This is a novel about--well, it's very convoluted. It's set in medieval Ireland. *Minor spoilers*
It begins with the wife of a half-wit Goatherd giving birth. Her husband has threatened to kill this last baby if it's another girl, so to avoid that, Mary and the midwife pretend it's a boy--with a couple deformities. They name the child Grey, and throughout his whole childhood, she runs with the boys, fights and plays with them--in short, is a boy. She isn't allowed to bathe with them (in order to keep her gender secret); she doesn't even know herself that she is a girl.
Her mother sends her to the local priest to work as an errand boy. For Grey, this is an enormous step up; in her former home, meat is an absolute luxury, and so on--most of the people in Grey's village are dirt poor (the anti-English sentiment, yes, does appear) and go by the names of "Smith", "Baker's son" and so on.
Then a priest from the monastery arrives, discovers Grey is a girl, and convinces her to come with him to his monastery. He uses her as leverage; in exchange for favors (like more food, or candles, or such), he lets the monk do what he likes to Grey.
Eventually, however, the plague arrives, and the whole world thinks the universe is going to end. (that's roughly the first half of the novel, I don't want to give away too much.)

This was an okay book. I thought it was an interesting look at what medieval life was like for the poor (usually it's from the nobility). What personally irritated me a lot, though, was Grey's passivity. It's true that her power is very limited, but it annoyed me that she didn't even try; never spoke up when the monk labeled her a deaf-mute.
I don't know. I think I'd give it a 3.5/5. Interesting setting, and the way that Grey changes is entirely plausible, and the setting is described gorgeously. Lots of swearing ( as in the f word, too), plenty of explicit sex, so I would be careful with recommendations.

Hello to all Steampunkers in Los Angeles! I KNOW you're out there, but for as big a megalopolis as LA is and as many things as LA offers and even though San Francisco and San Diego have Steampunk groups and conventions, somehow, the Steampunkers of LA have failed to unite and create an annual convention. Well! Things MUST change!

So, my first attempt here, is to simply unite everyone. I have no convention set up, I have no gathering set up, because I don't know where all of you are! But, if we can all get connected, then we can work on getting a group, a gathering and, hopefully, a convention going.

Post a reply to this post with your contact info. Or, contact me at lynda441@yahoo.com. Either way. I want to get a list of people going. My friends and I's first thought is, once we get a good number of people, to simply set up a pot luck gathering in a park, meet, greet and see who's who and where we can take it from there.

Hey there Steam-punk-ins!

To add to the cavalcade of SHINY! I offer my Etsy page and it's Steamy section (though it is wee, it is mighty! And growing!).


Do stop on by and take a peek and hopefully liberate some of these shinies into the wild, they tire of the captivity of my sewing room!

ten paces and we cease. it is a bag in floral. the tropics sway. motioning. i progresses with u until m asks melencholicly, "will you bloom like a melon?" thinking cucumber, it thinks like a distant cousin. fingers scrape the lining of relation. step, step, step stereo. giraffe climbs wire mountains made of ice transparently shimmering in the cavity of your chest, beat, beat, beep. then a slow dance, bodies pressed, moving sideways, long way, leg to leg. glide. i said, glide! and like crystal doves in a melting ice sculpture, we hold ourselves upright for and against the people

I'm pretty into historical fiction, particularly Tudor fiction but have recently gotten into War of the Roses stuff. After doing a little research I realized there is far to much Tudor and Plantagenet fiction for me to even beginning to decide what is worth reading, so I thought I would ask here if anyone had any good recommendations.

Appreciate time, understand the consequences, forget your fears, and your sorrows. Tomorrow will always take away yesterdays problems. Stay strong, for the people who can’t. Keep moving forward, focused on the goal. Stupid small mistakes can lead to a world of depression you couldn’t imagine. The flashbacks will never go away, ever. Chills run straight up your spine. And you gasp for air, trying to shake the memory out. Flash* her lying on the bed, the air is cold, the window has been open all night, and she never moved from the spot she was in the night before. I jumped on the bed touched her face, all the warm blood had left her; the life in her body is no longer living. Still searching for hope, I open the mouth and green go drips down her chin.*shakes back in reality.

I have always told myself, I would never fail college, or work at a fast food joint, never smoke pot, or have sex without a condom: in all reality, no matter how much you see other people make mistakes and say to your self, “I will never do that”, it’s totally different when the situation is at your fingertips, and failure is just a push of a button. A simple mistake can affect you for days, weeks, months, years, or even a lifetime. We are just living objects trying to sort everything out, and sometimes we don’t even live by our own rules we set for our selves. We should realize nothing is perfect. Perfection is a word that doesn’t exist.

Sometimes certain people’s actions and characters confuse me. I could never understand the way they think; no matter how many times I try to place myself in their shoes. What does society and the governments hold responsible for other peoples actions? Or is everyone’s actions 100% controlled on their own? We cannot choose the home or country we are born in, the color of our skin, or the people that will raise each and every one of us. So a large part of who we are and what we become is not in our control.

Book: Wit'ch Fire by James Clemens
Pages: 428
Genre: Fantasy


Review: This was one of those slog-through books. Sure, there were cliff-hangers; sure, there were some cool-featured characters; sure, some of the fantasy concepts were pretty interesting--but the writing itself reminded me strongly of my first completed novel...somethin I wrote in fifth grade. It was very wearisome, and the weak prose led to weak story elements...Things just went downhill from there. The pacing was thrilling enough at times, but mostly it felt uneven--like when all the characters were in the caves. I thought that was just something that Ratingwould contribute to the beginning...and then I thought it was something that would just contribute to the middle...and eventually, I realized most of the book had been the characters wandering through the woods or underground with fake suspense being induced irregularly with fruitless one-line sentences and abrupt chapter endings. This isn't one I'll be lingering over.
: 3/5 Stars

(just a song..)
They say time is how my heart must heal
But nothing will erase the desire I feel
To take my bait and cast it out
And know my hook is in your mouth

So I'm formulating this here plan
Which involves a real good-looking man
You'll see me with him and I'll be
So hot you'll fall right to your knees

And want me back
Oh, you'll want me back
You'll see me on New Year's night
When we kissed for the first time
It will all play back in your stupid mind
And you'll want me back

Tonight will be the big premiere
I'm going hunting and you're the deer
I borrowed Cupid's arrow and bow
Honey, you're gonna fall for this here doe

And want me back
Oh, you'll want me back
You'll see me swimming in the waves
You'll see me on the best of days
It will all play back in your stupid brain
And you'll want me back.
=)
(a product of my first break-up)

Let's share our thoughts on graphic novels. I'm a big fan, but my tastes are quite specific, so I thought you guys might be able to suggest a few that I should try out.

As a teenager, I was particularly fond of Roman Dirge's Lenore, Serena Valentino's Gloomcookie, James O'Barr's The Crow and Daniel Clowes' Ghost World. I didn't rub along well with Serenity Rose, Jhonen Vasquez or any of the Voltaire books.

As an adult, I'm still really fond of Ghost World, but my tastes have veered away from the cutesy goth stuff. I'm working my way through The Walking Dead series at the moment (which is excellent for zombie fans), but I'm on book 9 of 10... I need to find something else to get stuck into whilst I wait for 11 to come out.

Recently, I picked up Rutu Modan's Exit Wounds and loved it - so understated, so emotional. I understand Marjane Satrapi's Persopolis is similar.

Frank Miller and Alan Moore don't interest me much, I'm not keen on fan-fic graphic novels (i.e. Buffy graphic novels) nor do I like superhero comics.

What are your favourite graphic novels? Why?

I just finished reading The Silver Blade (which was excellent, by the way) and it's left me with a desire to learn more about the period of time following the French Revolution known as "the Reign of Terror." I'm open to either fiction or non fiction. Does anyone have any recommendations?

Thanks so much!

Hi!
This is not really a question about morphine, I've done some research about it and I found almost everything I needed, except for one : how quick does the morphine act, when injected ?
The situation is as such : one of my characters (25 year old female, pretty thin, on the verge of being skinny) must have her thumb bone dislocated and broken (for those who remember my question about how to get rid off handcuffs without the key, that's the same girl). Another character is helping her. She has access to morphine, so she gives her an injection. I need to know how long they would have to wait for the morphine to be efficient ? Also, how does morphine deals with acute pain ? I know it's widely used for chronic pains, or after some surgeries, but normally, in a surgery, the doctors would use something else as an anesthetic. However, my characters only have access to morphine. Would the woman still feel some pain (I would like her to. Not that I'm sadistic, but it would be good for the plot and story) ? At least while the other character is more or less shattering her thumb bone ?
After that, I'll have her on morphine, with injections every five minutes or so to begin with. She will then switch to a less strong pain killer.

I tried reading things about the effects of morphine, and I've seen that the relief seems really quick in movies or such (but in movies, a lot of things are exagerated), but how long would it take to act ?

Also, side question : in the movie Pi, that some of you might have seen, the main character is having terrible migraines. He has a special seringe, I guess it's something like an injection pistol (or whatever it's called in English). While suffering from a really terrible and unbearable migraine, he takes the pistol and injects the painkiller (probably morphine) right into his temple. Does morphine act quicker and better when injected directly in the body part suffering ? Or was it just for the show ? Also, would it be possible to inject morphine directly into an artery ?

I did research on morphine, on the usage of morphine in hospitals, on the dosage used to treat the pain, on different pain-killers used to treat acute pain, on the effect of morphine.

Thanks for your answers !

Isn't it just annoying
how i always end up worrying
about everything i'm doing-ing?

I have been contemplating what kind of giveaway I will do for Christmas/Hanukkah/Solstice/Name A Holiday, Any Holiday, and I have decided that I will end the year with a multi-week giveaway. You read that correctly. I'll be giving away one book (some new, some used, but all in excellent condition) each week, from now until New Year's Day.

So, are you ready for Week 1 of the Winter Holiday Book Giveaway Spectacular? Well, get ready, because here it comes!

Week 1
The first book on Elf Min's list is a hardback copy of "Wolf Who Rules", by Wen Spencer, the sequel to "Tinker". (And if I can find my paperback copy of "Tinker", I'll add it to the Giveaway, if the winner wants it.) Spencer is a solid, established writer of urban fantasy, and this book is a good example of her work, with a little romance thrown in the mix. And it has elves, which fits in with our winter holiday theme. *\:-)

If you would like to enter, post a response and tell me where you fall on the Naughty-to-Nice Continuum, where dangerously naughty is #1 and boringly nice is #10.

The winner of Thanksgiveaway is...

...the lovely and talented brightlion. Well done! Your copy of "Blind Fall", by Christopher Rice, will be winging its way to you soon.

And don't despair, giveaway faithful. I will be doing a special Christmas giveaway soon. *\:-)

X-post to book_worm, books, booksarelove, readplease, 50books_poc, and thereadingroom

Two really remarkable books, both in the coming of age category and one in the historical fiction genre by Hawaiian authors.

Title: Wild Meat and the Bully Burgers
Author: Lois Ann Yamanaka
Genre: Coming-of-age, Literary Fiction, Hawaiiana
My Rating: 10 out of 10 stars

Summary (from Good Reads): In her exuberant first novel, Lois-Ann Yamanaka tells the story of young Lovey Nariyoshi, who lives in bleak, impoverished Hilo, Hawaii, a place where Japanese- Americans like Lovey find no facsimile of themselves in pop culture, and no trace of their lives reflected in the media. Wild Meat and the Bully Burgers crackles with the language of pidginHawaiian Creoledistinguishing for a new generation of readers one of the most vibrant voices in contemporary culture.

My Review: ( Read more... )



TItle: All I Asking For is My Body
Author: Milton Murayama
Genre: Historical fiction, coming of age, literary fiction, Hawaiiana
My Rating: 10 out of 10 stars

My Review: ( Read more... )

I'm also on GoodReads if anyone wants to find me there.

Hello all. In another post about the Great Dickens Christmas Fair in San Francisco this month, I have some questions. I'd love to go for a steampunk day, but I've seen different dates listen in different places on the interwebs. I've seen a lot about December 5th being an official steampunk day, but I've also seen some things about December 12th or 13th. Does anyone know when the fair is supposed to be at its steamiest?

Even better, is anyone on here planning anything for it? Apparently none of my friends can or want to go, so I'm going to be on my own. If anyone else is BARTing from the East Bay, I'd love to not be the only steamy person on such an unsteamy train.

And, to tie it all in to fashion, I have a hat question. I'm making myself a bonnet that is basically the same shape as this one. The body of the hat will be black and the brim will be made out of a dark gold colored aluminum net that I don't know the official term for. (Side note, all the people in my local ACE must think I'm completely insane when the ring me up and ask what I'm using my items for.) I'm not going to include the ric rac and instead of a bow on the side of the hat I'd like to have a decorative cluster of steamy looking things. I've never made a hat before, so I was hoping some of you fine milliners might have advice about the decorations you use. The ideas I have so far are to use some of the net (which is sturdy, but very thin) to make embellishments on a fabric flower, or to have a clump of keys, cogs, buttons, etc. I've only just started constructing it, so when I have more of it done I can post a picture sans adornment. Until then, I'd appreciate any advice.

First of all, thank you to everybody that responded to my initial post. I took a bit from everybody's ideas and created a jetpack in under a week.

I went to my first ever gathering and joined the Colorado Steampunk group at the Colorado Railroad Museum's free day. Couldn't of asked for a more perfect location. We even got a tour of their normally-closed-to-the-public restoration area because the staff members were so amused by our group.

( photos ahoy! )

The group photos can be seen in a public album on my facebook page

Hello everyone! I'm Amethyst, and I've been a lurker of the community for some time; figured that now was as good a time as any to join and cease my lurker status. I did have a quick question, however, if anyone has the time to indulge in it.

Long story short, I'm trying to put together an outfit for MegaCon 2010. The gist of the story is that myself and two gentleman friends will be part of an small airship pirate crew (yes, cliche, but we love it!), and I'm the ship's chemist. Thing is, I don't want to wear labcoats; I'd like to wear something that shows off both a hint of delicate feminism while also showing that I'm not a damsel in distress. I tried searching in my college's library for references to outfits, to no avail (and it doesn't help that I'm a tomboy, so showing off anything 'girly' is difficult to do...)

If you have any ideas, I'd be quite grateful for the assistance! Thank you very much.

~Amethyst

I want to set my alien civilisation on the satellite of a planet similar to Saturn, rings and all. Think Titan in tems of size, tilt, etc. I need to know what to expect in terms of days/years. I mean, how would an observer on the satellite's surface percieve a revolution of the satellite around the planet and a revolution of the planet around the sun? Assuming the satellite has a synchronous orbit, how would that factor in?

I tried googling various combinations of Titan, habitability, colonization, living on Titan's surface, etc. I got a lot of articles on the possibility or not of mining on Titan, the composition of the atmosphere, the difficulty of getting pictures of the surface, etc, but nothing about what I need.

Can anyone point my towards a good article, or, hell, a novel?