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Good Morning
Nov. 13th, 2021 08:56 am
Nov. 13th, 2021
Le Roi du Jazz, Le Roi est Mort
Nov. 13th, 2021 07:18 pmAnother dull overcast day but thankfully no rain. Didn't do much anyway, so it was a day of relaxing and getting inebriated lol
However, the second of two recent Miles Davis CDs turned up. Both were recorded in France in 1991 before his untimely death. Both reviewed in the current issue of Wire. Both are essential for jazz and Davis fans!
Oh, I am enjoying a lovely bottle of Chilean red wine!
Some days just have to be wine days!!
However, the second of two recent Miles Davis CDs turned up. Both were recorded in France in 1991 before his untimely death. Both reviewed in the current issue of Wire. Both are essential for jazz and Davis fans!
Oh, I am enjoying a lovely bottle of Chilean red wine!
Some days just have to be wine days!!
Anne McCaffrey "The Ship Who Sang" (Corgi)
This was such typical Anne McCaffrey, that it made me smile. The ship who sang is about a BB ship, or a brain-brawn ship. Helva is severely misformed when she's born. Therefore, her growth is inhibited and placed in a so-called shell, sort of a machine that she can control with her mind. Eventually, her brain is connected to a spaceship. She carries out missions together with her human partner, the brawn.
The setup of this book is slightly strange: it consists of 6 chapters that feel like short stories, although they are not self-reliant enough to actually be short stories. Each story is mostly about Helva's relationship with her brawn (when she has one) or other people aboard, against the background of strange and fantastical worlds.
I rather like McCaffrey's writing style, and although the stories are not brilliant, they are entertaining. Perhaps most importantly, Helva is a dear.
This was such typical Anne McCaffrey, that it made me smile. The ship who sang is about a BB ship, or a brain-brawn ship. Helva is severely misformed when she's born. Therefore, her growth is inhibited and placed in a so-called shell, sort of a machine that she can control with her mind. Eventually, her brain is connected to a spaceship. She carries out missions together with her human partner, the brawn.
The setup of this book is slightly strange: it consists of 6 chapters that feel like short stories, although they are not self-reliant enough to actually be short stories. Each story is mostly about Helva's relationship with her brawn (when she has one) or other people aboard, against the background of strange and fantastical worlds.
I rather like McCaffrey's writing style, and although the stories are not brilliant, they are entertaining. Perhaps most importantly, Helva is a dear.
John Gillingham "Wars of the Roses: Peace and Conflict in 15th Century England" (Phoenix Press)
Well it is true that the publisher and the author take some care to explain that this is an account of the Wars of the Roses from the perspective of the military campaigns, but it is definitely much more than a military history. In fact, the author's main theme is that in England, at this time, warfare was very contained, and was very much an extension of power and family politics. So, for example, the building and betrayal of alliances continued up to the point of the battle, and even during battles, and in many cases, the outcome of a battle might see the victor and the defeated make an alliance against parties within their own camps. This was not 'total war' as practiced in modern times, but even more importantly this was not the type of war between States involving the devastation of populations and regions that was rife in Europe at the time. One has to be cautious about drawing conclusions about the fate of the common soldier in such battles, and the effects of the countryside they operated in, given the tendency of history to ignore the story of the 'little people, but the evidence is put forward here that, except in some rare instances, the 'gentry' generally restricted themselves to killing each other, and the death toll in the King's courts and prisons competed strongly with those who fell in battle. That said, there is a well-documented history of almost continual 'peasant' rebellions that runs in the background of this story, and ironically one of the constraints on the interest of the nobles in launching 'total war' was their shared mistrust of the attitude of the general population if armed and given the opportunity to plunder the towns and cities. All that said, the author has given as clear (and succinct) an account as I've ever read of the political landscape of England between the death of Edward III and the final success of Henry VII. Highly recommended.
Well it is true that the publisher and the author take some care to explain that this is an account of the Wars of the Roses from the perspective of the military campaigns, but it is definitely much more than a military history. In fact, the author's main theme is that in England, at this time, warfare was very contained, and was very much an extension of power and family politics. So, for example, the building and betrayal of alliances continued up to the point of the battle, and even during battles, and in many cases, the outcome of a battle might see the victor and the defeated make an alliance against parties within their own camps. This was not 'total war' as practiced in modern times, but even more importantly this was not the type of war between States involving the devastation of populations and regions that was rife in Europe at the time. One has to be cautious about drawing conclusions about the fate of the common soldier in such battles, and the effects of the countryside they operated in, given the tendency of history to ignore the story of the 'little people, but the evidence is put forward here that, except in some rare instances, the 'gentry' generally restricted themselves to killing each other, and the death toll in the King's courts and prisons competed strongly with those who fell in battle. That said, there is a well-documented history of almost continual 'peasant' rebellions that runs in the background of this story, and ironically one of the constraints on the interest of the nobles in launching 'total war' was their shared mistrust of the attitude of the general population if armed and given the opportunity to plunder the towns and cities. All that said, the author has given as clear (and succinct) an account as I've ever read of the political landscape of England between the death of Edward III and the final success of Henry VII. Highly recommended.
Just Wondering
Nov. 13th, 2021 10:47 pmWhat experiments would you like to run if time and money weren’t an issue?
Do you have a special coffee mug or tea mug? How often do you wash it out?
Is your furniture more comfortable than the furniture your folks had when you were a kid?
Do you have a special coffee mug or tea mug? How often do you wash it out?
Is your furniture more comfortable than the furniture your folks had when you were a kid?
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