I Say, Fish*, It's James Blish!

I Can't Threaten You With Death For Not Knowing Who He Was -
 - although then again I might, for am I not as fickle as the fancies of food-ferreting felines? or the English weather?
     James, for those of you who like to be educated, was a biologist who eventually abandoned his scientific trade for full-time writing.  He is credited with creating the term "gas giant", referring to the astronomical phenomenon of very large non-rocky planets, not United Utilities.  His most famous novels are the "Okie" quadrology, about cities using the Spindizzy drive to go looking for employment amongst the galaxy; "Earthman Come Home" is the third volume, and one of the 100 SF classics. Also one of Conrad's favourites, and although it's 60 years old he has not given up hope of a film at some stage. 

I saw this cover aged 10 and thought it wonderful strange

 Perhaps a TV series?  They pulled it off with the "Battlestar Galactica" remake.  Oh, and James provided pages and pages of completely fictional but convincing equations to show how the Spindizzy worked; there are probably a few conspiranoid nutters out there claiming that "Teh Evil Gubmint" is suppressing the technology**.

"Inherent Vice" By Thomas Pynchon
This arrived yesterday and I'm about 1/6th through it.  Definitely one of Tom's easier reads, I have to say.  I haven't figured out what the date is, although Nixon is still in power and Vietnam seems to still be in issue.  Of course things crop up: what is the "NCAA"?  Possibly <thanks Google> the "National Collegiate Athletic Association".
     Oh, and Coincidence has come knocking on the door again, twice:  who did I mention earlier on the blog?  Arthur C. Clarke.  Three pages in, who gets mentioned?  Arthur C. Clarke.  I'm reading about the "Halibut" anti-shipping missile -

Look here, Uncle Sam, if you're going to invent hideous engines of dea - excuse me, 

Hideous Engines Of Death, can you please not make them sound silly?  "Regulus", 

"Thor", "Minuteman"***, "Nike" - yes, fine.  But not, for heaven's sake, "Halibut".

That is all.  Rant over.

     - and who get mentioned but a surf-band called the Halibuts.
     Tom Pynchon.  Occasionally I wonder if reading him causes a change in causality.

Causality is hard to illustrate.  Have a 1960's Overland Road Train instead

How's Your Posture?
NO! I do not mean if you slouch in your seat.  I mean your Nuclear Alert Posture.  Not strictly you, dear reader, unless you happen to own a nuclear arsenal^, rather both parties who were sitting watching each other during the Cold War and crossing fingers that it wouldn't get even Tepid, never mind Hot.
     I refer to the very scary Posture of "Launch On Warning".  Simply put, this meant that if you got a warning that the Other Guy was going to launch his Big Bang Bombs, you let fly with everything you had - otherwise he could completely destroy all your BBBs.  Let's emphasise that - a warning, not actual confirmation of launching.
     What could possibly go wrong!  

A Regulus being launched from the USS Halibut
Sorry, folks, I got it wrong!  But an amusing rant is an amusing rant, so it stays.

     Well, human error, for one thing.  Erratic equipment, for another.
     So, when the ballistic missile submarine arrived, both sides wiped the sweat from their brows and the trigger fingers went back up noses rather than hovering over red buttons.  You see, you don't know where these subs are.  You do know that if you turn the oppositions BBBs into radioactive scrap, he'd still have enough Mighty Marine Missiles to return the favour.
     So, Launch On Warning.  Now out the window.

Too much serious!  Pictures of funny animals needed!

What is it with O2 and dogs!  AND cats!

Actually here's a rather sombre animal:

I love the orang-utang.
But - why?

     Conrad is passing fond of the "Old Man of the Jungle" as he looks so serious and soulful, far less intimidating than the gorilla or the frankly scarey chimpanzee.

The Mongoose
Aha!  It's not a goose at all.  It is a fiery little mammal, whose name derives from the Indian "Mungus".  They strongly resemble weasels and are unfussy carnivores who will tackle anything smaller than themselves.  They are also immune to the neurotoxic venom of snakes, and specialise in killing off snakes.
     I was going to explain that's why Ireland has no snakes - the mongooses ate them all then died of starvation.  How wrong am I!  The Irish mongooses would have eaten the country bare of anything smaller than a cow - they are banned from import in many countries due to their 1) terrible lack of table manners and 2) a habit of passing bad cheques.

A Yellow Mongoose.  Actually "A Gamboge Mongoose" is better.  He might take offence otherwise ...

     There is a mongoose in Kipling's "The Jungle Book" although I don't think he gets into the Disney animation.  Rikki Tikki Tavi his name, and he's a lion-hearted house protector who kills snakes.  Snakes - not his friends.  RTT's favourite hors d'ouevre - snake.  Top of his hit list - Mister Snake.  Followed by Mistress Snake.

RTT getting a spot of snake-killing in before tiffin.

     Actually this article on Herpestidae comes about because of the Cock Lane Ghost and "The Enfield Haunting", both the result of young girls being mischievous.  Another small, mischievous girl had the media going in the 1930's with a talking mongoose called "Gef".
     The thing is, nobody else ever saw Gef.  Nobody ever heard him talking if the mischievous small girl was also present. There was, in fact, no evidence for Gef at all, even when everybody was sober^^.

Blimey, I've been a bit wordy tonight.  Over 1,000 of the rascals.  And the 60 minute limit is here with us.  
* Fish the singer, from Marillion.  Not a scaley denizen of the ocean depths.
** Why?  Because they're evil.  Do keep up!
*** "Minute" as in the length of time, not the "extremely small" noun.
^ Please don't reply if you have.  MI5 take a dim view of private nuclear arsenals, and I should - so I've been told.
^^ "Harvey" reference.
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