July 7th, 2015
8 Jul 2015 · page 504 of 1306
Yeah, it's a little early for her to have a vardo, but I wanted to draw one, so that's that.
Cast: Henry Barber, Isabelle Holt
Comments (64)
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That changing scene is just hilarous XD
Remember, remove the spectacles first...
Nice digs, Isa!
"River-y." Ha! And yeah, I expect Henry likes any plan that involves hoisting someone by their own petard. Ten pipes says Luxuria has a very large petard.
How many here know what a "petard" is?
And you're not "hoist by your own petard", you're "hoist on your own petard"...
If you know what a petard is, you'll see that "by" makes more sense than "on". Though the Shakespearean usage seems to be "with".
Yep.
The term of phrase allegedly was allegedly coined by Shakespeare- so "with" is the original term as best as one can ascertain. By's not the word the Bard used, but it matches in intended use (which I'll get to here in a moment...). On's a modernization (though not as good as "by" is) that stems from a poor modernization of the other good alternate turn of the phrase using "upon".
"By" implies being harmed by your own machinations as does "with" and "upon"- which is what is implied and pretty much stated by the phrase. "On" means you're literally being lifted harshly by the same- which ends in the same place, but doesn't carry as clear a meaning.
By/With/Upon makes more sense here than on does.
I learned it from playing D&D when I was younger. I don't think my English teacher was particularly impressed.
I wouldn't see why... It's the Bard that coined the term in one of his plays. It's the Medieval equivalent of modern shaped charges and was a blindingly dangerous thing to be deploying- one could get their first and last flying lesson if their door breaching charge, petard, went off too early.
The Widdershins comments section: The only place to get a reason to google "petard".
I like her caravan.
Doe she have a Gypsy/Romany background, as i suspected when we first met her?
Roma, on her mother's side, it'll be clear enough soon.
Well, that would be an "inappropriate background" for society...
Something tells me there's a lot to be clear soon... Keep doing the great work, Kate.
Oh, I would have guessed Irish Traveller.
Nah, though that's what Mal's accent is.
Her expression in the last frame says to me, 'Thank God this thing has wheels'.
'Now I just need some sucker to pull it'
Eyes Henry Sucker found.
What does a baby's toy have to do with... Oh, you mean THAT kind of sucker!
It's a good "Nothing to do here" expression.
As Bachman-Turner Overdrive would say, "You ain't seen nothing yet."
Ah, I'm really loving their interactions.
It's a small explosive.
Not so small. It's basically the Renaissance equivalent of a breaching charge:10-30+ pounds of black powder, plus the bonus "Unreliable Fuse" quirk. The guy who drew the short straw would run the thing over to a door or wall that needed to be cracked and try to get away before the fuse ran out. Sometimes this didn't work, and the onlookers would be entertained by the sight of Mister Short Straw getting his first and last flying lesson. Thus, "hoist with one's own petard" . If you ever watch a fairly cheesy movie called "Flesh + Blood", you can see the idea in action (plus Rutger Hauer being Rutger Hauer, which is always nice).
"Petard" is French for "Fart", BTW.
I believe it was most (or very) often used in mining operations - from the "original meaning of "mine" - an excavation - the sappers would tunnel to the foundations of the fortification under assault, place the petard, roll out a long fuse, crawl out and light.
The term "mine" for a buried (or submerged) explosive derives from "mining" fortifications.
Possibly the most spectacular mining operation was the [Crater](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_the_Crater#Mine_construction "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_the_Crater#Mine_construction"), in the War Between the States.
Did you just know that or are you reading 'Rivers of London' as well?
I just read that too! The first one, anyway, enjoyed it a lot. It was like Dresden Files, but with a more likeable main character.
Heh yeah, a more likeable main character and more amusing tangents. I've read all but the most recent one and enjoyed them a lot. I think I stopped reading the Dresden Files after the dinosaur. The way they kept uping the stakes and power level of the protagonist put me off a little bit, although narratively speaking I understand why it happened.
I've enjoyed Dresden well enough throughout, mostly because the audiobooks are very well-read (by Spike from Buffy, no less!) and they're very easy to digest popcorn books, but yeah, he gets stupidly-powerful and that doesn't really stop :| I'll be getting the second Rivers book when I get my next Audible credit!
The whole series is very good (finished Foxglove Summer and some of the assorted shorts in May), and I love how Leslie and Bev develop as time goes on ^_^
Also Ben Aaronovitch does a good panel - we got "The Learning of Magic" at Discworld Con last year with Diane Duane as his co-panelist.
I admit, the power-level thing doesn't bug me at all, nor do I really understand why it bothers some people, but to each their own heh. Dresden is to this day my favorite book series that isn't written by Brandon Sanderson. (Though Cinder Spires may usurp that position when it comes out... I love me some steampunk.)
Still, if the comparison is solid, I'll definitely have to look into this Rivers series sometime soon when I have cash to spare.
Good book, huh? I'll stick it on my to-buy list, then.
'Rivers of London,' by the way, is called 'Midnight Riot' in the United States. I assume that there's a reason, although there always doesn't have to be.
Yeah, the US cover and name make it look like a Steven Seagal movie, shame since the UK one is really nice
There was also a mild white-washing scandal over the US cover. They used a black model but then blacked out his face and hands. For some reason. Personally I tend to prefer novel covers without people's photos (or people) on the front. I just think they look better.
Illustrative covers tend to sit better with me too, but I'm obviously a little biased there! And yeah, I saw the whitewashing thing, what a mess! Publishing pro-tip: Never do that :|
Seems she HAS heard of him.
Or she's wondering why Henry thinks she knows a Mr. Lust. I'd be a bit surprised by that question myself.
No, she has definitely heard of Luxuria, and would much prefer not to hear any more.That expression is not much removed from terror.
On a only-slightly related point, changing clothes behind a screen when a door was easily placed between her and strange man? That can be called very bold.
Easier to make conversation through a screen, than a door.
Better ventilation, too.
I don't know about bold - she still seems a bit oblivious in her enthusiasm to talk to someone about her research. She's still resigned to never getting to try out her etiquette on a gentleman caller, after all. Or is the etiquette research purely for getting in with the Wizardly establishment?
What gentleman caller? This visitor cares about her research, not her (to be recalled later, perhaps, with a sigh).
sigh
He certainly seems like a gentleman - didn't even try to peek!
Henry looks old enough to have learned the Great Secret in the Matter of Women.
We know very well that THAT changes.
If people complain the vardo is an anachronism you can always call it a shepherd's hut.
Nah. It's a prototype.
...Look, somebody had to go live in the first one.
I like how her first priority when she has a gentleman caller is to change into a nice dress. :)
Or at least a dress of which it can't be said "Wow, that's a smell."
I'm envious of her dexterity.
Envious?! Be careful -- Invidia surely followed Henry here and is lurking nearby.
Oh dang - I'd managed to forget about her.
I think her wagon looks nice, I just wonder about the library capacity . . . might need a cargo trailer to have enough room!
She might do what one of my friends in London does: get a stock of books on a subject she wants to know about, read, sell and move on to the next subject. (I suspect that caravan's about the size of my friend's flat)
Early for a vardo, perhaps, but there's evidence of wagon-homes, at least for wealthy folks on travel, from the middle ages, including inventories of the contents and furnishings.
oh I think she's heard of him...
From a quick change of clothes to a swift change of scene, methinks. :P
I completely forgot about this update! Oops! Love the caravan and the plant pots.
I find what she says in the second panel interesting, especially since one of her listeners is Sidney, who happens to be three out of four years university trained. I half expect him to comment, "Wow, they wouldn't accept you because of your background? Things sure have changed, at least in that direction..."
I actually wonder why Henry and Isabel never told anyone how they first met before.
Oh, wait...
"So I ask'd 'er if she knew Mr. Luxuria, which made 'er all blush'd like, and then..."
Henry, that could sound like a really bad come-on, to anyone who knows their modern latin.
...Suddenly I can hear Granny Garbanzo rattling happily on. Huh.