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New York, 3:36 AM
Sun Nov 8
10 posts in the last 24 hours

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  • posts about #books more →

    The Last Resort: Adventures in the Kitchen of a Failed State

    Sheila McClear Sells Awesome Book

    Tom Cruise Controls Books and Bottles with His Mind

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    Dsmvwl  Admin  Promote to frontpage Approve user Ban user ×
    Image of rosaluxembourgeoise rosaluxembourgeoise
    11/07/09

    In reply to Sheila McClear Sells Awesome Book
    Hot damn! #sheilamcclear
     Reply
    rosaluxembourgeoise was starred rosaluxembourgeoise was unstarred
    Image of NinaHagen NinaHagen
    11/07/09

    In reply to Sheila McClear Sells Awesome Book
    I will make sure I buy this at full price. #sheilamcclear
     Reply
    NinaHagen was starred NinaHagen was unstarred
    Image of Hiroine Protagonist Hiroine Protagonist
    11/06/09

    In reply to The Last Resort: Adventures in the Kitchen of a Failed State
    Douglas, what a fascinating idea. I wonder though, is there any danger to you or your parents from the publication? Will it draw attention to them? #gawkerbookclub
     Reply
    Hiroine Protagonist was starred Hiroine Protagonist was unstarred
    Image of Douglas Rogers Douglas Rogers
    11/06/09

    @Hiroine Protagonist: it may do. but they decided long ago to take a stand they wanted their story out there. as did the other people on the farm i write about. #gawkerbookclub
     Reply
    Treece approved this comment Douglas Rogers was starred Douglas Rogers was unstarred
    Image of Damian Lanigan Damian Lanigan
    11/06/09

    In reply to The Last Resort: Adventures in the Kitchen of a Failed State
    Well, you won't be boring many people. You grew up in remote Eastern Zimbabwe during the Independence War. Were you always conscious there was a war going on? #gawkerbookclub
     Reply
    Damian Lanigan was starred Damian Lanigan was unstarred
    Image of Douglas Rogers Douglas Rogers
    11/06/09

    @Damian Lanigan: the independence war? yes, and as a kid living through that on a farm it's quite exciting. an adventure. after the war farm life just got dull. #gawkerbookclub
     Reply
    Douglas Rogers was starred Douglas Rogers was unstarred
    Image of Damian Lanigan Damian Lanigan
    11/06/09

    @Douglas Rogers: And after Mugabe came to power in 80, he did a pretty good job for 10-15 years, right? #gawkerbookclub
     Reply
    Damian Lanigan was starred Damian Lanigan was unstarred
    Image of Douglas Rogers Douglas Rogers
    11/06/09

    @Damian Lanigan: yes. people were educated. the economy grew. tourism boomed. but he was also ruthless. in the early 1980s the army murdered 20,000 matabeles in the south of the country. the signs of what he would become were always there #gawkerbookclub
     Reply
    Douglas Rogers was starred Douglas Rogers was unstarred
    Image of Damian Lanigan Damian Lanigan
    11/06/09

    @Douglas Rogers: So when did your folks start sensing that things were really changing for the worse? #gawkerbookclub
     Reply
    Damian Lanigan was starred Damian Lanigan was unstarred
    Image of Douglas Rogers Douglas Rogers
    11/06/09

    @Damian Lanigan: in 2000 when the farm invasions started they thought they could ride through it. but by 2003 when their business had collpased, they had no income, their friends were leaving. that was when my dad got suicidal. #gawkerbookclub
     Reply
    Douglas Rogers was starred Douglas Rogers was unstarred
    Image of Damian Lanigan Damian Lanigan
    11/06/09

    @Douglas Rogers: But they seem to have boundless reserves of reslience. They're the stars of the book - all that gallows humor. Probably made it easier for them to accept that they'd become brothel owners... #gawkerbookclub
     Reply
    Damian Lanigan was starred Damian Lanigan was unstarred
    Image of Douglas Rogers Douglas Rogers
    11/06/09

    @Damian Lanigan: ha - yes. my mom says: "if we didn't laugh we would all have heart attacks." which helped her cope with the fact that by 2005 their beloved lodge was now a bordello. well, that and the income they were getting from their new 'game'. #gawkerbookclub
     Reply
    Douglas Rogers was starred Douglas Rogers was unstarred
    Image of Damian Lanigan Damian Lanigan
    11/06/09

    @Douglas Rogers: How long did they keep from you the fact they were running a knocking shop? #gawkerbookclub
     Reply
    Damian Lanigan was starred Damian Lanigan was unstarred
    Image of Douglas Rogers Douglas Rogers
    11/06/09

    @Damian Lanigan: it had been going on for about six months without my knowledge. i think they were embarrassed to tell their kids. i mean my dad's a club man, mom plays bridge. pillars of the community. but now they're hosting hookers to get by? i found out one night when i got propositioned by one of the ladies. i told my folks and they came clean. i was horrified. #gawkerbookclub
     Reply
    Douglas Rogers was starred Douglas Rogers was unstarred
    Image of Damian Lanigan Damian Lanigan
    11/06/09

    @Douglas Rogers: Then there was the weed..... #gawkerbookclub
     Reply
    Damian Lanigan was starred Damian Lanigan was unstarred
    Image of Douglas Rogers Douglas Rogers
    11/06/09

    @Damian Lanigan: that was even more of a jolt. i go down to the camp to hang out with the logde staff and the hookers, and one night Muranda - he is the man in charge down there, the brothel keeper - he lights up this huge joint. we're smoking the stuff and i ask him where he got it. he tells me he gets it from 'youfada'! "youfada?' i eventually work out he means my father. he has taught my dad to grow weed and my old man now has a huge crop in my mom's veggie garden. #gawkerbookclub
     Reply
    Douglas Rogers was starred Douglas Rogers was unstarred
    Image of Damian Lanigan Damian Lanigan
    11/06/09

    @Douglas Rogers: Your parents rock so hard. #gawkerbookclub
     Reply
    Damian Lanigan was starred Damian Lanigan was unstarred
    Image of Damian Lanigan Damian Lanigan
    11/06/09

    @Douglas Rogers: One of my favorite bits of the book is in the post-bordello period when the lodge becomes home to whites who have nowhere else to go. Some of the characters are tremendous. #gawkerbookclub
     Reply
    Damian Lanigan was starred Damian Lanigan was unstarred
    Image of Douglas Rogers Douglas Rogers
    11/06/09

    @Damian Lanigan: yes. that came as a jolt. i go down to the camp at night to hang out with the staff and the hookers, and this Muranda - he's the old man in charge down there, the brothel keeper - he lights up a huge joint. it strong stuff and i ask him where he gets it. he says 'youfada!" 'youfad?' i work out he means my father. sure enough my old man has a huge weed crop growing in my mom's veggie garden. i mean really. #gawkerbookclub
     Reply
    Gabriel Snyder approved this comment Douglas Rogers was starred Douglas Rogers was unstarred
    Image of Douglas Rogers Douglas Rogers
    11/06/09

    @Damian Lanigan: yes, these white farmers who lost their homes in violent circumstances start turning up at the camp and my parents take them in. this one Afrikaner woman, Unita, 72 years old, hard as nails is among them. she has all these old guns with her which she's trying to sell to get money to get back to south africa. she's a boer version of annie oakley. and quite an actress, too. i taped her and she kept saying things like: 'let me say that bit again, i can do it much better.' she's back in south africa now. living in a small apartment on the coast and still missing zimbabwe, despite what happened to her. #gawkerbookclub
     Reply
    Douglas Rogers was starred Douglas Rogers was unstarred
    Image of Damian Lanigan Damian Lanigan
    11/06/09

    @Douglas Rogers: That's another remarkable element of the book: the extent to which, despite the extreme privations, your parents and their friends love the country.
     Reply
    Edited by Damian Lanigan at 11/06/09 3:59 PM Damian Lanigan was starred Damian Lanigan was unstarred
    Image of Douglas Rogers Douglas Rogers
    11/06/09

    @Damian Lanigan: yes, love their country and refuse to leave. if there is one good thing to have come out of all that's happened it's the great paradox: mugabe has bought white and black zimbabweans closer together. i find my parents pretty heroic, but they will say it's nothing compared to what black zimbabweans have done in standing up to mugabe. there's this inspiring cameraderie in zimbabwe among those involved in the opposition. #gawkerbookclub
     Reply
    Douglas Rogers was starred Douglas Rogers was unstarred
    Image of Damian Lanigan Damian Lanigan
    11/06/09

    @Douglas Rogers: Talking of the opposition, it seems as if Tsvangirai's been co-opted by Mugabe. How do your folks, as MDC supporters, feel about this? #gawkerbookclub
     Reply
    Damian Lanigan was starred Damian Lanigan was unstarred
    Image of Douglas Rogers Douglas Rogers
    11/06/09

    @Damian Lanigan: my parents and other people in zimbabwe often seem to more optimistic about things than those of us outside. I don't think MT has been co-opted although that is Mugabe's plan. To weaken the opposition and make them part of the Zanu system, which is essentially a mafia. They all know Tsvangirai is dealing with a terrible hand: he does not trust Mugabe but was forced into the power sharing govt by South Africa, believing they would finally stand up to their end of the bargain and keep Mugabe in line, which they have not done. My parents would say that ordinary Zimbabweans, the people in the heartland of the country, all know the games Mugabe plays, and that they will keep the MDC honest. I don't always share that optimism. #gawkerbookclub
     Reply
    Douglas Rogers was starred Douglas Rogers was unstarred
    Image of Damian Lanigan Damian Lanigan
    11/06/09

    @Douglas Rogers: Well, the old bastard has to die one day...The book made me want to go to Zimbabwe. Not quite yet? #gawkerbookclub
     Reply
    Damian Lanigan was starred Damian Lanigan was unstarred
    Image of Douglas Rogers Douglas Rogers
    11/06/09

    @Damian Lanigan: heh - actually you should go. I know a place you can stay at... Seriously i'm trying to interest some friends who are going to SA for the 2010 World Cup to come to Drifters for a week. The White Frog Tour. The current tenant at Drifters has this plan to install a flat screen TV. All we need is for the electricity to work... Oh, Christ, imagine being there for the final and not being able to watch the game... #gawkerbookclub
     Reply
    Douglas Rogers was starred Douglas Rogers was unstarred
    Image of Damian Lanigan Damian Lanigan
    11/06/09

    @Douglas Rogers: Best of luck with that, and with the book, which is terrific. I apologize for showing the technological skills of a Matabele goatherd in the early part of our chat, and thanks for stopping by.
     Reply
    Edited by Damian Lanigan at 11/06/09 4:51 PM Damian Lanigan was starred Damian Lanigan was unstarred
    Image of Douglas Rogers Douglas Rogers
    11/06/09

    @Damian Lanigan: A Matebele goat herd being strafed by machine gun fire. Thanks Damian, much appreciated. #gawkerbookclub
     Reply
    Douglas Rogers was starred Douglas Rogers was unstarred
    Image of Damian Lanigan Damian Lanigan
    11/06/09

    In reply to The Last Resort: Adventures in the Kitchen of a Failed State
    Congrats on the book, Douglas - a terrific read. And so refreshing to read a funny book about Africa for once #gawkerbookclub
     Reply
    Damian Lanigan was starred Damian Lanigan was unstarred
    Image of raincoaster raincoaster
    11/05/09

    In reply to Sheila McClear Sells Awesome Book
    Was Sheila the one who stalked that doctor and was profiled in Vanity Fair? I always thought she was younger than that... #sheilamcclear
     Reply
    raincoaster was starred raincoaster was unstarred
    Image of Melissa Gira Grant Melissa Gira Grant
    11/05/09

    In reply to Sheila McClear Sells Awesome Book
    Go team! #sheilamcclear
     Reply
    Melissa Gira Grant was starred Melissa Gira Grant was unstarred
    Image of Calraigh Calraigh
    11/05/09

    In reply to Sheila McClear Sells Awesome Book
    Congrats Sheila! I'll buy 7. And I also want a book that's being published by a house called ''Soft Skull Press''. Yowza. #sheilamcclear
     Reply
    Calraigh was starred Calraigh was unstarred
    Image of DorothyMantooth DorothyMantooth
    11/05/09

    In reply to Sheila McClear Sells Awesome Book
    HURRAY, Sheila!! Can't wait to pick up a copy & buy dozens more as gifts. #sheilamcclear
     Reply
    DorothyMantooth was starred DorothyMantooth was unstarred
    Image of karion karion
    11/05/09

    In reply to Sheila McClear Sells Awesome Book
    Hot damn, Sheila. I can't even make our joke. Fantastic news. #sheilamcclear
     Reply
    karion was starred karion was unstarred
    Image of Rod Townsend Rod Townsend
    11/05/09

    In reply to Sheila McClear Sells Awesome Book
    Fantastic! #sheilamcclear
     Reply
    Rod Townsend was starred Rod Townsend was unstarred
    Image of James Del James Del
    11/05/09

    In reply to Sheila McClear Sells Awesome Book
    Yay, congrats Sheila! #sheilamcclear
     Reply
    James Del was starred James Del was unstarred
    Image of Products Will Save Me Products Will Save Me
    11/05/09

    In reply to Sheila McClear Sells Awesome Book
    This is fantastic news. I'm very much looking forward to reading this. #sheilamcclear
     Reply
    Products Will Save Me was starred Products Will Save Me was unstarred
    Image of random_play random_play
    11/05/09

    In reply to Sheila McClear Sells Awesome Book
    Oh Sheila! Congratulations!
     Reply
    Edited by random_play at 11/05/09 1:03 PM random_play was starred random_play was unstarred
    Image of Clarence Rosario Clarence Rosario
    11/05/09

    In reply to Sheila McClear Sells Awesome Book
    Sweet!

    *Finally* something I can comment on! #sheilamcclear
     Reply
    Clarence Rosario was starred Clarence Rosario was unstarred
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