON'T WANT TO ARGUE the minute one offers a factual counter-point to the aforementioned person's big, loud, unsolicited opinion. I use okey-dokey when I'm being sarcastic or dismissive. "You say your child is the most brilliant and best-looking human ever to walk the earth? Okey-dokey..."

Ramona has often struck me as flat-out diabolical. But she did bring the humor, at least in the older seasons. Remember when she thought her new haircut made her look like just Cameron Diaz? Or should I say her truREnuwal haircut...

Hi applecrisp, I'm really sorry to hear what you're going through with the transit situation and amenities being moved out to the fringes. I also can't drive right now and can empathize with the crappy feeling of being dependent on others for rides, or else pay an arm and a leg for taxis or car service. I hope you are feeling a bit better today.

I remember this. It made me feel terrible for the boys, but I still called b.s. on Alex and Simon for having their young kids at that dinner party to begin with. It's believable (to me) that production required Alex and Simon to be in the scene, but completely unbelievable that there was a requirement for them to bring the children, or that as parents they couldn't put their collective foot down and leave the boys with a babysitter. It was a little mean the way other cast members would snort at Alex for writing a parenting book when she was always careful to explain that it was not meant to be expert opinion or advice... but then I recall the opening sample of the book in which she went on about being a glamourous model in europe, and Simon went on about being a jet-setter, and my sympathy goes out the window. What a hilarious little folie a deux. I wonder what their neighbors in Australia think of them...

So I was home yesterday and watched a couple eps, and then decided to check out their website because i was curious what the father does to support 12 kids while apparently just hanging around. And I saw this in Brenda's bio: A college graduate and high school valedictorian, Brenda could have worked the typical job, had the typical family and lived a successful life. But she took the path less traveled. She made her children her career and it shows. She sets a high standard for other women to follow and shows how a woman really can have a successful and challenging career and family at once. Ugh. Another fundie who fancies herself the supreme be-all and end-all. Ooohhhhhh, if only the rest of us measly women could live up to Brenda's high standard... roflmao

Holy crap. Drinking with his mother as a boy? That's just way too sad. :(

Someone just emailed me a link to the exact quote, and apparently JimBob said: I think [Michelle] actually said pedophile in that, and actually a pedophile is an adult that preys on children. Joshua was actually 14 and just turned 15 when he did what he did. And I think that the legal definition is 16 and up for being an adult preying on a child. So he was a child preying on a child. So, I guess it's just JimBob leaning on what he "thinks" the legal definitions are to weasel his way around the issue. But yes, it's pretty interesting that his own daughter has been taught that 12 is when the character is formed. Weasel, weasel, weasel.

I purposed not to watch the interview and am getting the gist of it from online discussions, mainly this thread because the posters (and mods!) here are the best I've found, and I really really mean that - many different backgrounds, views, and reactions, but you guys are being great. My question pertains to something from the Kelly interview so I'll post it here: regarding JimBob's assertion that Josh was not a pedophile because Josh wasn't 16 at the time he was caught molesting.... does anyone know if there is some sort of teaching or belief in the Duggars' milieu that delineates 16 year olds from 15 year olds in such a fashion? Like, what is the basis for that differentiation? Out of all the bullshit in the interview, that has stuck out to me as particularly odd. My sincere apologies if it has already been addressed and I failed to catch it - these messages are moving quickly. I think my brain has chosen to focus on specific details like that because the interview's over-arching message of minimizing, discounting and misdirecting is just too sad and sickening for me.

Well, that reunion was even more of a lunchbag letdown than the season finale. What happened to my lovely, hilarious little show with the cartinis and do-over christenings? It's getting way too Andy Cohen-ized for me, and I mainly blame Kathryn's presence for that. She missed her calling on Jerry Springer. My heart sank a little when Shep whipped out that piece of paper, but then he referred to the list as "transgressions" and the camera picked up that it was just some loopy, hand-scrawled mess on a crumpled scrap and, well, that's my Shep. In an interview his mother said that he was always hard on his little brother, and I think Craig is filling that role on the show. Hopefully it will evolve in Season 3, but if Season 3 focuses on Kathryn's trashy antics I probably won't watch. Landon looked lovely and Whitney didn't make any juvenile hand gestures to represent intercourse. That's the nicest thing I can think to say. It definitely should have been held at Patsy's house. I loved that Whitney said the club house was too undignified for her.