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Post by Deleted on Feb 27, 2020 1:37:09 GMT
Among the Cannibals. Published in 2008 and detailing some of the last surviving cannibal subcultures in the world. You know, just some light reading... Definitely not research for a possible Who story, no sir... Would that happen to be an Androgum related Who story?😉 Possibly, possibly. We'll see how it goes. All I know at the moment is that they'll be the Doctor's companion.
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Post by timegirl on Feb 27, 2020 1:45:32 GMT
Would that happen to be an Androgum related Who story?😉 Possibly, possibly. We'll see how it goes. All I know at the moment is that they'll be the Doctor's companion. I knew it!😀 Are they a good Androgum then?🤔😉
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Post by Deleted on Feb 27, 2020 4:52:25 GMT
Possibly, possibly. We'll see how it goes. All I know at the moment is that they'll be the Doctor's companion. I knew it!😀 Are they a good Androgum then?🤔😉 Tricky question to answer. The cannibal tribe in Guinea, the Korowai, don't believe that they are man-eaters. What they consume is the body left behind by the creature that's corrupted it from the inside out, a khakhua. Revenge is considered a natural part of their culture. The khakua kill their people, they kill the khakua. They may wear the skins of their bretheren, but the tribe considers a strict delineation between the two. Something very similar turns up in The Two Doctors when Shockeye is tenderising Jamie. The highlander's pain is regarded as a "reflex action". All show, no substance, according to the cook. I imagine a lot of Androgum cuisine is viewed like that, tapping into that old, tired idea of "Man is separate from the Animal". Now... How do you overturn those beliefs? What hurdles would you hit? I suspect that Androgums would consider ascetism (or great self-denial) to be a punishment. Something to engender shame in criminals and wrongdoers. Plus, they seem to have a particular emphasis on the hunt. It's not just consuming the animal, but claiming it as well. Something from the food synthesiser might qualify, but would it actually sate an Androgum? Probably not. More than that, how do you convince them that they and the animals feel in the same way? All aspects of the character to explore (*thumbs up* thanks, tuigirl , for the concept).
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Post by tuigirl on Feb 27, 2020 7:14:19 GMT
I knew it!😀 Are they a good Androgum then?🤔😉 Tricky question to answer. The cannibal tribe in Guinea, the Korowai, don't believe that they are man-eaters. What they consume is the body left behind by the creature that's corrupted it from the inside out, a khakhua. Revenge is considered a natural part of their culture. The khakua kill their people, they kill the khakua. They may wear the skins of their bretheren, but the tribe considers a strict delineation between the two. Something very similar turns up in The Two Doctors when Shockeye is tenderising Jamie. The highlander's pain is regarded as a "reflex action". All show, no substance, according to the cook. I imagine a lot of Androgum cuisine is viewed like that, tapping into that old, tired idea of "Man is separate from the Animal". Now... How do you overturn those beliefs? What hurdles would you hit? I suspect that Androgums would consider ascetism (or great self-denial) to be a punishment. Something to engender shame in criminals and wrongdoers. Plus, they seem to have a particular emphasis on the hunt. It's not just consuming the animal, but claiming it as well. Something from the food synthesiser might qualify, but would it actually sate an Androgum? Probably not. More than that, how do you convince them that they and the animals feel in the same way? All aspects of the character to explore (*thumbs up* thanks, tuigirl , for the concept). Ah, now I am curious for that story!
Well, I worked on several tribe-owned islands in New Zealand and got the full Maori culture tour. On my most favorite Island, Mokoia, the tribe living there was invaded and decimated by a ravaging warlord who attacked because some people ate his favorite dog. So he took revenge and attacked the unsuspecting people on the island- later it turns out it was not the people from my island but some guys a bit further South. Anyways, after properly scaring the people by sailing around the island singing war chants for two days, they attacked and butchered the people- literally. There is a rock which you can visit and stand and sit on which is like a flat slightly inclined surface where people were butchered.
But in Maori culture, in eating someone, you take up the persons "mana" (life force) and it is the biggest insult you can give to an enemy. They most certainly knew the other people were people. But cannibalism also kind of made sense- after wiping out all the mega-fauna in New Zealand (all the giant birds) there just was not enough protein to go around. New Zealand had no mammals to speak of (apart from bats and seals) before the Europeans came. It was common practice for every Maori village to have a rat house at the border of the village- and this is exactly what it sounds like. Maori brought over in their canoes Pacific rats. Which lived in the forest. They made this little decorated hut for them where they put the food scraps to attract the rats and fatten them up. They were a valued protein food source.
Just to bring in another cultural experience...
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Post by Deleted on Feb 27, 2020 10:30:31 GMT
Tricky question to answer. The cannibal tribe in Guinea, the Korowai, don't believe that they are man-eaters. What they consume is the body left behind by the creature that's corrupted it from the inside out, a khakhua. Revenge is considered a natural part of their culture. The khakua kill their people, they kill the khakua. They may wear the skins of their bretheren, but the tribe considers a strict delineation between the two. Something very similar turns up in The Two Doctors when Shockeye is tenderising Jamie. The highlander's pain is regarded as a "reflex action". All show, no substance, according to the cook. I imagine a lot of Androgum cuisine is viewed like that, tapping into that old, tired idea of "Man is separate from the Animal". Now... How do you overturn those beliefs? What hurdles would you hit? I suspect that Androgums would consider ascetism (or great self-denial) to be a punishment. Something to engender shame in criminals and wrongdoers. Plus, they seem to have a particular emphasis on the hunt. It's not just consuming the animal, but claiming it as well. Something from the food synthesiser might qualify, but would it actually sate an Androgum? Probably not. More than that, how do you convince them that they and the animals feel in the same way? All aspects of the character to explore (*thumbs up* thanks, tuigirl , for the concept). Ah, now I am curious for that story! Well, I worked on several tribe-owned islands in New Zealand and got the full Maori culture tour. On my most favorite Island, Mokoia, the tribe living there was invaded and decimated by a ravaging warlord who attacked because some people ate his favorite dog. So he took revenge and attacked the unsuspecting people on the island- later it turns out it was not the people from my island but some guys a bit further South. Anyways, after properly scaring the people by sailing around the island singing war chants for two days, they attacked and butchered the people- literally. There is a rock which you can visit and stand and sit on which is like a flat slightly inclined surface where people were butchered.
But in Maori culture, in eating someone, you take up the persons "mana" (life force) and it is the biggest insult you can give to an enemy. They most certainly knew the other people were people. But cannibalism also kind of made sense- after wiping out all the mega-fauna in New Zealand (all the giant birds) there just was not enough protein to go around. New Zealand had no mammals to speak of (apart from bats and seals) before the Europeans came. It was common practice for every Maori village to have a rat house at the border of the village- and this is exactly what it sounds like. Maori brought over in their canoes Pacific rats. Which lived in the forest. They made this little decorated hut for them where they put the food scraps to attract the rats and fatten them up. They were a valued protein food source.
Just to bring in another cultural experience...
Please. The more the merrier. It's actually got me thinking about the Androgum homeworld. Maybe among the habitable regions of their world, they possessed a wide variety of species and subspecies, all with a collectively low population count. Enough that it's more likely a hunting party will run into a completely new animal than one of the same. Hunting isn't so much a game of Snap as it is a roulette wheel. Something that requires discretion and observation. When they became industrialised and the populations shrunk further, all that knowledge, wisdom and skill got formalised as a set of then-contemporary social principles.
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Post by tuigirl on Feb 27, 2020 19:11:56 GMT
Ah, now I am curious for that story! Well, I worked on several tribe-owned islands in New Zealand and got the full Maori culture tour. On my most favorite Island, Mokoia, the tribe living there was invaded and decimated by a ravaging warlord who attacked because some people ate his favorite dog. So he took revenge and attacked the unsuspecting people on the island- later it turns out it was not the people from my island but some guys a bit further South. Anyways, after properly scaring the people by sailing around the island singing war chants for two days, they attacked and butchered the people- literally. There is a rock which you can visit and stand and sit on which is like a flat slightly inclined surface where people were butchered.
But in Maori culture, in eating someone, you take up the persons "mana" (life force) and it is the biggest insult you can give to an enemy. They most certainly knew the other people were people. But cannibalism also kind of made sense- after wiping out all the mega-fauna in New Zealand (all the giant birds) there just was not enough protein to go around. New Zealand had no mammals to speak of (apart from bats and seals) before the Europeans came. It was common practice for every Maori village to have a rat house at the border of the village- and this is exactly what it sounds like. Maori brought over in their canoes Pacific rats. Which lived in the forest. They made this little decorated hut for them where they put the food scraps to attract the rats and fatten them up. They were a valued protein food source.
Just to bring in another cultural experience...
Please. The more the merrier. It's actually got me thinking about the Androgum homeworld. Maybe among the habitable regions of their world, they possessed a wide variety of species and subspecies, all with a collectively low population count. Enough that it's more likely a hunting party will run into a completely new animal than one of the same. Hunting isn't so much a game of Snap as it is a roulette wheel. Something that requires discretion and observation. When they became industrialised and the populations shrunk further, all that knowledge, wisdom and skill got formalised as a set of then-contemporary social principles. You really should pitch an Androgum story to BF! This all sounds great!
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melkur
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Post by melkur on Mar 6, 2020 2:03:58 GMT
No 'Live And Let Die', why would a chapter called 'Nig*er Heaven' be problematic?...
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Post by newt5996 on Mar 6, 2020 3:04:10 GMT
I'm reading Jeff Vandermeer's Annihilation because why not and oh this feels very cosmic horror.
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Post by polly on Mar 6, 2020 20:24:43 GMT
I've picked up Babel 17 by Samuel R Delany for my next classic SF audiobook. Never heard of it before, but it's an interesting idea (language influencing perception), and it's of an appropriate mid 60s vintage.
Though, I have heard some of Delany's books are borderline smut, and I kind of hope this isn't one of them. I'm not sure I would survive the giggle fit that would no doubt ensue at having an audiobook reader narrating filth to me in a calm, professional tone.
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Post by grinch on Mar 8, 2020 12:53:02 GMT
British Posters of the Second World War (Richard Slocombe)
A fascinating and enlightening look at the use of propaganda during the Second World War. Also briefly touches on the Nazi’s Ministry of Propaganda and how such methods of recruitment were forced to change after the Great War left many frustrated and disillusioned.
Highly recommended for any budding or amateur historian.
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Post by Deleted on Mar 13, 2020 18:48:43 GMT
'How To Stay Awake During Sex'
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Post by Hieronymus on Mar 15, 2020 2:29:46 GMT
Currently re-reading The Turn of the Screw, but decided to do this one as an audiobook. I find Henry James' prose difficult, and so didn't really "get" it the first time I read it. I've found a good pair of readers bringing the story alive for me.
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Post by Hieronymus on Mar 21, 2020 3:47:11 GMT
I gave up on The Turn of the Screw. It's only 26 chapters, but I found it unbearably dull.
Instead, I started reading Terry Pratchett's Going Postal. I was laughing out loud by the title page, which bears an illustration of Ankh-Morpork's Post Office Tower: a very narrow and impossibly tall stone tower with battlements. Having never been to London myself, I got the joke thanks to The War Games.
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Post by tuigirl on Mar 22, 2020 19:46:38 GMT
I gave up on The Turn of the Screw. It's only 26 chapters, but I found it unbearably dull.
Instead, I started reading Terry Pratchett's Going Postal. I was laughing out loud by the title page, which bears an illustration of Ankh-Morpork's Post Office Tower: a very narrow and impossibly tall stone tower with battlements. Having never been to London myself, I got the joke thanks to The War Games.
I absolutely love Going Postal. I think it is my favorite of Pratchett's later Discworld novels.
It is hilarious and a serious mirror to the real world at the same time. And the characters are truly great.
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Post by mrperson on Apr 6, 2020 19:16:51 GMT
Nearing the end of Unseen Academicals and am thus also nearing the end of my run through Discworld.
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Post by tuigirl on Apr 9, 2020 13:09:50 GMT
Right now reading Crooked River by Preston and Child. I absolutely LOVE the Pendergast series. I have been a faithful fan since the first book. And this one again is a page-turner. Love it- it is dark, gruesome, and is presenting an interesting case. There is also plenty of humor in this. Pendergast is such a great character- he is so alien, cold, and can show malice as well as a sense of humor. He also is amazing in kicking a$$. And this time, he has Constance along again, who is also such an amazing character. It is interesting how well these stories work, having these unusual, cold and very alien characters as heroes.
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Post by tuigirl on Apr 11, 2020 21:48:44 GMT
Started on the latest Rivers of London, False Value. It is Peter Grant. And Nightingale. Doing what they do best. Needless to say I am again hooked. Just love this series. And again we have an interesting story with some historical background- funnily enough involving characters we just recently have seen in Series 12 of Who. Coincidence? I will see how this turns out.
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Post by newt5996 on Apr 14, 2020 4:24:30 GMT
Started on the latest Rivers of London, False Value. It is Peter Grant. And Nightingale. Doing what they do best. Needless to say I am again hooked. Just love this series. And again we have an interesting story with some historical background- funnily enough involving characters we just recently have seen in Series 12 of Who. Coincidence? I will see how this turns out. I would become a gibbering wreck of a fanboy if Aaronovitch wrote for Doctor Who. Remembrance of the Daleks is my favorite TV story, his 2 and a half VNAs are brilliant, and I liked Midnight Riot (haven’t gotten around to picking up any of the sequels).
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Post by Hieronymus on Apr 14, 2020 23:23:44 GMT
Finished Going Postal and loved it; it is among Pratchett's best.
Started A Farewell to Arms, but am not convinced I want to finish it. I'll give it 100 pages or so and then decide. Hemingway's prose style will take some getting used to.
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Post by Hieronymus on Apr 18, 2020 14:48:21 GMT
As I half-expected, Hemingway's novel is irritating. His prose style gives the impression that a five-year-old is narrating the events; a style I associate with the "Randy Beaman kid" from Animaniacs for its run-on sentences, haphazard sequences of elements, dearth of internal punctuation, and lengthy lists strung together with "and". Also, this is a novel whose protaognist and themes do not resonate with me.
I've switched to reading The Curse of Chalion by Lois McMaster Bujold. The first 30 pages have me hooked, and I have no idea where the story will go.
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