MERCEDES-LACKEY Digest 1054

Topics covered in this issue include:

  1) Companions, Elspeth, and magic
	by Lydia Hales <psu07362-+AT+-odin.cc.pdx.edu>
  2) meat
	by "Emily L Cartier" <ecartier-+AT+-engr.udayton.edu>
  3) Re: Authors
	by anderbdm-+AT+-juno.com (Dawn L. Anderson)
  4) return!!!
	by "David Morgan" <thefireheart-+AT+-hotmail.com>
  5) Braid: Oodles of Noodles and other kewl stuff. =)
	by Ken Hyde <kenny-+AT+-UDel.Edu>
  6) BRAID: Authors/ Rolan/ music
	by rozanm-+AT+-juno.com (Rozanna J. McNeer)
  7) Re: Casting Swordspoint & the Elspeth question
	by "Seanna" <SKOULU-+AT+-otdk.helsinki.fi>
  8) Re: Elizabeth moon
	by DAVID MAGINNIS <maginnis-+AT+-netcomuk.co.uk>
  9) grumbling
	by Liseth-+AT+-aol.com
 10) hurdgurdy
	by vrondi-+AT+-juno.com (Chrys A Dean)
 11) Tom Cruise / Music / Companions' Origin / A Grazing Mace / Movie / LIG ROLL CALL
	by Shdwflt-+AT+-aol.com
 12) EatN / Tell people about XX / Quick notes.
	by Shdwflt-+AT+-aol.com

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

Date: Fri, 10 Jan 1997 08:54:17 -0800 (PST)
From: Lydia Hales <psu07362-+AT+-odin.cc.pdx.edu>
To: mercedes-lackey-+AT+-herald.co.uk
Subject: Companions, Elspeth, and magic
Message-ID: <Pine.PTX.3.95.970110084309.26531C-100000-+AT+-odin.cc.pdx.edu>

On the topic of Companions/ Elspeth- Brat debate- I thought of two things
right before I went to bed last night.

1. In WoF, it is mentioned that Kero gave Elspeth a Clan token to identify
her when she got to the Plains?  Why?  If Elspeth were to go to Jendar(?),
then she wouldn't need a token.  But her mission was to find mage(s), get
training(if needed), and then
return to Valdemar.  Obviously, someone thought to plan ahead, tinking
that Elspeth may need to go elsewhere.  Also, there is mention of one
Tayledras-trained Adept (Vanyel), another Herald-mage ally (Savil), and,
if this was included, Tayledras coming to Valdemar to aid Herald Vanyel.
Kero knew that the Shin'a'in did not practice magic, and may have known
that the Hawkbrothers did, and that was where Mage-gifted Shin'a'in went
if they didn't want to be a Shaman.  So Kero may have planned for that
possibility.  PLus, remember who Kero's Companion was/is?  So, was Sayvil
putting her hooves into it, to get Elspeth to the Hawkbrothers? (Knowing
full well how stubborn Elspeth was, and the likely reaction when she found
out she was being herded).

2.  I think that Rolan was being manipulative/using Taila when he "made
her forget" that Gwena is Grove-born.  He messed with his Chosen's mind
for no real reason.  He stole from her, said harshly, raped her mind.  Any
thoughts?

Lydia


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

Date: Fri, 10 Jan 1997 12:06:12 -0500
From: "Emily L Cartier" <ecartier-+AT+-engr.udayton.edu>
To: mercedes-lackey-+AT+-herald.co.uk
Subject: meat
Message-ID: <9701101710.AA02074-+AT+-udecc.engr.udayton.edu>

Robbie said:
>Uh, sorry to let you know that unless a restuarant
>has 100% pure beef on the menu, it is probably
>horse meat. (Grew up in SouthWest and know about
>the growing of beef and where it is/is not used).
Are you sure that that practice would be legal? They generally tell 
you that it is beef/chicken/pork, and I rather think that truth in 
advertising would apply. Now I would be willing to believe that 
restaurants would serve horsemeat, but they'd prolly call it 
something else, and all the USDA requirements would apply (the 
problem with eating cats and dogs is that they aren't inspected...).

Just thinking about it makes me glad I don't eat much meat...

ObMisty, I need an ObMisty... Hmm. I think I'm fresh out of 
inspiration. Wait... Do they have soy sauce in Velgarth? (Yes, there 
is a logical connection between meat and soy sauce) Do they have 
_ginger_? That might be enough to make me willing to live there... 
Even if I did have to catch my own chicken <g>. I have a Family recipe 
that requires chicken, soy sauce, and ginger... Bout the only meat I eat 
these days... Cause it works even better on catfish!

Emily the invisible


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

Date: Fri, 10 Jan 1997 12:17:29 EST
From: anderbdm-+AT+-juno.com (Dawn L. Anderson)
To: mercedes-lackey-+AT+-herald.co.uk
Subject: Re: Authors
Message-ID: <19970110.111659.27726.1.anderbdm-+AT+-juno.com>

Hi David
I have read Elizabeth Moon's Paks series and I loved it.  I hope that she
writes more set in that world.
Dawn


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

Date: 10 Jan 1997 19:47:14 -0000
From: "David Morgan" <thefireheart-+AT+-hotmail.com>
To: mercedes-lackey-+AT+-herald.co.uk
Subject: return!!!
Message-ID: <19970110194714.1880.qmail-+AT+-hotmail.com>

Fireheart is back!!! and hopefully not leaving for a long long time!!! I've lost
foreshadow... but it was all for the better.

Fireheart
God of new homes
Owner of the eternal housewarming gift
Giver of the perpetual Contact Paper

P.S. I've gotten 2 new homes since then!! hehe


---------------------------------------------------------
Get Your *Web-Based* Free Email at http://www.hotmail.com
---------------------------------------------------------

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

Date: Fri, 10 Jan 1997 15:53:33 -0500 (EST)
From: Ken Hyde <kenny-+AT+-UDel.Edu>
To: Misty Lackey List <mercedes-lackey-+AT+-vanyel.herald.co.uk>
Subject: Braid: Oodles of Noodles and other kewl stuff. =)
Message-ID: <Pine.SOL.3.95.970110145218.29519D-100000-+AT+-copland.udel.edu>

Granny Weatherwax =P wrote:

> Erm, 'scuse me Mr. Liguists sir, but what the devil is a British accent? 
> Now mebbe you mean english, or received english, like what the BBC
> people speak. *Never*, *ever* accuse someone from Scotland or Wales or
> Ireland or Yorshire, or Liverpool, (or ....... I could go on for a long
> time here) of having a British accent. The more rabid will thump you,
> and the rest refuse to speak to you for ever more. Me? Dyed in the wool
> southerner, with fairly natty received english, with traces of London
> and Thames Valley.

Esme, sweetie, darling!  When I say "British" accent, I mean any of the
many accents from the islands of Great Britain.  No, I do not mean RP (I
am having this unbearably funny image of a grunge rock band screaming
"Scuzzbucket for Nantucket" in RP *grin*).  There is a constellation of
accents which are identifiable as "British" in the same way that there is
a constellation of accents that are identifiable as "Southern" in America.
And yes, I know that there is a difference between Estuarine English,
Liverpudlian, Manchester, Cockney, Norwich, Scots, Irish, etc.  Just like
there is a big difference between Georgian (Smoky Mountain), Georgian
(Coastal), Alabaman, Texan, Okie, Arkansan, etc. in Southern English.
Most of the American groups that I know of that use a British accent for
rock music pick one of the working class accents from Liverpool or
Manchester (the latter seems to be prefered).  Or they sort of adopt a
generic working class accent that combines features of several different
regions.  


> I'm going off these Companions you know. A bit Big Brother'ish aren't 
> they? This is the best way, so you will do it - and anyone who rebels
> just gets a bit of brain work. Brrr!

Well, I don't remember them using their power indiscriminately.  Also, you
must remember that whatever they are, they are also agents of the gods of
Velgarth.  If you accept that the gods know what they are doing (instead
of playing with lives of mortals and using loaded dice), then it follows
that the Companions have mandate to use their power and the justification
that what they are doing is the "right thing."  It is sort of like
believing in angels as the messengers of God and inherently good.  If you
are part of that faith, then it follows that there is nothing wrong with
an angel removing "problematic" memories from your mind: they are good,
and their actions are right (have a divine mandate).  Of course, if you
don't accept those premises, then angels and Companions are highly
suspect. =)(

> in there, but all we actually *know* is that Gwenna, Grove Born and pain
> in the butt extrodinaire, had not been human before. That don't mean
> none of the others weren't. 

This is just a quick fiddly little question, but does it actually say that
she has not been human before, or merely that she is "very new"?  I can't
remember, and I don't have that book (it is back with my Mom, who owns
it).

-----EOM/BOM

Then Jerry said:

> True - but there's a serious lack of Dead Heralds for the original batch
> of companions... not that that would rule out recruiting sympathetic
> corpses, though :-)

Oh la, sir!  What a fiendishly clever sense of humor you have. =)  I am
imagining a bunch of divine Jehovah's Witnesses going from graveyard to
graveyard, knocking on headstones and asking the inhabitants, "Have you
considered your fate in the next life?  Would you like to read our
colorful and informative pamphlets on the subject?"  *giggling madly*

-----EOM/BOM

Then Jaquelle said:

> Wait a sec....I distinctly remember in AotQ at Talia's orientation 
> session, and someone correct me if I'm wrong, that Teren went out of 
> his way to dispel the myth of the glorious death.  He told them to 
> forget all the stories they had heard as kids of Heralds and how all 
> the songs were sung about them, because in reality, most Heralds died 
> young. [snip] and then told them that if they wanted out, no one would
> blame them one bit.

And I am sure that they all believed that....Not! =)  I think that what
Heather was highlighting (and I agree that it seems to be present) is the
institutional support for the myth of the "glorious death."  The Heralds
were glorified (and within ranks respected and adulated) for their
self-sacrifice.  In addition, the Bards and minstrels and historians and
novelists, etc. all perpetuated the idea of the "glorious death."  I don't
think that taking a teen-ager and telling them that a cultural thema that
has been a part of their thinking since infancy is not true is going to
have much effect.  Look at it this way: if you take a group of teens (and
lets say that they are smart ones who will be able to really evaluate and
think about a message) in America (or almost any other RL culture) and
tell them that smoking is not glamorous and that it can kill you, and you
show them all the figures and even put up some color slides of cancerous
lungs, etc., how many of them do you think will really think that smoking
is not glamorous?  Some (a very few) might decide not to take up smoking.
But realistically, even those will probably still retain the old "smoking=
glamour" equation.  It is only over a long time with a large-scale
intervention that a society can really start to change these kind of
themas.  In the US, today, there are many people who are raised to feel
that smoking is unattractive and unhealthy, but none of those people came
to their viewpoint from a single lecture.

-----EOM/BOM

Then, ma chere Redcap wrote:


> Here comes Mel the Redcap, happily bouncing along wearing her late
> Christmas present - knee-high, pointy-toed, stilletto-heeled, lace-up
> shiny black boots! Wahey! <ggg>

Hubba, hubba.  I am most impressed, ma chere.  I am sure that they are
most monstrous to wear (walking in cowboy boot heels is bad enough), but
they sound deliciously fierce looking and I have always said, "Style is
everything!"  

> *giggle* and here's another suggestion from Max:
> 	BTW: for the movie; RuPaul in whiteface for Firesong. <WEG,

Oh, you betta work, girlfriend!  BTW, has "Snapshot" made it to Oz yet?
Miss RuPaul is looking mighty real!  Or her lovely show on VH1?  She
interviewed Iman the other day and it was wonderful.  As my friend Tash
said, "Well, I guess two queens can share the same stage." =)

Seriously, it might be interesting to have a drag queen play Firesong.
Admittedly, he is male (so the cross-gender drag wouldn't be necessary),
but Firesong is definitely a major queen, and his very stylized clothing
does count as "drag."

-----EOM/BOM

Then Lee wrote:

> I've heard this theory before, but it seems to allow one to say, "Oh,
> he's not really gay, he just has a woman inside him."  I don't know if
> I'm making any sense--I'm trying to suggest that a soul could be
> homosexual.

I agree.  In RL, without bringing the soul into it, there is a distinction
between transgendered persons and gay/lesbian persons.  A transgendered
person is someone who feels that their gender identity is different from
their physiological sex.  They may attempt to have sex-reassignment
surgery or they may choose to express their transgendering in another way
(cross-dressing, etc.)  A gay man, or lesbian, is not the result of a
gender/sex mismatch.  For example, I am quite content with being male.  I
am not gay because I am a woman in a man's body.  I am gay because I am a
man in a man's body who likes other men (and their bodies, of course
<weg>).  

> I often think _Swordspoint_ would make a great movie, but then I keep
> having Horrific Visions of what the screenplay would do to all those
> wonderful dialogues...<shudder> Stallone as St.Vier?  <shudder harder>
> Richard couldn't possibly be built like the Italian Stallion

Why not!?  Please?????  Actually, the biggest problem would be that
Stallone just doesn't have the speed for St-Vier.  But oh my God!  He is
luscious eye-candy.  BTW, did anyone see "Oscar"?  I know the critics
hated it, but I was taking a French Rennaissance Theatre class at the time
it came out, and I loved it.  It is an almost perfectly classical
"comedie" of the Moliere type.  And Stallone was hilarious (in an
intentional way).  He probably could handle the dialogue in SP just fine.

BTW, thanks for all the accent citations.  I knew there were some.  I
think Lee put her finger on it though, when she asked if they were social
dialects, rather than regional.  I think that most of them (with the
possible exception of Keren and Sherrill) are socio-economic dialects.
The convo between the stable-hand and Van is a good example, since they
are both from the same local area, but speak different dialects.  That
suggests that the difference is not geographical.


Oh, and a final note.  On Godhood.  If you are looking for promotion to a
Godhead, please let me know. So far I have 2 requests, and I don't want to
post a Naming for just two people.  I am hoping there will be one or two
more applications, and then I will post a naming.  However, if such is not
forthcoming, I will braid in the individual Namings in later posts
(probably next week or so).


 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, 10 Jan 1997 17:16:24 EST
From: rozanm-+AT+-juno.com (Rozanna J. McNeer)
To: mercedes-lackey-+AT+-herald.co.uk
Subject: BRAID: Authors/ Rolan/ music
Message-ID: <19970110.161704.12102.0.rozanm-+AT+-juno.com>

Dawn wrote:
>I have read Elizabeth Moon's Paks series and I loved it.  I hope that 
>she writes more set in that world.

Good news; she did. There's the story Legacy of Gird and its
sequel which is something Lies something. :frowns 
confuzzledly: or maybe it was the two-in-one trade paper back
that's called the Legacy of Gird.... gah. anyway, there are 2
more out there set in Paks' world, and some sci-fi --
notably the Sassinak and other space pirate novels
she co-authored with Anne McCaffrey and Hunting Party
which is v-e-r-y good and has a sequel which I can't
find (pout).

***************
Lydia said:
> I think that Rolan was being manipulative/using Taila when he "made
>her forget" that Gwena is Grove-born.  He messed with his Chosen's mind
>for no real reason.  He stole from her, said harshly, raped her mind. 
Any
>thoughts?

I couldn't really understand why he did that either, other than the
fact that the Grove-born are so special and very rare. Gwena being
Grove-born meant something of import was going to happen,
and happen to Elspeth, which a ~regular~ Companion couldn't 
handle. Wouldn't that knwoledge have made them cosset and 
smother Elspeth even more? Anymore cosseting and she may not
have completed her missions in Winds successfully. . .  Maybe
that was why. . . 

comments?

******************
someone asked:
> I was wondering, is there textev in any of the
> books talking about different styles of music in Velgarth?? I know it
> was basically folk but in different regions folk is described in a
> slightly different way from others, like rock, we have alternative,
> classic rock, heavy metal, soft rock, etc etc. 

well, in BTS Kero mentions how sick she is of having to listen
to the Ride every time the Valdemarans discovered she was
*that* Kero. I believe there were mentions of a man accopmanied
by a "hurdy-gurdy" (what the hell is that? Sophia, Goddess of
Music, please enlighten me!), and some religious sorpranos
who acted like it was a dialogue between the maiden and
the crone.
in "Sword Sworn" (the infamous short story in S&S3 which *I*
have and am never getting rid of! nyah-nyah <g>), Tarma's
uncle is performing a sword-dance to some heavy drums,
then asks her to sing. and all the prayers of the shin'a'in have
to be sung. 
in arrows when Talia, Kris and Dirk go to the revel there
are ballads (Sun& Shadow) and dancing reels

there may be some other stuff, but that's all I can remember
off the top of my head.
  

/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/
Firemist                                           rozanm-+AT+-juno.com
Lore-Mistress of the Cat People
Goddess of Made From Scratch Foods
Bower Denizen




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

Date:          Sat, 11 Jan 1997 01:01:13 EET 
From: "Seanna" <SKOULU-+AT+-otdk.helsinki.fi>
To: mercedes-lackey-+AT+-herald.co.uk
Subject: Re: Casting Swordspoint & the Elspeth question
Message-ID: <10F037071EB-+AT+-otdk.helsinki.fi>

Khrysa wrote, quoting me (Seanna):
 
> << YECH! He's a scientologist. And in spite of his background, refuses 
>  to do shaych roles. etc etc. No nay never, Tom Cruise must never be 
>  permitted to ruin any Valdemar movie (not that there will be any, 
>  but..:) >>
> 
> 
> When Tom play Lesant in ,"Interview with a Vampire" Lesant was shaych.
> Movie down played that part, but in book it was prevelent.

Exactly.. the reason the screen-play excluded all of the books shaych 
scenes was because TC wanted it that way. Don't have any references 
right now, but I could try to find them if it's important. <shrug>

I think it's a pity, really. I rather liked the book (Oooh! 
Blasphemy! <grin>) and the movie wasn't that good.



HTH, eloquent as usual, about Elspeth in Winds:

>  If you can't hack it, the only
> honorable thing to do is to resign your commission, as it were, on the
> grounds that you are unable to perform your duties.  If Elspeth were
> going to walk out, I think she really should have *walked out.*

Not that I necessarily disagree... but can a Herald resign? Can you 
survive with a broken C-H bond for the rest of your life (yes, I know 
MOHs are a special case)?

There seems to be something morbid and unhealthy about the idea of 
dead people (or divine spirits) coming back to rule over the current 
generation with an iron hoof, so very holier-than-thou. What ever 
happened to the concept of free will?

Well, yes, I agree with your reasoning that Elspeth was being bratty, 
but I'd say there was something wrong with the way she was forced 
into that situation. That, probably, disturbs me more about the Winds 
books than the transformation Elspeth underwent (from a pretty, 
lively, social child into a plain, arrogant woman).


-Seanna aka Sanna Koulu 

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

Date: Fri, 10 Jan 1997 23:46:58 +0000
From: DAVID MAGINNIS <maginnis-+AT+-netcomuk.co.uk>
To: mercedes-lackey-+AT+-herald.co.uk
Subject: Re: Elizabeth moon
Message-ID: <32D6D4F2.230E-+AT+-netcomuk.co.uk>

DAVID MAGINNIS wrote:
> 
> Hi Dawn,
>         I just thought I'd let you know that Elizabeth Moon has more
> books in the pipeline.I don't know if you have read her books about Gird
> before he became a favoured servant of the High Lord , but she is
> writing another one in that series about his daughter Rahel( it does'nt
> have a title yet ).Another book she is writing is about Duke/King Kieri
> Artfiel Phelan , The man Paks restored to the throne of Lyonya .It tell
> his life story from when he was ambushed in the forest with his mother
> up to the sheepfarmers daughter book,This is also untitled.
> 
>                        Yours,
>                              David

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

Date: Fri, 10 Jan 1997 19:09:00 -0500 (EST)
From: Liseth-+AT+-aol.com
To: mercedes-lackey-+AT+-herald.co.uk
Subject: grumbling
Message-ID: <970110185015_1622982588-+AT+-emout01.mail.aol.com>

I could swear I'm writing to myself.  I say something, nobody responds to it,
and soon I find that someone else has said almost the same thing, but not as
indepth.  <sigh> I 'spose I'll have to live with it.

Liseth

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

Date: Fri, 10 Jan 1997 20:18:11 est
From: vrondi-+AT+-juno.com (Chrys A Dean)
To: mercedes-lackey-+AT+-herald.co.uk
Subject: hurdgurdy
Message-ID: <19970110.201814.8303.10.vrondi-+AT+-juno.com>

Firemist asked:
> I believe there were mentions of a man accopmanied
> by a "hurdy-gurdy" (what the hell is that?

A hurdy-Gurdy, which I have actually seen pictures of, and listened to a
recording of) was/is a Mideval instrument that sort of looked like a
fiddle with a crank on the end.  instead of movinf a bow across the
strings to make sound(like a violin), you turned the crank, and a wheel
covered with rosin on the _inside_ of the thing turned against the
strings to make the sound.  and instead of just pressing your fingers on
the strings to make different notes, you pressed buttons on the top which
pressed down the strings on the inside of the thing.  Weird little
contraption!  Sounds like a cat being skint too.
-Vrondi
"We really only need two things in life:
Duct tape to make things stop,
and WD-40 to make them go again."
http://edweb.concord.wvnet.edu/~deanca/book

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

Date: Sat, 11 Jan 1997 11:05:16 -0500 (EST)
From: Shdwflt-+AT+-aol.com
To: mercedes-lackey-+AT+-herald.co.uk
Subject: Tom Cruise / Music / Companions' Origin / A Grazing Mace / Movie / LIG ROLL CALL
Message-ID: <970111110516_1276065776-+AT+-emout17.mail.aol.com>

Kawry wrote (about Tom Cruise): 

<<If he's prejudice against saych roles, that's his business and not ours to
judge him. He's not going out and hurting anyone as far as I know. So why
must we be prejudiced against him?>>

Who's prejudiced?  All I see are indications of dissatisfaction.  

Technically, he hurt Anne Rice's story for the Interview With The Vampire
movie because he refused to play the correct role.  And a lot of Anne Rice's
fans that I know in New York think that she "sold out" of sorts to get the
movie made.. giving them a lower opinion of her work.  I think THAT'S hurting
people.  It hurt the fans, and it hurt Anne Rice.  If he didn't want to play
a homosexual role, then he really shouldn't have took one.

=====

Lee wrote:

<<[M]usic with a beat, while not Valdemaran, would not necessarily mess up
the story.>>

Hey, if they can do fighting to techno music (Mortal Kombat comes to mind)
why couldn't they use that for the fight scenes in the movie? *grin* I have
this image of one of those huge battle scenes from .. from one of the books
.. being done like that.. 

=====

Liseth wrote:

<<Kaitlyn asked vaguely about Valdemar praying in order to get the
Companions.
 As I recall, he prayed to all the gods he could remember the names of.
 Someone come up with the textevd on that one (books-+AT+-somewhere else).>>

Semi text evidence from THE ARROWS OF THE QUEEN CONCORDANCE.

"In King Valdemar's era, there was grave convern for the future of the realm:
how could a just, incorruptible government be ensured?  Seeking out the Grove
near his Palace complex, the King called upon every magical resource he
possessed and prayed to every divinity that he knew for aid.  In response, a
creature resembling a pure-white, blue-eyed horse appeared from the woods and
announced that it had Chosen the King, to henceforth be his constant guide
and assistant..."

Here it says MAGICAL and DIVINE.  Perhaps the unique combination of the two
... created the Companions?

=====

Part of Jake's .sig:
> A grazing mace, how sweet the sound, that felled my foe for me /
> I bashed his head, he struck the ground, and thus came victory...

Our dear Lady Sophia responded:
<<<g> Jake, you are a sick, sick puppy.... and I love it! <g> More, more!>>

This is not my song.  A Grazing Mace is from the SCA.. here's the copy of the
text I have.  It's available.. *thinking* from Ioseph of Locksley's home
page, from The Black Book of Locksley.  I can't remember the URL, but Ioseph
is an extremely talented bard from the Kingdom of Atenveldt (*thinking* I
think) (for you mundanes, he's from Arizona).  Here's the text.

                    A GRAZING MACE
                            -Anonymous
                    tune: "Amazing Grace"
         verses 1-5 by Skald-Brandr Toralfsson
         verse 6 is the original anonymous creation
         verse 7 from the HOPSFA Hymnal 3rd Edition

 A grazing mace, how sweet the sound, that felled my foe for me
 I bashed his head, he struck the ground, and thus came victory

 My mace has taught my foes to fear, that mace my fear relieved
 How precious did my mace appear, when I my mace received

 Through many tourneys wars and fairs, I have already come
 My mace has brought me safe thus far, my mace will bring me home

 The King has promised good to me, his word my hope secures
 I will his shield and weapon be, when he gives me my spurs

 And when my mace my foeman nails, that mortal strife shall cease
 And we'll possess within our pale, a life of joy and peace

 A grazing mace, how sweet the sound that flattened a wretch like thee!
 whose head is flat, that once was round; done in by my mace....and me!

 A grazing mace, how sweet the sound that smites a foe like thee
 You're left there lying on the ground, you've left the field to me!

=====

Someone wrote:
<< Is this film idea real or just for fun?.I would of thought if Adrian Paul
is Starwind,then Stan Kirch (also in Highlander) could be Skif. Everyone has
also been casting the good parts,what about the evil ones like Mornlithe
Falconsbane,Ancar or Hulda?>>

Yeah, it's being released with the Wheel Of Time film. *grin* Or should I say
series of about 87 films (unabridged version.)  

=====

Dave Tiffany wrote:

<<#) Organizations. These come in several flavors, mage war related (Ones in
Black, Ladies in Green, Men in White, Cat People) or just evolved out of our
general, urhm, enthusiasm (Order of Amber & Marigold, Ladies of the Pink
Wand) and have leaders who can admit you. HtH for OoA&M, Undine for
LotPW...>>

*grin* Being one of the few Members in Green (all right.  House Bard and
Champion. Ken's the other Champion..) I can tell you that Lady Tammy is our
leader, but she's having problems with online access at work (damned lab
assistants! Hogging the computer! *giggle*) so, in the absence of any
complaints, I will forward petitions to her offlist. *grin* Who else is in
the LIG? *thinking* Lady 'Reesa.. oh dear.  I think we're going to have to
have a roll call.  Reservist Ladies in Green, please let me know who you are
so I can make up some sort of list.  Thanks.

Blessed Be

Jake

--

Jake Adamo (Shdwflt-+AT+-aol.com)

Mercedes Lackey Informational FAQ Administrator
Vice-President, Staten Island Science Fiction and Fantasy 
     Association (SISFFA)
(SISFFA unofficial motto: "Your Rules Don't Apply Here")

"It's like moving Beverly Hills 90210 to a trailer park!"
-- Dilbert on _Voyager_

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

Date: Sat, 11 Jan 1997 11:57:13 -0500 (EST)
From: Shdwflt-+AT+-aol.com
To: mercedes-lackey-+AT+-herald.co.uk
Subject: EatN / Tell people about XX / Quick notes.
Message-ID: <970111115712_844865728-+AT+-emout06.mail.aol.com>

Yes!  It's my day off! I guess I SHOULD be going to the Post Office and
mailing those gifts (Tammy, Arielle.. be patient with me! *grin*) but it's
a-snowin', and there's digests to be a readin'...

Myles wrote: 
<<EatN [The Eagle and the Nightingale] was kind of weird.  Nightingale and
T'fyrr?  I'm being a speciesist but it's just a little weird.  Guess Misty
was trying to say that non-humans are the same as humans.>> 

You know, that bugged me too.  I don't know.  It just seemed like.. like
beastiality or something.  I found those scenes awkward and strange.

<< Is it worth getting A Cast of Corbies?  LatW was definitely the best, but
the whole series is a little trite and juvenile.  It didn't capture me as
much as the Velgarth stuff.  Maybe it's just not my type.>>

I liked A Cast Of Corbies.. then again, I liked the whole series itself.
 Then again, I liked The Bard's Tale series also, so what do I know? *giggle*
I'm just attracted to hack fiction, I suppose ... (putting down his copy of
Xena: Warrior Princess --- The Hunrtess and the Sphinx)

=====

Jerry  C. wrote:
<<That's right - "Tell/Warn people about XXXX" messages go on for _Years_!!!
(if not decades - and I wouldn't bet against centuries, either... :-) )>>

*leafing through my copy of The Tragedy of Romeo and Juliet (By Wiliam
Shakespeare with one L.. the unknown twin of the famous Bard)* Zounds!  He's
right!  Look:

JULIET
What man art thou, that, thus bescreen'd in night, 
So stumblest on my counsel?

ROMEO
By a name I know not how to tell thee who I am;
My name is hateful; but, I hast come
To warn you of a plot so dire
It may bring sweet death to us both.

JULIET
Zounds! Nay, it can not be so!

ROMEO
Indeed I speak of the Virus of Goodly Tyme;
Beware...

And in the same book:

JULIET
Romeo, Romeo!  Where fore ART thou, Romeo?

ROMEO
I am busy writing a Goode Healthe card to Craig Shergold; for he is in great
need of them.


Whoa. :)

=====

Quick notes:

- On the "Grove born might be human" thread: I looked in the Arrows of the
Queen Concordance and it says that Grove Born means "not conceived by natural
means but suddenly appearing, as if by magic, fully adult, within the Grove
of Companion's field."  

- On the "Becoming a Herald" thread: I don't know.  I think, for some of the
reluctant people, it's like a brainwashing of sorts.  Like a.. a cult.
 "Here's a nice life, a good friend for the rest of your life.. there's just
this one small technicality here.  Nothing big at all.." And remember (if
Valdemar is working like the Middle Ages) children who wanted work had to
apprentice.. then journeyman.. finally Master status.  The Collegium is five
years long... much shorter than the regular apprenticeship.  And better pay.
 And benefits. Hey, if I was in that position and was offered a life like
that.. forget it.  I might actually take it.

- On the horses thread: To other cultures, horse meat (even dog and cat meat,
to be brutally honest) are foodstuffs and even delicacies.  Mel wasn't
kidding.  Sure, there's jokes about it up here, but it is a practice.  It may
be repulsive to some, (and I'm sorry Robbie, but I don't believe you about
this horse meat thing happening all over in restaurants.  Some, perhaps..)
but it's reality.  And to be honest, the original thread.. doesn't move me.
 I even re read it.. twice.  Nothing. *shrug* Don't assume it'll be of the
whole list's interest.  I don't, and I send all the iffy stuff I want to post
to Mel first. 

Burn brightly,

Jake.

--

Jake Adamo (Shdwflt-+AT+-aol.com)

Mercedes Lackey Informational FAQ Administrator
Vice-President, SISFFA
(SISFFA unofficial motto: "Your Rules Don't Apply Here") 

"It's like moving Beverly Hills 90210 to a trailer park!" -- Dilbert on
_Voyager_


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

End of MERCEDES-LACKEY Digest 1054
**********************************