Quotations from Andre Norton

These are the contexts of the quotes tweeted from @sueannbowling between February 17 and 22, 2012. The first six quotations are from Web of the Witch World, by Andre Norton. Originally published in 1964 and I have the original paperback, very yellowed but still holding together. The cover price is 40 cents.

“One who climbs to heights must beware of the footing.” Loyse, speaking to Aldis about the Duke.

“Perhaps the bold move was the right one.” Simon in Duke Yvian’s hold, as he feels something is wrong.

“What better hammer than those its builders had devised?” Simon as he is first falling under the domination of the Kolder, looking at their sky ships as a way to enter their fortress of Yle.

”When need drives, we obey.” The lady of Tor, explaining why the Tormen are turning Simon over to the Kolder.

“We do not yet know the limits of this we hold.” Jaelith to Simon, when he begins to doubt whether he should have asked her aid in dealing with the Kolder.

“Perhaps simpler, but not the right answer.” Jaelith, confirming Simon’s reluctance to attack the Kolder stronghold directly.

“Could one will good fortune or ill?” Simon fretting as he waits for action in the final strike against the Kolder.

“Feline curiosity was even stronger than hunger.” Sue Ann Bowling, Tourist Trap. This is inside the head of the puma stalking Roi.

Quotes from Mercedes Lackey

All of today’s quotes but the last are from Storm Breaking, by Mercedes Lackey.

“When the enemy is “dead” to the world one inhabits, he might as well be dead in totality.” Melles, reluctantly giving up on Tremane’s death.

“History is in the small items as much as the large ones.” Lyam is almost overcome by finding a brush that Urtho himself handled. Modern historians, trying to recreate the life of the past, would probably agree with him.

“One should always begin with friendship, rather than a more ardent emotion.” Sejanes, advising Karal about love.

“Most people don’t believe that a disaster can come, or that it can affect them.” The exact quote, which was a little long for Twitter, was “Most people don’t believe that a disaster is coming, or that it can affect them, even when they’re told repeatedly.” Karal’s side note, as he is talking via teleson with the Council in Haven shortly before the final Storm.

“Keep in mind that a nation is made up of people.” Part of Altra’s response to Karal’s suggestion that all gods should be prayed to for help for all people, even those of the Empire, against the final storm. The full quote is “You manage to keep in mind that a nation is made up of people, most of whom have little or no control over what their leaders do.”

“Life is attention to both the large and the small.” Part of Altra’s lecture to Karal on keeping balance in his life as a priest.

“Part of the fun was to guess who had given each gift.” Sue Ann Bowling, Homecoming. Birthday celebrations on Central involved gifts to the person with a birthday, but the giver’s name had to be guessed.

Quotes from (Mostly) Lewis Carroll

Walt Disney totally mixed up Alice in Wonderland and Through the Looking Glass, with bits of The Hunting of the Snark, in both the original cartoon Alice in Wonderland and the much more recent live-action of the same title. If you learned your Lewis Carroll from Disney, you probably guessed wrong a few times about which book was the source of each of last week’s quotes. All of these quotes but the last are taken from the original Lewis Carroll books.

“There ought to be a book written about me, that there ought!” Lewis Carroll,  Alice in Wonderland. Alice, expanding in the White Rabbit’s house.

“Beware the Jabberwok, my son!” Lewis Carroll, Through the Looking-Glass. Part of the poem Jabberwocky, written in Mirror-writing in the room Alice first finds on the other side of the looking-glass (the mirror image of the room in her home.)

“In most gardens they make the beds too soft—so the flowers are always asleep.” Lewis Carroll, Through the Looking-Glass. The Tiger-lily’s explanation of why the flowers in this bed are awake and talking.

“Who in the world am I?  Ah, that’s the great puzzle.” Lewis Carroll, Alice in Wonderland. Alice, just after she grows for the first time and is uncertain of her own identity.

“If you’ll believe in me, I’ll believe in you.” Lewis Carroll, Through the Looking-Glass. Alice has just been introduced to the Unicorn, who considers human children fabulous monsters. When Alice replies that she has always thought that unicorns were fabulous monsters, the Unicorn suggests that they should both believe in each other.

“I don’t like belonging to another person’s dream.” Lewis Carroll, Through the Looking-Glass. Alice is concerned whether she is in her own dream or the Red King’s dream.

“What was wrong with her, that she had forgotten so thoroughly the dangers of her home?” Sue Ann Bowling, Homecoming. Marna has just almost been killed by a butterfly cat, because she forgot predators are dangerous.

One final reminder: I have a guest interview today on Christine Warner’s blog, Christine’s Words. Drop by and say hello!

Quotes from Mercedes Lackey

More quotes from Storm Breaking, by Mercedes Lackey. The first two are a continuation of the Shin’a’in proverbs bombarding Karal.

“Never sit down to eat with your sword at your side.”

“Better an honest enemy than a feigned friend.”

“Who is wisest, says least.” Karal finally manages to interrupt the leshy’a Kal’enedral’s proverbs.

“Despair was an emotion for weaklings or failures.” Emperor Charliss, as he sees his empire crumbling around him.

“The best plans never survive the first engagement with the enemy.” Darkwind, thinking of a Shin’a’in proverb and wondering how the Eastern Empire has survived so long when it insists on having plans for everything.

“As with cards, duels and death sports, look at the odds — but consider the stakes.” Melles, considering how to gain control of the Empire.

“Having power and not using it was a form of weakness.” Sue Ann Bowling, Homecoming. Part of Zhaim’s philosophy of life, but it would fit Charliss just as well.

Quotes from Terry Pratchett

All of these quotes tweeted from @sueannbowling in the past week except the last are from Unseen Academicals, by Terry Pratchett. Note that football is what is called Soccer in the USA.

“Hope for the best and prepare for the worst.” Ridcully thinking that’s the Unseen University way.

“The crab that mostly keeps you down is you.” Glenda thinking and realizing that much of what she has learned isn’t so. (She’s using a metaphor of a crab bucket, where any crab that tries to climb out is pulled back by the other crabs.)

“Stupid and dogmatic at the same time was too much.” Glenda’s thoughts on the Candle Knave.

“It is a battle between every man and himself.” Nutt trying to teach the Unseen Academicals to play football.

“There is no game without rules. No rules, no game.” Lord Vetinari’s proclamation about the new rules of football.

“You do the best you can with what you have.” Nutt’s paraphrase of Ladyship’s advice.

And finally one from my own work, Tourist Trap: “You never even asked the question.” Roi is warning Penny not to ask questions about his position in the Confederation hierarchy, which at the moment is secret.

Quotes from Mercedes Lackey

This week all the Twitter (@sueannbowling) quotes but the last were from the same page in Storm Breaking by Mercedes Lackey, when one of the leshy’a Kal’enedral (probably Tarma) is speaking to Karal, commenting on how his teacher (Kero, who was one of Tarma’s students when Tarma was alive) has trained him.

“Know where all the exits are.”

“Never sit with your back to the door.”

“Watch the reflections.”

“Watch the shadows.”

“Keep your hands free and your weapons loose.”

“I’m being bombarded with Shin’a’in proverbs! What a terrible way to die!” This one is Karal’ s thought – he still hasn’t gotten a word in edgewise.

“I don’t want a computer reading my mind.” Sue Ann Bowling, Homecoming. Roi, when Coryn is offering to teach him how to use a mental interface to the school computer to enter his homework.

Quotes from Terry Pratchett’s Hogfather

Most of the Twitter quotes for the past week have been from Hogfather, a Terry Pratchett book that satirizes (among other things) the commercialization of Christmas.

Actually the Hogfather, like a good many of the things we connect with Christmas, is associated with the winter solstice, which is today. Here in Alaska, it’s 8:30 this evening; if you live on the East Coast it’s 12:30 tomorrow morning. The book has been made into a DVD, which I reviewed yesterday. Happy southern Solstice!

“Three million dollars could buy a lot of no questions.” Thoughts of Downey, the head of the Assassins’ Guild, when the auditors offer that amount to get rid of the Hogfather (the Discworld’s equivalent of Santa Claus.)

“Everything starts somewhere, though many physicists disagree.” The opening sentence of Hogfather, though unless this is a reference to the old steady-state universe theory, now pretty well debunked, I’m not sure why the physicists would disagree.

“Real children don’t go hoppity-skip unless they are on drugs.” Susan Sto Helit, rebuking Gawain for stepping on the cracks to bring the bears so she can go after them with the nursery poker.

“Education had been easy. Learning things had been harder.” Susan, considering her past life and education.

“Wizards wouldn’t be wizards if they couldn’t see a little way into the future.” In this particular case, the wizards of Unseen University are apprehensive, with good reason, about the hangover cure being mixed by Mustrum Ridcully in hopes of curing the oh god of hangovers.

“Clever isn’t the same as sensible.” Susan to the oh god of hangovers, after she has said that the wizards of some of the cleverest men in the world.

“Idiocy is not a communicable disease.” Ridcully’s comment on the idea that Hex (the Unseen University computer) might have caught something from the burser (who is more than usually unusual mentally.) In fact Hex is confused by something done by Death, who is filling in for the Hogfather.

“Freedom came even before survival.” Bowling, Tourist Trap. Roi is commenting on Timi’s mindset, and how it differs from his own.

Hogfather: DVD Review

“HUMANS NEED FANTASY TO BE HUMAN. TO BE THE PLACE WHERE THE FALLING ANGEL MEETS THE RISING APE.”

Thus Death says to his granddaughter, Susan Sto Helit, and thus Sir Terence David John Pratchett says in the interview on this DVD. You have to start believing in the little lies, like the Hogfather (Santa Claus) and the Tooth Fairy, in order to believe the big lies, like truth and justice.

The Auditors don’t believe in this. Humans are untidy. Life is untidy. So they plan to get rid of the untidiness, first by getting rid of the Hogfather. To manage this, they engage the Guild of Assassins, who assign the task to one Teatime (Teh-ah-tim-eh, as he keeps correcting people’s pronunciation) who is a little strange, even for an assassin.

The DVD is remarkably close to the book, probably because Terry Pratchett was closely involved with making it. Since the plot involves not only the Hogfather and Teatime, but Death, his granddaughter Susan (especially Susan), the Tooth Fairy and the franchise she runs, the wizards of Unseen University, and an assortment of unlikely creatures such as the oh god of hangovers and the sock-eater, there tends to be a good deal of jumping between scenes.

There are complications, many (and much of the satire on the commercialization of Christmas) coming from Death’s taking over the Hogfather’s job. I particularly enjoy his filling in for the hired Hogfather at the Discworld equivalent of a department store. Then there is the idea that there has to be a certain amount of belief in the world, leading to any personification thought of coming into being once the children’s belief in the Hogfather wavers. But there are serious scenes, too, like the Hogfather, in boar shape, being chased by the Auditors as dogs. (Why not boarhounds, instead of Malinois? And how did the filmmakers manage the boars, either fleeing from the dogs or pulling the sleigh? Are they animated?)

If you like satire and like Pratchett, it’s definitely worth watching. It’s on my watch-every-Christmas list. And, as a challenge to the reader, Pratchett himself is in the movie. I had to check the cast list to find out whom he portrayed. Can you do better?

Quotes from Meredes Lackey

Today has more Twitter quotes from Mercedes Lackey, this time from Storm Rising.

“Every time you solve a problem you bring up twenty more.” Natoli, talking about the  plans for steam carriages.

“There are some things a man is not meant to know.” In this case, Tremane is thinking of a sewage plant that produces fertilizer. He doesn’t know how it works, and he doesn’t want to.

“Every gift carries the hope for an exchange.” Another Shin’a’in saying, this one quoted by An’desha when he tries to help Karal, who has helped him earlier.

“Once knowledge is gained, there is no going back to ignorance.” Karal, musing about his newfound ability to see things from all sides.

“There is no end to questioning, except decay.” Natoli, trying to explain her seeking spirit to Karal.

“It all obeys rules. It is all perfectly logical.” An’desha, speaking of magic to Natoli when she objects to the Healer dosing Karal’s incipient ulcer with herbs and diet restrictions rather than using magic to heal him.

“Teleporting on a round planet brought problems other than conservation of momentum.” Bowling, Homecoming. Roi has just fully realized that his teleport has produced a 7 hour time zone shift.

A Christmas Carol: DVD Review

If the Grinch and the Nutcracker are old Christmas favorites, I got a DVD last year that is going to be a new one. Not new, really, as I’ve read the Dickens classic dozens of times. In fact, I just added “The Complete Charles Dickens Collection” to my Nook to replace the books lost in the fire, so I could compare “A Christmas Carol” in print with the DVD—though I knew already that the Disney movie was very close to the Dickens original, just from the familiarity of the dialog.

The dialog was indeed taken almost entirely from the book, and the Christmas past sequence, aside from the transitional bits such as the flight with the ghost and the candle snuffer becoming a rocket, also closely followed the book. The Christmas present sequence also followed the book reasonably well, though the vision through the floor of flights through the air over London were new.

The main place the film diverged from the book was in the Christmas future sequence, which was nightmarish far beyond the original. True, the hearse was mentioned in the book, but only as a comparison for the width of the steps to Scrooge’s rooms.

Although the characters are computer-generated, they all move and use their faces so naturally it doesn’t feel at all like a cartoon. I always enjoy the “Making of” shorts on these discs, and this one was a fascinating introduction to motion capture, including the capture of facial expressions.

So is it worth watching? I think so. Dickens’ A Christmas Carol is an old favorite, and I think I’ll add this DVD in future years.