Hello, Bob;

18 Jul 04 10:17, Bob Lawrence wrote to Robert Bull:

 BL>  Aside from the poor-bloody slaves themselves, slave owners hardened
 BL> themselves against humanity in order to justify the evil they did -
 BL> just as soldiers do in war, and return as damaged human beings. We

And then have to be helped back to normality, if they ever make it.

 BL> humans are very good at justifying oureselves. I worry about Tories
 BL> and Republicans, who like Nazis put the State, or profit, ahead of
 BL> human beings. All you need is a brass band and a maniac like Hitler
 BL> (or an easily-led idiot like George Dubya), and hell breaks out all
 BL> over.

Isn't "putting people first" just another minefield?  Who's to decide 
what's  best, and what right do they have to make it a universal stance?

 BL>  Moby Dick! I have never read Moby Dick. I tried a few times, but the
 BL> prose put me to sleep.

I didn't find it easy, and tended to put it by until I had more time than 
usual, so I could tune in.  You have to adjust your mind, but the reward 
are worth it.  500 pages of sonorous, thundering prose...  "wherein her 
murderous hold, this frigate earth is ballasted with bones of millions of 
the dead, [there,] thou hast thy truest dwelling..."  Captain Ahab 
addressing the decapitated head of the first whale the "Pequod" kills.  I 
don't think I fully grasped things, according to the gloss added at the 
end, but it was worth trying to read one of the world's great books.  BTW 
should have special significance to you; not only a major consumer of sea 
stories, but apparently a large part of the point was that Ahab sets 
himself up against the Christian world-view, which was a particularly 
shocking notion at the time it was written.

 RB>> Just finished: HAT FULL OF SKY by Terry Pratchett.

 BL>  You brighten my day. The World can't be all bad if Pterry keeps
 BL> writing.

Apparently there's a new one on the stocks (oh dear, these nautical 
metaphors); to be called GOING POSTAL.  Can't remember the publication 
date.

 RB>> Just finished: GRIM TUESDAY by Garth Nix, Vol. 2 in the "Keeper
 RB>> of the Keys" series. Couldn't put it down!

 BL>  Jeeze! I didn't know he had written anew! I'll see if I can hunt it
 BL> down.

You should look for MISTER MONDAY first.  It's the first in a seven-book 
series, one for each day of the week.  Overall title "Keeper of the Keys," 
I think.  Actually, another one that's distinctly ambivalent about religion  
:-)  In MISTER MONDAY there's a point at which Arthur, the POV character, 
rather wished he knew more about religion while being simultaneously 
relieved that he isn't religious.  I should add, this series looks to be 
aimed at younger readers than the "Abhorsen" trilogy, but it's still a 
great read so far.  Yet more nautical stuff - a certain bird-hating sailor 
creeps into GRIM TUESDAY  ;-)  and, the title of the third book (probable 
publication date February 2005) is DROWNED WEDNESDAY.

     Regards,

              Robert.

Just finished:  MOBY DICK  by Herman Melville

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