Weblog Licentiae Moeticae

A useful baseline.

It occurs to me that there is the occasional person out there who wonders about my mental processes.  While I am, of course, reluctant to provide foolishly unprepared researchers with Things Man* Was Not Meant To Know (thus erasing their sanity in time-honored tradition), I figure that the odd epiphany doesn't hurt.  Besides, this is a blog.  Random, quasi-narcisstic observations is the rule.

So: I am the sort of person who reads/hears something like this and goes, "Well, of course.  If your crew isn't expecting that command, you can be sure that neither will the enemy.  Besides, the Admiralty issues equipment for a reason".  This is apparently not a normal reaction, which is probably why Kipling wrote it in the first place.

(pause)

Wow.  That was much funnier when I first came up with the idea for the post.

This always seems to be...

...the worst part of the year from a book-buying point of view; nothing seems to be out that I Simply Must Read.  Gaming books ditto, although God knows I buy supplements that I know full well that I won't ever use.

Suggestions for the former welcome; just bear in mind that my favored literary choices usually have an exploding starship on the cover, or fantasy equivalent thereof.

Something that's been nagging me.

On page 114 Of Harry Turtledove's impressive Spanish-won-the-Armada alternate history Ruled Brittania, one of the characters says to William Shakespeare:

In a deep, slow voice not quite her own, Cicely Sellis said, "Beware the man who brings good news, and he who knows less than he seems."

Turtledove has used a similar style in other books when describing a genuine prophetic utterance by one of his characters, so this is presumably a True Vision: if anyone familar with said book were to tell me what said Vision blessed well refers to I'll be your friend forever.

- Moe, who isn't a blank-verse beast, either.  Or at least not yet.

PS: If you haven't read the book, do so.