Disqus - Latest Comments for AnthonyBergen

Re: America's Great Game

Anthony Bergen — Sat, 15 Nov 2014 15:23:22 -0000

I really enjoyed this book, too.

Re: Robin Williams

Anthony Bergen — Mon, 18 Aug 2014 01:40:58 -0000

Great post, boss.

Re: http://deadpresidents.tumblr.com/post/30669443117

Anthony Bergen — Sat, 01 Mar 2014 18:35:11 -0000

Thanks for catching that. It looks like I put George H.W. Bush's age at inauguration for both President and Vice President under the POTUS heading. It's always helpful to have someone put another set of eyes on this stuff.

Re: ABlog the Author - Okay, I just spent a little over an hour reading Tom Ruprecht's fake oral history of JD Salinger....

Anthony Bergen — Sun, 01 Sep 2013 01:11:17 -0000

I guess I need to stop being stubbornly old-fashioned and get a Kindle because there are more-and-more must-read books being published exclusively as ebooks. This sounds like a fantastic read.

Re: http://locomotivehootenanny.tumblr.com/post/1715434347

Anthony Bergen — Sun, 28 Nov 2010 16:56:50 -0000

I think this makes a lot of cents, Elizabeth.

Re: Dead Presidents - Questions, Comments, Suggetsions, Requests?

Anthony Bergen — Wed, 14 Jul 2010 01:59:54 -0000

Thank you. I'm going to answer your question on the main Dead Presidents page because it's a good one.

Re: Dead Presidents - Questions, Comments, Suggetsions, Requests?

Anthony Bergen — Wed, 14 Jul 2010 01:59:15 -0000

I'm glad you enjoyed "Fraternity". The exact reasons you described the book are the reasons why it's my favorite book on Presidents of all-time. I can never recommend that book to enough people.

If you have time to dig through some of the older questions, I have recommended quite a few books. If you're looking for something specific, I highly recommend "1920: The Year of Six Presidents" and anything by McCullough, Robert Caro, Doris Kearns Goodwin, or Edmund Morris. As for McCullough's "John Adams", it is the perfect Presidential biography. McCullough writes history better than anyone, in my opinion.

Re: Dead Presidents - Questions, Comments, Suggetsions, Requests?

Anthony Bergen — Wed, 14 Jul 2010 01:56:40 -0000

Thank you for the kind comments. I appreciate them very much.

Re: http://deadpresidents.tumblr.com/post/672375773

Anthony Bergen — Thu, 10 Jun 2010 03:50:25 -0000

I agree. There's something about Pierce that just draws you in, and that's the great thing about history -- it's about people and people are always filled with stories.

Re: http://deadpresidents.tumblr.com/post/676858645

Anthony Bergen — Thu, 10 Jun 2010 03:33:03 -0000

Thank you...it was a great question! I actually have "They Also Ran" sitting on a bookshelf and I always grab something else, but have been meaning to read it for a long time. I actually think an updated version of "They Also Ran" would be a great book idea today.

Re: http://locomotivehootenanny.tumblr.com/post/656787228

Anthony Bergen — Sat, 05 Jun 2010 22:35:29 -0000

How dare that guy throw your name out on the Internet as a history-related Tumblr!

You know, in all my years living in California I have never been to the Huntington Library and that is definitely a big regret. Is it a must-visit place for history nerds such as ourselves?

Re: http://locomotivehootenanny.tumblr.com/post/664943452

Anthony Bergen — Fri, 04 Jun 2010 23:07:25 -0000

Would you say that the Beef Pope is CALFolic? I wonder if he ever wanted to be a MOOOOOnk.

Re: http://locomotivehootenanny.tumblr.com/post/461041308

Anthony Bergen — Sat, 20 Mar 2010 18:01:02 -0000

345 feet? I hope you brought oxygen. Also, I hope you didn't bring Frankie because that altitude would be murder for an asthmatic. He could lose some weight if you had him climb that peak with you, though -- not that he's fat or anything. I meant lose some mass.

Be safe mountain climbing and make sure you camp in a safe place near the summit, not directly on top. At those heights, you could fall off and scrape a knee something terrible.

Re: http://anthonybergen.tumblr.com/post/447720765

Anthony Bergen — Wed, 17 Mar 2010 07:29:36 -0000

A lot of the information is just stuff I've read throughout the years and stored up. I've been collecting and studying Presidential history since I was a little kid, so I'm pretty well-versed in it by now. It's almost an obsession -- actually, I think it's pretty safe to say that it is definitely an obsession. Thanks again for reading!

Re: 201

Anthony Bergen — Wed, 17 Mar 2010 07:24:00 -0000

Thank you for reading it and for your kind words. Lincoln's a pretty tough guy not to like, no matter where you're from. He was a hero to both Fidel Castro and JFK, which shows the impact he had on people all over the world.

Re: The Forgotten American President: Part II

Anthony Bergen — Wed, 17 Mar 2010 07:22:09 -0000

Thanks for reading! I wrote it myself.

Re: http://locomotivehootenanny.tumblr.com/post/439207198

Anthony Bergen — Wed, 10 Mar 2010 16:25:12 -0000

I'm not big on reading about writing, especially books with writing exercises, but I did find a book that helps me tremendously when I do get "writer's block" -- which is basically a lack of ideas or motivation, not any congestion of the mind. It is called "The 3 A.M. Epiphany", and it is amazing.

As for juggling my reading, I can't do that. I used to do that, and I just don't have the ability to focus on more than one thing at a time. I would buy like five books and start reading a chapter from each, and then find myself all mixed up.

By the way, I understand that this response is completely unsolicited. I'm just bored and wanted to join in on the fun.

Re: http://giantsquidandlocomotives.tumblr.com/post/371180557

Anthony Bergen — Thu, 04 Feb 2010 18:44:43 -0000

If it helps, Betsy, your McKinley silhouette is spot-on. You got those hawk wing eyebrows down pat!

Re: http://anthonybergen.tumblr.com/post/357038709

Anthony Bergen — Wed, 27 Jan 2010 22:06:47 -0000

I sent you an e-mail, but thank you, it means the world to me that you like reading the stuff that I actually put my heart into writing.

Re: Locomotive Hootenanny

Anthony Bergen — Wed, 27 Jan 2010 00:53:19 -0000

Please don't ever stop writing.

And, yes, I believe you could chop through a padlock with a sword if the sword was sharp enough and the swordsman was skilled enough. Just think of how easily the Japanese soldiers beheaded American and Australian soldiers with swords during executions in World War II. I think slicing through a padlock would be only slightly more difficult than a beheading.

Pleasant, no?

Re: Welcome to my workday.

Anthony Bergen — Wed, 20 Jan 2010 04:46:51 -0000

No, the things you describe at work make it sound like somebody is actually playing a very in-depth, long-lasting, complex practical joke on you and that, eventually, someone is just going to say, "We were just kidding. There people are all actors."

You and I pretty much agree on the fundraising issue. I did see the reblog post and it made my blood boil because there should have been a full disclosure by the guy where he said, "Listen, I've gotta cap this somewhere". I did not mention that Donte' was a football player in my initial post and I probably should have because it would have clarified everything better. I also should have noted that I knew it wasn't an attempt to grab popularity but was a way to entice other friends of his with the means to donate to match his donation. I'm totally in agreement, however, that in most cases if you're going to donate, you should just donate.

I also feel like donating to something like that is fantastic, but some people donate just to be able to say, "I donated". I guess whatever it takes to get the people of Haiti some help is worth the temporary boasting, but I've always had this weird thing about donating money to causes like this where I feel it is intensely personal. I don't have the ability to donate much, but it is a very private thing. I don't mind saying that I donated, but I didn't even feel that comfortable with telling my girlfriend exactly what I donated because it isn't important. I know that I did what I could and would do more if it was possible.

Anyway, enough about that. I'm on a roll with my Presidential writings, so I should be rolling more of them out soon. I'm trying to stagger them a bit because I posted three new ones last week three days in a row and I think people were burned out with over 10,000 words on the Presidents in 72 hours. You'll be happy to know that coming soon is Zachary Taylor's unique life, "Jefferson Davis: America's Forgotten President", "The Eerie Odyssey of Lincoln's Corpse", and "The President might kill himself: Nixon's final hours in the White House".

Re: Welcome to my workday.

Anthony Bergen — Tue, 19 Jan 2010 00:54:41 -0000

I've been watching the "Reno 9-1-1" DVD and this post has confirmed my belief that you actually live in an episode of that TV show.

Off topic: did my explanation about the Twitter fundraising thing from yesterday make any sense? Just to let you know, he raised $34,200 and it inspired one of his former teammates to match his donation and then another NFL player said he's donating his check from the Pro Bowl to the cause, so that's over $70,000. I totally agreed with you about trading popularity for donations, but when that amount is raised, I have to think they did something worthwhile.

Re: Anthony Bergen - My Plea

Anthony Bergen — Sun, 17 Jan 2010 15:58:11 -0000

You raise a great point, Elizabeth, but I think Donte's idea is that this is a way for people to get involved or feel involved without having it cost them anything. I'm probably biased, but to me, it's a creative way to raise some funds for the relief effort. Plus, he wasn't in dire need of followers -- he already had like 15,000 followers prior to starting this.

I totally get where you're coming from. It drives me crazy when someone says, "I'll donate X amount of dollars for every reblog I get", but then they get like 6,000 reblogs and say, "Oh, I couldn't afford that, so I just sent $20." Donte plays in the NFL, so he has the means and the intention of following through.

UPDATE: It's also inspiring a few more NFL players to match his donation.

Re: Anthony Bergen

Anthony Bergen — Fri, 08 Jan 2010 21:19:12 -0000

This is a good point, Elizabeth. I realized that Betsy may have crossed the line with the "filthy floozy" line. As for "unhelpful cur"...come on, that's a pretty good one. Groucho Marx would have approved.

Re: Locomotive Hootenanny

Anthony Bergen — Thu, 07 Jan 2010 23:43:42 -0000

They were good questions. People who live in frigid environments don't have a sense of humor, which is why that person who answered your questions came across as douchey, or "asshole-ic" as you put it so well. Don't think that's true? Have you EVER met someone from Minnesota who has EVER said anything even remotely funny? Nope...that person hasn't been born yet. They are angry at us because we don't have to buy snow shoes or scrape ice off of our windshields, and that's just unfair because it's not our fault that our days are blessed with sunshine and warmth and fruit-bearing trees.