Book 16 - Niall Ferguson "Empire: How Britain Made the Modern World"
Apr. 22nd, 2025 08:24 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
jazzy_daveNiall Ferguson "Empire: How Britain Made the Modern World" (Penguin)
Ferguson writes as a pro-Empire historian, and thus a non-Marxist, but one who is not blind to the awful aspects of the process. I learned much from this book. For example, the Indian "mutiny" of 1857 can be directly linked to the impact of missionary activity, which had been barred by the East India Company, but which had been allowed to intrude in the years leading up to the mutiny. Second, who knew that India sent more troops to WW1 than Australia, New Zealand, Canada and South Africa combined? And third, that Roosevelt and the rest of the American leadership in the lead up to their involvement in WW2 were explicitly anti-Empire - that their support for the UK was conditional on it not being support for the British Empire as it stood. (As it turned out, Britain was broke after the war, so the empire collapsed of its own accord. The fact that the US was the creditor now makes it seem that the cause and consequence may have happily linked in the Americans' minds.) This is a good book, well written.
Ferguson writes as a pro-Empire historian, and thus a non-Marxist, but one who is not blind to the awful aspects of the process. I learned much from this book. For example, the Indian "mutiny" of 1857 can be directly linked to the impact of missionary activity, which had been barred by the East India Company, but which had been allowed to intrude in the years leading up to the mutiny. Second, who knew that India sent more troops to WW1 than Australia, New Zealand, Canada and South Africa combined? And third, that Roosevelt and the rest of the American leadership in the lead up to their involvement in WW2 were explicitly anti-Empire - that their support for the UK was conditional on it not being support for the British Empire as it stood. (As it turned out, Britain was broke after the war, so the empire collapsed of its own accord. The fact that the US was the creditor now makes it seem that the cause and consequence may have happily linked in the Americans' minds.) This is a good book, well written.
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Apr. 21st, 2025 01:20 pmgreghousesgfI have a really bad cold, I must have caught it at the con, there were about a zillion people there. I don't think it's covid. I had to drag myself out of the house to get groceries including cold pills, the only kind they had at the store was some kind I never heard of. They were also out of some things I wanted, including dental floss but I'm too tired to go to other stores. I hope they work. I have to do laundry too, I am currently taking a breather and cooking lunch. Apart from this cold I'm in a good mood.
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Apr. 20th, 2025 06:18 pmgreghousesgfI had so much fun at the My Little Pony convention! Lots of laughs, lots of partying, lots of food, looked at interesting swag. it was a great opportunity to get to know the two friends who invited me better and they are both super super nice and generous. Saw some amazing costumes. my friends gave me a couple of plushies. I swam 16 laps in the pool (first time I had my leg scar exposed in public which I was nervous about but nobody seemed to care or notice). First time I ever played Rock Band and I sang Freebird. I know that has fuck all to do with ponies but it was cool and I went over well. I'm super tired right now, did not sleep well over the weekend but it was worth it
The Mistress of the Shadowland, Second Book, The next Chapter
Apr. 20th, 2025 12:44 pmhaebinIt's Sunday, it is time for a new chapter! I hope you'll enjoy it!
Thank you so, so much for reading, it means the world to me.
♥
( The Mistress of the Shadowland, Second Book, The next Chapter )
Thank you so, so much for reading, it means the world to me.
♥
Finding Echoes by Foz Meadows + G20
Apr. 18th, 2025 07:13 pmprofiterole_readsThe novella Finding Echoes by Foz Meadows (The Manifold Worlds, The Tithenai Chronicles) was a lot of fun. A man who can speak to ghosts goes on a mission with his former lover to expose the Stonemetal Guild's corruption.
The worldbuilding was excellent, though I could have done with a glossary (especially if we end up getting more stories in this universe?). The characters all had notable personalities.
There's major m/m and minor f/f.
Content warning: drug addiction
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I finally made the time to get my latest free month of Amazon Prime.
Amazon Prime's movie G20 was great. US President Danielle Sutton must fight terrorists who have taken over the G20 Conference in South Africa.
Viola Davis (Annalise Keating in How To Get Away With Murder) plays the ex-Army US President and gets compared to Captain America. As far as I'm concerned, my beloved Sam Wilson can lend her the mantle if he wants to take a break. Anthony Anderson (Andre Johnson in Black-ish) plays her husband. And Clark Gregg (Agent Phil Coulson in the MCU) plays the US Vice-President.
The South Korean First Lady was an amazing old woman. Congrats to the costume department for her lovely hanbok! It let me know she was from Korea even before she was officially introduced. :-)
The worldbuilding was excellent, though I could have done with a glossary (especially if we end up getting more stories in this universe?). The characters all had notable personalities.
There's major m/m and minor f/f.
Content warning: drug addiction
I finally made the time to get my latest free month of Amazon Prime.
Amazon Prime's movie G20 was great. US President Danielle Sutton must fight terrorists who have taken over the G20 Conference in South Africa.
Viola Davis (Annalise Keating in How To Get Away With Murder) plays the ex-Army US President and gets compared to Captain America. As far as I'm concerned, my beloved Sam Wilson can lend her the mantle if he wants to take a break. Anthony Anderson (Andre Johnson in Black-ish) plays her husband. And Clark Gregg (Agent Phil Coulson in the MCU) plays the US Vice-President.
The South Korean First Lady was an amazing old woman. Congrats to the costume department for her lovely hanbok! It let me know she was from Korea even before she was officially introduced. :-)
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Apr. 17th, 2025 11:01 amgreghousesgfYayyyyyyyy! I got invited to the last Bay area brony convention for the weekend! I'm leaving tomorrow night!
US + UK politics
Apr. 17th, 2025 06:09 pmprofiterole_readsMost of my political talk is on my Bluesky, but here are a few links.
US politics
I recommend following General Strike US (not only about organising the strike, but also about many important social topics). Alternatives include 5 Calls and The 50501 Movement. If you prefer, they're on other social media as well.
UK politics
My thoughts go to the trans people suffering from the UK Supreme Court case widely funded by JKR. As they say, read another book: here's my queer magic school book rec list (also on Tumblr for reblogging purposes).
US politics
I recommend following General Strike US (not only about organising the strike, but also about many important social topics). Alternatives include 5 Calls and The 50501 Movement. If you prefer, they're on other social media as well.
UK politics
My thoughts go to the trans people suffering from the UK Supreme Court case widely funded by JKR. As they say, read another book: here's my queer magic school book rec list (also on Tumblr for reblogging purposes).
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Apr. 15th, 2025 10:50 amgreghousesgfI had a fairly nice day yesterday except for a couple of fuckups with the buses. That was the second day in a row a bus refused to pick me up. Also the bus that wouldn't pick me up took a VERY long time to show up and one of the buses coming back from the library was extremely crowded.
I had tea and carrot cake at my favorite cafe and then hung out at the library for most of the afternoon and then got some groceries at Trader Joe. I have birria and tortillas and rice and tomatoes and I'm going to cook a burrito for lunch before I go to physical therapy this afternoon.
I had tea and carrot cake at my favorite cafe and then hung out at the library for most of the afternoon and then got some groceries at Trader Joe. I have birria and tortillas and rice and tomatoes and I'm going to cook a burrito for lunch before I go to physical therapy this afternoon.
Murderbot on TV
Apr. 15th, 2025 07:55 ammarthawellsIf you are planning to watch the Murderbot TV series (starting May 16!) on Apple TV, if you could add it on your watchlist, that would be a big help. It's kind of like pre-ordering a book, it tells the publisher/streaming service that you're there for our show.
There's a link here for US viewers: https://tv.apple.com/us/show/murderbot/umc.cmc.5owrzntj9v1gpg31wshflud03
I'm pretty sure it's different for Apple viewers in other countries.
You can also see the trailer at this link.
There's a link here for US viewers: https://tv.apple.com/us/show/murderbot/umc.cmc.5owrzntj9v1gpg31wshflud03
I'm pretty sure it's different for Apple viewers in other countries.
You can also see the trailer at this link.
(no subject)
Apr. 14th, 2025 09:14 amgreghousesgfL. couldn't get together with me today because they are having major probs with their computer and have to hang around their house getting that taken care of but we had a nice long phone conversation just now. Later I'm going to go to my favorite cafe and then the library. I haven't hung out at the library in a long time.
One Has To Die by MN Bennet
Apr. 14th, 2025 05:38 pmprofiterole_readsOne Has To Die by MN Bennet was amazing, as usual. It's Book 3 of Branches of Past and Future, a magic school adult book series, focused on a telepathic teacher. And contrary to what the countdown in the titles let me think, this is not the finale.
This tome does very interesting things with the POV, that I can't explain for spoilery reasons. The plot is excellent as well.
There's major m/m, which used to be m/m/m (Finn died a few years before Book 1, but there are always some scenes with his spirit, so maybe that still counts as polyamory). The students include an m/m couple, a sapphic, an ace girl, a trans boy, an enby...
For more HP-like LGBT Books, check out my rec list.
This tome does very interesting things with the POV, that I can't explain for spoilery reasons. The plot is excellent as well.
There's major m/m, which used to be m/m/m (Finn died a few years before Book 1, but there are always some scenes with his spirit, so maybe that still counts as polyamory). The students include an m/m couple, a sapphic, an ace girl, a trans boy, an enby...
For more HP-like LGBT Books, check out my rec list.
The Mistress of the Shadowland, Second Book, The next Chapter
Apr. 13th, 2025 11:05 pmhaebinI am a little bit late today but not too late, right? ;)
So please enjoy my newest chapter and thank you so much for reading!
♥
( The Mistress of the Shadowland, Second Book, The next Chapter )
So please enjoy my newest chapter and thank you so much for reading!
♥
(no subject)
Apr. 13th, 2025 08:21 amgreghousesgfGoing back to the movies again today, this time to meet a different friend and watch Harold and Maude, a movie I love and haven't seen in a long time and never on the big screen. Some of the cemetery scenes in that movie were filmed at a cemetery right down the street from where I live.