BOOJUM!: Slightly Delayed -

- But Feeling O So Virtuous

There I was, nose-deep in a book, before realising that it was already 13:45 and I had sworn to take Edna for a trot whilst Wonder Wifey was off gathering curtains. So it was up to the shops, round the back of The Summit and home again, a route which is guaranteed to avoid all the dog-walkers who infest Tandle Hill Road, especially on a sunny Sunday as today. Besides, who knew how long this sunshine would last?

That above is the house I nicknamed "The Mansion" (not to be confused with The Mansion absent quote marks, which is where I fester), and I noticed whilst walking Edna that it's up for sale. A hasty Google reveals that it can be yours for the modest sum of £950,000. You can see why they didn't add the extra fifty thousand quid on there - an asking price of "ONE MILLION POUNDS!" may put people off.

And that's today's uncharacteristically short Intro done.

"Rama II" By Arthur C. Clarke And Gentry Lee

About a quarter of the way through this work, and whilst they don't flub like authors of the Sixties and still have slide rules, there are some anachronisms. Art?

The edition I have

Written in 1989, it is set in 2200, and the Soviet Union is still around. As you surely know by now, the Sinisters went toes-up in 1991, and even by 1989 they were on very wobbly legs. Ol' Art had an unusual tolerant attitude towards the Sinisters, seeing them as more Ruffian that Bolshevik.

Another omission is the mobile phone, or whatever will have replaced these by 2200; no mention is made of these as either handheld or (much more likely 180 years into the future) implanted in the skull. Remiss, Arthur, remiss!

A distinct possibility

There will now be a short pause as I nip downstairs to 1) check on the curtains currently drying on the line and 2) get a bowl of noodles together.

Okay, the noodles are a-steeping next to me, so let's continue -

I Made A New Friend

Not really, but a man can dream, can't he? In reality I found a new Youtube channel titled "Doctor Hope's Sick Notes", which is a series of videos by the titular doctor. How do we know he's a real doctor? He's wearing scrubs, for one thing, and he also seems to know his way around an hospital. He decided to cast a critical medical eye on that excellent horror film "28 Days Later". Art?

A good point. We see the first of the Idiot Activists get infected by a chimp full of the Rage virus, and seconds later she's a homicidal, highly contagious raving psycho. As Doctor Hope points out, this is impossible in real life, as any virus will take days to replicate sufficiently to actually impact a victim.

Additionally, hardly any of the protagonists take basic PPE precautions, apart from Brendan Gleeson's character above, seen wearing protective clothing, helmet and riot shield. He is very much the exception; how many people bother to have tight cuffs and gloves? Or wear a boilersuit? <sighs in agreement with the medical professional at human stupidity>

The wry smile is because Dr. Hope explains that hospitals, supposedly institutes dedicated to human health, are full of vending machines that offer the most unhealthy snacks imaginable, as we see Jim breaking into one of them. Hmmm. Whilst the doctor has a point, I don't think enduring the zombie apocalypse can be performed on pressed-kale-and-quinoa bars.

There was more, which I didn't photograph, yet I think you get the point. An interesting channel. I did suggest he consider watching "The Satan Bug" and - we'll see whether or not.

Bendis Recommends -

Whilst Conrad offends. I still cannot narrow down Google's search algorithm to find "The Three Kings", which Brian says is an indie comic in his aside about other works he'd recommend. The next on his list is "Bang!", which I managed to find an image for. Art?

That's an impressive cover, I have to say. Subtly letting you discern what the subject matter is. The Dark Horse webpage has an expository blurb that I can't exactly paraphrase, so I shall merely copy it (Fair Use rules, Dark Horse)*.

"A best-of-the-best secret agent with memories he couldn't possibly possess, a mystery writer in her 60s who spends her retirement solving crimes, a man of action with mysterious drugs that keep him ahead of a constant string of targeted disasters, a seemingly omnipotent terrorist organization that might be behind it all . . .
And they're all connected to one man: a science-fiction author with more information than seems possible, whose books may hold the key to either saving reality or destroying it."

You know, this sounds right up my street <wallet squeaks in fear> O don't be such a sissy, there are at least six other titles ahead of this one <wallet faints>.

Bah! Wallets!

Conrad's Latest Scribbling Project

You may recall the naked gloating glee with which Your Humble Scribe informed all that he had found a free, online database with digitally-replicated war diaries for several British American units of the Second Unpleasantness, and one in particular: 4th Field Regiment, Royal Canadian Artillery. This is because one of the 4th's officers, George Blackburn, wrote two books that were published together as "The Guns Of War". You can probably predict what happens next - no, no, riding a war-weasel over the Arctic tundra in battle array comes afterwards - Your Humble Scribe is going to compare and contrast the two works and see what's what.

British American artillery control group in action. Note inverted helmet used to prop up plotting board.

Firstly, though, I thought I'd give you an outline of the regiment. It had 24 guns, all of them the versatile 25 pounder which the Teutons had learned to hate with a passion. To move and service these guns there were "Tractors", a 4-wheel drive towing vehicle nicknamed a "Quad". Art?