Heaven Thunders the Truth

Heaven Thunders the Truth

K.J. Parker

A lot has changed in that time. The People of Heaven had fought a bitter war against an alliance of their most powerful neighbougs and had lost badly; we’d managed to patch up a sort of a peace, but it wouldn’t be long before they’d be back to finish us off. The king’s army was mostly dead; of the survivors, five regiments had crossed the northern border and kept going, until nobody knew where they were, and the king was only still alive because his three senior generals were still trying to decide which of them was going to kill him and take his place. There weren’t enough soldiers left for a civil war, so they were having to talk it through instead.

Meanwhile, the king’s illness, which he’d suffered from on and off for the last five years, had finally broken his will to resist, and he was about to save his loyal people the job. I, on the other hand, had prospered. I’d cured a plague. More to the point, I’d accurately predicted each crippling defeat, with enough circumstantial detail to convince even the most skeptical observer. I was turning away any job that didn’t interest me, and asking for (and getting) ridiculous fees for the few I condescended to take on. I think it’s fair to say I was the only doctor in the country who hadn’t messed up at some point in the war. I was universally respected, and if I’d wanted to, I could’ve chosen who was going to be the next king, and everybody would’ve accepted my decision. But I chose not to. I was, I gave them to understand, above things like that. who cared only for wisdom. And truth. Heaven no longer thundered it. I did.

Heaven Thunders the Truth. Image by Elena (Sunset in Jamaica).

So he came to see me instead; unannounced, uninvited. But he still had a bodyguard of two hundred picked veterans; I had about seventy men minding my cattle and doing odd jobs for me, but even if I’d had notice and mustered them too fight, they wouldn’t have lasted very long against the guards. So, when two guard captains burst into my cave late one night and said the king was paying me a visit I just yawned and said yes, I’d been expecting him.

He’d changed. It was a particularly unkind sort of illness. He’d swollen up like a body that’s been in the water. His arms and legs were like tree-trunks, and his body was grotesque; his head, though, was more or less the same size, which made him look ridiculous. He couldn't stand or sit, so he had to be carried on a stretcher, with trestles to rest it on. They brought him in, and I didn’t look up, « Go away, » I said. A moment or so later, I heard them filing out of the cave. Only then did I lift my head and look at him.

« Hello, uncle, » I said.

His puffed-up cheeks had almost closed his eyes; they were narrow almonds of white, glaring balefully at me. « It’s true, then, » he said.

« Oh, yes. How did you find out, by the way? Oh,» I added, because my father was standing over him. He was grinning.

« Is he still there? » asked the king.

« Yes. »

He sighed. « I can’t see him all the time, but I know he’s there, I can fell him. »

My father shrugged and pulled a face. He’s a jolly man, with a good sense of humor. I like him. I wish I’d known him.

Test in Orbit

Test in Orbit

By Ben Bova

The satellite had been launched from the mid-Pacific, nine hours ago. Probably from a specially rigged submarine. It was now in a polar orbit, so that it covered every square mile on Earth in twelve hours. Since it went up, not a single radio transmission had been detected going to it or from it. And it was big, even heavir than the ten-ton Voshkods the Russians had been using for manned flights.

“A satellite of that size,” said the colonel from the Special Weapons Center, “could easily contaon a nuclear warhead of 100 megatons or more.”

If the bomb were large enough, he explained, it could heat the atmosphere to the point where every combustible thing on the ground would ignite. Kinsman pictured trees, plants, grass, buildings, people, the sky itself, all bursting into flame.

“Hale the United States could be destroyed at once with such a bomb,” the colonel said.

“And in a little more than two hours,” Borgeson added, “the satellite will pass over Chicago and travel right across the heartland of America.”

Murdock paled. “You don’t think thed’d… set it off’?”

“We don’t know,” General Hatch answered. “And we don’t intend to sit here waiting until we find out.”

“Why not just knock it down?” Kinsman asked. “We can hit it, can’t we?”

Anadyomene, sculpted in 1983 by Maryon Kantaroff. donated by Senator Nancy Ruth in honour of the women who walk here... Photo by Elena.

Hatch frowned. “We could reach it with a missile, yes. But we’ve been ordered by the Pentagon to inspect the satellite and determine whether or not it’s actually hostile.”

“In two hours?”

“Perhaps I can explain,” said the civilian. He had been introduced as a State Department man; Kinsman had already forgotten his name He had a soft, sheltered look about him.

“You may know that the disarmament meeting in Geneva is discussing nuclear weapons in space. It seemed last week we were on the verge of an agreement to ban weapons in space, just as testing weapons in the atmospheere has already been banned. But three days ago the conference suddenly became deadlocked on some very minor issues. It’s been very difficult to determine who is responsible for the deadlock and why. The Russians, the Chinese, the French, even some of the smaller nations, are apparently stalling for time… for something to happen.”

“And this satellite might be it,” Kinsman said.

“The Department of State believes that this satellite is a test, to see if we can detect and counteract weapons placed in orbit.

Things To Do While Waiting

Things To Do While Waiting

Life is full of waiting and waiting can be quite difficult and frustrating. So, whether you’re at a doctor’s office or at the train station, you may find yourself waiting longer than expected and perhaps bored or frustrated. Therefore, here is a list of things to do while you wait:

Call (or text) a friend. Time will go by faster if you’re talking to someone. You may even strike a conversation with a friendly stranger sitting next to you. However, stay aware of the policies of the waiting room, some waiting areas disallow cell phones or conversations altogether.

Read a magazine or newspaper. A great way to pass the time, it allows you to stay on top of current affairs, which may come in handy in conversations, especially when making small talk.

Waiting place. Photo by Elena

Arrive early; this is especially true of places where you have to take a number. Usually, there tends to be less people waiting in line at 8:30AM, than say at 2:00PM. However, it may not always be the case, as I remember a facility that opened at 7:00AM and when I arrived at 7:00 there were already twenty or so people ahead of me. Still, it was much better than the previous day when I arrived at 4:00PM, not to mention the clerks, nurses or whoever you need to see may be tired at the end of their working shift.

Solve a sudoku or a crosswords puzzle. Most newspapers today, even the free ones, have at least one puzzle to solve. Of course, most of these activities are only applicable if you can sit down while waiting. Hard to solve a puzzle while standing in line.

If you have a smartphone things get even easier since you can do many things. Connect to Wi-Fi (if available) or use cellular data to browse the Internet, play games, listen to music with earphones (obviously not recommended if you have to be called on by speakerphone or otherwise) or review your to-do-lists, planners or notes. Hope this helps!

A nice tip: Google Pixel 3 may be your best choice as a smartphone to play with while waiting!

They are patiently waiting. Photo by Elena

Old Photography

Old Photography

Panoramic Photography

Photographers, excited by their ability to capture images, soon wanted to take pictures of large scenes such as landscapes and city skylines. Before the introduction of panoramic cameras, wide angle lenses and zooms, these wide photographs were created by a sequence of overlapping slides. The panoramic photograph was thus created by the sequence of sheets.

Cased photographs

Daguerreotype is the first process which produced « one-of-a-kind » images. The image was exposed on a silvered copper plate, which gives it the mirror-like effect (1839 – circa 1860).

Ambrotype (or collodion positive) is also a “one-of-a-kind” image. The image is a glass negative created using the collodion wet-plate process, and is backed with black varnish or paint to create a positive image (1852 – circa 1880).

An old wall enhanced. Photo by Megan Jorgensen (Elena)

Tintype is created using the collodion wet-plate process like the ambrotype. However, like the daguerreotype, it is created on a metal plate, in this case, one made of “black japanned iron” (circa 1856 – circa 1940).

Cases were usually made of wood and embossed with different designs. Inside the photographs were placed, usually on the right hand side, and on the left was a “cloth-covered pad”.

Colour Tinted Abrotype

Paper prints

Cartes de visite were widely produced starting in 1861. Using the collodion wet glass negative, a positive image was created on albumen printing paper. The paper was then mounted on a card, usually around 2 ½ x 4 inches.

Cabinet photographs were a larger version of the carte de visite and were also mounted on cards, measuring approximately 4 x 5 ½ inches. They had information about the photographer or studio intricately printed on the back. These gained popularity in 1866.

Early 3D Imagery

Stereographs are two photographs taken of the same image at a slightly different angle.

Stereoscope – when you place a stereograph in a stereoscope and look through the viewfinder, you will see a 3-dimensional image. When you look through this particular stereoscope you will see a Spirit Stereograph. Are they really ghosts in the image or is it simply a double exposure meant to trick the viewer. Spirit photography was common in the early years of photography.

Sea canon digitally enhanced. Photo: © by Megan Jorgensen (Elena)

Photo Album

Photo Album was introduced in the later 19th century. In Canada photo albums were produced by a Canadian female photographer, Madame Brunner. Photo Albums in most cases, would have contained photographs like the popular carte de visite (although some contained a few tintypes.

Set of Apertures which control the amount of light that comes into a camera. Tripod. Thornton Pickard Imperial Triple Extension Camera, circa 1890s. Plates of various sizes, including a book-type plate; Crayon Photoprints were photographs that were drawn over with crayon. Artists` Set used by artists that were often hired by photographers to touch-up or paint their photographs.

Composite photographs

Composite photographs were made by combining images from many individual portraits onto a painted or photographed background.

Early photography required long exposure times and people had to pose for quite long periods of time. It was difficult to have people stay still long enough to create a group portrait. Composite photography meant that photographers could overcome the technological limitations of the day.

The photographer would arrange for each person to pose for their picture in the studio at separate times. Then all the images were put together, “cut a paste”, just as we do today. Sometimes is hard to find where the photographer pasted individual people into a composite picture. Sometimes, the original portraits were displayed around the border on the puzzle panel.

Etiquette Confusion

Etiquette Confusion

Taking off the White Gloves

Savoir-faire today means faring with newfangled families and devices.

It used to be that rules of etiquette were fairly cut and dry, and most folks followed them strictly. Married women took their husbands’ last name. Second marriages were rare – third marriages almost unheard of. Couples wouldn’t dream of living together before they were married. There were no cellular phones, internet, fax machines, beepers…

But women’s liberation, new technology, and the inevitable passing of time have revamped our lifestyles and created a new age of etiquette confusion. Now issues from hyphenated to call waiting test our good manners almost daily. For those who are just trying to keep up here’s a primer.

Women’s Names

Never married women: Miss is traditional title for an unmarried woman of any age, but today it is best used when addressing girls younger than 18. It is still used in addressing adult single woman on formal invitations, but it is no longer necessary even there, notes etiquette expert Leticia Baldrige in her book The New Manners for the 90’s. A more sophisticated (and professional) title for unmarried woman “Ms”.

Etiquette. Photo by Elena

Married women: Traditionally, a married woman’s name consists of her first name, maiden name, and husband’s last name. Some women prefer to keep their middle name and drop their maiden name. In either case, this women should be formally addressed by using Mrs. With her husband’s first name.

Correspondence to the couple should be addressed as either “Mr. and Mrs.” or “Mr. and Ms.” Followed by their first and last names. A married woman should not be addressed as Mrs. with her own first name. That combination is reserved for divorced women.

Less traditional – but increasingly popular – is a practice of a married woman keeping her maiden name.

Some married women prefer to use their maiden name at work and their husband’s last name at home. In that case the woman should be addressed as “Ms.” at work or Mrs. in social situations. Although potentially confusing, this set-up offers the best of each situation; a woman can keep her identity at work while sharing a last name with her husband and children in other settings. Business letters or invitations for the couple should follow the “work” rule, while social correspondence should be addressed traditionally.

If a woman choses to hyphenate her maiden name with her husband’s last name, her name should be first. When addressing correspondence to the couple, both names should be used.

Divorced women: A woman who divorces often returns to using her maiden name. But when she has children, it can be confusing for her to use a last name different from theirs. When your family members use different surnames, for whatever reason, make sure that those who need to know are informed. A child’s school should be told, as would your own office staff, for informational purposes only, advises etiquette expert Elisabeth L. Post in her book, Emily Post’s etiquette.

If a divorced woman has children and wants to keep their last name, she should use her first name – not her husband’s. This way she is easily identified as both a divorced woman and as the children’s parent.

Widows: Until she remarries, a woman keeps her husband’s name, and she is addressed the same way as a married woman. If she marries again, she can use her former husband’s last name or her maiden name as a middle name.