Iskaral Pust

I’ve bought every version of Civ since Civ 2 but have never enjoyed a new version enough to switch. I think it’s like music: whatever you came of age with will always seem the best to you.

My initial reaction to the thread title was that polytheism allows you to build war elephant military units but monotheism allows you to build Michaelangelo’s Chapel, which is a crucial Wonder Of The World if pursuing an expansionist strategy. Besides, the one leads to the other anyway. So I was ready to jump in and see if anyone has a different take on this. NGL, I’m pretty disappointed that the thread isn’t actually about Civ 2 game strategy.

And perhaps VVD was still feeling the effects of his illness. Gravenberch hasn’t looked PL-ready yet, although was quite comfortable in the EL group stages and some of the early LC ties. I’m hoping it’s just a case of needing to adapt to the intensity and physicality of the PL. Elliot really doesn’t work as a wide forward, and possibly not yet as a starter in any role. He’s been great this season as an AMF sub. The available squad looked pretty thin tonight but it worked out. (Although would have worked even better if any of Nunez’ shots went in). Rotation worked again, especially after conceding first yet again. It would be good to get some players back.

The series is on Kindle Unlimited, so low friction to give it a try. I just finished the second in the series and it was pretty good too. I wouldn’t say Cornwell-level of writing though.

Eternal Gods Die Too Soon by Beka Modrekiladze is a SF speculation on a future society governed by AI. I thought there were some echoes of 1984 here in the structure of the novel, especially as the central protagonist wrestles with what can be trusted as objective truth. It’s an interesting way to speculate and play with ideas but not great literature. Winter’s Fury by A.E. Rayne is the opening volume in a fantasy series with a north European style/setting and light magic. I DNFed this one. It was just wallowing too long in the interpersonal drama of arranged political marriages. It really made me reflect wistfully on how well GRRM was able to cover that theme through Catelyn/Ned, Cersei/Robert, Lysa, Danaerys, and many others while weaving it into the world, the culture and the lived experience of the characters without watching them agonize and emote for 100 consecutive pages to the exclusion of any character development, world building or emerging conflict to drive the plot. Gambler is an autobiography by Billy Walters, who holds himself out as a legendary sports bettor. I’d never heard of him before but it seemed like an interesting niche to dip into. It reads as a litany of personal anecdotes about uncontrolled gambling addiction and alcoholism, interspersed with criminal prosecutions, divorces, bankruptcies, and eventually financial success through leveraging a computer model for sports betting built by someone else. I mostly shrugged as I read it. He’s a natural storyteller but not nearly as self-aware as he thinks.

Better Off Dead by Lee Child (and cowriter Andrew Child) is a Jack Reacher novel and one of the later volumes. I won’t repeat all the problems with this character and the vigilante wish-fulfillment — they’re enjoyably written for what they are, you just have to decide whether that’s what you want to read. That said, this wasn’t the strongest example from the series. Perhaps the co-writer transition isn’t going well. On one hand, the plot feels very far-fetched, although that’s perhaps unavoidable as the series of implausible below-the-radar vigilante interventions gets longer and longer. On the other hand, the execution of the writing felt below par too: some clunky prose in places and some shoddiness in describing the settings. Yankee Mission by Julian Stockwin is another of the Kydd series of naval fiction. This one stood out for its coastal action close to where I live (Connecticut) in the War of 1812, rather than the typical Mediterranean or Baltic setting for this character. A solid installment in this series. Smoking Seventeen by Janet Evanovich is a Stephanie Plum novel of light-hearted crime fiction. I read the first two of these years ago and now picked this up as a Kindle deal for a light, quick read. Surprisingly, the 17th installment is basically unchanged so I guess you can pick these up in whatever order you like. The POV character is still living paycheck to paycheck as a bail bond enforcer with more gumption than competence, but at least her love triangle with the police detective and ex-special forces bounty hunter provide her with plenty of access and assistance. And her gossipy Trenton community always provides the necessary tip-offs, along with unwanted romantic fix-ups and general menschy color for the setting.

Spoiled Brats by Simon Rich is a collection of very humorous and creative short stories, using a variety of narrator perspectives to portray spoiled children and the parents who produce them. I’m definitely reading more by this author. The Thursday Murder Club by Richard Osman is the first in a series of extremely cosy crime fiction. This is the intersection of two genres: cosy murder mysteries and retirement communities with lonely/grieving people reflecting wisely in lives lived and trying to prove they’re not quite useless yet. Very enjoyable, relaxing read. I’ll continue this series. Son Of Anger by Donovan Cook is the start of a series of Norse/Viking historical fiction novel, and one of the better examples in this sub-genre. Good characters and a good set-up for a series arc. Enjoyed it.

A Deepness In The Sky by Vernor Vinge was a space opera SF that I DNFed. I tried the first ~10% and had zero interest in the setting, characters or plot. Sea Of Gold by Julian Stockwin is part of his Kydd series of naval historical fiction set in the Royal Navy’s golden age of sail. As usual, this series is reasonably good but feels a step below Aubrey/Maturin or even Hornblower. This series usually a lengthy non-naval portion in each volume, which adds good historical context at some cost to pacing and plot. The Rise by Ian Rankin is a crime novella set in a murky luxury property development in London with a new protagonist character. Very good. I hope this character is developed further if Rebus is being phased out.

Similar to the recent league game: Arsenal on top in the first half but Liverpool finish stronger (and Trent smashed the crossbar again). Agreed that Gakpo in MF hasn’t worked yet. It was a bad idea, especially with Elliot pushed forward instead. I like the show of resilience and the mentality boost from beating a rival, but the fatigue may ultimately cost us.

Considering Liverpool are already well positioned in the LC and EL, and the top challenger to City in the PL, I think we should just rotate heavily in the FA Cup and let the kids have a day trip to north London. I really doubt that Klopp will do that but it just shows that we’ve learnt nothing from the quadruple chase two seasons ago. Fatigue always catches up with us, especially compared to City’s squad depth.

If the latest episode is even harder to watch then I’m not sure that I want to. DV is very uncomfortable to watch.

Reportedly, the plan is for him to go on another loan, which makes him ineligible to play for Liverpool in the interim. I hope he gets some development minutes somewhere. Jones, Elliot and now Quansah have shown the opportunity is there if you’re ready but he didn’t look ready last season and hasn’t played much since.

Liverpool are doing better than expected so far with a MF rebuild and several injury absences but they’re not clinical enough in attack, which has led to draws in tight games. The lack of a true DM leaves us open to counterattacks but, in fairness, we concede more fan heart attacks than actual goals. There has been a protracted pattern of conceding the first goal, which means lots of energy expended to chase games. Fatigue will be a key factor in the second half of the season.

Although they’ve looked fatigued for a while, Liverpool have actually been rotating players very consistently. It’s just that the EL and internationals mean that the players have played a lot of minutes regardless. The back-ups have been really important within the team. Gomez has been really important as a utility full back. Quansah’s surprise emergence at CB has been valuable to allow rotation, especially because Matip and Konate are both injury prone if overplayed. Tsimikas stepped up well for Robertson until his own injury. Endo has stepped into DM with increasing confidence during MacAllister’s injury, and MacAllister himself adapted to #6 while Thiago and Bajcetic are injured. Gravenberch looked silky and composed against EL and LC opponents even if he hasn’t quite found his feet at PL level yet. Even Kelleher had to step in for Alisson for a few games. Elliott’s impact as a sub means that Klopp can reliably rest a starter at 65 minutes even when chasing a game. It’ll be hard to see both Endo and Salah depart for their respective international tournaments,

Diaz had unreliable end product since he arrived but still provided an important spark and initiative to the attack. But since returning from his injury that spark seems much dimmed, and the lack of end product makes him a passenger much of the time. VVD seems to have recovered now from his long term injury, looking more like his old self now after two rocky seasons. Perhaps Diaz will also rediscover his prior form but it’s difficult for the team to carry so many unreliable forwards at the same time. Salah’s impact in games has diminished but his G+A output is still very high and much more consistent than the others. The team could struggle badly for goals as he departs for AFCON. It’s good to see Jota return from injury just before Salah departs. His finishing could be very important, although he has his own problems with inconsistency in interplay.

While an extra midweek game for the LC is a big disadvantage ahead of the congested fixtures, it did at least help Liverpool rediscover their attacking play. Both teams rotated a few names but stuck with competitive lineups, and used the rotated players as subs. Jones was the standout performer for Liverpool, although Elliott had a good first half too (some threatening shots but also some unthreatening shots from distance). Perhaps the biggest performance was by the formation, with Gomez as a wide RB providing a defensive base, attacking width, and space and freedom for Szoboszlai and Elliott ahead of him. TAA came on as a sub at #6 and had two assists — we still need to figure out the formation that accommodates him as a creator without leaving a defensive gap or disrupting the rest of the right side. Liverpool had back-up players in goal, in three of the four defensive roles, and at #6. They controlled West Ham’s attack pretty well, considering. Although Quansah did lose a duel to Bowen for his goal — the kid is doing really well as a back-up CB but small moments are costly at this position (he conceded a penalty recently too). Endo was solid at #6, perhaps getting used to the pace of PL football now. He has quietly filled in for an injury crisis at the base of MF, with MacAllister missing several games now on top of Thiago and Bajcetic still out long term. Same with Tsimikas at LB. Gomez is looking more comfortable at wide RB each time, but not inverted. Gakpo isn’t firing on all cylinders yet but I’d like to see him get a run of games at false 9 to build his form, and let Nunez and Diaz compete for the LW spot. They’re both lacking end product so it’s really tough to have them both start in the front three. West Ham weren’t really at it for this game, which was a surprise considering the good potential for a trophy. They played a strong enough lineup albeit rotated JWP and Paqueta, who came on as subs instead. Perhaps they were too conscious of the games ahead and wanted to play a low-energy deep defense. I think Liverpool’s league performances over the next two weeks, starting with Arsenal, will determine whether they were right to put so much energy into dispatching West Ham.

I like the judgment because I don’t think the corrupt UEFA or FIFA should have self-interested power over all football — they aren’t the good guys in any version of the narrative. OTOH I think it’s up to fans to make the case that they don’t want their clubs signing up for anti-competitive self-dealing closed shops either, and be ready to boycott as needed.

Unfortunately Peacock has reduced their rugby coverage again. A year ago they lost the European Cup, now they’ve lost the English PL rugby too. All they have remaining is the Six Nations, the quadrennial World Cup and some 7s tournament. There is an alternative streaming service that specializes in just rugby (US streaming rights), but it’s $30 per month for just rugby. It seems overpriced for a casual fan and will block any growth in audience here.

I currently have Netflix, Prime, HBO/Max, Disney+ (for my son to watch old seasons of The Simpsons during his school break) Hulu (for Fargo S5), Peacock (for PL soccer and rugby) and Starz. We’ll keep them all active over the holidays but will definitely be shutting down a few of them shortly afterwards. There just isn’t much worthwhile content on any of them. BritBox, Acorn and Apple are the other streaming services we cycle in and out of. Peacock has reduced their rugby coverage again. A year ago they lost the European Cup, now they’ve lost the English PL rugby too. All they have remaining is the Six Nations, the quadrennial World Cup and some 7s tournament.

Liverpool looked fatigued again despite most players rested midweek. The lack of zip and precision going forward has been mounting for a while. Not a good sign with the congested fixtures ahead.

I’m enjoying S5, and it’s a big improvement on S4, but it’s still a bit flat and feels like a pale echo of the stronger early seasons. The juxtaposition of quirky, down to earth, passive-aggressive Minnesota nice with violent crime and a desperate struggle for normality still works as an amusing format, but the story and characters lack that knife-edge tension between Martin Freeman and Billy Bob Thornton in S1.

Another rocky performance by Liverpool. It did not look a promising prospect today: away form has been terrible, early kick-off, fatigue showing lately, injuries mounting, attackers collectively off-form, and we had an opponent ready with a defensive shape (nullified our 8 channels well) and a plan for tactical fouls and time wasting. I’m glad to take the points but it would be nice to improve our form soon. Elliott did well off the bench again. He’s having a low-key very good season as a sub, and doing well for England u21s too. He hasn’t looked as good as a starter though. Great to have Alisson back. The defense has all kinds of problems with absences, and we still don’t have a settled shape with TAA. Szoboszlai is hindered by having to cover the RB zone when TAA inverts (and he’s looking tired besides). And the output from TAA in the inverted role can vary from match-winning to ineffective, while his defensive contribution isn’t enough for a 6 or a 2. We had a better shape when Gomez came on.

A Litter Of Bones by J.D. Kirk is a police detective novel set in Scotland. The main character is a curmudgeon, long in the tooth, with a dry sense of humor and disregard for authority. Sounds a lot like Rankin’s Rebus character (and many more besides in the genre) but this was an enjoyable read in itself. I’ll look for more from this author. The Running Grave by Robert Galbraith (JK Rowling) is the latest in the Cormoran Strike mystery series. As ever, the book is extremely long and deeply immersive with the two main characters. This time the plot resolves around a cult, which feels like a swipe at Scientology and perhaps others (Nxivm?). It was a pretty good installment in the series, and improved on the prior book about online trolls. But be prepared for a very protracted and slow moving immersion. The central character pair are more likable after seeing their portrayal in the TV adaptation. Lucky Jim by Kingsley Amis is a satire about life in academia in post-war England. The prose contains lots of dry humor as it swings through a litany of farces. It’s an enjoyable read in its own right but probably more impactful when it was published as a social commentary about the stuffy world of academia. I also reread the entire Generation V tetralogy by M.L. Brennan, an urban fantasy series about the coming-of-age of an ethical vampire struggling against his nature and destiny, represented as a nebbish, push-over vegan whose moral convictions eventually lend him a backbone, not to mention a kitsune friend and sidekick. It’s definitely not high literature but it’s fun and light, and something about the changing season made me reach for it.

I haven’t read Tai Pan since I was a teenager, and even then it seemed a bit heavy on the orientalist exoticism. How does it hold up for an adult reader and modern sensibility? King Rat and Shogun were his best work, IMO, in that order. Tai Pan third by some distance, and I DNFed any others I tried.

Liverpool are rocky at the moment. Another home win is satisfying but we made heavy work of it against Fulham. It took four long-range goals to see them off because Nunez missed two easy chances from ten yards (Salah should have had two assists) and Kelleher conceded two soft goals at his near post that went through him. Does Nunez have a record yet for him many times he has hit the goal frame? Our defensive shape, including MF shape, still looks very disorganized and allows opponents to just walk through us at times. Except now we don’t have Alisson as a safety net. But let’s take the positives of four spectacular goals to seal a win. In fairness to Nunez, Haaland and Doku had similar misses today. It was good to see Gakpo looking sharp as a sub today after a good performance midweek. He started the season poorly, played out of position, but it would be great to have him back on form at false 9, and perhaps let Diaz and Nunez compete for the left inside forward position. Both of them show great initiative and create danger but neither of them have a reliable end product.