{ "export": { "source": "https://urth.darkrealm.vip/thread/urth/350", "note": "Exported from an unofficial mirror of a public mailing list. Copyright in each message remains with the person who wrote it. Email addresses are obscured as `user at host`, the form the original archive published. This file was rebuilt from parsed fields rather than retained headers, so it is faithful in content but not byte-exact.", "addresses": "obscured as 'user at host'" }, "archive": "urth", "thread": { "id": 350, "subject": "Geography of Urth; GW's Author list; Disclave", "messages": 3, "voices": 3, "first": "1998-02-05T21:21:51+00:00", "last": "1998-02-09T08:16:31+00:00" }, "messages": [ { "message_id": "", "from": { "name": "David_Lebling", "address": "david_lebling at avid.com" }, "date": "1998-02-05T21:21:51+00:00", "subject": "(urth) Geography of Urth; GW's Author list; Disclave", "in_reply_to": null, "reply_link": null, "blocks": [ { "kind": "text", "depth": 0, "text": "Tony Ellis:\n\nI can do the C word! In _Citadel_, ch. 37, Severian sees for the first\ntime a river or stream flowing north and east. \"All streams, in my\nprevious experience, ran south or southwest...\" I recall something more\nexplicit, but can't find it right now. In any case it is clear that the\ncontinental divide runs from northwest to southeast, not north-south\nright at the coast as it does in our South America.\n\nOn the question of whether evolution stops when civilization is\nachieved; I doubt it. If you buy into \"puntuated equilibrium,\" you will\nsee that species go through long periods with nothing much happening,\nthen a rapid burst of evolution, and so on. Taking care of the sick and\nweak may effect somewhat the distribution of certain genes, but others\ncan spread through humanity in a surprisingly short time. Evolution\nrequires differential reproductive rates for different genetic makeups;\nthe fallacy that that means the sick and weak have to die off is just\nthat, a fallacy.\n\nThe polychrome sand isn't where you suggested (I just looked), but it's\nsomewhere, because I remember it distinctly, too...\n\nNutria:\n\nI've read _The Deep_, which I found very enigmatic at the time. A\nrereading might shed more light. I think _Engine Summer_ is the most\nWolfean and (dare I say it?) accessible of Crowley's books.\n\nVance has had plenty of airing here, so I don't think there's much need\nto discuss him. Powers is one of my favorites, too. His most recent,\n_Earthquake Weather_, is the culmination of a (fairly loose) trilogy. I\npersonally like _The Stress of Her Regard_ and _The Anubis Gates_ best,\nalthough _Last Call_ (book one of the recent trilogy) is pretty good,\ntoo.\n\nPowers has been compared to Leiber, and there's some justice in that. I\nwas about to say his books are darker, but they aren't (only the Fafhrd\nand Gray Mouser stuff of Leiber's is really light in tone). He does\npretty creepy contempory and semi-contemporary fantasy better than\nanyone. The legend of the Fisher King is a recurring theme.\n\nThe only Park I've read is _Celestis_, and I couldn't get beyond the\n\"call a rabbit a smerp\" aspect of it as a post-colonial novel. Maybe\nI'll try some of his other stuff.\n\nTerry Bisson also wrote _Pirates of the Universe_, which was recently\nissued as a trade pb. It's great; funny, touching, beautifully written.\nI liked it much better than \"Bears Discover Fire.\" On the other hand,\n_St. Leibowitz and the Wild Horse Woman_ is, I think, only for those who\nloved _Canticle for Leibowitz_ (which I did); it's very slow going. I\ndon't know how much of it is Bisson's and how much is Miller's. The\nintent is the same, in that both are about individuals finding their\nfaith, but while this is only part of _Canticle_, it is almost all of\n_St. Leibowitz_.\n\nalga,\n\nDisclave: Wow, what a great idea. I don't know if I have any chance of\nmaking it, but if I don't I'd love to read the transcript!\n\nCRCulver:\n\nNew Sun: It's worse than that, because it's also stated that other\nautarchs than Ymar and Appian(?) considered taking the test, but feared\nthat the Ascians would benefit more from a New Sun than the\nCommonwealth, and hence demurred. But then, stating that the\nConciliator will rise again as the New Sun doesn't necessarily imply\nthat someone else can't have a hand in bringing it.\n\n -viz\n (david_lebling at avid.com)" } ] }, { "message_id": "", "from": { "name": "Joshua A. Solomon", "address": "j.solomon at ucl.ac.uk" }, "date": "1998-02-06T13:12:04+00:00", "subject": "Re: (urth) Geography of Urth; GW's Author list; Disclave", "in_reply_to": "", "reply_link": "subject", "blocks": [ { "kind": "quote", "depth": 1, "text": "David_Lebling at avid.com wrote:\n\nI can do the C word! In _Citadel_, ch. 37, Severian sees for the first\ntime a river or stream flowing north and east. \"All streams, in my\nprevious experience, ran south or southwest...\" I recall something more\nexplicit, but can't find it right now. In any case it is clear that the\ncontinental divide runs from northwest to southeast, not north-south\nright at the coast as it does in our South America." }, { "kind": "text", "depth": 0, "text": "Don't all the rivers in the delta region of Buenos Aires run\nsouth or southwest?\n\nbee" }, { "kind": "sig", "depth": 0, "text": "Joshua A. Solomon\nInstitute of Ophthalmology\nBath Street\nLondon EC1V 9EL\nVoice: (44) 171 608 6924\nFax: (44) 171 608 6846\nj.solomon at ucl.ac.uk\nhttp://vision.arc.nasa.gov/personnel/jsolomon" } ] }, { "message_id": "", "from": { "name": "Michael Straight", "address": "straight at email.unc.edu" }, "date": "1998-02-09T08:16:31+00:00", "subject": "Re: (urth) Geography of Urth; GW's Author list; Disclave", "in_reply_to": "", "reply_link": "subject", "blocks": [ { "kind": "quote", "depth": 1, "text": "On Fri, 6 Feb 1998, Joshua A. Solomon wrote:\nDavid_Lebling at avid.com wrote:" }, { "kind": "quote", "depth": 2, "text": "I can do the C word! In _Citadel_, ch. 37, Severian sees for the first\ntime a river or stream flowing north and east. \"All streams, in my\nprevious experience, ran south or southwest...\" I recall something more\nexplicit, but can't find it right now. In any case it is clear that the\ncontinental divide runs from northwest to southeast, not north-south\nright at the coast as it does in our South America." }, { "kind": "quote", "depth": 1, "text": "Don't all the rivers in the delta region of Buenos Aires run\nsouth or southwest?" }, { "kind": "text", "depth": 0, "text": "How often does the earth's magnetic polarity reverse? Often enough to\nhave happened between our time and Severian's? Do you think Severian's\n\"North\" is magnetic North or \"true\" North?\n\n-Rostrum" } ] } ] }