As I re-purpose this blog and decide what new things to do with it I thought it might be of value to create a weekly post about my other activities online. Below are the posts to my other blogs for this week. Other Times is an alternate history blog and That Bygone Day is a journal of an imaginary person set 80 years ago reacting to the events of those days. I hope you find them of interest.
OTHER TIMES
*January 1: Friday Flag - Seljuk Empire
*January 2: 2015 in Review
THAT BYGONE DAY
*January 4: January 4th, 1936
*January 7: Invasion of Ethiopia continues & the Supreme Court rules
I will also be going through some long-defunct blogs I had in the past and finding posts that are still relevant in current days. I'll start to post them during the year as I rewrite and clean them up a bit.
I should really get back to book reviews too. There are books that will be reviewed on my other sites, but ones that won't fit on either of them I'll try to review here as time allows.
07 January 2016
01 January 2015
The 2015 Outdo Yourself Reading Challenge
I skipped reading challenges in 2014. I was doing the challenge on Goodreads so didn't feel the need to do one here. Now I realize that I should do one and actually post book reviews here. I most likely will not review every book I read in 2015, and there are a number from 2014 I will want to review on this blog.
I've signed up for the 2015 Outdo Yourself Reading Challenge over at thebookvixen.com and will see how things go this time. According to Goodreads I read 62 books in 2014 - it was actually 63 since there was one that wasn't in Goodread's system. So for 2015 I'll try to read 64 books that are 100 or more pages (or equivalent). Rules for the challenge can be found HERE! I'll be signing up for the 'I’m on Fire!: read 16+ more books (or 4,000+ more pages)' level.
Any books I review on this blog related to this challenge will have the 2015 Reading Challenge tag. There are bound to be a few that will be better suited for review at my other blog, Othertimesblog.blogspot.com and in those cases I may create posts leading to the reviews on that blog.
I've signed up for the 2015 Outdo Yourself Reading Challenge over at thebookvixen.com and will see how things go this time. According to Goodreads I read 62 books in 2014 - it was actually 63 since there was one that wasn't in Goodread's system. So for 2015 I'll try to read 64 books that are 100 or more pages (or equivalent). Rules for the challenge can be found HERE! I'll be signing up for the 'I’m on Fire!: read 16+ more books (or 4,000+ more pages)' level.
Any books I review on this blog related to this challenge will have the 2015 Reading Challenge tag. There are bound to be a few that will be better suited for review at my other blog, Othertimesblog.blogspot.com and in those cases I may create posts leading to the reviews on that blog.
03 November 2014
Michael McDermott For New York State Governor 2014
Please consider voting for Michael McDermott for New York Governor on November 4th. While victory is a long-shot, getting over 50,000 votes will give the Libertarian Party of New York ballot access. That will allow them to challenge the Republicans and Democrats in areas where they run unopposed.
If you do vote for him, please be careful filling out the ballot. The board of elections is screwing us again by having us share a line with another party.
Thank you for your consideration.
08 September 2014
Short Story - Corpse of Mars
copyright 2013 by Sean Sherman
March 4, 1866
He was a veteran of the War of Northern Aggression. The Army of Northern Virginia. The war was over, a loss for his adopted state. Now he and his partner traveled across the west, mercenaries and prospectors.
Things had gone poorly when they prospected in Arizona territory. His partner was killed while on a supply run, a victim of the Tonto Apache. After an insane charge into the Apache camp to recover the body he made his way to a cave in what was sacred ground to the natives.
The Apache pursued him in force, but they began to slow as they approached the sacred ground. The shaman urged the warriors forward, they would be forgiven for violating the ground if they dealt with the white-skinned invader.
The Virginian carried his dead friend's body up the path into a cave. He then turned and took cover behind a boulder, awaiting the Apache. Shortly after they arrived a gun fight began.
The defender's only near hit almost killed one of the braves if not for the interdiction of the bullet by a startled bird. The explosion of blood and feathers made it clear to the brave that he was saved, but for what purpose he did not know. Less than a decade later his tribe would be scattered and he would be the partner of a white Texas Ranger turned vigilante.
The white man realized he was doomed. Outnumbered and outgunned with no hope of rescue. He drew a bead on the shaman who was approaching closer to the cave. He then held his fire when he saw the look of terror on the Apache's face. As the shaman fled, the braves followed closely behind him. What had happened? Given that he was still alive there was little reason to be concerned with the details.
Staring up in the sky he could make out a tiny light rising over the horizon. It was a light he knew well. Mars was rising. Mars, the god of war. That other world always had a hold on his imagination. Being a warrior and a mercenary himself he would dream about what life might be like on Earth's neighbor. As exhaustion finally embraced him and he drifted off to sleep his thoughts were of the red planet.
(image from NASA)
Something happened. Something impossible. Suddenly awoken the man found himself transported to the surface of Mars! His body quickly went into agony in the frigid thin air. The liquids of his body began to quickly evaporate in the low pressure of the alien world. Within moments the thick sludge his blood had become could no longer maintain his body's vital functions, but with the lack of oxygen in the atmosphere serviceable blood would have been worthless. His freezing, unseeing eyes never closed as he collapsed as quickly as he had risen his hand clutching a handful of martian dirt.
4 March AD 2429
Marte 1, the first manned mission to Mars, landed on the red planet. Minutes later the hatch opened and a space-suited man, Comandante Mendelez, emerged. After a few brief steps on the alien world the man plants the flag of Sul Aliança into the dirt. Over four centuries of rebuilding and humanity now, officially, had surpassed its former glory.
Flag of Sul Aliança
Mendelez looked around the new world in awe of his surroundings. The other two men of his mission team take their first steps on Mars. Something caught the Comandante's eye. Over behind the rocks.
As he moved around to look at the strange object he swore. His profane language transmitted to nearly every radio and television receiver on Earth minutes later. What he saw defied all logic, the desiccated corpse of a human! Examining the corpse and its possessions it was apparent that it was a man from nineteenth century United States. An impossibility.
It would be a mystery humanity would never be able to solve.
END.
March 4, 1866
He was a veteran of the War of Northern Aggression. The Army of Northern Virginia. The war was over, a loss for his adopted state. Now he and his partner traveled across the west, mercenaries and prospectors.
Things had gone poorly when they prospected in Arizona territory. His partner was killed while on a supply run, a victim of the Tonto Apache. After an insane charge into the Apache camp to recover the body he made his way to a cave in what was sacred ground to the natives.
The Apache pursued him in force, but they began to slow as they approached the sacred ground. The shaman urged the warriors forward, they would be forgiven for violating the ground if they dealt with the white-skinned invader.
The Virginian carried his dead friend's body up the path into a cave. He then turned and took cover behind a boulder, awaiting the Apache. Shortly after they arrived a gun fight began.
The defender's only near hit almost killed one of the braves if not for the interdiction of the bullet by a startled bird. The explosion of blood and feathers made it clear to the brave that he was saved, but for what purpose he did not know. Less than a decade later his tribe would be scattered and he would be the partner of a white Texas Ranger turned vigilante.
The white man realized he was doomed. Outnumbered and outgunned with no hope of rescue. He drew a bead on the shaman who was approaching closer to the cave. He then held his fire when he saw the look of terror on the Apache's face. As the shaman fled, the braves followed closely behind him. What had happened? Given that he was still alive there was little reason to be concerned with the details.
Staring up in the sky he could make out a tiny light rising over the horizon. It was a light he knew well. Mars was rising. Mars, the god of war. That other world always had a hold on his imagination. Being a warrior and a mercenary himself he would dream about what life might be like on Earth's neighbor. As exhaustion finally embraced him and he drifted off to sleep his thoughts were of the red planet.
(image from NASA)
Something happened. Something impossible. Suddenly awoken the man found himself transported to the surface of Mars! His body quickly went into agony in the frigid thin air. The liquids of his body began to quickly evaporate in the low pressure of the alien world. Within moments the thick sludge his blood had become could no longer maintain his body's vital functions, but with the lack of oxygen in the atmosphere serviceable blood would have been worthless. His freezing, unseeing eyes never closed as he collapsed as quickly as he had risen his hand clutching a handful of martian dirt.
4 March AD 2429
Marte 1, the first manned mission to Mars, landed on the red planet. Minutes later the hatch opened and a space-suited man, Comandante Mendelez, emerged. After a few brief steps on the alien world the man plants the flag of Sul Aliança into the dirt. Over four centuries of rebuilding and humanity now, officially, had surpassed its former glory.
Flag of Sul Aliança
Mendelez looked around the new world in awe of his surroundings. The other two men of his mission team take their first steps on Mars. Something caught the Comandante's eye. Over behind the rocks.
As he moved around to look at the strange object he swore. His profane language transmitted to nearly every radio and television receiver on Earth minutes later. What he saw defied all logic, the desiccated corpse of a human! Examining the corpse and its possessions it was apparent that it was a man from nineteenth century United States. An impossibility.
It would be a mystery humanity would never be able to solve.
07 September 2014
13 of the top 10 books that stuck with me
I've been tagged me with the challenge of listing the 10 books that have stayed with me. I read a lot of books every year so the list would be very long. I'm sure I've forgotten some important ones that should be included, but I'm already over my limit. Given my natural generosity and disdain for rules I'll be giving a list of 13 instead of 10:
1) AD&D Player's Handbook (1st edition) – by Gary Gygax: This probably had the most influence on me overall, the others will be in no particular order.
2) Tarzan Alive – by Philip Jose Farmer: Farmer is one of my favorite authors. While the first of his books I read were in the Riverworld series Tarzan Alive helped increase my interest in his works and the concept of the Wold Newton Universe.
3) How to Start Your Own Country – by Erwin S. Strauss: A great book on micronation. I've been hooked on the topic ever since. 4) The Art of War – by Sun Tzu
5) A Princess of Mars – by Edgar Rice Burroughs: This one covers all of Burroughs works and my general love of old pulps.
6) For Want of a Nail – by Robert Sobel: My introduction into the area of alternate history. Written as an actual history book from that alternate timeline. I've now read a multitue of alt history books and even have a blog on the topic.
7) The Pity of War – by Niall Ferguson: World War I is a topic I've read dozens of books on. There are so many good ones. This one isn't the best, but it is very good and did get me thinking about things a little differently.
8) Of the City of the Saved – by Philip Purser-Hallard: One of my favorite books in the Faction Paradox series. Faction Paradox is what Doctor Who could be if they got some really creative people working on it.
9) The Crying of Lot 49 – by Thomas Pynchon: Equal parts bizarre and awesome. Also has the kind of ending I love and tends to annoy many others.
10) Physics of the Future – by Michio Kaku: One of my favorite books from my favorite scientist.
11) In the Country of the Blind – by Michael Flynn: A book filled with interesting characters, conspiracies, and great supplemental material in the back. Winner of the 1991 Prometheus Award.
12) 1632 – by Eric Flint: In 2000 a West Virginian mining town is transported to the middle of the Thirty Years War. Amazing start to a large series.
13) The Seychelles Affair – by Mike Hoare: I like Mike's various memoirs and articles especially about his experiences in the Congo. This book covers a failed operation and time in a South African prison. Some insights in this one not in his other books.
As for challenging anyone else to listing their top 10 books - I challenge anyone who actually feels like doing so.
1) AD&D Player's Handbook (1st edition) – by Gary Gygax: This probably had the most influence on me overall, the others will be in no particular order.
2) Tarzan Alive – by Philip Jose Farmer: Farmer is one of my favorite authors. While the first of his books I read were in the Riverworld series Tarzan Alive helped increase my interest in his works and the concept of the Wold Newton Universe.
3) How to Start Your Own Country – by Erwin S. Strauss: A great book on micronation. I've been hooked on the topic ever since. 4) The Art of War – by Sun Tzu
5) A Princess of Mars – by Edgar Rice Burroughs: This one covers all of Burroughs works and my general love of old pulps.
6) For Want of a Nail – by Robert Sobel: My introduction into the area of alternate history. Written as an actual history book from that alternate timeline. I've now read a multitue of alt history books and even have a blog on the topic.
7) The Pity of War – by Niall Ferguson: World War I is a topic I've read dozens of books on. There are so many good ones. This one isn't the best, but it is very good and did get me thinking about things a little differently.
8) Of the City of the Saved – by Philip Purser-Hallard: One of my favorite books in the Faction Paradox series. Faction Paradox is what Doctor Who could be if they got some really creative people working on it.
9) The Crying of Lot 49 – by Thomas Pynchon: Equal parts bizarre and awesome. Also has the kind of ending I love and tends to annoy many others.
10) Physics of the Future – by Michio Kaku: One of my favorite books from my favorite scientist.
11) In the Country of the Blind – by Michael Flynn: A book filled with interesting characters, conspiracies, and great supplemental material in the back. Winner of the 1991 Prometheus Award.
12) 1632 – by Eric Flint: In 2000 a West Virginian mining town is transported to the middle of the Thirty Years War. Amazing start to a large series.
13) The Seychelles Affair – by Mike Hoare: I like Mike's various memoirs and articles especially about his experiences in the Congo. This book covers a failed operation and time in a South African prison. Some insights in this one not in his other books.
As for challenging anyone else to listing their top 10 books - I challenge anyone who actually feels like doing so.
22 July 2013
Book Review - Harry Sullivan's War
Harry Sullivan was one of the companions of the Fourth Doctor Who (the Doctor with the scarf). He worked with the Doctor and U.N.I.T. on a number of adventures. In 1986 he finally got his own book - written by Ian Marter, the actor who played Harry on the show!
Ian Marter wrote a number of the novelizations of the old Doctor Who episodes. I've read his novelization of the Enemy of the World story since I'm a fan of the second Doctor and that story was incomplete in its original format. For this story Ian gets to create an original tale - one that does not have the time lord making an appearance.
THE STORY
It has been a decade since Harry last adventured in the TARDIS. He has left U.N.I.T. and has recently been transferred to a NATO research facility that develops chemical weapons. Harry is involved mostly on the antidote side of the research. As he begins working at his new position in a facility up in Scotland strange things begin to happen to him, including attempts on his life. Instead of notifying his superiors of the attempts he sets out to unravel things on his own.
Before long Harry is on the run from a terrorist group as well as from his own government which now suspects he is the actual spy. There are long chases across Scotland and into London itself. At times it seemed like I was reading a John Buchan book..... at least until Harry would say something stupid like "Oh my giddy aunt!" Hard to picture an action hero constantly using a line like that. Harry is also completely clueless - it goes beyond the expected amount of ignorance involved for a mystery, but he has such limited information about what is going on there is no reason for him to not immediately call his superiors.
I have trouble figuring out the exact motives of the villains. After spending time trying to murder our hero they then go to great pains to capture and imprison him. I'm not sure exactly what they wanted with the nerve agents they stole... I think the bad guys had a bit of a falling out as one faction became more violent than the original group. The group also used paintings by Van Gogh as a symbol of their organization.
Harry was way too gullible to the manipulations of the femme fatale of the story. He has a couple of encounters with Sarah Jane Smith as well, but they seem to be just 'friends'.
The ending was a bit confusing and involved a fight around the superstructure of the Eiffel Tower that might of looked good in a James Bond film of that era. Again, there is no reason for Harry to be anywhere near the villains at the end, it was a job for the British Secret Service. And despite how idiotic Harry could be at times the villains are even dafter as they follow through with their meeting in Paris after all that happened in the book.
CONCLUSION
Overall I liked the book. While it failed in may ways to be a good thriller and the story was confusing there was an enthusiastic energy that made it fun. It is also nice to see something in the Doctor Who universe that doesn't revolve around the alien-of-the-week trying to destroy or dominate the Earth. Big thumbs up for not creating a story involving that. It was a nice attempt to expand the universe and add elements from genres not normally associated with Doctor Who.
There were too many questions at the end. What about the potential medical discovery Harry made? What was the Brigadier actually doing in the villain's hideout? What about his friend's wife - was she involved in the conspiracy? What was really going on?
If you are a big Doctor Who fan it is worth the read. If you just want a thriller novel set in Britain then you might want to try The 39 Steps, or the Power-House instead, you'll most likely be disappointed with the action in this novel.
12 April 2013
Kingmaker Update
It has been some time since I first posted about my Kingmaker campaign for Pathfinder. We are now getting close to the end of book two of the six book adventure series. Tonight the party continues its explorations.
here is the current borders of their kingdom
They are bordered on the east by Varnhold and surround the three-hex large Sootscale Kingdom. The Sootscales are kobolds and have access to a silver mine. I've overhead the players mention a couple of times the desire to gain control of the mine.
Explorations currently are taking place to the south and west of the capital, all around the Tuskwater. They've been leaving that area underdeveloped due to their rush to encircle the Sootscales and secure the border with Varnhold. Hopefully by the end of May this year I'll be ready to start book 3 of the series.
Once work slows down for me a little I'll have to see what I can do to get the campaign maps into Campaign Cartographer 3 or something similar to aid in keeping track of the constantly changing maps.
They are bordered on the east by Varnhold and surround the three-hex large Sootscale Kingdom. The Sootscales are kobolds and have access to a silver mine. I've overhead the players mention a couple of times the desire to gain control of the mine.
Explorations currently are taking place to the south and west of the capital, all around the Tuskwater. They've been leaving that area underdeveloped due to their rush to encircle the Sootscales and secure the border with Varnhold. Hopefully by the end of May this year I'll be ready to start book 3 of the series.
Once work slows down for me a little I'll have to see what I can do to get the campaign maps into Campaign Cartographer 3 or something similar to aid in keeping track of the constantly changing maps.
21 March 2013
Third Sentence Thursday - The Mad Goblin
Make your own banner at MyBannerMaker.com!
1) Take the book you are currently reading and open it to a random page. Share the third full sentence on that page. (If there isn’t a third one – like at the end of a chapter or a blank page – you can share the third sentence of the book or just choose another random page.) Feel free to share more than one sentence, if you feel the need to do so.
2) Review this sentence anyway you want (funny and silly reviews encouraged)
3) Post a link to your sentence at Words I Write Crazy
4) Visit one or two of the other blogs to check out their third sentences!
"It was a lizardlike reptile with a long slim snakelike body about five and a half feet long." from The Mad Goblin by Philip José Farmer
So far this has been a great adventure story. One of the sequels to A Feast Unknown.
19 March 2013
Top 10 books I just had to buy but still haven't read
I've decided to give this meme a try. It might motivate me to actually read one of these books.
Meme form brokeandbookish.blogspot.com
To be fair a number of these are Kindle versions but they were all impulse buys nonetheless:
1. Radicals for Capitalism by Brian Doherty - I want to read this... it's just a very long book and I let too many things distract me.
2. The Restoration Game by Ken MacLeod - a nominee for the Prometheus Award. I was trying to read all of the nominees that year... didn't make it.
3. Dreadnought by Robert K. Massie - another big book on World War I. While I've read dozens of books on the war I've always favored reading about aircraft or the more obscure fronts of the war. I've been ignoring the Dreadnoughts for too long.
4. The Political Philosophy of Bakunin edited by G.P. Maximoff - It can be interesting to read about early anarchists and revolutionaries and comparing them to the ones we have today. Bakunin was going to be a project for me a few years ago.... a project that still needs to be finished.
5. The Seychelles Affair by Mike Hoare - Hoare's memoirs of the botched invasion of the Seychelles.
6. Tolkien and the Great War by John Garth - The Great War and J.R.R. Tolkien; how have I ignored this on for so long?
7. The Entrepreneur's Guide to Second Life by Daniel Terdiman - Years ago I considered trying out Second Life. It even has its own currency that can be exchanged with US Dollars. Never followed through, and even today doesn't seem like a good use of my time.
8. A Day in the Life of Ancient Rome by Alberto Angela - Bought this one for a role-playing game campaign I was running set in ancient Rome. Game lasted two sessions book remained unread.
9. Scapegoats of the Empire by George Witton - the memoirs of an Australian officer run through a British military kangaroo court during the Boer War. Basis for the movie Breaker Morant. Love the movie, not sure if I need to read the book.
10. Tales of the Far West by various authors - An anthology of short stories for the Far West role-playing game setting. Looks like an awesome setting, just have to find time to read this someday.
I have to take some of the one on this list that are physical books and either trade them on Paperback Swap (where I'll just get credits for other books I won't read) or I'll have to donate them to one of the local libraries. Might end up being the library since I now take better advantage of the books they store on their shelves so I don't have to. Got through a few books recently (one I have to return by the end of this week) and it didn't cost me a dime. Before going into a bookstore be sure to intentionally look at your library card or keep it on top of your credit card - it can save you a lot of money in the long run!
Meme form brokeandbookish.blogspot.com
To be fair a number of these are Kindle versions but they were all impulse buys nonetheless:
1. Radicals for Capitalism by Brian Doherty - I want to read this... it's just a very long book and I let too many things distract me.
2. The Restoration Game by Ken MacLeod - a nominee for the Prometheus Award. I was trying to read all of the nominees that year... didn't make it.
3. Dreadnought by Robert K. Massie - another big book on World War I. While I've read dozens of books on the war I've always favored reading about aircraft or the more obscure fronts of the war. I've been ignoring the Dreadnoughts for too long.
4. The Political Philosophy of Bakunin edited by G.P. Maximoff - It can be interesting to read about early anarchists and revolutionaries and comparing them to the ones we have today. Bakunin was going to be a project for me a few years ago.... a project that still needs to be finished.
5. The Seychelles Affair by Mike Hoare - Hoare's memoirs of the botched invasion of the Seychelles.
6. Tolkien and the Great War by John Garth - The Great War and J.R.R. Tolkien; how have I ignored this on for so long?
7. The Entrepreneur's Guide to Second Life by Daniel Terdiman - Years ago I considered trying out Second Life. It even has its own currency that can be exchanged with US Dollars. Never followed through, and even today doesn't seem like a good use of my time.
8. A Day in the Life of Ancient Rome by Alberto Angela - Bought this one for a role-playing game campaign I was running set in ancient Rome. Game lasted two sessions book remained unread.
9. Scapegoats of the Empire by George Witton - the memoirs of an Australian officer run through a British military kangaroo court during the Boer War. Basis for the movie Breaker Morant. Love the movie, not sure if I need to read the book.
10. Tales of the Far West by various authors - An anthology of short stories for the Far West role-playing game setting. Looks like an awesome setting, just have to find time to read this someday.
I have to take some of the one on this list that are physical books and either trade them on Paperback Swap (where I'll just get credits for other books I won't read) or I'll have to donate them to one of the local libraries. Might end up being the library since I now take better advantage of the books they store on their shelves so I don't have to. Got through a few books recently (one I have to return by the end of this week) and it didn't cost me a dime. Before going into a bookstore be sure to intentionally look at your library card or keep it on top of your credit card - it can save you a lot of money in the long run!
14 March 2013
I've got a new blog up and running. It involves alternate history. New worlds I've invented, reviews of alternate history books, revies of role-playing games involving alternate history. It's just starting out but I have my first post up involving a change in events during the First World War that leads to a victory of the Central Powers. Much more is to follow in the coming months and years.
It can be found at Other Times.
Please check it out, follow, and leave comments.
Thanks.
It can be found at Other Times.
Please check it out, follow, and leave comments.
Thanks.
15 January 2013
Book Review: My Ideal Bookshelf
At the end of last year I won a copy of My Ideal Bookshelf from a giveaway on Goodreads. I've finished reading it and here is my review:
My Ideal Bookshelf was edited by Thessaly La Force and was filled with art by Jane Mount. Over a hundred people wrote about their ideal book shelves, filling a page with their thoughts. Across from each essay is one of Jane's paintings of that particular person's 'ideal bookshelf.' I have to admit that most of the people who participated were unknown to me, but I did know of a few of them beforehand.
One page to describe about ten books and why they were chosen to be on that person's ideal bookshelf is not much space. Many didn't cover all of the books illustrated for their shelves. At first I didn't like that - I thought that they should at least explain why each of books were chosen to be on their top list. However, as I made my way through the book I realized that the essays were fine the way they were. They had to be kept to one page, more than that would have spoiled the nice layout of the book. In some cases the best essays were the ones that didn't even describe any of the books on that particular shelf but instead described the general thoughts the person had on books in general.
If I reviewed this book after only reading the first fifty pages I might of only given it two out of five stars, but as I reached the end I 'got it' and began to really like the book. It was also nice on those occasions when I spotted a book that was on one of my shelves. My final review of this book is 4 out of 5 stars.
MY IDEAL BOOKSHELF
Here is my sketch of the ten books that I would put in my 'Ideal Bookshelf' as of January 2013. Included on that shelf are the following:
Advanced Dungeons & Dragons Players Handbook: by Gary Gygax. Dungeons & Dragons had a big influence on my early life. This well-worn tome had to make the list.
Myths of the Modern Age: by Win Scott Eckert. A series of articles and essays about the Wold Newton concept. One of my favorite recent things.
Guns, Germs, and Steel: by Jared Diamond. A great reference that aided me in developing various alternate timelines for some role-playing games.
For Want of a Nail: by Robert Sobel. An awesome alternate history that was written as if it were an actual history book form that alternate world.
Recarving Rushmore: by Ivan Eland. A very good analysis of the Presidents of the United States from a completely different set of parameters than most other rankings.
The Martian Tales Trilogy: by Edgar Rice Burroughs. Classic sword & planet.
How to Start Your Own Country: by Erwin S. Strauss. Great reference book for micronations
The Pity of War: by Niall Ferguson. One of the better books on the First World War in recent years.
The Crying of Lot 49: by Thomas Pynchon. Just the right amount of strangeness for my tastes.
The Guns of the South: by Harry Turtledove. A great story about time travel and the American Civil War.
My Ideal Bookshelf was edited by Thessaly La Force and was filled with art by Jane Mount. Over a hundred people wrote about their ideal book shelves, filling a page with their thoughts. Across from each essay is one of Jane's paintings of that particular person's 'ideal bookshelf.' I have to admit that most of the people who participated were unknown to me, but I did know of a few of them beforehand.
One page to describe about ten books and why they were chosen to be on that person's ideal bookshelf is not much space. Many didn't cover all of the books illustrated for their shelves. At first I didn't like that - I thought that they should at least explain why each of books were chosen to be on their top list. However, as I made my way through the book I realized that the essays were fine the way they were. They had to be kept to one page, more than that would have spoiled the nice layout of the book. In some cases the best essays were the ones that didn't even describe any of the books on that particular shelf but instead described the general thoughts the person had on books in general.
If I reviewed this book after only reading the first fifty pages I might of only given it two out of five stars, but as I reached the end I 'got it' and began to really like the book. It was also nice on those occasions when I spotted a book that was on one of my shelves. My final review of this book is 4 out of 5 stars.
Here is my sketch of the ten books that I would put in my 'Ideal Bookshelf' as of January 2013. Included on that shelf are the following:
Advanced Dungeons & Dragons Players Handbook: by Gary Gygax. Dungeons & Dragons had a big influence on my early life. This well-worn tome had to make the list.
Myths of the Modern Age: by Win Scott Eckert. A series of articles and essays about the Wold Newton concept. One of my favorite recent things.
Guns, Germs, and Steel: by Jared Diamond. A great reference that aided me in developing various alternate timelines for some role-playing games.
For Want of a Nail: by Robert Sobel. An awesome alternate history that was written as if it were an actual history book form that alternate world.
Recarving Rushmore: by Ivan Eland. A very good analysis of the Presidents of the United States from a completely different set of parameters than most other rankings.
The Martian Tales Trilogy: by Edgar Rice Burroughs. Classic sword & planet.
How to Start Your Own Country: by Erwin S. Strauss. Great reference book for micronations
The Pity of War: by Niall Ferguson. One of the better books on the First World War in recent years.
The Crying of Lot 49: by Thomas Pynchon. Just the right amount of strangeness for my tastes.
The Guns of the South: by Harry Turtledove. A great story about time travel and the American Civil War.
09 January 2013
Paragon City
City of Heroes has only been dead for over a month now and I still miss it. I've been giving the Star Wars The Old Republic MMO a try and it has been very entertaining so far. I'll have to see how group play goes with some of my friends.
In any case, last weekend I was working on all sorts of maps and compiling data for numerous table-top games I'm involved in and I got distracted by a question: Where the heck in Rhode Island is City of Heroes Paragon City? No scale on the map that came with the game, and the zones don't always measure up in game to match the map as well as I'd like. Finally, using Independence Port as a basis I determined the size of Paragon City. Next was finding a place in Rhode Island that would fit its unique geographic features.
Finally I took a thumbnail of the Paragon City Map, made a few minor adjustments to it and then merged it to a random map of Rhode Island I found on the web - the first one I found that had a scale. I got the city scale to match the state map scale and combined the two. Here is the result:
I did have to make some minor alterations to the coastline to get Paragon City to fit. The biggest change was to connect Conanicut Island to the mainland. Worked out pretty good.
Did you ever play City of Heroes? What game do you replace it with these days?
In any case, last weekend I was working on all sorts of maps and compiling data for numerous table-top games I'm involved in and I got distracted by a question: Where the heck in Rhode Island is City of Heroes Paragon City? No scale on the map that came with the game, and the zones don't always measure up in game to match the map as well as I'd like. Finally, using Independence Port as a basis I determined the size of Paragon City. Next was finding a place in Rhode Island that would fit its unique geographic features.
Finally I took a thumbnail of the Paragon City Map, made a few minor adjustments to it and then merged it to a random map of Rhode Island I found on the web - the first one I found that had a scale. I got the city scale to match the state map scale and combined the two. Here is the result:
I did have to make some minor alterations to the coastline to get Paragon City to fit. The biggest change was to connect Conanicut Island to the mainland. Worked out pretty good.
Did you ever play City of Heroes? What game do you replace it with these days?
04 January 2013
Kingmaker
Tonight my Kingmaker campaign enters its nation building phase. After spending months clearing out the local wilderness the party is finally ready to establish a new city and barony in the Stolen Lands.
Hopefully the rules for developing this nation will keep all the players entertained. I'm a little worried that the system doesn't give characters in different positions more to due to chart the destiny of their land.
I will most likely be adding a Kobold kingdom near the players. I want to add a bit more diplomacy to the campaign. The only thing is they plan on talking with Chief Sootscale and will offer him a position in their government. Inviting in lawful evil NPCs to help rule your kingdom... not always the best idea!
Hopefully I'll be working a few normal encounters into the evening. There are lands near their capital that will need exploring. It will be fun to see how things develop in the coming months.
I'll be sure to post updates, including maps as the campaign progresses.
Hopefully the rules for developing this nation will keep all the players entertained. I'm a little worried that the system doesn't give characters in different positions more to due to chart the destiny of their land.
I will most likely be adding a Kobold kingdom near the players. I want to add a bit more diplomacy to the campaign. The only thing is they plan on talking with Chief Sootscale and will offer him a position in their government. Inviting in lawful evil NPCs to help rule your kingdom... not always the best idea!
Hopefully I'll be working a few normal encounters into the evening. There are lands near their capital that will need exploring. It will be fun to see how things develop in the coming months.
I'll be sure to post updates, including maps as the campaign progresses.
03 January 2013
Third Sentence Thursday - Freedom and Virtue
Make your own banner at MyBannerMaker.com!
1) Take the book you are currently reading and open it to a random page. Share the third full sentence on that page. (If there isn’t a third one – like at the end of a chapter or a blank page – you can share the third sentence of the book or just choose another random page.) Feel free to share more than one sentence, if you feel the need to do so.
2) Review this sentence anyway you want (funny and silly reviews encouraged)
3) Post a link to your sentence at Words I Write Crazy (follow the link in the image above)
4) Visit one or two of the other blogs to check out their third sentences!
I'm reading some non-fiction this week.
"Frequently, these respective facets seem symbiotic, if not completely compatible, yet on occasion these two perspectives appear distinct, separate, and irreconcilable." Freedom and Virtue page 79 (near the beginning of an essay by John P. East)
This sentence comes form John P. East's essay "Conservatism and Libertarianism: Vital Complements." It seems to capture that at first glance, especially to an outsider, the two philosophies may seem very similar. However, when one digs deeper many very incompatible opinions quickly surface.
01 January 2013
2013 Book Reading Challenges
Yesterday I posted about my near complete failure at the book reading challenges I undertook in 2012. 2012 was a crazy year for me including having to get a new job and taking on too many other responsibilities.
I've got things more under control right now and have a better idea on how to participate in multiple challenges. So here is the list of ones I'll be entering for 2013!
1) the JUST FOR FUN Reading Challenge 2013 over at Goodreads.
2)Book Vixen's 2013 Outdo Yourself Challenge. I'll need to read at least 61 books in 2013 to win this one.
3)The 2013 Ebook Challenge: I'll be going for the CD level (reading 10 ebooks) in 2013. Shouldn't be a problem.
4)2013 Audio Book Challenge: I'll be going for the Married-Listen level of 26 or more audio books. In past years this would have been difficult but with my extra time at the gym and speakers set up in my painting room I should be able to make more use of my listening time.
5) Nerdy Non-Fiction Challenge 2013: I'll be trying for the Dork Level - reading 7 to 10 books form four or five of the categories.
5) Mount TBR Reading Challenge 2013: I'll be careful on this one and only go for the Pike's Peak level (12 books). Last year I discovered I had a tendency to read new books or books from the library instead of my TBR pile.
While it isn't required I list the books I plan to read I thought I'd at least list six that I do plan. For course this may change as the year progresses.
* The Seychelles Affair by Mike Hoare
* More Than Fire by Philip José Farmer
* The Other Log of Phileas Fogg by Philip José Farmer
* Doctor Omega by Arnould Golopin
* Callahan's Crosstime Saloon by Spider Robinson
* Lincoln's Flying Spies by Gail Jarrow
I'll be sure to post more reviews in 2013 than I did in 2012 to share what I discover in my new year's readings.
I've got things more under control right now and have a better idea on how to participate in multiple challenges. So here is the list of ones I'll be entering for 2013!
1) the JUST FOR FUN Reading Challenge 2013 over at Goodreads.
2)Book Vixen's 2013 Outdo Yourself Challenge. I'll need to read at least 61 books in 2013 to win this one.
3)The 2013 Ebook Challenge: I'll be going for the CD level (reading 10 ebooks) in 2013. Shouldn't be a problem.
4)2013 Audio Book Challenge: I'll be going for the Married-Listen level of 26 or more audio books. In past years this would have been difficult but with my extra time at the gym and speakers set up in my painting room I should be able to make more use of my listening time.
5) Nerdy Non-Fiction Challenge 2013: I'll be trying for the Dork Level - reading 7 to 10 books form four or five of the categories.
5) Mount TBR Reading Challenge 2013: I'll be careful on this one and only go for the Pike's Peak level (12 books). Last year I discovered I had a tendency to read new books or books from the library instead of my TBR pile.
While it isn't required I list the books I plan to read I thought I'd at least list six that I do plan. For course this may change as the year progresses.
* The Seychelles Affair by Mike Hoare
* More Than Fire by Philip José Farmer
* The Other Log of Phileas Fogg by Philip José Farmer
* Doctor Omega by Arnould Golopin
* Callahan's Crosstime Saloon by Spider Robinson
* Lincoln's Flying Spies by Gail Jarrow
I'll be sure to post more reviews in 2013 than I did in 2012 to share what I discover in my new year's readings.
31 December 2012
2012 Book Reading Challenge Recap
READING CHALLENGES FOR 2012
*Reading Challenge Addicts Challenge for 2012
*150+ Reading Challenge for 2012
1) A Feast Unknown: by Philip José Farmer (Sci-Fi/Adventure)
2) The Burden of Guilt: by Daniel Allen Butler (History/WWI)
3) The Divide: by William Overgard(Alternate History)
4) Tunnel Through Time: by Lester Del Rey (Sci-Fi)
5) Planet Hulk: written by Greg Pak (Graphic Novel)
6) Gods of Manhattan: by Al Ewing. Part of the Pax Britannia series (science fiction/pulpy)
7) Six Days of War: by Michael B. Oren, narrated by Robert Whitfield (History/Middle-East) - Audio Book
8) Myth of the Great War: by John Mosier. One of the two best books on World War I to come out in recent years. (History/World War I)
9) Tarzan at the Earth's Core: by Edgar Rice Burroughs (Sci-fi/Fantasy)
10) The Untold History of the Potato: by John Reader. (audio book narrated by Martin Hyder) (History)
11) The Kingdom: by Mark Waid (graphic novel)
12) Into Africa: by Martin Dugard (History/Africa) - Audio Book
13) Sir Jolly Jingle's Beastly Journey: by Wallace Tripp (Picture Book)
14) Warlord of Mars: Fall of Barsoom: By Robert Place Napton & Roberto Castro. (Graphic Novel)
15) The Red Baron: by Manfred von Richtofen (Memoir/World War I)
16) The Crying of Lot 49: by Thomas Pynchon
17) Forgotten Bookmarks: by Michael Popek
18) Oh My Gods: by Philip Freeman (Mythology)
19) Watson's Afghan Adventure: by Kieran McMullen
20) The Quantum Story: by Jim Baggott (Science)
21) The Other Teddy Roosevelts: by Mike Resnick
22) Kull: Exile of Atlantis: by Robert E. Howard
23) Snuff: by Terry Pratchett (Fantasy)
24) Firestorm: by Taylor Anderson
25) Ready Player One: by Ernest Cline (Science Fiction)
26) The Bloody White Baron: by James Palmer (History)
27) Alice's Adventures in Wonderland: by Lewis Carroll (fantasy)
28) The Elephant's Child: by Rudyard Kipling (picture book)
29) Household Stories by the Brothers Grimm: by the Brothers Grimm
30) Children of the Sky: by Vernor Vinge (science fiction)
31) Iron Gray Sea: by Taylor Anderson (book 7 of Destoryermen series)
32) War is a Racket: by Smedley D. Butler
33) Coup d'Etat: by Harry Turtledove (part 4 of the War That Came Early series)
34) Brave New World: by Aldous Huxley
35) The Long Earth: by Terry Pratchett and Stephen Baxter
36) Space Wars: by William Scott
37) Life of Black Hawk: by Ma-Ka-Tai-Me-She-Kia-Kiak
38) Animal Farm: by George Orwell
39) Shakedown Socialism: by Oleg Atbashian
40) Red Orc's Rage: by Philip Jose Farmer
41) A Woman A Day: by Philip Jose Farmer
42) Jesus on Mars: by Philip Jose Farmer
43) Kingmaker Part 1 - Stolen Land: by James Jacobs (Pathfinder Adventure path)
44) Presidential Pulp: by Ivan Eland (Presidential history/Politics)
45) Genghis Khan and the Making of the Modern World: by Jack Weatherford
46) Through the Looking-Glass: Lewis Carroll
47) The Peerless Peer: by Philip Jose Farmer
48) Savage Continent: Europe in the Aftermath of World War II: by Keith Lowe (History/WWII)
49) Star Wars: Scoundrels: by Timothy Zahn
50) Rethinking the American Union for the Twenty-First Century: by Donald W. Livingston
51) Skull & Shackles part 1: The Wormwood Mutiny: by Richard Pett (RPG/Pathfiinder adventure path)
52) CCH Master Tax Guide: Didn't read this entire thing - but a lot of it for a 80 self-study course.
53) Across The Universe: The DC Universe Stories: by Alan Moore (graphic novel)
54) The Black Count: by Tom Reiss (history)
55) The Dardenelles Disaster: by Dan van der Vat (history/WWI)
56) The Adventure of the Blue Carbuncle: Arthur Conan Doyle (Sherlock Holmes)
57) Red Shirts: A Novel with Three Codas: by John Scalzi
58) My Ideal Bookshelf: by Thessaly la Force
59) Underground Warfare, 1914-1918: by Simon Jones (history/WWI)
60) Gulliver of Mars: by Edwin Lester Arnold
*2012 Read 52 books in 52 weeks
While I did read over 1 book a week I didn't write enough reviews or post to the challenge host blog. We'll count that as a fail.
*Chunkster Challenge 2012: Striving for Chubby Chunkster level
Reading 4 really large books.... didn't read even one over 1,000 pages - unless you count the Master Tax Guide, which I don't.
*Get Steampunked! 2012: Striving for Geared level
Got one out of five on this one. Maybe two if Tarzan at Earth's Core is included (it did have an airship in it) 1) Gods of Manhattan: by Al Ewing. Part of the Pax Britannia series
*Graphic Novels Challenge 2012
Missed a few months on this one.
1) January - Planet Hulk: written by Greg Pak
2) February - The Kingdom: written by Mark Waid
3) March - Warlord of Mars: Fall of Barsoom: By Robert Place Napton & Roberto Castro.
4) April -
5) May -
6) June -
7) July -
8) August -
9) September -
10) October -
11) November -
12) December - Across The Universe: The DC Universe Stories: by Alan Moore (graphic novel)
*Non-Fiction Non-Memoir Reading 2012 Challenge: Master's Degree level
Was shooting for 25 books -
1) The Burden of Guilt: by Daniel Allen Butler
2) Myth of the Great War: by John Mosier
3) The Bloody White Baron: by James Palmer
4) Genghis Khan and the Making of the Modern World: by Jack Weatherford
5) Savage Continent: Europe in the Aftermath of World War II: by Keith Lowe (History/WWII)
6) Rethinking the American Union for the Twenty-First Century: by Donald W. Livingston
7) The Black Count: by Tom Reiss (history)
8) The Dardenelles Disaster: by Dan van der Vat (history/WWI)
9) Underground Warfare, 1914-1918: by Simon Jones (history/WWI)
*Read Your Name Challenge 2012
S: Sir Jolly Jingle's Beastly Journey: by Wallace Tripp
E: The Elephant's Child: by Rudyard Kipling
A: A Feast Unknown: by Philip José Farmer
N:
Man! That is the height of laziness. Didn't even look for a quick book for the letter N.
*Time Travel Reading Challenge 2012: Mind-boggling Voyage: 10 to 12 time travel books level
1) Tunnel Through Time: by Lester Del Rey
A couple other books I read this year had time travel elements in them. If I could go back in time I'd change the level I tried for in this challenge.
*2012 Short Story Reading Challenge: Tell Me A Story level (1-3)
1) Presidential Pulp: by Ivan Eland (Presidential history/Politics)
I did read at least one short story anthology for the 1-3 required for the Tell Me A Story level of the 2012 Short Story reading challenge. Got One! Just not a very impressive level of one.
*A-Z Book Challenge
A) A Feast Unknown: by Philip José Farmer
B) The Burden of Guilt: by Daniel Allen Butler
C) The Crying of Lot 49: by Thomas Pynchon
D) The Divide: by William Overgard(Alternate History)
E) The Elephant's Child: by Rudyard Kipling
F) Forgotten Bookmarks: by Michael Popek
G) Gods of Manhattan: by Al Ewing. Part of the Pax Britannia series
H) Household Stories by the Brothers Grimm: by the Brothers Grimm
I) Iron Gray Sea: by Taylor Anderson
J) Jesus on Mars: by Philip Jose Farmer
K) Kingmaker Part 1 - Stolen Lands: by James Jacobs
L) The Long Earth: by Terry Pratchett and Stephen Baxter
M) Myth of the Great War: by John Mosier
N)
O)Oh My Gods: by Philip Freeman (Mythology)
P) The Peerless Peer: by Philip Jose Farmer
Q)
R) The Red Baron: by Manfred von Richtofen
S) Sir Jolly Jingle's Beastly Journey: by Wallace Tripp
T) Tunnel Through Time: by Lester Del Rey
U) Underground Warfare, 1914-1918: by Simon Jones (history/WWI)
V)
W)Watson's Afghan Adventure: by Kieran McMullen
X)
Y)
Z)
Didn't do to bad hear. Just that letter 'N' taunting me again. *2012 Picture Book Reading Challenge: Level One
1) Sir Jolly Jingle's Beastly Journey: by Wallace Tripp
2) The Elephant's Child: by Rudyard Kipling
Two out of twelve. I suppose I could have gone to the library and quickly read ten more picture books but that would have seemed cheap.
*Truth in Fiction Challenge: Master's Level (5 pairs of books)
Big fail on this one. Didn't coordinate my reading very well.
*2012 TBR Pile Reading Challenge
1) A Feast Unknown: by Philip José Farmer
2) The Burden of Guilt: by Daniel Allen Butler
3) The Divide: by William Overgard(Alternate History)
4) Tunnel Through Time: by Lester Del Rey
5) Gods of Manhattan: by Al Ewing. Part of the Pax Britannia series
6) Myth of the Great War: by John Mosier
7) Tarzan at the Earth's Core: by Edgar Rice Burroughs
8) The Red Baron: by Manfred von Richtofen
9) Red Orc's Rage: by Philip Jose Farmer
10) A Woman A Day: by Philip Jose Farmer
11) Jesus on Mars: by Philip Jose Farmer
12) Brave New World: by Aldous Huxley
I might have done a bit better on this one. Didn't get near the 41 I needed. Spent too much time reading new books.
*2012 War Through the Generations Reading Challenge: WWI - Swim level 11+ books
1) The Burden of Guilt: by Daniel Allen Butler
2) Myth of the Great War: by John Mosier
3) The Red Baron: by Manfred von Richtofen
4) The Bloody White Baron: by James Palmer (involves the War and Russian Revoultion
5) The Dardenelles Disaster: by Dan van der Vat (history/WWI)
6) Underground Warfare, 1914-1918: by Simon Jones (history/WWI)
Just needed five more to finish this one up. I know I hit one of the lower levels, but I aimed for the 11+ level (the highest). This is the most embarrassing one since I have so many books on world war I on my shelf and on my Kindle. It is also an area of history I specialize in. Drat.
*The 2012 TBR Pile Challenge
1 - A Feast Unknown by Philip Jose Farmer (COMPLETED - Review coming shortly)
2 - Tarzan at the Earth's Core by Edgar Rice Burroughs (COMPLETED)
3 - Frankenstein Unbound by Brian Aldiss (to be completed)
4 - Hadon of Ancient Opar by Philip Jose Farmer (to be completed)
5 - The Divide by William Overgard (COMPLETED)
6 - Gods of Manhattan by Al Ewing (COMPLETED)
7 - The Red Baron by Manfred Von Richtofen (COMPLETED)
8 - Voices From the Great War by Peter Vansittart (to be completed)
9 - Myth of the Great War by John Mosier (COMPLETED)
10 - Tunnelling to Freedom by Hugh Durnford & others (to be completed)
11 - The Burden of Guilt by Daniel Allen Butler (COMPLETED)
12 - World War I The African Front by Edward Paice (to be completed)
Got distracted during the year. Note the unread books involving World War One that would have helped with the other challenge too.
*2012 Ebook Challenge: CD Level
1)Oh My Gods: by Philip Freeman (Mythology)
2)Watson's Afghan Adventure: by Kieran McMullen
2)The Other Teddy Roosevelts: by Mike Resnick
3)The Elephant's Child: by Rudyard Kipling
4)Alice's Adventures in Wonderland: by Lewis Carroll
5)Household Stories by the Brothers Grimm: by the Brothers Grimm
6)Presidential Pulp: various authors
7)Through the Looking-Glass: by Lewis Carroll
8)Gulliver of Mars: by Edwin Lester Arnold
9)
10)
Very close on this one too. I guess I shouldn't have spent so much time reading short stories on my Kindle.
*2012 Audio Book Challenge
1) Six Days of War: by Michael B. Oren, narrated by Robert Whitfield (History/Middle-East)
2) The Untold History of the Potato: by John Reader; narrated by Martin Hyder (History/general)
3) Into Africa: by Martin Dugard (History/Africa)
4) The Quantum Story: by Jim Baggott (Science)
5) Kull: Exile of Atlantis: by Robert E. Howard
6) Snuff: by Terry Pratchett (Fantasy)
7) Firestorm: by Taylor Anderson
8) Ready Player One: by Ernest Cline (Science Fiction
9) Children of the Sky: by Vernor Vinge (science fiction)
10) Iron Gray Sea: by Taylor Anderson
11) Coup d'Etat: by Harry Hurtledove (Alternate History)
12) Brave New World: by Aldous Huxley
13) The Long Earth: by Terry Pratchett and Stephen Baxter
14) Live of Black Hawk: by Ma-Ka-Tai-Me-She-Kia-Kiak
15) Animal Farm: George Orwell
16) Genghis Khan and the Making of the Modern World: by Jack Weahterford
17) Savage Continent: Europe in the Aftermath of World War II: by Keith Lowe (History/WWII)
18) The Black Count: by Tom Reiss (history)
19) The Dardenelles Disaster: by Dan van der Vat (history/WWI)
20) The Adventure of the Blue Carbuncle: Arthur Conan Doyle (Sherlock Holmes)
21) Red Shirts: A Novel with Three Codas: by John Scalzi
22)
23)
24)
25)
Came close on this one. If only I had re-joined my gym a couple months early.
*2012 Outdo Yourself Reading Challenge: read 60 books in 2011 so must surpass this number for 2012.
I read 60 books again this year. I would grab a children's book that I could quickly finish to get up to 61 for this year - but that would be stupid. IN CONCLUSION Looks like I only succeeded in one of the challenges I entered last year. I would have bet on getting through half of them but something happened. What happened is that I didn't want my reading time dictated by random choices I made on New Year's Eve. New books came out that interested me and had be read. My interests shifted during the year. Most importantly I joined too many reading challenges. I'll have to enter only two or three for 2013. I should also get better at posting reviews of books I've read to potentially help others in deciding if it is something they should spend time on. I'll post something tomorrow on the new (and fewer) challenges I plan to participate in for 2013. Happy New Year to all. Sorry about the lapse in posts in the last few months. It has been a crazy end of 2012.
*Reading Challenge Addicts Challenge for 2012
*150+ Reading Challenge for 2012
1) A Feast Unknown: by Philip José Farmer (Sci-Fi/Adventure)
2) The Burden of Guilt: by Daniel Allen Butler (History/WWI)
3) The Divide: by William Overgard(Alternate History)
4) Tunnel Through Time: by Lester Del Rey (Sci-Fi)
5) Planet Hulk: written by Greg Pak (Graphic Novel)
6) Gods of Manhattan: by Al Ewing. Part of the Pax Britannia series (science fiction/pulpy)
7) Six Days of War: by Michael B. Oren, narrated by Robert Whitfield (History/Middle-East) - Audio Book
8) Myth of the Great War: by John Mosier. One of the two best books on World War I to come out in recent years. (History/World War I)
9) Tarzan at the Earth's Core: by Edgar Rice Burroughs (Sci-fi/Fantasy)
10) The Untold History of the Potato: by John Reader. (audio book narrated by Martin Hyder) (History)
11) The Kingdom: by Mark Waid (graphic novel)
12) Into Africa: by Martin Dugard (History/Africa) - Audio Book
13) Sir Jolly Jingle's Beastly Journey: by Wallace Tripp (Picture Book)
14) Warlord of Mars: Fall of Barsoom: By Robert Place Napton & Roberto Castro. (Graphic Novel)
15) The Red Baron: by Manfred von Richtofen (Memoir/World War I)
16) The Crying of Lot 49: by Thomas Pynchon
17) Forgotten Bookmarks: by Michael Popek
18) Oh My Gods: by Philip Freeman (Mythology)
19) Watson's Afghan Adventure: by Kieran McMullen
20) The Quantum Story: by Jim Baggott (Science)
21) The Other Teddy Roosevelts: by Mike Resnick
22) Kull: Exile of Atlantis: by Robert E. Howard
23) Snuff: by Terry Pratchett (Fantasy)
24) Firestorm: by Taylor Anderson
25) Ready Player One: by Ernest Cline (Science Fiction)
26) The Bloody White Baron: by James Palmer (History)
27) Alice's Adventures in Wonderland: by Lewis Carroll (fantasy)
28) The Elephant's Child: by Rudyard Kipling (picture book)
29) Household Stories by the Brothers Grimm: by the Brothers Grimm
30) Children of the Sky: by Vernor Vinge (science fiction)
31) Iron Gray Sea: by Taylor Anderson (book 7 of Destoryermen series)
32) War is a Racket: by Smedley D. Butler
33) Coup d'Etat: by Harry Turtledove (part 4 of the War That Came Early series)
34) Brave New World: by Aldous Huxley
35) The Long Earth: by Terry Pratchett and Stephen Baxter
36) Space Wars: by William Scott
37) Life of Black Hawk: by Ma-Ka-Tai-Me-She-Kia-Kiak
38) Animal Farm: by George Orwell
39) Shakedown Socialism: by Oleg Atbashian
40) Red Orc's Rage: by Philip Jose Farmer
41) A Woman A Day: by Philip Jose Farmer
42) Jesus on Mars: by Philip Jose Farmer
43) Kingmaker Part 1 - Stolen Land: by James Jacobs (Pathfinder Adventure path)
44) Presidential Pulp: by Ivan Eland (Presidential history/Politics)
45) Genghis Khan and the Making of the Modern World: by Jack Weatherford
46) Through the Looking-Glass: Lewis Carroll
47) The Peerless Peer: by Philip Jose Farmer
48) Savage Continent: Europe in the Aftermath of World War II: by Keith Lowe (History/WWII)
49) Star Wars: Scoundrels: by Timothy Zahn
50) Rethinking the American Union for the Twenty-First Century: by Donald W. Livingston
51) Skull & Shackles part 1: The Wormwood Mutiny: by Richard Pett (RPG/Pathfiinder adventure path)
52) CCH Master Tax Guide: Didn't read this entire thing - but a lot of it for a 80 self-study course.
53) Across The Universe: The DC Universe Stories: by Alan Moore (graphic novel)
54) The Black Count: by Tom Reiss (history)
55) The Dardenelles Disaster: by Dan van der Vat (history/WWI)
56) The Adventure of the Blue Carbuncle: Arthur Conan Doyle (Sherlock Holmes)
57) Red Shirts: A Novel with Three Codas: by John Scalzi
58) My Ideal Bookshelf: by Thessaly la Force
59) Underground Warfare, 1914-1918: by Simon Jones (history/WWI)
60) Gulliver of Mars: by Edwin Lester Arnold
*2012 Read 52 books in 52 weeks
While I did read over 1 book a week I didn't write enough reviews or post to the challenge host blog. We'll count that as a fail.
*Chunkster Challenge 2012: Striving for Chubby Chunkster level
Reading 4 really large books.... didn't read even one over 1,000 pages - unless you count the Master Tax Guide, which I don't.
*Get Steampunked! 2012: Striving for Geared level
Got one out of five on this one. Maybe two if Tarzan at Earth's Core is included (it did have an airship in it) 1) Gods of Manhattan: by Al Ewing. Part of the Pax Britannia series
*Graphic Novels Challenge 2012
Missed a few months on this one.
1) January - Planet Hulk: written by Greg Pak
2) February - The Kingdom: written by Mark Waid
3) March - Warlord of Mars: Fall of Barsoom: By Robert Place Napton & Roberto Castro.
4) April -
5) May -
6) June -
7) July -
8) August -
9) September -
10) October -
11) November -
12) December - Across The Universe: The DC Universe Stories: by Alan Moore (graphic novel)
*Non-Fiction Non-Memoir Reading 2012 Challenge: Master's Degree level
Was shooting for 25 books -
1) The Burden of Guilt: by Daniel Allen Butler
2) Myth of the Great War: by John Mosier
3) The Bloody White Baron: by James Palmer
4) Genghis Khan and the Making of the Modern World: by Jack Weatherford
5) Savage Continent: Europe in the Aftermath of World War II: by Keith Lowe (History/WWII)
6) Rethinking the American Union for the Twenty-First Century: by Donald W. Livingston
7) The Black Count: by Tom Reiss (history)
8) The Dardenelles Disaster: by Dan van der Vat (history/WWI)
9) Underground Warfare, 1914-1918: by Simon Jones (history/WWI)
*Read Your Name Challenge 2012
S: Sir Jolly Jingle's Beastly Journey: by Wallace Tripp
E: The Elephant's Child: by Rudyard Kipling
A: A Feast Unknown: by Philip José Farmer
N:
Man! That is the height of laziness. Didn't even look for a quick book for the letter N.
*Time Travel Reading Challenge 2012: Mind-boggling Voyage: 10 to 12 time travel books level
1) Tunnel Through Time: by Lester Del Rey
A couple other books I read this year had time travel elements in them. If I could go back in time I'd change the level I tried for in this challenge.
*2012 Short Story Reading Challenge: Tell Me A Story level (1-3)
1) Presidential Pulp: by Ivan Eland (Presidential history/Politics)
I did read at least one short story anthology for the 1-3 required for the Tell Me A Story level of the 2012 Short Story reading challenge. Got One! Just not a very impressive level of one.
*A-Z Book Challenge
A) A Feast Unknown: by Philip José Farmer
B) The Burden of Guilt: by Daniel Allen Butler
C) The Crying of Lot 49: by Thomas Pynchon
D) The Divide: by William Overgard(Alternate History)
E) The Elephant's Child: by Rudyard Kipling
F) Forgotten Bookmarks: by Michael Popek
G) Gods of Manhattan: by Al Ewing. Part of the Pax Britannia series
H) Household Stories by the Brothers Grimm: by the Brothers Grimm
I) Iron Gray Sea: by Taylor Anderson
J) Jesus on Mars: by Philip Jose Farmer
K) Kingmaker Part 1 - Stolen Lands: by James Jacobs
L) The Long Earth: by Terry Pratchett and Stephen Baxter
M) Myth of the Great War: by John Mosier
N)
O)Oh My Gods: by Philip Freeman (Mythology)
P) The Peerless Peer: by Philip Jose Farmer
Q)
R) The Red Baron: by Manfred von Richtofen
S) Sir Jolly Jingle's Beastly Journey: by Wallace Tripp
T) Tunnel Through Time: by Lester Del Rey
U) Underground Warfare, 1914-1918: by Simon Jones (history/WWI)
V)
W)Watson's Afghan Adventure: by Kieran McMullen
X)
Y)
Z)
Didn't do to bad hear. Just that letter 'N' taunting me again. *2012 Picture Book Reading Challenge: Level One
1) Sir Jolly Jingle's Beastly Journey: by Wallace Tripp
2) The Elephant's Child: by Rudyard Kipling
Two out of twelve. I suppose I could have gone to the library and quickly read ten more picture books but that would have seemed cheap.
*Truth in Fiction Challenge: Master's Level (5 pairs of books)
Big fail on this one. Didn't coordinate my reading very well.
*2012 TBR Pile Reading Challenge
1) A Feast Unknown: by Philip José Farmer
2) The Burden of Guilt: by Daniel Allen Butler
3) The Divide: by William Overgard(Alternate History)
4) Tunnel Through Time: by Lester Del Rey
5) Gods of Manhattan: by Al Ewing. Part of the Pax Britannia series
6) Myth of the Great War: by John Mosier
7) Tarzan at the Earth's Core: by Edgar Rice Burroughs
8) The Red Baron: by Manfred von Richtofen
9) Red Orc's Rage: by Philip Jose Farmer
10) A Woman A Day: by Philip Jose Farmer
11) Jesus on Mars: by Philip Jose Farmer
12) Brave New World: by Aldous Huxley
I might have done a bit better on this one. Didn't get near the 41 I needed. Spent too much time reading new books.
*2012 War Through the Generations Reading Challenge: WWI - Swim level 11+ books
1) The Burden of Guilt: by Daniel Allen Butler
2) Myth of the Great War: by John Mosier
3) The Red Baron: by Manfred von Richtofen
4) The Bloody White Baron: by James Palmer (involves the War and Russian Revoultion
5) The Dardenelles Disaster: by Dan van der Vat (history/WWI)
6) Underground Warfare, 1914-1918: by Simon Jones (history/WWI)
Just needed five more to finish this one up. I know I hit one of the lower levels, but I aimed for the 11+ level (the highest). This is the most embarrassing one since I have so many books on world war I on my shelf and on my Kindle. It is also an area of history I specialize in. Drat.
*The 2012 TBR Pile Challenge
1 - A Feast Unknown by Philip Jose Farmer (COMPLETED - Review coming shortly)
2 - Tarzan at the Earth's Core by Edgar Rice Burroughs (COMPLETED)
3 - Frankenstein Unbound by Brian Aldiss (to be completed)
4 - Hadon of Ancient Opar by Philip Jose Farmer (to be completed)
5 - The Divide by William Overgard (COMPLETED)
6 - Gods of Manhattan by Al Ewing (COMPLETED)
7 - The Red Baron by Manfred Von Richtofen (COMPLETED)
8 - Voices From the Great War by Peter Vansittart (to be completed)
9 - Myth of the Great War by John Mosier (COMPLETED)
10 - Tunnelling to Freedom by Hugh Durnford & others (to be completed)
11 - The Burden of Guilt by Daniel Allen Butler (COMPLETED)
12 - World War I The African Front by Edward Paice (to be completed)
Got distracted during the year. Note the unread books involving World War One that would have helped with the other challenge too.
*2012 Ebook Challenge: CD Level
1)Oh My Gods: by Philip Freeman (Mythology)
2)Watson's Afghan Adventure: by Kieran McMullen
2)The Other Teddy Roosevelts: by Mike Resnick
3)The Elephant's Child: by Rudyard Kipling
4)Alice's Adventures in Wonderland: by Lewis Carroll
5)Household Stories by the Brothers Grimm: by the Brothers Grimm
6)Presidential Pulp: various authors
7)Through the Looking-Glass: by Lewis Carroll
8)Gulliver of Mars: by Edwin Lester Arnold
9)
10)
Very close on this one too. I guess I shouldn't have spent so much time reading short stories on my Kindle.
*2012 Audio Book Challenge
1) Six Days of War: by Michael B. Oren, narrated by Robert Whitfield (History/Middle-East)
2) The Untold History of the Potato: by John Reader; narrated by Martin Hyder (History/general)
3) Into Africa: by Martin Dugard (History/Africa)
4) The Quantum Story: by Jim Baggott (Science)
5) Kull: Exile of Atlantis: by Robert E. Howard
6) Snuff: by Terry Pratchett (Fantasy)
7) Firestorm: by Taylor Anderson
8) Ready Player One: by Ernest Cline (Science Fiction
9) Children of the Sky: by Vernor Vinge (science fiction)
10) Iron Gray Sea: by Taylor Anderson
11) Coup d'Etat: by Harry Hurtledove (Alternate History)
12) Brave New World: by Aldous Huxley
13) The Long Earth: by Terry Pratchett and Stephen Baxter
14) Live of Black Hawk: by Ma-Ka-Tai-Me-She-Kia-Kiak
15) Animal Farm: George Orwell
16) Genghis Khan and the Making of the Modern World: by Jack Weahterford
17) Savage Continent: Europe in the Aftermath of World War II: by Keith Lowe (History/WWII)
18) The Black Count: by Tom Reiss (history)
19) The Dardenelles Disaster: by Dan van der Vat (history/WWI)
20) The Adventure of the Blue Carbuncle: Arthur Conan Doyle (Sherlock Holmes)
21) Red Shirts: A Novel with Three Codas: by John Scalzi
22)
23)
24)
25)
Came close on this one. If only I had re-joined my gym a couple months early.
*2012 Outdo Yourself Reading Challenge: read 60 books in 2011 so must surpass this number for 2012.
I read 60 books again this year. I would grab a children's book that I could quickly finish to get up to 61 for this year - but that would be stupid. IN CONCLUSION Looks like I only succeeded in one of the challenges I entered last year. I would have bet on getting through half of them but something happened. What happened is that I didn't want my reading time dictated by random choices I made on New Year's Eve. New books came out that interested me and had be read. My interests shifted during the year. Most importantly I joined too many reading challenges. I'll have to enter only two or three for 2013. I should also get better at posting reviews of books I've read to potentially help others in deciding if it is something they should spend time on. I'll post something tomorrow on the new (and fewer) challenges I plan to participate in for 2013. Happy New Year to all. Sorry about the lapse in posts in the last few months. It has been a crazy end of 2012.
26 April 2012
Third Sentence Thursday - Underground Warfare 1914-1918
2. Share your thoughts on the sentence (or sentences).
3. Post a link on Proud Book Nerd's Third Sentence for the week by clicking on the image above.
4. Visit one or two of the other blogs to check out their third sentence(s).
"He also asked that new units be recruited from the class of 1915, which need not be trained in the full range of field engineering, but only in sapping and mining." (from Underground Warfare 1914-1918 by Simon Jones (p.36)
Both sides were unprepared for the type of war that would develop. Little training had been given to sapping and mining in the years prior to the Great War, is was assumed that it would be a war of mobility. It quickly became apparent that the old skills would still be needed, and by the end of the war they would be greatly refined and many new developments in underground warfare would take place. French General Foch realized the need for sappers and made this request regarding the class of 1915.
18 April 2012
Book Review - The Crying of Lot 49
Tax season is finally over. Time to get back to a more regular blogging schedule. Not only my blogging has been neglected in recent weeks, but my reading time as well. I have finished The Crying of Lot 49, by Thomas Pynchon. I've written up this short review, which was mildly difficult. It is a bizarre story and I wanted to be sure not to put any real spoilers in it. So here's what I came up with.
(image from Amazon.com)
THE STORY
Oedipa Maas is made executor of an ex-boyfriend's estate. She uncovers the secret history of a mysterious group called W.A.S.T.E. and the Trystero family which operates an underground postal service for those who don't want to use the government postal monopoly.
During her journey Oedipa encounters a large number of eccentric and strangely named characters. She begins to piece together the secret history of the group and its attempts to overcome the postal monopoly of Thurn und Taxis in 16th & 17th century central Europe. Things begin to get more bizarre and then people start to die or change. Her psychiatrist goes insane, her husband's personality alters, and many people who might know something about Trystero die or stop talking with her.
Towards the end of the story Oedipa can't even be sure that this whole scenario isn't an elaborate prank by her dead ex-boyfriend. He had vast amounts of money and resources and might have set up the whole situation to torture her. As the estate assets begin to be disposed over a group of W.A.S.T.E. stamps are to be auctioned off as lot 49 and a bidder who Oedipa believes is a member of Trystero will be in attendance to make sure the stamps don't fall into the wrong hands. She will finally have a chance to confront one of the higher ups in the secret organization. She just has to wait for the crying of lot 49.
THE GOOD
While bizarre the story was very interesting. Interesting and obscure bits of real history tied together with fictional connections and events. A strange stage play described in detail which gives Oedipa some of her clues. I even got a number of the more obscure references; I'm going to have to read it again at some point to try to find the stuff I missed. Truly a product of the 1960s.
THE BAD
Nothing really bad about this book. It can be confusing at times but since the main character is confused it helps the reader identify with her more, if that makes any sense. The ending is similar to endings in some stories I've written for a writing group I belong to, it's a type of ending that might annoy some people.
QUOTE
There are a lot of good quotes that could be pulled out of this book. There is a scene later in the book where Oedipa thinks she is going crazy over this whole conspiracy. She visits here shrink, Dr. Hilarius.... just as he has gone insane himself. She tells him that she was hoping he would talk her out of her fantasy and he responds:
"Cherish it! What else do any of you have? Hold it tightly by its little tentacle, don't let the Freudians coax it away or the pharmacists poison it out of you. Whatever it is, hold it dear, for when you lose it you go over that much more to the others. You begin to cease to be." (page 103)
OVERALL
I loved this book.
PUBLISHER: Bantam Book
AUTHOR: Thomas Pynchon
GENRE: bizarre, mystery
PAGE COUNT: 138
ISBN: 553-05764-095
2012 CHALLENGES: 150+ Reading Challenge 2012, A-Z Challenge
Oedipa Maas is made executor of an ex-boyfriend's estate. She uncovers the secret history of a mysterious group called W.A.S.T.E. and the Trystero family which operates an underground postal service for those who don't want to use the government postal monopoly.
During her journey Oedipa encounters a large number of eccentric and strangely named characters. She begins to piece together the secret history of the group and its attempts to overcome the postal monopoly of Thurn und Taxis in 16th & 17th century central Europe. Things begin to get more bizarre and then people start to die or change. Her psychiatrist goes insane, her husband's personality alters, and many people who might know something about Trystero die or stop talking with her.
Towards the end of the story Oedipa can't even be sure that this whole scenario isn't an elaborate prank by her dead ex-boyfriend. He had vast amounts of money and resources and might have set up the whole situation to torture her. As the estate assets begin to be disposed over a group of W.A.S.T.E. stamps are to be auctioned off as lot 49 and a bidder who Oedipa believes is a member of Trystero will be in attendance to make sure the stamps don't fall into the wrong hands. She will finally have a chance to confront one of the higher ups in the secret organization. She just has to wait for the crying of lot 49.
THE GOOD
While bizarre the story was very interesting. Interesting and obscure bits of real history tied together with fictional connections and events. A strange stage play described in detail which gives Oedipa some of her clues. I even got a number of the more obscure references; I'm going to have to read it again at some point to try to find the stuff I missed. Truly a product of the 1960s.
THE BAD
Nothing really bad about this book. It can be confusing at times but since the main character is confused it helps the reader identify with her more, if that makes any sense. The ending is similar to endings in some stories I've written for a writing group I belong to, it's a type of ending that might annoy some people.
QUOTE
There are a lot of good quotes that could be pulled out of this book. There is a scene later in the book where Oedipa thinks she is going crazy over this whole conspiracy. She visits here shrink, Dr. Hilarius.... just as he has gone insane himself. She tells him that she was hoping he would talk her out of her fantasy and he responds:
"Cherish it! What else do any of you have? Hold it tightly by its little tentacle, don't let the Freudians coax it away or the pharmacists poison it out of you. Whatever it is, hold it dear, for when you lose it you go over that much more to the others. You begin to cease to be." (page 103)
OVERALL
I loved this book.
PUBLISHER: Bantam Book
AUTHOR: Thomas Pynchon
GENRE: bizarre, mystery
PAGE COUNT: 138
ISBN: 553-05764-095
2012 CHALLENGES: 150+ Reading Challenge 2012, A-Z Challenge
22 March 2012
COH Profile - Atomic Cow
Work has been busy the last couple weeks. Big deadlines on the 15th and 20th are now over. Time to start blogging again. Here is my newest character for City of Heroes; and also one who has advanced more rapidly than any other I've played. THE ATOMIC COW!
DESCRIPTION
Bessie is a gentically engineered cow from an factory farm. Humand DNA was combined with a cow's in hopes of making better milk. Bessie's intelligence was beyond anything that could have been imagined and she rose up against her captors. After escaping she managed to find her way to Paragon City and used her vast intellect to create her Atomic Hammer, a swarm of nanites that produce stone armor for her and allow her to teleport.
POWERS
Titan Weapons: Crushing Blow, Titan Sweep, Defensive Sweep, Follow Through, Rend Armor, Whirling Smash, Arc of Destruction
Stone Armor: Rock Armor, Stone Skin, Earth's Embrace, Brimstone Armor, Mud Pots, Rooted, Crystal Armor
Teleportation: Teleport, Recall Friend, Long Range Teleport
Speed: Hasten
Energy Mastery: Focused Accuracy
Set Bonus: Large Improved Regeneration Bonus x 3, Large Accuracy Bonus x 2, Large Increased Negative Energy Res Bonus x 2, Gift of the Ancients: Run Speed, Huge Increased Damage Bonus, Large Fear Resistance Bonus, Moderate Hold Resistance Bonus, Moderate Improved Recovery Bonus, Moderate Increased Endurance Bonus, Moderate Increased Fire Res Bonus, Moderate Increased Psionic Res Bonus, Moderate Stun Duration Bonus, Moderate Stun Resistance Bonus, Small Fire and Cold Resist Bonus, Small Improved Regeneration Bonus
OTHER DATA
Science - Brute
#Badges = 111
Alignment = Heroic
Current Level = 36
I've learned a few things playing with Titan Weapons. First is to up your difficulty as quickly as possible. There are some great area effect attacks, its nice to have a huge group around to take advantage. Before I reached 20th level I set my self at -1 level x8 players. Huge groups of enemies, a little weaker than normal so they don't overpower my defenses too quickly. That and going through inspirations like water help greatly. Also, being a Brute the large groups quickly drive my rage bar near maximum and greatly magnify my damage. Heck, even mud pots becomes effective at that point.
Like so many of my characters I have to also take advantage of the invention system and create plenty of Recovery Serum to make up for the large amount of energy I burn.
DESCRIPTION
Bessie is a gentically engineered cow from an factory farm. Humand DNA was combined with a cow's in hopes of making better milk. Bessie's intelligence was beyond anything that could have been imagined and she rose up against her captors. After escaping she managed to find her way to Paragon City and used her vast intellect to create her Atomic Hammer, a swarm of nanites that produce stone armor for her and allow her to teleport.
POWERS
Titan Weapons: Crushing Blow, Titan Sweep, Defensive Sweep, Follow Through, Rend Armor, Whirling Smash, Arc of Destruction
Stone Armor: Rock Armor, Stone Skin, Earth's Embrace, Brimstone Armor, Mud Pots, Rooted, Crystal Armor
Teleportation: Teleport, Recall Friend, Long Range Teleport
Speed: Hasten
Energy Mastery: Focused Accuracy
Set Bonus: Large Improved Regeneration Bonus x 3, Large Accuracy Bonus x 2, Large Increased Negative Energy Res Bonus x 2, Gift of the Ancients: Run Speed, Huge Increased Damage Bonus, Large Fear Resistance Bonus, Moderate Hold Resistance Bonus, Moderate Improved Recovery Bonus, Moderate Increased Endurance Bonus, Moderate Increased Fire Res Bonus, Moderate Increased Psionic Res Bonus, Moderate Stun Duration Bonus, Moderate Stun Resistance Bonus, Small Fire and Cold Resist Bonus, Small Improved Regeneration Bonus
OTHER DATA
Science - Brute
#Badges = 111
Alignment = Heroic
Current Level = 36
I've learned a few things playing with Titan Weapons. First is to up your difficulty as quickly as possible. There are some great area effect attacks, its nice to have a huge group around to take advantage. Before I reached 20th level I set my self at -1 level x8 players. Huge groups of enemies, a little weaker than normal so they don't overpower my defenses too quickly. That and going through inspirations like water help greatly. Also, being a Brute the large groups quickly drive my rage bar near maximum and greatly magnify my damage. Heck, even mud pots becomes effective at that point.
Like so many of my characters I have to also take advantage of the invention system and create plenty of Recovery Serum to make up for the large amount of energy I burn.
01 March 2012
Third Sentence Thursday - The Red Baron
2. Share your thoughts on the sentence (or sentences).
3. Post a link on Proud Book Nerd's Third Sentence for the week by clicking on the image above.
4. Visit one or two of the other blogs to check out their third sentence(s).
"Therefore, it never occurred to me to become a pilot." (from The Red Baron by Manfred von Richtofen (p.63)
An interesting quote from the greatest fighter ace of the First World War. Of course in context it was early in the war, he was recently transferred from the cavalry to become an observer in a two-seater aircraft. At that point he felt that in the time it would take him to train to become a pilot the war would be over.
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