Stynky Tudor Posted January 28 Posted January 28 On 1/25/2025 at 11:35 PM, Mary Diamond said: I have just finished The Map, by our very own Sharon Robb-Chism. A great adventure, highly recommended! @Ransom!!!
Stynky Tudor Posted January 28 Posted January 28 I'm also paging through this one last time before handing it off to @Braze - it was originally given to me by Arthur @Cascabel years ago.
Mary Diamond Posted January 29 Posted January 29 On 1/28/2025 at 10:32 AM, Stynky Tudor said: I'm also paging through this one last time before handing it off to @Braze - it was originally given to me by Arthur @Cascabel years ago. Interesting… it hadnt occurred to me that the buss had such a long period of use. And… the correct path for the book. Oooh, shiny!
Stynky Tudor Posted January 30 Posted January 30 4 hours ago, Mary Diamond said: Interesting… it hadnt occurred to me that the buss had such a long period of use. Though this booklet has some great museum examples, the title is misleading. Other than citing a vague example from the 1500s, it doesn't really talk about or show examples earlier than 1600s or later than the early 1800s. For more information, the YouTube channel Gold & Gunpowder has an episode on Blunderbuss history. It cites some of the earliest European (handheld) firearms, late 1400s, the Hailshot and Espigole that more closely resemble and likely modeled after the early Chinese Huoqiang or Fire Lance and Hand Cannons of the 900s and 1200s, basically a small cannon barrels attached to a stock, held and lit by hand.
William Brand Posted February 12 Posted February 12 The Constitution of the United States. I've read parts of it more times in the last few weeks than at any time I can remember. Also... The Munich Security Report 2025 and some fascinating articles on shipwrecks.
Mary Diamond Posted February 12 Posted February 12 Cumann na mBan and the Irish Revolution, and the Forgotten History of America (inspired by our good Stynky…). Though I am intrigued by the Munich Security Report. Oooh, shiny!
madPete Posted February 12 Posted February 12 5 minutes ago, Mary Diamond said: Cumann na mBan and the Irish Revolution, and the Forgotten History of America (inspired by our good Stynky…). Yeah, we make it a point to forget everything Stynky does in America. Surprised someone wrote a book about him! Aye... Plunder Awaits!
Stynky Tudor Posted February 26 Posted February 26 On 2/12/2025 at 2:32 PM, madPete said: Yeah, we make it a point to forget everything Stynky does in America. Surprised someone wrote a book about him! ? Yeah, recently I find myself wanting to forget too! A few weeks ago I helped brewed 15 gallons of Brown Ale with @Charlie while flipping through the present @Halfpint sent me during the Xmas exchange, "18th & Early 19th-Century Brewing".
Mary Diamond Posted March 2 Posted March 2 Nice work there, sir! That’s a fair bit of beer… Oooh, shiny!
Tudor MercWench Smith Posted April 7 Posted April 7 Started this one a while ago, and finally getting back to it. . . .Well written, fascinating so far, despite being non-fiction, almost feels like reading an historical spy thriller . . . and honestly, while I am not far along enough to say I am fully convinced, its the most sourced theory on Avery that I've ever encountered.
madPete Posted April 7 Posted April 7 working my way through "The Norseman Saga" series while Nelson is writing another book in the "Blood, Steel, and Empire" series (The Buccaneer Coast, Tortuga Plantation...) The Norseman Saga is like 11 books... Aye... Plunder Awaits!
Stynky Tudor Posted June 8 Posted June 8 As my cross country travels are just on the horizon - a little more than month away, I'm gathering materials to listen to on the drive an read at my various destinations. For the road I've got a handful of Eons | PBS Podcasts - mostly prehistory and dinosaur stuff. Then there's another handful of episodes from the SciShow Tangents Podcasts - mics sciencey stuff. I've also got a selection from the Working Class History Podcast - among other topics, they've got a couple episodes about pirates, E103: Pirates, part 1 & E104: Pirates, part 2. As for audio books, I've got The Halloween Tree by Ray Bradbury, The Old Kingdom Trilogy : Sabriel, Lirael, Abhorsen by Gart Nix & read by Tim Curry. I don't know anything the Halloween Tree, the Sabriel series are teen/young adult books I got sucked into with my kids 20 years ago. I also have a book, Alexander Hamilton by Ron Chernow - I still need to organize the audio files so they'll play in order on the drive. For actual reading material, I've got the Hip Hope Family Tree Graphic Novel by Ed Piskor - 1970s-1981 Hip Hop history that my friend Piet got for me and Under The Black Flag by David Cordingly that I got from @madPete through the 2023 Xmas Gift Exchange.
Tudor MercWench Smith Posted June 9 Posted June 9 21 hours ago, Stynky Tudor said: For actual reading material, I've got the Hip Hope Family Tree Graphic Novel by Ed Piskor - 1970s-1981 Hip Hop history that my friend Piet got for me and Under The Black Flag by David Cordingly that I got from @madPete through the 2023 Xmas Gift Exchange. I found "Under the Black Flag" quite good. Scholarship seemed decent, without getting into the weeds. Definitely not "meaty" though -- which has it's pros and cons. I just finished this - No pirates, complete Chick-lit, but stellar, emotive and hysterically funny whilst also being a gut wrench. Calling it Chick-lit does the writing disservice, but it's the best indicator of genre. Loved it for years. Like an old friend. Exceedingly topical and personal. Up next - PIRATES! Captain Blood - just got an old hardcover copy - nothing fancy or valuable, an old high school library salvage, with the only check out date being from 1962 - but it looks prettier on my shelf then the old B&N value paperback version and it's got the great old illustrations.
Mary Diamond Posted June 9 Posted June 9 1 hour ago, Tudor MercWench Smith said: I found "Under the Black Flag" quite good. Scholarship seemed decent, without getting into the weeds. Definitely not "meaty" though -- which has it's pros and cons. I just finished this - No pirates, complete Chick-lit, but stellar, emotive and hysterically funny whilst also being a gut wrench. Calling it Chick-lit does the writing disservice, but it's the best indicator of genre. Loved it for years. Like an old friend. Exceedingly topical and personal. Up next - PIRATES! Captain Blood - just got an old hardcover copy - nothing fancy or valuable, an old high school library salvage, with the only check out date being from 1962 - but it looks prettier on my shelf then the old B&N value paperback version and it's got the great old illustrations. Love old books and their illustrations! We stopped in the amazing Boulder Book Store while in Colorado, and picked up The Serviceberry by indigenous scientist Robin Wall Kimmerer, and The Birds That Audubon Missed, by Kenn Kaufman. As we work through late 17th/early 18th C in The colonies, I am hoping to add wider talking points on exploration and indiginenous perspective to my merchant discussions. Not to mention that these are extensions of personal interests. Oooh, shiny!
madPete Posted June 9 Posted June 9 I've been going thru my general "Todo" list and last week started the 1853 enfield rifle kit I bought during Covid (and have been putting off for other projects). Very impressed with the quality considering its Traditions, but the barrel is Armisport and the rest is Chiappa. I know... not period for us. but its what I was reading 😁 Aye... Plunder Awaits!
Duchess Posted June 10 Posted June 10 22 hours ago, Mary Diamond said: Love old books and their illustrations! We stopped in the amazing Boulder Book Store while in Colorado, and picked up The Serviceberry by indigenous scientist Robin Wall Kimmerer, and The Birds That Audubon Missed, by Kenn Kaufman. As we work through late 17th/early 18th C in The colonies, I am hoping to add wider talking points on exploration and indiginenous perspective to my merchant discussions. Not to mention that these are extensions of personal interests. We must be a similar path right now. I picked up The Serviceberry and The Backyard Bird Chronicles by Amy Tan last week. If you haven't read Robin Wall Kimmerer's other books, I highly recommend them.
Stynky Tudor Posted June 10 Posted June 10 On 6/9/2025 at 6:49 AM, Tudor MercWench Smith said: I found "Under the Black Flag" quite good. Scholarship seemed decent, without getting into the weeds. Definitely not "meaty" though -- which has it's pros and cons. Since I've only browsing through it - meat or not, you've looking forward to the read. On 6/9/2025 at 6:49 AM, Tudor MercWench Smith said: Captain Blood - just got an old hardcover copy - nothing fancy or valuable, an old high school library salvage, with the only check out date being from 1962... Wow, those illustrations are fantastic! 23 hours ago, Mary Diamond said: As we work through late 17th/early 18th C in The colonies, I am hoping to add wider talking points on exploration and indiginenous perspective to my merchant discussions. Not to mention that these are extensions of personal interests. Excellent, you have to share your insights!
Mary Diamond Posted June 10 Posted June 10 9 hours ago, Duchess said: We must be a similar path right now. I picked up The Serviceberry and The Backyard Bird Chronicles by Amy Tan last week. If you haven't read Robin Wall Kimmerer's other books, I highly recommend them. I had first seen her with reference to Braiding Sweetgrass, but this is the first of her books that I am reading. Looking forward to her insights! Oooh, shiny!
Mary Diamond Posted July 10 Posted July 10 *sigh Well, not a lot of reading of my above posted at the moment, as I scramble to prepare a presentation, but I did pick up this lovely gem… maybe I will be able to crack it on the drive down to Fort King George this December… covers 1670-1730s. Oooh, shiny!
madPete Posted July 10 Posted July 10 I've got nothing. too busy with clothes, which is a good thing! Aye... Plunder Awaits!
madPete Posted July 14 Posted July 14 I Completely forgot about this one i read a couple months back... Granted its historical fictionn, but James Nelson writes some banger good novels within historical context. This is a new series... Aye... Plunder Awaits!
Red-Handed Jill Posted July 21 Posted July 21 I can recommend The Adventures of Amina Al-Sirafi in a big way. It's about a retired forty-something pirate in the 12th century, living in obscurity with her daughter in what is now Oman. Her past catches up with her, in the form of a job offer (one that she cannot refuse) from the mother of one of her past crewmembers - one that died under mysterious circumstances. Amina is now obliged to re-visit her past - but if she were to be honest with herself, she would admit that this is not entirely unwelcome... This is a familiar tale: a crew is gathered together for one more adventure - but if you think it's going to be another collection of tired tropes, you'd be mistaken. The story is told in first person, and Amina's "voice" is, at times, hilarious. And just when you think you know where the story is going, something new and original is thrown in (such as a gigantic sea monster wearing half a ship as a hat).
Mary Diamond Posted July 22 Posted July 22 On 7/9/2025 at 1:14 PM, William Brand said: Drawing of the Three by Stephen King. Oooh, I Love The Dark Tower!! 1 hour ago, Red-Handed Jill said: I can recommend The Adventures of Amina Al-Sirafi in a big way. It's about a retired forty-something pirate in the 12th century, living in obscurity with her daughter in what is now Oman. Her past catches up with her, in the form of a job offer (one that she cannot refuse) from the mother of one of her past crewmembers - one that died under mysterious circumstances. Amina is now obliged to re-visit her past - but if she were to be honest with herself, she would admit that this is not entirely unwelcome... This is a familiar tale: a crew is gathered together for one more adventure - but if you think it's going to be another collection of tired tropes, you'd be mistaken. The story is told in first person, and Amina's "voice" is, at times, hilarious. And just when you think you know where the story is going, something new and original is thrown in (such as a gigantic sea monster wearing half a ship as a hat). That sounds like fun! Oooh, shiny!
Stynky Tudor Posted July 25 Posted July 25 On 6/9/2025 at 6:49 AM, Tudor MercWench Smith said: I found "Under the Black Flag" quite good. Well it turns out that I'm and idiot (stop laughing). After gathering everything ahead of my trip, I seem to have neglected to bring a lot of it along with me (I said stop laughing). Though I did happen to pack a copy of "10 PRINT CHR$(205.5=RND(1)); : GOTO 10", a one line random maze program written in C64 Commodore BASIC. The middle of the book makes a connection to Truchet Tiles, a graphic/mathematical concept written about in 1704 by Father Sébastien/Sébastien Truchet, entitled "Mémoire sur les combinaisons". Considering that most things on the internet refereed to as truchet tiles are not actual truchet tiles (in my opinion), I'm skeptical of the actual connection - but it should be a fun nerdy read. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sébastien_Truchet https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Truchet_tiles https://jacques-andre.fr/faqtypo/truchet/truchet-planches.pdf
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