tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15940389.post8231222522781915313..comments2024-03-28T11:59:46.322-04:00Comments on Howard-Empowered People: An online community of Dean-inspired activists: Mmm...Apple, Cranberry, Walnut Pancakes...Renee in Ohiohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01741974339127525003noreply@blogger.comBlogger31125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15940389.post-47701167098194718802011-01-09T17:17:18.000-05:002011-01-09T17:17:18.000-05:00listener, I definitely want to come live (and eat)...listener, I definitely want to come live (and eat) with you! What wonderful pancakes. I can practically taste them.<br /><br />Last night I submitted a chapter of Marooner's Haven to the new editor of Slate and Style: Magazine of the NFB Writers Division. Of course it's a non-paying market, but she put out the call for submissions, fiction and nonfiction, dealing with braille literacy. And, there's that chapterwhere Bronte has just met Emma and is beginning, dimly, to realize that he's in love with her. In that chapter, her inability to read comes up. I donno. The editor may not like it, but it was worth a try.Catreonanoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15940389.post-83836360232911149342011-01-09T17:06:41.000-05:002011-01-09T17:06:41.000-05:00Can't remember, but think I must have been twe...Can't remember, but think I must have been twelve or thirteen when I read <em>A Wrinkle in Time</em> and <a rel="nofollow">A Swiftly Tilting Planet and I still haven't read <em>Many Waters</em> or the fifths book, whose title escapes me. Wonderful, beautiful books.</a>Catreonanoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15940389.post-52818355501835709572011-01-09T16:58:32.000-05:002011-01-09T16:58:32.000-05:00Curiously, my dad was greatly distressed by this h...Curiously, my dad was greatly distressed by this horrible incident. He said he had just seen Rep Gifford on Fox News the night before she was shot, and that she seemed to him a very sensible young woman. I doubt, though, that the incident will change his admiration for the hate mongers. We'll have to wait and see. It struck me as a really good sign, and very interesting, though, that he was so upset.Catreonanoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15940389.post-45031477112989253872011-01-09T16:50:08.000-05:002011-01-09T16:50:08.000-05:00Sounds like the same argument as rages over the Na...Sounds like the same argument as rages over the Narnia books. I have actually heard of people forbidding their children to read the books in anything other than publication order, while others forbid their children to read them in anything other chronological order. I personally see merit in both.<br /><br />The same problem presents itself with McCaffrey's Pern novels, and with Asimov's books. Of course, towards the end of his life, he made an attempt, largely successful IMO, to weave together his Robot, Empire and Foundation novels. There are fourteen books in this amalgamated series, and I found it helpful to read them in chronological order.Catreonanoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15940389.post-79735262269200807162011-01-09T16:32:28.000-05:002011-01-09T16:32:28.000-05:00Like in McCaffrey's Rowan Saga?Like in McCaffrey's Rowan Saga?Catreonanoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15940389.post-9955375599444802212011-01-09T16:29:06.000-05:002011-01-09T16:29:06.000-05:00Alan, sorry. Can't help. I love The Left Hand ...Alan, sorry. Can't help. I love <em>The Left Hand of Darkness</em>, and indeed Ursula K. Le Guin is one of my all time fav authors, SF or otherwise. But, though I've read a few Bradley, none of the Darkover books.<br /><br />Susan, I also like Anne McCaffrey.Catreonanoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15940389.post-46442302903768023912011-01-09T01:37:36.000-05:002011-01-09T01:37:36.000-05:00I have now ordered several Darkover books from the...I have now ordered several Darkover books from them; thanks, Susan. alibris.com is now among my bookmarks. I have never purchased a series of books before--that's my good wife's practice.Alan in CAnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15940389.post-70977247606953862842011-01-09T00:34:14.000-05:002011-01-09T00:34:14.000-05:00Oops--that link is not right; should be:
http://w...Oops--that link is not right; should be:<br />http://www.darkover.com/new/darkover/index.en.html <br />Then look at the guide.Alan in CAnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15940389.post-42953561090223160722011-01-09T00:02:27.000-05:002011-01-09T00:02:27.000-05:00Darkover stories: suggested order of reading
(gl...Darkover stories: suggested order of reading <br />(gleaned from http://www.darkover.com/new/darkover/guide/books/landfall.en.html)<br /><br />The Forbidden Circle (omnibus):<br /> The Spell Sword <br /> The Forbidden Tower<br /><br />The Shattered Chain<br /><br />A world Divided (omnibus):<br /> Star of Danger<br /> The Winds of Darkover<br /> The Bloody Sun<br /><br />Heritage and Exile (omnibus):<br /> Heritage of Hastur<br /> Sharra's Exile<br /><br /><br /><br /><br />Anytime:<br /><br />First Contact (omnibus):<br /> Darkover Landfall<br /> Two To Conquer<br /><br />The Ages of Chaos (omnibus):<br /> Hawkmistress<br /> StormqueenAlan in CAnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15940389.post-55511971010460438422011-01-08T22:46:14.000-05:002011-01-08T22:46:14.000-05:00I have read most of the Nero Wolfe novels and have...I have read most of the Nero Wolfe novels and have recently bought digital editions in case I find time to re-read. Stout breaks the mold in a few cases, but not many.<br /><br />For a long time my two favorite SF authors were Bradley and C. J. Charryh. More recently I have added Ian M. Banks and Kage Baker. And, of course, no one can overlook Heinlein and Asimov.Bill Thomassonnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15940389.post-31978739406310538282011-01-08T19:25:40.000-05:002011-01-08T19:25:40.000-05:00I recently re-read a Rex Stout "Nero Wolfe&qu...I recently re-read a Rex Stout "Nero Wolfe" book--<em>Fer de Lance</em>. Certainly a fine conflation of the English manor house mystery with the hard-boiled American private eye story. They say Stout stuck to the same formula from beginning to end.Alan in CAnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15940389.post-81628690345719261152011-01-08T19:22:16.000-05:002011-01-08T19:22:16.000-05:00Words Have Consequenses:
Gary Hart, 01.08.2011
Sc...Words Have Consequenses:<br /><br />Gary Hart, 01.08.2011<br />Scholar in Residence at the University of Colorado<br />"We all know that there are unstable and potentially dangerous people among us. To repeatedly appeal to their basest instincts is to invite and welcome their predictable violence."<br /><br />http://www.huffingtonpost.com/gary-hart/words-have-consequences_b_806250.htmlAlan in CAnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15940389.post-43777727974029672242011-01-08T19:12:55.000-05:002011-01-08T19:12:55.000-05:00*TWO* on her map were WV reps. Means I kinda need...*TWO* on her map were WV reps. Means I kinda need to be careful when I go grocery shopping, eh?puddlenoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15940389.post-6911343068659598542011-01-08T18:52:37.000-05:002011-01-08T18:52:37.000-05:00Eeek! And I forgot Andre Norton! Love Norton. I...Eeek! And I forgot Andre Norton! Love Norton. I read a couple of the early Piers Anthony books, but never really continued with them. When I was a kid I read all the "biggies", Heinlein and so forth.. Guess I just finally got saturated with them. Haven't even enjoyed the last of the Dragonrider series all that much (McCaffrey and son). I tend to reread books often though, so maybe I'll run through all the Norton books again.SusanDnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15940389.post-14950027206594426582011-01-08T18:47:59.000-05:002011-01-08T18:47:59.000-05:00I read on a couple of other sites that Sarah Palin...I read on a couple of other sites that Sarah Palin wrote (I presume on her website) 'Conservatives and Lovers of America RELOAD' in reference to hotly contested elections. She indicated which races were to be targeted by using a gunsight icon on a map. Giffords was one of those targeted with a gunsight. Palin is too damn stupid to realize that inciting violence will always find a willing ear. She shares responsibility, as do other hate-mongers, with the assailant.SusanDnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15940389.post-74041130269847879772011-01-08T18:42:09.000-05:002011-01-08T18:42:09.000-05:00The assailant sounds like a total crazy, that'...The assailant sounds like a total crazy, that's for sure.Alan in CAnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15940389.post-62378318532117259432011-01-08T18:25:55.000-05:002011-01-08T18:25:55.000-05:00I have recurrent enthusiasms in readings, puddle; ...I have recurrent enthusiasms in readings, puddle; I have been been away from SF/Fantasy for a long time, and was due for a course of it.Alan in CAnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15940389.post-20692869055866375552011-01-08T18:18:52.000-05:002011-01-08T18:18:52.000-05:00I just read a couple of Darkover short stories by ...I just read a couple of Darkover short stories by MZB in an anthology; great day for it, being cold (by our standards, ennyhoo) and overcast! I am reminded of Andre Norton's Wolf World. Very promising. I see no reason to get hung up over chronology, which in the Darkover stories is evidently imperfect (as is the geography).Alan in CAnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15940389.post-47077190261377390272011-01-08T17:02:18.000-05:002011-01-08T17:02:18.000-05:00http://home.austarnet.com.au/petersykes/topscifi/l...http://home.austarnet.com.au/petersykes/topscifi/lists_books_rank1.htmlpuddlenoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15940389.post-20580670894318385652011-01-08T16:56:13.000-05:002011-01-08T16:56:13.000-05:00BTW, just gave my granddaughter all the Wrinkle in...BTW, just gave my granddaughter all the Wrinkle in Time Books. Her dad thinks maybe too early. But at twelve, I might think almost too late. He only did the first one.puddlenoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15940389.post-57878474011524682682011-01-08T16:47:25.000-05:002011-01-08T16:47:25.000-05:00My science fiction period was my late teens, early...My science fiction period was my late teens, early twenties. Am a huge fan of Kornbluth. Also, later, did every last one of the Dunes. And maybe most seminal: Stranger in a Strange Land. Later a couple of Ursula Le Guin, including her Tao Te Ching. Looking that over, and including Douglas Adams, guess I'm more of a fan than I thought, but certainly no match for Alan, Bill or Cat, lol! <br /><br />Waking this morning to small snow, gray skies, and wind, the only word that came to mind was "bleak." But after an hour or so, it started to look good to me. . . When bleak looks good, you know yer an optimist, *grin.*puddlenoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15940389.post-23199654768497832212011-01-08T16:15:55.000-05:002011-01-08T16:15:55.000-05:00Alan --
I had to check Wikepedia to recall the na...Alan --<br /><br />I had to check Wikepedia to recall the names of the books I was referring to. It turns out that the first of the trilogy was "The Shattered Chain," which was fine. But I thought "Thendara House" and especially "City of Sorcery," which really form a two-volume novel, were OK in themselves but didn't really fit with what I expected of a Darkover novel. All the co-written books post-date MXB's stroke. The only two I've read are "Rediscovery," which I thought was fine, and "Exile's Song," Which I thought was decent and fundamentally true to Darkover, but had a somewhat different narrative sensibility than we get from MZB. Note that all the books "co-written" by Deborah Ross appeared after MZB's death. Apart from a few notes, I doubt if she had much to do with them.<br /><br />I was leaning toward recommending "The Forbidden Tower" as a good place the start. Wikepedia says there is controversey whether to read the novels in the order written or the order of internal chronology. I don't think it really matters. Just keep in mind that these books were written over the coursee of a quarter-century. And that some of the books are set millenia after "Darkover Landfall" but centuries before the main body of work -- which itself covers more than a century of rapid change.Bill Thomassonnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15940389.post-16495762992445986962011-01-08T15:51:32.000-05:002011-01-08T15:51:32.000-05:00Rep. Giffords (D, Ariz), age 40, is currently in s...Rep. Giffords (D, Ariz), age 40, is currently in surgery for a point blank (from 4 ft away) gunshot wound to the head sustained when an assailant opened fire at a constituency meeting she was holding at a Safeway grocery in Arizona. Her husband is astronaut Mark Kelly. A federal judge was also shot as were ten others. Six are dead.listenernoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15940389.post-12117281991002813482011-01-08T15:35:27.000-05:002011-01-08T15:35:27.000-05:00Rep. Gabby Giffords won her third term in the Hous...Rep. Gabby Giffords won her third term in the House in November in a close race against a highly conservative Tea Party candidate, and last March her office was vandalised after the Healthcare Reform vote. Stop the insanity. The person who tackled her assailant is a hero.<br /><br />http://www.cnn.com/2011/CRIME/01/08/arizona.shooting/index.html?hpt=T1&iref=BN1listenernoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15940389.post-24975282704711158772011-01-08T14:23:25.000-05:002011-01-08T14:23:25.000-05:00I just now checked out alibris.com, which I had be...I just now checked out alibris.com, which I had been unfamiliar with. Looks good! Thanks for the tip, Susan.Alan in CAnoreply@blogger.com