What are you currently reading ?

[Ithoriel]

By 2647 it will probably be called Lnun. The English language seems to be collapsing in on itself.

At the rate we're going, it will be a site of scientific interest where alien documentary broadcasters will come to pontificate

"This appears to be the site of one of the major population centres of the indigenous apex predator just before their extinction. It is unclear whether it's destruction was due to intra-species conflict, the devastating effects of global climate change or the unfortunate incident in which one of our Titan Class starships impacted on the surface during the mission in which Elvis Presley was returning the monster to Loch Ness."

[FierceKitty]

Distressing that the Minbari-Klingon alliance seems set to embrace the groc'ers apostrophe.  

[Leman]

Someone uttered the word Brexit for the four billionth time and the entire 15 million just sighed and gave up the ghost.

[steve_holmes_11]

My Victorian edition of the Sir Edward Creasy (loaned to a "friend" and never returned) would quote Greeks and Latins and French ... but without translation. It became a bit frustrating - "as Herodotus put it ..." then a lot of what was frankly Greek to me.

I suppose it reflected his intended audience.

It's remarkable how a bit of obscure language can convert a readable storyline into a hard slog.

A few years back I and some friends decided to read some Joseph Conrad, hoping for some scenario inspiration.
Heart of Darkness is his most famous, probably because of its screen adaptations.
Many of his other sea stories are set in what was then called the Malay Archipelago (Now Malay Borneo and Indonesia).
They are littered with dialogue that incorporates Melayu Pasar (lit. Market Malay) - the lingua franca of the region which forms the main basis for the modern Indonesian language, often using contemporary Dutch spellings.

Accidents of history mean I've acquired some knowledge of Indonesian and Dutch.
While I was able to glide through the dialogue, friends were struggling to leaf back and forth between a lengthy glossary and the story.
They found this interrupted the flow and turned an accessible read into a really difficult slog.

Though we found some gaming inspiration (Essentially the same 3 cultures presented in Darkest Africa: Tribal, Local Kingdoms, Regional Influence (In this case pirates) and the far-away colonial power).
There's a dearth of figures, and we decided we would be moving Darkest Africa to a different continent with few changes.

We also mentioned that Conrad's sea stories have a certain similarity, and if transposed to the Aegean and back 2500 years, they would sit nicely with the heroic Greek myths.

[FierceKitty]

I have to admit I've always found Conrad hard going. His female characters in particular have a triviality that makes Mickey Mouse look like Hamlet.

[Techno]

No....It was Donald Duck that played Hamlet.





Cheers - Phil

[FierceKitty]

Of course. My mistake. I was thinking of Mickey in Ibsen's A Doll's Mouse.

[steve_holmes_11]

In these parts we constantly re-assess Goofy's role in Bergman's Seventh Seal.

Was the story enhanced by changing the chess game to a keepy-uppie contest etc etc.

[FierceKitty]

Did you know Wagner considered calling Tannhaueser by the name of Die Minnie Singer vom Venusberg?

[steve_holmes_11]

I have to admit I've always found Conrad hard going. His female characters in particular have a triviality that makes Mickey Mouse look like Hamlet.

That's one of the things that struck me as "Straight outta Athens".
Most of those Greek ladies (or barbarian women) are one dimensional ciphers who bring their menfolk misfortune or death.
Honourable exception for Penelope at the end of the Odyssey (Probably Mrs Travers from The Rescue in Conrad's works).

[FierceKitty]

While they fit much of your description, I'd say Medea and Lysistrata had plenty of solid stage presence.

[Techno]

Of course. My mistake. I was thinking of Mickey in Ibsen's A Doll's Mouse.

Did you know Wagner considered calling Tannhaueser by the name of Die Minnie Singer vom Venusberg?

Very good !

Cheers - Phil

[kipt]

Finished another "Casca: Panzer Soldier" by Barry Sadler.  This time he is a sergeant commanding a tank (Panther) in Russia.  Starts with Kursk, loses the Panther and gets a Tiger (stolen by one of his men) and later a T-34.

Descriptive low level combat, but entertaining.

[KTravlos]

Finished Victoria Solomonidis "Greece in Asia Minor: The Greek Administration of the Aydin Vilayet 1919-1922"

Available for free here https://kclpure.kcl.ac.uk/portal/files/2934862/245618.pdf

Only about 1/3rd of the dissertation is about the actual administration. 1/3rd is taken up with  diplomatic/political history of the war, which does not really bring much new on a broad level, but has some interesting information. The other this is the really interesting one. A chapter on Aristeidis Stergiadis, which was the basis for her later biography of him in Greek, and a chapter on the politics behind the Mikrasiatiki Amyna/Autonomy schemes of 1921. These are worth reading.

In general a sympathetic treatment of Stergiadis, which is rare in Greek. The Allied powers are given most of the blame, and she ,correctly imho, noted how impossible it was for any Greek goverment to not do something in Asia Minor in 1919 in the shadow of the prosecution of Ottoman Greeks 1913-1918, and the Armeno-Assyrian Genocide.

In a way Stergiadis as the persons is a proxy for the position of the Greek state. By necessity given a task beyond their ability, and opposed by their supposed allies.

Worth a read if you are interested in the history of the period, but also in generally in seeing how terrible international relations is for small states.

[Poggle]

Desperate Valour: Triumph at Anzio, by Flint Whitlock.

Makes me think of how to refight some actions using CoC rules.

[lowlylowlycook]

Just picked up the digital version of "A Story in Stones: Portugal's Influence on Culture and Architecture in the Highlands of Ethiopia 1493-1634"

Pretty excited.

[kipt]

Another Bernard Cornwell, "The Burning Land", a Saxon Tale, book 5.  More fighting and intriguing by Uthred of Bebbanburg (although his uncle holds it and doesn't want to give it up).  Uthred doesn't like King Alfred, but works for him and is constantly driving back the Danes (who Uthred would rather join, but it is not to be).

Quick read and entertaining.  Several more waiting in the wings.

[kipt]

Finished volume 82, No.4 of "The Journal of Military History".  Published 4 times a year.

Articles in this one include:
"The Function of History in Clausewitz's Understanding of War" by Peter Paret
"Perception and Naval Dominance: The British Experience during the War of 1812" by Kevin McCranie
"The War of the Pacific, Technology and U.S. Development: An International History of Regional War" by Thomas Jamison
"The Treatment of Prisoners of War Captured by the Greek Army during the Balkan Wars of 1912-13" by Panagiotic Delis
"'Not only useless, but dangerous?' The Portuguese Expeditionary Corps in France in the aftermath of the Battle of La Lys, 9
April 1918" by Filipe Ribeiro de Meneses

and others.  Also 85 pages of book reviews, which is where I find books I am interested in enough to buy.

[KTravlos]

Finished in Greek the book "The role of the army in the progress of history from the revolution of 1821 to 1975" by Panos Krikis. A book on the political involvement of the greek army, covering coups and mutinies. Informative for me , but not a good book. There are other greek books on the topic that are better. This was just the most available when I made the purchase.

[Steve J]

Osprey's Market-Garden series by Zaloga and Ford. A few interesting bits of info and the maps are useful as always, but useful as a good intro to this operation.