Esoteric Smart Bomb

Okay, I'm Cheating Again*
I opened Brewer's on two pages, not one, so we had "Esoteric", which means "Those privy to secret or inside information", and whilst more conventional reference would be to the Freemasons or Opus Dei, Conrad likes to think that those who read BOOJUM! fall into the same category.  How lucky you are.

Conrad, ecstatic at how lucky you are.
(The scary "electronic eye" effect is entirely accidental)

     The "Smart Bomb" is either a conventional one with a JDAM guidance package attached, or it comes with the laser-slaved controls already built in, enabling it to be guided right down some unfortunate's chimney, kind of like Santa Claus with a sack full of TNT.  In a few years these things are going to be able to chase you down based on your eye colour, shoe size and whether or not you have a subscription to New Scientist  New Statesman News And Gossip!!!
     Enough of the mitley, let us proceed!

Bart's Mom.  Close enough

A Congruence Of Caps
Thanks to Lee in the office for this, he happened to mention "Bicorn" as I was passing, and obviously - obviously! - as a grammatical, lexicographical and etymological pedant, my interest was peaked**.
     Let us begin with the "Tricorn".   This name - inevitably - derives from the Latin - "Tri" for "Three" and "Cornu" for "Horn".  Art?  Get out of your hovel and provide a picture:

A 3-cornered hat.  What about that!

     Popular in the 18th Century, it had gone out of fashion by the start of the 19th Century, being replaced by the - Bicorn.  "Bi" as in two horns.  Art?  Stop swilling gin and pitch in:

A 2-cornered hat.  Great Jehosophat!

You will recall that the Duke of Wellington wore one of these in a fore-and-aft arrangement, and that Napoleon wore his side-to-side.  I think those Spanish paramilitaries the Guardia Civil still wear them.  Art!  Get out of the coal cellar and research.

Guardia Civil: Their march-and-punch training

     And then we come to the Unicorn, which most people know as this:

World's slimmest Rhino

     But which could also equally refer to this:

World's fattest (and ugliest!) Unicorn

     Wearing a Unicorn, well there are problems with that:

Be grateful this is only a toy!

     Wearing a Unicorn hat, well there are also problems with that:

People will stereotype you so, Dahling

     Wow.  I didn't see all that hat chat coming.  Apologies for being creative and all that.

"Sargasso Of Space" By Andre Norton
My somewhat lacksadaisical progress in re-reading the books of my youth carries on.  The science fiction novel above originally came out in 1955, as by "Andrew North".  In these days of same-sex marriage, female bishops and a female Prime Minister, it is rather hard to look back 60 years ago and realise that publishers didn't think the science-fiction reading world (for which read "99.9% male") was ready for GASP!  SHOCK! HORROR! a female author.

Conrad speak truth.
Sometimes.

     Andre was properly credited in 1973, which is when I first read this novel, and I'm pretty sure I re-read it again in 1983.

A fine evocative cover by Tony Roberts.
Who appears to be nicking Chris Foss's style.

     The only bit that I recalled was a paragraph or two about the abuse of "Crax Seed", which turns the abuser into a superhuman for a while, and then into a veritable subhuman for a longer while.  Conrad recalling drug abuse, not sure what that says about him, except that his only vice is excessive drinking of loose leaf Darjeeling***.

Conrad's Second Night On A Tile
I can't call it "Tiles" plural as it wasn't wild at all.  The event was a meal out to celebrate Anna's birthday.  You will probably recall Anna, as she gets more mentions here than Poskrebyshev, Shakespeare and Ambrose Bierce combined.
     We were told to meet up at "Chiquito" in the Printworks, where your humble scribe arrived early.  No great hardship, it was most diverting to watch all human life walk past the window.

The Printworks at night

  Then it was on to - two separate tables?  Here Georgina, Anna's sister, took on the establishment and won.  We got one long table.  Eventually!  Chiquito's management appeared to operate under the principle of "What?  Who me? I have a rare blood group.  Paul has a long moustache" which may not make sense, but neither did they.
     Anyway, please see here "Cantina Mushrooms":

     This was actually really nice, a dish of grilled mushrooms in an unexpectedly spicy sauce, with treacherously friable nachos to scoop it up with.  Then the main course, which I was too greedy and hungry to bother about taking pictures of, but here is the table of folk:

     Then came the birthday cake and the candles -

Sophie risks death  - those candles are sparklers!

     Mandy is just visible at top right taking a photo. She bumped into one of the overhead lights you can see at top centre; this light was connected via an overhead bar to four others, and the overhead bar was connected via wires to the ceiling, so the Newton's Cradle arrangement took a good ten minutes to stop oscillating.

Tiger Tiger
A final photo as the venue was not at all "burning bright", although given the crush within the venue it did seem like a forest:

Louise, Anna and Georgina

  A rose betw - er, no, strike that.  Three roses!

Aaaand that's it for this post.  I do apologise for doing one on hats, that really came out of nowhere.  Tomorrow I shall post more of the Pavlou Birthday Bash Extravaganza.  That's a promise, but also a threat as well.

What ho!


* I know, I know, my true colours coming out
** Read on, it all becomes clear.
*** Fairtrade, mind you, Fairtrade!