My memories of 9/11 are specifically tied to the Twin Towers, as I saw them fall on tv. But that was not all that happened that day and I think it is time for me to start remembering that.
Three planes were hijacked that day. In one of them, the brave men and women who were the passengers fought back against the hijackers, causing the plane to crash into the ground, causing no additional harm, unlike what happened to the Twin Towers. They sacrificed themselves so that no others would come to harm. That is the true definition of a Hero. Heroes don’t always get happy endings in real life. Those men and women all died, just like the people in the other two planes. Don’t get me wrong, I am not denigrating the passengers in the other planes. While I would like to think I would have stood up and fought back, I know myself well enough that I am sure I would have frozen up. And things happened FAST.
Today I choose to remember the brave men and women who sacrificed themselves so that no one else had to die. I Will Never Forget!
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Title: Doctor Syn on the High Seas Series: Doctor Syn #2 Author: Arthur Russell Thorndike Rating: 3 of 5 Stars Genre: Historical Fiction Pages: 182 Words: 66K
In the first book, which was the last book chronologically and sees Doctor Syn killed (oh, wait, did I just spoil that for you? Oh boo hoo, I am sooooooo sorry. Get over it, pansy), I wondered how someone who was a man of the cloth could preach what he did and still do the things that Doctor Syn did. Well, from this book it is obvious that his theology never went more than skin deep, if even that. To be blunt, Syn was a hypocrite was the start.
He is not a hero or an anti-hero, Syn is a straight up villain. He pillages, plunders and kills with nary a thought or regret and is the very definition of an Evil Pirate Captain. His revenge is the consuming fire in his life, over ruling every other thought and feeling in his head.
From a purely storywise angle, this was good stuff. Syn is talented, skilled, well off and implacable. Nothing stops him and his adventures here are many. When the local lord kidnapped Imogene and her mother near the beginning, I almost put the book down because Thorndike really had me wondering just how far he was going to go with the situation. Thankfully, while the end goal was stated, it never got there.
I’m really up in the air about continuing this series. It is grand adventure, but Syn is a scoundrel and hypocrite and I find that abominable. I will read the next book and if I still feel this way, I’ll be stopping. There is no need to read about or promote scoundrels and villains.
★★★☆☆
From Bookstooge.blog
Synopsis – click to open
Doctor Syn (a Doctor of Theology), a young man at seminary college, meets and falls in love with a beautiful spanish girl. He and his close friend save her and her mother from falling into the financial clutches of a local lord with the worst of reputations. Imogene in turn falls in love with Dr Syn. Stymied, the local lord decides to get his revenge by kidnapping Imogene and her mother and forcing Imogene to marry him. They are rescued by Dr Syn and friend and the local lord is killed, to nobody’s regret, not even his nephew, who now inherits and was a one time suitor to Imogene.
Dr Syn and Imogene marry and move to Romney Marsh. But it is too gloomy for Imogene and she goes back to one of the big towns to “help her mother”. She meets her former suitor and they seduce each other and run away to Spain together. Dr Syn gives up the cloth and vows revenge. He begins to chase them down.
He is then captured by pirates but because of his brains and skill at sword play, kills the pirate captain and takes over the crew. He loots the sea to fuel his fortune to hunt down Imogene and the Seducer. He blows up the pirate ship he is on, killing all the pirates and takes the treasure for himself. He continues his chase but each time, never quite catches them. He goes pirating again and repeats the same formula as before.
Eventually, Imogene and the Seducer drop out of sight and Dr Syn makes his way back to Romney Marsh to settle down to what unsettled peace he can have. The book ends with the ship he is on crashing on the shores of Romney Marsh and Dr Syn swimming for shore.
There were times you needed some mana of a color that your opponent had. I can’t remember exactly what those circumstances were, but they existed and Fellwar Stone was there to provide it. Plus, the quote was tailor made for the stone. It probably was actually.
In the last episode, we were introduced to Li Syaoran and boy, was he a real jerk. He also comes from a family of magicians that gives him the ability to capture, and thus use, Clow cards. Unfortunately for Sakura, Li thinks his family is the ONLY one “good enough” to do so.
Each episode is a Clow Card of the week and follows the predictable pattern of Sakura and/or Li discovering a Clow Card and then having to capture it. But we begin to see Li more as a person and he begins to understand that not everything is quite as cut and dried as he declared when we first met him.
Being a Magical Girl anime, there’s romance here, albeit from a 10/11 year old’s viewpoint. From a schoolgirl crush on her teacher to Sakura’s dad fighting with his dead wife’s cousin, there is no lack of relational drama. Throw in that this was created by CLAMP and there’s the almost obligatory boyslove that those perverted women just love.
We also get adults acting like how 10year olds must imagine they do. Which is some real writing, as most of CLAMP were in their 30’s (I believe. It’s hard to tell as the members have changed throughout the years). But adults play a VERY small part and thus are relegated to almost non-beings. It does keep the show focused on Sakura and forces her to solve her own problems, with the help of various friends of course. Kids need that.
Another quite enjoyable foray into a wonderful shojo anime. Only the utterly curmudgeonly and cantankerous wouldn’t love this.
Episodes & Summaries
Click to Open
Episode 9 – Sakura and the Mysterious Brooch
Tomoyo and Rika try to cheer Sakura up by taking her shopping after Syaoran upsets her, but Rika suddenly attacks Sakura when she puts on a new brooch.
Episode 10 – Sakura and the Sport’s Day of Flowers
It’s Sports Day at Sakura’s school. Tomoyo’s mother seems to know Sakura’s father, but her glares say that it’s not a friendly reunion.
Episode 11 – Sakura, Tomoyo, and a Mansion
Tomoyo asks Sakura over to get her help opening a special box full of mementos. Kero senses the presence of a Clow Card.
Episode 12 – Sakura’s Never-Ending Day
Sakura messes up during her music test; the next day at school everything repeats in exactly the same way. Syaoran and Sakura realize it’s a Clow Card
….that I will take VERY seriously and so should you. This post will explain why you should take it seriously and why, if you don’t, you are a filthy commie and not even worthy to be devoured with bbq sauce by starving Chilean soccer players.
Cheesecake. Yes, cheesecake. That delicious confection that will leave you dying in delight!
Mrs B and I happened to recently celebrate our 16th Wedding Anniversary. As is our wont each year, we travelled to the bowels of Hell itself to eat at the Cheesecake Factory. We always eat well, we have plenty of time to talk about the past year and the upcoming year and then we order 4 slices of cheesecake to go.
Each slice averages between 1100-1300 calories. So we eat our meal at the restaurant, eat one slice the next evening and then eat the final slice the following day. One visit lasts us 3 days. It’s a Miracle 😀
And that’s why you should take it so seriously, like me. *cracks fist or else.
With his plans frustrated by his inability to find the Hidden King due to the Soul Guardian’s protection, the Chartreuse Emperor began constructing his most powerful, yet most dangerous, weapon, an Entropymancer.
Taking the last of the mythical Lord of the Poppies, and subjecting him to untold Suffering, the Mad Emperor brought forth an Entropymancer. Unstoppable. Unkillable. Consumed by a lust to destroy. An Entropymancer was released like an arrow, speeding towards his target, and only death could be the final result.
This was the blasphemous act that the Hidden King could not bring himself to commit. If he had sacrificed his beloved Elf Mage and subjected her to the Ultimate Pain, he could have created an Entropymancer of his own, to aim at the heart of the Chartreuse Emperor. But better the world to burn than for him to taint his soul with such a rite or sacrifice the one he held most dear.
And now, dear reader, what shall be the fate of this world? Roll your Dice. Play your Magic Cards. Consult the Codex. Is the destiny of this world written stone? Or, as John Connor once said “The future is not set. There is no fate but what we make for ourselves.” Let me know your thoughts.
Well, good morning Pilgrim. I figure you’re not really a Stranger any more if you’ve come back for the final edition of my Most Miserable Book Haul of All Time Ever, all thanks to Vault Books. (do I know how to give credit where credit is due or what?)
In February of 2023, I received the second special edition book of the Grimnoir Chronicles. It had been 5 years since I had received the first special edition book. Everything was clicking, right? We expected to have the third and final book in our hands within 6 months, because now that all the obstacles were overcome, we were sure the guy at Vault Books (Steve Diamond. Again, nothing positive is being said here) wanted this project over with just as much as we did. 4 months later Lord Larry claimed book 3 was almost ready to go. We were hopeful and thought Christmas of 2023 at the latest. Then crickets. Again. In October there was a random comment from the Vault Guy on Lord Larry’s site saying the book was going to the printer. Then crickets. Again. January of 2024 passed and still nothing. Not until April of 2024 did we get another snippet of info, from Lord Larry (who we were sick of hounding for *(&^%$ updates) and that was to say there were “issues” with the cover. Another 4 fething months of waiting.
And then, I finally got the final book, Warbound. Here are the beautiful pictures.
Opened September 5, 20247 1/2 years later, I FINALLY get the third book. Never again.Beautiful CoverGold Stamping really stands outLucky Number 98!
I will not say this has been worth the wait. This has been the MOST MISERABLE EXPERIENCE I HAVE EVER HAD FOR BUYING OR BACKING A BOOK PROJECT. While I will continue to buy Larry’s book (I just love his stories) I will never again back a project he suggests. I will certainly never buy a book by Steve Diamond (who is an author).
That being said, these are beautiful books and I will enjoy looking at them. They also have new introductions so when I go to re-read these, I plan on reading these editions and not my old ebook versions.
So Pilgrim, do you feel ready to move on now? That’s really good to hear. Mainly because you’re a ghost and I’m sick and tired of getting the chills every time you come to haunt me thinking you’re a real live blogger. Shoo, ghost, shoo!
