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New York, 11:40 PM
Thu Nov 26
15 posts in the last 24 hours

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  • posts about #memoirs more →

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

    Former Bush Admin Official Verifies Crazy Lefty Conspiracy Theory

    George W. Bush's Sad Book Deal

    Any Old Wacko Now Eligible For $2 Million Book Deal

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    Dsmvwl  Admin  Promote to frontpage Approve user Ban user ×
    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 resipsaloquacious resipsaloquacious
    11/06/09

    In reply to The Last Resort: Adventures in the Kitchen of a Failed State
    Tell me more about your mother's avocados, please. #gawkerbookclub
     Reply
    Treece promoted this comment Edited by resipsaloquacious at 11/06/09 2:39 PM resipsaloquacious was starred resipsaloquacious was unstarred
    Image of Douglas Rogers Douglas Rogers
    11/06/09

    @resipsaloquacious: she makes a cracking avocado salad. avocado surprise: tomatos, thyme, onions, lemons. the surprise being you shoudn't be eating this well in zim #gawkerbookclub
     Reply
    Treece approved this comment Douglas Rogers was starred Douglas Rogers was unstarred
    Image of resipsaloquacious resipsaloquacious
    11/06/09

    @Douglas Rogers: Oh my. #gawkerbookclub
     Reply
    resipsaloquacious was starred resipsaloquacious was unstarred
    Image of Douglas Rogers Douglas Rogers
    11/06/09

    @resipsaloquacious: but her best dish is a thai chicken curry that my dad cooks on a wok he made out of a car wheel hubcap. they have to travel 1500 miles to two other countries to get all the ingredients. you really enjoy a thai curry after that #gawkerbookclub
     Reply
    resipsaloquacious approved this comment Douglas Rogers was starred Douglas Rogers was unstarred
    Image of Barking Spider Barking Spider
    11/06/09

    @Douglas Rogers: From the sound of it, people usually eat quite well wherever your mother is. Delicious! #gawkerbookclub
     Reply
    Gabriel Snyder promoted this comment Barking Spider was starred Barking Spider was unstarred
    Image of Douglas Rogers Douglas Rogers
    11/06/09

    In reply to The Last Resort: Adventures in the Kitchen of a Failed State
    Damian, you there? Zimbabwe connections are slow like this.. #gawkerbookclub
     Reply
    Hiroine Protagonist approved this comment Douglas Rogers was starred Douglas Rogers was unstarred
    Image of swingalinga swingalinga
    11/06/09

    @Douglas Rogers: 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
    swingalinga was starred swingalinga was unstarred
    Image of swingalinga swingalinga
    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
    swingalinga was starred swingalinga 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 swingalinga swingalinga
    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
    swingalinga was starred swingalinga 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 swingalinga swingalinga
    11/06/09

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

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

    @Douglas Rogers: Then there was the weed..... #gawkerbookclub
     Reply
    swingalinga was starred swingalinga 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 swingalinga swingalinga
    11/06/09

    @Douglas Rogers: Your parents rock so hard. #gawkerbookclub
     Reply
    swingalinga was starred swingalinga was unstarred
    Image of swingalinga swingalinga
    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
    swingalinga was starred swingalinga 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 swingalinga swingalinga
    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 swingalinga at 11/06/09 3:59 PM swingalinga was starred swingalinga 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 swingalinga swingalinga
    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
    swingalinga was starred swingalinga 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 swingalinga swingalinga
    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
    swingalinga was starred swingalinga 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 swingalinga swingalinga
    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 swingalinga at 11/06/09 4:51 PM swingalinga was starred swingalinga 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 Douglas Rogers Douglas Rogers
    11/06/09

    In reply to The Last Resort: Adventures in the Kitchen of a Failed State
    I didn't want to bore people with another depressing story about africa #gawkerbookclub
     Reply
    Gabriel Snyder promoted this comment Douglas Rogers was starred Douglas Rogers was unstarred
    Image of Douglas Rogers Douglas Rogers
    11/06/09

    In reply to The Last Resort: Adventures in the Kitchen of a Failed State
    Thanks Damian. A funny book about a terrible situation. #gawkerbookclub
     Reply
    Gabriel Snyder promoted this comment Douglas Rogers was starred Douglas Rogers was unstarred
    Image of swingalinga swingalinga
    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
    swingalinga was starred swingalinga was unstarred
    Image of swingalinga swingalinga
    11/06/09

    In reply to The Last Resort: Adventures in the Kitchen of a Failed State
    Hey Douglas. Congrats on the book, it's a terrific read: a funny book about Africa for once #gawkerbookclub
     Reply
    Gabriel Snyder approved this comment swingalinga was starred swingalinga was unstarred
    Image of Douglas Rogers Douglas Rogers
    11/06/09

    @Douglas Rogers: I didn't want to bore people with another depressing story about africa #gawkerbookclub
     Reply
    Hiroine Protagonist approved this comment Douglas Rogers was starred Douglas Rogers was unstarred
    Image of Douglas Rogers Douglas Rogers
    11/06/09

    @Damian Lanigan: Thanks Damian. A funny book about a terrible situation. #gawkerbookclub
     Reply
    Douglas Rogers was starred Douglas Rogers was unstarred
    Image of Better to Eat You With Better to Eat You With
    08/20/09

    In reply to Former Bush Admin Official Verifies Crazy Lefty Conspiracy Theory
    There should be a prize for having the huevos to admit the very obvious shit you've been denying for years, like that threat alert confession. A small prize, like a flavorless cookie or a butter sandwich.
     Reply
    skahammer promoted this comment Better to Eat You With was starred Better to Eat You With was unstarred
    Image of jasonelias jasonelias
    08/20/09

    In reply to Former Bush Admin Official Verifies Crazy Lefty Conspiracy Theory
    Didn't they have a terror alert right after John Kerry named John Edwards as his running mate? For some reason I think this actually happened.
     Reply
    jasonelias was starred jasonelias was unstarred
    Image of MrInBetween MrInBetween
    08/20/09

    @jasonelias: It was actually the weekend after the Democratic convention in 2004. And, yup, the MSM swallowed that piece of nonsense whole, too.
     Reply
    MrInBetween was starred MrInBetween was unstarred
    Image of jasonelias jasonelias
    08/20/09

    @MrInBetween: Thanks, now I remember. MSM sure did fall for that. I think it really didn't help the Dems that year either, eroded the momentum.
     Reply
    Edited by jasonelias at 08/20/09 10:28 PM jasonelias was starred jasonelias was unstarred
    Image of Tremonius Tremonius
    08/20/09

    In reply to Former Bush Admin Official Verifies Crazy Lefty Conspiracy Theory
    It's mistaking the gesture for the genuine, same as the Trojans did when the Greeks came calling inside that Trojan hearse called the `2000 Election.' "They said it was a gift horse! They promised!" The Greeks were not there for civic improvement, however; they came to lay waste to the place. So, good job, all.
     Reply
    Tremonius was starred Tremonius was unstarred
    Image of ampersandparade ampersandparade
    08/20/09

    In reply to Former Bush Admin Official Verifies Crazy Lefty Conspiracy Theory
    I don't care if he writes that President Bush considered sea monkeys a viable alternative to stem cell research, if he kept the job as long as he did and didn't speak out in a vocal and non-compensatory role while the doofus was still in office his coming out with anything revelatory now that all those goons no longer have the ability to get him audited strikes me as nothing more than retcon for his own tarnished political legacy.
     Reply
    if_i_only_had_a_heart promoted this comment ampersandparade was starred ampersandparade was unstarred
    Image of If_I_Had_a_Poodle If_I_Had_a_Poodle
    08/20/09

    @ampersandparade: exactly right. the art of resigning on principle is a lost one.
     Reply
    If_I_Had_a_Poodle was starred If_I_Had_a_Poodle was unstarred
    Image of FrankenPC FrankenPC
    08/20/09

    @ampersandparade: Bush probably believes "Sea Monkeys" really are sea monkeys.
     Reply
    FrankenPC was starred FrankenPC was unstarred
    Image of Solomon Grundy Solomon Grundy
    08/20/09

    In reply to Former Bush Admin Official Verifies Crazy Lefty Conspiracy Theory
    It's deeper than you're indicating -- the Grover Norquist/Dick Cheney generation's plan was to staff government with people who don't believe in government, so that their inevitable incompetence would make the public lose its faith in government. This was not a secret plan; it is their explicit, starve-the-beast strategy.

    The only good thing Parks and Recreation ever did was humorously and accurately depict one of these psychos on screen.
     Reply
    Solomon Grundy was starred Solomon Grundy was unstarred
    Image of If_I_Had_a_Poodle If_I_Had_a_Poodle
    08/20/09

    @Solomon Grundy: this is true. and sad. they are nihilists.
     Reply
    If_I_Had_a_Poodle was starred If_I_Had_a_Poodle was unstarred
    Image of Lymed Lymed
    08/20/09

    @Solomon Grundy: "to get it down to the size where we can drown it in the bathtub." -Grover Norquist
     Reply
    Lymed was starred Lymed was unstarred
    Image of BxgrlJeri BxgrlJeri
    08/20/09

    In reply to Former Bush Admin Official Verifies Crazy Lefty Conspiracy Theory
    Hey Tom, Brownie did a heck of a job.
     Reply
    BxgrlJeri was starred BxgrlJeri was unstarred
    Image of AndIAmTellingYou AndIAmTellingYou
    03/19/09

    In reply to George W. Bush's Sad Book Deal
    I heard the manuscript is based on the 12 most important decisions of his presidency... He could just write a Radar listicle and be done with it.
     Reply
    AndIAmTellingYou was starred AndIAmTellingYou was unstarred
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