Newsgroups: alt.callahans Path: mit-eddie!mintaka!chaos.cs.brandeis.edu!adam From: adam@chaos.cs.brandeis.edu (David C. Kaplowitz) Subject: Re: Metaphysics and Angst In-Reply-To: gtz@mentor.cc.purdue.edu's message of 15 Mar 90 19:10:42 GMT Message-ID: <1990Mar16.052521.2750@chaos.cs.brandeis.edu> Organization: Brandeis University Computer Science Dept References: <8505@mentor.cc.purdue.edu> Date: Fri, 16 Mar 90 05:25:21 GMT Lines: 22 "Hey Eric," the loud mouthed jolly soul in the center of the room shouts, "why don't you drag up a rock here? I'd get up and join you, but I'm a lazy bum with swivle chair spread and too much age in my bones. Sure life is pointless. No questions asked. Since it is pointless, might as well have some fun, right? Take some chances? Perhaps talk to people that you haven't (Oh right, you just did that, didn't you ... ) That's it. The "Secret of life" might not be that happiness is related to success after risk, but it is a good working formula. Hell, even a rain storm can be averted ..." "Man is the animal who laughs (rah) So if you can make them laugh, you are making people become people." "Tell to me what it is that you do, and perhaps we can come up with something ..." "Hey Mike, if you could toss a couplea over here, I'd appreciate it. Thanks." Traveler In Elephants Dave -- Path: mit-eddie!mintaka!think!zaphod.mps.ohio-state.edu!usc!ucsd!ucsdhub!hp-sdd!hplabs!hpfcso!daq From: daq@hpfcso.HP.COM (Doug Quarnstrom) Newsgroups: alt.callahans Subject: Apologies Message-ID: <9060040@hpfcso.HP.COM> Date: 15 Mar 90 02:08:28 GMT Organization: Hewlett-Packard, Fort Collins, CO, USA Lines: 126 Doug enters the bar looking extremely subdued. He finds Taldin and Jilara and Joelle in the crowd and asks to speak to them. He beckons for others to gather around. He begins to speak very slowly and carefully. How can I begin to apologise for my words? I owe a very deep apology to Jilara, Taldin, Alaric, and Joelle. And I owe an apology to the people here as well. You must all understand that Callahan's no flame environment means as much to me as to anyone. I have violated that and said very hurtful words to people who meant me no harm at all. My reaction was totally inappropriate, and it is impossible to explain how deeply I regret it. Aside from the apology, I would like to take this chance to wish an unadulterated congratulations to the new couples. I can only ask your forgiveness, since I cannot really defend my actions. I claimed to be speaking for others in the posting, when I really was just speaking for myself, and I cannot understand at all why I became so vitriolic. The anger just felt so right at the time. The easy answer would assume that I am jealous or envious, but that is really not the case. Have I grown so far from innocent happiness that I react to it with anger? Certainly this is the behavior of a devil. I feel very badly about this indeed. I guess that I am treading the edge of passion far too much these days. I have been posting to Callahan's for several months now, because I really do like an environment where one can discuss anything without risking flames. In flaming I have violated a very sacred trust. I deserve your wrath and ask for your compassion. I cannot even promise never to do it again. I am very passionate and I tend to react to extremes and settle down in the long run. Certainly I will try never to do it again. I had never flamed before this, so it is not as if I do it every day. Certainly I say some things that people take exception to, but that is not the same as flaming. But my past few posts have grown increasingly hostile. I do not know why. Apologies cannot take back words, so I would ask you to reread what I said, and just make an effort to understand what I meant. If you figure it out, maybe you can tell me. If this apology reaches a machine before the posting that made it necessary, you will know it when you see it. Please recognize the continuity involved. I am through flaming. I would like to specifically address a post that Jilara made about my star trek posting: >Jilara frowns. "That granade idea really bombed, Cynic. Do you have >to be such an explosive personality? That really capped things off." Yes, I suppose so the idea did bomb. I am what I am Jilara. I am very angry, but not at anything specifically. I have talked to Chris about my tendency to take offense at things that do not justify the reaction. >She gets up and stalks over to his table, arms folded sternly, her >mouth compressed into a thin we-are-not-amused line. "And I am using >our pun format to try to get things back on track. If you're really >into blasting caps, go play in alt.flame. This is Callahans, dammit! >I consider myself a cynic. You, my friend, are a misanthrope. I've >spent a lot of time disarming misanthropes, and I would sincerely like >to sit here and talk with my friends without any more incidents. Do >we have a truce?" She smiles in a way that folks say gives you cold >chills, her smile that has scared muggers. You begin to realize why >this woman ran SCA security for several years. "If you feel so inclined >again, you can talk to Auntie Jilara about it, or we can hash it out >in the alley. Remember, Callahans has a reputation to uphold." Jilara, you really do not need to defend Callahan's from me. I have already offered to leave. I do not feel quite so bad about this post, because it was, believe it or not, meant as a joke. I actually like Star Trek, but I feel that the original members have sunk into hopeless self-satire. It was meant in fun, and it was a bad miscalculation. I am sorry for this too. I hope that, in this case, there is some allowance for differences in people. You call me a misanthrope. You are technically correct. I do distrust and detest humanity, but I see a difference between the mass and individuals. I do not hate or detest individuals as a general rule. I would, however, request that you not label me without speaking to me first, although you certainly owe me one. >She beckons Nick Chopper out of the fireplace. "Give this man one of >your warm fuzzies. He needs it." Nick carefully places the warm fuzzy >on Cynic's shoulder. "Wait a minute, I've still got two!" he exclaims >in amazement. "You didn't tell me these things reproduced!" Again, I really thank you for the gesture, but if you give me a warm fuzzy, it will turn into a cold fuzzy, and we don't want that. In conclusion, I offer again to leave Callahan's for good as punishment if the clientele deems it necessary. Doug gets up slowly and crosses to Betsy Bo. He looks at her and looks as if he wants to thank her for her sole defence of him, but he cannot say anymore, and he turns and leaves the bar, posting a note on his way out. The note: Goodbye My heart does not feel what my ears have heard, these whole and wholesome, healthy words. Newsgroups: alt.callahans Path: mit-eddie!mintaka!chaos.cs.brandeis.edu!philbo From: philbo@chaos.cs.brandeis.edu (Phil Gross) Subject: Do not speak his name, lest... Message-ID: <1990Mar16.074036.8842@chaos.cs.brandeis.edu> Organization: Brandeis University Computer Science Dept Date: Fri, 16 Mar 90 07:40:36 GMT Lines: 104 The left steam jet on the espresso machine starts up in a puff of white for no apparent reason. The bottles rattle rhythmically. "Funny..." Mike mutters "It couldn't be a..." He turns back to cleaning a glass "Naw, couldn't be. Pitch is all wrong, Subspace Ether is too blue..." From nowhere comes a slightly female sounding computer synthesized device.. Your door is ajar. Your door is ajar. Your door is ajar. The traveller in elephants harumphs once or twice, and turns back to his table. He notices a tootsie roll pop on the floor, and a small inhaler made of yellow plastic and a pressurized metal container on the floor. He bends to pick them up, until he remembers that he'd have to bend down, and worse, he'd have to bend back up. "OK, Phil, Where are you hiding?" "Imm Mlumble Sumble imba balble" "What?" "I'm MLUMBLE SUMBLE IMBA BALBLE" "Yes, I know that, Philbo, but which one?" One of the bottles rattles a bit more loudly than the others. "Mike, could you please open that bottle of Californa wine? Yes, the "I want to go to the Bahamas bottle of whine" Carefully, please, you wouln't want to hurt him...you don't know him yet." Mike looks in the bottle, and sees a two inch tall hobbit-like character... He realizes that the person (obviously Philbo) will never fit out of the neck, so he breaks the bottle's neck on the counter. The Traveller cringes as the crash echoes around the room. "Are you OK, Philbo? "Yes, Dave, I'm fine. I'm a hard Hobbit to break. Thank you for opening my bottle, Mike." "Funny, Phil, you normally have a chic bottle. The very best in designer djins" "Yes, Dave. Thank you for your input.." It's amazing how the hobbitoid seems to get smaller as he talks... "You'ld better be careful, or the cat'll get you." "Thanks, All I have to do is refill. Ah. Mike, could you bring me over to the espresso machine?" Philbo puts a plastic tube around the (still steaming) jet, and connects the other end to a hookah like object. He begins to fill with hot vapor... Dave makes a round of introductions, explaining that his curious, now 22" tall friend is not in fact a genie, but a proto-hobbitoid life form, also known as a pobbit, known for their philosophizing, their long winded introductions, and their ability to store and utilize hot air. The Traveller cackles slightly as Philbo lets go of the jet, washes it down, and sterilizes the nebulizer. "Came here by the expresso, I imagine?" Philbo groans and shrinks a little. "I think we've milked this subject enough, don't you?" "Yes, Phil, The puns are a little thick." "Hello, people, and others, my name, as you might of noticed, is Philbo. I'm a little long winded at times (It depends on how steamed I am), but I'm a good listener. I also give good backrubs... Would any one like a tootsie roll pop?" At the end of this short speech, Philbo (not really being very steamed at all) shrinks until he's only a few inches taller than he was when he entered... As the pobbit climbs over the merchant, and sits on the center table, the traveller chuckles, sending ripples from side to side on his immense frame... "You know, if you keep shrinking like that, people will dress you in green and call you a leprechaun" "Actually, since I'm Jewish, don't I have to be a lepreCohen? After that last savage of the language (and a stolen pun from Christopher Stasheff at that) I feel slightly deflated, so If anyone needs me, I'll be here. I just need a puff of my inhaler to get me to the espresso machine... Before I run out of air, I'd like to thank all of you for being special people individually and together. Farewell...." The pobbit thenshrinks out of sight, or nearly so... "That was a showy exit" someone from the back exclaims. The Traveller in Elephants breaks out into peals of laughter. When he recovers his breath, he exclaims "If you thought that was an exit, feed him a Brazil Nut!" -- philbo@chaos.cs.brandeis.edu |Universicon IV-Brandeis U | Copyright M.B. 1241--Brandeis University|Mike Gold,Peter David | (C) 1990 P.O. Box 9110 |Elliot S! Maggin,Ken Penders| By Philip Gross Waltham, MA 02254-9110 |and Bill Mumy! Waltham,MA |All Rights Reserved Path: mit-eddie!snorkelwacker!spdcc!mirror!necntc!ima!haddock!karl From: karl@haddock.ima.isc.com (Karl Heuer) Newsgroups: alt.callahans Subject: A song Message-ID: <16194@haddock.ima.isc.com> Date: 16 Mar 90 06:20:08 GMT Reply-To: karl@haddock.ima.isc.com (Karl Heuer) Distribution: alt Organization: Interactive Systems, Cambridge, MA 02138-5302 Lines: 74 "It's not quite true that nobody ever gets thrown out of my place," says Mike. "I don't like to catch anybody stealing from the cigar box, for instance." He looks over to the heavy oaken door, which still bears the headprint of Big Beef McCaffrey from 1947. "An' anyone who insists on pryin' is gonna wake up in th' alley wit' a blackjack-shaped headache," notes Fast Eddie. "But we don' hold it against 'em if dey wanna come back anudder time." "So far, by my count, we've had four incidents that could have degenerated into flame wars," says Karl. We've handled them better than most newsgroups, I think." One of the newcomers speaks up. "I only know of two: the Tin Man and the Cynic. What happened before I arrived?" "There were a couple of guys that disappeared through the floor," says Jilara. "A hole patched by a warm fuzzy, lately marred by an axe..." "So now there are *three* axe-holes associated with that spot!" pipes up Doc Webster, and everyone groans. "And way back when we were getting started, there was a fellow who asked how we dealt with obnoxious drunks," continues Karl. "Basically, the answer was that we try to help them. That's what Callahan's Place is all about, right?" A sea of heads nods in agreement. Karl's endless pacing has taken him to the musicians' corner, where he starts passing out sheet music. "I heard the Butch Thompson Trio play a rather appropriate number on a Prairie Home Companion rerun last weekend. I think it originally aired on March 17, 1985. I thought it was worth sharing with this group." While the musicians with instruments at hand start rearranging their seats and warming up, those without have a quick consultation followed by a game of paper-scissors-rock. Karl seems to be the loser. He pulls up the microphone and self-consciously clears his throat, trying to remember the key. The other three are going to be co-conductors, which doesn't really seem right but nobody speaks up to object. "When a fellow has the blues, and feels discouraged, And has nothing else but trouble all his life, When he's always grumbled at, and never happy, Living with a scolding, aggravating, wife, Now if he's sick and tired of life and takes to drinking, Do not pass him by, don't leave him with a frown; Do not fail to lend a hand to try to help him, Always lift him up and never knock him down. "If he stays out late at night because he's worried, And because his hope is not what it should be, Have a smile for him whenever you should meet him; It would help him just the right way, don't you see? And if he gambles when he's in the town or the city, Tell him what he ought to do to gain the crown; Lend a hand and do not fail to show him pity, Always lift him up and never knock him down. "If he cannot pay his debts, and he feels disgusted, Or if he's blue and doesn't have anywhere to stay, Let him know you are his friend who can be trusted; It will cheer this lonely fellow on his way. If he finds it hard for him to keep his family, Let a kind word fill his soul when he's around; Well, don't say anything at all to make against him, Always lift him up and never knock him down. "If he has no friends and everyone's against him, If he's failed at everything that he has tried, Well, try to lift his load, to help him bear his burden, Let him know that you are walking by his side. If he feels that all is lost, that he is falling, Try to place that poor man's feet on solid ground, Just remember, he's some mother's precious darling. Always lift him up and never knock him down." Path: mit-eddie!snorkelwacker!think!zaphod.mps.ohio-state.edu!mips!bridge2!3comvax!tymix!oolong!baba From: baba@oolong.uucp (Baba Rum Dudu) Newsgroups: alt.callahans Subject: Re: White Cockade dates? Message-ID: <3354@tymix.UUCP> Date: 15 Mar 90 19:07:01 GMT References: <9003121613.AA19200@fsdcupt.csd.mot.COM> Sender: usenet@tymix.UUCP Reply-To: baba@oolong.UUCP (Baba Rum Dudu) Organization: BC Locals Lines: 22 In article <9003121613.AA19200@fsdcupt.csd.mot.COM> jane@fsdcupt.csd.mot.COM (Jane Beckman x4030) writes: >Jilara is trying to figure when would be a good time to get folks >together at the White Cockade. Suggested weekend dates: March 24 or >25th, or April 7 or 8? Of the four dates mentioned I can't make it on the 24th. All other times are OK by me. And I can wait till April if necessary. "Mike, a Stoli over, if you please and keep the fruit." After sipping the vodka and comtemplating the ice a while d'baba approaches the line. "To GAIA, may she always harbor our spirit." Gulp. KE-Raaash. The shards of glass shatter on the back wall of the fireplace but never make it to the floor and the pile of broken glass. "Nick, this one is also for you. Remember, even tho they may look similar, penance and servitude are totally seperate things." d'baba Duane Hentrich ...!hplabs!oliveb!tymix!baba or baba@opus.tymnet.com Claimer: These are only opinions since everything I know is wrong. Copyright notice: If you're going to copy it, copy it right. Xref: mit-eddie soc.singles:65668 alt.callahans:1375 Path: mit-eddie!snorkelwacker!usc!rutgers!netnews.upenn.edu!cps3xx!usenet From: usenet@cps3xx.UUCP (Usenet file owner) Newsgroups: soc.singles,alt.callahans Subject: Travel plans Message-ID: <6971@cps3xx.UUCP> Date: 16 Mar 90 15:09:38 GMT Reply-To: frey@cpsin.cps.msu.edu (Zachary Frey) Organization: Michigan State University, College of Engineering Lines: 16 Greetings! I will be in the Kingston-Poughkeepsie, NY area (say *that* three times fast!) from Wednesday, March 21 through Monday, March 26. If there's anyone in the area who'd like to schedule a get-together, drop me a line before then and we'll arrange something. Zach "airfare to Albany is *how* much???" Frey NOTICE: frith may be down -- try frey@cpsin.cps.msu.edu this week. Papernet: Zachary Frey | frey@frith.egr.msu.edu | Usenet: the 514 Virginia St. | frey@msuegr.BITNET | Bellman's E. Lansing, MI 48823 | ...uunet!frith!frey | Paradise. Path: mit-eddie!bbn!granite!mandel From: mandel@granite.cr.bull.com (Mark Mandel) Newsgroups: alt.callahans Subject: Re: Metaphysics and Angst Message-ID: <1990Mar16.155616.8910@granite.cr.bull.com> Date: 16 Mar 90 15:56:16 GMT References: <8505@mentor.cc.purdue.edu> Reply-To: mandel@granite.cr.bull.com (Mark Mandel) Organization: Bull HN Information Systems Inc. Lines: 131 In article <8505@mentor.cc.purdue.edu> gtz@mentor.cc.purdue.edu (Eric C. Garrison) writes: >"However, I find an old problem in metaphysics bugging me: why are we >here? What is the point? Why do I bother getting up in the morning? (Silverblack carries his decaf over to Eric's table and invites himself to sit down.) Well, for one thing, nobody's going to serve you breakfast in bed. And unless you've got "plumbing" like the Clinic on Tertius, you've gotta get up to pee. >"In High School, I feared going to Purdue because I did not know what I >wanted to do with my life. Not knowing what you want to do with your life is normal for high school. Everybody (all the adults, that is: all the authority figures) keeps asking you what you're going to do with your life, and when you're going to make something of yourself -- as if you were Nothing!! -- when how the hell should you know? The society we're in has kept your attention on your studies and kept you in an educational jail/asylum/sanctuary (remember that "asylum" originally means "place of sanctuary") for all of your life so far, and you have no way of KNOWING what you're going to do with your life... as if you had very much control of it yet, anyway. You're still an undergrad, I gather, and people are demanding more forcefully what you're going to do with your life. They usually mean career. You may have a clear sense of that by now, or you may not; don't sweat it. And there's a hell of a lot more to your life than career, but career counselors (both official and amateur; the latter usually known as "nags") are narrowly focused. You don't have to be. >After a year of Freshman Engineering, I discovered that programming >was not only my one true love, (well, acedemically speaking), but it >was just about the only subject in school I was good at. Which doesn't mean it's the only thing in the world you're good at, or even that you're not good at any of the subjects they've been trying to teach you. Maybe you have to learn in your own way. Many do. >"Anyway, fomy Sophomore and Junior years I was pretty darned happy. I was >engaged and the point to life was to marry my fiancee and live happily >ever after, come what may. How sweet. First love, or second love, and you were filled with the image of living happily ever after that Hollywood and all our popcult encourages. It makes good stories. It's lousy as a description of life and preparation for it. >"But at the end of last summer, she left me and pulled the rug out >from under my feet, and left me with no goals save graduation. And in my sophomore year, my girlfriend ditched me for another guy, and I was the last one on campus to find out about it. Sure, I was massively depressed, for that and other reasons. I eventually decided that my friends at home had been right when they found her cold and unfeeling. She wasn't my first girlfriend, or the last girl I dated. I met other girls in the time after that, and two years later I went out on a date that's lasted 21 years so far and still counting. >"Sure, I am dating a great girl now, and who knows what will happen with >her, but the real problem I face is this: I don't want to graduate >because I don't want to face the real world alone. I don't see the >point of going out and making money if I don't know if I will be happy. >I enjoy computers as an occupation, but I am afraid I'll be alone and >unhappy at and away from work. Everybody's alone some of the time. "Alone" is not the same as "lonely"; solitude can be enriching. Everybody is also unhappy some of the time. You are afraid that you will be alone, lonely, and unhappy all of the time. That isn't very likely. If you stay in your shell and shuttle between office and home with blinders on, you will probably stay isolated. If you go out and meet people -- hanging around the coffee shop or cafeteria, LOOKING FOR other activities that interest you -- you will not remain alone. Art museum? old movies? backgammon? Star Trek festivals? pottery? How the heck should I know what might appeal to you? How the heck can YOU tell you won't enjoy something until you try it? Don't rule out possibilities. until you try? Graduation is a rite of passage; the root of the word means "step". You will be stepping out into a new stage of your life, and it will be scary. Rites of passage are *supposed* to be awe-inspiring. But they're not fatal. >"I wonder if anyone here lies awake in the middle of the night, >petrified with fear about the future like I do? Does anyone else >see the crap behind all this hype to succeed, to compete, to further >the rat race? How can anyone be totally wrapped up in getting a >good job, looking for maximum money without considering the >happiness factor? If you've been following things around here, you'll know that I've been laid off from my job. This is probably the last day that I will sit at this desk to come to Callahan's, although my boss is allowing me two more weeks of access to this system (via modem). For me, the lying awake is OVER for now. Everyone knew the layoffs were coming, and for the three weeks before March 2, every Thursday night either my wife or I or both of us woke up in terror and couldn't get back to sleep, or had a nightmare. Now we KNOW, and we can deal with it; we ARE dealing with it. I mentioned narrow focus a few paras back, and here it is again. People at college tend to be narrow-focused on career. Most people in the real world are not "totally wrapped up in getting a good job, looking for maximum money without considering the happiness factor." >He looks exhausted as he goes back to his table. He looks as though >he'd like someone to come over and join him, but is too shy to >just sit with anyone he'd like t get to know. Maybe you know >the feeling. Alone in a crowd, that's Eric, sometimes. We're all of us alone in a crowd, sometimes; see above. -- It's exhausting to say all that, to admit to it even privately; to go through those memories and feelings and put words to them. This is one Place where you can do that without fear, and where you can without fear ask someone if you may join them. In fact, asking to sit with someone is possible even in the physical world outside. Expect that there will be many turndowns, but that you will survive them! (How did our shoeless ancestors toughen the soles of their feet for walking? By walking: carefully, sometimes with help, and watching their step, but walking on tender feet till the exposure toughened their soles. But they didn't lose their sensitivity, either. Hang in there, guy. -- -- Mark Mandel (InterNet for a while: mandel@granite.cr.bull.com) /* Bull disclaims all responsibility for me, and I for them. */ Path: mit-eddie!snorkelwacker!think!bbn!granite!mandel From: mandel@granite.cr.bull.com (Mark Mandel) Newsgroups: alt.callahans Subject: Re: My Apology Message-ID: <1990Mar16.160338.10323@granite.cr.bull.com> Date: 16 Mar 90 16:03:38 GMT References: <9062@sdcc6.ucsd.edu> Reply-To: mandel@granite.cr.bull.com (Mark Mandel) Organization: Bull HN Information Systems Inc. Lines: 10 In article <9062@sdcc6.ucsd.edu> daq@hpesdaq.hp.com (Doug Quarnstrom) writes: >In conclusion, I offer again to leave Callahan's for good >as punishment if the clientele deems it necessary. HELL NO! Stick around, guy. You are NOT expelled, not from where I sit! -- -- Mark Mandel (InterNet for a while: mandel@granite.cr.bull.com) /* Bull disclaims all responsibility for me, and I for them. */ Path: mit-eddie!snorkelwacker!think!bbn!granite!mandel From: mandel@granite.cr.bull.com (Mark Mandel) Newsgroups: alt.callahans Subject: Re: Cynic; languages; and T-shirts? Message-ID: <1990Mar16.161046.11619@granite.cr.bull.com> Date: 16 Mar 90 16:10:46 GMT References: <90074.121240JLS139@psuvm.psu.edu> Reply-To: mandel@granite.cr.bull.com (Mark Mandel) Organization: Bull HN Information Systems Inc. Lines: 15 In article <90074.121240JLS139@psuvm.psu.edu> JLS139@psuvm.psu.edu (Abaddon) writes: > "Pochyemu zdyec nyekatori iz nix govorit po yaziki?" :-) (Silverblack checks a reference, then replies:) Ya izuchal russkomu yazyku na sr'ednii shkole... but I don't remember that much of it. >...jeff stine......Abaddon... ^^^^^^^ The angel of the abyss?? Or do you just consider yourself a son of abyss? -- -- Mark Mandel (InterNet for a while: mandel@granite.cr.bull.com) /* Bull disclaims all responsibility for me, and I for them. */ Path: mit-eddie!mintaka!think!zaphod.mps.ohio-state.edu!usc!bbn!granite!mandel From: mandel@granite.cr.bull.com (Mark Mandel) Newsgroups: alt.callahans Subject: Re: Schtuff in general... Message-ID: <1990Mar16.164449.17763@granite.cr.bull.com> Date: 16 Mar 90 16:44:49 GMT References: <06AGL3D@xavier.swarthmore.edu> Reply-To: mandel@granite.cr.bull.com (Mark Mandel) Organization: Bull HN Information Systems Inc. Lines: 27 In article <06AGL3D@xavier.swarthmore.edu> nap92@campus.swarthmore.edu writes: >Just wanted to say that Ursula K. LeGuin's new Earthsea book is out. >Saw it in Waldenbooks; it's called _Tehanu_. I haven't read it yet, >so I don't know what it's about. The first book was about growing up, >and so was the second, and the third was about death.......Gotta go!" (Silverblack considers the black-and-silver covers of the paperback edition of the Earthsea trilogy; at least, his old copies.) I figured it as generations and family relations -- not exclusively, of course. The first book deals with Ged's relationship to his father-figure (gods, I hate this psychobabble, but that's the right word): Ogion the Silent, his teacher. In the second he connects with a young woman, Tenar, a wife- or lover-figure if you will, though (because?) mages are apparently supposed to be celibate. And in the third he "raises", or brings to manhood, a quasi-son, Arren (I forget his true name), the prince. What, then, will the fourth be about? I will read it and see. If anyone feels this discussion is inappropriate here, I guess they'll say so. -- -- Mark Mandel (InterNet for a while: mandel@granite.cr.bull.com) /* Bull disclaims all responsibility for me, and I for them. */