Free and Bargain Non-Fiction in July 2014

[GtrsRGr8]

Originally Posted by avantman42

I think you're confusing football with rugby. Rugby is the one with the odd-shaped ball, football uses a spherical ball. I believe the colonials also play a variant of rugby

Colonials? Are you referring to America? If you are referring to America, we haven't been colonies for 200 years. We are states, thus "The United States of America."

If you are alluding to Great Britain having colonies over here, well that was 200 years ago, too. There are no longer any British colonies on the mainland of North America; the Revolutionary War, in part, determined that. And, to put an exclamation point on the matter, we also defeated them in the War of 1812 when they thought that they could get us back as colonies or could subjugate us again in some other way.

Just a little American history lesson there. If you would like, I can recommend some American history books to you [to the moderator(s): notice that this post is not completely off-topic--I spoke of "books"].

American football is not a "variant" of rugby. Soccer may or may not be a variant of rugby, or vice versa I don't know. American football evolved from rugby. It is so different from rugby now that no one who saw an American football game ever would think that it had evolved from rugby and no one in his or her right mind would think of it as a "variant" of rugby.

Furthermore, if you consider, as I did, the American football ball and a soccer or rugby ball from a profile (side view) or cross-section perspective, as I did, you would it say that it is oblong and round (well, the rugby ball is a little odd-shaped, as you said), respectively.

Oh, and while we're talking about the Brits . . . . why do the forums on MR have to go by Greenwich (London) time??? There are far more Americans on MR than British! And any one of our time zones is better than any time zone (is there more than one? I don't know) in Britain!

All of the above was intended in good fun. Please don't think that I was belligerent, argumentative, or pompous, it was all feigned. None of the above makes any difference to me as I am as mellow as a cello.

[Lynx-lynx]

@GtrsRGr8 .... geez the poms like to take the p out of us (Aussies) all the time .... we just roll with the punches and beat them at the next game of whatever sport is on the agenda .....

[avantman42]

Originally Posted by GtrsRGr8

Colonials? Are you referring to America? If you are referring to America, we haven't been colonies for 200 years. We are states, thus "The United States of America."

Just remember, the sun never sets on the British Empire.

Originally Posted by GtrsRGr8

All of the above was intended in good fun. Please don't think that I was belligerent or pompous, it was all feigned. None of the above makes any difference to me; I am as mellow as a cello.

Likewise, my comments were entirely meant in fun. In all honesty, I have no interest in sport of any sort, and I fully support the self-determination of peoples. I have no wish to go back to the days of empire.

[GtrsRGr8]

Originally Posted by avantman42

Just remember, the sun never sets on the British Empire.


Likewise, my comments were entirely meant in fun. In all honesty, I have no interest in sport of any sort, and I fully support the self-determination of peoples. I have no wish to go back to the days of empire.

I am actually an Anglophile. The United States has had few, if any, friends in the world better the British in the last 150? 175? years!

Oh, BTW, I'm sorry to have to correct you again, but the saying today is actually, "the sun never set [note: not present tense] on the British Empire." The saying "the sun never sets [present tense] on the British Empire" was said in the days when Great Britain had control of one fourth of the land in the world.

I'm through with this. I've got to get back to surfing the Internet for book bargains . . . .

[GtrsRGr8]

Originally Posted by Lynx-lynx

@GtrsRGr8 .... geez the poms like to take the p out of us (Aussies) all the time .... we just roll with the punches and beat them at the next game of whatever sport is on the agenda .....

I have lots of appreciation for the Aussies, too! The United States has had few, if any, friends in the world better than the Australians for ? years (many, many--my knowledge of Australian history is not nearly as good as British history), also. The same goes for the Canadians.

[Lynx-lynx]

aw gee GtrsRGr8 you just wanna be loved by us all!!

[murg]

Originally Posted by avantman42

I think you're confusing football with rugby. Rugby is the one with the odd-shaped ball, football uses a spherical ball. I believe the colonials also play a variant of rugby

Yeah. We have something called Aussie Rules down here...

[murg]

Originally Posted by GtrsRGr8

There are no longer any British colonies on the mainland of North America; the Revolutionary War, in part, determined that.

And what's Canada? Chopped Liver?

And don't forget Bermuda, the Bahamas and some other Caribbean islands...

[murg]

Originally Posted by GtrsRGr8

Oh, and while we're talking about the Brits . . . . why do the forums on MR have to go by Greenwich (London) time??? There are far more Americans on MR than British! And any one of our time zones is better than any time zone (is there more than one? I don't know) in Britain!

The timezone is a setting on your profile page.

[murg]

Ooh! That was a hat-trick!

[avantman42]

Originally Posted by GtrsRGr8

Oh, BTW, I'm sorry to have to correct you again, but the saying today is actually, "the sun never set [note: not present tense] on the British Empire." The saying "the sun never sets [present tense] on the British Empire" was said in the days when Great Britain had control of one fourth of the land in the world.

Either is correct, surely? As the page that I linked to shows, the sun still doesn't set on the British Empire.

Oh, and in English, it's one quarter, not one fourth. Next you'll be missing the u out of words like colour

[ludovicus]

I know this is off-topic, but in light of the current discussion...

[GtrsRGr8]

*biting tongue*

*tongue is bleeding*

[Little.Egret]

Leviathan vs. Behemoth: The Roman-Parthian Wars 66 BC-217 AD by Cam Rea

The Roman-Parthian Wars were cultural clashes between eastern and western titans. Parthia {Persia} was the antithesis of Rome, not only culturally, but also on the battlefield.

The relationship between both empires started peacefully. As time went on, tensions began to grow over the control of the Near East. While Parthia’s sphere of influence dominated the region, Rome’s political push at Parthia’s client states slowly caused a rift between the two powers that eventually led to war when Crassus invaded Parthia and was obliterated with his Roman forces at the Battle of Carrhae in 53 BCE. After Carrhae, their relations would never be the same, as both sides would continue a tug of war with the kingdoms between their borders, at times directly engaging each other.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00LNCOF0U/
http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B00LNCOF0U/

[murg]

Originally Posted by GtrsRGr8

*biting tongue*

*tongue is bleeding*

Now that's just wrong.

It should be:

*biting toungue*

*toungue is bleeding*