Joe
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Posts posted by Joe
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I never know whether to laugh or cry.
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Love Nanaimo bars. And Nanaimo too for that matter.
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Hi,
I'm having the devils own time with this. But oh well.
I've been working on a novel for some time now. Douglas is editing/proofing and he has raised a concern about the footnotes I use. I started using them to explain some of the usages in the story. For example, in the name Catesby ap R Jones the letters "ap" appear. This is not a typo, it's the Welsh patronymic. And there are some other explanations as the story develops. Douglas and I wonder if these will come through at your end. Similarly, I have had great fun with illustrations (and I've gone to considerable lengths to be sure the pix are in the public domain). Will these come through.
The story is eleven chapters long. We've done a final proof on the first two. Would you like to see them?
All the best,
Joe
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It was on CNN and I saw it on the internet. I'm not sure I know how to obtain a link and all that sort of thing. I suppose I could ask Alex. He's twelve and understands these things.
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Why is it that somewhere, someone allegedly an educator, can be relied upon to do something profoundly stupid. In response for what passes for a heat wave in the UK, students wished to wear shorts. A perfectly reasonable request under any circumstances. But the alleged educator-in-charge ruled that this was not to be and trousers were to be worn. Then she made a mistake and said they could always wear skirts if they desired. And so they did. Good for them.
Of course, perhaps this is a good thing, another one of life's little lessons learned. Those in authority are perfectly capable of sublime stupidity.
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I agree with Chris James.
I have next door neighbors with whom I routinely and regularly disagree on every subject save, perhaps, the weather. If I were to bring this subject up for discussion with them, they would immediately point to the absence of a white stripe and bring up all the usual nonsense about reverse discrimination and political correctitude. I would never bring the subject up. I called Trump a carnival barking flim-flam man and was rewarded by a sniff and several days of neighborly silence.
Still in all, I think we should just leave the flag alone. It's beautiful as it is, implies a connection with the earth, and is already a successful rallying symbol. We ought not try to add new colors, that are not of the rainbow, in an effort to cover every possible point of view out there. There's not enough room and, I suspect, not enough colors.
Let's leave it alone. Except, of course, to fly it.
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My parents, children of the depression, refused to pay for real maple syrup. They made some concoction that I think had some sort of Karo syrup in it, I think diluted, and then flavored with some kind of maple extract. Clearly, I've never made it myself.
I, too, was circumcised routinely in a California hospital. I wonder if there is a causal link because now, I will only use real maple syrup.
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An absolute delight. I was chuckling at the conclusion. I completely agree with the oft repeated comment that there ought to be a sequel - or two.
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A devotee of the Goldendale series I was delighted to encounter this gem and meet old friends.
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Jack sleeping in Rhys lap after working on a paper all night was one of the most sweetly romantic scenes I've ever encountered.
I did that more than once as an undergraduate, but never had a nap to doze on.
I've not been successful in my effort to stay two chapters behind. So now I'm anxiously awaiting every chapter.
Great story
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Well those teasers worked, I guess. Off to a great start.
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I'm for the drivers, so I'm for the Oxonian squiggle.
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Hi Peter,
I have a novel I've been working on. It's been looked at by several authors, but it needs a serious editor I rather imagine. I don't suppose you'd be interested by any chance? Drop me a note at graflz127@msn.com if you're at all interested, thanks, Joe
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Well it's off and running with a great start on the rail. The Dollar Line sails again and Pan American flies again. It can do nothing but get better.
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What a delight. I am a history buff, and a literature buff and I think this story is off to a smashing start. I've managed to contain myself to only two chapters, so far; but it's barely 10:00 am and I'd be willing to bet I've read more by the end of the day. I'm captivated.
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So, I cannot help but wonder, are we supposed to pay for the Canadian Wall as the Mexicans are expected to pay for the American Wall?
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Nigel,
Just wondering if that marker could have been acquired from the great fleet by the Polynesian peoples and brought to CA by them. They managed to find Hawaii and populate it after a long voyage after all.
California should secede with Washington, Oregon and Hawaii. That would at least be an economically viable confederacy unlike the previous confederacy.
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I completely agree with Rutabaga. A thrilling read.
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This is a wonderful story in which entirely plausible characters are assigned an entirely reasonable task and their work is a small contribution to life as we know it.
At the same time, we're reminded that some things never change. Such as the vital importance of the flow of bureaucratic information.
Actually, Chris, sailors were more concerned with longitude, which they could not determine, than with latitude which Cassius had a firm grasp of and didn't need his clock to determine. In 1714, the Admiralty offered a prize of 20,000 GBP for a device that could determine longitude. That would probably be close to twenty million USD in todays purchase power. Quite a prize for a solution to a major problem. (See Sobel, Longitude: The True Story of a Lone Genius Who Solved the Greatest Scientific Problem of His Times, Walker & Co., New York)
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Wonderful story. Characters are absolutely authentic and the story is a delight to follow.
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Well, all I have to say is, the Clinton Foundation has saved lives while the Trump Foundation buys toys for Donald and has just been ordered to cease and desist in the State of New York.
The Clintons pay taxes and Donald does not. (That the tax system needs to be overhauled is clearly evident.)
Bill Clinton was impeached, but not convicted, and no one really cares. Trump is involved in a shouting match with a beauty contestant which, in and of itself, is beneath a candidate for President of the US and further disqualifies Trump for consideration for the office.
Hillary Clinton has been in public service, in one form or another, her entire life; Trump managed to loose almost a billion dollars during a boom and has never done anything remotely resembling public service in his life.
Every variety of allegation has been flung at Hillary Clinton. None have had merit.
There is only one candidate who is qualified for the office of the presidency and her name is not Donald.
As a veteran I will never forgive Donald for his vile comments about John McCain.
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ChrisR,
You're quite right, of course, the military frequently have difficulty with what appears, admittedly in retrospect, to be blindlingly obvious. If the Russian infantry at Balaclava had been equipped with rifled muskets, rather than smoothbores, the Light Brigade would almost assuredly have been completely destroyed, as opposed to merely being reduced to military impotence.
I've often wondered about Pickett's Charge. A very short time before, the great Lee had witnessed the appalling efficiency of the rifled musket as wave after wave of Burnside's infantry was stopped by sustained fire from Marye's Heights. Then a short time later, he sends Pickett on a charge of commensurate stupidity and with the same result.
I do not think that the resolution of the problem of radical Islam can be solely a military one, though the obliteration of ISIL is a necessary first step that is largely military. It's the follow through that's going to be tricky.
On a positive note, I would point to the Nizari Ismail sect of Shia Moslems. This sect once produced suicidal assassins who struck at both Moslem and Christian players with terrifying effectiveness. But their castle was ultimately taken and, in any event, the domestic world was overtaking them and they now had wives and children, herds and farms, and were loosing interest in suicide missions. And today, well, the Aga Khan is welcome at Ascot.
Needless to say, I think we want this transition to happen rather more quickly than with the Assassins. But it has to happen.
Of course, anything remotely resembling unity among the Moslems in the area spells great danger for Israel and the odds are that the modern state of Israel, the single stupidest act of colonial ego, will go the way of the Kingdoms of Israel, Judah, and Jerusalem.
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ChrisR,
Well I would certainly not agree that there is some secret agency, somewhere, directing Moslem immigrants to flock into the West for some reason other than health, safety, and prosperity. That people would attempt to unseat al-Assad and that he and his followers would react violently should be no surprise as it is not an unusual scenario in the Moslem world. Also, and in the normal course of events, these upheavals produce floods of immigrants who strive to find something perceived as security. This action-reaction is not limited to the Moslem world. As you doubtless know, when the Inquisition in Spain set about to convert Jews to Catholicism, many fled to Moslem lands where they were welcomed and permitted to live in peace and prosperity. Yes, as unbelievers, they had certain restrictions applied, but they were "people of the book" and there was no Inquisition coming for them. And in fairness to Spain, it should be pointed out that there were horrific actions taken against local Jewish populations in other European countries from time to time culminating in the monstrous abomination of the Nazis.
One of the great centers of Rabbinic study and learning was in Palestine under the Turks.
Our problem is radical religion. I have two illustrations of birds that were once pages in a book. They are beautifully done and the text appeared to me to be Arabic. So I took them to a friend of mine who happened to be Moslem and asked if he could shed any light on them. He told me the language appeared to him to be Farsi (Persian); he felt, from the little that he could make out, that the text was religious, and that it was almost assuredly from the pen of a Shia Moslem. I learned a little from this gentleman who was a naturalized American, a Sunni Moslem, and a hard working businessman.
Here in the US, our problem with radical religion tend to be smaller, and are usually a matter for the police. An Amish couple recently sold their daughter to an Englishman (Amish usage). Perfectly legal in the old testament. The Amish couple and the English buyer are standing before the magistrate and the daughter is a ward of the state. Or, an abortion opponent, went into a church one Sunday and shot and killed a doctor for the crime of performing abortions.
In the Middle East, the problem with radical religion is larger. ISIL is a problem that requires the application of military force to destroy its base and infrastructure. However, President Obama is quite correct when he points out that the follow through to this destruction must be done by the people who live there. When Kitchener crushed the Mahdist revolt at Omdurman it was then possible for the British to withdraw leaving the Egyptian administration and the Sudanese natives, to reassemble the pieces in relative peace. ISIL must be similarly crushed.
If the Middle East can be stabilized, as it inevitably will be, then we will still face the problem of individual bits and pieces of radical religious terrorism, but they can be handled by anti-terrorist specialists within in the police.
Our problem is that we appear to desire to play a major role in world affairs, and by extension, Middle Eastern affairs, this being the case, we are both a target and a hammer. We need to keep calm, identify specific targets, as we did with Osama bin Laden and other lesser players, and carry on. Or, of course, put down the hammer and withdraw.
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I have grave difficulty with the concept of "Moslem rule". Of "radical Islam" or "Moslem Civilization". These are sweeping generalizations of the worst sort and somehow imply that there was a single guiding force that directed the course of events during the expansion of the Moslem world. This was simply not the case in the Islamic World and it was not the case in Christendom. The initial expansion of the Moslem world was one of buccaneering opportunism perpetrated by an assortment of characters, some of whom considered themselves to be caliphs, some were Sultans, and some were simply chieftains or good old fashioned war lords. It was not until the Turks created the Ottoman Empire that there was a single caliphate and from the death of Suleiman the Magnificent, the Ottoman Empire began to slowly lose its grip.
The Barbary pirates, it should be remembered, were technically vassals (to use a European term) of the Ottoman Empire and were not independent countries in the European sense.
One example of this chaos can be found around the Crusades. Having conquered Jerusalem and founding a Christian kingdom there, along with an assortment of outlying fiefdoms (with various names and occasionally conflicted loyalty), there was immediate friction with the Moslem powers. Slowly, the Islamic powers in the area began to move to dislodge the Crusader kingdom. Salah al Din did some very deft political and diplomatic maneuvering while he gathered the military strength which he finally used to reconquer Jerusalem. Having accomplished this feat, he removed himself and his family to Egypt where he established a successful dynasty of his own. The point here, is that neither Christian nor Moslem were unified politically or spiritually then, or for that matter, now.
Are their violent radical Islamicists? Of course. Every religion has them. Informed students of these matters understand that Christendom has never been unified. Neither has Islam. To name only three Christian divisions, we have the Orthodox, the Catholic, and the Protestant; to name only three Islamic divisions there are the Sunni, the Shia, and the Sufi. It does not take a great deal of research into either faith to discover many other divisions. That is sort of the nature of humankind when it comes to these sorts of matters.
Interestingly, I enjoyed algebra, and I believe that admiral is also an Arabic word. Two vastly differed disciplines.
We are going to be locked in conflict with religious terrorists for a long time to come. But we need to focus coolly on the real problem and not go off half cocked as we are capable of doing.
There, some sweeping generalizations of my own.
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Refugee by William King
in Readers Rule!
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What a gripping chapter. I think this is going to be a brilliant discussion of humanity. I'm tempted to start discussing the story line, but that is premature. A great start to what I think will be a moving story.