tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22390625441019750162024-03-18T20:11:20.161-07:00Sacnoth's ScriptoriumJohn D. Rateliffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12324926298336489295noreply@blogger.comBlogger2475125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2239062544101975016.post-81762877747452587142024-03-18T19:53:00.000-07:002024-03-18T19:53:19.722-07:00Farewell to Jim Ward<p> Just heard the sad news that Jim Ward, who was my boss most of the time I was at TSR, has died.</p><p>I hadn't seen him in a number of years but had hoped I'd run into him at this weekend's GaryCon, where he was one of the guests. </p><p>Rest in Peace.</p>John D. Rateliffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12324926298336489295noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2239062544101975016.post-45932287996801814742024-03-06T21:18:00.000-08:002024-03-06T21:18:15.932-08:00The Delicate Art<p> <span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;">So, thanks to Doug A.</span><span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;"> </span><span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;"> </span><span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;">for sending me a piece that recently (Febr 28th) appeared in the NEW YORKER, about the increasing role constructed languages play in today's movies and series: "</span><i style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;">Dune</i><span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;"> </span><span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;">and the Delicate Art of Making Fictional Languages"</span><span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;"> </span><span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;"> </span><span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;">by Manvir Singh. Singh not only provides a good survey of the rise of conlang and its current ubiquity but in the process shows the way Tolkien's use of invented languages set the standard for today's fantasy and science fiction. And in doing so shows yet another way in which Tolkien was ahead of his time.</span><span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">To show just how far we've come in sixty years, compare Tolkien's statement that THE LORD OF THE RINGS was <b>essentially "an essay in 'linguistic esthetic' "</b> (Reilly.136) with the abrupt dismissal of any such thought by early Inklings scholar R. J. Reilly, for whom the mere suggestion was absurd.<b>* </b>Reilly refuses to even take Tolkien's words seriously:<b></b><o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: center;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: center;"><b>"No one ever exposed the nerves <o:p></o:p></b></p><p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: center;"><b>and fibers of his being <o:p></o:p></b></p><p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: center;"><b>in order to make up a language;<o:p></o:p></b></p><p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: center;"><b>it is not only insane but unnecessary" <o:p></o:p></b></p><p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: center;">(Reilly.137)<o:p></o:p></p><p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: center;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">Despite Reilly's confidence, with the benefit of decades of seeing Tolkien's ideas at work in theory and in practice, there seems nothing any more odd in creating languages than composing music or working crossword puzzles. <o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">People like to say 'Tolkien wd have loved this' or, more often, 'Tolkien is rolling in his grave' --a habit we shd resist when we can. But I have to admit to a bit of envy at seeing there's a biopic coming out this summer that creates a fictional encounter between C. S. Lewis and Sigmund Freud. I'd love to hear and see what an encounter (say a one-act play) between Tolkien and some of his fellow language-creators wd have been like. Maybe somewhere down the track someone will be inspired to put together a JRRT-meets-RIchard Plotz play or film. I'd love to see it --though I have to admit my philological skills are miniscule and I suspect like most of the other attendees I probably wdn't be able to follow their discussion. But it's nice to think . . . <o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">--John R. <o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><b>*Notes<o:p></o:p></b></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">"Tolkien and the Fairy Story (1963), collected in Isaacs & Zimbardo, TOLKIEN & THE CRITICS (1968).<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><o:p> </o:p></p>John D. Rateliffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12324926298336489295noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2239062544101975016.post-65274248317631113242024-03-05T19:34:00.000-08:002024-03-05T19:34:23.155-08:00Two Weeks Out<p> So, plans are coming together. We're now two weeks out from GaryCon. And the trickiest bit is finally behind me. It took a lot of back-and-forthing trying to work out what I wanted to play vs. what was available and at what specific time slot. I got caught off-guard when some of the really interesting - sounding ones filled up more quickly than I expected, but then it cd be argued that's a good problem to have. </p><p>--John R.</p><p>current reading: THE TOMB OF AMEMNES by Steve Winter (2011)</p><p><br /></p>John D. Rateliffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12324926298336489295noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2239062544101975016.post-15573261699287055862024-02-25T20:27:00.000-08:002024-02-25T20:27:45.911-08:00I'm Going to GaryCon<p>So, I'm going to GaryCon. For the first time ever. Less than a month from now.</p><p>It'll be great to see some of my old TSR colleagues from my time there. Also to put a face on folks I know online but haven't met in person.</p><p>If you'd like to touch bases, drop me a note in the comments. </p><p>--John R.</p><p> --current reading: THE MOON CHILD by Aleister Crowley (1917) </p>John D. Rateliffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12324926298336489295noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2239062544101975016.post-55518738812610927142024-02-25T14:10:00.000-08:002024-02-25T14:10:55.547-08:00Aleister Crowley on Dunsany<p> So, I knew that one of Lord Dunsany's books was reviewed by Aleister Crowley. What I did not know until a few days ago is that Crowley critiques Dunsany in passing, in what might have made for an interesting blurb.</p><p>The passage in question comes three-quarters of the way through Crowley's occult novel THE MOON CHILD (1917). Crowley writes<span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: center;"><b>Lord Dunsany's stories are </b></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: center;"><b>the perfect prose jewels </b></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: center;"><b>of a master cutter and polisher,</b></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: center;"><b> lit by the rays of an imagination </b></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: center;"><b>that is the godlike son </b></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: center;"><b>of the Father of All Truth and Light;</b></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: center;"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: center;"> <i><span style="font-size: 11pt;">[page 209 </span></i><i><span style="font-size: 11pt;">chapter 18: </span></i></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: center;"><i><span style="font-size: 11pt;">The Dark Side of the Moon]</span></i></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: center;"><i><span style="font-size: 11pt;"><br /></span></i></p><p>---John R.</p><p>--current reading: THE JOURNAL OF JULIUS RODMAN by Edgar Poe (best described as 'Poe does Lewis & Clark').</p>John D. Rateliffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12324926298336489295noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2239062544101975016.post-64734732783646715232024-02-10T16:32:00.000-08:002024-02-10T16:32:55.395-08:00KIlby's Nauglamir<p> Dear Valmer</p><p>Here's what I suggest.</p><p>Send me a comment connected to this post. If you'll include yr email address in the unpublished comment, I'll delete said comment and respond to you directly.</p><p>--John R.</p><p><br /></p>John D. Rateliffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12324926298336489295noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2239062544101975016.post-16782361171108352212024-02-10T16:21:00.000-08:002024-02-10T16:21:50.799-08:00Three Books<p>So, I hadn't had a chance to get into a bookstore for a while, and held off ordering from Amazon, that great big bookstore in the sky (or perhaps the ether), since we were away for a brief visit to Rockford / Lake Geneva / & Milwaukee and having books come while we're having mail held is inviting trouble. Once we were back I did a little catching up:</p><p><br /></p><p>THE ALABASTER HAND by A. N. L. Munby </p><p>--Read twice before, finding it enjoyable but derivative; this time I thought better of it. After all, if you're going to imitate somebody it might as well be the best (in this case, the ghost stories of M. R. James). Plus the book was written under difficult circumstances (in a prisoner-of-war camp). Jared Lobdell was interested in this book but never articulated why.</p><p><br /></p><p>BLOOD & THUNDER: THE LIFE AND ART ODF ROBERT E. HOWARD by Mark Finn</p><p>--a well-researched new (-ish) biography of R.E.H., creator of Conan. Meant to be a corrective of the de Camp biography and its many shortcomings.</p><p><br /></p><p>THE MAJOR AND THE MISSIONARY: THE LETTERS OF WARREN HAMILTON LEWIS AND BLANCH BIGGS ed. Diana Pavlac Glyer</p><p>--the back-and-forth correspondence between C. S. Lewis's brother and said a missionary living and working in New Guinea: pen friends who never met. I heard this one read out as a play-for-voices at a Mythcon years ago and enjoyed it then; I expect to enjoy it again now that it's available in book form.</p><p><br /></p><p>There's a fourth book, by Barfield, but that has not yet arrived.</p><p><br /></p><p>--John R.</p><p>--current reading: Finn's Howard.</p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p>John D. Rateliffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12324926298336489295noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2239062544101975016.post-89312345568645409992024-01-26T19:51:00.000-08:002024-01-26T19:51:55.833-08:00Peruvian Tolkien Society<p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhPrhG0mGT35XikmMGVAdC1KG_sGlfGSwltANIxKUuchK6p1qFODWkEqCf-oGEYxysvNxM-AjtkZ9NSkqS5H2LrxbMkbcoqKtUd_cZP_Wya3x1KwXRyWUSUiPJouhO6N8Nhr-nQlHMfa3PiMqNu7DvxshlGszCI_DzMT8sy3nknErjtdAnW4yKfvNwIwvXY" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="192" data-original-width="204" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhPrhG0mGT35XikmMGVAdC1KG_sGlfGSwltANIxKUuchK6p1qFODWkEqCf-oGEYxysvNxM-AjtkZ9NSkqS5H2LrxbMkbcoqKtUd_cZP_Wya3x1KwXRyWUSUiPJouhO6N8Nhr-nQlHMfa3PiMqNu7DvxshlGszCI_DzMT8sy3nknErjtdAnW4yKfvNwIwvXY" width="256" /></a></div><br />So, recently I found out from fellow Tolkien scholar Erik Mueller Harder* that there is a Peruvian Tolkien Society (<span style="background-color: white; font-size: 14px;">“<b>La Sociedad Tolkien Peruana</b>”</span>), a newly founded group. What's more, they were having their next meet (via Zoom) the very next day. The book they had chosen was THE HISTORY OF THE HOBBIT. Seeing that I had written that book, Erik thought I might be interested in joining in. Long story short, as my uncle wd say: I contacted them and they invited me to join the meeting. It wound up being an enjoyable time, a book group discussion crossed with a Q&A. I found them knowledgable and articulate. I was glad to be invited and glad I accepted.<p></p><p>--John R.</p><p>*we both worked on the Marquette reprocessing project, though mostly at different times. </p><p><br /></p>John D. Rateliffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12324926298336489295noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2239062544101975016.post-24482928536088892062024-01-24T20:11:00.000-08:002024-01-24T20:11:20.203-08:00The Page Turner<p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><p></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgbX9A8KpxgAGuB4D6R6BXUagxotJQHNLvTaGweXCp6s6_I1Djw0Z8sAMRB7ZFpctNlE_oUqJ6744VRKfZjok3iB-3Sld4pZBr-I8ymNS6mOhPZR3lpRTyxu5pIwn9M0g2yRnb6L88vqd5ibV1HFuAGJYce_UsH6NXDiUzaNFRN4C6r7kBW0uTDD3bdMBTO" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="810" data-original-width="1080" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgbX9A8KpxgAGuB4D6R6BXUagxotJQHNLvTaGweXCp6s6_I1Djw0Z8sAMRB7ZFpctNlE_oUqJ6744VRKfZjok3iB-3Sld4pZBr-I8ymNS6mOhPZR3lpRTyxu5pIwn9M0g2yRnb6L88vqd5ibV1HFuAGJYce_UsH6NXDiUzaNFRN4C6r7kBW0uTDD3bdMBTO" width="320" /></a></div><p><br /></p><p></p><p>So, our local bookstore took a hit this week when during the Great Freeze of January 14th broken waterpipes in an unused room overhead (owned by the bookstore's landlord) caused flooding. Anyone who's seen how books and water don't mix can appreciate the mess that ensued.</p><div><a href="https://www.kentreporter.com/business/burst-water-pipes-damage-page-turner-books-in-downtown-kent/">https://www.kentreporter.com/business/burst-water-pipes-damage-page-turner-books-in-downtown-kent/</a></div><div><br /></div><p>They've been a good neighbor in the community, hosting events like 'Nerdcon'. Fortunately they have already announced plans to re-open --in the space about three blocks away until recently occupied by downtown Kent's game store, Game Kastle. Which was the first I heard about the game store's having closed.</p><p>For those who wd like to help out as Page Turner works to get back on their feet again, they've opened up a GoFundMe page -- at first set with a goal of $10,000, since bumped up to $20,000.</p><p>So, here's hoping that this uses up their year's supply of drama all in one go.</p><p>--John R.</p><p>P.S. For the sake of full disclosure, this is where I've been taking boxes of my books as I sort through them and send them out the door in the ongoing downsizing.* So I feel a bit sad that books I thought were going to a safe home, not all of whom made it. And I'll have to come up with a good place for the four boxfuls I'm gathered up and set aside for the next time.</p><p><br /></p><p>*the latest lot is mainly made up of Robertson Davies and Joseph Conrad </p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p>John D. Rateliffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12324926298336489295noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2239062544101975016.post-24594429667897476162024-01-14T16:38:00.000-08:002024-01-14T16:38:36.680-08:00Tolkien on the sacrament<p> <span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><i>So, when slowly reading my way through the new edition of JRRT's LETTERS, I find that in some cases I'm more struck by passages we already knew from the 1981 edition than the new material, fascinating though that may be. For example, what are we to make of this passage from Letter to Michael (page 74, #66)? <o:p></o:p></i></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: center;">Out of the darkness of my life, so much frustrated,<o:p></o:p></p><p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: center;">I put before you the one great thing on earth: the<o:p></o:p></p><p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: center;">Blessed Sacrament . . . . . There you will find romance,<o:p></o:p></p><p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: center;">glory, honour, fidelity, and the one true way of all<o:p></o:p></p><p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: center;">your loves upon earth . . . Death.<o:p></o:p></p><p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: center;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p align="right" class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: right;"><b>page 74. Letter to Michael (#66)<o:p></o:p></b></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><i> </i></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><i>Unlike (say) Lewis, Tolkien seems to have been less interested in the formal doctrine of the Church (though he was well-versed in it) than he took great comfort in its rites and rituals. This I suspect was at the root of his opposition to the replacement of Latin with the vernacular.*<o:p></o:p></i></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><i> </i></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><i>As for the sacrament, and the priority he assigns to it: is he here relating his experience of being in the presence of God?<o:p></o:p></i></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><i> </i></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><i>--John R.<o:p></o:p></i></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><i>current reading: two essays by Joseph Conrad on the sinking of the Titanic.<o:p></o:p></i></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><i> </i></p>John D. Rateliffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12324926298336489295noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2239062544101975016.post-52654965461666656062024-01-12T20:36:00.000-08:002024-01-12T20:36:44.730-08:00Jannell Jaquays<p>So, I was saddened to hear of the death of Jannell Jaquays this week. Jannell was one of the titans, someone (like Dave Sutherland or Tom Moldvay or Mike Carr) whose contributions to D&D went back to what was for me the dawn of time but were still around years later when I came on the scene. Jannell wrote the first module I ever bought: DARK TOWER, from Judges Guild --still a favorite of mine* -- which shaped my idea of what an AD&D adventure shd be. </p><div>It was not until years later that we worked together at TSR in Lake Geneva, where her cubical and artist's niche was diagonally across from my cube. This had one unforeseen effect: Jannell, like many of the TSR artists, designers, and editors, liked to listen to the radio when she worked. But unlike most of the folks at Sheridan Springs Road, Jannell listened to Rush Limbaugh: three hours in the morning, and if I'm remembering rightly another three hours in the afternoon. Not to my taste, but that's why God made headphones.</div><div><p>Because we both lived in Delavan, a few miles from Lake Geneva itself, I got to see more of Jannell than wd otherwise have been the case. I remember cat-sitting her cats several times in her big old house a few blocks from our own. Occasionally we wd carpool.</p><p>As for Jannell's work, I always appreciated that she did fantasy art in which the figures were fully clothed --which was not the case with the other staff artists. She also was a rare talent in that she was equally skilled in writing (adventures, character-background generators) and painting. </p><p>I'm sorry that we'd pretty much fallen out of contact. After she left TSR I rarely saw Jannell, even though she made the move out to the Seattle area; just a matter of paths not crossing. The last time was a few years ago at a meeting of the Alliterates, a group to which we both belonged, but I think she had more or less dropped out about the time I was joining.</p><p>So, it was a long career. But not long enough. And a friendship, that in retrospect I wish had been closer.</p><p>--John R.</p></div><div><br /></div><p>*Though I'd read it many times, I only finally ran it about a year ago. It did not disappoint.</p><p><br /></p>John D. Rateliffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12324926298336489295noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2239062544101975016.post-13149950746899455162024-01-10T19:34:00.000-08:002024-01-10T19:34:09.889-08:00Mercion and Aleena<p><br /></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjvpWPBA4vXHuAvw8jYovoRIHUk6ibtgEUCToZLkbFgtnfsxu42HfJA59HPH47fyGmdypQiIFluXCuV6N5pWDaxokBJfH-ZJKfMn8e4LZqPhklJVwAuFLy1mpn156Z8EB4xSNRwzQZPArMcyvJxZbKwVIFBpZLuG4V-CUnm630Ks6Xr_xiD9XRl6oNujzKa" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="736" data-original-width="711" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjvpWPBA4vXHuAvw8jYovoRIHUk6ibtgEUCToZLkbFgtnfsxu42HfJA59HPH47fyGmdypQiIFluXCuV6N5pWDaxokBJfH-ZJKfMn8e4LZqPhklJVwAuFLy1mpn156Z8EB4xSNRwzQZPArMcyvJxZbKwVIFBpZLuG4V-CUnm630Ks6Xr_xiD9XRl6oNujzKa" width="232" /></a></div><br /><p></p><p> So, one final thought on these vinyl adventures is a query. When I first looked at them, I was struck by how strongly the character Mercion, the cleric, reminded me of Elmore's drawing of Aleena the cleric in the 4th edition (Red Box). Both date from about the same time (1983 for Elmore, 1984 for the vinyl). I think the image stuck in my mind all these years because it's rare to kill off competent, likable characters. Since the Red Box image is readily available but the vinyl adventure difficult to come by, I've attached a few of the relevant images for comparison.</p><div><br /></div><p><br /></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjX6Gy4FaUY4TRi5Qnlgq20An4K1GK36GnlJfgaCIvV_uDkNhg5RukGtiP9CcnSi2mP3qh3YFt5E6_Gn2RUK3LpnFSJvv1BV0hx_LH3hwP-4t2pwpb_Drx-4NL0awLz8Iji695zyTc4SFiW9TxjpYfazttIwU-rSOQ5vVrj87CHPwU4ZRCZIxYYO1W1vnyA" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="728" data-original-width="711" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjX6Gy4FaUY4TRi5Qnlgq20An4K1GK36GnlJfgaCIvV_uDkNhg5RukGtiP9CcnSi2mP3qh3YFt5E6_Gn2RUK3LpnFSJvv1BV0hx_LH3hwP-4t2pwpb_Drx-4NL0awLz8Iji695zyTc4SFiW9TxjpYfazttIwU-rSOQ5vVrj87CHPwU4ZRCZIxYYO1W1vnyA" width="235" /></a></div><p><br /></p><p>It was before my time (I didn't arrive at TSR until 1991), but maybe the creative team at TSR in 1983 disliked Lidda, Mialee, Regdar, and the rest as much as the WotC/TSR team at the time of 3e's creation disliked the official iconic characters foisted upon them. Certainly (to cite one parallel) there was residual disdain for the D&D cartoon characters lingering on years after that unfortunate episode in TSR history had faded into the past.</p><p></p><p>--John R.</p><p><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjAGOoTTLCoDLl5Pb3X68HuN1XIymyhAfbqMoDptMOAC14y3Ip7kNFQmjJrudzEQOzTX-J0WKkfj6bUKpRG6ykYJDDpbOtVxTG5c01QwczAyK2RlOXg2WaspUN2RpDse-GyAlzOv9dzu2j8b3vDFnfSbMpAAiyeQNzHeItJH5Zew0VCmZlwvQ30Si88pXia" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="533" data-original-width="268" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjAGOoTTLCoDLl5Pb3X68HuN1XIymyhAfbqMoDptMOAC14y3Ip7kNFQmjJrudzEQOzTX-J0WKkfj6bUKpRG6ykYJDDpbOtVxTG5c01QwczAyK2RlOXg2WaspUN2RpDse-GyAlzOv9dzu2j8b3vDFnfSbMpAAiyeQNzHeItJH5Zew0VCmZlwvQ30Si88pXia" width="121" /></a></div><br /><br /><p></p><p><br /></p><p> </p>John D. Rateliffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12324926298336489295noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2239062544101975016.post-23780904398471408672024-01-10T19:01:00.000-08:002024-01-10T19:01:14.191-08:00Lost Lands of Greyglen<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjrnN4Eqw-NqdsSgAiDF3beN5OECudiJ52xkOagmrTPn8faJEuSyIrfNhu05-nfJ3UfkuO5E6or0UOdC9QhOVMtcmd9AmQSp0k7ZiSHXusb4Jr5YN_11oAoGshcdNwdrSU9ImzrX2foSmKzpdjGp1i6Wlf2JvILmIVqJFqsSuw5lIE-Oi6Gj6oyHNu9Abuv" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="767" data-original-width="731" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjrnN4Eqw-NqdsSgAiDF3beN5OECudiJ52xkOagmrTPn8faJEuSyIrfNhu05-nfJ3UfkuO5E6or0UOdC9QhOVMtcmd9AmQSp0k7ZiSHXusb4Jr5YN_11oAoGshcdNwdrSU9ImzrX2foSmKzpdjGp1i6Wlf2JvILmIVqJFqsSuw5lIE-Oi6Gj6oyHNu9Abuv" width="229" /></a></div><br /><p></p><p>So my question is, do these place-names appear anywhere else, or did Bradon just make them up as he went along?</p><p>So, one of the more curious points of QUEST OF THE RIDDLES, the second of the two D&D Kid Stuff recordings from 1984 (a sort of D&D light, with all the role-playing taken out), is the mention of several places that bear no resemblance to any official D&D world I'm aware of. </p><p style="text-align: center;">Castle Vitalia lay many miles from Stongheart's home, </p><p style="text-align: center;"><b>through the dark forest of Greyglen,</b> </p><p style="text-align: center;">across <b>the two rivers of Elfin Valley</b>, and </p><p style="text-align: center;">high in <b>the rugged mountains of the Copper Dragon</b>. . . . </p><p style="text-align: center;">After two long nights, the good paladin </p><p style="text-align: center;">could see the rocky towers of Castle Vitalia </p><p style="text-align: center;">rising up above the forest threes.</p><p><br /></p><p>My guess is that they're just made up on the spot, without any authority.</p><p>But it'd be nice to know more, if there was more to know.</p><p>--John R.</p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p>John D. Rateliffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12324926298336489295noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2239062544101975016.post-6091064875130510662024-01-10T18:34:00.000-08:002024-01-10T18:34:38.930-08:00Vinyl D&D<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiW3rb1MVCEzSp5WCDJU9uepbiInT3ly5IRUg_P0FoJa2YorDjeSzbGD46TCQ-j0cU0Cxbjb24FY6BJW3ajF1iEHbyzLS27U-H9wLZY0qJ_QTdB40SApsSrGhm5j-1ERxo2B2XhuQU9YlY-6V4U4N1qUFlXCDXP-zQhNV8tupLwMDb7YhkRm-cmpSsV365v" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="746" data-original-width="724" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiW3rb1MVCEzSp5WCDJU9uepbiInT3ly5IRUg_P0FoJa2YorDjeSzbGD46TCQ-j0cU0Cxbjb24FY6BJW3ajF1iEHbyzLS27U-H9wLZY0qJ_QTdB40SApsSrGhm5j-1ERxo2B2XhuQU9YlY-6V4U4N1qUFlXCDXP-zQhNV8tupLwMDb7YhkRm-cmpSsV365v" width="233" /></a></div><br /> <p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><b>VINYL: D&D<o:p></o:p></b></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">So, here's something I've had for years and never taken a good look at, much less given it a listen. A decade and more before the audio-cd adventures, some of which I worked on (edited Tim Beach's HAIL THE HEROES and wrote the cd script for Jeff Grubb's MARK OF AMBER), TSR had tried something else along the same lines, albeit less ambitious. This had taken the form of a read-along book with accompanying record (a .45 rpm in size but .33/3 in speed). <o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">Released by Kid Stuff records & tapes in 1984, there were at least two of these: ATTACK OF THE ASSASSINS (#KSR 839) and QUEST OF THE RIDDLES (#KSR 840). Both are prominently branded as 'DUNGEONS & DRAGONS (TM) BOOK AND RECORDING' with the TSR logo 'used under license'. <o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">No identification of author or artist appears in the booklet, but the record label itself bears the credit "Written and produced by John Bradon" while the flip side lacks the mention of Bradon but explicitly states that TSR approves this recording.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">The book itself strongly resembles a Little Golden Book, for those whose childhoods reach back so far. The simple story contained within has Kelek the wicked sorcerer ordering Zarak the half-orc assassin to kidnap Mercion, a powerful cleric, and then lure Strongheart (the hero of this little tale) into a trap when he comes to rescue her. Other characters either appear briefly (Ringlerun, depicted in the art as a Gandalfian wizard) and Graznak (one of the half-orcs) or remain offstage, like Warduke the villian.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">Perhaps the oddest thing about this minor relic of the past is that these two records were from what seems to have been an established series. Others listed in the back of the booklet include <b>Mr. Potato Head and 2001 Space Odyssey, Barbie and My Little Pony. Flash Gordon is here but not Buck Rogers. James Bond 007 makes the list, though I'm curious what they wd have made of Bond's violence and womanizing.<o:p></o:p></b></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">All in all, one of the odder licences TSR tried out during its initial boom.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">--John R.<o:p></o:p></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p>xx</p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p>John D. Rateliffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12324926298336489295noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2239062544101975016.post-41797541732750598802024-01-06T15:51:00.000-08:002024-01-06T15:51:00.303-08:00Speaking of Vinyl . . . <p><span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;">So, before I bought the new single mentioned in my previous post, it'd been a long time since I last bought vinyl. And once again it was The Beatles, specifically The Beatles on the BBC, Part Two, which I rarely listened to,* and that usually on cd for its convenience.</span><span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">I still have my old records, and still listen to them, though not as much as I used to.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">I'm not sure how many, it never having occurred to me to count them. A quick resort to a measuring tape shows that my old singles fill two shoeboxes of about ten inches each. I have no idea how many .45s that wd be. Similarly the albums take up about four feet of shelf-space, and once again I don't know how many albums that makes. <o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">I suspect I'll be pulling these out and listening to them a good deal while I'm in the mood.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">--John R. <o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">*though in the last week or so I've been listening to it and finding it much better than I remembered, especially if I skip through the chatty interludes. Think I'll be listening to this quite a bit in days to come.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><o:p> </o:p></p>John D. Rateliffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12324926298336489295noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2239062544101975016.post-88045095921553298272024-01-06T15:38:00.000-08:002024-01-06T15:38:01.793-08:00A New Cat Cafe is on its way<p> So, I've been meaning to get this news posted for a while now and kept not getting around to it.</p><p>In brief, the outlet mall in Auburn (formerly known as the Supermall) have put up notices that a cat cafe will soon be opening there. The location looks to be right next to the food court -- which shd both make the cat's lives more interesting (all those intriguing smells right next door) and tantalizing (they can smell but not taste).</p><p>No word yet of when it might be opening; I'll keep a look out and report back here when there's anything to report.</p><p>--John R. </p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p>John D. Rateliffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12324926298336489295noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2239062544101975016.post-63982469188127734722024-01-05T20:38:00.000-08:002024-01-07T22:29:49.435-08:00Cat Report (Friday December 5th)<p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEi4oxz3peR0wby_qotvb-69N48bx8GE5UfTarrLI-yQmj8pjcxmUx1186fAt7Rhs9sP8CQ64BcJ4shDK3JO1-Gdff9G6ZRP0We_S8Mp58W9E8m9wbHKdv_3TS18GbFVDdrBzPvoJCCwqxtWGMEAh0LX35ebmkUCOsv4wp_nQP2lWzYE1GdP2R99vVYr57Db" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="640" data-original-width="302" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEi4oxz3peR0wby_qotvb-69N48bx8GE5UfTarrLI-yQmj8pjcxmUx1186fAt7Rhs9sP8CQ64BcJ4shDK3JO1-Gdff9G6ZRP0We_S8Mp58W9E8m9wbHKdv_3TS18GbFVDdrBzPvoJCCwqxtWGMEAh0LX35ebmkUCOsv4wp_nQP2lWzYE1GdP2R99vVYr57Db" width="113" /></a></div><br /><br /><p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">Just two cats in the cat room today: bonded pair <b>Lucy</b> and <b>Sally</b> (the winsome twinsome). Accordingly, we cd give lots of attention to both cats, who enjoyed being out together the whole two hours.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">Given their continued interest in door-dashing, we tried an experiment. We put the collar on Sally early on to see if getting used to it might help. Then maybe a quarter hour later we added the leash and took her out briefly. Very briefly. As in perhaps half a minute. As for her sister, we cdn't even get a collar on her, much less a leash. So, they're interested in the store outside the cat-room but not interested enough to go there.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">Afterwards, Lucy took up position atop the cat-stand, where she reveled in the catnip sachet on high. For her part, Sally stayed down below, willing to try any game offered. They both loved The Worm. <o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">We were surprised by the display of a talent we didn't know they had: crouch down, jump up, get a hold, and climb up the cages, outside or inside the door. It was pretty impressive how quickly they cd act once one of them took a mind to.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">Both seemed to wind down at end of the first hour, then got a second wind<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">A fair number of onlookers and admirers. Got a query asking at what age people can volunteer; Janice gave them the flyer.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><b>HEALTH CONCERTS:</b> Not a cough nor sneeze nor sniffle from either.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><o:p> </o:p><span face="Calibri, sans-serif">--John & Janice</span> </p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><b>UPDATE (Sunday January 7th):</b> both cats were adopted today, so this bonded pair of sisters went home together to their new home.</p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><br /></p>John D. Rateliffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12324926298336489295noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2239062544101975016.post-32499229172057263922024-01-04T20:53:00.000-08:002024-01-04T20:53:25.173-08:00I buy Vinyl (Now and Then)<p>So, I celebrated the end of the year by buying the new Beatles record, NOW AND THEN. And just to add a little something extra for the occasion, I bought the single on vinyl,* not a cd. Whether this assemblage of Beatles motifs counts as a 'new record', or a Beatles record, might be debatable. All I can say is a few days ago I found the song running in my head without my having any say in the matter in the way that songs sometimes do. So I have to conclude that so far as I am concerned here we have something new that nevertheless v. much harkens back into the past: a new single by The Beatle.**</p><p>--John R.</p><p><br /></p><p>*the size of a .33&a 3rd but played at .45; a format mostly used for disco singles back in the day.</p><p>**there's precedent for Beatles songs without all four members present on the recording. A few of these made it onto records of the time, such as "The Ballad of John and Yoko", made by John and Paul working together without George and Ringo.</p>John D. Rateliffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12324926298336489295noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2239062544101975016.post-81879750660632093492024-01-03T17:02:00.000-08:002024-01-03T17:02:14.332-08:00Happy Tolkien Day<p>So, today would have been Tolkien's one hundreth and thirty-second birthday, old Took that he was.</p><p>--John R.</p><p>current reading: the expanded edition of LETTERS OF JRR TOLKIEN (which is going to take me a while). So far few surprises but many occasions of being reminded of just where this or that passage came from.</p>John D. Rateliffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12324926298336489295noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2239062544101975016.post-40473543203681463582023-12-24T21:12:00.000-08:002023-12-29T17:48:24.903-08:00Inch by Inch, Row by Row<p><b>re. the C. S. Lewis Correspondence Project</b></p><p>So, re-reading my most recent post after hitting send I realized I had another point I'd wanted to make. Hence this follow-on post. </p><p>I think this project has a good chance of success because it builds on a model the Wade Center used to good effect for years --certainly before I started going to the Wade (1983ff). They had photocopies of their Lewis letters in row after row of big binders. Inside each binder on the left hand was a photocopy of a page from a letter by CSL. Facing it on the right side was a typed transcription of the same page. When occasion offered --for example, a staff member or work-study student had some time free from other tasks-- she wd add another batch of transcriptions. This not only made the material more available (not everyone finds Lewis's handwriting easy to read without some practice) but protected the originals from wear and tear. And it was self-correcting, since later users of the material wd point out misreadings and typos. </p><p>I think something similar, aside from the technological advances, likely to serve as a model for this new project. Once the basic procedure is established, a huge project can become manageable, the work divided up among many hands. There's the added bonus that the work becomes useful right away, increasing that utility as long as the project continues. </p><p>The only potential pitfalls I wd be wary of are (1) that this will be a massive amount of work and (2) I hope they have a procedure in place whereby members of the Steering Committee can drop out and new members recruited if needed, to guard against the 'Dead Sea Scroll' effect.</p><p>In short: a great idea that looks promising, with an end product that wd be of great use to more than just Lewis scholars. Let's hope things go well. </p><p>--John R.</p><p>current reading: "Refuge of Insulted Saints", in HIGH SPIRITS: A COLLECTION OF GHOST STORIES by Robertson Davies</p><p><br /></p><p>*the title of this post, by the way, comes from an Arlo Guthrie song</p>John D. Rateliffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12324926298336489295noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2239062544101975016.post-16540394779721646142023-12-23T19:02:00.000-08:002023-12-23T19:17:19.786-08:00The C. S. Lewis Correspondence Project <p>So, C. S. Lewis has been one of those authors posthumously prolific. His books were brought back into print, where they have been joined by previously uncollected works, especially literary essays and apologetics pieces. This good fortune for admirers of his works extends to his letters. The original life-and-letters put together by his brother Warnie, with the letters intercut with biographical passages, never saw print, being recast into a shorter, simpler form by Christopher Derrick (1966). As far back as 1981, when I first met him, Hooper was already, and already had been for several years, at work on Lewis's COMPLETE LETTERS. This finally came out in the form of the extensive if not comprehensive three-volume set of COLLECTED LETTERS (2000, 2004, 2007), totaling a massive 3999 pages -- and even this was a Selected, not Complete, collection.</p><p>Now comes word of a new, ambitious project to collect together all Lewis's surviving letters into one electronic database. Their estimation is that CSL wrote some 10,000 letters. Of these 3208 appear in COLLECTED LETTERS. Hooper had located another 70 or 80 more by the time of his death (2020), and the editors of the Correspondence Project have by their count expanded that by 732 uncollected letters or fragments. The goal is to establish a repository accessible to scholars all over the world. </p><p>The group heading up this ambitious project is a team of seven scholars: Norbert Feinendegen, Monika B. Hilder, Bruce R. Johnson, Laura Schmidt, Arend Smilde, Charlies W. Starr, & Jill Walker. I don't know all these names, but the ones I do know lead me to feel the project is in good hands. It's also a good sign that the announcement is being published more or less simultaneously in The JOURNAL OF INKLINGS STUDIES (from which I derive most of the information above*), VII, MYTHLORE, and SEHNSUCHT. </p><p>The Contact person is Bruce R. Johnson: <b>cslletter@gmail.com</b></p><p>It'll be interesting to see how this major project covering years of work by many hands comes out. I know I've found Hooper's COLLECTED LETTERS of considerable value in my work on Tolkien and other Inklings over the years.</p><p>Yrs,</p><p>John R.</p><p>*Volume XIII.2 (2023)</p>John D. Rateliffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12324926298336489295noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2239062544101975016.post-68048745324153397982023-12-15T20:34:00.000-08:002023-12-15T20:34:16.501-08:00Distressing News (Diana Paxson)<p>So, thanks to Doug K and David B for the link to the news about Diana L. Paxson, who has been the victim of a stabbing attack. The short version: she had a close call but shd be alright. The long version: the eighty year old Paxson and her son fought off the attack, which came from a fellow member of Greyhaven (essentially a commune): an artery was nicked but prompt aid from the son saved her. </p><p>Here's the link:</p><p><a href="https://www.berkeleyscanner.com/2023/12/13/crime/berkeley-author-diana-paxson-recounts-stabbing/">https://www.berkeleyscanner.com/2023/12/13/crime/berkeley-author-diana-paxson-recounts-stabbing/</a></p><p>Paxson is mainly known for her close association with Marion Zimmer Bradley: Her best known book, THE WHITE RAVEN (1988), tells the story of the Tristan and Iseult story from the point of view of Branwen, Iseult's maid). Essentially Paxson followed where Bradley's MISTS OF AVALON had led, but Paxson's is the much better book.</p><p> --John R. </p><p>--current reading (Kindle): GIFTED AMATEURS by David Bratman (2023) </p><p><br /></p>John D. Rateliffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12324926298336489295noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2239062544101975016.post-70543701522483643332023-12-13T16:38:00.000-08:002023-12-13T22:26:44.696-08:00Layoffs: A Christmas Tradition<p> So, I was sad to hear the news of 1100 people being laid off at Hasbro. On top of 800 let go early in the year, this totals about a third of their entire staff. They're even going to shut down the corporate headquarters in Rhode Island.</p><p>A lot of interesting posts on Facebook reflecting on earlier layoffs, both at WotC (1995) and TSR (1996). Though I think I still hold the record of having been laid off by that rpg department three times. First by TSR at the end of 1996 when TSR all but shut down. Hired back by WotC at the next GenCon, I was laid off again in June 2001 when they decided they didn't need to hang on to the staff that saw the creation of 3e and the d20 system. Hired back again a year or two later by Hasbro, first briefly as a temp then made full-time, only to be laid off in November 2005 for no particular reason I ever knew.</p><p>All of which is a roundabout way of saying there is life after WotC. </p><p>For all who got the bad news, best of luck and best wishes for the next stage, whatever that turns out to be.</p><div><br /></div><p>Here're two pieces that between them give a pretty good overview of the bad tidings:</p><p><a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/robwieland/2023/12/13/hasbro-layoffs-affect-wizards-of-the-coast/?sh=2a344ae755ee">https://www.forbes.com/sites/robwieland/2023/12/13/hasbro-layoffs-affect-wizards-of-the-coast/?sh=2a344ae755ee</a></p><p><a href="https://www.polygon.com/23998290/hasbro-layoffs-before-christmas">https://www.polygon.com/23998290/hasbro-layoffs-before-christmas</a></p><p><br /></p><p>--John R.</p><p><br /></p>John D. Rateliffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12324926298336489295noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2239062544101975016.post-39001590411557693252023-12-06T20:47:00.000-08:002023-12-06T20:47:57.255-08:00Tolkien's Little List<p>So, the previous post on Tolkien's brief correspondence with the great folklorist Katharine Briggs reminded me of something I'd come across a while back about Tolkien's connection with Briggs.</p><p>In Scull & Hammond's excellent CHRONOLOGY, they give an entry mentioning a list of people Tolkien wanted sent an author's complementary copy of SMITH OF WOOTTON MAJOR (ten in England and three more in America), then move on to give a second list of ten names "to whom future publications should be sent, since he owes them 'a considerable amount for help, encouragement, and gifts . . .' </p><p><b><span> </span>Simonne d'Ardenne</b></p><p><b><span> </span>George Sayer</b></p><p><b><span> </span>Austin and Katharine Farrar</b></p><p><b><span> </span>the Reverend Mother Prioress of Oulton Abbey</b></p><p><b><span> </span><span style="color: red;">K. M. Briggs</span></b></p><p><b><span> </span>Professor P. N. U. Harting of Amsterday</b></p><p><b><span> </span>the Earl of Halsbury,</b></p><p><b><span> </span>Professor Clyde Kilby</b></p><p><b><span> </span>Edmund Fuller,</b></p><p><b><span> </span>and W. H. Auden"</b></p><p><b><span><span> <span> <span> </span></span></span> </span>[S&H.Chr.747]</b></p><p><br /></p><p>It was just their bad luck that Tolkien published v. little during those final years, but the list remains a marker that he held a high opinion of each of these ten --some of them names familiar to any Tolkien scholar, some I confess to never having heard of before (the Reverend Mother and the Dutch Professor). </p><p>--John R.</p><p>--current reading: A STRANGER IN OLONDRIA.</p>John D. Rateliffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12324926298336489295noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2239062544101975016.post-3028496067466554542023-12-06T20:43:00.000-08:002023-12-06T20:43:38.485-08:00A Little Following Up<p>So, the great Kent internet blackout of 2023 is now over, after essentially what was a long, long day. Nobody physically hurt so far as I've been able to tell, but with massive disruption of people's daily lives. It's sobering sometimes to be reminded how much we depend on our devices, and how vulnerable the system is. Of various reports I found, the Kent Reporter did the best job in reporting facts.</p><p><a href="https://www.kentreporter.com/news/thousands-in-kent-lose-comcast-service-after-vandals-damage-cable-lines/">https://www.kentreporter.com/news/thousands-in-kent-lose-comcast-service-after-vandals-damage-cable-lines/</a></p><p>As a personal note, we have friends who live about three blocks down the same street where the sabotage took place, just a few blocks off a busy (4-lane) street, in an area where patches of rural Renton & Kent can still be found here and there. It's by no means a remote area. I suspect the timing of the attack (about 5 am) had a lot to do with how they got away with it.</p><p>--John R.</p>John D. Rateliffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12324926298336489295noreply@blogger.com0