Moe Lane's Blog, page 792
December 27, 2020
Rewrite, GHOST OF THE DEVIL-HORSE, 12/27/2020.
Moving along!
Patreon!I assume that whoever reads this will be doing so after the Dominion has been finally crushed, once and for all — which hopefully means that you’ll already be beginning to forget just how horrible it was to have that evil empire festering in the middle of the continent. I envy you future readers that, I really do. This past millennium has been dominated by one Dominion outrage and act of cruelty after another, and they’re taking a damned long time to choke on their own blood. The Dominion can’t die fast enough to suit the rest of us.
On the other hand: it’s never been a better time to be a salvage archaeologist. Entire regions are opening up for researchers now. Old Denver’s a case in point; it’s one of the romantic cities for modern archaeologists. The city changed hands a half-dozen times after the Discovery, had its own empire — and was left to fall into ruins when the Dominion conquered the place.
They never really did settle there; a garrison-Tower was erected, purely for the sake of the site’s strategic location. When the Alliance retook Denver, none of the fighting was in the ruins of the city. So there could be anything there, and now we can actually go look for it!
Patreon Microfiction: Daywalkers.
I don’t know what the ‘daywalkers’ need the stuff for, honestly. Probably a dietary aid. You don’t see very many fat vampires, right*?
Patreon!*The only one that I can think of off the top of my hat is that one dude from Blade. …And now I gotta watch the opening to that movie again.
December 26, 2020
Quick Update on Zee New Book.
Got half of the second set of edits back; have done 60% of them, and will do the other two tomorrow. Working on the story collection, generally trying to get stuff done over the holidays. And, of course, the TALES FROM THE FERMI RESOLUTION pre-order store is live. Feel free to pass that link around!
Also: happy holidays. Less than a week to go in this year.
Book of the Week: An Unexpected Cookbook.
An Unexpected Cookbook: The Unofficial Book of Hobbit Cookery was one of the things I got for Christmas. It’s actually very informative! I hadn’t twigged to the fact that Tolkien avoided most New World foods when writing about the Shire*. So, no chocolate, vanilla, tomatoes: the writer worked with a lot of traditional British cooking, the kind JRR Tolkien would have grown up eating. The book also looks useful if you’re interested in working with leftovers. Definitely worth a look, I think.
Moe Lane
*Except for potatoes, because he couldn’t help himself. He also made exceptions for tobacco, and coffee (although obviously that last isn’t from the Americas originally).
Tweet of the Day, Best. Belated Christmas Present. EVER. edition.
It was a good day. It was a very good day. Here. Buy something to commemorate it.
29 years ago today, the U.S.S.R. officially dissolved. One of the five greatest days for humanity of the last 120 years, along with Armistice Day, V-E Day, V-J Day, and the fall of Berlin Wall.
— Jeff B., who on earth is this guy?? (@EsotericCD) December 26, 2020
Rewrite, GHOST OF THE DEVIL-HORSE, 12/26/2020.
I’ve decided that the story needed serious and drastic reordering, so I’m going to be spending the next week doing just that. Well, that and rewrites, and actually finishing it, and so forth.
Patreon!“So,” I went on, “we know where the airport was, and it’s better than ‘In the time of my grandsire’s grandmere, she told him that her grandsire said this place was the roosting place of the eagle-ships.’ Well, that’s nice. Kind of cheating, though?”
“It doesn’t have to always be difficult, Johnnie,” Hank said as he sipped his tea. “Sometimes we get to do things the easy way.”
“So it would seem.” I thought for a moment. “I don’t trust it, Hank.”
“Any real reason, or are you just being paranoid?”
“I work underground a lot,” I pointed out. “There’s no such thing as paranoia, down there. Everything really is trying to kill you.”
“Fair,” Hank said. “That’s why I want you along. I need a good field salvage archaeologist to take advantage of our good luck, and I need a serpent-man for when the luck goes sour. I get you, I check two boxes. So, you want in anyway?”
“Of course I want in. You had me at ‘ancient airport’,” I admitted. “Even if the Dominion’s already looted it.” The Dominion may have been viciously efficient at a limited number of things, but I knew from long experience that even the most comprehensive dig of theirs would have left behind all sorts of interesting artifacts. The Dominion has no eye for archeology, and very little time to learn better. “How’s the funding?”
“We’re getting there,” Hank said. “UNC-Cinderella sent us a bunch of grad students, and the Dwarvenwood’s contributing some because of the PCU connection. The University’s covering the rest, but I won’t lie to you, Johnny: having a serpent-man on board will do a lot to get the Deseret government to cough up extra funding.” He grimaced a little at the admission. “I know it sucks to hear that, although I’d want you along anyway.”
“Relax, Hank,” I said. “I know how the world works. Heck, I don’t even mind. Shake ‘em down with a clear conscience: I promise I won’t tell on you.”
December 25, 2020
‘Twelve Days of Christmas.’
Twelve Days of Christmas, Bing Cosby, the Andrews Sisters
My mini-review of WONDER WOMAN 1984.
Short version: it’s like a live-action, pre-Legion of Doom, pre-Wonder Twins SUPER FRIENDS, only it doesn’t suck, is good, and was interesting.
Okay, that’s more than the usual Short Version for me. The general point that I’m trying to drill down here on is that WONDER WOMAN 1984 is deliberately exploring an aesthetic where people are not inherently bad. They’re often dumb, sure, but they’re not evil. I’m as much a fan of WATCHMEN and THE DARK KNIGHT RETURNS as the next person – but they have a particular aesthetic, which is one that WW84 does not share. And I wouldn’t have liked this movie if it did.
Put another way: WW84 is far more SHAZAM or AQUAMAN than it is JUSTICE LEAGUE. I’m good with that. It works well that way.
Behold! Standing Rib Roast!
Standing rib roast for dinner. Behold the progression! Stage 1: meat!
Stage 2: sear!
Stage 3: Cooked!
Stage 4: Plate!
Stage 5: In my belly! (Not shown)
