I have been wondering about trying something different for my Magic art on Monday’s. To date, I’ve just been putting up the card with all its info. I was thinking about maybe adding a second picture that is just the art part of the card. So I’ll do this for a card I’ve already used earlier this year and you can tell me what you think. Even if it’s an “ehhh, don’t care either way”.
I didn’t want to JUST use the artwork, because half the fun, for me as a magic fan, is seeing all that info. I also like when there are quotes or bits of information at the bottom of the card. Looking at this arrangement, I’m wondering if I should put the art first and the card second. You know what? Words and space are cheap. So I’m letting go of my innate Yankee Thriftiness and I’m going to splurge. I’m going to try the other way below. Man, you’re practically getting TWO posts today when you weren’t even supposed to get any. You better count yourselves lucky. Maybe buy me a lottery ticket or something 😉
Do you have an aesthetic preference for seeing the card or the art first? I know it’s hard to get a good feel, what with me blabbing away all over the place here, but let me know what you think.
This review is written with a GPL 4.0 license and the rights contained therein shall supersede all TOS by any and all websites in regards to copying and sharing without proper authorization and permissions. Crossposted at WordPress & Blogspot, by Bookstooge’s Exalted Permission
This was a little bit repetitive for my taste. The only change in the situation was each time that Groo had to get a new chess piece for the witch so she’d give him another potion. He’d attack the town and THAT was different each time. Even Aragones can only show that so many times before it gets boring. Considering we see Groo uglify the other town each time and Arcadio un-uglify it, it felt very much like complete and utter filler. Just something for Aragones to do to meet a deadline.
It was amusing but not really funny. Part of that was just how tired I am and how busy life feels right now and how my emotional life is relentlessly acting like a teenager and I’m just exhausted on every front. I’m too tired to even pick a page from the comic and showcase it.
★★★☆☆
From Bookstooge.blog
Click to Open
Groo is called by Arcadio to help break a spell on his town. Someone has turned them all stupid and mindless. They used to be ugly but Arcadio broke that spell when he married the princess. But it happened after Groo had left the village. So when Groo shows up and sees everyone absolutely gorgeous, he thinks THAT is the curse and gets a potion that turns them all ugly again. Arcadio had also gone to get a cure so when he returns he finds everyone ugly AND stupid. So he uses the cure to make them beautiful. This back and forth happens 32 times until Groo and Arcadio finally meet. Arcadio explains what is going on and of course Groo doesn’t understand. He uses the final potion to uglify everyone, including Arcadio and the Minstrel. The whole town is now smart again thanks to Arcadio and they all chase Groo out of the town, trying to kill him.
This review is written with a GPL 4.0 license and the rights contained therein shall supersede all TOS by any and all websites in regards to copying and sharing without proper authorization and permissions. Crossposted at WordPress & Blogspot by Bookstooge’s Exalted Permission
Title: Cthulhu’s Daughter and Other Horror Stories Series: Author: Rhiannon Frater Rating: 1 of 5 Stars /DNF@50% Genre: Horror Pages: 103 / 52 Words: 35K / 18K
I was going to add this to the Cthulhu Anthology series, but once I opened this up and found only the first story was Cthulhu related, I put paid to that.
The rest of what I read was so wrapped up in mommy issues that I wondered why the author hadn’t sought out professional help. It was that bad.
Then I got to the lesbian vampire story and that put paid to the book. I wasn’t sad about stopping, that’s for sure.
This review is written with a GPL 4.0 license and the rights contained therein shall supersede all TOS by any and all websites in regards to copying and sharing without proper authorization and permissions. Crossposted at WordPress & Blogspot by Bookstooge’s Exalted Permission
Title: A Ship of the Line Series: Horatio Hornblower #2 Author: Cecil Scott Forester Rating: 3.5 of 5 Stars Genre: Historical Fiction Pages: 217 Words: 85K
While this receives the same rating as the previous book, I enjoyed myself much more because I was prepared for Hornblower to be a real human character and not a idealized paragon like I was expecting in the first book.
In this novel Lady Barbara is now married to an Admiral and Hornblower’s wife is pregnant. Hornblower loves his wife and does his duty by her, but he doesn’t respect her and I found that sad. She is who she is and while she’s not elegant, she loves him and does everything she can to support him. I don’t think Hornblower realizes how much of a blessing a wife like that is. Of course, the culture of money at the time didn’t care about that kind of wife, so the attitude would have trickled down without him even realizing it. Just goes to show that we can be affected by the culture around us without us even trying.
There was some good naval action and Hornblower’s fight against the Frenchies and their fiendishly devilish Freedom Fries was a good reminder to all Patriots the world over that yes, they are Freedom Fries and NOT French Fries. So don’t forget it. But seriously, there were several scenes where Hornblower is calculating angles and percentages in his head, in regards to the maneuvering of his ship, and as a land surveyor it quite impressed me. Practice can only do so much and then talent kicks it up that extra notch. It’s like adding a little BAAAM with your spice weasel, as Chef Elzar would say.
Even though this ended on a cliffhanger, with Hornblower surrendering to some Frenchies, I didn’t feel the need to rush out and immediately read the next book. It was more like something to look forward to, seeing how Hornblower would handle captivity. I’m kind of excited to read the next book when it rolls around. That’s always a good way to end a book.
★★★✬☆
From Wikipedia.org
Details – Click to Open
Hornblower has recently returned to England from the Pacific in the frigate HMS Lydia, having gained widespread fame (but no financial stability) as a result of sinking the superior ship Natividad in battle. As a reward for his exploits, he is given command of a seventy-four ship of the line, HMS Sutherland, once the Dutch ship Eendracht,[a] and which is, in Hornblower’s estimation, “the ugliest and least desirable two-decker in the Navy List”.
He is assigned to serve under Rear Admiral Leighton, Lady Barbara Wellesley’s new husband. Throughout, Hornblower is torn between his love for Lady Barbara and his sense of duty and loyalty to his frumpy wife, Maria. His feelings for Maria are complicated by the previous loss of both of his children to smallpox.
Hornblower’s first orders are to escort a convoy of East Indiamen off the Spanish coast. He successfully fights off simultaneous attack on the convoy by two fast, manoeuvrable privateer luggers. Since he has been forced to sail with an understrength crew, and had to make do with “lubbers, sheepstealers, and bigamists”, he breaks Admiralty regulations and presses twenty sailors from each Indiaman just before they part company. With his ship now at full complement, Hornblower wreaks havoc on the French-occupied Spanish coast. He captures a French brig, the Amelie, by surprise, storms a French fort and takes several more vessels in its harbour as prizes, repeatedly fires upon several thousand Italian soldiers marching along a coastal road, and saves his Admiral’s ship from certain ruin by towing it away from a French battery during a severe storm.
When Hornblower encounters a squadron of four French ships of the line that have broken through the English blockade of Toulon, he attacks them despite the odds of four to one, and manages to disable or heavily damage all of them. However, with many of his crew killed or wounded, including Bush, who loses a leg, and his ship dismasted, he is then forced to strike his colours and surrender. This novel ends as a cliffhanger.
Last year, I listened to A Christmas Carol narrated by Patrick Stewart. After reading the original novella by Dickens and then listening to it again narrated by Tim Curry, I wanted to dive into the visual side of things with a serious start. There were so many options to choose from that I decided to stick to something that I was semi-familiar with. So Patrick Stewart as Scrooge it was.
This movie definitely takes liberties, mainly in padding out scenes merely alluded to in Dicken’s novella. But the director didn’t try to change the spirit of things. To me, that’s important.
Of course, Patrick Stewart being Ebenezer Scrooge takes center stage. I thought he did a fantastic job. From the beginning at the burial scene of Jacob Marley, Stewart projected that tightfisted, angry, self-centered and utterly materialistic man of the world. His facial expressions never wavered, never let the audience forget just what kind of man Ebenezer Scrooge was. And yet, just like in the story, I could SEE Scrooge changing as the night went on. It takes a consummate actor to display such little changes without coming across as hamming it.
The story is short and so thus is the movie. It’s done before it even started. I sat down to watch it and boom, it was over! I like that. No messing around, just tell the story and move on with your life. More movies should take the hint.
1 All creatures of our God and King, lift up your voice and with us sing, "Alleluia! Alleluia!" Thou burning sun with golden beam, thou silver moon with softer gleam, O praise Him, O praise Him! alleluia, alleluia, alleluia!
2 Thou rushing wind that art so strong, ye clouds that sail in heav'n along, O praise Him! Alleluia! Thou rising morn, in praise rejoice, ye lights of ev'ning, find a voice, O praise Him, O praise Him! alleluia, alleluia, alleluia!
3 And all ye men of tender heart, forgiving others, take your part, O sing ye! Alleluia! Ye who long pain and sorrow bear, praise God and on Him cast your care; O praise Him, O praise Him! alleluia, alleluia, alleluia!
4 Let all things their Creator bless, and worship Him in humbleness; O praise Him! Alleluia! Praise, praise the Father, praise the Son, and praise the Spirit, Three in One; O praise Him, O praise Him! alleluia, alleluia, alleluia!
A great old hymn, All Creatures of Our God and King. It was originally written in 1225 by Francis of Assisi and paraphrased into modern english by William Draper sometime between 1899 and 1919. Once I saw what Miss Ross had drawn up for her Christmas offering, this hymn immediately sprang to my mind. Couldn’t be a better mix in my opinion. Enjoy.
This review is written with a GPL 4.0 license and the rights contained therein shall supersede all TOS by any and all websites in regards to copying and sharing without proper authorization and permissions. Crossposted at WordPress & Blogspot by Bookstooge’s Exalted Permission
Title: Deja Vu Halloo Series: Reeves and Worcester Steampunk Mysteries #5 Author: Chris Dolley Rating: 3 of 5 Stars Genre: Steampunk Mystery Pages: 139 Words: 42K
It’s been about 2 years since I read the previous Reeves and Worcester book, The Unpleasantness at Baskerville Hall, and I was hoping that would breathe some new life into this fifth book. Unfortunately, it did not.
Don’t get me wrong, this was still amusing and I don’t regret reading it at all, but it was starting to feel tired. Time machines, the faux-PG Wodehouse expressions, it seemed like Dolley (the author) was just going through the motions. Considering this was published in ‘20 and there’s not been another one, I suspect Dolley realized where things were headed and just stopped before he ran off a cliff. I can respect that in an author.
The timey-wimey aspect of this, with Reeves and Worcester repeating the same day over and over again, glazed my eyes over. When Reeves began explaining how they were going to break the time loop I completely checked out until they did. Worcester getting sloshed every night so he’d remember the time loop was amusing and when you throw in the various things he and Reeves get up to, it was a good time all around. There was one particular amusing part to the story where Worcester meets the Aunt and Uncle of his fiance and they are 8th Day Secessionists. I just laughed my head off, what with being a 7th Day Adventist myself.
One thing I would like to see is Worcester and his fiance get married. That has all the hallmarks of some serious Wodehousian shenanigan potential. But sadly, I doubt it will happen. Ahhh, it is better to have read and not got the ending you wanted than to have never read at all. Some bloke named Bookstodge made up that quote. Quite a genius, eh? I thought so. If I could track him down, I’d like to give him a solid gold dumptruck just to show him how appreciative I am of his input into the literary world.
★★★☆☆
From the Publisher
Details-Click to Expand
It’s Groundhog Day, 1906. February 2nd is stuck on repeat, and only our intrepid trio appear to have noticed. Emmeline senses the meddling of a higher power – possibly her aunt. Reggie’s sure it’ll be the handiwork of the subterranean horror one least suspects. And Reeves considers it all “most disturbing.”
Can our heroes save the world from perpetual winter? And could ending the time loop be just the start of an even thornier problem?
This short novel is the sixth Reeves & Worcester Steampunk mystery and is set a few months after The Unpleasantness at Baskerville Hall.
This review is written with a GPL 4.0 license and the rights contained therein shall supersede all TOS by any and all websites in regards to copying and sharing without proper authorization and permissions. Crossposted at WordPress & Blogspot by Bookstooge’s Exalted Permission
This was head and shoulders far above Antonina. I was never bored reading this. And yet. Yes, that doomful “And yet”….
Basil is a spineless, cowardly, weak willed, weak minded nincompoop. He’s not a villain by any means. I’ve often wondered how stupid people go through life, what lens are they viewing it through? I feel like this novel answers that. He is constantly “struck dumb” by people asking him questions. Questions he should already have the answers to since he’s taking certain lines of action. It would be like me asking you why you just drank a gallon of gasoline when you know you are not an automobile and that gasoline is poison to humans. If you just looked at me with a cowlike expression on your face and stuttered, you’d be a stand-in for Basil, hands down. This particularly galling to me as he is a very articulate writer and never even THINKS to write down answers ahead of time to some questions he knows will be coming his way. He is also extremely passive. His older brother swoops in near the end of the novel to help him out and Basil mentions nothing to him about a madman who is out to kill him. He keeps absolutely silent on the issue. His reasoning for doing so are as fatuous as anything he had done previously. I wanted to wring his neck and kept hoping that the madman WOULD kill him, just to rid the world of one more stupid idiot. Sadly, that’s not how things turned out.
Collins is at his wordiest here. There was one time that a paragraph went on for a page and a half and part way through I realized it was all one sentence. No semi-colons, just lots of commas and parenthetical thoughts tossed in to stretch things out. Ain’t nobody got time for that!
I’m going to read The Woman in White next and if that doesn’t really impress me, I’ll have to think long and hard about reading any more Collins. As a reader, I feel that I can do better.
★★✬☆☆
From Wilkie-Collins.info
Basil is the younger son of a proud, stern father and comes of an ancient, noble family. He has a devoted younger sister, Clara, and a wild but good-natured older brother, Ralph. Travelling home, on impulse by omnibus, Basil falls in love at first sight with Margaret Sherwin, a linen-draper’s daughter. He follows her home to the newly-built suburbs north of Regent’s Park and, after contriving a meeting, asks her father for permission to marry; but because of his own father’s certain opposition, the marriage should be kept secret. Mr Sherwin agrees on condition that the marriage takes place within the week but is not consummated for one year, since Margaret is only just seventeen. The delay will give Basil time to persuade his father to accept the marriage, and he cannot be forced to withdraw from it. The marriage duly takes place and Basil spends the next few months visiting Margaret every evening under the supervision of the mildly deranged Mrs Sherwin. He tries unsuccessfully to improve Margaret’s mind and after overhearing two of her tantrums begins to doubt her character.
Sherwin’s confidential clerk, Robert Mannion, returns from a business trip to France. Mannion’s previous background is cloaked in secrecy and he has a strange power over the family. Nevertheless, he professes friendship and uses his influence for Basil’s benefit. After a strained visit to his father’s country house, Basil returns to find both Margaret and Mannion changed. On the evening before his year’s ‘probation’ is completed, Basil is disconcerted that Margaret has gone to a party and will be escorted home by Mannion. He decides to collect her himself but sees her leave early with his rival. Basil follows them to an hotel and through a thin partition wall hears Mannion seduce Margaret. Basil waits and attacks Mannion, hurling him to the ground with such force that he is permanently disfigured and loses the sight of one eye. Basil collapses into delirium.
On recovering, he realises that Margaret is as much to blame as Mannion, despite threatening letters from Sherwin defending her. Basil confesses the ignoble marriage to his father who disowns him, tearing his name from the record in the family Bible. Mannion writes from hospital, revealing his secret past. His father was a gentleman who lived beyond his means. His patron was Basil’s father, who refused to intervene to prevent his being hanged for forgery. Mannion had lived a miserable existence under assumed names until a friend arranged employment with Sherwin where he made himself indispensable. He had watched Margaret develop and despite her deceitful nature regarded her as his prize. Basil’s marriage had compounded the family offence and Mannion resolved to take revenge by ruining his happiness and reputation.
Ralph returns from the Continent and visits Sherwin to buy his silence. He fortuitously obtains a letter written by Mannion which confirms Margaret’s guilt. Margaret, visiting Mannion in hospital, contracts typhus from which she dies. Basil sees her when she is at the point of death, forgives her and leaves London for Cornwall. Mannion forces him to leave the fishing village where he is staying and confronts him on the cliff tops. While gloating over his revenge, Mannion falls to his death on the rocks below. The shock causes Basil to collapse. He is brought back to London by Ralph and Clara and reconciled with his father. After writing his history, Basil retires to the country to live quietly with Clara.
