The Ramble

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On Google books…

Checking my university e-mail is always an adventure, in part because of the RSS feed that gmail automatically puts at the top of my e-mail list (Oakland University’s e-mail is powered by gmail).  Today, I hit a link about the continuing controversy over Google Books and the negotiations, concerns, and the like brought up by its existence.  That link led me to this one, which just begged to be shared.

The author of the article, working on a book right now about green technology, is a visiting scholar at the University of California.  And he makes some good points.  Library catalogue software as it stands these days is limited, though it’s come light years since card catalogs (yes, I remember those, and moreover I remember how to use them–I worked in my high school’s library for the equivelant of two years).  Keywords don’t tell you what’s in a footnote, or an index–and the index doesn’t always tell you what’s in a book, if the book has an index at all.

That’s where things like Google Books come in.  A completely searchable engine for books, especially those out of copyright?  I’ve become in the past year an avid user of the Internet Archive, which has been all but invaluable to my research.  Google Books, in its limited capacity, has become equally useful to me when dealing with older tomes and even primary documents such as the Rolls Series and collections of Welsh poetry–even works by William of Malmesbury and Geoffrey of Monmouth are to be found between the two.  This sort of thing is invaluable to a researcher.

Publishers and authors are concerned about the fate of the publishing industry and having enough funds to keep it going–and I can understand and sympathize with this.  Traditional libraries are concerned because they may become very quickly obsolete (I pray this never happens–there’s something about actually having the book in your hands).  But at some point, the cost-benefit analysis has to match up with the reality of the situation as well as examining who’s using the service–and for what.  I imagine that a lot of the people who have been using Google Books are in fact researchers, writers, and scholars working on their next project using a combination of all the resources available to them–databases like JSTOR and FirstSearch, the Internet Archives, their local and university libraries, and Google Scholar and Google Books.  It’d be  a very sad thing if Google Books was shut down for good, and would set back the ability for researchers to do their work by miles.

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Torg update – Session of 24 September 2009

So, it was confirmed.  The subbasements?  Probably the place where Bad Things happened to Mei (Sorry Mei!).  Ren is disturbed by this.

What’s worse?  The Hunter was lairing down there, we found out.  We uncovered some files in the computer systems that hadn’t been totally gutted in the complex that gave us some information on the D.E.A.M.O.N. project.  As previously stated:  Ren is disturbed.

On top of that, the Hunter set traps for us.  We made our way through the first sub-basement and didn’t find nearly as much as we’d hoped.  From there, the only way down was an elevator shaft that we had to climb down the service ladder of.  It was probably a trap, we knew it was probably a trap, but damn Ren’s medical ethics and her desire to be a do-gooder (she keeps thinking if she can understand what was going on, she can reverse it, or at least mitigate its effects).  We went down.  Down to what was probably the seventh subbasement, where we found a mainframe (at least I think it was pretty close to the mainframe) and found out even more disturbing information.

And then we busted through a wall and found a room with ceilings about thirty feet high and twenty to twenty-five foot tall propane tanks (they weren’t actually propane tanks, they just looked like propane tanks standing on end.  In the middle was a Mad Science device like two we’d seen in Egypt–one in the place where we rescued the Mystery Men, the other when we stopped a sacrifice outside of Cairo.  Of course..the Hunter was waiting for us.  So while Mei tried to taunt it out into the open and the others tried to help her kill it, Ren and Grace headed for said mad science device–hopefully to decipher what it’s all about.

Enter the Sorrow, Grace’s nemesis, a Church Executioner.  But not.  Suspicisions have been confirmed: it was The Wrath all along.  Ahh, Alexander, what are we going to do with your sorry arse?  He baited a trap for us, and not a bad one–but one that might work out to our advantage.  Grace’s symbiote, “Rosebud” is in the Mad Science device.  Ren decided that Grace was more than capable of handling Wraith and headed toward the sounds of violence to help the rest of her cohorts.

Not that they really needed her help.  At best, she distracted the Hunter so it could ultimately be killed.  At worst, she was useless.

But the effect of Mei’s Playing for the Moment was epic.

In the past, I’ve been the only one who’s played for the moment–I’ve done it twice, once when I called my first reality storm (Frog God, grrr, frog god) and then a second time while we were in what was left of the United States.  It was almost the end of the chapter, so it was a good time for Mei to try her luck.

So, epic pwning of the Hunter.  Ren started shooting at it, which distracted it.  Mable got the beast with a molotov cocktail.  Christian and Fred rushed in and got a couple of solid blade hits on the beast.  Grant knocks its helmet off.  And Mei leaps out of her armor suit, kneels on its shoulders, and unloads her gun arm into its head as it flailed around on fire.

I think it’s pretty cooked, now.  I’m okay with this.

And that’s pretty much how it ended, since by that time it was 11 and poor Liz had to be to work before the crack of dawn today.  Mike’s new character still hasn’t appeared.  Çest la vie.  We’ll see what happens.  The resolution on Grace, the Wraith, and Rosebud is going to be first thing next week, probably followed by destroying the installation.  But we shall see.  Sometimes, things just end up getting in the way.

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Torg update – Session of 17 September 2009

So, we were without one of our tanks to start the session last week, which…could have gone worse.  We were, in fact, attacked by some sort of sky pirates from Nile who Mable happens to have a serious grudge with (the leader was responsible for her fiancee’s death).  The battle resulted in some anti-climax, since Mable didn’t actually get to blow up her nemesis and we couldn’t stop the zepplin from crashing–but at least Frederico DeSoto’s awake now!

From the crashed airship we made our way to the D.E.M.O.N. complex where Ren used to work.  We didn’t manage to get too deep into the ruins of it (the place had been wrecked by something from the outside) before we called it a night (combat takes a long time, especially with us).  Of course, in the sub-basement we walked into is a set-up like the one where Mei was experimented on.  Ren is suddenly very glad her security clearance wasn’t that high, because she doesn’t think she has the stomach for that shit (and really doesn’t want to find out if she really does or not).

Oh, and Grant and Ren are having yet another fight.  Sigh.  Par for the course, I suspect.

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Reconnecting with my research

It’s no secret to a lot of people who know me–in the wake of not getting one last little bit of feedback from my late advisor at the end of the Winter 2009 semester, I took a long break from my thesis work.  It was something I probably shouldn’t have done, but I kept expecting to get somethingfrom him after I sent one last update to him this past April.  But nothing.  We corresponded via e-mail about some housekeeping things regarding my thesis and he said he would get to the submission, but he never got back to me.  In some morbid way, I wonder if it’s sitting there on his hard drive with a mess of fantastic comments just waiting to never be sent.  But I suppose I’ll never know.

For the past week since I heard about his death, I’ve been avoiding really trying to work on my thesis, instead focusing on a paper I need to submit for the Great Lakes History Conference, deadlined in mid-October.  But the research overlaps a bit when I start reading about Edward I, and that’s tripped synapses in my brain that have pointed me back toward my thesis.  This is dangerous, considering that I don’t even know that I’ll even have this be my thesis come next week, or come the end of the OUAAUP strike, whichever happens first (personally, I’m hoping it’s settled after negotiations today so I won’t actually miss any of my classes this semester).  It’s in part hinging on a conversation I need to have with Karen Miller, the head of the history department here at Oakland University.  But in the end, I don’t know what’s going to happen other than I have a pile of research and information floating around in my brain that may turn into a book someday, regardless of whether or not it becomes my master’s thesis.  I’m sure if I have to change gears and start another project, I can find something.  I’m just not sure at this point what.

When I went to Dr. Finucane a couple years ago to talk about potential thesis ideas, I brought with me a short list of potential topics.  I’d originally wanted to do something with the Crusades, but I don’t speak French or Arabic (to be honest, even my Latin is shaky at best, though I’m working on that) so it would be very difficult for me to do that sort of research.  So changing gears, I brought the following list: 

–          Impact of the War of the Roses on English society

o       Potentially limited to women, church, or the aristocracy?

–          Hundred Years War

o       Religion and politics

–          Folk beliefs and spirituality in late medieval England

o       Mysticism in England?

o       English Saints?  Shifting views of what was seen as evidence of the divine working through a person or related to a person? (ties into witchcraft, ect)

–          Kingship and royalty in England, late medieval

o       Touches on the political and diplomatic; alliances through marriage, blood claims to “foreign” territory – importance of women in this context?

o       Political legitimacy and the tools used to convince people of such

–          The Black Death

o       Impact on cultural norms and religion

–          Mystics and miracles in late medieval England

–          Pilgrims and saints

–          Left field: Arthurian mythos and its impact on English culture orthe historical evolution of the Arthurian mythos

o       Use of the Arthurian mythos by English royalty

o       Folklore and stories of medieval England

 

 

I had hesitated to even bring to him that last topic–about the Arthurian mythos.  But I’ve been fascinated with it for easily ten years, so I put it on there, never dreaming that he would look at that and say “Hm.  That’s interesting.  Why didn’t you think you could do that, again?”  Necessary cutting brought the project down to a manageable size and focus, bringing me to where I am now, looking at the uses of the Arthurian legend under (and mainly by) Edward I and Edward III (and consequently the failure to use it by Edward II).  Looking back, I think I’d write on any of those subjects, except for perhaps the Black Death–which is fine, since the Plague has been done to death (no pun intended).  But if I have to change my thesis topic, would I be able to do any of those?  The Hundred Years War, perhaps, since my second reader is a specialist in French history.  But this having been said, I don’t read or speak French (though I have to learn).  It would be a difficult project to gather primary source material for.

The medieval period is something I’m fascinated by and would rather write about than the Renaissance, which I have a feeling would be the period I would end up having to write about, simply based on the makeup of the department.  But we’ll have to see.  I was blessed to work under one of the most preeminent medieval historians of the past thirty years, but cursed to lose that mentorship before my thesis was complete.  Only time will tell what’s going to become of the work I began under his tutelage.

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Torg update – Session of 3 September 2009

So after a somewhat insane day at the university, I got to play Torg on Thursday night, yay!

We picked up on the deck of Red Hood’s ship and chatted with Galen a bit more.  We were told last week (and I forgot to mention it) that Mable had been infected with killer nanites that were trying to decide whether or not they should kill her–they were designed to kill her Race (or something) counterpart.  As a result of this revelation, she spent a lot of time drinking with Chris.

Mei and Ren can’t make heads or tails of the prophecy that Mei’s trying to sort out.  There’s a few theories floating around in Ren’s brain and she likes none of her theories.  At all.

Galen reported that the new hardware on Fred was keeping him alive.  This got Ren even more worried (she’s very concerned that somehow Odette/Odyle has a kill switch on him, or has otherwise programmed him to do something very, very nasty to the group) and caused Galen to observe that she struck him as someone who worries a lot.  She admitted to it, but asked who else was going to do the worrying.  Galen wanted to know if she was familiar with ulcers and Ren told him she didn’t have one.  “Yet.”  Galen says.  And he’s probably right.

After that, Galen wandered over to Grace and talked to her about Rosebud, her alien symboite we found originally in the Temple of the Starfire Wheel.  He told her in order to get Rosebud back, she had to be patient, humble, and something else.  Either way, the three together had the rest of us snickering and saying “Oh man.  She’s never getting that thing back!”

We decide, ultimately, to go back to one of our many beginnings–the Temple of the Starfire Wheel–to hopefully find something that’s like a clue to where this Well of Forever is.  The Red Hood thinks this is an utterly fantastic idea and decides to continue to chauffer us around–at least for a little while longer.  Ren isn’t about to be looking any gift horses in the mouth at this point and takes what she can get.

We find the Temple of the Starfire Wheel in a little more disrepair than it was before–that is, someone had removed large sections of pictographs from the walls.  We found a passageway that we hadn’t found the first time and Mable blew it open with a shaped charge (much to Ren’s dismay).  At the far end of the place we find a niche that has the D.E.M.O.N. emblem resting in it–clearly, that wasn’t what was originally there.  We all decide that it’s a trap, and Grant finally tells the group what he and Ren had discussed in the past–that Odette had probably been working toward this all along.  Ren admits to trying to kill Odette/Odyle while they were in France and says that if she thought she could have shot straight, she’d have tried to take her out when they first saw her in the streets during the papal speech.  Further, Grant theorizes that the people that made it to the Temple of the Starfire Wheel were deliberately brought there (there was no way that Ren should have survived a Tharkoldu raid, and she admits it).  It was all arranged–and he’s probably just paranoid enough to be right.

The group decides, over Ren’s quiet objections, that we should go to the D.E.M.O.N. installation in Austria where she had worked, regardless of whether or not it’s a trap.  And so we set off again, flying north.

Of course, our troubles neither began nor ended there.  En route, someone spots something on an intercept course.  Rocket Rangers, but of an evil variety.  Mable is livid.  These are the men that killed her fiancee, she tells us.  (Ren was like “What’s going on?  You know about these guys?”  Mable: “They killed my fiancee!”  Ren:  “Oh.  Okay.”)  So now we’re set to fight them, even though they have the advantage of more mobility in flight than we have.

This having been said, we have a grenade launcher and a plasma cannon.  God help us all.

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Torg update – Session of 27 August 2009

So…after three weeks without game, we actually got to play last week (and of course, I procrastinate on my update).  We’d been left with some pretty significant cliffhangers from the session before (GM’s never allowed to give us another cliffhanger before a week off ever again–especially if he’s going to get Con plague) and most of the session dealt with the resolution of those cliffhangers.

Grace’s resolution was perhaps the most anticlimatic.  The Marquis just…walked away.  Told her where to find Fred and just left.  There was a lot of blinking that went into that.

Ano found himself looking at a lump of flesh and metal that was Frederico DeSoto in a stupor worse than any alcohol-induced haze than we’ve ever seen him in.  What’s worse?  Ano has no hope of lifting this guy up, and his only job is to get him the hell out of there.  Even between him and Grace (who arrived to help), they could barely get him moving.  Of course, they had a little more excitement on the way out…

Topside, things aren’t going so well for Mei, Chris, and Mable.  They’re in a stalemate with the Hunter–one of them agaisnt him would almost certainly lose.  Mei and Chris, of course, start fighting over who’s going to grab Mable and run.  Chris decides it’s going to be him.  This plan is full of fail.  Mei ends up pulling out the chip that’s a governor on her ability to use bullet-time (thus killing the limits on the ability) and does a very good job of distracting the Hunter while Christian grabs Mable and starts to run….and sees the Marquis quietly leaving.  The Marquis who he has a major bone to pick with.

In the meantime, Ren plays prisoner with Odyle (who backpedals on bits of things she said before).  The plan of Ren attempting to fake being Allison didn’t work so well (partially due to GM confusion), but “WWAD” definately paid off when Odyle was getting ready to zot Ren into a pit.  A well-placed distraction and a high-tech bullet put Odyle down long enough for Ren and Grant to make an escape–and quickly learn that the cavalry (which is to say, a bunch of crazy French knights on the side of the pope) is on the way.

Grace, Ano, and Fred have a close encounter with the result of Grace’s Nemesis card, an Executioner named the Sorrow.  He’s got it out for Grace–and she gets a taste of some pain before he bails out.  Ren and Grant arrive shortly thereafter and all five head for the surface.

In the meantime, Chris has grabbed Mable and made a run for it….then proceeded to drop Mable somewhere “safe” along the way and made a move on the Marquis, who he managed to get by his metal gorget.  They exchange some harsh words–some of which are important, such as the Marquis admitting that he knows where Odyle/Odette is going.  She’s headed east, to something called the Well of Forever (also called the Well of Souls in some references, according to the GM, but we don’t know that in character yet).  He warned that anyone looking into the well to find truth should be careful, because sometimes the well looks back.  This information is later passed on to the rest of us.  Before letting the Marquis go, Chris vows to end him should they meet again.  I’m not looking forward to meeting this guy ever again myself (Ren doesn’t really like the taste of drywall, thank you).

I don’t rightfully remember what sent the Hunter scurrying (was it a bunch of Tachicomas?  probably), but we did start booking down the streets of Avignon, really not sure how we were going to get the hell out of the city–and Mara didn’t have any ideas on that one, either.  Odyle shows up with this gun bigger than she is and gets ready to take shots at us….only to be distracted by Tachicomas that were really, really happy to see her.  She wastes one and then they get really confused.  We ran.

And then the Red Hood and her zepplin rescue us–someone called in a favor (not Yuri; I have my theories on who might have been responsible for saving our arses, though), though she won’t tell us who it was.  And we’re sailing away, to the east–putting as much sky between us and France as possible about now.

The first morning we’re on the zep, the Technomage that’s been haunting Mei shows up…and starts talking.  He’s in violation of some rules by coming and talking to us, he tells us.  I don’t remember getting to talk much before we called for the night (it was already 10 by the time we got rescued, which didn’t leave a lot of time for heavy plot discussions).

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Reflections on Kennedy lost

They’re burying Edward Kennedy today, and in watching the funeral, I found myself getting choked up, teary-eyed over a man I never met, never knew except for brief appearances on television, glances at the Congressional record, never even read that much about.  Compared to what I (used) to know about his brothers, what I knew about Edward Kennedy could fill a thimble.  And yet here I was, watching his funeral mass, and I was choking up.  I know I have a tendency to get overly emotional about some things, but this?  When my mother told me he died, I was sad, but no tears.  Nothing like that.  Just “Oh.”  Even though standing in my kitchen with my mother, I knew something had changed and probably not for the better, it still…didn’t quite strike me.

In part, I guess it comes down to the fact that Edward Kennedy was the only very politically active–and successful, despite faults and mistakes–Kennedy I ever ‘knew.’  I know the stories of his brothers, Jack and Bobby, but I didn’t live those times.  The older I got, the more I came to realize that while the brothers were inspiring figures, Ted accomplished volumes more–and I wonder if either JFK or Bobby could have done more if they had lived.  I’m not sure it’s possible for that to have happened, given the turbulent times that they lived in.  I think that Bobby would have had more chance than JFK.  JFK’s presidency is tragic, storied…but I have a feeling that it would have ended in disappointment, both for him and everyone that looked to him as some sort of shining beacon of hope.  (There’s an incredible irony here, given all the comparisons made between him and Barack Obama–I admit to having a great deal more faith in Barack than my historian’s eye will allow me to have toward a “what if” of JFK’s presidency.)

The fact of the matter is, when you get right down to it, that Edward Kennedy could never cover up all the mistakes he made in his personal life and yet still make an incredible difference in American political life.  The Lion of the Senate, patriarch to a family that is now suddenly bereft of one (it will be interesting to see who rises to the occassion inside of the clan to take on the enormous mantle Ted shouldered).  He was so much and did so much…but he was still a father, a brother, a husband, an uncle, a grandfather–you can look at the faces of his family and know that, to see the pain that’s stoic and raw at the same time–stoic because they’re on camera, raw because even though his death was a foregone conclusion, you know that they weren’t ready to lose him.  You’re never ready for a blow like that.

I found the prayers for intercession, offered by his children, nieces and nephews and grandchildren, to be the most poignant part of the service (beyond, perhaps, Kara Kennedy’s responsal psalm, which I’ll have to identify later).  I hope god really does hear those prayers, because I can’t really imagine who will take up everything that Edward championed–or who can afford to, who’s powerful enough to take them up without totally torpedoing their political career.  They’re things that are necessary and right and without them…I don’t know where the country and the world will end up.

God will have a lot for the Senator to accomplish in heaven before his next time on earth.  He’s certainly paid his penance for his mistakes in this life, in working so hard for the common good.  There will be some that will say no, he’s going to hell for this sin, for that sin.  I don’t believe that’s the case, nor do I believe that he’s going to languish in purgatory for mistakes made.  No…he’s got important work to do.  He started it in this life, and it’ll be continued in the next, of that I’m certain.

Go softly, Senator.  You’re already dearly missed, but the respite is deserved.