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Topics - MSJ

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1
Literature / Yearly Targets 2019
« on: January 04, 2019, 03:02:37 pm »
A place to keep track of our 2019 reads. Hopefully I, or someone else ;) will post the totals in the 2018 thread. Cheers!


Just finished Prince of the Blood by Raymond Feist(1). Really enjoyed it. It picks the story back up in Midkemia, with Arutha still in power in Krondor and his sons having to learn their way.

As usual, I'll try to get around 30. Dont think I quite hit that this year, but close enough.

ETA: if you guys update 2018 with anything you might have missed, I'll try and get to the totals.

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Literature / Fantasy recs for children, ages 8-12
« on: November 17, 2018, 09:57:24 pm »
My daughter has a love for reading. Which, in this day and age, is something that seems to be rare. She reads roughly a book a month. As I mentioned in the Quorum, she is in the middle of the HP novels. She loves them. Her favorite movie is LotR. But, I dont feel she is ready for it, as some of the words are very hard to pronunciate.

I never got into fantasy until after the 1st season of GoT. So, my knowledge of fantasy for children is very limited. She loves it though. I was wondering if you good folks could give me any age appropriate recs.

She loves all that draws us to fantasy. The escape, the magic, the interesting characters and so on. She likes scary things, yet nothing too out there (I dont want her scared for life). So, that being said, use common sense and give me some recs that would fit my description. Thanks!

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General Misc. / The world we live in...
« on: August 20, 2018, 12:42:06 am »
So here are the flyers I mentioned in the quorum that I found while walking my children. Pretty crazy, and really saddens me that instead of moving forward, we are actually moving backwards. Sad, sad times in the U.S.A..

I have to post the pics separate because files are too large.

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So, I have finished the book and wanted to discuss with anyone who has read this. Such a great book.

What really kept me engaged the whole time was the premise. Which is, imho, a play on morality, a "what if", if you will. If you could live your life over and over, and remember this previous lives, what would you do? And North tackles this subject very well. Would you change thing to benefit yourself? Would you stay in the monotony of your everyday life and not effect catastrophic events? Or would you?

Harry doesn't mess with any of these events such as WWII, Cold War, Vietnam War or any other of the huge events of the 20th century. Well, to an extent any way. And, what I loved was that these events happened over and over again. He does dabble a little here and there, but the action starts when his close friend, or enemy, Vince/Vitali does begin to. Vince wants to know what created the world, and all that is in it. And, believes he can by creating a Quantum Mirror, to look at life on a microscopic(?) level. He does this by slight of hand, introducing tech from the 80's and 90's well before the 60's. And, this makes the "end of the world" come sooner and sooner.

A whole lot more to talk about, but would live to hear the opinion of others first. I'm looking at you ThoughtsofThelli!

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The Almanac: PON Edition / ARC: TDTCB Chapter 6
« on: May 14, 2018, 03:59:45 am »
Quote
It is said: a man is born of his mother and is fed of his mother.
Then he is fed of the land, and the land passes through him,
taking and giving a pinch of dust each time, until man is no longer
of his mother, but of the land.
—SCYLVENDI PROVERB

Quote
. . . and in Old Sheyic, the language of the ruling and religious castes of the Nansurium, skilvenas means “catastrophe” or “apocalypse,” as though the Scylvendi have somehow transcended the role of peoples in history and become a principle.
—DRUSAS ACHAMIAN, COMPENDIUM OF THE FIRST HOLY WAR

Welcome to the Madness! When the Imperial Saik take to the air on the Steppe.....is a scene that struck me and made me want more and more of these books. Very freaky.

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The Almanac: PON Edition / ARC: TDTCB Chapter 4
« on: April 30, 2018, 01:34:01 am »
Quote
To be ignorant and to be deceived are two different things. To be ignorant is to be a slave of the world. To be deceived is to be the slave of another man. The question will always be: Why, when all men are ignorant, and therefore already slaves, does this latter slavery sting us so?

—AJENCIS, THE EPISTEMOLOGIES


Quote
But despite stories of Fanim atrocities, the fact of the matter is that the Kianene, heathen or no, were surprisingly tolerant of Inrithi pilgrimages to Shimeh—before the Holy War, that is. Why would a people devoted to the destruction of the Tusk extend this courtesy to “idolaters”? Perhaps they were partially motivated by the prospect of trade, as others have suggested. But the fundamental motive lies in their desert heritage. The Kianene word for a holy place is si’ihkhalis, which means, literally, “great oasis.” On the open desert it is their strict custom to never begrudge travellers water, even if they be enemies.

—DRUSAS ACHAMIAN, COMPENDIUM OF THE FIRST HOLY WAR

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The Almanac: PON Edition / ARC: TDTDCB Chapter 3
« on: April 23, 2018, 10:52:43 am »
Quote
If the world is a game whose rules are written by the God, and sorcerers are those who cheat and cheat, then who has written the rules of sorcery?

—ZARATHINIUS, A DEFENCE OF THE ARCANE ARTS

As always, its here for your leisure.

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The Almanac: PON Edition / ARC: TDTCB: Chapter 2
« on: April 16, 2018, 02:13:50 am »
Quote
I write to inform you that during my most recent audience, the
Nansur Emperor, quite without provocation, publicly addressed
me as “fool.” You are, no doubt, unmoved by this. It has become
a common occurrence. The Consult eludes us now more than
ever. We hear them only in the secrets of others. We glimpse them
only through the eyes of those who deny their very existence. Why
should we not be called fools? The deeper the Consult secretes
itself among the Great Factions, the madder our rantings sound to
their ears. We are, as the damned Nansur would say, “a hunter
in the thicket”—one who, by the very act of hunting, extinguishes
all hope of running down his prey.
—ANONYMOUS MANDATE SCHOOLMAN, LETTER TO ATYERSUS

Begin at your leisure! :)

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The Almanac: PON Edition / ARC (A Real Chopper): Prologue & Chapter 1
« on: April 06, 2018, 04:21:24 pm »
If it is only after that we understand what has come before, then we understand nothing. Thus we shall define the soul as follows: that which precedes everything. —AJENCIS, THE THIRD ANALYTIC OF MEN

This is a history of a great and tragic holy war, of the mighty factions that sought to possess and pervert it, and of a son searching for his father. And as with all histories, it is we, the survivors, who will write its conclusion. —DRUSAS ACHAMIAN, COMPENDIUM OF THE FIRST HOLY WAR

ETA: This is how I want to start each thread, with the quotes at the beginning of each. In the title I put ARC (A Real Chopper), just ARC from here on out, just didn't want people confused with Advanced Reading Copy.

Using the quotes to begin each thread, I think, shows the detail and fresh eyes we should all be reading this with. I still, in my heart, do not believe TUC made the previous seven books meaningless. THIS IS THE THREAD FOR PROLOGUE & CHAPTER 1.  So, don't make another. I went ahead and did this because I want people aware of how we'll do it.

Conversation on the Prologue and Chapter 1 can begin whenever, now. I will probably read tonight. But, from now on threads won't start til each Sunday. Let the Slog of all Slogs begin, its gonna be A Real Chopper!

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The Almanac: TAE Edition / The Slog of All Slogs, A Real Chopper!
« on: April 02, 2018, 06:53:28 pm »
I want to do a reread of the entire series. Find the hidden nuggets. See, if clues of Ajokli are there, and so on.

I don't want this to be something we fly through. Whoever is interested, we will discuss how much we read and discuss per week. I'd like it to be little enough that it not make it impossible to read other works. Say......1-3 chapters a week.

I'm sure Madshire would like all discussion to be in the almanac. I think thats the right way any how. So, how many would be interested, and committed to seeing it through? Let me know and we'll discuss a start date. I think alot of people could participate. In talking taking this slow, so the amount of reading isnt a problem. We have no deadlines for any upcoming book, so we can go at a slow sustained pace and everyone participate. Who knows what we might uncover? Hmmm?

[EDIT Madness: Fixed the title.]

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General Misc. / March Madness
« on: March 12, 2018, 06:51:27 pm »
With the field of 68 set, now is time to fill out a bracket and pray to the gods. I thought it would be fun to have a TSA bracket. Let me know who is interested and ill set it up at yahoo!. You need to know nothing about college basketball to do it and do it well. Most people who win their brackets pick based off of color or such. So, lets do this.

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General Misc. / eSports vs Sports
« on: February 20, 2018, 04:49:42 pm »
This convo started in the Olympics thread and Wilshire suggested we should probably make a thread of its own, as to not make Dora Vee change into a Ciphrang and shut down the forum. (Kidding, I feel you ire Dora Vee)

Wilshire and I had some convo about this, along with Tleilaxu, and if anyone would like to jump in and offer thoughts, please do.

From the Oxford dictionary: An activity involving physical exertion and skill in which an individual or team competes against another or others for entertainment.

That's what I think excludes eSports, from being a real sport. Sure we can attach sport onto the end of anything for commercial reasons. That's the reason its being done in video games, to attract more people. But, for all the skill (mental, hand-eye coordination), you are missing the physical exertion which makes a sport, a sport. Trust me, I know it takes plenty of skill. I played Madden from the time it came out til about the 2005 version, and I was very, very good. I have nephews that would beat me today with their eyes closed. So, I'm not questioning that one bit.

I also linked a story from ESPN where a Curling athlete from Russia tested positive for PED's. I did this because Wilshire used Curling as a comparable sport to eSports. I don't believe there have been any PED controversies in any eSports competitions.

So, just a place to nicely discuss what constitutes a sport and what does not.

Oh, one last thought. I do see a future where kids have whole rooms that act as a virtual world, and that is how you play the game. Actually running, ducking, jumping and so forth. I've always thought ill see it before I die. If it does come to that, then I would consider that a sport. There would be tons of physical exertion in such a thing. Alas, we are not there yet, but probably very close.

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The Unholy Consult / "Kellhus is dead, but not done."
« on: February 15, 2018, 07:21:27 pm »
This is a quote from the Con. Bakker confirmed his death, but still must have some sort of role to play. I started the thread because if like to hear everyone's thought on what this could possibly constitute. Here's a few of my thoughts I've had on it.

Most likely: Kellhus is simply in the other decapitant. And might have simply put off the possibility of damnation for the time being.

My crazy theory: He's in "a" decapitant. The mysterious deaths of "I forget the year but a poster here remarkably found them in the glossary", and he created a "network" to move around with the decapitants. Kinda like Shae, but not. Basically, I think he has more than the two decapitants and has strategically placed them.

I don't find the above likely, its just a thought. But, I'd love to hear other idea's on what this could possibly mean. Oh, and Bakker did confirm he is not in the Outside. Maybe one can't take Bakker for his word and he is wily when answering questions. But, for this thread, he is dead and not done and isn't on the Outside. What ya think about it?

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General Misc. / College BBall
« on: January 23, 2018, 12:55:50 am »
As you all should know I'm a die hard WVU fan. Ranked #2 last week and blew to games on the road where we had leads of at least 15 points. If you watch a WVU BIGXII conference game you will see we get absolutely no calls. But, I still think we win regular or tournament championship.

I don't know that we have the offensive firepower to win a NC. But, I can easily see us as a Final Four team. We're very good this year and we're not going anywhere. Huggy Bear is bringing in some big time recruits. We are definitely a National Contender, a weaker one though, ill admit. We definitely ain't the Duke, Michigan St, and Kentucky's of the college bball world. But we're legit.

Oh, if think it be fun to have a tournament bracket competition on Yahoo, same as the pick em BFK suggested in NFL. Would be a lot of fun. And, the less you know, the better chance you have at winning the bracket it seems.

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Literature / Yearly Targets 2018
« on: January 09, 2018, 06:55:28 pm »
Another version for '18. A place to post what you want to read and what you actually read.

Right now I'm reading Furies of Calderon, by Jim Butcher. First book in the Codex Alera. I have heard A lot of good things about it and I'm flying through this book.

I think I can read 25-30 books this year. No plans on what I want to read. Just when I see something that strikes my fancy, I read it. Though, I definitely plan on a reread of at least TAE, if not TSA as a whole. I love TDTCB, and its hard not to start there.

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