@dbsalk@mastodon.social avatar

dbsalk

@dbsalk@mastodon.social

Recovering #hospitality professional now working in the tech industry. Husband, boy dad, #Mizzou 🐯 alum, 🥨 lover, MoT ✡️. Left the bird site early Nov 2022 after 13 yrs.

Based in NW suburbs of #Chicago, Illinois, USA.

Talk to me about #books #movies #sports #food #running #Jeopardy #Disney °o° (among other things). My header image is an avatar for my to-read list. I drink (occasionally) and I know things.

I brake for #DadJokes.

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dbsalk, to superbowl
@dbsalk@mastodon.social avatar

Remember my friends as you're putting your kids to bed after the game or worried about assholes driving home after too many: the COULD start two hours earlier, which would significantly reduce DUIs and make bedtime a lot easier on a school night. The fact that it does not is a CHOICE made by and TV executives in a boardroom. Those execs probably haven't driven a car at night or put little kids to bed in decades.

dbsalk, to books
@dbsalk@mastodon.social avatar

Pitchers and catchers report next week, and it's around this time of year that, if I can, I try to read something baseball-related. Yesterday I picked up a book that I read when I was a teen and remember enjoying it very much: If I Never Get Back by Darryl Brock. It's sort of like if Field of Dreams and Back To The Future had a baby, and it's great. @bookstodon

girlonthenet, to random
@girlonthenet@mastodon.social avatar

I have workmen in my house at the moment and I am so over the moon with the guy I picked. He has not patronised me one single time, listens to me when I explain the things I know about my (ancient) pipework and wiring, and genuinely consults me on decisions. At no point has he asked me where my husband is or told me 'what you wanna do is...'

This guy could burn my fucking house down and I'd still give him an exceptional review.

dbsalk,
@dbsalk@mastodon.social avatar

@girlonthenet It's too bad that a contractor being polite, respectful, and consultative is considered exceptional. 😔

Mrfunkedude, to random
@Mrfunkedude@mastodon.social avatar

Why is it whenever I get a bunch of new followers my first response is to post fart jokes?

I mean, most of my posts that I dump on here already stink as it is. It's kinda like putting a hat on a hat.

dbsalk,
@dbsalk@mastodon.social avatar

@Mrfunkedude Set expectations early. Makes sense to me.

RickiTarr, to random
@RickiTarr@beige.party avatar

Okay we have established that Tanvir Sultan, MBA is a Satire account, but y'all, what about Nick Adams? Also Ex-Evangelical Janeway is a superior screen name.

dbsalk,
@dbsalk@mastodon.social avatar

@ksawatsky @RickiTarr That might be the most astute explanation of Nick Adams. I've been trying to figure him out for a while. I thought maybe it's a long con with his ridiculous anecdotes and extolling the virtues of Hooters and telling people to raise their daughters to be more like Lauren Boebert, but there's got to be more to it. Maybe on some level he really does think Hooters is the best restaurant in America (they do have good wings) and Boebert is a good role model.

dbsalk,
@dbsalk@mastodon.social avatar

@RickiTarr @ksawatsky IDK? I'm not sure it's healthy to dwell on it.

Likewise, to books
@Likewise@beige.party avatar

I have been sometimes way too attracted by my own villains because in a way they seem to hold the secret to the heart of the narrative.

dbsalk,
@dbsalk@mastodon.social avatar

@Likewise @bookstodon Great picture! (as usual)

I hope you like the book better than I liked Shadowland.

dbsalk, to books
@dbsalk@mastodon.social avatar

If you're a fan of Stephen King's work and familiar with his universe, then this line in Song of Susannah (The Dark Tower 6) will make so much sense:

"You'll go on with your life. You'll write many stories, but everyone will be to some greater or lesser degree about this story. Do you understand?"
-- Roland Deschain to a young Stephen King, saying the quiet part out loud

@bookstodon

CultureDesk, (edited ) to television
@CultureDesk@flipboard.social avatar

The prolific Ryan Murphy's new show hits FX and Hulu tomorrow. "Feud: Capote vs. The Swans" is based on the story of Truman Capote and a clique of high-society women — the swans — whom he betrayed by spilling their secrets in a novel. Here's more on the series, which stars Tom Hollander, Naomi Watts, Calista Flockhart and more. What's your favorite Ryan Murphy show?

https://flip.it/y.hcQV

dbsalk,
@dbsalk@mastodon.social avatar

@CultureDesk Is this based on the book Capote's Women by Laurence Leamer?

dbsalk,
@dbsalk@mastodon.social avatar

@CultureDesk The book is on my TBR pile as of October 2021. I haven't picked it up yet.

GottaLaff, to Illinois
@GottaLaff@mastodon.social avatar

“ can remain on ’ presidential primary ballot, the State Board of Elections voted on Tuesday, dismissing another challenge to the former president's eligibility under Section 3 of the .

8-person, bipartisan board voted unan against lawsuit brought by group of Illinois voters represented by nat watchdog group Free Speech for the People & Illinois elections lawyers.

The body said it lacked the authority to decide on the challenge”

https://trib.al/6OFJTW8

dbsalk,
@dbsalk@mastodon.social avatar

@GottaLaff This doesn't surprise me. People forget that outside of Chicago and its suburbs, Illinois is basically Nebraska. The third largest city in the United States is what keeps Illinois blue. There will never be a real concern that Illinois will swing for Trump.

The down-ballot races, though...

skaeth, to books
@skaeth@writing.exchange avatar

What are your thoughts on DNF (Did Not Finish)-ing books? Do you feel guilty about it? Do you worry you missed out on something? Or are you confident in dropping a book and reaching for the next one?

At what point are you most likely to DNF, if ever? What sorts of things cause you to DNF?

My friend, book blogger Kriti, was musing on these questions a while back, and it sparked this new post: https://armedwithabook.com/dealing-with-dnf-the-practice-of-did-not-finish/

@bookstodon

dbsalk,
@dbsalk@mastodon.social avatar

@Enema_Cowboy @skaeth @bluGill I read somewhere that "Life is too short to read Ulysses." 😂 📚

I have Once and Future King on my TBR, but have been thinking (for some time now) maybe I shouldn't?

dbsalk,
@dbsalk@mastodon.social avatar

@Enema_Cowboy @skaeth @bluGill That sounds like an awful lot of homework. 🤔 Was it worth it?

A good indication for me to DNF a book is if it feels like homework. If I'm just reading it to finish and be done and I'm not getting anything out of the book, then I may as well just move on. Shadowland by Peter Straub -- which some have recommended as his best work -- was like that for me recently.

dbsalk,
@dbsalk@mastodon.social avatar

@Enema_Cowboy @skaeth @bluGill I read the LOTR trilogy when I was in college around the time the Peter Jackson movies came out. Holy crap were those books dry, but I managed to get through them.

dbsalk, to Horror
@dbsalk@mastodon.social avatar

Hello friends: Bird Box by Josh Malerman is only $1.99 from your preferred ebook vendor (Google Play Books, B&N, the A to Z place that makes Jeff Bezos richer but no judgment).

That book totally freaked me out in all the ways a good story should. One of these days I'm going to work up the nerve to read it again. @bookstodon

dbsalk, to books
@dbsalk@mastodon.social avatar

From the introduction to The Slave Ship: A Human History by Marcus Rediker: "The slaver is a ghost ship sailing on the edges of modern consciousness. To conclude on a personal note: this has been a painful book to write, and if I have done any justice to the subject, it will be a painful book to read. There is no way around this, nor should there be."

@bookstodon

RickiTarr, to random
@RickiTarr@beige.party avatar

What is the strangest thing you've ever purchased?

dbsalk,
@dbsalk@mastodon.social avatar

@DemocracySpot @RickiTarr Separate thread: raise your hand if you've used one of those balls for their actual intended purpose.

dbsalk,
@dbsalk@mastodon.social avatar

@DemocracySpot @RickiTarr Many a school report was typed on my dad's red IBM Selectric before an obsolete portable* Compaq showed up in our house around 1990.

(it had a leather handle attached in the back; otherwise, not much portable about it)

dbsalk, to bookstodon
@dbsalk@mastodon.social avatar

"Empires preserve their power with the stories that they tell, but just as critical are the stories they don’t—the dark silences they impose, the pages they tear out."

  • The Wager, Chapter 26, by David Grann

@bookstodon

dbsalk, to StarTrek
@dbsalk@mastodon.social avatar

I don't know enough people that would appreciate this joke/meme. #StarTrek #STTNG #Aha #80s #Music #Picard #Riker #Humor

dbsalk,
@dbsalk@mastodon.social avatar

@lothcat My social circle is mostly dads like me, but a bit younger and without the nerd cred. I knew I could count on the tusk site for a better audience. 🖖

dbsalk, to 13thFloor
@dbsalk@mastodon.social avatar

Interestingly, 2024 is seeing a very British trend for me. It's not a bad thing or a good thing. It just sort of happened that way. "Huh! How about that?" Of the 6 books I've touched in 2024, 4 of them have ties to the UK.

RN I'm almost done with The Keeper of Lost Things by Ruth Hogan (I'm picturing it as a Richard Curtis movie; Four Weddings and a Funeral even gets a reference) and just started Pulse by Julian Barnes. @bookstodon

Book cover of Pulse (Stories) by Julian Barnes (Man Booker Prize-winning author of The Sense of an Ending) "Vibrant... Full of life and voice... As Barnes fans know, love itself is a lifetime for this playful, erudite writer." -- San Francisco Chronicle Cover art shows an abstract painting of a tray with purple grapes, a sliced open cantaloupe, a lime, and a bottle of wine.

RickiTarr, to random
@RickiTarr@beige.party avatar

A dude is literally running for President so he can have A Get Out Of Jail Free Card.

dbsalk,
@dbsalk@mastodon.social avatar

@RickiTarr Think how much money and time he could save by just picking up a game of Monopoly at his local Target. As I recall, there's a Get Out Of Jail Free card in every set.

rootcompute, to random
@rootcompute@mastodon.social avatar

Mastodon.social is perfect for me because I eat plain potato chips, drink black coffee and drive a Honda Accord

dbsalk,
@dbsalk@mastodon.social avatar

@rootcompute I sometimes wish we had more characters too, esp since I just did two extended threads in the past two weeks. I'm not usually that wordy! I think, though, that not having to worry about my feed not updating is a reasonable tradeoff. 😎

dbsalk,
@dbsalk@mastodon.social avatar

@rootcompute @exclava With regards hosting your own server, I've had this toot bookmarked for over a year:

https://mas.to/@libreleah/109574709864633620

Maybe one of these days I'll actually do something with it. 😉

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