Author: Gnerphk

I am The Gnerphk, writer extraordinaire, opinionated, radical, and extremely humble by nature.

Three Volumes, Slightly Foxed (II)

“…It’s lovely, beautifully if plainly bound, has some historical interest, and is worth about eighty bucks.  Which means I pay forty.”

She blinked.  “But my uncle told me it was a great treasure — that he was…”  She was shocked; clearly she’d expected a lot more.

“He was wrong, I’m afraid,” the bookseller said as kindly as he could manage.  He had himself fallen in love with the little set, even though he knew it would never sell.  “The trouble with genuinely rare books is… well, they’re rare.  You’ll probably never see more than a couple in your entire life; I’m in the business, and I’ll only (more…)

Three Volume Edition Of “Pendennis” (I)

“…and a three-volume edition of Pendennis, by Thackeray; second printing.  Rebound recently — and very well — but printed first in Liepzig, of all places, back in 1849.”  The young man turned from his computer screen to confront his visitor, who was by now visibly bored.  He sighed, but slogged on.

“Like most of these, it’s old, but not particularly valuable.  The true first edition (more…)

The Story Of Little Donnie Ray Gun

Jim Acosta just Tweeted something:  “WH just played what appeared to be a campaign video defending Trump.  In the briefing room.  Just like a rally”

There’s truth in what Mr. Acosta says; there usually is.  The man’s quite reliable.  It’s also worth noting, however, that — as is his usual wont — Mr. Acosta is also missing a truth that I should think would be entirely obvious. (more…)

Limbo

We’re all waiting.

Some of us are waiting idly at home, distracting ourselves from the gradually collapsing system outside our doors.  Some are teleworking, putting in the same productivity-free hours we normally would but in pajama bottoms.  Some are going out like normal, vaguely afraid they’ll catch a fatal illness but telling themselves whatever they have to in order to get through their day. (more…)

F&L: Our Endorsement

The editorial staff of The Not Fake News, together with our Brain Trust, has long debated registering our formal endorsement for the Presidency of the United States.  With the departure of Bernie Sanders from the race, we have finally determined that there’s absolutely nobody running we think is qualified, competent, mentally stable, and has unimpeachable moral standards.

This is nothing new in American politics.  Very few of our presidents (more…)

Fear and Loathing: Bernie Sanders Drops Out

I’m warning you up front:  This is not news.  It’s a biased opinion piece.  The only news is that Bernie Sanders has ended his presidential campaign.

Read anyway.  It’ll be good for you, and you might even learn something. (more…)

F&L: The Wisconsin Primary

It’s been in the news by now, so you may fancy you already know all about it — and, given the quality of my readership, you may even be right.

However, I’m not writing this entirely for the present day, but rather as a running account of what will doubtless be known as the “COVID Primary” for future readers.  Then too, there may be something in here of which you may as yet be unaware.  In light of these factors, then, I beg your indulgence for the forthcoming account. (more…)