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Old August 18th, 2016 #781
White Brazilian Boy
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I read Linder's part and I liked it very much. He went straight to the point. Love how he attacked the conservative koshers.
 
Old August 18th, 2016 #782
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Will start reading:
 
Old August 22nd, 2016 #783
Matthaus Hetzenauer
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Default Haven't read these forgotten classics yet...

but plan to:

- Machiavelli's The Prancing Prince: A "flamboyant" heir oversees the construction of Renaissance Italy's first public bathhouses.

- Sir Walter Scott's Ivan's Ho: A stiletto-heeled hooker on the streets of London turns tricks "knightly."

- Boccaccio's The Polaroid Decameron: Yeah, you can take "those" kind of pictures with it.

- Cervantes' Donkey Hotey: About the wild adventures of a Tijuana showgirl and, well, you know...

- Evelyn Waugh's Maidenhead Revisited: Hey, wait a minute...that's impossible!

- Daniel Defoe's Doll Flanders: Chester the Molester gets busted in a XXX theatre doing the nasty with his inflatable "date"; Pee Wee Herman ducks out in the nick of time.

- Flaubert's Madame's Ovaries: French housewife misses visit from her "monthly friend"; has some serious explaining to do to her impotent husband.

- Dickens' The Old Perversity Shop: Adult toy store is raided; town's mayor caught with pants down; already handcuffed when police arrive.

- E.M. Forster's A Room with Mirrored Ceilings: The naughty goings-on between Kim Kardashian, a parrot, and a pair of midget wrestlers in the No-Tell motel.

- Steinbeck's Of Gerbils and Men: Two itinerant farm laborers do more than just bale hay and feed the chickens, lemme tell ya.

- Sylvia Plath's The Ball Jar: Indispensable for the frustrated feminist wondering just what to do with "them" after they've been attacked, hacked, and removed from the sack. Both book and jar make a great coffee table conversation piece.

- John Updike's Rabbit Fun: Easter Bunny is in for one helluva surprise as the tables are turned on the nose-twitching little fucker when Bi-Curious George attempts to unwrap his basket and see what he's packing.

- Wilkie Collins' The Moon-boned: On a "scared straight" visit to a maximum security prison two adolescent males decide to moon the inmates. As the book's title might suggest, it wasn't such a bright idea after all.
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Last edited by Matthaus Hetzenauer; August 22nd, 2016 at 11:33 AM.
 
Old August 22nd, 2016 #784
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Matthaus Hetzenauer View Post
Solzhenitsyn was without a doubt one of the greatest writers of fiction and non-fiction of the 20th century; absolutely brilliant.
I doubt that he was the great writer.



Quote:
And if you're into the 19th century Russians an absolute must-read is Gogol's Dead Souls.
Reading the works of Gogol leave behind the indelible impression (in Russian). And it's not only Dead Souls but also his other works.
 
Old August 22nd, 2016 #785
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Will start reading:
A Brief History of Time
I read this book many years ago. I remember that I read this book with interest.
 
Old August 24th, 2016 #786
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George Orwell - "Literature and Totalitarianism" - http://orwell.ru/library/articles/to.../english/e_lat

I think that grow shallow and readers and writers.


"Our technology skills directs us on a short and simple texts with one clear value. Literature produces complex texts.
..........
We must understand that a thoughtful reading of complex texts is a skill that very soon will be available for very few people."

Director of the State Literature Museum - Dmitry Bak - http://www.vesti.ru/doc.html?id=2703441
 
Old August 24th, 2016 #787
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I doubt that he was the great writer.




And your reason for saying so?
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Old August 24th, 2016 #788
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And your reason for saying so?

I read texts in Russian more than 30 years. During this time I developed the taste for Russian language. This fact allows me to have the own opinion about the Russian writers without recourse to the opinion of experts.
I believe that Solzhenitsyn wrote on the level very distant from the outstanding.
I think that Solzhenitsyn praised for political reasons, rather than for his talents.

I do not think my opinion the only correct one, and so, in turn, would like to know: Why Solzhenitsyn should be considered genius?
 
Old August 25th, 2016 #789
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Юрий Авербах - "Что надо знать об эндшпиле".
(Translation: Something that you should know about the endgame).

Perhaps that in English it is called - "Chess Endings: Essential Knowledge".











"Yuri Lvovich Averbakh (Russian: Ю́рий Льво́вич Аверба́х; born February 8, 1922) is a Soviet and Russian chess player and author. As of 2016, he is the oldest living chess grandmaster. He was born in Kaluga, Russia. He was chairman of the USSR Chess Federation from 1973 to 1978.

His first major success was first place in the Moscow Championship of 1949, ahead of players including Andor Lilienthal, Yakov Estrin and Vladimir Simagin. He became an International Grandmaster in 1952. In 1954 he won the USSR Chess Championship ahead of players including Mark Taimanov, Viktor Korchnoi, Tigran Petrosian, Efim Geller and Salo Flohr. In the 1956 Championship he came equal first with Taimanov and Boris Spassky in the main event, finishing second after the playoff. Averbakh's other major tournament victories included Vienna 1961 and Moscow 1962. He qualified for the 1953 Candidates' Tournament (the last stage to determine the challenger to the World Chess Champion), finishing joint tenth of the fifteen participants. He also qualified for the 1958 Interzonal at Portorož, by finishing in fourth place at the 1958 USSR Championship at Riga. At Portorož, he wound up in a tie for seventh through eleventh places, half a point short of advancing to the Candidates' Tournament."

Text by Wikipedia.



By the way, my paternal grandfather claimed that he taught him to play chess in their childhood. But in Averbakh's memories I haven't found anything about it.
 
Old August 25th, 2016 #790
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Alex Him View Post
I think that Solzhenitsyn praised for political reasons, rather than for his talents.

I do not think my opinion the only correct one, and so, in turn, would like to know: Why Solzhenitsyn should be considered genius?
That's right -- Solzhenitsyn is praised for (socio)political reasons, very highly praised. And what, may I ask, is wrong with that? (Btw: I said AS's works were brilliant; I didn't say the man was a genius.)

This one man let the world in on the true nature of the crimes and atrocities that occurred during the Stalinist era: almost single-handedly he opened the books on the horrors that transpired in the gulags and the millions who died in these forced labor camps; he elaborated in detail Uncle Joe's purges and show trials of the 1930s; he brought into an even clearer light the terrors inflicted on virtually the entire civilian population by the state's ultra-paranoid security systems, the fear of that dreaded knock on the door in the wee hours of the morning; he told of the forced famine in the Ukraine, the purpose of which was to eliminate those there seeking independence; and the list goes on and on. In fact, as you probably know, AS did such a fine job of exposing Stalin's crimes that Khrushchev himself used the book to put the final nail into the coffin of Stalin's cult of personality.

But it wasn't just the nonfictional Gulag books that deserve such high praise. His sociopolitical novels One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich (this being the very first account of prison camps published in the USSR) and Cancer Ward both had an enormous impact on how the USSR's past is viewed by the world today.

'nuff said?
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Old August 27th, 2016 #791
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Matthaus Hetzenauer View Post
That's right -- Solzhenitsyn is praised for (socio)political reasons, very highly praised. And what, may I ask, is wrong with that?
All of this is right. What I have written before, and you have repeated. But before that, you praised him for quite another thing.


But if you wish to hear from me the complete definition of Solzhenitsyn, then here it is:
Solzhenitsyn was the literary section of Western propaganda specifically against the Soviet Union and more generally against communism in general.



Quote:
(Btw: I said AS's works were brilliant; I didn't say the man was a genius.)
No. You said 'Solzhenitsyn was without a doubt one of the greatest writers of fiction and non-fiction of the 20th century; absolutely brilliant'.
Your definition alludes to the fact that he was a genius.
The best writer of the year can not be a genius possible, but the best writer of the century, who bypassed tens of thousands of other writers, simply must be a genius.



Quote:
This one man let the world in on the true nature of the crimes and atrocities that occurred during the Stalinist era: almost single-handedly he opened the books on the horrors that transpired in the gulags and the millions who died in these forced labor camps; he elaborated in detail Uncle Joe's purges and show trials of the 1930s; he brought into an even clearer light the terrors inflicted on virtually the entire civilian population by the state's ultra-paranoid security systems, the fear of that dreaded knock on the door in the wee hours of the morning; he told of the forced famine in the Ukraine, the purpose of which was to eliminate those there seeking independence; and the list goes on and on.
I have long noticed that from all the Soviet authors are known only to Solzhenitsyn. And no one pays attention how he is strongly promoted in the West.



Quote:
In fact, as you probably know, AS did such a fine job of exposing Stalin's crimes that Khrushchev himself used the book to put the final nail into the coffin of Stalin's cult of personality.
And you wondered - why Khrushchev had to fight with dead Stalin? Do you think Khrushchev was so fond of the truth?


Quote:
But it wasn't just the nonfictional Gulag books that deserve such high praise. His sociopolitical novels One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich (this being the very first account of prison camps published in the USSR) and Cancer Ward both had an enormous impact on how the USSR's past is viewed by the world today.
You rightly pointed out the purpose of all the works of Solzhenitsyn.
The ideological work was carried out by him and as resulted of it 'how the USSR's past is viewed by the world today'.



Quote:
'nuff said?
It you decide for yourself.

Last edited by Alex Him; August 27th, 2016 at 05:28 AM.
 
Old August 27th, 2016 #792
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Удо Ульфкотте - "ПРОДАЖНЫЕ ЖУРНАЛИСТЫ любая правда за ваши деньги"











"Udo Ulfkotte (born 20 January 1960) is a German journalist. He was formerly an assistant editor for the German main daily newspaper, Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung (FAZ). Ulfkotte studied jurisprudence and politics at Freiburg and London. Between 1986 and 1998 Ulfkotte lived predominantly in Iraq, Iran, Afghanistan, Saudi Arabia, Oman, United Arab Emirates, Egypt and Jordan.

According to Ulfkotte, the CIA and German intelligence (BND) bribe journalists in Germany to write pro-NATO propaganda articles, and it is well understood that one may lose their media job if they fail to comply with the pro-Western agenda. In 2014, Ulfkotte published Bought Journalists ("Gekaufte Journalisten"), in which he claims that the CIA and other secret services pay money to journalists to report a particular story in a certain light."

Text by Wikipedia.




As described above the book shows how some German journalists are sold to large corporations (ThyssenKrupp), billionaire from Oman (Sultan Qaboos), NATO, US and etc.
I knew this before about the "democratic" media. However it's interesting for me to know how it works on the particular country.
 
Old August 27th, 2016 #793
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Alex Him View Post
All of this is right. What I have written before, and you have repeated. But before that, you praised him for quite another thing.


But if you wish to hear from me the complete definition of Solzhenitsyn, then here it is:
Solzhenitsyn was the literary section of Western propaganda specifically against the Soviet Union and more generally against communism in general.





No. You said 'Solzhenitsyn was without a doubt one of the greatest writers of fiction and non-fiction of the 20th century; absolutely brilliant'.
Your definition alludes to the fact that he was a genius.
The best writer of the year can not be a genius possible, but the best writer of the century, who bypassed tens of thousands of other writers, simply must be a genius.





I have long noticed that from all the Soviet authors are known only to Solzhenitsyn. And no one pays attention how he is strongly promoted in the West.





And you wondered - why Khrushchev had to fight with dead Stalin? Do you think Khrushchev was so fond of the truth?




You rightly pointed out the purpose of all the works of Solzhenitsyn.
The ideological work was carried out by him and as resulted of it 'how the USSR's past is viewed by the world today'.





It you decide for yourself.
No, I didn't "praise him for quite another thing." Reread the first paragraph of post #774; I praised him for the Gulag books specifically, the expose he did on Stalinist Russia. And what exactly did you write that I "repeated"?

Now we're splitting hairs with the definitions of "brilliant" and "genius". Being brilliant doesn't necessarily imply that a man is a genius, not in my book anyway; I see the latter as one step above the former.

Wrong; at least half wrong anyway. You may not pay attention to how strongly AS is promoted in the West -- this being understandable considering the fact that you are Russian -- but to the people of the USSR's main adversary during the Cold War, Americans, most of the well-read in the history of such affairs do indeed pay attention.

And no, I don't wonder "why Khrushchev had to fight with dead Stalin." If NK had tried to fight him while alive he himself would've wound up on a slab, wouldn't he? -- the man wasn't stupid. AS's revelations simply armed NK with the ammo needed to spit on the grave and memory of that mass-murdering sonofabitch. And lastly, no, I don't believe for a minute that NK was so fond of the truth; only in the instance of Stalin I don't believe he was bullshitting at all.
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Last edited by Matthaus Hetzenauer; August 27th, 2016 at 10:23 AM.
 
Old August 28th, 2016 #794
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No, I didn't "praise him for quite another thing." Reread the first paragraph of post #774; I praised him for the Gulag books specifically, the expose he did on Stalinist Russia. And what exactly did you write that I "repeated"?

Now we're splitting hairs with the definitions of "brilliant" and "genius". Being brilliant doesn't necessarily imply that a man is a genius, not in my book anyway; I see the latter as one step above the former.

Wrong; at least half wrong anyway. You may not pay attention to how strongly AS is promoted in the West -- this being understandable considering the fact that you are Russian -- but to the people of the USSR's main adversary during the Cold War, Americans, most of the well-read in the history of such affairs do indeed pay attention.

And no, I don't wonder "why Khrushchev had to fight with dead Stalin." If NK had tried to fight him while alive he himself would've wound up on a slab, wouldn't he? -- the man wasn't stupid. AS's revelations simply armed NK with the ammo needed to spit on the grave and memory of that mass-murdering sonofabitch. And lastly, no, I don't believe for a minute that NK was so fond of the truth; only in the instance of Stalin I don't believe he was bullshitting at all.
OK.
You have expressed your opinion, and I expressed my point of view.
I know English isn't too good. Therefore, I can not discuss the complex and delicate things in this language.
Excuse me.
 
Old August 29th, 2016 #795
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OK.
You have expressed your opinion, and I expressed my point of view.
I know English isn't too good. Therefore, I can not discuss the complex and delicate things in this language.
Excuse me.
We're good then.

btw -- No need to apologize for your English as my Russian isn't exactly up to par. (Actually, I'm bullshitting: English is my only language; I can't speak/write a lick of any other. Typical dumbass American, eh? )
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Old August 29th, 2016 #796
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A little more than halfway through Durant's The Story of Civilization: The Age of Faith, and the man's still batting a thousand here. I give it a four -- out of a possible four -- star rating.

I ordered Spengler's Decline of the West from my local library a little over a week ago. It's en route from somewhere out of state (don't know what part of the country exactly) and hopefully it'll be here any day. I've been meaning to read this bad boy for years now, and finally I'm getting around to doing just that.
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Last edited by Matthaus Hetzenauer; August 29th, 2016 at 10:28 AM.
 
Old August 29th, 2016 #797
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English is my only language; I can't speak/write a lick of any other. Typical dumbass American, eh? )
I don't think so.

If you know very well only the mother tongue, it already is a great achievement.
For many years, I have a dream to know well the Russian. So far, this dream has not been fulfilled by me.

And when I learn other languages, it allows me to notice some peculiarities and properties of my mother tongue. I can not get this knowledge just by studying my mother tongue.

For example, there is no the articles like a(an)/the in the Russian
 
Old September 3rd, 2016 #798
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I ordered Spengler's Decline of the West from my local library a little over a week ago. It's en route from somewhere out of state (don't know what part of the country exactly) and hopefully it'll be here any day. I've been meaning to read this bad boy for years now, and finally I'm getting around to doing just that.
Picked up the book about an hour ago. Not quite done with The Age of Faith -- finished 818 pages out of 1,086 -- but I'm putting the fat fucker on the back burner for the time being. I can't keep Spengler waiting as he's calling me like a crack pipe calls a nigger.
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Old September 4th, 2016 #799
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...does not fit? Who the hell gives a shit? At least you do read books, and that's good enough.

OK, who's up next?
Will James, Sun Up.

Haynes Ford Ranger Pickup repair manual.
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I even agree with some of your points, Fred. God did regret making mankind (Genesis 6). You just kicked both God's and my ass. Congratulations.
 
Old September 5th, 2016 #800
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I really should read this someday. I enjoyed The Fame of a Dead Man's deeds, but somehow haven't got around to reading this one.
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I even agree with some of your points, Fred. God did regret making mankind (Genesis 6). You just kicked both God's and my ass. Congratulations.
 
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