MERCEDES-LACKEY Digest 914

Topics covered in this issue include:

  1) Re: BDAYS/deer
	by "JAIME HATHAWAY" <JSJAHATH-+AT+-future.judson.edu>
  2) Re: lifebound-lovebond/storm breaking spoiler
	by "JAIME HATHAWAY" <JSJAHATH-+AT+-future.judson.edu>
  3) The enemy of my enemy...
	by Melanie Dymond Harper <mel>
  4) High Priestess/music/SB spoilerette/Firebird
	by undine <stafford-+AT+-iac.net>
  5) Wyrsa/Wicca/Adventures in Cross-Dressing.  .  .
	by Jefferson or Rain <macstager-+AT+-earthlink.net>
  6) Re: Witches/Circles/deer
	by Wintershard <peallen-+AT+-naz.edu>
  7) Re: High Priestess/music/SB spoilerette/Firebird
	by Ken Hyde <kenny-+AT+-UDel.Edu>
  8) Tempest Fugit/Diane Duane/Crossdressing
	by Mat the Cat in Green <mtimme47-+AT+-magic.hofstra.edu>
  9) Re: The enemy of my enemy...
	by Nina M Ehgartner <nme848-+AT+-hecky.acns.nwu.edu>
 10) Re: BDAYS/deer
	by Ken Hyde <kenny-+AT+-UDel.Edu>
 11) Re: Tempest Fugit/Crossdressing
	by Jefferson or Rain <macstager-+AT+-earthlink.net>
 12) Re: Pure fluff: High Priestess/Heyla newbies/personality types
	by "Jenna Wilson" <jenna-+AT+-SIMCL.STJOHNS.EDU>
 13) So many CD's!
	by Charlene Joan Falkiner <ad655-+AT+-sfn.saskatoon.sk.ca>
 14) MW and Geometry
	by dsarik-+AT+-PO-Box.McGill.CA
 15) Re: BDAYS/deer
	by dsarik-+AT+-PO-Box.McGill.CA
 16) SB - Florian
	by Lynne Markova <lynne-+AT+-seaccd.sccd.ctc.edu>
 17) Re: Diane Duane/Circles
	by "Katherine M. Brielmaier" <Katherine.M.Brielmaier-1-+AT+-tc.umn.edu>
 18) Re: Diane Duane/Circles
	by Sean <herewiss-+AT+-leland.stanford.edu>
 19) Re: Circles
	by dsarik-+AT+-PO-Box.McGill.CA

----------------------------------------------------------------------

Date:          Fri, 1 Nov 1996 10:16:13 CST
From: "JAIME HATHAWAY" <JSJAHATH-+AT+-future.judson.edu>
To: mercedes-lackey-+AT+-herald.co.uk
Subject: Re: BDAYS/deer
Message-ID: <14AEF63A45-+AT+-future.judson.edu>

Circles are just lines that are connected at their ends in "circular 
shapes."  The intersection of two lines is a point.  The intersection 
of two PLANES is a line..so if they were two spheres intersecting, 
they would intersect at two lines.  However, they are two circles, so 
if you were to draw two circles intersecting, you would draw it like 
the double-wedding-band style of quilt you see (does that make 
sense?), or like only two of the olympic rings that intersect.  If 
you can picture that, you can see that they intersect at two points.   
Yes, those two points do lie on the same vertical axis, but, no, they 
do not form a line.  You could, however, "connect the dots" and make 
a straight line from them if you chose, but because circles are only 
two dimensional--lines--their intersections are points, not lines.
I hope this makes sense.
Jacquelle

Oh, very clever, Worf.  Eat any good books lately?
--Q

------------------------------

Date:          Fri, 1 Nov 1996 10:21:05 CST
From: "JAIME HATHAWAY" <JSJAHATH-+AT+-future.judson.edu>
To: mercedes-lackey-+AT+-herald.co.uk
Subject: Re: lifebound-lovebond/storm breaking spoiler
Message-ID: <14C40F5615-+AT+-future.judson.edu>

I always thought that the Keren/Sherril/Ylsa thing would be a triple-
lifebond between the three, that maybe Keren would have a lifebond 
with both Sherril and Ylsa, which would tie them together, or maybe 
even Ylsa and Sherril would lifebond as well. (that really would be 
rare, I guess, with all of them having lifebonds to two people.)


------------------------------

Date: Fri, 1 Nov 1996 16:51:53 GMT
From: Melanie Dymond Harper <mel>
To: mercedes-lackey-+AT+-herald.co.uk
Subject: The enemy of my enemy...
Message-ID: <199611011651.QAA01237-+AT+-vanyel.herald.co.uk>

I've been racking my brains for large chunks of today, and I wouldn't be too
surprised to find that the quote about "the enemy of my enemy is my friend"
was from Sun Tzu's _Art of War_. (Good book, BTW; recommended reading for
roleplayers and so forth :))

_Firebird_ is a fairly well-known Russian story, indeed; see at least one
ballet and my favourite reference for Russian stories, Arthur Ransome's
_Old Peter's Russian Tales_. (Yes, same chap who wrote _Swallows and 
Amazons_ -- and I expect now that I'll have lots of people telling me they've
never heard of either book, sigh.)

Mel

------------------------------

Date: Fri, 1 Nov 1996 12:04:24 -0500 (EST)
From: undine <stafford-+AT+-iac.net>
To: mlist lackey <mercedes-lackey-+AT+-herald.co.uk>
Subject: High Priestess/music/SB spoilerette/Firebird
Message-ID: <Pine.SUN.3.91.961025133952.10200A-100000-+AT+-little-miami.iac.net>


Re worshippers: Ha, I already have one, my High Priestess Stormcloud. And 
she didn't even Ask about Benefits, 'though I do remember mentioning 
something about buff altar boys and chocolate...*weg*

Lady Becky, my High Priestess is also the Mistress of Hot Caffeinated 
Beverages.
 ***********

Nightshade mentioned Loreena McKennitt's holiday EP; it's called A Winter
Garden: Five Songs for the Season.  Has Coventry Carol, God Rest Ye Merry,
Gentlemen, Good King Wenceslas, Snow and Seeds of Love on it. Gorgeous as
always!! BTW, where's LM's website that you mentioned? 

I was playing LM's Mask & the Mirror in my bookstore and someone asked me 
if it was Tori Amos. Thankfully he wasn't offended by my laughter (I 
couldn't help it) and actually bought the cd. A convert! Now if I can 
convince him to read Misty...
 ***********************

Heather, perhaps I was a bit harsh about Wicked. I did enjoy parts of it. 
It's just that once I finished it, I kept thinking, "So...."
But the whole concept of a story explaining the Wicked Witch is quite 
intriguing and full of potential. Now if only someone would write it...:)
Have you read Was by Geoff Ryman?

Sandy, Gregory Maguire wrote Wicked. Let me know what you think if you 
read it.
********************************

For all of you MZB fans, looks like she's going to have (what I'm assuming
is) a sequel to _Exile's Song_ called _The Shadow Matrix_. Due out in the
spring of 97.
**************************

Spoilerette
p
o
i
l
e
r
e
t
t
e
..
..
..
..
..
..
..
..
SB p141 An'desha is thinking, "Karal looked better than he had in days 
and An'desha wondered if that was all due to the work of the Shin'a'in 
Healer, or if the avatars had a hand in it. He suspected the latter, and 
not for the first time wondered what the link between Vkandis and the 
Shin'a'in Goddess was. The avatars seemed quite drawn to Karal, and he to 
them."  Since Misty usually isn't subtle about upcoming plot twists (like 
Companions as reincarnated Heralds), do you think this means that in the 
next Valdemar book she's going to reveal that Kalenal and Vkandis 
are/were Consorts? Will she work in the Twins from Need's time? 
Why do you think the avatars were drawn to Karal? Altra didn't seem 
particularly interested in any of the Goddess Sworn. 



********** End of Spoilerette***********************







Cele, I think I mentioned the Barlowe book in my last post. I don't 
particularly care for his work so I wasn't much impressed by his 
depiction of Kero, Mort, Chuz or any other character that I recognized. 
*sigh* I want a big book of Thomas Canty or Jody Lee illustrations like 
Michael Whelan had a few years ago.
***************************

Don't forget when you're wishing for Misty to fill in gaps that the Valdemar
anthology is due out in a couple of months. Maybe some of the writers 
wanted the same gaps filled in that we do. Anyone know any of the other 
writers besides Mark Sherman? 
********************************

Welcome to the madne-ah-fun, Rainwood! I've read Tanith Lee's Silver 
Metal Lover but must admit that it's not one of my favorites. I liked her 
Flat Earth series and The Birthgrave much better.

You can take the Myers Briggs test at 
http://sunsite.unc.edu/personality/keirsey.html
**********************************************

Frank Herbert fans beware! The Dune books have been optioned again- this 
time to be filmed as a miniseries. Let's hope that it's better than the 
movie!

Paramount just optioned the film rights to Bunnicula. What's not to like 
about a vampire bunny? ;>
************************
A couple of somebodies mentioned the much adored Pterry (Terry 
Pratchett): Currently in the US, most of his books are sadly out of 
print. :(  Although I (in my bookstore queen mode) do have access to UK 
imports if anyone is interested.
********************************

>From my December order form, " _Firebird_ by Mercedes Lackey. A young 
nobleman, who has glimpsed the legendary, enchanted Firebird as it steals 
cherries from his father's orchard, is banished from his homeland. He 
journeys through a fantastical version of Old Russia, solving magical 
mazes and befriending a talking fox, before falling in love--with the 
Firebird herself, an enchanted maiden who has been waiting for true love 
to break the spell that holds her captive."
******************************

WTTW,
Undine
Bibliomancer to the LotPW
stafford-+AT+-iac.net

"A classic is something that everybody wants to have read and nobody 
wants to read." Mark Twain











------------------------------

Date: Fri, 01 Nov 1996 11:02:57 -0800
From: Jefferson or Rain <macstager-+AT+-earthlink.net>
To: mercedes-lackey-+AT+-herald.co.uk
Subject: Wyrsa/Wicca/Adventures in Cross-Dressing.  .  .
Message-ID: <327A4961.4FB8-+AT+-earthlink.net>

Hi there everyone! A good Dia De Los Muertos to you all - and I hope
that your Samhain-eve was joyous one!  May your ancestors go gentle.  . 
..

You'll have to forgive this - whilst I can "reply" to a message, I can't
figure out what y'all are doing when you BRAID several messages
together. I will send a jewel encrusted gold-plated chocolate sheep to
the first person who can explain it to me.  At any rate, I am just
taking notes, and then doing one message this time.

Wyrsa - p. 269 of SG - Tad says "One of the old Adepts before Ma'ar made
things like this to mimic kyree, and called them wyrsa.  .  .they
couldn't be controlled and got loose from him"  Which leads me to
believe that perhaps the only thing Ma'ar created were the makaar.  I am
fairly sure that kyree, hertasi, tervardi and the like were actually
pre-Urtho, pre Mage-war, etc.  (If you remember Keth telling the
Shin'a'in children about Gervase the Lizard Wizard, did anyone ever put
that particular hertasi into a timeline pre or post mage war?)

Wicca - I am a Solitary, Jaiook.  I'm also raising 2 kids into the
Craft, which can be a challenge.  Anyone else doing this?  I'd love to
chat off list: macstager-+AT+-earthlink.net

Adventures in Cross Dressing, or Why the Scots lost the War.  .  .

may i preface this by saying i am as celto-centric as they come - gaelig
go bragh!  I've noticed a bit of chat about Matt and cross-dressing.  I
tried this last night - I kilted up for the very first time!   I'm not
talking a little victorian buckle-on number, either, but the 9-yard
pleat-it-yourself variety.  I've seen my husband do this countless
times, in the dark, and blind with a hangover from the day before. 
You'd think I'd have figured it out by now.  All I can say, is that I
know why the Scots lost the war.  All these burly highlanders were too
busy running around muttering "ah woonder eff mah pleats ehr
straight?".  My hat is off to anyone who does this on a regular basis.
Send me a diagram.

Blessed be - hoping-to-be the Patron Goddess of Sushi Bars Worldwide. .
..

rainwood

PS - did anyone catch Bab5 last night?  Are there any other unrepentant
Bab5 fans out there?  What an awesome episode.  .  .

------------------------------

Date: Fri, 1 Nov 1996 13:14:35 -0500 (EST)
From: Wintershard <peallen-+AT+-naz.edu>
To: mercedes-lackey-+AT+-herald.co.uk
Subject: Re: Witches/Circles/deer
Message-ID: <Pine.ULT.3.95.961101125704.26895B-100000-+AT+-orion.naz.edu>

I'm testing the waters right now about Wicca, Jaiook. I haven't been able
to read that much, but Kimberdoodly is guiding me along a few steps.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Deniz wrote:
>You know what I've always had trouble with?  I've been having 
>problems visualizing that explanation of the magestorms in SW or SR where 
>they're talking about the two circles' intersections being two points.

OK, I'll try this one. When the mage energy exploded from Urtho's tower
and Ma'ar's palace, they did so in a circular fashion, like when you drop
a pebble in water and get ripples. Now, getting into scince some, each
wave has two parts: the crest and the trough(?). When two waves meet each
other, the attributes of each are added to momentarily create a new wave.
If a crest meets a crest, the wave is bigger, if a trough meets a trough,
the wave is smaller, and when a crest meets a trough, they nullify each
other. Now, getting back to Velgarth, the waves of energy are more like
ripples, or rings, than circles. That's how there are only two points
where they meet.
---------------------------------------------------------------------
A lot of people have said that they'd rather have a deer shot than have it
die of starvation. I agree. What I meant by 'dying of natural causes' was
to have them die of old age or the like. This is what they could do if you
neutered them instead of shooting them. I hope I cleared that up some.

Still bedazzled and confused himself,
Wintershard
(hoping to be) God of Subtlety, Discreetness, and Crappy Weather

Your eyes are weary from staring at the terminal. You feel sleepy. Notice
how restful it is to watch the cursor blink. Close your eyes. The opinions
stated above are yours. You cannot imagine why you ever felt otherwise.


------------------------------

Date: Fri, 1 Nov 1996 13:40:35 -0500 (EST)
From: Ken Hyde <kenny-+AT+-UDel.Edu>
To: mercedes-lackey-+AT+-herald.co.uk
Subject: Re: High Priestess/music/SB spoilerette/Firebird
Message-ID: <Pine.SOL.3.95.961101133802.8099E-100000-+AT+-copland.udel.edu>

On Fri, 1 Nov 1996, undine wrote:

> Nightshade mentioned Loreena McKennitt's holiday EP; it's called A Winter
> Garden: Five Songs for the Season.  Has Coventry Carol, God Rest Ye Merry,
> Gentlemen, Good King Wenceslas, Snow and Seeds of Love on it. Gorgeous as
> always!! BTW, where's LM's website that you mentioned? 

For any who are interested, go to my website (see below for URL) and look
under the heading of music.  There is a link to the Loreena page.  It has
been recently updated and has all of her albums, with some absolutely
gorgeous album art, plus an advert for her new video compilation.

Enjoy!

May the seas be your solace and the forests a refuge for your spirit,

Cennydd,

Kenneth Allen Hyde     |  No matter how subtle the wizard, a knife
Univ. of Delaware      |  between the shoulder blades will seriously
Dept. of Linguistics   |  cramp his style  -- Old Jhereg proverb
kenny-+AT+-Udel.Edu         |  A mind is a terrible toy to waste! -- Me

**http://www.udel.edu/kenny/ken.html or .../kenny/green.silences.html**



------------------------------

Date: Fri, 1 Nov 1996 14:05:23 -0500 (EST)
From: Mat the Cat in Green <mtimme47-+AT+-magic.hofstra.edu>
To: Mercedes Lackey mailing list <mercedes-lackey-+AT+-herald.co.uk>
Subject: Tempest Fugit/Diane Duane/Crossdressing
Message-ID: <Pine.SGI.3.93.961101135849.13126E-100000-+AT+-magic.hofstra.edu>

> From: Emily L Cartier <ecartier-+AT+-engr.udayton.edu>
> 
> Oh joy, now I know what kind of books I'm waiting for! Thank you Mat.
> Some of these sound interesting (especially _Tempus_Fugit_). Any 

Actually, it's _Tempest Fugit_, starring the celtic rock band, Tempest.

> PS Is anyone else waiting REALLY impatiently for Diane Duane's _A 
> Wizard Abroad_ to be published in the US? 

Hehe.  Some of us have already read it, even though we live in the US. :)
I got it from Future Fantasy, http://futfan.com .  What I can't wait
for is for her to finish _The Cats of Grand Central_.  According to 
the list of upcomming books on her homepage, there are going to be
a lot more Young Wizards books.  Goody! :)

Oh, and in case you didn't know, you can also get Abroad from the 
SciFi bookclub.  And the first three books are being rereleased in
America now.  Saw SYWtBaW the other day at B. Daltons.

============================================================================
> From: Jefferson or Rain <macstager-+AT+-earthlink.net>

> go bragh!  I've noticed a bit of chat about Matt and cross-dressing.  I
> tried this last night - I kilted up for the very first time!   I'm not

Well, it wasn't a kilt that Firemist was proposing.  It was an emerald
Japanese-ish evening gown, with really indecent slits up  the side.
Wouldn't want to give the Ladies conniptions..... :)


Mat
Cat Person, Champion in Green,     |"Won't you come, join, dance in the
Adept, God of Procrastination      | circle? The voices will make your
Heathen #???, and OoUL/L of tLotPW | heart yearn.  To please come, join,
mtimme47-+AT+-magic.hofstra.edu         | dance in the circle, but know that
http://ada.hofstra.edu/~mtimme47/  | you'll never return." -- HA


------------------------------

Date: Fri, 1 Nov 1996 13:23:13 -0600 (CST)
From: Nina M Ehgartner <nme848-+AT+-hecky.acns.nwu.edu>
To: mercedes-lackey-+AT+-herald.co.uk
Subject: Re: The enemy of my enemy...
Message-ID: <Pine.HPP.3.93.961101131749.12379D-100000-+AT+-hecky.acns.nwu.edu>

On Fri, 1 Nov 1996, Melanie Dymond Harper wrote:

> I've been racking my brains for large chunks of today, and I wouldn't be too
> surprised to find that the quote about "the enemy of my enemy is my friend"
> was from Sun Tzu's _Art of War_. (Good book, BTW; recommended reading for
> roleplayers and so forth :))
> 

_Art of War_ is one incredible book.  I read it some time ago, so I can't
remember if that quote was included.  All I know is that Monty Python
quotes have been heard with alarming frequency (if such a thing is
possible) in my office.  

ObMisty:  in reference to _Owlflight_, I'm glad Misty is going to do more
with the Hawkbrothers.  Whoever mentioned that it had something to do with
Wintermoon might have some (latent) psychc abilities...

Nina
Northwestern University
J.L. Kellogg Graduate School of Management
 


------------------------------

Date: Fri, 1 Nov 1996 15:41:27 -0500 (EST)
From: Ken Hyde <kenny-+AT+-UDel.Edu>
To: mercedes-lackey-+AT+-herald.co.uk
Subject: Re: BDAYS/deer
Message-ID: <Pine.SOL.3.95.961101150818.8099H-100000-+AT+-copland.udel.edu>

On Fri, 1 Nov 1996 dsarik-+AT+-PO-Box.McGill.CA wrote:

> ObMisty: You know what I've always had trouble with?  I've been having 
> problems visualizing that explanation of the magestorms in SW or SR where 
> they're talking about the two circles' intersections being two points.  
> Correct me if I'm wrong, but isn't the locus of the points in common between 
> two sets of concentric circles with fixed radii a line (plane) that is the 
> perpendicular bisector of (orthagonal to) the segment joining the radii of the 
> two circles instead of two pts? (Yeppers, can you tell Geometry was one of my 
> favorite topics?  Makes a lot more sense than Calculus).  Help me out, please? 

Okay, well, first of all, remember that Misty is not an engineer or a
physics theorist.  There are so many problems with this model, in terms of
wave theory, it isn't even funny.  However, just to start with Deniz'
objection:

Take a piece of paper and select two points A and B to define a line <AB> 
containing a segment AB. Now, divide the segment AB into 8 equal segments,
with points labeled C through I:

	A  C  D  E  F  G  H  I  B
     <--|--|--|--|--|--|--|--|--|-->

Now, using a compass, draw a series of circles centered around A, with
each circle including one (and only one) of the other points.  This gives
you your first series of concentric circles.  Now draw the second series,
centered on B, also with each circle including one (and only one) of each
of the other points.  

The first thing that you will notice is that there are more than one
intersection points.  You will also notic that no single line describes 
the distribution of all of the intersection points.  However, there is a
non-random (in fact, very regular) distribution that could be described
with a mathematical model (I can't do it myself, but I recognize that it
is possible).

Okay.  Now for some other problems.  I am going to treat this as a fluid
wave problem, since that is the model that Misty seems to prefer.  Someone
(and I am afraid I can't remember who) on the list mentioned the fact that
fluid waves (and other types) have one of three typical phenomena when
they intersect.  If they intersect on the peaks, they create an augmented
wave (a much higher than normal peak).  If they intersect at the trough,
they create a depressed wave (a much lower than normal trough).  Finally,
if a peak intersects with a trough, they cancel each other out and create
an equilibrium.  However, this is a much simplified model since it is also
possible for the waves to intersect at any point in the wave form,
creating a variable effect.  

A final little problem to throw in to this is that, unlike the "circle on
a page" model, wave-forms are continuous.  If the circles are the peaks,
then we have to remember that there are also values to be found between
the peaks.  

If you put all this together what you get is an effect that is nothing
like the effect in the Mage Storms.  Try it with a pool of standing water.
Drop two marbles into the water and watch the effect.  It certainly cannot
be described as calm and still except for a few agitated points where the
"ripples" intersect.  The entire surface of the water becomes displaced by
the waveform.  

Anyway, I leae the exact details up to the mathemeticians and physicists,
but I have to say that I just don't think that the model that Misty
proposes really would bear up well under close scrutiny. 

May the seas be your solace and the forests a refuge for your spirit,

Cennydd,

Kenneth Allen Hyde     |  No matter how subtle the wizard, a knife
Univ. of Delaware      |  between the shoulder blades will seriously
Dept. of Linguistics   |  cramp his style  -- Old Jhereg proverb
kenny-+AT+-Udel.Edu         |  A mind is a terrible toy to waste! -- Me

**http://www.udel.edu/kenny/ken.html or .../kenny/green.silences.html**


------------------------------

Date: Fri, 01 Nov 1996 13:38:36 -0800
From: Jefferson or Rain <macstager-+AT+-earthlink.net>
To: mercedes-lackey-+AT+-herald.co.uk
Subject: Re: Tempest Fugit/Crossdressing
Message-ID: <327A6DDC.2D3D-+AT+-earthlink.net>

Mat the Cat in Green wrote:
 
> Actually, it's _Tempest Fugit_, starring the celtic rock band, Tempest.
>
I have to say here, I am not really a huge Tempest fan.  I like the live
shows, but I acquired a real distaste for Leif Sorbye a few years back. 
The man has a monumental ego - and it is really unfortunate because some
of his Golden Bough stuff, and the early Tipsyhouse was really
wonderful. If you ever get a chance to see them live, go for it.
(Tempest that is) And who knows, perhaps his ego has mellowed with
time.  I can't wait to see what the book is like - I've enjoyed Misty's
*real world* stuff immensely.

> > From: Jefferson or Rain <macstager-+AT+-earthlink.net>
> 
> > go bragh!  I've noticed a bit of chat about Matt and cross-dressing.  I
> > tried this last night - I kilted up for the very first time!   I'm not
> 
> Well, it wasn't a kilt that Firemist was proposing.  It was an emerald
> Japanese-ish evening gown, with really indecent slits up  the side.
> Wouldn't want to give the Ladies conniptions..... :)

I don't know Mat.  An emerald green evening gown sounds really
spectacular - and most of the ladies I know don't mind conniptions when
it's all in the name of good, clean, fun.  Besides dear, it wouldn't be
cross-dressing for you to kilt up.  And trust me, shaych, straight or
whatever, nothing turns heads like a guy in full highland fling.

obMisty time: are the new fairy-tales she's doing sortof a compilation
book, or are we talking several long, delightfully new-smelling,
crisp-paged full on books here?  Not that I am greedy mind you, but I do
love the smell and feel of a new book, and when it is one of Misty's my
life is truly complete!

peace mo' bruthair,

rainwood

------------------------------

Date: Fri, 1 Nov 1996 12:39:51 EST
From: "Jenna Wilson" <jenna-+AT+-SIMCL.STJOHNS.EDU>
To: mercedes-lackey-+AT+-herald.co.uk
Subject: Re: Pure fluff: High Priestess/Heyla newbies/personality types
Message-ID: <2844DDE3FAF-+AT+-SIMCL.STJOHNS.EDU>

Yes, I AM still alive!  And I have a wicked craving for vegetarian 
sushi, for some strange reason!
***************************************************************
In the holy words of my goddess, the omniscient Undine:
> Re worshippers: Ha, I already have one, my High Priestess Stormcloud. And 
> she didn't even Ask about Benefits, 'though I do remember mentioning 
> something about buff altar boys and chocolate...*weg*
> 
> Lady Becky, my High Priestess is also the Mistress of Hot Caffeinated 
> Beverages.

And I've been so out of it lately that I just deleted 300+ unread 
list messages, said the hell with it all, and decided to come out of 
lurkerdom and start anew.  For all the newbies that don't know me, my 
name is Jenna, High Priestess of the Omniscient Undine. *grin*   Also 
known as Stormcloud k'Treva shena Vyusher'edras (Undine, he is very 
upset at being called a Priestess, my lady! *g* :).  Benefits?  I get 
benefits?  Coolness!  I all want is a certain silly serving boy.... 
*WEG*
***************************************************************
My boyfriend and I took the personality test a long time ago.  If I 
remember correctly, I am an INFP and he is an INFJ.  Close enough for 
me! :)
***************************************************************

Later all!


------------------------------

Date: Fri, 1 Nov 1996 15:35:56 -0600 (CST)
From: Charlene Joan Falkiner <ad655-+AT+-sfn.saskatoon.sk.ca>
To: mercedes-lackey-+AT+-herald.co.uk
Subject: So many CD's!
Message-ID: <Pine.LNX.3.91.961101153401.29249A-100000-+AT+-broadway.sfn.saskatoon.sk.ca>

Hi.

After joining the list, I heard about the CD;s you could get to go along 
with Mistie's books.  I hadn't know before.  Anyway, I was just looking 
through the Firebird catalog, and I can't decide which one I'd want.  
What does the list think is the best to start iwth?  I'm leaning toward 
Shadow Lover (I think that's the name) because LHM is my favourite (so 
far) Mistie book.  Whatcha think?


Char
{ad655-+AT+-sfn.saskatoon.sk.ca}

***I fall upon the thorns of life***
***I bleed***
---Percy Shelley---
:):):):)


------------------------------

Date: Fri, 01 Nov 96 16:39:43 -0500
From: dsarik-+AT+-PO-Box.McGill.CA
To: mercedes-lackey-+AT+-herald.co.uk
Subject: MW and Geometry
Message-ID: <199611012150.QAA26998-+AT+-sirocco.CC.McGill.CA>

IF YOU DON'T WANT TO READ TECHNICAL JARGON ABOUT THOSE DAMN CIRCLES, SKIP THIS 
POST.  DON'T DELETE IT, THOUGH.  YOU MIGHT WANT TO IMPRESS SOMEONE WITH JUST 
HOW OBSESSED AND NITPICKY PEOPLE CAN BECOME.

Emily said:
>>Those "circles" are the visible expression of a pair of magical waves 
interfering with each other, just like light "waves". If you want to 
see it in real life, get a dark room, a light bulb (very small), and 
some poster board. Use one piece of poster board as a screen. Take 
the other piece and put 2 SMALL pinprick size holes in it a little 
way apart. Then turn on the light bulb so that the only light that 
falls on the screen comes from those two holes. Voila, you have an 
interferance (sp?) pattern.<<
Tried it.  Tried it varying distance between pin-pricks, from bulb to 
pinhole-board, from pinhole-board to wall, and anything else I could think of. 
 I got two circles of light where the centers were and the standard 
diffraction splashes off to the sides.

      (((((((      (((((     (((   *  *   )))     )))))     )))))))

Like that.  I don't think that helps me.

Then Jacquelle said:
>>The intersection of two lines is a point.  The intersection 
of two PLANES is a line..so if they were two spheres intersecting, 
they would intersect at two lines.<<

First problem.  Two spheres of *fixed* radii (r (let's assume for convenience 
sake that they have the same radius)) whose centers are a distance (d) apart 
from one another, intersect at either: nothing (d > 2r) , a point (d = 2r), 
and a *circle* (d < 2r).  If the circles radii aren't equal, you still get the 
same possible results, the math's just a little more complicated.
But aren't these waves *expanding* (r is increasing, a variable not a 
constant)????  If so, then at first, when 2r < d, then they don't intersect, 
then when 2r = d, they intersect at a point (midpoint of segment joining 
centers), and then when 2r > d, they intersect in a circle whose center is the 
midpoint of the segment joining the two centers and to whom said segment is 
normal, and with a radius of (r^2 - (.5d)^2)^.5 (Pythagorian), and that as r 
continues to increase, all these circles and the point from before form a 
*plane* which passes through the midpoint of the segment joining the centers 
and to whom said segment is normal.

Translation:  If the spheres aren't expanding, they intersect in a) nothing; 
b) a point; c) a circle.
If the spheres are expanding, they intersect in all of these, which combine to 
give us a *plane*.

>>However, they are two circles, so if you were to draw two circles 
intersecting, you would draw it like the double-wedding-band style of quilt 
you see (does that make sense?), or like only two of the olympic rings that 
intersect.  If you can picture that, you can see that they intersect at two 
points.<<

If these circles weren't expanding, that would make a ton of sense.  But even 
then, how do we know how big these circles are?
I'm assuming that, like waves, they expand outward, thus implying that these 
two points keep moving farther and farther apart forming, you guessed it, a 
*line*.

Then Wintershard tackled with:
>>Now, getting into scince some, each wave has two parts: the crest and the 
trough(?). When two waves meet each other, the attributes of each are added to 
momentarily create a new wave.  If a crest meets a crest, the wave is bigger, 
if a trough meets a trough, the wave is smaller, and when a crest meets a 
trough, they nullify each other. Now, getting back to Velgarth, the waves of 
energy are more like ripples, or rings, than circles. That's how there are 
only two points where they meet.<<

Okay, but wouldn't these points be moving outward as the waves expand?
If these waves are in phase (crest together, trough together), then along that 
line you would get a supercrest running up and down symetrically followed by a 
supertrough followed by a supercrest . . . and you get the picture.  All these 
super high or low things would actually (to get really technical), not only 
occur along the perpendicular bisector, but would also occur along a number of 
hyperbolas (the number depending on distance between the points, and speed of 
the waves, mostly).

If these waves are out of phase (one crests while the other troughs), then 
that perpendicular bisector and all those hyperbolas from before would all be 
neutralized *but* the neutral space from before would now be hyperbolas of 
alternating super-troughs and super-crests.

Okay, let me put it this way.  Were these rings expanding or no?  If no, how 
did they decide how big they would be and that defies all laws of Physics I 
know, but it *would* explain only two points as opposed to nothing, one point, 
or a line.  If yes, even if it was only one wave that exploded from each 
radius, the troughs would still meet along the *whole flippin' line* that I 
mentioned before, throughout the expansion with the most strength at the 
midpoint of the segment I keep harpin' about, and with diminishing strength 
along the line, expanding outward.  Diminishing energy due to entropy, air 
resistance (or would that be magic resistance/friction?), and the 
psuedo-electro-magnetic forces of the pools, poles, ley lines, nodes, 
heartstones, etc. of magic already in the environment (psuedo-electro-magnetic 
because Misty's always had magic work like electricity.  It's something she 
understands well.)

Ooo, my Physics teacher would be so proud.  Actually, could someone e-mail me 
privately the textevd explanation of the phenomenon so I could check the 
wording again and ask my profs?

love,
deniz sarikaya, High Priestess |I was a brassbound Idealist in those days.
of Procrastination and Holy    |If you are an Idealist it does not matter
Custodian of the B-Day List.   |what you do or what goes on around you
Confused?  Write me!           |because it isn't real anyway.
                 dsarik-+AT+-PO-Box.McGill.CA    -- Robert Penn Warren

------------------------------

Date: Fri, 01 Nov 96 16:49:17 -0500
From: dsarik-+AT+-PO-Box.McGill.CA
To: mercedes-lackey-+AT+-herald.co.uk
Subject: Re: BDAYS/deer
Message-ID: <199611012158.QAA28398-+AT+-sirocco.CC.McGill.CA>

Cennydd said, after I had already sent my post proclaiming the intricacies of 
my argument,:
>>Okay, well, first of all, remember that Misty is not an engineer or a
physics theorist.  There are so many problems with this model, in terms of
wave theory, it isn't even funny.<<

I agree with the so many problems whole-heartedly.  Also (I *wish wish wish* I 
had the book I found this on with me), I seem to recall reading on the jacket 
of one of her books that she was an electrical engineer? and that was why her 
magic works like electricity.

love,
deniz sarikaya, High Priestess |I was a brassbound Idealist in those days.
of Procrastination and Holy    |If you are an Idealist it does not matter
Custodian of the B-Day List.   |what you do or what goes on around you
Confused?  Write me!           |because it isn't real anyway.
                 dsarik-+AT+-PO-Box.McGill.CA    -- Robert Penn Warren

------------------------------

Date: Fri, 1 Nov 1996 14:21:00 -0800 (PST)
From: Lynne Markova <lynne-+AT+-seaccd.sccd.ctc.edu>
To: mercedes-lackey-+AT+-herald.co.uk
Subject: SB - Florian
Message-ID: <Pine.HPP.3.94.961101135707.22069A-100000-+AT+-seaccd.sccd.ctc.edu>

Lady Sophia sings "Happy Birthday" in three octaves simultaneously to
those with November birthdays, and offers them magical CDs, which
automatically plays whatever they want to hear.

I just reread Storm Breaking last night, so here goes:





SPOILERS





MORE SPOILERS





STILL MORE SPOILERS






Okay, that should do it.  At the end of Storm Breaking, when Florian is
discussing the choices that everyone is going to make, Karal looks at him,
and thinks "Well, I know what choice he's going to make" and makes a
mental note to look for a young Herald in about fifteen or so years, but
to remember that he - the young Herald - isn't going to remember any of
this.  I still wonder what choices everyone else made...  

One thing has me confused, (well, one thing about Storm Breaking, anyway).
Altra says something along the lines of "only those without physical forms
survived the shielding" or something like that.  But Altra *has* physical
form - he has to eat and sleep and so on, so why wasn't he annihilated?
Need I can understand - but what about Dawnfire and Tre'valen?  Why are
they now restricted to just the Moonpaths?  (And did anyone wonder what
important events the Avatars have to "go attend to?"  What do Avatars do
when they're not counseling An'desha).

Other than that, it was a good book.  The sections with Melles were pretty
boring, but it's kind of refreshing to see a Misty-villian who isn't
automatically sexually depraved, and who isn't going to go completely
insane with revenge.  What I wonder is....  if Solaris and Tremane are
going to get together... and if so, how in the world are they going to
manage it?  (Who's going to commute?)  And Tremane is going to need to get
married, or at least have children, or produce some sort of Heir for the
throne of Hardorn?

I do wish we would see more of Selanay and Talia - two characters I've
really enjoyed.  And Karal (despite all of his protestations of being
"just" ordinary?) is now going to be Head of the Temple outside of Karse?
How is he going to cope with all of the politics?  I also thought he did
have mindspeech - or, at least, "enough of a mage gift to light candle."
Is this just another example of Misty changing her mind in midstream?

Wishing everyone a Happy Samhain, All Saints, or just a Friday,

Lady Sophia, trilling away
Goddess of Music and Song

PS  Those of you who are voter-eligible, please remember to vote, either
next Tuesday, if you are American, or whenever your elections take place!
The only way for democracy to work is for people to participate!

(Apologies to the Lady Listmistress for the off-topic post - do
Valdemarans get to vote for anything, I wonder?  (descending from
soapbox))


------------------------------

Date: Fri, 1 Nov 96 17:57:51 CST
From: "Katherine M. Brielmaier" <Katherine.M.Brielmaier-1-+AT+-tc.umn.edu>
To: mercedes-lackey-+AT+-herald.co.uk
Subject: Re: Diane Duane/Circles
Message-ID: <75540.brie0030-+AT+-gold.tc.umn.edu>

On Fri, 1 Nov 1996 19:28:04 GMT, 
Mat the Cat in Green  <mtimme47-+AT+-magic.hofstra.edu> wrote:

>> From: Emily L Cartier <ecartier-+AT+-engr.udayton.edu>
>> 
>> PS Is anyone else waiting REALLY impatiently for Diane Duane's _A 
>> Wizard Abroad_ to be published in the US? 
>Hehe.  Some of us have already read it, even though we live in the US. :)
>I got it from Future Fantasy, http://futfan.com .  What I can't wait
>for is for her to finish _The Cats of Grand Central_.  According to 
>the list of upcomming books on her homepage, there are going to be
>a lot more Young Wizards books.  Goody! :)
>
>Oh, and in case you didn't know, you can also get Abroad from the 
>SciFi bookclub.  And the first three books are being rereleased in
>America now.  Saw SYWtBaW the other day at B. Daltons.

Yup Yup!  Actually, Cats of Grand Central is done and about to be published 
this spring (I think in the U.S., too!).  According to Ms Duane (who 
actually answered my question!  Feature that!) Cats is more about Carl than 
about Nita and Kit--I guess they appear in this one the way Tom & Carl do 
in the other books....that's ok, she says Wizard's Dilemma is going to be 
spiffy-neato!

Also, the English version and the American versions of Wizard Abroad are 
different--not just the usual British-English/American-English stuff, but 
(sometimes) large pieces have been added to the U.S. version.  Why do they 
always do that?!??!

Can't wait can't wait can't wait!!!!!

RE: Celtic type things....
Owning up as another Celtic fanatic....in fact, I'm planning on getting my 
post-grad degree in Celtic Studies (trying to get to Ireland to do it, too, 
as soon as I can get it worked out).

ObMisty:  Frankly, all you people working on "those damn circles" impress 
the hell out of me.  You also scare me, but that's because once I got done 
with my math and science requirements I burned my textbooks and never 
looked back.  OK, maybe I missed this when I fell into a daze while reading 
the posts on the geometry, but where is that other circle-producing area?  
I do know there have to be two centers, so where's the other one?  Please 
clear up my ignorance!  And if it's already been out there for some time 
and I missed it, just e-mail me privately and smack me....on the back of 
the head with a board!

's e do bheatha, 

Kaatje
(Who! really! likes! exclamation! points! today!)!!

There I am in younger days, star gazing,
Painting picture perfect maps of how my life and love would be
Not counting the unmarked paths of misdirection
My compass, faith in love's perfection
I missed ten million miles of road I should have seen
                                         --Indigo Girls

------------------------------

Date: Fri, 1 Nov 1996 14:59:09 -0800 (PST)
From: Sean <herewiss-+AT+-leland.stanford.edu>
To: mercedes-lackey-+AT+-herald.co.uk
Subject: Re: Diane Duane/Circles
Message-ID: <199611012259.OAA11164-+AT+-popserver4.Stanford.EDU>


>Yup Yup!  Actually, Cats of Grand Central is done and about to be published 
>this spring (I think in the U.S., too!).  According to Ms Duane (who 
>actually answered my question!  Feature that!) Cats is more about Carl than 
>about Nita and Kit--I guess they appear in this one the way Tom & Carl do 
>in the other books....that's ok, she says Wizard's Dilemma is going to be 
>spiffy-neato!


The one after next is going to be about Carl?  That might be very
interesting.  Does anyone else wonder if Tom & Carl are shaych?  It is never
stated but I sort of got that impression.  What I want  to know is when it
the last book in the Tale of the Five coming out!?!?!  I've been dying to
get it since the last book. (big surprise since my username is Herewiss!)
Anyone heard anything about this?

obMisty:  Fire elementals never fall in love with humans in Misty's books
(all right it's a little silly but it was all that I can think of right now!)

herewiss-+AT+-leland.stanford.edu
"I am the creature of the wood, forsaken in my solitude.  My song is
pleasure and is pain, my song can drive a man insane.  So come with me my
pipes I'll play and we will dance to break of day."

Creature of the Wood-Heather Alexander-Life's Flame



------------------------------

Date: Fri, 01 Nov 96 17:55:05 -0500
From: dsarik-+AT+-PO-Box.McGill.CA
To: mercedes-lackey-+AT+-herald.co.uk
Subject: Re: Circles
Message-ID: <199611012304.SAA17093-+AT+-sirocco.CC.McGill.CA>

Kaatje said:
>>OK, maybe I missed this when I fell into a daze while reading 
the posts on the geometry, but where is that other circle-producing area?  
I do know there have to be two centers, so where's the other one?  Please 
clear up my ignorance!  And if it's already been out there for some time 
and I missed it, just e-mail me privately and smack me....on the back of 
the head with a board!<<

The two centers are Urtho's tower and Ma'ar's tower, because those were the 
two places where many magical bonds and such were snipped all of a sudden and 
went KABOOM! (I get a little silly when I've just finished spouting geometrese 
out my a**) Now, they're known as the Dorisha Plains and Lake Evendim (I don't 
know which is which).

You fell into a daze reading the geometry?  Really?  Cool.  It worked.  Maybe 
I still have a chance of becoming a hypnotist.

love,
deniz sarikaya, High Priestess |I was a brassbound Idealist in those days.
of Procrastination and Holy    |If you are an Idealist it does not matter
Custodian of the B-Day List.   |what you do or what goes on around you
Confused?  Write me!           |because it isn't real anyway.
                 dsarik-+AT+-PO-Box.McGill.CA    -- Robert Penn Warren

------------------------------

End of MERCEDES-LACKEY Digest 914
*********************************