tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-156170012024-03-13T06:07:27.379-04:00Joanna Bournewriting Historical RomanceJo Bournehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13457862962618886252noreply@blogger.comBlogger666125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15617001.post-68030530031455685642022-07-11T14:44:00.004-04:002022-07-11T14:44:39.341-04:00Immortals<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiSuXf17KlbD7fCFazA-lt5i9BKePjJpXgNjRRhkm3iMdP4vB2v8oBfCvVMK7ut0shtiSCblFTYdIwC4knNKYhwYZikFcPovgdSCs4QR4lgevewhNQe2kAOeZxlXBAJIK5XlkQA5h7P02QtX_opEiqKmfIycP3ITvBTiRiKquB1zUz5KMdQ1Q/s866/Screen%20Shot%202022-07-11%20at%202.35.50%20PM.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="866" data-original-width="750" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiSuXf17KlbD7fCFazA-lt5i9BKePjJpXgNjRRhkm3iMdP4vB2v8oBfCvVMK7ut0shtiSCblFTYdIwC4knNKYhwYZikFcPovgdSCs4QR4lgevewhNQe2kAOeZxlXBAJIK5XlkQA5h7P02QtX_opEiqKmfIycP3ITvBTiRiKquB1zUz5KMdQ1Q/s320/Screen%20Shot%202022-07-11%20at%202.35.50%20PM.png" width="277" /></a></div><br />On this lovely afternoon I've been thinking about immortality ... not so much as a personal preference, but the way it's presented in fiction.<p></p><p>You can't dip your toe into a paranormal without coming across some character who is an immortal vampire or minor godling. My problem is, these folks don't seem to have learned <i>anything</i> from their centuries or millennia of life. There ain't no wisdom on display, no accumulation of knowledge, no self-control, no long view.</p><p>I mean ...<i> I'm</i> not the same person I was fifty years ago. I don't say half a century has made me noticeably wise, but I have some perspective. </p><p>I don't think this shortfall in characterization is an authorial failing. It's authorial choice. The fiction I read is created for amusement and gentle distraction. Readers want to see characters they understand and identify with. This kinda precludes writing characters who could realistically have been around for centuries.</p><p>ometimes Dr Who gets this right. Mostly not -- but they make plausible choices.<br /></p><p><br /></p>Jo Bournehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13457862962618886252noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15617001.post-30727759698728689142022-03-06T06:25:00.002-05:002022-03-11T15:42:18.216-05:00Enjoyed a Short Stoey<p><span style="color: black;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: black;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjh_FO3zSHdzdDjdPZRBMdzl2PGb6gxT4lTuijvWSLDwZQHxC61K5dAms0OyvipczuFuOy6ofo_grP4GYnu9VBWbMY_2yIRuUK-ES1ffl0sHR7hzoHuYBtl97KhIybp2KybLAfMz9NT9PuBe_vXDNUZp4xrKHiHKTNbgJQxcjtIYJtTo946ig=s768" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="768" data-original-width="468" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjh_FO3zSHdzdDjdPZRBMdzl2PGb6gxT4lTuijvWSLDwZQHxC61K5dAms0OyvipczuFuOy6ofo_grP4GYnu9VBWbMY_2yIRuUK-ES1ffl0sHR7hzoHuYBtl97KhIybp2KybLAfMz9NT9PuBe_vXDNUZp4xrKHiHKTNbgJQxcjtIYJtTo946ig=s320" width="195" /></a></span></div><span style="color: black;"><br />I just enjoyed a short story by Carrie Vaughn, <i>The Book of Daniel</i>, in <i>Kitty's Greatest Hits</i>. </span><p></p><p><span style="color: black;">A nice historical shapeshifter short story.<br />Maybe somebody else has written this idea, but I haven't seen it. </span></p><p><span style="color: black;">Gave me a little smile in the middle of a long night.</span></p><p><span style="color: black;">The collection is generally good. It's expensive on Amazon. $10. I can't imagine why. <br />I got it online from my library.</span></p><p><span style="color: black;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="color: black;">Go libraries!<br /></span></p>Jo Bournehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13457862962618886252noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15617001.post-38898992687330221952021-12-18T11:33:00.003-05:002021-12-18T11:33:28.924-05:00Bread and Beer<p> </p><p><span style="font-size: 12pt;">They call bread the staff of life, using staff in the sense of “a long stick used as a support when walking or climbing or as a weapon”, which is to say, the first metaphorical meaning, since even the most warlike among us seldom take up baguettes and plunge into battle. What we mean when we talk about bread this way is that it supports us and keeps us alive.</span></p><p><span style="font-size: 12pt;"> </span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: 12pt;">This was true all through the historical period in which I interest myself – the seventeenth to nineteenth centuries. Bread provided most of the calories of the average person’s diet. Maybe 60%. (This was in the days when most folks were trying to scrape together enough calories to keep themselves alive, not trying to avoid them.) Beer – bread’s funtime cousin – contributed another 20% of calories. That’s 80 % of what folks lived on. Bread and beer were fueling the European working ma</span>
</p><div class="photo-wrap photo-xid-6a01348279bc20970c01b8d293da7b970c" id="photo-xid-6a01348279bc20970c01b8d293da7b970c" style="float: right; margin: 0px 5px 5px 0px; width: 370px;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;"><a class="asset-img-link" href="http://jobourne.typepad.com/.a/6a01348279bc20970c01b8d293da7b970c-popup"><img alt="Table bread" class="asset asset-image at-xid-6a01348279bc20970c01b8d293da7b970c img-responsive" src="https://jobourne.typepad.com/.a/6a01348279bc20970c01b8d293da7b970c-400wi" style="width: 370px;" title="Table bread" /></a></span>
<div class="photo-caption caption-xid-6a01348279bc20970c01b8d293da7b970c" id="caption-xid-6a01348279bc20970c01b8d293da7b970c"><span style="font-size: 8pt;">click on this for a closer look at costs and calories<br /></span></div>
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<p><span style="font-size: 12pt;">They didn’t necessarily know they were getting their protein from bread, because getting protein in the diet does not seem to have been a high priority, as per this handy table above which may be taken as more or less representative.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: 12pt;">From this you will see that your average bloke in 1750 Strasbourg (this was a table easy to find if not totally relevant to 1800 London, but I’m talking Big Picture here) was spending 20% of his income on beer and getting only a teensy bit of his yearly protein. Put another way, the fellow was spending as much on beer as on soap, linen, candles, lamp oil, and fuel combined. He doubtless found this worthwhile.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: 12pt;"> <a class="asset-img-link" href="http://wordwenches.typepad.com/.a/6a00d8341c84c753ef01bb09accc54970d-popup" style="float: right;"><img alt="Bread pic 2 czanne" class="asset asset-image at-xid-6a00d8341c84c753ef01bb09accc54970d img-responsive" src="https://wordwenches.typepad.com/.a/6a00d8341c84c753ef01bb09accc54970d-200wi" style="margin: 0px 0px 5px 5px; width: 160px;" title="Bread pic 2 czanne" /></a>Bread was almost sacred. The custom I’ve seen of making a cross on a loaf of bread before slicing it would have been widespread a century or two back. In church, bread was the body of Christ and a sacrament. You didn’t mess around with bread.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: 12pt;">Beer didn’t have quite that cachet, but it was still pretty cool.</span></p>
<div class="photo-wrap photo-xid-6a01348279bc20970c01b8d293da8b970c" id="photo-xid-6a01348279bc20970c01b8d293da8b970c" style="float: left; margin: 0px 5px 5px 0px; width: 350px;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;"><a class="asset-img-link" href="http://jobourne.typepad.com/.a/6a01348279bc20970c01b8d293da8b970c-popup"><img alt="Bread 2" class="asset asset-image at-xid-6a01348279bc20970c01b8d293da8b970c img-responsive" src="https://jobourne.typepad.com/.a/6a01348279bc20970c01b8d293da8b970c-350wi" style="width: 350px;" title="Bread 2" /></a></span>
<div class="photo-caption caption-xid-6a01348279bc20970c01b8d293da8b970c" id="caption-xid-6a01348279bc20970c01b8d293da8b970c"><span style="font-size: 8pt;">click on this for a closer look at what protein cost<br /></span></div>
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<p><span style="font-size: 12pt;">Bread was cheap protein too. Lookit this nifty comparison of the cost of protein in silver value. Bread and beans were king. Half the price of meat when it came to providing protein.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: 12pt;">Cheese and eggs, on the other hand, were expense, their protein roughly twice the price of bread protein. I admit I’m surprised to see the relative expense of egg. We think of eggs as cheap protein nowadays.</span><span style="font-size: 12pt;"> When a farm wife is in charge of eggs and cheese for market, she was running a profitable little business of her own.</span></p>
<p> </p>
<div class="photo-wrap photo-xid-6a01348279bc20970c01bb09acec9e970d" id="photo-xid-6a01348279bc20970c01bb09acec9e970d" style="display: inline-block; width: 400px;"><a class="asset-img-link" href="http://jobourne.typepad.com/.a/6a01348279bc20970c01bb09acec9e970d-pi"><img alt="More hot rolls" class="asset asset-image at-xid-6a01348279bc20970c01bb09acec9e970d img-responsive" src="https://jobourne.typepad.com/.a/6a01348279bc20970c01bb09acec9e970d-400wi" style="width: 400px;" title="More hot rolls" /></a>
<div class="photo-caption caption-xid-6a01348279bc20970c01bb09acec9e970d" id="caption-xid-6a01348279bc20970c01bb09acec9e970d">typical bread chez jo</div>
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<p> <span style="font-size: 12pt;">But there it is, laid out in very general terms. Up to modern times Eu</span><span style="font-size: 12pt;">ropean folks were bread and bean eaters. Now the choice of grains had widened and most people eat more of what used to luxuries. Bread is no longer the center of people’s diets. (Though I remember my father always wanted to have bread on the table, even if it was cornbread, often as not.)</span></p>Jo Bournehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13457862962618886252noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15617001.post-6983220991116491522021-12-16T06:41:00.001-05:002021-12-18T11:23:48.339-05:00<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-S6NddTZb4rE/YTLIeKr2lUI/AAAAAAAAGtg/p91X6rPVP-MGSJUeqcmajgkhCVefuEgXgCLcBGAsYHQ/s1160/Screen%2BShot%2B2021-09-03%2Bat%2B9.13.40%2BPM.png" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1160" data-original-width="900" height="320" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-S6NddTZb4rE/YTLIeKr2lUI/AAAAAAAAGtg/p91X6rPVP-MGSJUeqcmajgkhCVefuEgXgCLcBGAsYHQ/s320/Screen%2BShot%2B2021-09-03%2Bat%2B9.13.40%2BPM.png" width="248" /></a></div><br /> I should get one of these <b><a href="https://society6.com/product/coffee-mermaid1440614_poster?sku=s6-9453505p66a213v756" target="_blank">tote bags</a></b> ...<p></p><p>It reads<br />"Every girl needs her morning coffee before a day of wrecking ships and drowning men."<br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p>Jo Bournehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13457862962618886252noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15617001.post-2655315727734534142021-12-15T20:13:00.004-05:002021-12-18T11:24:08.987-05:00Neil Gaiman Talks About Writing<p><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjZY9oh2pJmXWtoqVWvZeGD2uebWfEGsCVjOFwn7F9vwVeGCOe3Gub4CMVLRqH2Fu5ohHMo86ZiZWeeg3VRhCfo7GcOUsOxfKbHP74fQYQQWCzeTTru2Kj2Ki90RAFDBvgCbKQ0_uIldThTPmWqeufda2fYl6a-59Zk1yyXIJCz-d332r2xxA=s1210" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1210" data-original-width="1086" height="198" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjZY9oh2pJmXWtoqVWvZeGD2uebWfEGsCVjOFwn7F9vwVeGCOe3Gub4CMVLRqH2Fu5ohHMo86ZiZWeeg3VRhCfo7GcOUsOxfKbHP74fQYQQWCzeTTru2Kj2Ki90RAFDBvgCbKQ0_uIldThTPmWqeufda2fYl6a-59Zk1yyXIJCz-d332r2xxA=w178-h198" width="178" /></a></div><p> A casual, wandering, interesting interview with Gaiman that touches on his writing methods.</p><p>Find it <b><a href="https://prowritingaid.com/art/741/the-best-fantasy-novels-of-all-time.aspx" target="_blank">here</a></b> in a small review of American Gods, number 22 on a list of recommended Fantasy genre novels/<br /></p>Jo Bournehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13457862962618886252noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15617001.post-12720138025268151762021-12-07T11:29:00.001-05:002021-12-18T11:24:23.586-05:00The Non-violent Heroic Confrontation<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-YXZq00Z2_yc/Ya-KnhQ8wJI/AAAAAAAAGy4/o2SQ2d_YwHcm6q05MTsloQf-YTpLdNOJACNcBGAsYHQ/s1156/Screen%2BShot%2B2021-12-07%2Bat%2B11.23.07%2BAM.png" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1146" data-original-width="1156" height="317" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-YXZq00Z2_yc/Ya-KnhQ8wJI/AAAAAAAAGy4/o2SQ2d_YwHcm6q05MTsloQf-YTpLdNOJACNcBGAsYHQ/s320/Screen%2BShot%2B2021-12-07%2Bat%2B11.23.07%2BAM.png" width="320" /></a></div><br />I came across <b><a href="https://www.sfwa.org/2021/06/29/nonviolence-and-the-heros-duel/" target="_blank">this</a></b> in my reading. <p></p><p>The article considers,<br />"How does the hero confront violence without becoming violent themself?" <br />and, <br />"How intrinsic is violence to the idea of heroism?"<br /></p><p>Interesting to me. Maybe a thought-provoker for others who write or review.<br /></p><p><br /></p>Jo Bournehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13457862962618886252noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15617001.post-58246599631609813702021-11-30T22:44:00.006-05:002021-12-18T11:44:26.558-05:00What I'm reading ...<div class="separator"><div class="separator" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"> <br /></div></div><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Oowcfb4bFo8/YabwSoS6nLI/AAAAAAAAGx8/L3CMjbXRqGoGKt_cKuwlVapv9rgGXRjXwCLcBGAsYHQ/s698/Screen%2BShot%2B2021-11-30%2Bat%2B10.45.35%2BPM.png" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="698" data-original-width="414" height="320" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Oowcfb4bFo8/YabwSoS6nLI/AAAAAAAAGx8/L3CMjbXRqGoGKt_cKuwlVapv9rgGXRjXwCLcBGAsYHQ/s320/Screen%2BShot%2B2021-11-30%2Bat%2B10.45.35%2BPM.png" width="190" /></a></div>Some good books I read in the last little while. <br />I got them as kindle books, borrowed from my library.<br /><p><br /></p><p><a href="https://www.amazon.com/Hunter-Mercedes-Lackey-ebook/dp/B00V6YWGEM/historromanc-20" target="_blank"><b>Hunter</b>,</a> <b><a href="https://www.amazon.com/Elite-Hunter-novel-Mercedes-Lackey-ebook/dp/B01BOBYP68/historromanc-20" target="_blank">Elite</a></b>, <b><a href="https://www.amazon.com/Apex-Hunter-Book-Mercedes-Lackey-ebook/dp/B071L4DZ8H/historromanc-20" target="_blank">Apex </a></b>(Hunter Novels), Mercedes Lackey</p><p>The Mercy Thompson Collection Books 1-5, Patricia Briggs</p><p>Blackout, All Clear, To Say Nothing of the Dog (The Oxford books), Connie Willis</p><p>Blood Heir (Kate Daniels series), Ilona Andrews</p><p>The Will and the Deed, Ellis Peters</p><p>The Death of a Cad, M.C. Beaton</p><p>Wood Beyond the World, William Morris</p><p>The Scargill Cove Case Files: An Arcane Society Story, Jayne Ann Krentz</p><p>American Gods, Neil Gaiman <br /></p><p> </p><p>And here are a couple few more on the TBR shelf. I'm looking forward to reading or rereading them. <br /></p><p> </p><p>Always Coming Home, Ursula K. Le Guin</p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-EQLVeRKSk0A/Yabw_Z8IOgI/AAAAAAAAGyI/_S8yGoMN7qgIV_MhZU3Q6DOoape7cPaGwCLcBGAsYHQ/s568/Screen%2BShot%2B2021-11-30%2Bat%2B10.49.17%2BPM.png" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="568" data-original-width="352" height="200" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-EQLVeRKSk0A/Yabw_Z8IOgI/AAAAAAAAGyI/_S8yGoMN7qgIV_MhZU3Q6DOoape7cPaGwCLcBGAsYHQ/w124-h200/Screen%2BShot%2B2021-11-30%2Bat%2B10.49.17%2BPM.png" width="124" /></a></div>Tales from Earthsea (The Earthsea Cycle Series Book 5) Ursula Le Guin<p></p><p>Skinwalker (Jane Yellowrock), Faith Hunter</p><p>Year One (Chronicles of The One), Nora Roberts</p><p>Jack of Shadows, Robert Zelazny<br /></p><p>Coraline, Neil Gaiman </p><p>Grimspace (Sirantha Jax),<a aria-label="Search by author, Ann Aguirre" class="TitleDetailsHeading-creatorLink secondary-color" href="https://brooklyn.overdrive.com/search/creatorId?query=204578&sortBy=newlyadded" lang="en" style="font-family: open-dyslexic; font-size: 13px;"> </a>Ann Aguirre<br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p>Jo Bournehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13457862962618886252noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15617001.post-55461519926949650432021-11-26T21:25:00.003-05:002021-11-30T20:45:10.120-05:00The Setting as Story<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-size: small;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><span style="font-size: small;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-hf0KB1Ksdp0/YabTfAnGXqI/AAAAAAAAGxo/zLly4ki9QyEArchqEt_8-ue5aLzljyczwCLcBGAsYHQ/Screen%2BShot%2B2021-11-30%2Bat%2B8.42.31%2BPM.png" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="726" data-original-width="512" height="240" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-hf0KB1Ksdp0/YabTfAnGXqI/AAAAAAAAGxo/zLly4ki9QyEArchqEt_8-ue5aLzljyczwCLcBGAsYHQ/Screen%2BShot%2B2021-11-30%2Bat%2B8.42.31%2BPM.png" width="169" /></a></div><br />I’ve been thinking about “The Setting
as Protagonist.” That is, when setting acts in the story. When it has its own narrative. </span><span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span>
<p></p><span style="font-size: small;">
</span><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-size: small;">Fr'instance, consider <a href="https://archive.org/details/allclear0000will " target="_blank"><i>All Clear</i></a>
by Connie Willis. This is a
Time Travel SF that moves from a small town in the English countryside in WWII,
to the evacuation at Dunkirk, to Bletchly Park, to the coastal defenses, to London during the Blitz. Time travelling protagonists see the era's awfulness and bravery
through modern eyes. </span><span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span>
</p><span style="font-size: small;">
</span><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-size: small;">Willis' use of London-as-a-character
is clearest about midway through the book in scenes of the air attack on St.
Paul’s Cathedral. </span><span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span>
</p><span style="font-size: small;">
</span><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"></span>How does she do this? Well ... Lots
of prior description of St. Paul's physicality. Vignettes of members of the Fire
Guard. She purpose-builds two Cockney moppets for use in the Blitz subplot. The
protagonist argues that destruction of the cathedral would be a final blow for British
morale.</span><span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span>
</p><span style="font-size: small;">
</span><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-dD3no7KNTXI/YaGVDmww31I/AAAAAAAAGxI/ikMVMvzy2cQYRzfIynGjaSSz1vc45U8QACLcBGAsYHQ/s1020/all%2Bclear.png" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1020" data-original-width="654" height="129" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-dD3no7KNTXI/YaGVDmww31I/AAAAAAAAGxI/ikMVMvzy2cQYRzfIynGjaSSz1vc45U8QACLcBGAsYHQ/w82-h129/all%2Bclear.png" width="82" /></a><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;">So. Not just extended metaphor. Setting can be a symbolic equivalence. Can clarify and add an emotional gloss.</span> I find myself rooting for St Paul's
as if it were an old friend.</span><span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span>
</p><span style="font-size: small;">
</span><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0in;"><span style="font-size: small;"> cf Tolkien's the "Cleansing of the
Shire." Burnett’s Secret Garden.</span><span style="font-size: small;"> </span></p><span style="font-size: small;">
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{page:WordSection1;}</font></style></p>Jo Bournehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13457862962618886252noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15617001.post-61192417087855358142021-10-26T12:42:00.003-04:002021-12-16T06:19:11.016-05:00Turf of a Viking Burial Mound<p><span style="font-size: small;"> </span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;"><a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-4nNCvVJNMv4/YXgrKvLRyeI/AAAAAAAAGwM/QBsyo8V65EcMT_r-0fyQdhUGqZcg6UBCwCLcBGAsYHQ/Screen%2BShot%2B2021-10-26%2Bat%2B12.21.36%2BPM.png" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="1270" data-original-width="724" height="240" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-4nNCvVJNMv4/YXgrKvLRyeI/AAAAAAAAGwM/QBsyo8V65EcMT_r-0fyQdhUGqZcg6UBCwCLcBGAsYHQ/Screen%2BShot%2B2021-10-26%2Bat%2B12.21.36%2BPM.png" width="137" /></a></span></div><span style="font-size: small;"><br />I've been reading up on Vikings. Nothing deep or scholarly on my part, just random bits about the social order of Vikings. <br />(n.b. This quoted passage is an example of why academic journals need editors.)<br /></span><p></p><p><span style="font-size: small;"> </span></p><p><span style="font-size: small;"><span dir="ltr" face="sans-serif" role="presentation" style="left: 1006.66px; top: 1270.85px;"> </span><span dir="ltr" face="sans-serif" role="presentation" style="left: 1013.86px; top: 1270.85px; transform: scaleX(0.931143);">"Interestingly, the </span><span dir="ltr" face="sans-serif" role="presentation" style="left: 174.024px; top: 1320.96px; transform: scaleX(0.887243);">grass that was used to cover the mound was tested by Bersu and was found to have come </span><span dir="ltr" face="sans-serif" role="presentation" style="left: 174.024px; top: 1370.5px; transform: scaleX(0.915693);">from the dead individual’s farmstead, which consisted of about</span><span dir="ltr" face="sans-serif" role="presentation" style="left: 901.069px; top: 1370.5px;"> </span><span dir="ltr" face="sans-serif" role="presentation" style="left: 908.269px; top: 1370.5px; transform: scaleX(0.909936);">500m</span><span dir="ltr" face="sans-serif" role="presentation" style="left: 973.871px; top: 1364.43px;">2</span><span dir="ltr" face="sans-serif" role="presentation" style="left: 983.471px; top: 1370.5px;"> </span><span dir="ltr" face="sans-serif" role="presentation" style="left: 990.671px; top: 1370.5px; transform: scaleX(0.902956);">of grass for the </span><span dir="ltr" face="sans-serif" role="presentation" style="left: 174.024px; top: 178.176px; transform: scaleX(0.898561);">purpose of covering the mound. </span></span></p><p><span style="font-size: small;"><span dir="ltr" face="sans-serif" role="presentation" style="left: 174.024px; top: 227.712px; transform: scaleX(0.913352);">... archaeologists </span><span dir="ltr" face="sans-serif" role="presentation" style="left: 174.024px; top: 277.248px; transform: scaleX(0.89902);">found near the top</span><span dir="ltr" face="sans-serif" role="presentation" style="left: 384.371px; top: 277.248px;">,</span><span dir="ltr" face="sans-serif" role="presentation" style="left: 391.571px; top: 277.248px;"> </span><span dir="ltr" face="sans-serif" role="presentation" style="left: 398.771px; top: 277.248px; transform: scaleX(0.899222);">a layer of cremated animal bone</span><span dir="ltr" face="sans-serif" role="presentation" style="left: 768.994px; top: 277.248px; transform: scaleX(0.889071);">s that have been identified as cattle, horse, </span><span dir="ltr" face="sans-serif" role="presentation" style="left: 174.024px; top: 327.36px; transform: scaleX(0.894712);">sheep and dog remains. Within the same layer the remains of a younger female, between </span><span dir="ltr" face="sans-serif" role="presentation" style="left: 174.024px; top: 376.896px; transform: scaleX(0.912942);">twenty and thirty years old, was also found. </span></span></p><p><span style="font-size: small;"><span dir="ltr" face="sans-serif" role="presentation" style="left: 174.024px; top: 376.896px; transform: scaleX(0.912942);">...</span><span dir="ltr" face="sans-serif" role="presentation" style="left: 174.024px; top: 376.896px; transform: scaleX(0.912942);"><span dir="ltr" face="sans-serif" role="presentation" style="left: 174.024px; top: 973.056px; transform: scaleX(0.914563);"> claims that the</span><span dir="ltr" face="sans-serif" role="presentation" style="left: 485.958px; top: 973.056px; transform: scaleX(0.86638);">re was a</span><span dir="ltr" face="sans-serif" role="presentation" style="left: 580.303px; top: 973.056px;"> </span><span dir="ltr" face="sans-serif" role="presentation" style="left: 587.503px; top: 973.056px; transform: scaleX(0.915181);">lack of regard </span><span dir="ltr" face="sans-serif" role="presentation" style="left: 754.622px; top: 973.056px; transform: scaleX(0.998866);">for</span><span dir="ltr" face="sans-serif" role="presentation" style="left: 788.218px; top: 973.056px;"> </span><span dir="ltr" face="sans-serif" role="presentation" style="left: 795.418px; top: 973.056px; transform: scaleX(0.92248);">the burial </span><span dir="ltr" face="sans-serif" role="presentation" style="left: 912.178px; top: 973.056px; transform: scaleX(0.890124);">that the</span><span dir="ltr" face="sans-serif" role="presentation" style="left: 997.749px; top: 973.056px;"> </span><span dir="ltr" face="sans-serif" role="presentation" style="left: 1004.95px; top: 973.056px; transform: scaleX(0.905752);">woman received (no </span></span></span><span style="font-size: small;"><span dir="ltr" face="sans-serif" role="presentation" style="left: 174.024px; top: 376.896px; transform: scaleX(0.912942);"><span dir="ltr" face="sans-serif" role="presentation" style="left: 1004.95px; top: 973.056px; transform: scaleX(0.905752);"><span style="font-size: small;"><span dir="ltr" face="sans-serif" role="presentation" style="left: 174.024px; top: 376.896px; transform: scaleX(0.912942);"><span dir="ltr" face="sans-serif" role="presentation" style="left: 174.024px; top: 1022.59px; transform: scaleX(0.908983);">coffin and lack of items accompanying the body), testifies to her being a slave." </span><br /></span></span></span></span></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;"><a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-OxezB8JMgCc/YXgvBSNrLhI/AAAAAAAAGwU/QgPXAPX_Vr4k6qOknAg0IAqPUH_k693WgCLcBGAsYHQ/Screen%2BShot%2B2021-10-26%2Bat%2B12.38.05%2BPM.png" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="946" data-original-width="1336" height="227" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-OxezB8JMgCc/YXgvBSNrLhI/AAAAAAAAGwU/QgPXAPX_Vr4k6qOknAg0IAqPUH_k693WgCLcBGAsYHQ/Screen%2BShot%2B2021-10-26%2Bat%2B12.38.05%2BPM.png" width="320" /></a></span></div><span style="font-size: small;"><span dir="ltr" face="sans-serif" role="presentation" style="left: 684.338px; top: 376.896px;"></span></span><br /><br /><p></p><p><span style="font-size: small;">The poor woman seems to have been killed by a sword chop through the head. Tough being a slave on the Isle of Man in the Viking Era, apparently. </span></p><p><span style="font-size: small;">None of that comes as a great surprise. <br /> </span></p><p><span style="font-size: small;">Now I sit here wondering whether the grass on the mound was picked up and carried some distance to cover the grave or if the farmstead was just the nearest place to roll up some first-rate sod.<br /></span></p><p><span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></p>Jo Bournehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13457862962618886252noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15617001.post-84635533068745230942021-10-16T17:27:00.000-04:002021-10-16T17:27:11.078-04:00Men's things and Women's Things in the Medieval World<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-dtqSbhhP434/YWs_APNPAYI/AAAAAAAAGvc/H0EkFe4U0vc2tqFUCSrekvxXD4v1YjbQgCLcBGAsYHQ/s640/ireland-g5f7b897b2_640.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="480" data-original-width="640" height="177" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-dtqSbhhP434/YWs_APNPAYI/AAAAAAAAGvc/H0EkFe4U0vc2tqFUCSrekvxXD4v1YjbQgCLcBGAsYHQ/w236-h177/ireland-g5f7b897b2_640.jpg" width="236" /></a></div><br />While this below is probably most interesting to those exploring the Medieval world, I think it has larger interest.<p></p><p>This is how these folks saw the world. This is the men's sphere and the woman's sphere. <br />Notice how the 16th Century woman got to keep the "books that women tend to read".<br /></p><p> </p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-f6UEjZddytg/YWtAm-8-HBI/AAAAAAAAGvk/Gg80JFfQ2Y8LLNEDfMdbGzJD79fclitNwCLcBGAsYHQ/s640/geese-g63206aae6_640.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="425" data-original-width="640" height="213" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-f6UEjZddytg/YWtAm-8-HBI/AAAAAAAAGvk/Gg80JFfQ2Y8LLNEDfMdbGzJD79fclitNwCLcBGAsYHQ/s320/geese-g63206aae6_640.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br />We still have this today. Imagine the moveable goods of your own household taken out into the yard and neatly sorted as to what belongs to who. <p></p><p>(Yes. I know this "whom" of which you speak, but I do not choose to acknowledge him.) <br /></p><p> </p><p> Anyhow, from<br /></p><p>From <a href="https://brill.com/view/book/9789004461444/BP000010.xml?language=en" target="_blank">Brill</a> & The Hague Academy of International Law</p><p> </p><p>According to Magdeburg Law (<em>Magdeburgisches Weichbild</em>), a
deceased husband’s wife was to pass on to his male descendants his
sword, his best saddled horse and best armour, as well as his <em>pulvinar bellicale</em> “military bed,” which included a bed, two pillows, two sheets, a tablecloth, two bowls and a towel.
The hereditary property of a wife that was to be received by her
daughter, and otherwise by her closest female relative, was much more
extensive. Although in Łaski’s Statutes these were defined as being only
her sheep, dishes and the food in her home,<sup> </sup>in the judgments of Magdeburg Law, translated into Polish in 1501,
these were described with much more precision as: the woman’s silver
and gold jewellery, cups, chalices, spoons, cupboards (in Latin <em>armarium</em>), wash-basins, cushions, sheets, pillows, tapestries, carpets for covering benches (In Latin <em>bancalis</em>)
and beds and hanging on walls, tablecloths, towels, quilts, clothing,
headscarves, chests, candlesticks, yarn, beer brewing kettles and books
‘that women tend to read,’ as well as a pot for melting wax, a mirror,
scissors and other items commonly used by women. In 1567, Bartłomiej Groicki, a notary at the High Court of Magdeburg Law in Krakow, described the <em>Weichbild</em> as follows:</p><blockquote><p>These things belong to the woman’s movables [<em>gerada</em>]
according to Magdeburg Law: all the woman’s clothing, gowns and cloth
cut for the clothing the woman typically wears and has power over; all
gold and silver that is woven for the woman’s clothing; all rings,
buttons and pins, buckled belts, silk cloth, bracelets and necklaces,
bed coverings, sheets, bath towels, curtains, lace curtains, beds,
head-rests, pillows, table-cloths, bowls, brewery vessels to be leased, a
wash-boiler, crates with lids, linen, washed and raw wool; books that
women usually read; geese, ducks, sheep that are herded out to pasture.</p></blockquote><p>
<span><a class="c-Button--link" href="https://brill.com/search?f_0=author&q_0=Jakub+Wysmu%C5%82ek">Jakub Wysmułek</a></span><span class="source-link"><a class="c-Button--link" href="https://brill.com/view/title/59273"><br /></a> <a class="c-Button--link" href="https://brill.com/view/title/59273">History of Wills, Testators and Their Families in Late Medieval Krakow</a></span> <br /></p>Jo Bournehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13457862962618886252noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15617001.post-27067307273381963742021-10-14T22:24:00.003-04:002021-12-15T20:16:12.400-05:00Carbon Paper<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-p2KVyonw12I/YWjl87OLc2I/AAAAAAAAGvQ/rW5U6scePh8JvOh3-Z742avIYFGIkcVDQCLcBGAsYHQ/s640/typewriter-gbe00e4279_640.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="426" data-original-width="640" height="213" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-p2KVyonw12I/YWjl87OLc2I/AAAAAAAAGvQ/rW5U6scePh8JvOh3-Z742avIYFGIkcVDQCLcBGAsYHQ/s320/typewriter-gbe00e4279_640.jpg" width="320" /></a></div> It occurs to me that some folks have never seen carbon paper in action. <p></p><p>The first couple minutes of <a href="https://www.d123movies.to/watch-series-2/inspector-morse-season-4_cw7kgb9nx/7xl8380-full-episodes-free-online?WatchNow=2" target="_blank">this program</a> show somebody using it.<br />So I share.</p><p>My first book was typed on a manual typewriter like this, an Underwood, and I used carbon paper.<br /></p><br /><p><br /></p><br /><p> </p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><br />Jo Bournehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13457862962618886252noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15617001.post-56326762835643187812021-09-14T15:23:00.019-04:002021-09-16T00:21:34.364-04:00Ingredients of Character<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-xwptlextuKg/YULGLxQYNzI/AAAAAAAAGuk/ieaRquRgQyYz6ZYcdmiboKESV0EVjfpzACLcBGAsYHQ/s1448/Screen%2BShot%2B2021-09-16%2Bat%2B12.19.17%2BAM.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1448" data-original-width="1278" height="200" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-xwptlextuKg/YULGLxQYNzI/AAAAAAAAGuk/ieaRquRgQyYz6ZYcdmiboKESV0EVjfpzACLcBGAsYHQ/w176-h200/Screen%2BShot%2B2021-09-16%2Bat%2B12.19.17%2BAM.png" width="176" /></a></div>I was thinking the other day about how we create characters, since I'm trying to do some of that. <p></p><p>What are the ingredients we knead and stir and bake into characters? How do these people end up knocking around inside our brains, anyway? Where do they come from?</p><p>Some of the sparks that grew into Marguerite in <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Forbidden-Rose-Spymaster-Book-ebook/dp/B003NX7O5U/historromanc-20" target="_blank">Forbidden Rose</a> were real spies.<br /></p><p>Consider Marie-Madeleine Bridou. (She ended up Marguerite in the book instead of Madeleine as a nod to The <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Scarlet-Pimpernel-Elusive-Unabridged-Classics-ebook/dp/B00HVZKCZ0/historromanc-20" target="_blank">Scarlet Pimpernel</a>. Jo waves. Hello, Scarlet Pimpernel.)</p><p>Read about Bridou <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Madame-Fourcades-Secret-War-Frances-ebook/dp/B07H1YWLQR/historromanc-20" target="_blank">here</a>, <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2019/03/12/books/review/lynne-olson-madame-fourcades-secret-war.html" target="_blank">here,</a> <a href="https://spartacus-educational.com/FRfourcade.htm" target="_blank">and here</a>. <br /></p><p>She chose the code name Hedgehog because, as one of her colleagues put it, “it’s a
tough little animal that even a lion would hesitate to bite.”</p><p> </p><p>You will be pleased to know Bridou worked for a publishing company. Heroic people, those who work in publishing.<br /></p><p><br /></p>Jo Bournehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13457862962618886252noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15617001.post-50565974022068337152021-09-03T12:13:00.006-04:002021-12-16T06:52:20.329-05:00Celebrating Language Change<p></p><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-rUQBxVdPdEM/YTJHkpowIYI/AAAAAAAAGtI/63wZmCqTsq0ZyPJ3DMUE4xYD4G-ZAmjOACLcBGAsYHQ/s640/butterfly-6170999_640%25281%2529.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="427" data-original-width="640" height="143" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-rUQBxVdPdEM/YTJHkpowIYI/AAAAAAAAGtI/63wZmCqTsq0ZyPJ3DMUE4xYD4G-ZAmjOACLcBGAsYHQ/w214-h143/butterfly-6170999_640%25281%2529.jpg" width="214" /></a></div>I wouldn't want anyone to think I'm a language fuddyduddy, clinging to past-pull-date English. Language is a living thing. I don't expect it to freeze solid in 1969*.</span></span></div><p></p><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Language chases after change in the real world. Names are born for the new stuff: wiki, tweet, google, go cup, podcast,</span></span><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: medium;"> </span></span>bitcoin, DNA, penicillin, page view, Peace Rose,<span class="aCOpRe"><span> moonwalk, on brand, quark.</span></span> </span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Bright, shiny new things, these words.</span></span></div><br /><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Words let us look at familiar things in new ways:</span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: medium;">right-size, single-use, metrosexual, non-binary, slipstream, catfishing, mansplaining, fail as a suffix (skateboard fail,) salty, to "ghost" on somebody, Black Lives Matter, geek, </span></span><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: medium;">I can't even, </span></span>slut-shaming, binge watch, photobomb, throw shade, </span></span><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: medium;">because reasons, because awesome, nerd, </span></span>gender fluid, double down, rewilding, first world problem, </span></span><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: medium;">singular they . . . </span></span></span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: medium;"> </span></span></span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: medium;">We play with language.</span></span></span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: medium;">I adore that**. </span></span></span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></span></span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></span></span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></span></span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></span></span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></span></span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: medium;">*1969 is the first use of "pull date" according to Webster's<br /></span></span></span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: medium;"> </span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: medium;"> ** Careless errors of grammar, OTOH are not useful nor clever nor beautiful.</span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: medium;">And, in truth, there are days I stomp grumpily along the transitional boundary where the </span></span><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: medium;">newfangled grammars </span></span>ooze into general acceptance, me sneering and fluffing out my feathers.<br /></span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: medium;">(The proper use of lie and lay, for instance. Gone. Hrumph.)</span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: medium;">So maybe I am a fuddyduddy.</span></span></div>Jo Bournehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13457862962618886252noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15617001.post-23081946437633241262021-09-03T11:29:00.005-04:002021-09-03T12:20:29.007-04:00Interesting punctuation<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://pixabay.com/users/fotorech-5554393/?utm_source=link-attribution&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=image&utm_content=2635036" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" target="_blank"><img border="0" data-original-height="424" data-original-width="640" height="114" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-5KcfwUTqIDI/YTI-jTulm9I/AAAAAAAAGtA/d_e6efFeeTkFVPQy-91EPHPEl7YKUgimQCLcBGAsYHQ/w171-h114/man-2635036_640.jpg" width="171" /></a></div>Came across this in <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Silver-Borne-Mercy-Thompson-Book-ebook/dp/B0030AOBS4/historromanc-20" target="_blank">Silver Borne</a> by Patricia Briggs, in the heroine's viewpoint. A private detective is guarding a client<i>.</i> He says on the phone:<i><br /><br />"I'm kinda hoping her soon-to-be-ex shows up," he said softly; I thought so she wouldn't hear him.</i><p></p><p>Semicolons always seem a bit academic and formal to me. Most times when I see one in popular fiction I feel it could be advantageously replaced by two sentences. <br />Fr'instance:</p><p><i>"I'm kinda hoping her soon-to-be-ex shows up." He said it softly, probably so this client</i><i> wouldn't hear him.</i></p><p><u>But </u>. . . though my editorial alternative might be slightly clearer, Briggs' choice <span>— or her editor's choice . . . this 'feels' like an editorial correction </span><span><span>— is maybe the better writing. It uses POV so neatly.<br /></span></span></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p>Jo Bournehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13457862962618886252noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15617001.post-13788334448622489412021-09-02T19:08:00.002-04:002021-09-02T19:08:46.288-04:00Cursing in ASL<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-LJapBf7gk4A/YTFZLlMUDaI/AAAAAAAAGs4/Ipk26pvgzwAbtMDTTMLHY3kvmliJLITfACLcBGAsYHQ/s562/bullshit.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="320" data-original-width="562" height="132" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-LJapBf7gk4A/YTFZLlMUDaI/AAAAAAAAGs4/Ipk26pvgzwAbtMDTTMLHY3kvmliJLITfACLcBGAsYHQ/w232-h132/bullshit.png" width="232" /></a></div>For those of you who want to be obscene but not heard. <br />Or let your time travelling characters curse effectively while moving silently in a dangerous place. <br />Or exchange rude comments at a Regency ball.<p></p><p><a href="http://shorturl.at/puD06" target="_blank">How To Curse in ASL. </a><br /></p><p>Words are cool.<br /></p><p><br /></p>Jo Bournehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13457862962618886252noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15617001.post-62885164551138146072021-08-31T12:02:00.004-04:002021-08-31T12:03:04.757-04:00Perfect words<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-6wvmMKepRd8/YS5SDaFhB0I/AAAAAAAAGsg/ghmCSK3GKK4xTXNMOu6-QQKn99JFbzowwCLcBGAsYHQ/s640/sushi-2039735_640.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="426" data-original-width="640" height="115" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-6wvmMKepRd8/YS5SDaFhB0I/AAAAAAAAGsg/ghmCSK3GKK4xTXNMOu6-QQKn99JFbzowwCLcBGAsYHQ/w173-h115/sushi-2039735_640.jpg" width="173" /></a></div><br />Sometimes in the midst of a beautifully written story <span>—</span> in this case <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Coraline-10th-Anniversary-Enhanced-Gaiman-ebook/dp/B007F0IXD4/hisorromanc-20" target="_blank"><i>Coraline</i> by Neil Gaiman</a> <span>— you find a little vibrating diamond of a sentence.</span><p></p><p><i><span>"Terribly slowly, stiffly, heavily, a hinged square of the floor lifted: it was a trapdoor."</span></i></p><p><span>. . . which is a Japanese meal of a sentence, perfect in its simplicity. A square of sunlight on the walls of a museum. One wild strawberry growing in the tangle beside the path.</span></p><p><span><br /></span></p><p><span><br /></span></p>Jo Bournehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13457862962618886252noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15617001.post-50030478016931926512021-08-24T14:03:00.002-04:002021-08-24T14:03:38.686-04:00Violence: Deep Country Version<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-sPXbnHTExNY/YSUyzIQhMjI/AAAAAAAAGsE/BlpUkW1cbYQVUygSdYtzrXBTPJ-iIsbawCLcBGAsYHQ/s1380/Screen%2BShot%2B2021-08-24%2Bat%2B1.55.18%2BPM.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1380" data-original-width="1302" height="199" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-sPXbnHTExNY/YSUyzIQhMjI/AAAAAAAAGsE/BlpUkW1cbYQVUygSdYtzrXBTPJ-iIsbawCLcBGAsYHQ/w188-h199/Screen%2BShot%2B2021-08-24%2Bat%2B1.55.18%2BPM.png" width="188" /></a></div><p></p><p><br /></p><p> So. <a href="https://www.nbc29.com/2021/08/06/augusta-county-sheriffs-office-investigates-shooting/" target="_blank">Here</a>'s what we get up to in this neck of the woods. Happened a few weeks ago.<br /></p><p class="text | article-text">"Investigators
from the Sheriff’s Office processed the victim’s vehicle and located
evidence related to this incident. Investigators were able to identify
the suspect and obtained several charges.</p><p class="text | article-text">Wyant,
a 31-year-old white male from Buena Vista, Virginia, was wanted for
attempted malicious wounding, abduction, use of a firearm in commission
of a felony, shooting from a vehicle and possession of a firearm by a
convicted felon."</p><p class="text | article-text"> As you can see, authorities threw the book at him.<br /></p><p class="text | article-text">I bet you didn't know that shooting from a vehicle is a separate charge all on its lonesome. <br /></p>Jo Bournehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13457862962618886252noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15617001.post-52538726114642089002021-08-10T13:56:00.005-04:002021-08-10T15:19:50.812-04:00Random Comments on the Day<p><i></i></p><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-oYp9orzOITM/YRK7tZ1vlLI/AAAAAAAAGrg/c1HfB421WIIDf_TIlHdirjbuqVYKfpATwCLcBGAsYHQ/s640/hummingbird-6094424_640%25281%2529.jpg" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="427" data-original-width="640" height="134" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-oYp9orzOITM/YRK7tZ1vlLI/AAAAAAAAGrg/c1HfB421WIIDf_TIlHdirjbuqVYKfpATwCLcBGAsYHQ/w200-h134/hummingbird-6094424_640%25281%2529.jpg" title="veronika_andrews" width="200" /></a></td></tr><tr dir="rtl" style="text-align: right;"><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><div style="margin-right: 40px;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;">photocredit: veronika_andrews</span></div></td></tr></tbody></table><p></p><div style="margin-left: 80px; text-align: left;"><i> 8-10-21</i><br /> <br /> More and more hummingbirds are coming to sip my sugar water. More and more butterflies nestle in my butterfly bush.</div><p></p><p style="margin-left: 80px; text-align: left;"> Listening to some <a href="http://radio.garden/visit/paris/B7DS4V1m">mellow jazz</a> .<br /></p><p style="margin-left: 80px; text-align: left;"> This time next week, I'll be in New York City.</p><p style="margin-left: 80px; text-align: left;"> Life is good.</p><p></p><br /><p dir="rtl" style="text-align: right;"><br /></p><p><br /><br /></p>Jo Bournehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13457862962618886252noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15617001.post-77987962669753401132021-08-09T18:19:00.004-04:002021-08-16T12:53:00.435-04:00Rurouni Kenshin<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-RXjfdKZTdlQ/YRGni_DWehI/AAAAAAAAGrE/lnnbjnAKj948AINfjIXZkqmSRSUbQTg6QCLcBGAsYHQ/s786/Screen%2BShot%2B2021-08-09%2Bat%2B6.07.15%2BPM.png" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="786" data-original-width="466" height="320" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-RXjfdKZTdlQ/YRGni_DWehI/AAAAAAAAGrE/lnnbjnAKj948AINfjIXZkqmSRSUbQTg6QCLcBGAsYHQ/s320/Screen%2BShot%2B2021-08-09%2Bat%2B6.07.15%2BPM.png" width="190" /></a></div><br />Netflix is showing two Rurouni Kenshin flicks. The first, <i>Ruroumi Kenshin: The Beginning</i>, gives us interesting plotting, subtle acting, complex reveals, unexpected assumptions. <br /><p></p><p>Always nice to see a new cultural take on familiar material. Lovely photography. Fairy tale level of realism. Glacially slow in places. Full of folks getting killed.</p><p>Glad I saw this.<br /></p>https://www.netflix.com/watch/81313229<br /><br />Jo Bournehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13457862962618886252noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15617001.post-84665793055066146272021-08-02T08:50:00.001-04:002021-08-03T22:45:18.693-04:00Copperheads<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-pJhomhCyvt0/YQfo_metvoI/AAAAAAAAGqk/6PkSK-lPN7gyYg3YVfvaxp4TXC88DodzACLcBGAsYHQ/s774/Screen%2BShot%2B2021-08-02%2Bat%2B8.44.37%2BAM.png" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="774" data-original-width="644" height="268" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-pJhomhCyvt0/YQfo_metvoI/AAAAAAAAGqk/6PkSK-lPN7gyYg3YVfvaxp4TXC88DodzACLcBGAsYHQ/w222-h268/Screen%2BShot%2B2021-08-02%2Bat%2B8.44.37%2BAM.png" width="222" /></a></div><br />Rives Park -- local here -- has a nest of copperheads. Some poor dog got bit and they're worried whether he'll make it or not.<p></p><p>Animal Control collected 3 baby copperheads, (Doesn't that sound endearing? Little baby copperheads.) but warned that there may be others. Animal Control is not for sissies.<br /></p><p>Anyway, I won't be walking Mandy there for the nonce.</p><p>Back in Saudi Arabia, <br />(relatively few countries are named after people. America, Bolivia, Columbia, Monrovia, but not, y'know, Chad,) <br />we had a viper under one of the bushes in the housing next door. Very poisonous. It was the compound with all the kids, of course. One of the dogs spotted it and did the hysterical barking thing so nobody got bit.<br />Though, for all I know it was a peaceful committed pacifist snake minding its own business. <br /></p><p>The gardeners had to go kill it, that being in the job description. Being a gardener in West Africa is one of those jobs with a lot of side benefits.</p><p>I'll be cowriting with friends in a bit so I will warn the one who lives next to Rives Park to be cautious.<br /></p>Jo Bournehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13457862962618886252noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15617001.post-89897461963897759282021-07-25T15:27:00.022-04:002021-07-28T01:15:03.441-04:00Movies: The Irregulars and Gunpowder Milkshake<div style="text-align: left;"><span>Both these movies have multi-racial casts and pass the Bechdel test.<br />For me, that's icing on the cake rather than a requirement.<br />But</span><span class="ILfuVd"> — iced cake.</span><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span> </span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-h7r5OTyKkWc/YP26kbcvzEI/AAAAAAAAGqA/zWouFg-Xqfs0g7UakashA3FAdlGpwRGdgCLcBGAsYHQ/s820/irregulars.png" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="506" data-original-width="820" height="126" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-h7r5OTyKkWc/YP26kbcvzEI/AAAAAAAAGqA/zWouFg-Xqfs0g7UakashA3FAdlGpwRGdgCLcBGAsYHQ/w203-h126/irregulars.png" width="203" /></a></div></div><p></p><p>I've been looking at Fantasy, Urban Fantasy, and Paranormal books for a
while now. Lately I've expanded to movies and TV series.<br />Endless delights delivered to
my computer screen. <br />We live with such splendid technology.</p><p>First, consider the tongue-in-cheek, cynical, and bloody romp that is <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Irregulars" target="_blank"><i><b>The Irregulars</b></i></a>. <br /></p><p>It's "a British mystery adventure crime drama television series" created by Tom Bidwell for Netflix."*</p><p>Some paths in the Magical Wood are well
trampled. Beer bottles and McDonald wrappers litter the roadside. <br />I'll admit to being jaded about powerful lost heirs, schools for angsty teenage wizards**, colorful squaddies on the battlefield of clashing magical empires, and other staples of the genre.<br /><br />One could make the case that <i>The Irregulars</i> is wuxia<br />which is trope and utterly predictable, <br />but it's a story I like.<br />Finding such a story with good tropework is sweet. <i><br /></i></p><p><i>Irregulars</i> is a nugget of gold in the spoils pile of the Sherlock fictive universe. <span><br /><br /></span></p><p><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gunpowder_Milkshake" target="_blank"><i></i></a></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-cDL7aIkDGbk/YP261LHI64I/AAAAAAAAGqI/vw0GaDKUXAUFQvzkaaxm_xwNsNUuex1zQCLcBGAsYHQ/s822/gunpowder.png" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="822" data-original-width="552" height="260" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-cDL7aIkDGbk/YP261LHI64I/AAAAAAAAGqI/vw0GaDKUXAUFQvzkaaxm_xwNsNUuex1zQCLcBGAsYHQ/w175-h260/gunpowder.png" width="175" /></a></i></div><p><i><br /><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gunpowder_Milkshake" target="_blank">Gunpowder Milkshak</a></i><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gunpowder_Milkshake" target="_blank">e</a> also pleased me.<br />This one glows with subtle, intelligent acting from everybody on the set.<br /><br />Now, there are long sequences of car chases and kung fu fighting and extras dying bloodily ***. <br />Presumably the intended audience likes car chases, martial arts, and gore.<span><br />Me, I fast forward through that stuff and it does not interfere with my enjoyment of the movie.****<br />Ain't technology grand?<br /></span></p><p></p><p><span>A study of Jackie Chan's corpus of work might have kept the frenetic action scenes from being so boring. <br />I dunnoh. <br />Maybe it would have subverted the spirit of the story . . . <br />I have no wisdom in critiquing movies and my taste is not especially commercial. <br /></span></p><p><span>Final thoughts on <i>Milkshake</i> is that it worked for me and I recommend it. </span></p><p><span> </span></p><p><span>* </span><span> I pulled the description from the wiki so it must be true.</span></p><p><span>** </span><span>I wasn't much interested in teenagers even when I <i>was</i> one.</span></p><p><span>*** Some of the violence is disturbing. Most of it is like those old Westerns where cowboys have 37 bullets in their handguns and spin and fall dramatically when hit, <br /></span></p><p><span>**** Some Romance readers flip past pages of the explicit and go on with the story. It's a skill.<br /></span></p><p><span> </span></p>Jo Bournehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13457862962618886252noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15617001.post-39299887912902651392021-07-20T15:51:00.016-04:002021-08-05T22:15:31.367-04:00Fantasy, Urban Fantasy, and Paranormals: A List<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-GHCzykXIsW8/YPco-YdeBXI/AAAAAAAAGoM/rVkBxYe8Rmk8bC1UgX-YA2hL8zV8a2z2gCLcBGAsYHQ/s692/Screen%2BShot%2B2021-07-20%2Bat%2B3.48.26%2BPM.png" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="692" data-original-width="456" height="320" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-GHCzykXIsW8/YPco-YdeBXI/AAAAAAAAGoM/rVkBxYe8Rmk8bC1UgX-YA2hL8zV8a2z2gCLcBGAsYHQ/s320/Screen%2BShot%2B2021-07-20%2Bat%2B3.48.26%2BPM.png" /></a></div><br />These books are full of good storytelling, fine characterization, lyrical language, and intelligent world building. <br />Eminently readable. <br /><p></p><p>Some are legit free online.<br />Most all are in the online section of major libraries. <br />Many are relatively cheap to buy.<br /> </p><p>Buying books supports authors. <br />So does checking them out of your library.<br /></p><p> </p><p><b>Ben Aaronovitch</b>. <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Midnight-Riot-Rivers-London-Book-ebook/dp/B004C43F70/historromanc-20" target="_blank">Midnight Riot</a>, Rivers of London.</p><p><b>Douglas Adams</b>. <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Hitchhikers-Guide-Galaxy-Douglas-Adams-ebook/dp/B000XUBC2C/historromanc-20" target="_blank">The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy</a>. Hitchhikers Guide series.<br /></p><p><b>Ilona Andrews. </b><b> </b><a href="https://www.amazon.com/Magic-Bites-Kate-Daniels-Book-ebook/dp/B000SEH16E/historromanc-20" target="_blank">Magic Bites</a>.<b> </b>Kate Daniels series. </p><p><b>Peter S. Beagle. </b><a href="https://www.amazon.com/Folk-Air-Peter-S-Beagle/dp/0345346998/historromanc-20" target="_blank">The Folk of the Air.</a><br /><b></b></p><p><b>Patricia Briggs. </b><a href="https://www.amazon.com/Moon-Called-Mercy-Thompson-Book-ebook/dp/B000OCXHTK/historromanc-20" target="_blank">Moon Called.</a> Mercy Thompson series. </p><p><b>Lois McMaster Bujold</b>. <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Curse-Chalion-Lois-McMaster-Bujold-ebook/dp/B000FC11AQ/historromanc-20" target="_blank">The Curse of Chalion</a>. World of Five Gods series. </p><p><b>Emma Bul</b>l. <a href="https://www.amazon.com/War-Oaks-Novel-Emma-Bull-ebook/dp/B00699QWXA/historromanc-20" target="_blank">War for the Oaks</a>.<br /></p><p><b>Jim Butcher.</b> <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Storm-Front-Dresden-Files-Book-ebook/dp/B000WH7PLS/historromanc-20" target="_blank">Storm Front</a>. The Dresden Files. </p><p><b>Gail Carriger</b>. <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Soulless-Parasol-Protectorate-Book-1-ebook/dp/B002NPCJ3G/historromanc-20" target="_blank">Soulless</a>. Parasol Protectorate series. <br /></p><p><b>Susan Cooper</b>. <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Dark-Rising-Book-ebook/dp/B000FBJHPS/historromanc-20" target="_blank">The Dark is Rising</a>. Dark is Rising Series. <br />MG/YA</p><p><b>David Eddings</b>. <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Pawn-Prophecy-Book-1-Belgariad-ebook/dp/B01LFS3Y8A/historromanc-20" target="_blank">Pawn of Prophesy</a>. The Belgariad.<br /></p><p><b>Jasper Fforde</b>. <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Eyre-Affair-Thursday-Next-Novel-ebook/dp/B000OCXHC2/historromanc-20" target="_blank">The Eyre Affair.</a> Thursday Next series.</p><p><b>Jeaniene Frost.</b> <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Halfway-Grave-Night-Huntress-Novel-ebook/dp/B000W94FU0/historromanc-20" target="_blank">Halfway to the Grave</a>. Night Huntress series.</p><p><b>Neil Gaiman</b>. <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Good-Omens-Accurate-Prophecies-Nutter-ebook/dp/B0054LJGWS/historromanc-20" target="_blank">Good Omens</a>.</p><p><b>Lev Grossman</b>. <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Magicians-Novel-Lev-Grossman-ebook/dp/B002AU7MJU/historromanc-20" target="_blank">The Magicians</a>. Magicians trilogy.<br /></p><p><b>Charlaine Harris</b>. <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Midnight-Crossroad-Novel-Texas-Book-ebook/dp/B00FKEYHM8/historromanc-20" target="_blank">Midnight Crossroad</a>. Midnight Texas.<br />This Charlaine Harris is not to be confused with the most excellent C. S. Harris who writes Sebastian St Cyr books. </p><p><b>Robin Hobb.</b> <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Assassins-Apprentice-Farseer-Trilogy-Book-ebook/dp/B000FBFMG6/historromanc-20" target="_blank">Assassin's Apprentice</a>. Farseer trilogy.<br /></p><p><b>N. K. Jemisin.</b> <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Killing-Moon-Dreamblood-Book-ebook/dp/B005SCS4IK/historromanc-20" target="_blank">The Killing Moon</a>. Dreamblood series.<br /></p><p><b>Diana Wynne Jone</b>s. <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Deep-Secret-Diana-Wynne-Jones-ebook/dp/B00EGJ3Q3O/historromanc-20" target="_blank">Deep Secret</a>. </p><p><b>Mercedes Lackey</b>.<a href="https://www.amazon.com/Burning-Water-Diana-Tregarde-Investigation-ebook/dp/B07B61NM9Q/historromanc-20" target="_blank"> Burning Water</a>. Diana Tregarde Investigations series.<br /> Also <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Born-Run-Mercedes-Lackey/dp/0671721100/historromanc-20" target="_blank">Born to Run</a>. Serrated Edge series.</p><p><b>Ursula Le Guin</b>. <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Wizard-Earthsea-Cycle-Book-ebook/dp/B008T9L6AM/historromanc-20" target="_blank">A Wizard of Earthsea</a>. Earthsea series. <br />MG/YA/Adult.</p><p><b>Fritz Leiber</b>. <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Our-Lady-Darkness-Fritz-Leiber-ebook/dp/B00J84L2G0/historromanc-20" target="_blank">Our Lady of Darkness</a>. <br />He's better known for his short stories. <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Swords-Deviltry-Lankhmar-Fritz-Leiber/dp/1497699924/historromanc-20" target="_blank">Fafhrd and the Gray Mouser</a><b>. <br /></b></p><p><b>Madeleine L'Engle</b>. <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Wrinkle-Time-Movie-Tie-Quintet-ebook/dp/B076H4XLBR/historromanc-20" target="_blank">A Wrinkle in Time</a>. Wrinkle in Time Series.<br />MG/YA/Adult<br /></p><p><b>C. S. Lewis</b>. <a href="https://gutenberg.ca/ebooks/lewiscs-thelionthewitchandthewardrobe/lewiscs-thelionthewitchandthewardrobe-00-h.html" target="_blank">The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe</a>. Narnia series. <br />MG/YA/Adult.<br /></p><p><b>R. A. MacAvoy</b>. <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Tea-Black-Dragon-R-MacAvoy-ebook/dp/B00J48FCRK/historromanc-20" target="_blank">Tea with the Black Dragon</a>. Black Dragon series.</p><p><b>Anne McCaffrey</b>. <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Dragonflight-Dragonriders-Pern-Anne-McCaffrey-ebook/dp/B000FBFOCI/histirromanc=20" target="_blank">Dragonflight</a>. Dragonriders of Pern series.<br /></p><p><b>Seanan McGuire</b>. <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Rosemary-Rue-October-Daye-Book-ebook/dp/B002N83HAW/historromanc-20" target="_blank">Rosemary and Rue</a>. October Daye series.</p><p><b>Robin McKinley</b>. <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Sunshine-Robin-McKinley-ebook/dp/B00OGWASCI/historromanc-20" target="_blank">Sunshine</a>. </p><p><b>Barbara Michaels</b>. <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Ammie-Come-Home-Georgetown-trilogy-ebook/dp/B000FCK3IW/historromanc-20" target="_blank">Ammie, Come Home.</a> <br />She's also Elizabeth Peters.</p><p> <b>Naomi Novik</b>. <a href="https://www.amazon.com/His-Majestys-Dragon-Novel-Temeraire-ebook/dp/B000GCFBQA/historromanc-20" target="_blank">His Majesty's Dragon</a>. Temeraire series. </p><p><b>Terry Pratchett.</b> <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Color-Magic-Novel-Discworld-ebook/dp/B000W9399S/historromanc-20" target="_blank">The Color of Magic.</a><br /></p><p><b>Phillip Pullman</b>. <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Golden-Compass-His-Dark-Materials-ebook/dp/B000FC1ICM/historromanc-20" target="_blank">The Golden Compass</a>. His Dark Materials series. <br /></p><p><b>Spider Robinson</b>. <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Callahans-Crosstime-Saloon-Place-Book-ebook/dp/B004IK94VY/historromanc-20" target="_blank">Callahan's Crosstime Saloon</a>. Callahan's Place series.</p><p><b>Patrick Rothfuss</b>. <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Name-Wind-Kingkiller-Chronicle-Book-ebook/dp/B0010SKUYM/historromanc-20" target="_blank">The Name of the Wind.</a> Kingkiller chronicles. </p><p><b>Brandon Sanderson</b>. <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Alcatraz-Evil-Librarians-Versus-Book-ebook/dp/B00XHHV2A0/historromanc-20" target="_blank">Alcatraz Versus the Evil Librarians</a>. Evil Librarian series.<br />MG/ YA</p><p><b>Lisa Shearin</b>. <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Grendel-Affair-SPI-Files-Novel-ebook/dp/B00CS74W7K/historromanc-20" target="_blank">The Grendel Affair</a>. SPI files.<br /></p><p><b>Mary Stewart</b>. <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Crystal-Cave-Arthurian-Saga-Book/dp/0060548258/historromanc-20" target="_blank">The Crystal Cave</a>. Arthurian saga. <br /></p><p><b>J.R.R. Tolkien</b>. <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Fellowship-Ring-Being-First-Rings-ebook/dp/B007978NPG/historromanc-20" target="_blank">The Fellowship of the Ring</a>. Lord of the Rings trilogy.<br /></p><p><b>Carrie Vaughn</b>. <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Kitty-Midnight-Hour-Norville-Book-ebook/dp/B0012Y1GMO/historromanc-20" target="_blank">Kitty and the Midnight Hour</a>, Kitty Norville series.<br /></p><p><b>Manly Wade Wellman.</b> <a href="http://baencd.freedoors.org/Books/John%20the%20Balladeer/John_the_Balladeer.htm" target="_blank">John the Balladeer</a>. Silver John books.</p><p><b>Connie Willis</b>. <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Say-Nothing-Oxford-Time-Travel-ebook/dp/B00309SCOE/historromanc-20" target="_blank">To Say Nothing of the Dog.</a> Oxford Time Travel series. <br /></p><p><b>Roger Zelazny</b>. <a href="https://www.amazon.com/This-Immortal-Roger-Zelazny-ebook/dp/B00KQ8D1JS/historromanc-20" target="_blank">This Immortal</a>.</p>Jo Bournehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13457862962618886252noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15617001.post-25762879147305847682021-07-07T14:29:00.011-04:002021-07-28T10:29:18.075-04:00Library Book Titles That Stick to Your Kindle
<p class="MsoNormal"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-D5epFgAVkxE/YOXjtkhDyhI/AAAAAAAAGnA/pLVFDBqxrQ4R60hsoqUBGnlyflukYe5vQCLcBGAsYHQ/s892/Screen%2BShot%2B2021-07-07%2Bat%2B1.25.46%2BPM.png" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="536" data-original-width="892" height="151" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-D5epFgAVkxE/YOXjtkhDyhI/AAAAAAAAGnA/pLVFDBqxrQ4R60hsoqUBGnlyflukYe5vQCLcBGAsYHQ/w251-h151/Screen%2BShot%2B2021-07-07%2Bat%2B1.25.46%2BPM.png" width="251" /></a></div>Here’s how to get rid of those old library book titles that ghost in your
Mac computer’s Kindle list.<p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal">1) <i>Caveats.</i></p><p class="MsoNormal">Are you willing to empty your computer's Trash can? If not, you can't get rid of your ghosts in this way.</p><p class="MsoNormal">This is a Mac computer fix. I don't know if it works on other Kindle devices. <br /></p><p class="MsoNormal"> If you have .pdf files, personal documents, or books from non-Amazon sources stored in your computer's Kindle, you
should copy them elsewhere. They may die a horrible death if you do
not.</p><p class="MsoNormal">In this fix you will lose the date of acquisition of your Kindle books in your Kindle. Accurate date of acquisition will remain at Amazon but your Kindle acquisition date will revert to the date of the fix. <br /></p><p class="MsoNormal">2) At the end of Step 8 the list of books in your Amazon Content & Devices library will match the library in your Kindle. Your currently borrowed library books will be in both places. The dozens or hundreds of borrowed-and-returned ghost library books will
appear in neither place. </p><p class="MsoNormal"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-IsVWy3C-88M/YOjjvt9kA8I/AAAAAAAAGnc/HiOLPM3uv2wIWXv-8AXusY8fUqjRDB7dgCLcBGAsYHQ/s2048/Screen%2BShot%2B2021-07-09%2Bat%2B8.02.15%2BPM.png" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1173" data-original-width="2048" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-IsVWy3C-88M/YOjjvt9kA8I/AAAAAAAAGnc/HiOLPM3uv2wIWXv-8AXusY8fUqjRDB7dgCLcBGAsYHQ/s320/Screen%2BShot%2B2021-07-09%2Bat%2B8.02.15%2BPM.png" width="320" /></a></div>3) Directions:<p></p><p class="MsoNormal">At <b>Amazon</b> go Content & Devices / Library.<br /><br />You can take screen shots of the Amazon book list as a backup in case anything goes wrong. <br /></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">4) In your <b>computer,</b> go to the Kindle app program. <br />(In my machine that's Finder/Go/Applications/Kindle app.)<br />Uninstall Kindle by moving it to Trash. <br /><br />Now go to the Trash icon and empty
Trash. I had to do this twice before it took.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">5) At <b>Amazon</b>, go to Content & Devices / Devices. Deregister
your Kindle App for Mac.<br />If you have other Mac devices you do not need to deregister them. <br /></p><p class="MsoNormal">Now <i>re-register</i> your Kindle App for Mac.
</p><p class="MsoNormal">6) On <b>Amazon</b> search for and <a href="https://www.amazon.com/s?k=kindle+app+for+mac+free+download&i=software&crid=22DLSUXVWT4Z0/historromanc-20" target="_blank">buy Kindle for Mac</a>. <br />It’s a freebie. <br />Download
it to your <b>compute</b>r and install it. </p><p class="MsoNormal">7) On your <b>computer</b> the Kindle library should show as empty. </p>
<p class="MsoNormal">8) Back at <b>Amazon</b>, go to the Content & Devices
library. Send everything into your new Kindle. This may take a while. There will be no ghosts. </p>Jo Bournehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13457862962618886252noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15617001.post-46718287121612492832021-06-28T01:08:00.002-04:002021-06-28T01:09:53.029-04:00Lovely cursing<p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-SUUGtZ3P_pA/YNlZgtHFd6I/AAAAAAAAGlM/7_fXbgSfpQIzBwqXYoPtVIadISVmKs8qwCLcBGAsYHQ/s654/Screen%2BShot%2B2021-06-28%2Bat%2B1.08.29%2BAM.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="654" data-original-width="398" height="176" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-SUUGtZ3P_pA/YNlZgtHFd6I/AAAAAAAAGlM/7_fXbgSfpQIzBwqXYoPtVIadISVmKs8qwCLcBGAsYHQ/w107-h176/Screen%2BShot%2B2021-06-28%2Bat%2B1.08.29%2BAM.png" width="107" /></a></div>Sometimes there's lovely cursing:<p></p><p><br /></p><p>“Who the fuck are they?” I asked. </p><p>“That’s the gentry and their servants,” said blond Bev. “All the liars, hypocrites, exploiters, dog-bastards, wankers, janissaries, Monday men, cat-ranchers and people who fly-tip in protected waterways.”<br /><br />Ben Aaronovitch, <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Lies-Sleeping-Rivers-London-Book-ebook/dp/B07BPNZBPS/historromanc-20" target="_blank">Lies Sleeping (Rivers of London) </a></p><p><br /></p><p>That's how it's done<br /></p>Jo Bournehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13457862962618886252noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15617001.post-84176484270091403212021-06-19T08:55:00.004-04:002021-06-19T08:55:49.764-04:00Another Contemporary Fantasy<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-kffnS6KUftw/YM3pIpMiD3I/AAAAAAAAGko/9iSeo2ceQ2wyrwU-RlyMftWe_fz_8LQ1wCLcBGAsYHQ/s580/folk.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="580" data-original-width="336" height="246" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-kffnS6KUftw/YM3pIpMiD3I/AAAAAAAAGko/9iSeo2ceQ2wyrwU-RlyMftWe_fz_8LQ1wCLcBGAsYHQ/w142-h246/folk.png" width="142" /></a></div><br />I recently reread <span style="font-size: small;">Peter S. Beagle's <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Folk-Air-Peter-S-Beagle/dp/0345346998/historromanc-20" target="_blank"><i>The Folk of the Air</i></a>, contemporary fantasy, one of my favorite books. It's also set
in Berkeley, (always a plus.) This Beagle, sadly, is not available in
kindle, which is enough to make one doubt the inherent benevolence of
the universe. <br /></span><p></p><p><span style="font-size: small;">Quote: "He did recall being instantly certain that he had just met either an old friend or a very patient, important enemy."</span></p><span style="font-size: small;">Lovely. lyrical, unforgettable prose.</span>Jo Bournehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13457862962618886252noreply@blogger.com0