January 5, 2018

Where is it?

You can see I bought "Fire and Fury" and was promised that it would arrive at 9 a.m. ET.



It's 11 minutes past and still no ebook.

Hype. Empty hype. So symbolic. I am annoyed. I have better things to do with the day that wait for this thing I'd planned to plunge into and pick apart in a way nobody else would, but now I'm rethinking the worthiness of this enterprise.

I've got another book — in text and audio — and if it weren't for "Fire and Fury," I'd put on my new hiking boots and go tromping out into the -3° air.

So annoying. Or not. I am free. I don't have to read "Fire and Fury."

"Fire and Fury," you are about to lose your moment. You lost me at 8:19 Central Time.

UPDATE, 9:01 CT: Broke in my new boots walking to the cafe, listening to “Brooklyn,” got my black coffee, opened up my iPad, which started in the Kindle app, and there it was, “Fire and Fury.” Bleh.

79 comments:

dreams said...

Fate, it's fate.

Bay Area Guy said...

When I think of "fire and fury", I think of the Allied bombing of Dresden in WWII - I don't think of anonymous "meanies" talking smack about each other.

Quayle said...

What brand and model of boots did you select? Interested in that because I need some new hiking boots.

traditionalguy said...

Sort of like reading the National Enquirer headlines in the grocery store line, but refusing to buy and read it. You do not lose much, and the couriosity itch goes away quickly.

Tank said...

Althouse brings the crazy.

Sydney said...

Why the heck would there be a delay in delivering an e-book. Seems like they could deliver it within moments of your purchase.

John Borell said...

Firy and Fury, full of sound and fury, signifying nothing.

Althouse, go take that walk. Enjoy the silence of snow.

rehajm said...

Fizzle and Flop

Daniel Jackson said...

That's Sloppy Stevie in action!

But, very American: Sizzle and no steak. A PT Barnum special, however, and the Professor appears to been relieved of her cash with a certain expected finesse

Henry said...

I'll riff on the title again. It could have been

Pale Fire and the Sound and the Fury

"The glowworm 'gins to pale his uneffectual fire. Out, out, brief candle! It is a tale told by an idiot, full of sound and fury,
Signifying nothing."

dreams said...

Noise, too much noise.

TerriW said...

Idea for post: 8:11
Time at end of last paragraph: 8:19
Blogger reports posted at: 8:21

Cruel Efficiency!

Jersey Fled said...

Sounds to me like Russia Dossier 2.0.

When do the FISA warrants begin?

whitney said...

Nooooooo

Ron Winkleheimer said...

Trump filed a cease and desist motion trying to stop publication of the book. Maybe that's why it hasn't been delivered yet. The lawyer haven't signed off on it.

Left Bank of the Charles said...

Maybe Amazon has decided to heed the cease and desist order from Donald Trump.

Mike (MJB Wolf) said...

Well Mr. Wolff is known for just making stuff up according to Slate, Salon and a raft of other lefty publications, as well as Judith Regan on the right who said, after Wolff wrote a long article on her that she hadn't even spoken to him in 30 years. The article he wrote about Regan made it sound like they'd just had a long lunch together discussing her projects. He just made it all up.

So you're likely just delaying a very sloggy read that will annoy you at least as much as waiting for this book of tales to arrive.

campy said...

Obviously the Führer Drumpf ordered the book censored. IMPEACH!!!

Mike (MJB Wolf) said...

Why the heck would there be a delay in delivering an e-book. Seems like they could deliver it within moments of your purchase.

Sometimes the "official date" of publication can affect when downloads begin. In this case the "official" date was moved up because of the increased interest caused when Trump threatened to sue the publisher and author. You'd think a download could be readied pretty quickly since the physical book printing is already under way. I mean, convert it to a PDF and be done! Right?

dwick said...

First-world problems...

Bob Boyd said...

These boots are made for walkin'
And that's just what they'll do
Amazon these boots are gonna
Walk right out on you

Ralph L said...

Quayle, she blogged the boots a couple days ago.

Ficta said...

Have some Fire and Fury from Tom Waits while you wait:

Way Down in the Hole

tim in vermont said...

“A tale told by an idiot is nothing but fire and fury.” OK, Bill Shakespeare *almost* wrote that line.

Ann Althouse said...

There’s a link on the boots.

I always buy Keen because I have experience with them not hurting my particular feet. Your fo mileage may very.

Quayle said...

Did she (you, Ann) stick with Keens?

Robert Cook said...

I've never liked Tom Waits and his affected "ole' bloozeman" voice and diction. A much better artist with a similar voice is Captain Beefheart.

tim in vermont said...

To-morrow, and to-morrow, and to-morrow,
Creeps in this petty pace from day to day
To the last syllable of recorded time,
And all our yesterdays have lighted fools
The way to dusty death. Out, out, brief candle!
Life's but a walking shadow, a poor player
That struts and frets his hour upon the stage
And then is heard no more: it is a tale
Told by an idiot, full of sound and fury,
Signifying nothing.
- Macbeth

Would have been better to have whipped out this quote while you were still waiting.

Quayle said...

My old Vasques wore out a couple of weeks ago. Just plain broke (the sole). Loved them. They were old and well worn, not defective.
Thanks. I’ll look at Keenes too.

steve uhr said...

Already 27 reviews on Amazon. Call me old fashioned but I always thought you review a book after you read it. Not before.

Ficta said...

I had a pair of KEEN boots. They were very comfortable and "grippy", but they're not super durable. The upper on one of them split after only a year of moderate hiking (probably well less than 500 miles, but I wasn't keeping rigorous record, so maybe it was more miles than I thought) and the sole was peeling off before that. On the plus side, the inner lining held the split boot together for the remaining 40 miles of my trip, so that was good.

Ficta said...

Beefheart is excellent as well, I find Waits more "hummable" :)

tim in vermont said...

Meanwhile, the “Fire and Fury” approach to Rocket Man by Trump seems to be bearing fruit in a way that the bien pensants were unable to imagine.

It must be such a drag to be unable to appreciate the world because all of the facts must be distorted in a way to fit into your partisan mind-map.

tim in vermont said...

And Tom Waits is an entertainer. As such, I enjoy him. Nobody is for everybody, except maybe Joe Cocker.

tim in vermont said...

As an artist in that general space, I like David Bromberg, but he never really made it big, did he?

Michael K said...

I am still mystified at Bannon's motive for this.

It makes no sense. I saw him a month ago and he gave a talk that gave not a hint of this stuff.

This will destroy him, not Trump.

Ficta said...

I'm unfamiliar with Bromberg, I'll have to check him out.

Rana said...

Quayle, I'm a big fan of the Merrell mid hiking boots I bought last summer. Great waterproofing and warmth that have handled this exceptionally cold winter very well.

Unknown said...

"You lost me at 8:19 Central Time."

Bad enough to be lost, but at Central Time, too?

Everyone knows if something is going to happen it is going to happen in the New York Times Zone.

-jj

Lewis Wetzel said...

Blogger campy said...
Obviously the Führer Drumpf ordered the book censored. IMPEACH!!!

1/5/18, 8:53 AM

Have Chimpy McBushHitler do the censoring!

Lewis Wetzel said...

Blogger Michael K said...
I am still mystified at Bannon's motive for this.
It makes no sense. I saw him a month ago and he gave a talk that gave not a hint of this stuff.
This will destroy him, not Trump.
1/5/18, 9:24 AM

On his Thursday podcast, Ben Shapiro, who has known both Breitbart and Bannon, says that it is a personality defect.

mezzrow said...

Does anybody really know what time it is?

Does anybody really care?

Mrs. X said...

“I am still mystified at Bannon's motive for this.”

Could be that Bannon, imagining himself as more powerful than he is, didn’t understand that Wolff would control the narrative and use it for his own purposes. It’s also possible that Wolff made at least some of it up, as he apparently has done before.

BarrySanders20 said...

The woman was ready. The woman was willing. But alas, the moment passed. Fools!

Carpe potestatem!

Clyde said...

I'm glad that Althouse is going to read this so that we don't have to.

dreams said...

Bannon thought he was smarter than Trump, apparently it's a syndrome that's going around.

Inga...Allie Oop said...

“I am still mystified at Bannon's motive for this.

It makes no sense. I saw him a month ago and he gave a talk that gave not a hint of this stuff.”

Could it be that Bannon duped you? Just like Trump is duping you? I can actually feel your disillusionment. And you said I was setting myself up for disappointment, lol. Maybe you folks can take a lesson here and realize these people are not who you thought they were.

Big Mike said...

Two possibilities: Amazon always meant Central Time and the ET was a typo, or their clocks are an hour off because they forgot to “fall back.”

Inga...Allie Oop said...

“The woman was ready. The woman was willing. But alas, the moment passed. Fools!

Carpe potestatem!”

I doubt they care if Althouse doesn’t read the book, she already paid for it.

Fernandinande said...

Speaking of funny names, Andele Badback and Juanita Plentyholes, together at last.

DKWalser said...

Is "Bleh" a reaction to the coffee, the new boots, or the book?

Bob Boyd said...

"I doubt they care if Althouse doesn’t read the book, she already paid for it."

Ann blogging about Fire and Fury extensively, perhaps for several days, is a lot of free publicity to lose out on.

Birches said...

-3, ugh. It's about 32 right now and I just don't feel like going out to run in it. I'm not made out of the same stuff you are. I'll probably run the track at my gym instead.

Lewis Wetzel said...

Blogger dreams said...
Bannon thought he was smarter than Trump, apparently it's a syndrome that's going around.

1/5/18, 9:47 AM

That is more or less what Ben Shapiro said. Bannon thought that he made Trump, where, in reality, Trump made Bannon. Clown's shouldn't put on the ringmaster's suit, it makes the ringmaster mad.

DKWalser said...

The comments made by Bannon, assuming he made them, were not made recently. (The reason to question whether he made them is because Wolff has put words in the mouths of others in previous books and columns.) But, assuming he made them, the comments were made while Bannon was still at the Whitehouse. There is no good excuse for his comments that does him credit. A staffer's first job is to make his boss look good. (That's true everywhere, not just in politics.) Bannon was trying to make himself look good at the expense of his boss. There is no excuse for that -- even if it were true.

Big Mike said...

Regarding Sloppy Steve Bannon, I have been involved with local politics off and on since the late 1970s and there are lots of people who think they know more about winning elections than they do. Bannon is one of them. Hillary Clinton is another. The headline writer who set the type for “Dewey Defeats Truman” shows that this is not a new phenomenon.

Inga...Allie Oop said...

I bought the book via Kindle app, it loaded within seconds. I wasn’t going to buy the book, I just had to, for posterity.

Carter Wood said...

He's got the fire and the fury
At his command
Well you don't have to worry
If you hold on to Jesus hand
We'll all be safe from Satan
When the thunder rolls
We just gotta help me keep the devil
Way down in the hole

BarrySanders20 said...

"Speaking of funny names, Andele Badback and Juanita Plentyholes, together at last."

Also neat that they are Ute Mountain Ute youths. Ute yoots.

Wince said...

Blogger Michael K said...
I am still mystified at Bannon's motive for this.

"Steeeve Ban-non"

Joe Biden, America's Putin said...

Filled with truths for the FBI to read.

Michael K said...

Bannon was trying to make himself look good at the expense of his boss. There is no excuse for that -- even if it were true.

Bannon will destroy himself, not Trump. That's why I don't understand it.

Maybe he was angry one day and shot his mouth off.

What I don't understand is giving Wolff access to the White House. He had to know the guy's reputation.

I'm going to have to reread that part of Lewandowski's book where he and Bossie discuss why Bannon was brought in.

Michael K said...

It’s also possible that Wolff made at least some of it up, as he apparently has done before.

Oh, I agree but Bannon should have known this.

For one thing the "chaotic White House" was staffed early on with RNC people, not Trump people. Priebus brought his own people in like Sean Spicer. The Trump people, like Lewandowski and Bossie, were excluded.

AllenS said...

WHOA!

Michael Wolff, the author of "Fire and Fury: Inside the Trump White House," included a note at the start that casts significant doubt on the reliability of the specifics contained in the rest of its pages.

Several of his sources, he says, were definitely lying to him, while some offered accounts that flatly contradicted those of others.

traditionalguy said...

These boots are made for walking, and that's just what the Professor did.

My only concern for Bannon is that his friendly fire doesn't affect Kellyann's job. She has all known skills in political communications and emotional intelligence that has ever blessed the Trump Administration.

Ann Althouse said...

"Idea for post: 8:11
Time at end of last paragraph: 8:19
Blogger reports posted at: 8:21

Cruel Efficiency!"

Actually, Blogger was giving me trouble. It should have posted at 8:19. I had to struggle to get the post to go up.

Clayton Hennesey said...

@Michael K
@AllenS

Let's not forget that at the moment, 100% of this latest Fifth Gospel about Bannon, Trump, et all is the just now published Wolff book.

CNN tells us:

http://money.cnn.com/2018/01/04/media/bannon-chairman-breitbart/index.html

"Before Trump released his Wednesday statement, Bannon was almost finished crafting his own statement with his close advisers, a person familiar with the matter told CNN. In fact, Bannon was just "minutes away" from releasing the statement that would have, in part, said some of his comments were taken out of context.

But, as The Hill first reported, that plan was abandoned when Trump released his statement and it became clear Bannon's planned effort would not be enough to salvage his relationship with the president.

Bannon instead avoided commenting at length on his feud with Trump, only praising his former boss as a "great man" on Breitbart radio and saying he still supports the Trump agenda."

So, had Trump not unloaded, we might also have some Bannon on Bannon commentary. At this point, though, his saying anything directly about the book can only make him look craven and servile.

So at this point I expect Bannon to just play the long game and let the chips fall where they may. After all, it is now Wolff's turn for a full examination.

cubanbob said...

The author of the explosive new book about Donald Trump's presidency acknowledged in the book that he wasn't certain all of its content was true.

Michael Wolff, the author of "Fire and Fury: Inside the Trump White House," included a note at the start that casts significant doubt on the reliability of the specifics contained in the rest of its pages.

Several of his sources, he says, were definitely lying to him, while some offered accounts that flatly contradicted those of others.

But some were nonetheless included in the vivid account of the West Wing's workings, in a process Wolff describes as "allowing the reader to judge" whether the sources' claims are true."

From Drudge link. Wolff is admitting its all bullshit. Maybe Inga can tell us which dopes are being duped.

Darrell said...

I had to struggle to get the post to go up.

I have to struggle to keep it up. Preach it Sister!

(Saw one of the SPAM guys got through Blogger/Google's "amazing" Spam algorithm the other day. His comments stayed up, too.)

traditionalguy said...

Roaches, rats and Wolffs were infesting the place. Then Trump moves in and suddenly the economy booms, the Stocks go higher, the NORKS are contained, the Saudis quit paying off most of the elite politicians in DC, the Hollywood and Networks start firing everybody over the usual sexual stuff, and a hundred big time corporate CEOs resign in a month, and 30 politicians decline to run or resign, all after the silly and childlike President signs a Magnitzski Act Order on 12/23/17 seizing the world wide property of child traffickers and political corruption actors using fake charity Foundations. And Mattis and Sessions make visits to inspect Gitmo where a new appropriation has added 2000 guest rooms, and new lawyer interview facilities, for high value guest including wheelchair access.

And we are only 5 days into the Year of Trump's Revenge.

Mark said...

What has already been alluded to, as recounted in Business Insider -- Wolff acknowledging that he isn't certain all of book's content is true -- is pretty close to an admission of actual malice, a knowing disregard for the truth.

Michael K said...

Bannon was just "minutes away" from releasing the statement that would have, in part, said some of his comments were taken out of context.

Bannon knew this book was coming for months. Did he not ask for an advance copy to see how he was quoted ?

Come on. This is last minute bullshit.

It sounds like the excuses made up when Rockefeller was found dead in his girlfriend's bed.

Jupiter said...

Inga said...

"I can actually feel your disillusionment."

Yes, and I can actually smell your Pussy Hat.

Kirk Parker said...


"Nobody is for everybody, except maybe Joe Cocker."

No. Definitely no.

Lydia said...

Michael K said:
Bannon will destroy himself, not Trump. That's why I don't understand it.

Maybe he was angry one day and shot his mouth off.

What I don't understand is giving Wolff access to the White House. He had to know the guy's reputation.


Do you remember Bannon's phone call to Robert Kuttner at The American Propect last August?

Robert Kuttner, the co-founder and co-editor of this magazine, never expected a phone call from Bannon; the Prospect, after all, is a proudly liberal and defiantly anti-Trump journal. Nonetheless, Bannon called him on Tuesday afternoon, and on Wednesday, we posted Kuttner’s piece ...

More puzzling is the fact that Bannon would phone a writer and editor of a progressive publication (the cover lines on whose first two issues after Trump’s election were “Resisting Trump” and “Containing Trump”) and assume that a possible convergence of views on China trade might somehow paper over the political and moral chasm on white nationalism.

The question of whether the phone call was on or off the record never came up. This is also puzzling, since Steve Bannon is not exactly Bambi when it comes to dealing with the press. He’s probably the most media-savvy person in America. ...

I had never before spoken with Bannon. I came away from the conversation with a sense both of his savvy and his recklessness. The waters around him are rising, but he is going about his business of infighting, and attempting to cultivate improbable outside allies, to promote his China strategy. His enemies will do what they do. ...

The conversation ended with Bannon inviting me to the White House after Labor Day to continue the discussion of China and trade.

Michael K said...

Do you remember Bannon's phone call to Robert Kuttner at The American Propect last August?

Good point. Maybe he is just a pyromaniac in a field of strawmen.

I still don't get it.

Char Char Binks, Esq. said...

Maybe Putin hacked it.

Jim at said...

Maybe you folks can take a lesson here and realize these people are not who you thought they were. - The Simpleton

You still don't fucking get it. And you never will.

All I knew about 'these people' is they weren't Hillary Clinton.

And that was more than enough.

Robert said...

Enjoy the silence of snow.

The last few days where I am have not seen a high above -20C. At that temperature, the snow is not quiet. It squeaks when you walk on it. But you can't hear it because your head is covered with something to keep you warm.

I vote for a "black coffee" tag.

Robert,
Winnipeg, CANADA