I started carving runestones last year…these are inspired by historical themes with local/personal touches rather than straight reproductions. Language is best guess translations (and thus likely to contain errors) along with a bit of Latin.
The final two pictures are my attempts to recreate the Lewis chessmen.
Carvings were done with a dremel tool.
Hope you enjoy these!
Many (many) years ago I read an article in Dragon magazine describing a gaming session involving a WWII unit (German I think) that uncovered some mystic spell which transported them to a fantasy world (orcs, trolls, evil wizards, etc) and the two sides fought it out, both totally confused about what they were actually fighting.
Does anyone know of stories or novels along the same theme, essentially tech vs magic, mundane (ideally post 1900) vs fantastical where neither element is initially aware of the existence of the other?
Thanks in advance!
Just for fun and following up on my carving of a berserker inspired by the Lewis chess set, I completed this of the king and queen (I think I’m done with this theme).
The Latin inscription on the king’s sword is “Satis erit” translated to “It will be enough”…that’s a nod to my grandmother who named the property the rock is on “It’ll do” back when she bought it in 1959.
The queen’s color scheme is inspired by my wife’s traditional folk dress (from Sweden).
I’m interested in your favorite books of (almost) any genre (no romance, YA, or litrpg please) that are included in premium membership. I’m looking to broaden my horizons a bit.
Thanks in advance!
Found a nice rock and I saw the berserker hiding in there so I had to bring him out. Carved with a rotary tool and colored with acrylic paint.
HDMS Aslin, a Danish tug with a 76mm gun. Might not qualify as the gun was reportedly never made operational.
Photo/details courtesy of @dreadships.blsky.social
Since I shared my draft piece awhile ago, I thought some folks might want to see the finished project. Carved with a dremel and colored with acrylic paints this was a fun one, especially my first attempt at knot work.
I’m fortunate in that I have a huge supply of these large sandstone rocks laying about so there’s no shortage of practice material.
Hopfully, they’ll give some future archaeologists something to ponder over! 😁
About a year ago I started working on runestones on a whim (and trying to make a virtue out of necessity given all the rocks I have). It’s been more fun and meditative than I imagined. Here are the fruits of my labors thus far:
1: my current project. Still sketching it out.
2: a memorial runestone for my Swedish in-laws who passed away a couple of years ago.
3: Inspired by a stone in Sweden raised by “this married couple had the stone cut in memory of themselves while both alive”
The runes are best guess translations and undoubtedly riddled with errors. Designs are all inspired by actual stones and I try to add some local inspiration to them. May you find them of interest!
This year I read (and greatly enjoyed) Richard Russo’s “Straight Man” and Julie Schumacher’s “Dear Committee Members” and discovered that I have a soft spot for slice of life tales with a hefty dose of bureaucratic absurdity.
Does anyone have recommendations for similarly themed books (they need not be in academic settings! DMVs, intelligence agencies or corporate headquarters are welcome!)
Thanks in advance!
I’ve enjoyed reading history books for decades but lately I feel like books I’m picking up would make excellent long articles but (I’m guessing for financial reasons) were stretched out to book length. Long chapters about marginally relevant people or events, repeating facts and ideas over and over (and over) again and generally padding the word count for no narrative, artistic, or contextual reason.
So, all that being said, I’m looking for recommendations of history books that you felt were (as they used to say ) ‘all killer, no filler’. The book needed to be as long as it was and the author did an excellent job of informing the reader while holding your attention.
Any topic or time period is welcome but I am partial to pre-WWII history (so, 10,000 BCE - 1939) 😁
Thanks in advance!
I’m wondering if anyone knows of a series where the author takes the character(s) through different sub-genres. My original thought was as a reflection of stages in life but it need not be. For example:
Edit: thank you for these suggestions! Although my TBR list will be groaning under the (digital) weight of all these adds!
I'm looking to get my 200+ audible wishlist into a spreadsheet but am having trouble finding a way to do an export. The Audible Library Extractor extension for Chrome doesn't seem to work for wishlists (reading past posts it looks like it once did but I'm assuming something on the Audible side broke that part of the add on).
Any suggestions are greatly appreciated!
Audible says “some member-exclusive sales are reserved for Premium” but I’m trying to get a sense of just how many sales (particularly the big semi-annual) are premium reserved. Anyone have any insight?
Thanks!
Looking for suggestions about a book set in a world in which the Kessler effect (where too many satellites lead to cascading collisions and getting into/out of orbit very difficult/impossible to navigate) plays a major role.
Thanks in advance!
Looking for books about heroism…not specific biographies but rather attempts to distill what makes people act in heroic ways (although case studies and historical examples are always good).
Thanks in advance!
Looking for collections of either specific historical events or more general time periods written by contemporary observers or participants. Interested in any area of the world and anytime from the dawn of civilization to 9/11.
Thanks in advance!