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New York, 4:25 AM
Tue Dec 8
50 posts in the last 24 hours

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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 Novaload Novaload
    10/31/09

    In reply to Nobody Loves Weepy VP Joe
    Biden was the most inscrutable choice, ever, for VP. Instead of "change" Obama brought out an old hack, who had trouble with both truth telling, even during the campaign, and with inserting his foot into his mouth. Oh, to know what kind of negotiation that was, to get him on the ticket---except, perhaps to allay terrified old white guys who feared a woman and a (half)black man on the ticket would bring on the apocalypse. #joebiden
     Reply
    Novaload was starred Novaload was unstarred
    Image of Thistledew Thistledew
    10/30/09

    In reply to Nobody Loves Weepy VP Joe
    apparently I am in the minority, but I love Joe Biden! I think he's like the lovable Steve Urkel of the White House. He comes in, says stupid stuff, knocks shit over, and is like "Did I do that?" Oh Joe. #joebiden
     Reply
    applejuice promoted this comment Thistledew was starred Thistledew was unstarred
    Image of ModestProposal ModestProposal
    10/30/09

    In reply to Nobody Loves Weepy VP Joe
    Joe Biden is everything thats wrong and fucked up with congress. This dope won his seat in the Senate when he was 29 and has never had another job until being VP. He has learned about as much about how the country works from his perch in DC as Palin learned about Russia from staring at it. He is walking proof we need term limits.

    And he doesn't drink. I don't trust people who don't drink, unless they've already been alcoholics. #joebiden
     Reply
    ModestProposal was starred ModestProposal was unstarred
    Image of Motoko Kusanagi Motoko Kusanagi
    10/30/09

    In reply to Nobody Loves Weepy VP Joe
    Why is it that I feel compelled to defend Gawker's subject matter against the editors/writers at least once a day lately?

    Either this new crop of staff writers is utterly fucked, or the editorial direction has taken a nosedive, or both.

    Is there some negative correlation between the quality of stories and the quality of AJAX/CSS? #joebiden
     Reply
    Motoko Kusanagi was starred Motoko Kusanagi was unstarred
    Image of romulus romulus
    10/30/09

    @Motoko Kusanagi: From where I'm standing, it would appear to be a positive correlation. It's a good day when I get tripped up by fewer than five unresponsive scripts, infinite waits for comments to load or what have you. #joebiden
     Reply
    Motoko Kusanagi promoted this comment romulus was starred romulus was unstarred
    Image of Motoko Kusanagi Motoko Kusanagi
    10/30/09

    @romulus: The site gets prettier, and the content gets lamer. Just callin it as I see it. #joebiden
     Reply
    Motoko Kusanagi was starred Motoko Kusanagi was unstarred
    Image of romulus romulus
    10/30/09

    @Motoko Kusanagi: Oh yeah, I didn't mean to quibble. I agree that the site gets fancier all the time, but features seem to break often. I should have added before that it could well be my OS and browser causing headaches most readers don't experience. And in all fairness, I haven't been reading long enough to judge contemporary content against the past. #joebiden
     Reply
    romulus was starred romulus was unstarred
    Image of meerkat meerkat
    10/30/09

    In reply to Nobody Loves Weepy VP Joe
    Not sure what point you're trying to make, Amrita... that you think Cheney's worldview makes some sense? That Cheney was initially popular, before everything he did brought his popularity rating to a low of 28%? I love it that Biden is willing to call a moron a moron. This is a ridiculous post. #joebiden
     Reply
    meerkat was starred meerkat was unstarred
    Image of Conchie Birdie Conchie Birdie
    10/30/09

    In reply to Nobody Loves Weepy VP Joe
    Oh, and if you're trying to poke fun at Vice Prez Biden for weeping during the debate when he spoke about his first wife and baby daughter who died, well then, that's just messed up. #joebiden
     Reply
    Conchie Birdie was starred Conchie Birdie was unstarred
    Image of Novaload Novaload
    10/31/09

    @Conchie Birdie: One might argue that it was the worst kind of political hackdom for him to bring them up expressly to show his "empathy" side and try to squeeze a tear out of his plastic-surgeryized eye slots. #joebiden
     Reply
    Novaload was starred Novaload was unstarred
    Image of Conchie Birdie Conchie Birdie
    10/30/09

    In reply to Nobody Loves Weepy VP Joe
    I'm absolutely NOT a supporter of ANYTHING Dick says... but, Good Lawwd, Biden, Bin Laden will always BE a part of the issue. I'm sorry, I guess if you had the prez saying this I could understand... but, uh, Joe? Nope.

    That being said, why are we posting crap from Fox News anyway - I thought we weren't supposed to take this stuff seriously?
    #joebiden
     Reply
    Conchie Birdie was starred Conchie Birdie was unstarred
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