B1ue

1) That's a way of looking at those events, I suppose. It's true enough, but I don't see how "winning" is mutually exclusive with being "too annoying to continue bothering with." Isn't that the point of asymmetrical/guerilla warfare, of which the American Revolution is an early historical example? It would seem to me that both narratives are correct, in that case, depending on your point of view. 2) I would suspect it was a change of targeting priorities. VE day had already been declared months prior to the Hiroshima bombing. I do recall reading that the bombs were not originally built with Japan in mind, but I don't remember the details. It would have been sort of awkward striking Germany four months after their military surrender, but sadly, it's not out of the realm of possibility. "Look, we spent the money on them, we have to use them. It is in the budget. It's in the budget in ink! Just because other people can't keep to their part of the schedule is no reason to slack off."

From what I've been told, science departments favor the quarter system, while arts and social science departments favor semester. I was not told why (Mark may know), just that this was the general trend, and that you can tell which half of the institution has more clout by which system that institution favors. The University of California science departments are extremely well-funded compared to their counterparts, and several schools of engineering and science within the University are world class. Also, wasn't there a deliberate effort to desync spring breaks across colleges? Not only do you extend the tourist season across a longer period, but crowds of rampaging barbarian dude-bros are a lot easier to deal with when they are limited in size.

I'm not sure he's actually all that good of an example, which is why I didn't mention him. After three seasons of being a named character (and he was almost one of the first characters to be named), we know very few things about it. Of all of those, his being gay is usually the hook in which he's introduced. It's why he's brought up at first, it's the filter by which he views others and they view him, and it's the handle by which the entire rest of the cast (edit: Jackson excepted) manipulates him as they move plot about. Don't get me wrong, I like Danny, and like that he's a male character fulfilling a role that's usually held by a female, because trope subversion is awesome. I just wish they'd do more with his character besides let his benevolent gayness solve problems for the main cast.

You may want to check out my reply to that chart, as well. Basically, the damn thing makes no sense without the context it must have been placed in originally. It also doesn't tally with my own memories and that of my siblings, one of which (along with her husband) was active duty shortly before and shortly after 9/11. Stop-loss, gotta love it. I'd like to look at some of the numbers with historical context included, to see how well my memories match actual enlistments. If, in fact, I am in error, the best explanation I can come up with is that while actual enlistments did not spike, the reasons for enlisting shifted. I was going to mention this upthread, but one reason small-town kids enlist in such numbers isn't an extra leavening of patriotism, but a lack of other options. College especially is a tough wall to climb without the financial boost of the GI bill, but bare escape might be enough for someone to raise their hand and swear in. But with the country moving into wartime footing, the risk/reward analysis might not favor that kind of enlistment, but would appeal to those that had something to prove to themselves, or their country's enemies. All that said, I don't think Tony will enlist or seek a commission. Darius, maybe. He'll have something to prove, I think, but Tony doesn't strike me as someone of the correct class or mentality, and lacks Darius's potential motivation. I do think some kids of Clairmont will enlist, because of either patriotism or a burning desire to hit the city limit sign and not look back.

I don't know. They kind of can't win, can they? One of the shows I watch, Teen Wolf, has a Mexican-American actor in the lead role. It's obvious that he's not White, but because no mention of his race is ever made, I've read quite a few comments about how the show-runners are trying to make him pass. Which make me curious how many of these fans actually know anything about people who can and do pass for White, and how it actually makes you more apt to be aware of your own race and how you define it, but I digress, The point is, if a showrunner introduces a character to whom race/orientation/anything else doesn't matter, they run the risk of being accused of just adding the character to drum up diversity without actually letting that diversity mean anything. And, to a certain extent, such accusation are correct. It offends every storytelling sensibility I have to just leave something like that on the floor, as it were. Why include it if it's not going to affect the story? I sit even believable to have a gay character that isn't in some way affected by having that sexuality? Even if they made a conscious choice to not let their sexuality define them, that's still a choice with narrative potential to be exploited.

It's interesting that Robbie has reacted in the way he has. He'll admit, even now, that he screwed up and that Will, Brad and Stef were able to force him to pull his head from his ass. But he doesn't want them in that position ever again. It's not the reaction I expected of him. I'm a little impressed, and it helps explain his change of heart regarding Will.

Only if they were frisked for weapons first.

Yeah, that tallies with my memories as well. We hear of her machinations, and Tris meets her that one time when she's trying to visit her brother, but yeah. I suppose it's due to her being an intellectual villain. I suppose I could just read them again. Probably not a bad idea with Allegiant coming out in a bit over a month. I was thinking about what you said about characters being introduced, only to be killed off a couple pages later. I read military sci-fi, so I may just be used to that kind of storytelling. I remember reading this one series called The Stars at War, and the body count in the first half of the second book was so high I would have placed money on the authors using a dice roller to determine who died and who survived enough to become a proper viewpoint character...and then they killed some of them off in the third book. Not that I've considered doing exactly that in one of my own stories (*whistles innocently*).

I'm starting to edge away from this series for that reason. When it feels like half the book is spent covering what happened in the other books, albeit from a different angle, I'm not sure it's time well spent. Which was your favorite, James? I enjoyed Echoes of Honor and the Shadows subseries, I think because they both feature many points of views rather than having most of the narrative centered on one person. I'm not disparaging third person central, of course, but third person scattered (my own personal jargon for this type of writing) appeals to me more.

I am actually not certain what you're saying there. When you're talking about human intervention, are you referring to putting out natural fires in that area? I thought I'd already addressed that point, but I'll be blunter. When people are saying that fires haven't been allowed to occur in the area of the Rim Fire, they are misinformed. When they say that the last fire in this area occurred over 25 years ago, they are lying. Fires are quite frequent, and often are allowed to peter out on their own when sufficient resources are available to contain it. It's cheaper, and as you say, it's better for the environment for regular fires to happen anyways. So they do, and when they don't it's policy to have controlled fires, again when resources are available to help it from getting out of control. But there's a risk, and the Rim Fire is a stunning example of what can happen when the ability to maintain a perimeter is misjudged. Most of the acreage burning is unpopulated by humans. Most of it is in a national forest. The structures destroyed are nearly all camp ground facilities, or are related to the couple of reservoirs in the area. Buck Meadows, which houses the remaining structures, has a population of 50, if I recall correctly. Even Pine Mountain Lake is mostly summer and vacation homes (my family being among the exceptions). For all the talk about preserving the pristine nature of Yosemite, Yosemite sees more people and is more affected by human intervention than almost anywhere in the fire's footprint. Edit: Actually, that's not fair or quite true, because I am not allowing for the effects the Hetch Hetchy reservoir has had on the local ecosystem. So that has had a continuous affect, but I'm not sure it's equal to the thousands of people that flock to the Valley every year.

I agree. And while I respect Mark's writing enough to believe Malcolm did eventually consent to the situation, it was not something I enjoyed reading. I combined these points because, for me, they help illustrate Brad and Will's dynamic. In my experience, which you may see as well, what causes people to get along with their parents so much better once they are out of their teens is that their parents stop trying to directly control them. They also stop behaviors that can even be construed as control, which allows parents and children to act as relative equals. Brad is not treating Will like an equal, and Will thinks he deserves to be treated as one. With many 14 year olds, that wish would be outrageous, but Will (as far as he knows) has the legal right to it. Further, if I may be allowed a moment of sarcasm, I am having difficulty imagining the pent-up anxiety of a father who has permitted all of those activities when he was that 14-year-old's guardian, but now takes issue with them. I hate the idea of smoking pot, but this family clearly disagrees, so why shouldn't Will partake when he always has before? Does anyone honestly think denying Will a sex room might slow down his sexuality? I mean, for most kids in Will's school, their sex room is simply their bedroom. Brad's concerns about him getting locked in there without means to get help are certainly valid, but why not offer practical advice, like ensuring phone service inside it, or advising him to install a panic button?

I would feel a lot more sympathy for Brad and Stef's woes if, as someone pointed out, Brad wasn't doing this merely to get to Will. He knew Will was smoking pot. He smoked pot with Will. Same with alcohol. Why is this now a problem? They all knew Will was banging any guy that would hold still long enough, but a sex room is suddenly crossing a line? And one that they intended to trick Will regarding their access to it? That was just a fucked up move, there, and I would have fired Malcolm over it in Will's place. But, then, he had to go and rape the guy, so I guess they're square. I want to feel bad for Stef, but he seems to want to take Brad's side without Will treating him like he's on Brad's side. I would have expected JP to point that out to him, rather than just saying he's an idiot, but oh well. Also, Stef in my mental imagery seems to be shifting to look like one of my aunts on the cholo side of my family. It is very odd.

Judging by the trailer, it seems some characters might be combined, which would possibly mitigate some of the deaths. It would make sense for a movie version; why hire two actors/actresses when you can do the same with one. Notably, Jeanine seems to be giving a speech that if I recall right should have been given by Marcus. So I'm curious how this script will work out.

Actually, that area has burned four or five times in the twenty years my family has lived there, and a heck of lot of regulations are in place to help manage grass and scrub on owned properties. Plus, the Forestry service practices controlled burns, in order to help propagate seed growth among the sequoias and older growth trees. Drought conditions may be more at fault. Trees require a lot of water to grow properly, but native grasses and scrub require much less. Grasses and scrub also burn at a much lower temperature than trees do, which is why the calls for clear-cutting the forest as a strategy to fire management makes less than no sense. Drought conditions also make controlled burns a much riskier endeavor, even the best planned controlled burn can get out of hand; one of the fires I mentioned in my opening sentence was exactly that. This fire got so big because we've had several years of drought in a row, and because of geography. I'm not sure if you've seen the topographical maps of that area, but that canyon where the fires started and grew through is steep, and access is spotty. The initial hope for this fire seemed to be that it would burn itself out with little human intervention, but that did not work out.

I grew up in Pine Mountain Lake. In fact, my parent's house is less than a mile from where they started to contain the fire. I feel weird that so many of my childhood memories have been destroyed, but it's not exactly the first go around for that. I've been extremely amused by all the comments I've read about those damn liberals that live in that area whose houses are threatened. That entire county, and the surrounding counties as well, trends very conservative. The last time that congressional district went for a Democratic president was Bill Clinton's in the 1992 race.

In fairness, I didn't imagine Marie enjoying this experience. I was thinking more along the lines of The Devil Wears Prada, and Marie coming back not only completely over her own crap, but everyone else's. "You think you scare me? I have shopped for pumps for a woman who can kill me with barely a raised eyebrow, and refuses to admit she needs wide width size. I know fear, and you aren't it!" Plus, in more seriousness, I don't think Mrs. Danfield could cultivate Marie if she wanted to. She doesn't think like that. She tries, and has tried hard, but the woman is never more ruthless or capital "e" Evil than when she's genuinely trying to be nurturing towards someone.

Agreed about, "A Ship Named Francis." I almost included John Ringo's Legacy of Aldenata series, but really it's just Gust Front that I enjoy as much as I do. It is probably my single favorite Military sci-fi novel ever, and that's counting Honor Harrington and the Stars at War series. Luckily, that novel is available for free, as is it's predecessor in it's series, A Hymn Before Battle. Baen is a pretty cool publisher. Between them and Nifty, it seemed like most of my reading was in digital format years before Kindles hit the market. It made switching over to all digital a no brainer.

I don't know, Claire doesn't seem to have enough evil in her for the task. Stef, maybe. Or maybe Isiodore. Or, heck, Elizabeth Danfield could probably use an intern to run her wardrobe when she runs against her ex-husband in the next primary election, or just steps into his office "temporarily" after he tragically winds up in the hospital. "Your husband has been diagnosed with what again?" "Malignant Noneofyourdamnbusiness. It's quite contagious."

Harry Potter Honor Harrington by David Weber Demon's Lexicon Trilogy by Sarah Rees Brennan The Vorkosigan Saga by Lois McMaster Bujold There's others I read over and over but these head the list.

This was my reading as well. Not everyone is enlightened enough to realize the seriousness of such actions, or the ramifications of "pranks" like this. There's even an aspect to many people's personality that any negative affects that don't directly effect them may as well have happened to a cartoon character, for all that they consider them to be real. Boarding school might be a good idea, but not as punishment. Part of her problem seems to be that she's been in the same social group, and ruling it, for her entire life. Breaking Marie out of her environment and forcing her to adapt to an entirely new set of social peers may be the best thing for her in terms of growing up. It's bound to happen sooner or later, may as well get started now.

I agreed with everything else you said in that post, especially about Will not being built to let things go, but this stood out. I think Marie has changed, but I'm not sure how radically. I remember during the New Year's Eve party she got quite annoyed as she started to realize Will wasn't another version of her brother, a ready-made minion, or Darius, who'd go with the flow, or even JJ, who just didn't care. That Will had his own agenda, ideas, and felt free to fight for them seemed to have come as a rather unpleasant surprise, with how quickly she started to give him crap. And he'd only been living up there a couple weeks (or was it days?) at that point. Multiply that by seven months...

Tim has a good point. I think an interesting exercise might be to reintroduce Brad as a narrator. The many glaring negatives, chief among them that Brad cannot sleep with nearly as many people as Will can, might be balanced if only we could see if all this makes more sense from his perspective. Kitt makes good points too, though. The more Will asserts himself, the more Brad cracks down (and, apparently, the more comfortable Robbie becomes with the whole situation). Although I can almost see alcohol being a trigger for Brad. While none of us are comparing Will to Billy, Brad might be, what with Will's tendency to act out (and Brad's own tendency to forget his own acting out).

*blinks* Did... did you just call Lee Ann Womack's "I Hope You Dance" cheesy? I think we have a clash of cultures here. I remember my Sophomore year roommate finally asking me what the point of "Who I Am" by Jessica Andrews was. "Who cares who she is?" I made one stab at explaining the importance of having deep roots to him, but gave up the effort afterwards. It just wasn't in his worldview why knowing exactly who and what you are, faults and triumphs, would be important. The Dixie Chicks were actually atypical because they didn't buck the current trends in country at the time. Or, rather, they followed the male trends rather than the female artists. Many female country artists went for a more crossover pop sound, a trend that continues today (Taylor Swift and Lady Antebellum spring to mind). In fact, artists such as Faith Hill and Shania Twain were marketed in Europe, with slightly different instrumentation, as pop. Male artists continued to build on eighties and nineties country, and also reintroduced sounds from seventies and sixties rock. Looking at some of their hits from 2000-2001, the song titles read a lot closer to their male contemporaries, and many of the songs follow similar themes. They weren't the only ones to do this, mind (look up Teri Clark), but they were probably the biggest female group at the time to try it.

I find myself rather annoyed with Will, Brad, and JP with this chapter. Will, for acting like a pill (you cannot simultaneously demand adulthood and act like a 5-year-old), Brad, for also acting like a pill (just admit you were wrong about the sex room, you're on firmer ground questioning the bar), and JP for encouraging them both by seeming to take Will's side. I'd have been strongly tempted to let Ace sit at the place of honor, and make Brad and Will both go eat in the kitchen. Points to Robbie though, for trying to defuse the tension. I'd also successfully blocked one aspect of being a hot-headed teenager, the ability to just turn anger into another emotion at the drop of a dime. I'm not sure how this surprised me, since I still do it, but Will's quick acceptance of Erik's pretty face annoyed me. Mostly because I'd have done the exact same thing. I know this through careful testing. Holding a grudge takes too much energy that I could better turn towards other pursuits. Edit: Glad someone made the comment that Darius did.

I count "The Box." While I am not as much of a historian as many active in this forum, what I've found interesting to see as this saga developed (and why I've always been more interested in the family's interactions rather than the background historical drama they unfolded against) is that it explores the intersection point between history and History, with emphasis on the -story. History is as much as construct as any fiction novel, so I've always been fascinated by seeing what gets put into books, why, and what perspective the author has when they do those things. it works as well with family history as it does with a countries, often better, and "The Box" told the story of what made JP, Stef, and all the Crampton's, Hendrickson's, Hayes, and Schulter's into who they became.