Bookmarque’s Padded Cell 2022 - Pull up a couch (1)

Once more welcome to the Undisciplined Reading Room.

Mostly it’s the same crowd as always (hi guys!! I finally made it!), but if you’re new to the madness, I read a lot of thrillers and mysteries, some lit-fic and science and nature. Lots of audio books. Some graphic novels.

The new Charts & Graphs on LT are a great way to snoop on other people's reading habits, it's fun, here's mine - https://www.librarything.com/stats/Bookmarque/overview

So what else…I’m retired, a photographer and sometime jewelry maker. I live in northern Wisconsin and enjoy the outdoors a lot. Oh crap, what the hell is this, a dating site?

You can find my previous threads here if you want to catch up on the insanity.
2021
2020
2019
2018
2017
2016
2015

I still participate in the Books Read In lists so here they are (a list of lists!) -
Books read 2021
Books read 2020
Books read 2019
Books read 2018
Books read 2017
Books read 2016
Books read 2015
Books read 2014

It's warmed up to a balmy 25 degrees F and will stay that way tomorrow so maybe more of this soon -



So here we are in 2022. I hope it's a better year for everyone. If not, hang on tight and we'll get through it together.

So a few years ago I decided I wanted to try to get into graphic novels and I have, but I’m very, very picky. The boysie-boysie tits-and-ass don’t fly and I’m not into super heroes or intense horror or sci-fi. A little goes a long way, you know? So it’s kinda tough, but I’m managing. I have a Kindle Unlimited account and that’s where I get everything. I thought about doing just a ComiXology unlimited account, but I am primarily a regular book reader so this seemed a good compromise.

So that said I’m not a huge consumer of graphic novels, but I am aware of Terry Moore and his influential style and sometimes groundbreaking work. Recently I started reading the Rachel Rising books and I really like them. They’re smart and mysterious and don’t require the lead woman’s tits to bounce out of her top every five minutes. Seriously, what is with the anti-gravity tits in comic books? Really guys? Oy vey.



Anyway…it’s about a woman who wakes up buried in a shallow grave and digs her way out. Eventually after sorting herself out she meets a murderous 10-year-old-girl, realizes she doesn’t feel much in the way of pain or cold and catches the attention of a man who is keeping his dead wife’s corpse in his house for some company. Ok, so that makes it sound awful, but it isn't. Rachel is determined, rational and has good friends around her. She wants to find out who did this to her and why and also why she sees a strange woman every time there is a sudden death. And why she and the homicidal grade schooler are the only ones who can see her. Enter an ancient demon. A curse. An ancient deal.

It’s fun and I’ll probably continue the series even if the other books aren’t included in KU. Oh and the artwork is entirely in black and white. The panels range in size and shape. Some are just drawings with no action or dialogue. They are evocative in their simplicity - Terry Moore knows how to add to and move the story along with only his art. I really like that about them and make myself slow down to enjoy and understand what he’s trying to tell me without words.

Anyway…here’s the link to the series if you want to check it out yourself - https://www.librarything.com/nseries/27420/Rachel-Rising-2011

Happy New Thread! Happy reading in '22!

Love the photo, but I'm already wishing for Spring. We went down to 12°F last night, and had 20+ mph winds. Not my thing.

Happy New Year! It's great to see your new thread! I'm looking forward to this year's crop of photos as well as your book reviews.

Happy New Year and Thread.

I love the picture you have started the thread with, but with so many "Happy New Year" wishes around I cannot but feel it somewhat incongruous that the first book you describe is "The Shadow of Death". :-)

Happy New Year!

Thanks guys. Sorry about the death thing so early. New Years doesn't mean much to me so I didn't even realize. Gah!

>1 Bookmarque: Lovely view of untouched snow, always looking calm and peaceful and almost holy. Thanks for sharing that.

As a youngster I was always excited to be the first one to step in new snow, knowing I was the first human ever to walk there. And then of course I hated the footprints that spoiled the smooth perfection.

>7 Meredy:
As a youngster I was always excited to be the first one to step in new snow, knowing I was the first human ever to walk there. And then of course I hated the footprints that spoiled the smooth perfection.

To boldly go where no one has gone before. You have been Trekkie all your life. You were born to be a Trekkie.

>1 Bookmarque: I have had a date with you, and you totally lived up to my expectations (exceeded?). ;)

>2 Bookmarque: That may just be a book bullet for me, but I am being Frugal this year, so the hit will be delayed. I don't care for graphic novels on a reading device. My eyes are never that good and I like to be able to study the pictures, if the novel is any good.

Yes, and what a nice date it was. A double!

I'm reading the second collected volume and I like it. The device doesn't bother me and in fact helps because you can take each panel individually at a greater magnification or read the page as a whole. For the pages I know have art that goes underneath and between the panels, I look at it as a piece and then to read I go to the individual panels. The way the kindle app works is to let you 'turn the page' from panel to panel. If that makes sense.

I do so love your photographs what a lovely start to your new thread.

Happy new thread!

Thanks guys. I was out with the camera yesterday, but the light wasn't as good as I wanted and I couldn't get into the river the way I wanted, but what they hell. I was out and it was a nice day for it. This is what I get when the light cooperates - tiny trees in fresh snow!!

Aww, lovely! The third one looks to be leaping for joy while waving banners!

>13 Bookmarque: Happy New Year and new thread and thanks for the pictures!

>14 Sakerfalcon: it does! It even has a little right hand!

>13 Bookmarque:
Lovely. So cleansing and refreshing to look at.

>14 Sakerfalcon: I read that as "waving bananas" which seemed a bit odd, although with imagination it works with the photo. lol

Ha! I hadn't considered banners or bananas or bandanas for that matter. Love it!

Finished the Rachel Rising series and while mostly satisfying, there are some loose ends and characters that don't go anywhere, but that were treated with some suspicion. There is a set up for more books at the end, but since it's been over 5 years since it ended, I doubt there will be. But what the heck it was fun and I am enjoying my foray into graphic novels.

Started reading Naked Once More by Elizabeth Peters. It’s not one of her Amelia Peabody novels since I stopped reading those when the revolting Rameses took center stage. This features a librarian turned romance writer who gets caught up in shenanigans and does the whole amatuer sleuth thing albeit without really trying. She’s sort of like Ariadne Oliver who turns up in various Poirot books. Eccentric, but it’s put on and she doesn’t hide it. Sees deeply into people and situations and then exploits them ever so politely to get what she wants. Wrote her books because she knew she could make money from them, but knows they’re basically rubbish. I don’t like how she looks down on people who say they love her books, but I get why she does. Because they don’t get the fact that they’re send-ups. Even the cover is a send up (albeit a beautiful one) -



I don't know, I like her and it’s the fourth and last in the series and since Peters is dead, the series is, too. So I was wondering how I could get the first three books (it doesn’t seem like they need to be read in order) and it turns out they are available as part of the Audible Plus program, so essentially free to borrow. Nice. I love it when the universe does me a favor. Lol.

>20 Bookmarque: "Nice. I love it when the universe does me a favor."

Perhaps because it's so rare! Enjoy.

Right you are, clam! I threw a review up for Naked and another one for the latest from Patrick McGrath - Last Days in Cleaver Square. I picked it up last year and just got to it now. Was VERY relieved that it was more on form than the previous effort. The subtlety and humor are there. The lack of cliched images, phrases and characters. The insight into humanity, and particularly, the disintegrating mind. And the cover is gorgeous, too.

Thanks to whomever thumbed up that review. I love McGrath, but he's lost his popularity I'm afraid. Not that he was ever a top-tier name. So glad I discovered him in the late 80s.

Anyway, this is an anecdote to be filed under D for Dope.

I don't do a lot of pre-ordering, but have started to recently because it does help with an author's initial print run. Plus B&N is having a 25% off Preorder sale so what the heck.

But how to keep track? I started using the To Read collection, but recently found a book in there that I can't find an order for. Because I forgot I actually had an online account at B&N I was always checking out as a guest so no history. Usually I save my order confirmation emails as well, but no dice. So I'll ignore that one until it lands or doesn't and I'll know.

There has to be a better way. So today I put my preorders into the To Read collection with the tag preorder and the B&N order # in the Private Comments field. Done and done. Now if I can only remember to do this whenever I preorder a book.

How do you guys handle your preorders if you routinely make them?

>23 Bookmarque: You can set up a library of your own and call it Preorders.

Do you mean a collection? Yeah, I thought of that, too, but in the end went with a tag and To Read. I even thought of using a list, but if it's going to end up in my catalog anyway...

>25 Bookmarque:
I do. Sorry!

ETA:
The problem I see with the Collection is that one would have to enter the book by hand if it has not yet been published and therefore not appearing automatically in the "Add books" process. Of course, that is a problem one would have with any approach as to add a tag to a book or put the book in a collection it needs to exist on LT.

>23 Bookmarque: I pre-order and promptly forget about it. Which means that at least once I've pre-ordered the same book twice. Which means my daughter, or someone, also gets a book. :P

>27 MrsLee: I've done that too. NorthernStar often benefits from my double orders.

What a nice benefit to absent-mindedness!

So far I haven't had trouble finding the books in a source and if I have to add manually that's fine, too.

>28 tardis: I'm always happy to get tardis's extras, and will happily volunteer to receive extras from anyone else who wants to send them to me! As a public service, of course.

Absolutely. It's all part of the value-add, right?

Lately I find myself kind of overwhelmed when it comes to audiobooks and so I had a look through radio dramas since I find them so entertaining. There are a few in my collection and while they aren’t true books, they are so much fun that I count them that way. Like graphic novels. They play a dual role - the first time listening and being entertained, but also for when I can’t sleep at night and need something to listen to while I’m awake, but not something that I really need to pay attention to. This is what my old audiobooks are for - re-listening. Since I’m trying to fall back to sleep, I can’t have anything that weighs on my psyche too much and I think these are a great way to relax. So far I have some Raymond Chandler (the Marlowe series), some John LeCarre (Smiley) and now some P.D. James (a mix of Dalgliesh and Cordelia Gray). Any other Radio Drama lovers out there? All the ones I have so far are from the BBC since there isn’t an equivalent in the USA that does anything reasonably current.

>32 Bookmarque: I don't count radio dramas as books, but I do review them on my thread. Like you, I find them a good way of revisting old friends.

I particularly like Anton Lesser in th BBC dramatisations of the Falco novels.

Oooh, Falco novels. I'll have to see if audible has them. Love the books.

And speaking of ancient Rome - here's my haul from the Friends of the Library sale - a new and old series set in Imperial Rome -

Nice haul! I really enjoyed HBOs Rome.

It was an enjoyable hour or so browsing. Plus I got Rocky IV and MacGuyver so there's that, too! Lol.

Success! Falco dramas available on audible!

Here's a look at the books I read in January -



It looks like a lot, but many are graphic novels and so went very quickly. In year's past I counted each series as basically one book, but it became too difficult to reconcile various lists so I gave that up.

Not a lot of serious books here, but a lot of fun, particularly the Rachel Rising series of comic books.

Wow!
Any chance you can make those a little bigger? LOL Even on my wide screen desktop monitor a couple of them are illegible.

Well, Bookmarque, you got me (over on Peter's thread) with a BB that just plowed right through all the other BBs and charged to the front of the line. I'm now reading Golden State, while everything else waits.

(Touchstone doesn't seem to be registering after three tries.)

(Edited to try the touchstone once more. It worked this time.)

Sorry about that Clam. I was trying to get them all in one screenshot.





Oh I hope you like it as much as I did, Meredy, it's got some interesting ideas taken where I didn't expect.

After having it on my shelf for years, I’ve finally started reading Daniel Martin by John Fowles and it isn’t far removed from his other books I’ve read. I mean that in terms of literary license or what you could call shenanigans. He was a pretty famously experimental author and is often called postmodern, whatever that’s supposed to mean. He does my head in.

Mostly in a good way. This time out he’s mixing 1st and 3rd person narratives. Not just from section to section, chapter to chapter or even paragraph to paragraph. Nay not just sentence to sentence, but even within a sentence -

“But by then, the spring, Dan had written his fourth or fifth play, I forget now.” - Dan and I are one in the same.

At first I thought I was having a brain fade or something, that I missed some pages or paragraphs or a set up. When it started happening again, I noted it down and wondered why he would use such a device. What was it for? What does it do? How can it advance the story in a way that sticking to one or the other wouldn’t?

It’s like when you’re watching a film or TV show and the main character is talking about something in the past and then there’s a dissolve and suddenly we’re watching whatever she’s remembering. It’s her memory, but we see it from a third person perspective; a fly on the wall. She may even still be narrating in a voice over. Like that.

So I did a little googling and a reviewer talked about the proposed disguised memoir that Dan talked about writing at the beginning of the book. That he’d do it using an assumed name; Simon Wolfe and that the third person bits are indeed that book. All well and good. I like the book-within-a-book thing. Except he still refers to himself as Dan. Then as I.



Oy vey. Anyway. I’m still reading. It’s not exactly a chore and I’m not hating it, but it’s not the kind of book you can really get lost in. It requires close and precise reading and attention. I’ll see if it still entertains me as I go on. Not sure I’ll finish all of its 629 hardcover pages, but I might. Maybe it’s good for me even if I don’t really grasp everything he’s trying to do with regard to the duality of human nature, the fallibility of memory and the way life can take a major turn on the least of decisions.

Anyone else semi-torture themselves like this?

>41 Bookmarque: I used to do that sort of thing more than I do now. I remember I read Pale Fire, said what on earth was that, and read it again right away.

>42 Jim53: How did you do with House of Leaves?

>40 Bookmarque: Thank you, I can see them all now.

>43 Meredy: I never read House of Leaves. It sounded intriguing, but I'm not a fan of horror, and I couldn't determine how big a part of the book it was (it sounded as if it might be a major part). Have you read it? What are your thoughts about it?

>45 Jim53: & >43 Meredy:
I did read it, and Jim, horror is a big part of it.

I was intrigued by the experimental structure and I had to use three bookmarks when reading it to keep track of the various rabbit holes it sends the reader down.

My bottom line on the book was that it was far too big for the story it told and that a much shorter book could have been more effective at showing off the experimental structure and at instilling the fright into the reader that the author wanted to put there.

I thought Danielewsky made the reader work too hard for the effect the book had. I was glad I read it but it did inspire me not to read any more of his books.

The copy I read was the original big sized physical book. I do not think it would be practical to read it in a smaller physical format or as an e-text.

While I have a big physical copy of Leaves, I have only attempted to read it once.

Once.

I didn't seek it out on purpose, but randomly came across it while browsing at a B&N. It seemed weird and intriguing. Why I keep it is anyone's guess. Maybe one day I'll fall and hit my head and it will all make sense.

In the meantime, the universe has done me another favor. I wonder what it will want in return? Cringe. Anyway, on various reading threads I saw a lot of chatter about the Dublin Trilogy, which has become five books like the Hitchhikers' Guide Trilogy. All of them, starting with A Man with one of those Faces, are available in Kindle Unlimited so I started it yesterday. I usually have an ebook going as well as a physical and audio so it works out great.

So far I like the writing style and the humor. We'll see where it goes!

Plus the covers are pretty fab -

>47 Bookmarque: I'm one of those who succumbed to Caimh McDonnell. I think I've only read the first three, then I decided to take a break so I wouldn't finish too soon. I'm going to start The Stranger Times, a book from his scifi writings, either today or tomorrow.

>45 Jim53: Yes, I have. Here's my review: https://www.librarything.com/work/1488/reviews/94097704

I suppose it is a kind of horror novel, although I hesitate to call it that because although it is suffused with creepiness and shuddery effects, I don't think it has many of the characteristics we would normally associate with a horror story. It seems to me to be in a special class, although not all alone in it. In time I think I will read it again.

>49 Meredy: I enjoyed my read of House of Leaves but I agree with >46 pgmcc: that the book is longer and more complicated than it needs to be. OTOH, I think that was at least part of the point in Danielewski writing the book as it is clearly a literary experiment. Whether or not that experiment works on every level is best decided by each reader. It worked for me.

>49 Meredy: I love your review, Meredy. In fact, I think when I re-read, I will take your recommendation of perusing the back matter before returning to the first page.

>50 ScoLgo: why, thank you. I wonder if you might be interested in the book on ergodic literature that I reviewed here:
https://www.librarything.com/work/173577/reviews/99403868
It made my head spin, dare I say "but in a good way"? I'm not even sure of that. I also reviewed Pale Fire at about the same time. Not sure I've fully recovered since.

I thought the Danielewski novel was plenty long enough for a novel, and then some, but not at all excessive for its way of being that was not just a novel. For one thing, it forces you to live with it for a longish time. I think you are right in calling it an experiment, but to me it also seemed as if it were a deep dive into psychological and mythological depths that are usually inexpressible in linear language, requiring poetry and especially metaphor or, even more effectively, the wordless art of painting. Jung territory. I am imagining that while he was writing it, he must have been sheer hell to live with.

>49 Meredy: Your review makes me want to dig out my copy of House of leaves and read it at once. I think I'd better wait until the Arcadia group read is over though. Two such twisty and disorienting books in close succession might send me completely batty!

I'm not sure I have the patience for Leaves, but am looking forward to Arcadia. I wonder if I can find my old notes. I'm gonna need them!

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Although I liked the other books by Jennifer Haigh, I’m having a really hard time with Mrs. Kimble - were women in the mid-20th century really so sheltered, ignorant, passive and trusting? OMG it’s hard to take and I have less sympathy for the first Mrs. Kimble than probably merits. Of course she’s an abandoned wife. Of course she never saw it coming and never understood what her husband really is. Of course she has no skills. No friends. No coping mechanisms besides cheap wine. Of course she makes bad decision after bad decision. It’s not surprising, but really irritating for me.

When young, I was pretty dumb, too, but never this bad. I learned and improved not only myself but my life and situation. This woman is helpless to the point of idiocy. Truly I wonder if she’s sub-normal. It’s not just the men who want to keep them dumb and controllable, but the women, too. No one wants to give her a clue or help her. Every time she gets herself into something I cringe and see where it will inevitably go, but she's to blind and stupid. A visit from Child Services sends her into a panic of shame even though it’s not entirely her fault her husband is an asshole. Why does society blame them and let the men get off with nothing? They go along and hook woman after woman and leave them behind when they become inconvenient. Children go hungry and the cycle continues. It’s so maddening that I really just don’t want to listen to it anymore. Luckily I borrowed it from the library and haven’t spent anything on it except my time.

Recently I listened to a couple of audiobooks that were a little outside my normal range, but not much. Both are books about women and their complex relationships. Now before I lose a lot of the room, think about this for a minute - women’s relationships spill over into their connections to the men in their lives. In almost 100% of heterosexual couples, the woman is the center of the home, the carer of the children and the finder of lost socks/glasses/toys/pets/car keys. Without her head screwed on straight, a lot of other people’s smoothly sailing lives are in for a wreck. I’ve always shaken my head at the fact that the vast majority of men dismiss women’s interior lives and shun any book that might have a faint whiff of estrogen. Most men want to know how stuff works, why not women? Maybe they just like complaining about how inscrutable we are. Snort, women right? What are they thinking? Well boys, pick up a couple of books and find out.

.

You could do worse than The Herd by Andrea Bartz & Friends and Strangers by J. Courtney Sullivan. Now I’m an old lady, most of the front-list in this space is written by younger women. In the case of The Herd, young enough to be my daughter. As you might expect, both books also have characters much younger than I am and that’s partly why I wanted to read them. Has anything changed in terms of how women treat each other, what they might hold for life goals or career goals, how they view themselves and their bodies? Do women still make the same choices they always have?

In some ways yes, and no. And I fully realize this is fiction, but it is also indicative of how up-and-coming women see themselves, their roles and their choices. The Herd is a co-working space for women only and largely empowers them with spaces of their own and room to be female without the male gaze. Trouble is they have a Gleam Room which is named after the founder’s other company, Gleam. Gleam is a makeup line. So the Gleam Room is what you think it is - lots of product, mirrors, professional stylists that can be hired to make you Gleam for your interview/show/audition/conference, etc. So we can all strive for the unattainable perfection that is a requirement to be an acceptable representative of our gender.

Oy vey. How things change, but how things stay the same. Oh sure, there is some sisterly camaraderie going on that knows the whole thing is bullshit, but they don’t buck or challenge any of it. Maybe these young women do let their more altruistic feelings run off the leash a bit, but in the end the patriarchy is still forcing the idea that you have to crush the little people under you in order to get ahead. It’s not entirely a downer though and there are some bright spots. Things just take a really long time to actually change, if ever.

Friends and Strangers gives us a couple of women at very different stages in their lives; Elizabeth in her early 30s is a first-time mother and hires Sam, a college senior, to babysit a few times a week while she works on her third book. The underlying theme here is privilege and entitlement. E comes from money and is used to things just working out for her. She doesn’t worry too much about money although it is a central theme in her life. Sam doesn’t come from money, but thinks her good intentions and actions give her the right to meddle in things she doesn’t fully understand. Another privilege is E’s husband Andrew and his bedrock understanding that his wife’s body is his to command. He wants another child and so of course he must have one. The rigors of IVF are nothing to him and so why wouldn’t E want to do it again? She’s already doing 95% of everything for their brand new son, adding another so they can be “2 under 2” won’t make any difference. I’m just helping her to tap into what’s natural to women, right? Nothing is more fulfilling than having a baby after all.

In the end though, the women make sensible, if difficult decisions. They do what’s best for themselves and as they go through their lives, the people around them including Andrew. I was a little jealous of how good E was for Sam in terms of being a rational voice from a person Sam actually respected. I sure could have used someone like that when I was Sam’s age.

Anyway…I’ve been meaning to write about these two books here for a while. So much of
“Women’s fiction” gets dismissed, sidelined or trivialized and that’s just bullshit. Why do we devalue the feminine and make everything masculine the norm? Oh, right, that’s how patriarchy works. These were enlightening, entertaining and omg, even funny sometimes so I wanted to make sure I wrote about them here.

>54 Bookmarque: Excellent reviews. I'm almost tempted by that second title, but my book piles already 'overfloweth.' Might stick it on a wishlist!

Thanks clam. I did review each of them as well and ... I don't think there are any spoilers. Lol.

This is why Barnes & Noble is circling the drain -

In a live chat I asked about a $100+ order that I was supposed to get a 20% discount on all preordered books, but for which I was being charged full price. I gave the order number and got this -

I understand that you ordered this with coupon. What coupon code did you used?

Really? You expect me to come up with this? It’s been a couple of months, but I gave my best guess. After about 10 minutes of nothing and then a nudge from me I got this -

Thank you for waiting. As a one-time courtesy, I will process a manual adjustment on the. Please be advised since this is a manual adjustment, there will be no new confirmation email. For the books that have shipped already, you will receive a refund and email confirmation regarding the refund. The adjustment amount is $.

A one time courtesy? Gee, thanks for being so accommodating. I thank the person and ask what went wrong on the original order.

The coupon code was not applied.

I’m a bit incredulous. I say back that I remember it did apply because I had to do it twice to take effect and I’m pretty darn sure my confirmation emails stated the discounted prices. Also said that I would be very hesitant to order again because this was worrying.

I see. However, the coupon code did not apply to the order. Will there be anything else aside from this?

Dismissed. Next case please. Send in another victim of Industrial Disease.

OMFG! No apology. No ‘oh that’s too bad’. Not an ounce of understanding. Just blame me and make me feel so special by giving my one-time only fix. They’ve just lost me as a customer. After it was obvious the deep discounts at Amazon weren’t coming across as often, I decided to shift some of my business to B&N because price-wise things were pretty equal. I felt kinda good about flipping them some business. After this performance, they don’t deserve it. How hard would it have been to send me away happy? Now I’m pissed and telling you all about it. LOL.

>57 Bookmarque: Send in another victim of Industrial Disease.: Do you live on Telegraph Road?

>58 haydninvienna: Hahaha! I wondered if anyone would catch that. Oh wouldn't that be perfect.

>59 Bookmarque: I like all kinds of good music, not just my near namesake’s.

That was my very first album from them. Vinyl. Still have it and all the rest, plus the EP with Twistin' by the Pool on it. Oh how I wish there was more.

>54 Bookmarque: Great reviews! I am very tempted by The herd.

>62 Sakerfalcon: It's pretty good even if everyone cries at the drop of a hat.

Only 10 books read in February, which is more usual. No graphic novels to bulk up the stats. So I could make the covers pretty large and get them all in one shot -



I think I had the most fun with the last one which shows first on the top left - DSI Julie Enfield Investigates which is an original BBC Radio Drama and done in the mid to late 90s. Since it's not an adapted work, it is written specifically for audio. It has a lot of music that is in Julie's life and in those she comes across in her investigations. There's one case that revolves around the Underground and there are lots of hilarious announcements about why the train was delayed. Julie lives with her ageing dad and they are so great together - he's feisty and trying to deal with his failings, both mental and physical, but there is love and a lot of board games. She has good relationships with her fellow coppers and no one felt like a throw-away character or was a cartoon or caricature. I wish there were more episodes, but they ended in 1999.

Dear Authors,

Please, please, please learn, once and for all; Glocks don't have traditional safeties. They don't work like Smiths, Sigs, Colts, Berettas, or H&Ks. The safety is in the trigger on a Glock. Make a note. Keep it handy. Refer to it often. Don't make me doubt the rest of your detail because you can't get basic ordinance right.

Love,

Bookmarque

OK! Perhaps Bookmarque has certain skills she hasn’t kept us all fully aware of.

Not me, really, but my husband who is a competitive shooter and uses a Glock in matches. Plus I've been to the range enough with Glocks and other pistols and I know how they work.

>61 Bookmarque: Where did you get that case of Betty Davis knees?

>66 pgmcc: A very particular set of skills...

>69 -pilgrim-: …which she has acquired during a long career.

>69 -pilgrim-: >70 pgmcc: I think you missed the point there.

>71 Karlstar:
Perhaps you have not TAKEN our point.

OMG you guys are too funny.

Oh and PS. To all you sound engineers out there, do not insert a clip of a semi-auto rack slide when the person is holding a revolver.

>68 Karlstar: At least I don't have brewers droop!!!

>72 pgmcc: I'm sure I didn't, I was still doing Dire Straits lyrics!

A few favorites from some snowshoe outings -

The second and third would make pretty winter greeting cards..

>77 MrsLee: yeah they would.

>76 Bookmarque: Beautiful, so serene.

>76 Bookmarque: Wonderful! Do you still have snow on the ground?

Oh tons. Probably a couple of feet. Was out in it today.

>81 Bookmarque: Wow! I'm surprised you have that much.

The pictures are wonderful. So clean and clear.

Thanks guys. Winter definitely has its upside. Like freezing fog -



I took this yesterday morning. River still frozen solid much to the chagrin of the geese that flew overhead. Maybe some open water near dams upstream. But ice out will happen soon.

>84 Bookmarque: Awesome!

>84 Bookmarque: *Sigh* That is so beautiful.

>84 Bookmarque: oh, I love freezing fog! It’s so pretty!

>84 Bookmarque: Really lovely. Fog is one of my favorite things, as long as I don't have to drive.

Thanks everyone. Fog is lovely, but yeah, not for driving. Same day, but farther from the river so less fog, but oh the frost.

About an hour ago I heard the unmistakable rusty-gate screech of eagles. Two were having a kerfluffle in the backyard over a fish. Here is the adult with the prize, but last year's offspring tried to take it. No way, kiddo, get one yourself. No more handouts. I put the long lens on the camera and went out the patio to shoot clear across the yard into the trees. It's facing away from the river which is the whole background.



I got off this one shot and then it turned and flew away. I love my backyard.

Gorgeous images! Your backyard is amazing!

Thanks, I really do love it here. The foggy river and frost images are from areas just minutes from the house. This is a shot of a creek that's 10 minutes away. My surrogate backyard -



It was snowing and it's only about 20 degrees again today, but we've had a big melt already so that's why the water is so high and fast.

That eagle is amazing! I love your backyard, too!

Wow (to both the eagle and your backyard)! What a wonderful place to live.

Thanks guys. The river is frozen over again, but should break up. It won't be 8 degrees forever. lol

>90 Bookmarque: >92 Bookmarque: Great shots and what a great place to live!

>90 Bookmarque: Glad you were paying attention and had your camera handy!

I'm so glad you're happy there. (I know I didn't handle the Winters well. But your blood was already thickened from NH living!)

Thanks clam. It has been a good move for both of us. This is a shot from yesterday -



A pair of Trumpeter swans having a tiff. A minute before they were swimming quite boringly and then after a few seconds, went back to serene boringness again. They are lovely, but loud and vocalize all the time. Even in the middle of the night. I like having them around though they don't stay to raise kids on our bit of river. Plenty of other small lakes and ponds where they do though.

>100 Bookmarque: Oh, they're beautiful!

You captured the moment perfectly! I see the waterfowl scrapping on the lake at work often, but don't have the kit or the ability to photograph it.

Thanks guys. They are fun to watch when they're doing something or when they have cygnets.

Recently I’ve added radio dramas to my audiobook routine. I know they technically aren’t books, but I count them as things I’ve ‘read’ anyway. I wanted to talk about two of them that I really enjoyed.

First is DSI Julie Enfield Investigates - it is just like what it sounds like, a police procedural set in England featuring Julie Enfield as lead investigator.



The cases are not only fun to listen to, they have good crimes, investigation and a bit of charming family on the side. It’s not what you think there - Julie is neither married nor a mother. Instead she lives with her aging dad who at first isn’t taking that well, but finds ways to cope. They crack open a lot of beers, play a lot of board games and discover the internet (the show is set in the 1990s). The episodes run 1-2 hours each as far as I can remember. They get a trifle formulaic in that Julie manages to get herself trapped or imprisoned in each episode. Really fun though.

The second is a little different. It’s The Man in Black: The Complete Series 1-4. It’s billed as 20 creepy full-cast dramas and that’s what it is.



Along the lines of M.R. James’s stories - psychologically disturbing and twisted. Not gory or gross. That was the selling point for me. I don’t want to hear just stabbings and garrotings. Each episode is ½ an hour and mostly they were fun and genuinely creepy. A cross between Twilight Zone and Weird Tales.

The thing that made them both stand out is that they are radio originals, not adapted from regular books. So I think the plot, the action and of course the dialog was all designed from an audio perspective. For the most part the sound design itself is good in both. Of course the sound of people splashing through water outdoors does sound like it was done inside. And sometimes the sound of people’s footsteps was too pronounced, but most of the time it was fine.

So if you like this kind of thing, check it out.

>104 Bookmarque:
I wasn't aware of "The Men in Black".

I take it you are aware that Mark Gatiss is very fond of the works of M.R. James. If you have not seen his documentary on M.R. James, "M.R. James: Ghost Writer", it is well worth a watch. My friend, Robert Lloyd Parry, portrays M.R. James in it. Robert's performances of the James stories are always a delight.

I'd never even heard of Mark Gatiss before this, so thanks for the info. And I knew the UK was a small place, but your friend was in the documentary? That's so strange.

The stories were written by lots of different people, but if Gatiss is a James fan he may have either commissioned them to be similar or picked out stories that were. Either way it was a lot of fun.

OK, wait, yes I have seen his work as Mycroft Holmes, but I didn't recognize his name. And I believe whenever he pops up in stuff I recognize him again, but the name escapes me. It probably won't now, lol.

Adding another post because of the spammer. Don't want it to get the last word for now. Remind you of another thread? lol

Anyway...so while I was looking at Mark Gatiss's Wikipedia page it surprised me to see his spouse is Ian somebody. Not that I care who his spouse it, but that my brain isn't used to same sex spouses yet. It catches on that and notices. I wonder when it will be so normal and old hat that it won't happen anymore? Hm. Interesting.

>106 Bookmarque:
And I knew the UK was a small place, but your friend was in the documentary?

I am not in the UK, but Robert was in Ireland for a few performances. Another friend of mine knew Robert and persuaded me to go along to the performances. At that time he only performed M.R. James stories. He has expanded his repertoire considerably since then. I have included the link to the documentary in the previous post. I would be interested to hear your views on the documentary and on Robert as M.R. James.

In terms of "small" places, Ireland's population is about 5m in The South and 1.5m in The North; not much more than a big city in Britain or the US, or most European countries. I always had fun when colleagues from the UK, Canada or the US came to Ireland. We would go out to meet clients and they could not believe it when I would meet someone I knew. There was a time when a Canadian colleague visited the state broadcasting organisation, RTÉ, with me. We were meeting the Purchasing Manager (PM) and another local colleague had told me the PM was his cousin and asked me to say hello from him. At the end of our meeting I mentioned this to the PM and my Canadian colleague thought this was very strange. As we were walking along the corridor from the PM's office and he was saying how unusual it appeared to him, a neighbour of mine came out of a room and we had a brief conversation. She worked in the News Room. That was a shock for my colleague. As we were leaving the building and walking to the corporate canteen, someone shouted out, "Hello, Peter!" It was my wife's cousin who was Producer in RTÉ. My Canadian colleague was totally flabbergasted. These things happen in Ireland.

That's right, you're not. I forget. Sorry. What do you all call that group of islands though? Or do not try to be that inclusive? It's a bit hard for me to get it although I sort of do. History. Politics. Despicable acts. All there, but I guess the closest we have to it here is the Civil war and the south didn't win and didn't secede. Not for lack of trying.

But anyway...I know very little about M.R. James so I'm not sure an assessment by me would be valuable or even astute. I will see if I can watch the doc. Not sure how much internet bandwidth we have left for the month.

>110 Bookmarque: What do you all call that group of islands though?

Britain and Ireland.

So no word for the whole? As Inspector Clousseau might say - Not anymore!

>111 pgmcc: Would you not be OK with "the British Isles" as a geographical, and not a political, construct?

In the same sense as "North America" is a continent while "America" is a state.

That's probably what I should have used, -p-, but brain fade and so there it is. I will try to remember in the future.

The old term still hangs around, but it tends not to be used here. It is inaccurate since 1922.

>115 pgmcc: Two memories jump to mind while reading this conversation...

The first: I recall flying to the old country to visit family a number of years ago. I had a large supply of trail mix for the long flight from Seattle to Heathrow and shared some with the elderly British lady sitting next to me, (she really enjoyed the 'smarties' - a term for chocolate M&M's I had not heard prior). During our conversation, I made reference to "the mainland", meaning the European continent. She corrected me, saying England was not an island but rather an 'Island Nation', (I could actually hear the uppercase in her voice), and that what I referred to as the mainland was properly called 'The Continent'. I have not made that mistake again! lol!

The second thing: During our visit to the old country, we spent a day with my uncle Nils who, at the time was in his mid-80's. His favorite place in town was the library. It is about a 7 minute walk from his apartment to said library. We were there in summer and the weather was nice. It took us about 45 minutes to reach the library because every few steps someone would stop to say hello to my uncle. He was a well-known and much beloved figure in my hometown.

>116 ScoLgo:
I love your memories.

"Mainland" is an interesting word in Ireland. Visitors from Britain will often refer to Britain as "The Mainland". My response to that is, "Oh, you mean France and Germany; The Continent?" Referring to Britain as "The Mainland" when in Ireland is a sure-fired way of getting people's backs up as it puts Ireland in the category of being a possession of Britain and not an independent country. It is a lesson I have seen many people learn. They never forget it. :-) It is usually passed with good humour. It is really the same idea as people in Britain not liking The Continent being referred to as The Mainland. The fact that Ireland fought a war of independence to get away from British rule may also have something to do with it. :-)

I can relate to your uncle Nils 7 minute walk becoming a 45 minute walk. It is lovely when people are known in the community and can stop and have a chat.

>117 pgmcc:
Ouch. I have never heard anyone do that (and can quite see how offensive it is).

But your answer at >111 pgmcc: left me wondering - do you consider the other islands - Man, the Channel Islands etc. - that are part of the UK, to also be part of "Britain"?

I know "Britain" is often used as a short-hand for the UK (just as America is for the USA), but to me it really refers simply to the physically largest island in this cluster.

Or, as a geologist, do you have another term for the landmass, as distinct from the political unit?

>118 -pilgrim-:
Britain is the island of England, Scotland and Wales. Great Britain includes the islands around Britain that are under the UK rule. The United Kingdom’s full title, is The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland. When the whole island of Ireland was under British rule, the UK was The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland.

The Isle of Man and The Channel Islands are not part of the UK. They are British Crown Dependencies, but they are not part of the UK.

>119 pgmcc:
Your first paragraph agrees completely with my understanding.

And regarding the second, I was quite simply wrong - thank you for the correction.

But, for me, "the British Isles" is simply an aggregate term for a collection of islands: Britain, Ireland, Man, and so on - without any political implications regarding sovereignty, national borders etc.

But if you feel "British Isles" has a political implication (of dominance by one island of the group), what is your preferred term for the whole collection?

In your answer >111 pgmcc: you were pointing out, quite correctly, that Britain and Ireland are both separate islands and independent nations.

But listing all the islands is cumbersome, there must be some collective name for this archipelago.

ETA: I am not trying to be picky; I am trying to identify a non-offensive vocabulary.

Confusion between Britain (the island), the UK (a nation state) and England (a former nation state and current constituent of the UK) also rankles with those who live where only two of the above apply.

My term for the group of islands inhabited by the English, the Scots, the Welsh, the Irish, the Manx (etc) was “the small rainy islands off the north west coast of Europe”, but I acknowledge that it doesn’t really roll off the tongue.

Just for completeness, the Orkneys and the Shetland Islands are part of Scotland, but the Channel Islands (Jersey, Guernsey, Sark et al) are, like the Isle of Man, Crown Dependencies and not part of the UK. The Crown Dependencies are, in theory, directly ruled by the Queen in Council, and are not subject to the Parliament at Westminster.

Wouldn’t it be fun if the Union ever did come apart and England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland became separate nation-states? Maybe then “British Islands” could be a simple geographical term, since there would no longer be a political entity that calls itself “Britain”.

>120 -pilgrim-:
Richard hit it on the head in >121 haydninvienna: with “the small rainy islands off the north west coast of Europe”. It is a perfect, apolitical and accurate description of the islands, and everyone in Europe thinks of them that way. :-)

2012 started a string of centenary celebrations and commemorations, relating to the Ulster Covenant, The 2013 Lockout, 1916 Rising, War of Independence, Treaty, Civil War, etc… People here are only one or two generations from those events. People of my generation would have grown up hearing the stories of those events from their parents. The NI Troubles are also very fresh in people’s minds, especially since Brexit removed the cornerstone of The Good Friday agreement.

I mention all this to make the point that all these events are fresh in many people’s minds. In that context asking some people here to accept the term British Isles would be like asking Ukrainians to accept their country being considered part of The Russian Federation. It is a dramatic comparison but it touches the basis of why referring to Britain as The Mainland, or using the term British Isles can ruffle feathers in Ireland.

So, using Richard’s title for the islands, we can refer to them as, “TSRIOTNWCOE”.

:-)

>122 pgmcc: Peter, that's probably pronounceable in Irish.

Names matter. There's a chunk of the former Yugoslavia that was known for quite a while as "FYROM"--Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia. After the break-up of Yugoslavia, the former component republics went their separate ways (sort of) and resumed their historic names, up to a point. Not Macedonia though. The Greeks regarded the use of the term "Macedonia" for the former Yugoslav republic as being a claim to the region of Greece that is called Macedonia, and objected violently. So for years that former republic went officially as "the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia". It's now officially "North Macedonia".

>121 haydninvienna: May I add my 2c-worth?

"small rainy islands"? I've just checked, and although the largest island is well over half the size of Madagascar (Lands End to John o'Groats c. 1350 km, Taolagnaro (Fort Dauphin) to Antsiranana (Diego Suarez) somewhat over 2000 km), that's still pretty hefty. Ireland will, of course, seem bigger because of the length of time one spends stopping and talking on the way from A to B -- even as a foreigner like me.

>125 hfglen: I'm from Australia. They still look like small islands to me.

>126 haydninvienna: Australia sure is a big island.

This is an interesting conversation. I did not know a lot of the information. I’m curious, is Ireland part of the EU?

>128 catzteach: Yes. And also part of the Eurozone.

Regarding the discussion above on what the :"small, rainy islands" should be called, I came across this on a Five Books page on The best books on Britishness:

This is a place of extraordinary complexity. I will always remember when I attempted to explain to my son, aged eight, the difference between England, Wales, Scotland, Northern Ireland, Ireland, the United Kingdom, Britain, Great Britain and the British Isles. There is no other country that doesn’t know what it’s called.

Phew! That was an education. Wow. Thanks peeps over the pond.

Today's wildlife encounter so far is this little hooded merganser. Isn't he handsome?



I was wandering the yard for pictures of snowy branches and stuff and thought I might as well check out if there were any birds about. When I got down to the dock he was way out in the channel, but I decided to see if he'd come closer. After a bit of aimless drifting, he did and wasn't disturbed by me at all. Luckily I can settle into a deep squat for a while since it took him a few minutes to come into range. Next time I'll bring my 5-gallon bucket stool and settle in for longer. Maybe toward the end of the week when it warms up a bit.

>131 Bookmarque: Lovely looking.

>131 Bookmarque: Great pic. They have such interestingly shaped heads, don't they?

>131 Bookmarque: Beautiful little fellow!

Thanks guys. Yeah, the hood is a neat feature of these guys. The other day a few of them were trying to impress a female by twisting their heads around and flaring their hoods at her and at each other. It was pretty funny. She swam away. Silly boys.

>129 haydninvienna: thanks. :)

That little ducky is cute!

Thanks catz. Hoodies are so cute.

On almost the opposite end of the bird spectrum is this pair of sandhill cranes I caught doing some pair bonding on the side of the road in a field. I've run into another pair almost literally and the males can be 4 feet high or so. They are huge and loud. These two were calling to each other while I think the male danced. The calls can be heard for miles and once you recognize them for what they are, you'll never mistake them for anything else. Like loon calls in that way.



I have an outing coming up to visit Whooping crane nesting areas about 2 hours south of me in Wisconsin. By then they should be well into raising their colts and I cannot wait since I've never seen one before. They are the largest crane in North America I think and come up to about 5 feet high.

I've never seen a sandhill crane up close, but huge flocks of them fly over us every spring. They do make a unique noise :)

>137 Bookmarque: What a wonderful thing to come upon, and have your camera handy to take advantage!

>137 Bookmarque: Great capture!

>137 Bookmarque: I didn't even know these existed until recently. So glad you managed to get a pic of them. Good luck with the Whooping crane excursion!

Thanks peeps. My big photography goal this year is to do more bird and wildlife work. I took a walk around a waterfowl refuge the same day as the shot of the cranes above, and caught this pair in a marsh -



They were calling to each other in this shot and there were two or three other pairs in the same group, all calling and feeding. No dancing that I could see. I love the color difference in this pair. I haven't seen it so pronounced before. They are so interesting.

I didn’t realize they get so big. I’ve only seen herons from afar. I have no idea if we have cranes and don’t think I’d recognize the difference anyway.

>142 Bookmarque: They are superb looking birds, expertly photographed.

Thanks guys. There are greater and lesser sandhill cranes, and like most species of any animal, the larger ones are the northern species. Greater sandy males can get to 4 feet high when fully grown. Whoopers another foot higher. Great Blue Herons are the largest heron in NA and range from 3 to 4 feet high.

You can tell them apart in a few ways. When flying, cranes hold both their legs and necks straight out. Egrets and Herons tuck the neck in and stretch the feet out. Crane necks are shorter than heron necks and are usually held straight while herons often have an S shape. Herons also lack the 'bustle' that cranes have in the back. Oh and I think almost all crane species have red on their heads.

This is a GBH I shot a couple summers ago -



Curvy neck and no bustle. And only about 3 feet tall or so.

>145 Bookmarque: Thank you for the bird lesson. There are actually two large swamp preserves not too far from here, one is actually only about 10 minutes away, maybe we'll get there this year and see what we can see.

Thanks for the info. I’ll have to pay more attention to them when I see them at the river.

It's great to see your crane pics. I've never seen any of the US varieties for myself. I think they are bigger than the demoiselle cranes I've seen in Russia. They are all such elegant looking birds.

Thanks guys! If I have luck tomorrow I'll post more bird pics. Am planning to go the same wildfowl reserve.

Lookie what I got! New shelves!! Of course the third one didn’t arrive when these two did so I still have some shelving to do, but it will only take a minute since I got most of it done yesterday. You know you’re a book nerd when you look forward to straightening, organizing and purging overloaded shelves. Plus I had a bit of a re-organization as well.



My library isn’t totally in alphabetical order, but some of it now is. I have a separate shelf for Roman Empire-era novels and reference materials as well as classics and my pricey limited editions (it gets the least sun!). One for horror and vampire. One for TBR. A giant one for Stephen King. One for some crime series I follow, or did when the authors were alive. And another shared shelf for Doug Preston & Lincoln Child and John Sandford who all put out a few series that are still going strong. The guest room houses short story collections, cartoon collections, history, biography and coffee table books. Another shelf has my animals, nature and forensic science books. Oh and all my field guides are in a cubby table up here in the living room. So with those lumped together the rest is basically non-series and lots of genres. Those are now basically alphabetical with room and gaps for new additions. It sounds mad, but I bet I can find stuff better now.

I SO want the inventory function for the app more than ever now. I ran across records in my catalog listed as in my library that were missing, clearly kicked to the curb and I didn’t adjust the collections. Frustrating.

But it was oddly fun. I had the iPad set up to filter my catalog by my Library and Fiction/Literature for genre and then alphabetical. I wished I could filter OUT non-physical media like audio and ebooks. I don’t have them in separate collections, but with the new stats and chart data, there should be a way to do it. Maybe I’ve overlooked it.

My kicked to the curb collection grew a little as I found books to donate to Little Free Libraries as I see them. The bag in my car is full and ready to go the next time I find one. I’ll post some shots of the new shelves filled when they’re done. I keep going down and looking at everything and contemplating more changes. Mad I tell you, mad!

>150 Bookmarque: Nice! There are few things more enjoyable than spending time sorting and organising one's books, especially when new shelves are included!

>150 Bookmarque: Lovely! I wish you joy in your re-organizing. Something I sorely need to do, not to mention dusting the tomes.

>150 Bookmarque: Are those the kind of shelf’s that can fold up and have the bits on top so you can stack them?

I ask because I got two bookshelves that look exactly like those from my grandmother years ago and could never find other ones like them.

Yes they fold down basically flat and can stack. I have several of them acquired over the years. I like them because they're solid, can be stashed in small places and moved easily. This will be the first time I actually stack them. So far so good!

>154 Bookmarque: Very cool! I'll bet that stacking feature comes in handy.

>137 Bookmarque:, >142 Bookmarque: - Sandhill cranes are one of my favourite birds. We get huge flocks flying over here every spring and fall, and some of them stop off to nest in the area. The sound of the flocks bookend the seasons.

The new shelves are working out well. Nice and spacious. Not that it will last long! Mostly I needed room for two of my ongoing series, but there is room on the other shelves as well.

Oh and just outside my pharmacy is a new Little Free Library. I put a few books and a DVD in there and they're gone! I hope someone enjoys them.

I haven't been out shooting much for one thing and another - mostly dealing with a really severe bout of diverticulosis. No infection at this point, but pain that is off the charts sometimes. Hopefully I'll be recovered enough by Saturday to photograph the Whooping Cranes I hope to see. In the meantime, here are some geese -





Dad was near them to the right, but they didn't group together enough for me to get a shot with a lot of detail on the kids. Interestingly, a pair of geese without goslings were guarding them. They kept between me and the family, always sort of barking and communicating and one was always tracking me. Here s/he is -



No doubt it and its partner would have charged me had I decided to wade into the water. Not being dumb, I didn't.

Canada geese are so common that it's easy to take them for granted. Your photos make me see them anew.

>157 Bookmarque: Lovely photos! I love Canada geese and their goslings :)

Your photos remind me that I need to get out to see the goslings in my area. I often miss them when they are super tiny.

Eeek! 10 days since I posted. Thanks for the nice words about the geese. They were pretty cute. Speaking of cute, here are some Blackpoll warblers that were in the yard a couple of weeks ago. They have a very long migration from the countries of northern South America up to northern Canada. They gorge when they stop and these two were feasting on some bugs that coated the hornbeam saplings on the edge of the yard. Here is the female first -





And her mate -





Since my deck is 15 feet high, I was perfectly level with them and they were only 15-20 feet from me, totally unconcerned. These photos are barely cropped! It was a treat to watch them, the first time I've seen or photographed them.

>161 Bookmarque: Excellent shots!

Thanks, clam. It was a great session with these two. Maybe the best bird photography I've done. Everything just came together.









I hope they made the rest of their journey safely and have some eggs incubating!

>163 Bookmarque: I'm pretty sure they were posing for some glam shots there! Wonderful work.

What pretty little birds!

>163 Bookmarque: Brilliant pictures, as always.

>163 Bookmarque: Great pictures, thank you again.

Thanks everyone. I got a lot of keepers that day!

Beautiful shots of lovely birds! This is a new species to me.

>169 Sakerfalcon:
It is a new one on me too. When in Ohio visiting my daughter's family, I saw a poster of North American garden birds. Very few of them were familiar to me.

Thanks guys. New for me, too. I read that they sing in such high frequencies that people often can't hear them at all. Using the Cornell Bird app Merlin has identified species I've never seen, but are in the yard. These two were the opposite. Funny.

Am in the Badlands on a workshop. It's pretty breathtaking. Haven't processed much, but here's one I like -

>172 Bookmarque: Nice.

Your processing will probably bring out the strata in the mountains more vividly.

>172 Bookmarque: Thanks, always wondered what that area looked like.

Here's another for you!



More to come.

Wow! What a fantastic landscape