[Art] Maiden of Fall

 

It is that time of the year again. The leaves are changing, sunset is getting earlier, the apples are beginning to drop from the trees and pumpkins are growing like crazy. Yep, it's Fall!

Rufferto Reverie (Groo the Wanderer #44) 3.5Stars

 

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: Rufferto Reverie
Series: Groo the Wanderer #44
Author: Sergio Aragones
Rating: 3.5 of 5 Stars
Genre: Comics
Pages: 24
Words: 2K
Publish: 1988

Rufferto the Swordsdog makes his heroic debut and defeats enemy after enemy and saves the french poodle! Then reality sets in and he ends up biting some peasant and saving a mutt, hahahahaaha. Meanwhile Groo is doing Groo’ish things, ie, messing up everything.

What I enjoyed was how Aragones manages to tell two complete stories that are complementary but don’t impinge on the other. That man has an imagination like nobody’s business and the skill to carry it through! I continue to be astounded and amazed ;-)

As per usual, I am including a page that particularly amused me.

★★★✬☆

From Bookstooge

Rufferto daydreams about becoming a great swordsdog and saving the poodle Fifi from the clutches of an evil king. Meanwhile, Groo “saves” a caravan from being robbed, only to find out he was helping the robbers. And in making it up, robs the original owner. Groo just can’t win! Thankfully, Rufferto gets to make out with Fifi, so it’s not a total loss for them :-D

• All of My “Groo the Wanderer” Reviews

The Younger Sister (Standalone) 2.5Stars

 

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: The Younger Sister
Series: ----------
Author: Catherine Hubback
Rating: 2.5 of 5 Stars
Genre: Romance
Pages: 518
Words: 200K
Publish: 1850

Jane Austen started a novel called “The Watsons” and only wrote five chapters before abandoning it. Many years later, a niece, one Catherine Hubback, took those five chapters and turned them into a sprawling mid 1800’s romance novel.

This novel is divided into three sections and I found the first to be the strongest. It was the closest to Austen’s original five chapters and I felt like Hubback was constrained by them and that kept the train on the tracks. It wasn’t Austen writing, but it was pretty close and “felt” like what she might have written. I thoroughly enjoyed that part and had high hopes for the rest of the book. That was the part I was in the early stages of when I posted my “Currently Reading” post about this book earlier this month.

Sadly, parts two and three were completely Hubback’s and she was no Austen, not by a long shot. There was more blushing, face coloring and ten-thousand other euphemisms for blushing as could be stuffed in as possible. Emma Watson faints on several occasions, hides necessary information “because it wouldn’t be proper” (mainly about her feelings) and generally buys into the “upper class people are inherently better” idea that seemed more of Hubback than anything. The characters, after part one, did not feel like Austen characters at all and how they acted and reacted were not Austen’esque at all.

Emma Watson herself is a Mary Sue of Morality and she waxes on and on about it, until I rolled my eyes. Emma gets the guy (a Mr Howard who is a “tutor” who is also somehow a preacher?) even though every other guy she runs across in the story ALSO wants her. Some are stupid, some are honorable and some are even, gasp, dishonorable. Oh the humanity of it!!!

To end, I don’t regret reading this, but I can’t recommend it unless you are a diehard (Bruce Willis doesn’t recommend this, ha!) Austen fan. It did convince me not to seek out any more novels by Hubback, which I don’t think will be a problem. It has also given me pause about the idea of seeking out some of the “completed” adaptations of Austen’s unfinished “Sanditon”.

★★✬☆☆

From The Internet:

Emma Watson, the youngest child of six from a poor family, was sent away as a child to be raised by her wealthy aunt and uncle. When her uncle dies and her aunt remarries, Emma (now a pretty, well-educated, and opinionated young woman) returns home to help care for her ailing father and reconnect with her estranged siblings. She quickly must learn how to behave among the less affluent and navigate her way through the affections of many young men vying for her attention.

• All My “Jane Austen” Reviews

• Reading Austen 2025 Master Post

Destroyer of Worlds (Saga of the Forgotten Warrior #3) 4Stars

 

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: Destroyer of Worlds
Series: Saga of the Forgotten Warrior #3
Author: Larry Correia
Rating: 4 of 5 Stars
Genre: Fantasy
Pages: 392
Words: 143K
Publish: 2020

Correia’s love of the Second Amendment (the RIGHT to bear arms) shines through here. I loved it!

I like the story and the direction Correia is taking things but unless things change dramatically, this is going to be a series of his that I don’t plan on re-reading. It is solid, but it isn’t getting its hooks into me like some of his other books have.

And that is about the only complaint I have, that it isn’t as good as some of his other stuff. What a great problem, right!? I love those kind of problems, hahaahaha.

I would say if Urban Fantasy isn’t your thing but you’d like to try Correia anyway, this fantasy series would be a great place to check him out. As a total bonus, this six book series is also finished! The whole shebang is ready to be read. So if you read like me and rotate your books or if you are a serial binger, you’re covered either way.

This “review” is short even by my standards, but I don’t have much to say. It’s a good, enjoyable read and I was quite satisfied with the time I spent on reading it.

★★★★☆

From Upstreamreviews.substack.com

Each book starts with a flashback to a significant event decades in the past. In this instance, we get a look at the feud between Devedas and Ashok, two men of similar skillset yet very different temperament. Ashok has power that he doesn’t want yet cannot shed, while Devedas is outwardly worthy of that power and cannot have it. His only avenue is to challenge Ashok to a duel and win his sword. Ashok naturally wins the fight, as he is the bearer of an ancestor blade. Devedas still harbors the same feelings in the present.

At the end of HOUSE OF ASSASSINS, our heroes shared in a victory over the eponymous wizard cult and rescued their prophetess, Thera Vane. While the main conflict is not over, they do get to rest and recover a little bit, and those with distant obligations will part ways with the main group to tend to what’s theirs.

In the Capital of Lok, the Grand Inquisitor Omand Vokkan is still scheming to have all of the casteless annihilated. He manipulates the government to keep things moving. While he is technically in an alliance with Devedas, neither man truly trusts the other. Devedas sees to the casteless eradication, and during one encounter he notices that the casteless and other rebels are fighting back with Fortress weapons (crude black powder rifles.) The Isle of Fortress is the only place where these weapons are made, and its geographical location across the water makes it impossible for Lok to wipe them out. Owning their technology in Lok is illegal, but hey, there’s a lot of that going on lately.

Ashok and Thera, the champion and the prophetess, take up a romantic relationship together as they lead the surviving casteless army to a distant stronghold, called the Cove. When they finally reach the place, secured by their friend Keeta, they learn that other rebels are waylaid by a plague and are not expected to live for long.

Among the rebels there is an Inquisitor spy named Javed who regularly checks in with Omand, using demon parts to magically communicate with his master. It is revealed that the plague is artificial, created by a magical pattern that Omand employed in order to mess with the rebels’ religious superstitions. The plan is to undo the plague at a key time, thus controlling the religious narrative and subverting Thera’s prophecies.

However, while Javed is away, Thera has a breakthrough with the Voice in her head and is able to see the necessary pattern to cure the plague. She implements the cure and people start getting better before Javed does anything, which further complicates Omand’s schemes. Worse, it proves that the Forgotten Gods have become more brazen in their involvement in the war.

As Devedas continues onward, his quest eventually leads him to a final standoff with Ashok, bringing their lifelong feud to a head. Both men deal out incredible damage to each other, fueled and healed by their connection to the Heart of the Mountain (see book 1), but when Ashok moves in for the kill, the Forgotten Gods once again intervene and spare Devedas’ life. As a result, Ashok is hurled into a nearby river and his body is washed away, while the rebels escape.

Elsewhere throughout the story, other characters cross paths: Jagdish, determined to return to his wife and unborn child, takes his haul from the House of Assassins and returns to House Vadal, where he is treated as a deserter and awaits sentencing. However, he anticipated this outcome and told his story along the way, drumming up popular support for himself, which puts Harta Vadal (the House leader) in a precarious position.

Rada and Karno, still on the run from Inquisitors and their assassins, end up in Vadal territory and are also taken in by Harta. In a piece of deft political maneuvering, Rada counsels Harta to take control of Jagdish’s story and tell everyone that he was a secret undercover operative with Ashok’s army, and that he did exactly what he was supposed to do, returning to Vadal with incredible wealth. This allows Harta to benefit from Jagdish’s popularity, and Jagdish is promoted to the head of a garrison.

When Jagdish finally returns home, he learns that his wife tragically died during childbirth while he was away, but that his child survived, and he now has a daughter instead of a son, as he had supposed. Later, when Rada and Karno seek to escape further danger, Jagdish takes them into his garrison, grateful for how they helped him.

The story concludes when Ashok wakes up on the shores of the Isle of Fortress, having floated across the waters to that distant land. A local suggests that his injuries and subsequent journey should have killed him, to which Ashok says that he’s starting to think he’s not allowed to die.

Instill Energy - MTG 4E

 

Now, was ol' Dameon giving homage to "Adam's Creator" or just outright stealing the idea? Michelangelo is rolling in his grave either way!

Father Sergius (The Russians) 2Stars

 

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: Father Sergius
Series: (The Russians)
Author: Leo Tolstoy
Translator:
Rating: 2 of 5 Stars
Genre: Classic
Pages: 56
Words: 17K
Publish: 1911 (posthumously)

Two stars of mystical, infantile, feelings oriented theology. This really seems to sum up Russian Orthodoxy as portrayed by Tolstoy and Dostoyevsky.

John MacArthur, a New Testament scholar and preacher (who has recently passed away), has talked about Mysticism a lot over the years. He’s had the following to say:

“Mysticism is the idea that direct knowledge of God or ultimate reality is achieved through personal, subjective intuition or experience apart from, or even contrary to, historical fact or objective divine revelation…

...People begin to pursue paranormal experiences, supernatural phenomena, and special revelations—as if our resources in Christ weren’t enough. They spin their views of God and spiritual truth out of their own self-authenticated, self-generated feelings, which become more important to them than the Bible.”

~ https://www.gty.org/blogs/B190417/christ-plus-mysticism

I only recently came across MacArthur (recently, as in the last decade), so he was not an influence on me in my growing up years. But I certainly agree with his assessment of mysticism and how it has infiltrated much of the protestant church here in America.

Don’t get me wrong, God gave us our feelings. But we are NOT to act from them or take them as truth, especially when it comes to matters of theology. And this story is exactly what is stated in the quote. A mystical experience. And I’ll have NONE of that.

The more I read of Tolstoy, the less I am liking what I read.

★★☆☆

From Wikipedia.org

The story begins with the childhood and exceptional and accomplished youth of Prince Stepan Kasatsky. The young man is destined for great things. He discovers on the eve of his wedding that his fiancée Countess Mary Korotkova has had an affair with his beloved Tsar Nicholas I. The blow to his pride is massive, and he retreats to the arms of Russian Orthodoxy and becomes a monk. Many years of humility and doubt follow. He is ordered to become a hermit. Despite his being removed from the world, he is still remembered for having so remarkably transformed his life. One winter night, a group of merry-makers decide to visit him, and one of them, a divorced woman named Makovkina, spends the night in his cell, with the intention to seduce him. Father Sergius discovers he is still weak and in order to protect himself, cuts off his own finger. Makovkina is stunned by this act, and leaves the next morning, having vowed to change her life. A year later she has joined a convent. Father Sergius' reputation for holiness grows. He becomes known as a healer, and pilgrims come from far and wide. Yet Father Sergius is profoundly aware of his inability to attain a true faith. He is still tortured by boredom, pride, and lust. He fails a new test, when the young daughter of a merchant successfully beds him. The morning after, he leaves the monastery and seeks out Pashenka (Praskovya Mikhaylovna), whom he, with a group of other boys, had tormented many years ago. He finds her, now in all the conventional senses a failure in life, yet imbued with a sense of service towards her family. His path is now clearer. He begins to wander, until eight months later he is arrested in the company of a blind beggar who makes him feel closer to God. He is sent to Siberia, where he now works as the hired man of a well-to-do peasant, teaching the gentleman's young children and working in the gardens.

• The Russians

• Leo Tolstoy

• Fyodor Dostoyevsky

• Ivan Turgenev

• Nikolai Gogol

My Week XXIX or Wadical Wheels

 This week once again starts with events from last week. Our kia had been making some noises when you turned the wheel so we took it into the mechanics to have them do an oil change and find out what the noise was. They heard the engine "knocking" and called us right away and said whatever was causing the knocking was going to cost more than the car was currently worth and to not put ANY money into it, not even the oil change. So we were down 1 car, just like that. The mechanic told us not to take it on any long drives either, so that meant we didn't go to church that Sabbath as it is an hour away and is mostly highway, so it's highspeed. Nothing will ruin a good Sabbath like having your engine blowup while your traveling 75mph (120kph), hahahahaa.

I did briefly consider getting a new car but almost immediately threw that option away for two reasons. One, I had it pounded into my head that making payments on a car is one of the most irresponsible fiscal decisions one can make (and while most americans do that, well, look at the state of our personal credit as a nation, it is horrible) and it will simply drain you like a vampire bat. Second, even if we did scrimp and pay for one outright, it would leave our savings in such disrepair that if another emergency happened (like our furnace breaking down, or something like that), we would be sunk financially. So the new car option was out.

That left the used option. I began scouring Craigslist for used subarus and found a 2015 impreza with only 126K miles that seemed to be in good shape. It was being sold by a company that exclusively works on and sells Subarus. I called the place Monday to set up an appointment on Tuesday to test drive it and have the paperwork filled out.

Tuesday for work we were only 20minutes from the car place, so we took our lunch by driving over. I called the place, hoping that maybe I could pick the car up then and there, but the lady who does all the legal paperwork was out of the office until 1pm. But I saw it and got to drive it. Seemed just fine. So that evening Mrs B and I drove back up, signed the paperwork, paid our blood money and drove it home.

Wednesday was a ballbuster of a day. We had been doing what is called an "Asbuilt" of a new apartment complex. An asbuilt is when you locate everything on the property so the town has a complete record. This particular town needed a level of detail that is insane. We had to get all the parking lines where the cars park and all the decorative planted shrubs and trees. That part was actually all done several weeks or months ago. But what was left was pulling catch basins and sewer manholes and measuring all the inverts. A catchbasin is a square grate that water runs into and inside of that are pipes that channel the water to appropriate drainage areas. We had to measure the size of the pipes and how far they were from the top of the grate to make sure that the water was draining in the correct direction.

That was the nice part. Then we had to measure the sewer manholes and essentially do the same thing. We had to measure the size of the pipes and the distance from the top of the manhole to the inflow and the outflow to confirm that it had been built as it was supposed to be and that the crap was flowing in the right direction. What I'm going to show you is the cover itself that we have to remove (it weighs about 80lbs/36kg) and then a nice new sewer so you can see how the pipes go and then, a real life sewer.

There were about 50'ish structures in total, so that made for a very exhausting day. I was glad, on so many levels, when Wednesday was over. Mrs B meanwhile took care of registering the new car and getting license plates for it.

Thursday and Friday I was with yet another new guy. Tall Guy, the one I had worked with before and who was a whole foot taller than me, had quit during the two months I was gone due to my eye. Nobody missed him because he did such pisspoor work. But that does mean we don't have 3 full field crews and we have enough work that we NEED 3 full field crews. So one of the guys from the engineering department, who is working on getting his engineering degree, is being transferred over to the Survey department for the rest of the summer and the fall and he'll be working with me. He has zero experience with working in the field, so I'm teaching him everything from the ground up. The good part is that he has no bad habits I need to break him of, as the only way he will know to do everything is the way I show him (hahahahaha!) but the downside is that for the first month or so our productivity will be at turtlespeed as he learns. I should be happy that the head of survey feels confident enough to keep putting the new guys with me to train, but it is mentally, emotionally and physically exhausting. But eventually Friday was over and I was done work, at 3pm. I was happy about that!

Because that meant Mrs B and I were heading down south to go to the Cheesecake Factory! We go there once a year to celebrate our wedding anniversary (not on the day, but sometime during the month. And this year was our 17th, whooohooo). It is calorie laden food (I ordered the shepherds pie and I think it alone was 1200 calories) and we always take leftovers home. We also always order 4 slices of cheesecake to go. This year, we decided to just order whatever we wanted and to blazes with the calories.

Bookstooge ordered:

• diet coke (watching my waist line after all, hahahahaah)
• Cheeseburger spring rolls
• Shepherds pie
• side order of mashed potatoes

Mrs B ordered:

• water
• Sweet corn tamale cakes
• honey glazed carrots
• vegan cobb salad (that thing was the size of my head)

For cheesecake, we ordered a slice of the regular plain, 2 slices of the pumpkin cheesecake and 1 slice of the banana cream cheesecake. We ate enough of our regular food until we were comfortably full and then had them box it up along with the cheesecake to go. We were satiated and it was a great ride home. I feel asleep at 10pm sharp :-D

If you are interested in what any of the items looks like, they can be found at:
https://www.thecheesecakefactory.com/menu

Of course, I ended up waking up at 4am this morning, sigh. But I ate the rest of my shepherds pie (it was just as good as last night) and had the slice of regular cheesecake. That's the way to start a day! Then I went to the men's meeting that our sunday church has each saturday morning and then Mrs B and I went to church at the SDA church. Drove the new impreza there and back with nary a hitch. I took a nap at 2pm and at 3pm we went on a nice leisurely stroll around a local park to perk us back up. Once home, I began banging out this missive and that brings us to now.

What a week! But today has been good and it is sunny and warm and we have a car that is safe and cheesecake slices sitting in our fridge. What better way to end the week!