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On “A Canticle for Leibowitz”

loukidelis.com

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Re: On “A Canticle for Leibowitz”

#131

Post by upsidesinclude »

AdmiralAsshat wrote: post #59
xoxxala wrote: post #26

In the early 90s, I read all of the Hugo winners at the time. A Canticle for Leibowitz was one of my favorites. A few years later, it was one of the three major influences we used when making the original Fallout (along with Road Warrior and City of Lost Children).

It's strange, you rarely hear it mentioned in the same breath as other post-apocalyptic literature like A Boy and His Dog or I Am Legend . I was only made aware of it while reading an article about the making of Fallout. So, thanks for the indirect recommendation!

Given your references I feel bound to offer up:

The Road, McCarthy

And in a different sort of apocalypse:

Nueromancer, Gibson

Re: On “A Canticle for Leibowitz”

#132

Post by eesmith »

upsidesinclude wrote: post #128
eesmith wrote: post #104

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You're right. The examples I mention are not like the border crossings between India & Pakistan. > they're generally going to deliberately penetrate the "buffer zone", Yes. My comment concerned your earlier use of principally in "principally intended to preserve normative freedom of movement rights." I believe they are principally done as surveillance flights, with freedom of movement rights as an important but secon…

Now that you two have finished, recall that per HN we are intended to grant the best interpretation of a statement and not the worst. My comment stands and the misinterpretation has at least born fruit. The 'border crossings' i mentioned might have been better referred to as 'border stations', where rehearsed performance occurs daily between guards. Not referencing physical incursions into disputed territories to mai…

Then no, it's not like an "expensive version of the border crossings between India & Pakistan."

For one, https://edition.cnn.com/2017/05/04/politics/us-f-22-intercep... comments that it could be a "routine" training exercise. ("a senior defense official stressed, last month, that they are "not a concern" and attributed the uptick to a recent lack of available Russian aircraft and need to boost training.")

While the example you give is not.

Re: On “A Canticle for Leibowitz”

#133

Post by thegagne »

burnished wrote: post #81
thegagne wrote: post #45

I really enjoyed the book. I’m almost always down for some sci-fi dystopia, and as a religious person I enjoyed this particular lens on it. A couple I highly recommend from another Catholic author, The Lord of the World, and Dawn of All, by Robert Hugh Benson. Those two are more early 20th century Catholicism in worldview, which I particularly enjoyed.

You ever read 'Too Like the Lightning'? Its really good. One of the things going on through the series is basically "what if a bunch of atheists found compelling yet questionable evidence of a miracle".

I haven’t! I’ll give it a try.

Re: On “A Canticle for Leibowitz”

#135

Post by kmonsen »

xoxxala wrote: post #121
kmonsen wrote: post #91

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'm old enough that Total Annihilation is my favorite game all time. Still remember the wonder of discovering that. Thank you for all the happy memories.

TA is awesome! I'd love to take credit for it, but that's a different Chris Taylor.

:-) Sorry for the mistake. I also love Fallout, but not so much the later ones. I played Fallout 1 and 2 a lot, but never enjoyed the recent ones so much. I guess I am too old to enjoy the latest trends.

Re: On “A Canticle for Leibowitz”

#136

Post by leobg »

8bitsrule wrote: post #69

An excellent 1981 radio production of 'Canticle' is still online. [ https://archive.org/details/NPRPresentsACANTICLEFORLIEBOWITZ... ]

Indeed, excellent! Listening to it now. Perhaps the best dramatization of any novel I’ve ever heard. Thank you for the recommendation!

Re: On “A Canticle for Leibowitz”

#137

Post by ASlave2Gravity »

glennonymous wrote: post #53
ASlave2Gravity wrote: post #5

Easily one of my favourite novels. It's riddled with beauty; there is a lens held up to the shepherding of knowledge that made me really appreciate what it means to be a scholar. It's a wild ride and I think a book people should read. My fav quote, "When you tire of living, change itself seems evil, does it not? for then any change at all disturbs the deathlike peace of the life-weary.”

I would like to read the book and I’m sure it’s good. But whenever a character says “does it not?” I want to soak the book in gasoline and light it on fire.

The 'does it not?' breaks the flow of the quote perfectly. It was intentional, I like to believe; it's as if your peace of a flowing sentence is suddenly interupted by the life of a fantastic writer! :D

Re: On “A Canticle for Leibowitz”

#138

Post by upsidesinclude »

eesmith wrote: post #132
upsidesinclude wrote: post #128

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Now that you two have finished, recall that per HN we are intended to grant the best interpretation of a statement and not the worst. My comment stands and the misinterpretation has at least born fruit. The 'border crossings' i mentioned might have been better referred to as 'border stations', where rehearsed performance occurs daily between guards. Not referencing physical incursions into disputed territories to mai…

Then no, it's not like an "expensive version of the border crossings between India & Pakistan." For one, https://edition.cnn.com/2017/05/04/politics/us-f-22-intercep... comments that it could be a "routine" training exercise. ("a senior defense official stressed, last month, that they are "not a concern" and attributed the uptick to a recent lack of available Russian aircraft and need to boost training.") While the e…

What?

Reread my comment.

'Not a concern' is certainly what I would consider high kick marching competitions between guardstations

Re: On “A Canticle for Leibowitz”

#139

Post by kmonsen »

mdp2021 wrote: post #111
kmonsen wrote: post #91

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'm old enough that Total Annihilation is my favorite game all time. Still remember the wonder of discovering that. Thank you for all the happy memories.

(The Canadian is an homonym! There are two in the industry. This is the Californian. Were it otherwise, Fallout would have been set in the cold and the inspiring movie would have been Fargo.)

That's quite a coincidence, two of the genre defining games when I was growing up was made by two people with the same name :-)

Re: On “A Canticle for Leibowitz”

#140

Post by eesmith »

upsidesinclude wrote: post #138
eesmith wrote: post #132

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Then no, it's not like an "expensive version of the border crossings between India & Pakistan." For one, https://edition.cnn.com/2017/05/04/politics/us-f-22-intercep... comments that it could be a "routine" training exercise. ("a senior defense official stressed, last month, that they are "not a concern" and attributed the uptick to a recent lack of available Russian aircraft and need to boost training.") While the e…

What? Reread my comment. 'Not a concern' is certainly what I would consider high kick marching competitions between guardstations

You thought badcppdev might be nervous about the modern equivalent of high kick marching competitions?

After badcppdev pointed out the US historically flew nuclear armed bombers to the borders of the USSR 24 hours a day? Including with the deliberate goal of escalating the nuclear threat to the Soviet Union, in order to improve America' position at the negotiating table?

Your statement "US jets intercept and turn them around" is incorrect - these flights are not turned around.

"High kick marching competitions" are not training exercises. Nor are they surveillance operations.

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