Number 57 - September/November 2009
For Point of Divergence #57
It has been...a summer...
Firstly, of course, has been the terror that is "The Great Move" which – as I write this – we're still in the middle of. The Library closed (to students) on July 30th, it's supposed to start moving on August 17th, and we haven't even gotten the new Reference Desk yet...
Worse, I was ready with a lot of stuff – all packed and labeled – back in July. Then our temporary Dean (remember last disty when I said they'd fired our current Dean...yeah, they got a temporary filler to make all the decisions for us that will haunt us for decades after she's gone), decided that a couple of her secretaries needed an office on the second floor of the new building (the Library floor) where she was, rather than on the first (right below her). So to do that, she had to kick Archives out of its room – and, yes, he was the only other person to be all labeled and ready to go – and move it into what was to be my computer room. Never mind that the Archives room was specifically designed for Archives...and the Computer Room for computers, we got moved anyway.
Now, however, I didn't have a room and there weren't any more convenient folk to move out of theirs, so I got broken up into three, with a desk in Tech Services, some of my computer equipment in a corner of Processing, and a closet out by Reference. So, rather than the long looked for "look, all my stuff is in one place!" I'm once again all over the building...with possibly less space than I had before.
*SIGH*
Upon learning of this, I had to start relabeling things to go to these different rooms. Then, after I finished that...the closet I was given got swapped with a different closet at the other end of the building. And, once again, I had to relabel everything.
Meanwhile, the number of computers we're getting keeps changing (both down and up), furniture may or may not be here on time, and big chunks of AV equipment for classrooms and such in the building hasn't even been put out to bid yet...
...so if you're wondering why I'm doing this at the very last minute...
Meanerwhile, outside the mess that is the Library, I started having car problems – clutch/transmission ones, to be specific. Anywho, to make a long story short (last minute for this, remember?), it ended up the source of all my problems was that I'd broken the firewall. And, no, I don't know how.
That left me with a choice of getting the firewall fixed – which involves taking the front half of the car apart, welding it, putting it back together, and about $1,500 – and then fixing things like the clutch and the transmission that it being broken...broke1...which would be another large chunk of money, call it $2,000 all together.
All on a car that's got twenty years and 350,000 miles on it – which Kelly Blue book gives a value of about $200 – and only if I lie and say it's in "Fair Condition."
The car's currently patched (with screws holding the firewall together!) well enough to drive, ummm, about a dozen more trips...maybe...if I'm lucky. So basically, it's sitting not being driven (unless it's an extreme emergency) while Dee Dee drops me off at work, while I figure out how we're going to get a new car. Probably a Fit, as that's closest to what I had (and it certainly worked out well). But IAE, I'm going to miss my Civic. We've been through a lot together.
*SIGH* On with the show...
Firstly, of course, has been the terror that is "The Great Move" which – as I write this – we're still in the middle of. The Library closed (to students) on July 30th, it's supposed to start moving on August 17th, and we haven't even gotten the new Reference Desk yet...
Worse, I was ready with a lot of stuff – all packed and labeled – back in July. Then our temporary Dean (remember last disty when I said they'd fired our current Dean...yeah, they got a temporary filler to make all the decisions for us that will haunt us for decades after she's gone), decided that a couple of her secretaries needed an office on the second floor of the new building (the Library floor) where she was, rather than on the first (right below her). So to do that, she had to kick Archives out of its room – and, yes, he was the only other person to be all labeled and ready to go – and move it into what was to be my computer room. Never mind that the Archives room was specifically designed for Archives...and the Computer Room for computers, we got moved anyway.
Now, however, I didn't have a room and there weren't any more convenient folk to move out of theirs, so I got broken up into three, with a desk in Tech Services, some of my computer equipment in a corner of Processing, and a closet out by Reference. So, rather than the long looked for "look, all my stuff is in one place!" I'm once again all over the building...with possibly less space than I had before.
*SIGH*
Upon learning of this, I had to start relabeling things to go to these different rooms. Then, after I finished that...the closet I was given got swapped with a different closet at the other end of the building. And, once again, I had to relabel everything.
Meanwhile, the number of computers we're getting keeps changing (both down and up), furniture may or may not be here on time, and big chunks of AV equipment for classrooms and such in the building hasn't even been put out to bid yet...
...so if you're wondering why I'm doing this at the very last minute...
Meanerwhile, outside the mess that is the Library, I started having car problems – clutch/transmission ones, to be specific. Anywho, to make a long story short (last minute for this, remember?), it ended up the source of all my problems was that I'd broken the firewall. And, no, I don't know how.That left me with a choice of getting the firewall fixed – which involves taking the front half of the car apart, welding it, putting it back together, and about $1,500 – and then fixing things like the clutch and the transmission that it being broken...broke1...which would be another large chunk of money, call it $2,000 all together.
All on a car that's got twenty years and 350,000 miles on it – which Kelly Blue book gives a value of about $200 – and only if I lie and say it's in "Fair Condition."
The car's currently patched (with screws holding the firewall together!) well enough to drive, ummm, about a dozen more trips...maybe...if I'm lucky. So basically, it's sitting not being driven (unless it's an extreme emergency) while Dee Dee drops me off at work, while I figure out how we're going to get a new car. Probably a Fit, as that's closest to what I had (and it certainly worked out well). But IAE, I'm going to miss my Civic. We've been through a lot together.
*SIGH* On with the show...
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Divergent Opinions - Comments on P.O.D. 56
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Cover
Kurt Sidaway
"Somehow the thought of a car that turns the driver away from an oncoming collision doesn't inspire me with confidence." I was about to say "to be fair, if it only happens 'on impact,' that's going to have little effect," then I thought about it, and imagined a crash where you hit something but keep going...with you facing the wrong way and the steering wheel – and brake! - now behind you...and decided not to say that...;)
ct: Dale Cozort:
"For every Umberto Eco reader out there, how many Dan Brown readers are there?" Well, if I said "too many" that wouldn't be nice...
Of course, in my case, I've read Eco...but had to look up "Dan Brown" to see what he wrote (then when, "oh, that Da Vinci Code drek...")...
"Afraid to say it is a bit of a US cliché that British television is good in comparison to your own." That's caused by two things: One is, of course, few of the bad shows get imported in the first place, so we don't even know they exist. Second is the tendency of U.S. TV to try and remake British shows for an American audience...and then do a really crappy job at it...and yes, I'm talking to you, American version of Coupling...
It doesn't help that they usually pick shows that have already been imported and gained a large audience who really, really likes them.
Heck, even if they did really well at the remake, they then have to face the fact that their whole "built in audience" feels they were committing sacrilege by even thinking to remake the show.
Of course, in my case, I've read Eco...but had to look up "Dan Brown" to see what he wrote (then when, "oh, that Da Vinci Code drek...")...
"Afraid to say it is a bit of a US cliché that British television is good in comparison to your own." That's caused by two things: One is, of course, few of the bad shows get imported in the first place, so we don't even know they exist. Second is the tendency of U.S. TV to try and remake British shows for an American audience...and then do a really crappy job at it...and yes, I'm talking to you, American version of Coupling...
It doesn't help that they usually pick shows that have already been imported and gained a large audience who really, really likes them.
Heck, even if they did really well at the remake, they then have to face the fact that their whole "built in audience" feels they were committing sacrilege by even thinking to remake the show.
ct: Me:
Nope, it really was a picture of a book, plus my textural changes. In fact, here it is:
re: "Blue Flash":
"My, that was one weird dream." Nah, that was fairly ordinary for me. I mean, the "storyline" was fairly coherent, at no point were there secret tunnels running to the beach I could bicycle through, there was no snow in the campground off of California Blvd (where Cal Tech is in the real world), not one interchange narrowed down to a strip of concrete not wide enough for a skateboard, let alone the car I was driving, and at no point did that car I gradually vanish, leaving me only with a set of seats, wheels, engine, and a plank of wood attaching all these together...2
"The relationship between Peter and Ally comes across really well.." making it kinda a pity they're now several timelines away...;)
Interesting ideas you've come up with...I may use some of them. But you're right, being zapped as a way too "Ascend" is too "Stargatey" - and if I ever do figure out their motivation (which may be impossible, they are aliens, after all...;)) I'd like it to something less traditional. One of the things I liked about Torchwood: Children of Earth [spoiler notice] was that the aliens wanted the children not because it would save their species, or help them ascend, or help humanity ascend, or even to keep mankind from breaking out into space, but simply as "drugs," because having one felt good.
Okay, it didn't make a lick of sense – a species that can build interstellar ships, "beam" down on shafts of flame, and keep children alive and still children for forty years in a hideously toxic atmosphere shouldn't have any problems making whatever "drug" they got from human children artificially...and in ton lots – but it was such a nice twist from the usual sort of thing that I could overlook all that and just enjoy. [/spoiler notice]
Anywho, I'm off to Trader Joe's for some more cheese...
"The relationship between Peter and Ally comes across really well.." making it kinda a pity they're now several timelines away...;)
Interesting ideas you've come up with...I may use some of them. But you're right, being zapped as a way too "Ascend" is too "Stargatey" - and if I ever do figure out their motivation (which may be impossible, they are aliens, after all...;)) I'd like it to something less traditional. One of the things I liked about Torchwood: Children of Earth [spoiler notice] was that the aliens wanted the children not because it would save their species, or help them ascend, or help humanity ascend, or even to keep mankind from breaking out into space, but simply as "drugs," because having one felt good.
Okay, it didn't make a lick of sense – a species that can build interstellar ships, "beam" down on shafts of flame, and keep children alive and still children for forty years in a hideously toxic atmosphere shouldn't have any problems making whatever "drug" they got from human children artificially...and in ton lots – but it was such a nice twist from the usual sort of thing that I could overlook all that and just enjoy. [/spoiler notice]
Anywho, I'm off to Trader Joe's for some more cheese...
ct: Robert Gill:
"This was one of HG Wells' basic premises in The Shape of Things to Come where the ability to use aircraft are the ultimate sign of the technocratic, benevolent society of the future." To be honest, I saw it more as "if a group has the ability to do high-altitude saturation bombing against someone whose best aerial counter is some cloth and sticks with century-old engines attached, that group will be the ones to rule"...but that just may be me (and I'm basing this solely on the movie version).
Dale Cozort
Interesting "what's the worst that could happen?" - but I think an alien abduction & "probing" could be worked into it somehow...
"Manuscript Analyzer" is interesting.
"Manuscript Analyzer" is interesting.
"All Timelines Lead to Rome" pt3:
I have literally run out of time to properly read and comment on this. Next time, honest!
re: A World War II Weather War?:
Interesting idea – the only problem is that climate modification seems to have really, really, long lead times, so a 1930s POD just doesn't seem early enough, especially with 1930s technology. I mean, we've had the whole world working on that "release greenhouse gases to heat the planet" thingy for a good century and a half, and it's only just beginning to have effects – or at least, effects great enough3 someone could see them as a useful thing to try for back when "Five Year Plans" were all the rage.
re: Challenge – Stop the Genocides:
1) To prevent/minimize the Armenian genocide, you pretty much need to get rid of WWI. No matter how many large, interested parties there were who could be used to stop this, as long as WWI is going on, they've got other, more immediate (to them) things to deal with, even if they aren't directly involved with the war.
2) Eliminating Stalinist purges is easily stopped by eliminating Stalin long before he comes to power. Mind, it would help if you could stick around long enough to make sure someone with the same tendencies didn't take his place.
3 and 4) Probably both come out better in a "no Hitler" scenario.
5) You might have to go back to the 19th century and change how Europe drew their colonial boarders to halt this one.
2) Eliminating Stalinist purges is easily stopped by eliminating Stalin long before he comes to power. Mind, it would help if you could stick around long enough to make sure someone with the same tendencies didn't take his place.
3 and 4) Probably both come out better in a "no Hitler" scenario.
5) You might have to go back to the 19th century and change how Europe drew their colonial boarders to halt this one.
re: No Italian Invasion of Greece:
The Germans taking Moscow just as the rains start to fall seems like a really good setup to play the Stalingrad game, writ huge.
ct: Me:
What's the storage capacity like on these nickle-iron batteries? Similar to, bigger, or smaller than lead? If it's the same or larger, I'm surprised there isn't at least a niche market for them (high-end "Ultra Long Life" starter batteries, if nothing else). Lower, though, and I can see the problem.
A much, much higher price would be a similar killer.
"Or maybe oil companies are just incompetent when it comes to technology outside of their core industry [NIMH batteries]." Now that one sounds likely, especially given how large they are. Corporate inertia doesn't just effect the auto industry...
Honestly, IMHO, if "renewable tech" ends up being totally dependent on rare earths, well, it'll end up being slightly less sustainable than the current oil industry.
A much, much higher price would be a similar killer.
"Or maybe oil companies are just incompetent when it comes to technology outside of their core industry [NIMH batteries]." Now that one sounds likely, especially given how large they are. Corporate inertia doesn't just effect the auto industry...
Honestly, IMHO, if "renewable tech" ends up being totally dependent on rare earths, well, it'll end up being slightly less sustainable than the current oil industry.
re: Parting Though:
The recent recalc (and slimfast diet) of dino-weights makes them "smaller" critters, true, but that would also open the door for a lot of them to be faster/more agile as well.
Maybe this will be the last nail in the "lumbering dinosaur" coffin?4
Maybe this will be the last nail in the "lumbering dinosaur" coffin?4
Robert Gill
Hmmm, have to pick up Ignition City.
Abrams "re-imagining" of Star Trek was amazingly clever. Now he can literally do almost anything with future sequels, utterly unfettered (plot-wise) by what anyone's done before...and there won't be one fanboy complaining "but this conflicts with episode thirty-four, season two. You see..."
Thus he gets all the benefits of doing Star Trek movies (name recognition, built-in fanbase, built-in boffo opening days) with almost none of the negatives (almost half a century of continuity that you have to know...lot's of which isn't all that continuitous, too many "we've already done that" plot ideas, the built-in fanbase...). Kinda brilliant, actually.
And the fact that it was a pretty good movie in its own right doesn't hurt either...
Abrams "re-imagining" of Star Trek was amazingly clever. Now he can literally do almost anything with future sequels, utterly unfettered (plot-wise) by what anyone's done before...and there won't be one fanboy complaining "but this conflicts with episode thirty-four, season two. You see..."
Thus he gets all the benefits of doing Star Trek movies (name recognition, built-in fanbase, built-in boffo opening days) with almost none of the negatives (almost half a century of continuity that you have to know...lot's of which isn't all that continuitous, too many "we've already done that" plot ideas, the built-in fanbase...). Kinda brilliant, actually.
And the fact that it was a pretty good movie in its own right doesn't hurt either...
ct: Cozort:
"...why does David plan to release them in Australia, since...there's no guarantee that they won't be hunted to extinction, again..." I strongly suspect if the Australian government came upon a pack of living thylacines, hunting wouldn't be a big problem. There's just too much prestige (not to mention tourist dollars) in having a preserve for a previously presumed extinct animal, especially a well-known previously presumed extinct animal.
As far as them not being on the mainland at the time of European settlement, I don't think that will be a problem at all as there are just tons of Bigfoot-class "sightings" of thylacines on the Australian mainland. Heck, a quick Gogle of "thylacine sightings Australia" will get you hundreds of hits like this...
...that actually have more sightings on the mainland than on Tasmania.
The cryptozoologists will be insufferable for years...but it's not going to be a problem as far as reintroducing them goes.
As far as them not being on the mainland at the time of European settlement, I don't think that will be a problem at all as there are just tons of Bigfoot-class "sightings" of thylacines on the Australian mainland. Heck, a quick Gogle of "thylacine sightings Australia" will get you hundreds of hits like this...
...that actually have more sightings on the mainland than on Tasmania.
The cryptozoologists will be insufferable for years...but it's not going to be a problem as far as reintroducing them goes.
ct: Me: re: "Least I Could Do":
"This is just so...so...wrong. On. So. Many. Levels." Yes. Yes it is.
re: Blue Flash:
"Since it's obviously inspired by those Hulu.com commercials, do Eliza Dushku and Seth McFarlane figure into this weirdness somehow?" Heck if I know...;) When I had the dream it's based on, only the Baldwin commercial was out there (it's still the best one, to my mind, BTW), so they didn't get in then. And when I was writing it, well, I couldn't really see a place for them and – anyway – it would have messed up that nice name for the aliens, the "Alecs".
Who knows, though, what I'll dream up next...
Who knows, though, what I'll dream up next...
re: Samurai Vs Viking combat:
"As opposed to the Gladiator/Apache scenario I was seeking."
Here you go:
Here you go:
Me
As mentioned above, the move has been a zoo.
California's finally passed its budget...and they're already talking about all the cuts in it they'll have to make next year...
When I did the cover, I redid the picture of "Ol' Stripey" for it so that the colors and whatnot matched better. Surprisingly, that's also a completely different picture of the thylacine cut out and pasted there (though it's of the same museum display). The angle both photographers took the picture at is within a couple degrees of being the same.
California's finally passed its budget...and they're already talking about all the cuts in it they'll have to make next year...
When I did the cover, I redid the picture of "Ol' Stripey" for it so that the colors and whatnot matched better. Surprisingly, that's also a completely different picture of the thylacine cut out and pasted there (though it's of the same museum display). The angle both photographers took the picture at is within a couple degrees of being the same.
re: Disney Star Wars:
And while we were discussing a 1960's Disney Star Wars, "whoiseyevan" on YouTube when and made a trailer for a 1954 Ghostbusters...
...and made it darn well, too. Check out his "frame by frame" version as well, to see where he got all the clips and the small details he added in to make it more realistic...as movie trailers go.
...and made it darn well, too. Check out his "frame by frame" version as well, to see where he got all the clips and the small details he added in to make it more realistic...as movie trailers go.
ct: Anthony Docimo:
"Doesn't mean it can't be a good story, mind. It just means I'm not going to class them as AH."
Little addendum to make my definition a bit clearer: In some "Future History AH," backstory from the history part of the alternate history is important to the plot and in fact we may get flashbacks, whatever, to this history in the story. From a practical standpoint, with this sort of story it means that it can't be set too far in the future, or the disconnect between the alternate history and the far future is simply too much (see: "the difference between a story about a future interplanetary Aztec-like culture and actual future interplanetary Aztecs is basically just nit-picking"), but still, it can be done...
...mind, I can't think of an example right this minute...but that probably has more to do with being tired than any actual lack of stories...
Little addendum to make my definition a bit clearer: In some "Future History AH," backstory from the history part of the alternate history is important to the plot and in fact we may get flashbacks, whatever, to this history in the story. From a practical standpoint, with this sort of story it means that it can't be set too far in the future, or the disconnect between the alternate history and the far future is simply too much (see: "the difference between a story about a future interplanetary Aztec-like culture and actual future interplanetary Aztecs is basically just nit-picking"), but still, it can be done...
...mind, I can't think of an example right this minute...but that probably has more to do with being tired than any actual lack of stories...
David Freitag
"I don't know a good word for 'wait until the last minute, let it pass, and still don't produce anything until there's but 2 days until collation...'" Hmmm, Apa-member?...;)
Embarrassingly, I kinda enjoyed Harrison's Stars and Stripes series in a sorta guilty way...actually,5 it's much like watching a made-for-TV movie on the SciFi Channel:6 Dumb plot, dumber characters, and logic that is no where to be seen...
...that said, I certainly wouldn't buy any of the books, even if remaindered. Harrison needs to be reminded he can do a whole lot better – and pocketbooks are good reminders.
Oddly, I also enjoy the"Grantville in the Sea of Time" 1632 series...and without the "guilty way" caveat. It's not perfect, of course, being way too wordy at times.
Its main problem, however, is the one that affects almost all multi-author, collaborative series – it tends towards only slowly moving the main plot forward, as everyone has to chime in with their take on the main events and on events happening at the same time.
I mean, what, nine years, ten odd books, and they've just gotten from 1632 to 1635. At this rate, I might not find out how the main plot thread ends until, well, until I'm in my eighties...
Embarrassingly, I kinda enjoyed Harrison's Stars and Stripes series in a sorta guilty way...actually,5 it's much like watching a made-for-TV movie on the SciFi Channel:6 Dumb plot, dumber characters, and logic that is no where to be seen...
...that said, I certainly wouldn't buy any of the books, even if remaindered. Harrison needs to be reminded he can do a whole lot better – and pocketbooks are good reminders.
Oddly, I also enjoy the
Its main problem, however, is the one that affects almost all multi-author, collaborative series – it tends towards only slowly moving the main plot forward, as everyone has to chime in with their take on the main events and on events happening at the same time.
I mean, what, nine years, ten odd books, and they've just gotten from 1632 to 1635. At this rate, I might not find out how the main plot thread ends until, well, until I'm in my eighties...
Anthony Docimo
Hmmm, I've never heard anyone suggest that an alternate where Passenger Pigeons/Great Auks survive is one where North America ends up with a lot more epidemics. I think that's new.
Sometime in the 1930s, 40s, 50s, you might see "Passenger Pigeon Abatement Districts" pop up, which of course could end up working a lot better than the mosquito ones. Can you see the Supreme Court fight between conservationists and the CDC?
Now I keep seeing a TV series called:
Sometime in the 1930s, 40s, 50s, you might see "Passenger Pigeon Abatement Districts" pop up, which of course could end up working a lot better than the mosquito ones. Can you see the Supreme Court fight between conservationists and the CDC?
Now I keep seeing a TV series called:
re: Speculation:
I suspect that the fascination with ancient Egypt was much, much bigger than with the Maya for a couple of reasons.
Number one, of course, was that – to Europe – Egypt was right next door. In the time it would take you to even get to Mayan territory, you could have been having drinks on the veranda overlooking the Pyramids for a couple of days already.
An aside to this is the existence of the Nile: Get to Egypt, and it's a nice leisurely boat cruise to all the truly interesting ruins. Get to Yucatan, and it's a one, two, three week march through mosquito-filled jungle just to get to one ruin...and it'll be mostly buried by that self same jungle. This makes a trip to Egypt easier even if you live in (most of) the Americas!
Number two is that Egypt had a very real link with the history Europeans and their colonial descendants knew. It was in the Bible. Greek and Roman classics mentioned it. It was a part of their perceived "March to Civilization." Meanwhile, the Mayans had essentially no effect on Western Civilization. How boring is that?!?
Number three is most speculative. This was the time when any ruins found in the Americas were ascribed to a "Vanished Race" - because it was obvious the Indians couldn't have built such. I mean, get real!
But down south, not only were there ruins even more impressive than, say, a Mound-Builder site, but because the Spanish had actually met the builders, there was no way to deny that it wasn't really Indians that had built them. Thus, it was easier just to ignore them, rather than have to face some uncomfortable truths.7
Number one, of course, was that – to Europe – Egypt was right next door. In the time it would take you to even get to Mayan territory, you could have been having drinks on the veranda overlooking the Pyramids for a couple of days already.
An aside to this is the existence of the Nile: Get to Egypt, and it's a nice leisurely boat cruise to all the truly interesting ruins. Get to Yucatan, and it's a one, two, three week march through mosquito-filled jungle just to get to one ruin...and it'll be mostly buried by that self same jungle. This makes a trip to Egypt easier even if you live in (most of) the Americas!
Number two is that Egypt had a very real link with the history Europeans and their colonial descendants knew. It was in the Bible. Greek and Roman classics mentioned it. It was a part of their perceived "March to Civilization." Meanwhile, the Mayans had essentially no effect on Western Civilization. How boring is that?!?
Number three is most speculative. This was the time when any ruins found in the Americas were ascribed to a "Vanished Race" - because it was obvious the Indians couldn't have built such. I mean, get real!
But down south, not only were there ruins even more impressive than, say, a Mound-Builder site, but because the Spanish had actually met the builders, there was no way to deny that it wasn't really Indians that had built them. Thus, it was easier just to ignore them, rather than have to face some uncomfortable truths.7
Wesley Kawato
re: "The Birthday Transformation":
"Aaron Mori...also sensed Jason was in trouble" I think it's more than "sense" when someone pops into your store inverted...and then crashes like a second later. Unless you meant to say this in an ironic manner.
"You would have enjoyed living in Georgia in 1860" Only for about a week. Then the disease, lack of entertainment (including books), lack of toilet paper, poor quality food, etc. would have had a late 20th century girl screaming to get out, especially if she thinks it was anything like Gone With the Wind...
...oh yeah, don't forget she's just been dropped in the middle of a war. Another small negative...
I know you want to make sure you link the "John" mentioned here with your character (and stories about) John Gordon, but to be honest, I don't know anyone who, in casual conversation with people who already know who a person is, continually (or even ever, unless someone's confused) use first and last name in a manner like this.
How about a simple use of "John" and then, if you feel the need, a unvoiced thought or narratoral aside giving his full name? Though to be honest, you really don't need to.
To people who've read your stories before, John=John Gordon is pretty much a given - and having his first name mentioned makes a nice little nod/"in joke" to the series.
But to people who haven't, well, they haven't got a clue who John Gordon is in the first place so first name only, first and last, first and last and social security number, it'll all mean exactly nothing to them. It could literally be any name there and it would mean just as much to them.
Anyway, knowing it's "John Gordon" is not in any way important to the story, especially since he can't even make the party...
Why does his ship have windows to look out at nothing?
"I know you hate being half Japanese." Ummm, he does? How? She has at no point in the story mentioned this. Did he just intuit it because she was a bad kisser or something? And not only don't we see her mention this, there is literally no time she could have told him this – and even less reason.
And, yes, she will be dead, even if "just change[d". You are your memories, your experiences, your life. Change that, and you're not you – and the you you were...isn't anymore.
I also suggest that – IMHO – someone who hates what they "are" in racial terms needs a psychiatrist more than a time shift. Jason's motivations are a bit better – he just want's to get back "his" Sally (the moron who likes 1860 more than 1960) – but, honestly, neither of these come across to me as likable characters.
That may just be me...but then again, it's just me doing these comments.
"You would have enjoyed living in Georgia in 1860" Only for about a week. Then the disease, lack of entertainment (including books), lack of toilet paper, poor quality food, etc. would have had a late 20th century girl screaming to get out, especially if she thinks it was anything like Gone With the Wind...
...oh yeah, don't forget she's just been dropped in the middle of a war. Another small negative...
I know you want to make sure you link the "John" mentioned here with your character (and stories about) John Gordon, but to be honest, I don't know anyone who, in casual conversation with people who already know who a person is, continually (or even ever, unless someone's confused) use first and last name in a manner like this.
How about a simple use of "John" and then, if you feel the need, a unvoiced thought or narratoral aside giving his full name? Though to be honest, you really don't need to.
To people who've read your stories before, John=John Gordon is pretty much a given - and having his first name mentioned makes a nice little nod/"in joke" to the series.
But to people who haven't, well, they haven't got a clue who John Gordon is in the first place so first name only, first and last, first and last and social security number, it'll all mean exactly nothing to them. It could literally be any name there and it would mean just as much to them.
Anyway, knowing it's "John Gordon" is not in any way important to the story, especially since he can't even make the party...
Why does his ship have windows to look out at nothing?
"I know you hate being half Japanese." Ummm, he does? How? She has at no point in the story mentioned this. Did he just intuit it because she was a bad kisser or something? And not only don't we see her mention this, there is literally no time she could have told him this – and even less reason.
And, yes, she will be dead, even if "just change[d". You are your memories, your experiences, your life. Change that, and you're not you – and the you you were...isn't anymore.
I also suggest that – IMHO – someone who hates what they "are" in racial terms needs a psychiatrist more than a time shift. Jason's motivations are a bit better – he just want's to get back "his" Sally (the moron who likes 1860 more than 1960) – but, honestly, neither of these come across to me as likable characters.
That may just be me...but then again, it's just me doing these comments.
The "POD TV-Tray of Doom" here has a newspaper relating to my discussion with Mark Ford on just what a Disney Star Wars in the early 60's would be like, with me suggesting that a mashup of War of the Worlds and it's semi-sequel Edison's Conquest of Mars might do the trick. This is actually a copy of the War of the Worlds knock-off that was done for the Boston Evening Post newspaper at the time (setting all the events in, of course, Boston rather than England). It was this version that Edison's Conquest of Mars is the actual sequel to, rather than Well's original (and it ran in the same paper too). It's got a nice little "Disney Research" stamp on it - though I haven't got a clue if they were using that sort of thing in 1962...
Moving to the right and past the pizza (from AJ Barile's, in Yucaipa - which I recommend), are a couple of maps of nineteenth-century Africa, specifically West Africa. These, of course, are a nod to Kurt Sidaway's brilliant Sahel Confederation timeline, about which I can't say enough good - even if my pizza's oils are soaking into the map.
Tucked in between them is a map of colonial America, show the potential divisions as of the result of Mark Ford's Southern Strategy timeline, where Britain retains South Carolina and George after the Revolutionary War.
And, yep, another "To Do" list shows up.
It should be noted that - apart from the pizza and the cup lid - nothing in this image is a real 3-D object. Which is to say, I got flat images and curved, bent and occasionally texturized them to look like "real" objects - well, a photograph of real objects, anyway. The TV-tray itself was particularly fun to do, even if I then covered most of it up. I think I got just the right air of over-the-top graphics and molded fiberglass that just screams "early 60's TV-tray." Though most of them aren't embossed with "Point of Divergence" in gold...:)