The grapes of wrath
Still upset that school ruined so many works of literature for me.
The works of the roots of the vines, of the trees, must be destroyed to keep up the price, and this is the saddest, bitterest thing of all. Carloads of oranges dumped on the ground. The people came for miles to take the fruit, but this could not be. How would they buy oranges at twenty cents a dozen if they could drive out and pick them up? And men with hoses squirt kerosene on the oranges, and they are angry at the crime, angry at the people who have come to take the fruit. A million people hungry, needing the fruit- and kerosene sprayed over the golden mountains. And the smell of rot fills the country. Burn coffee for fuel in the ships. Burn corn to keep warm, it makes a hot fire. Dump potatoes in the rivers and place guards along the banks to keep the hungry people from fishing them out. Slaughter the pigs and bury them, and let the putrescence drip down into the earth.
There is a crime here that goes beyond denunciation. There is a sorrow here that weeping cannot symbolize. There is a failure here that topples all our success. The fertile earth, the straight tree rows, the sturdy trunks, and the ripe fruit. And children dying of pellagra must die because a profit cannot be taken from an orange. And coroners must fill in the certificate- died of malnutrition- because the food must rot, must be forced to rot. The people come with nets to fish for potatoes in the river, and the guards hold them back; they come in rattling cars to get the dumped oranges, but the kerosene is sprayed. And they stand still and watch the potatoes float by, listen to the screaming pigs being killed in a ditch and covered with quick-lime, watch the mountains of oranges slop down to a putrefying ooze; and in the eyes of the people there is the failure; and in the eyes of the hungry there is a growing wrath. In the souls of the people the grapes of wrath are filling and growing heavy, growing heavy for the vintage.
John Steinbeck 1939
Ice cream recipe
I found the most delicious no-churn ice cream recipe. It's better than store bought ice cream. Just watch this video - he covers everything and has a recipe in the description.
My first batch, I just dumped in a small bag of peanut m&ms. I then tried peanut butter and pretzels, and just chocolate chunks. I've been using Kahlua as my liqueur. I've been thinking about trying pomegranate syrup or fruit.
Boring Clams
If you walk on the beach in Monterey you will find stones with holes in them. I always knew them to be caused by 'boring clams' and I'd seen pictures of people holding up pointed clam shells but this idea started to bother me. I can imagine holding a clam shell and twisting it against some sandstone to bore a hole but I couldn't imagine how a clam would do this. They have no leverage.
I did some poking around and discovered they actually grow their shell into the rock. They have a foot that grasps the surface and they wiggle until it gouges the rock and then grow another layer on their shell. They physically grow as they burrow, so the holes are often larger on the inside than the opening. I'm still unclear about the actual mechanics of a clam holding onto a rock, siphoning food from one end while drilling into the rock with the other and unfortunately all the images online don't help..
Imagine a clam. It has two oblong shells held together with a meaty body. Where do you put a clams 'foot' to allow it to hold the pointed tip of it's shell against a rock surface? Maybe it's like a mussel with it's saltwater adhesive and threads?
One site said they have some mysterious ability to tell when they're burrowing too close to another clam and will adjust their excavation.
I didn't learn much about the mechanics but now I've shared this mystery with you. Please go become a marine biologist so you can answer this question for me, thanks.
Still judging book covers
I'm beginning to see this collection as representative sample of the dreams and desires of Americans. The pectoral Scottish clansmen, cowboys, and wolves are the male ideal. When did the Scottish clansmen as a romantic trope come into being? I'd be happy to learn it was something that evolved from the very beginning of the romance novel but I suspect it's more recent. Shifter romances where bare chested men transform into wolves has to be new - right?. Are all these tropes sparked by the twilight series?
Hmm.
Another worried Hmm.
They get so specific.
Big Breasted Women Bear Shifter Romance
A Badass team for a Badass job, Regulators Book 1 Recruitment a Cowboy Gangster Novella
The moose shifter's fake wife.
Firefighter, Dragon's Demi-god Daughter Irish Dragon Shifter Brothers
I found a trove of boss daddy fiction.
Excuse me, I mean mister baby daddy - a friends to lovers arranged baby romance.
I don't know what this is.
Wait that Bowser?
Most rare of all - a romance novel targeted at black women.
I don't know why romance novels are such a white thing.
Childrens books
Going through this collection I have a growing contempt for grown men and women who write books for kids. These books seem to be written just to stroke the author's ego. I know, second hand, a half dozen people in the Monterey area who are writing books for children and struggling to find an artist to represent whatever bone-headed story they want to tell. When I think about children's books I consider Road Dahl. I think a good book for kids will always be a little transgressive and able to stand on it's own without illustrations.
Science Fiction
There were a few military science fiction novels in the books I perused. Velociraptors with monocles are hot this year.
Cozy Mysteries
A significant proportion of the book collection are 'cozy mysteries' with horrible cat and dog based puns.
I had to look up this genre because it was new to me. I suspect this is mainly for older white women.
BWWM
I came across several books tagged with this code and had to look it up. It signifies a relationship between a Black Woman and a White Man. I'm not sure why this is a distinct category. Is this still considered taboo? I haven't seen any books tagged WWBM.
MPREG
This is more widespread than I expected. I finally broke down and looked up the answer to the question that had been bugging me since I discovered the genre; which hole does the baby come out of?
I found the answer here with a helpful diagram.
Coach Nick shares his wisdom
Thanks Coach Nick! Findom is a fetish for being financially dominated by a woman (usually) for sexual gratification.
Chuck Tingle
While discussing this with Amanda I mentioned how I came across a chuck tingle book and she looked at me like she didn't know who this was. This surprised me because I thought everyone knew Chuck Tingle but maybe his tongue in cheek books are just a common joke in my personal feeds. Chuck Tingle got his start selling erotic books through Amazon and has since transitioned into an prolific author of erotic books with joke titles. I expect 95% of his sales are from people buying them for their friends as a joke.
Tentacles
I noticed the guy this cover looked like he was enjoying himself so I decided to skim through the book and quote the first thing that caught my eye.
"I will not hurt you," he promised me in such dulcet tones I longed to believe him. "My tentacles have a natural lubricant, and you're so aroused and relaxed already...I wouldn't attempt it any other way."
One of them swiped across my crack as if to prove a point, and I felt the wetness he left behind. It made me ache for him even more, if that was possible. I rolled my head back and exposed my neck and throat to him, closing my eyes while my mouth sagged open. "Do it," I breathed in a husky moan. "Now."
You don't know how happy it makes me to know this stuff is out there.
Platonic ideal furry
I don't understand furrydom. Is this the platonic ideal or are they shooting for something like blacksad?
Lee and Kirby on Fantastic Four #1
Tom Brevoort's blog has some interesting insights into the industry. I can recommend his site though it's probably too much comic books unless you're really into the medium. I thought these posts are a good introduction to how comics were produced:
The fantastic four by Kirby and Lee kicked off the marvel revolution in the 60's and it's really interesting to see how it came together and to have an expert point out the little inconsistencies and concessions gleaned from the archival material.
The infrequently updated blog.