Terry Pratchett's Self-Made Meteorite Sword 188
jamie writes "Fantasy author Sir Terry Pratchett says he was so excited after being knighted by the Queen that he decided to make his own sword to equip himself for his new status... the author dug up 81kg of ore and smelted it in the grounds of his house, using a makeshift kiln built from clay and hay and fueled with damp sheep manure."
Wow (Score:3, Interesting)
Sounds like he just made a real life Thunderfury [thottbot.com].
Re:Alzheimer (Score:3, Interesting)
My Organic Chemistry professor had a similar diagnosis when I was in college. He was still fully able to function to the point of lecturing and running a lab, he simply could not answer any questions. As long as he had a day to prepare his notes, look off his notes, and not get interrupted he was normal. When people asked questions mid-lecture (or any time) he would get off-track and get confused. He lasted for two years like this before he had to stop teaching.
It was particularly sad, because he knew what was going on - he still knew his chemistry and left to himself could still function, research, etc. It was mostly bad in any social setting where long lengths of time aren't given to wrap your head around a particular thought or go through a problem several times before giving an answer. He could still cook quite well on his own, but if you asked him what the ingredients were or what he was doing while he was cooking, it would throw him off course and he would be confused for a while until he could retrace his steps to figure out what he was doing.
Re:Original Article (Score:3, Interesting)
You mean that article dated "April 1st"? :s Though he's a very smart guy, I'm sure he would be perfectly capable of making his own sword were he so inclined :)
Re:Alzheimer (Score:3, Interesting)
Re:Alzheimer (Score:4, Interesting)
Careful reading of his more recent works, not just the two you mentioned but going back 5-10 years, you do notice some things in his works degrading; not enough to hurt the overall quality of the book, but enough that you can tell something is happening. The largest change is a reduction in vocabulary, but there is also the fact that tend to be more straightforward, with less metaphors and colorful language.
Like I said, the ideas are all still sound, the humor is fun and entertaining, there are no gaping plot holes left unfilled, but I suspect that you could make a pretty interesting study on the effects of Alzheimer's on language by studying his books. And you'd certainly have a good sample of his writing (what is he up to now, 30 books? 40?
Re:Original Article (Score:3, Interesting)
See also the "Katzbalger" sword carried by the Landsknecht mercenaries in the German provinces of the Holy Roman Empire (16th century). It also served the same purpose - a short blade for close combat when there no longer was room to swing pikes or the big two-handed jobbers. The hilt reminds me of some Frankish swords, though, so to me it looks like a modern version of an 11th century blade.
But yeah, it's an infantry blade, not a cavalry one. Also looks like it has just the right centre of gravity for actual fencing.
Re:Alzheimer (Score:2, Interesting)
Yeah, he looked good. Says that the condition is progressing very slowly -- slower than expected, or words to that effect. Aside from the fact that he no longer reads out the bedtime story (part of an unreleased book) at the Discworld Convention himself (Rob, his PA, did that), he seemed, if anything, much more cheerful than he was in 2008. Which is awesome.
MozeeToby's comment later in the thread, suggesting that someone make "a pretty interesting study on the effects of Alzheimer's on language by studying his books," reminds me of Pratchett's comment that he throws away drafts for fear of what English Literature researchers might theorise in future. Although I am now strongly inclined to test the hypothesis by comparing actual vocabulary used over time, because it does not seem to me that there has been a marked reduction in the complexity of language used. That said, there may very well be changes in structure due to using dictation software and so forth, as well as in punctuation and in the use of concrete poetry/structural games, footnotes, etc.
Re:Alzheimer (Score:3, Interesting)
Actually, I've noticed a similar kind of degradation over the careers of many authors, without (as far as I am aware) any degenerative mental disease. Which is not to say that you're wrong about Pratchett's work; I'm not familiar enough with it to say, having only read a handful of his books.
I certainly don't disagree that this would be an interesting area to study, I'm just not convinced that you can necessarily attribute such changes in his work to the disease.
Re:Original Article (Score:3, Interesting)
Not that I'm any expert, but it was alway my understanding that the Roman Legion favored short swords because they spent so much time fighting the Gauls and other barbarian tribes around Europe who favored long and heavy weapons that needed to be swung for momentum or brought down from overhead, which left them extremely vulnerable to someone who closed in fast with a short blade. I thought the Gauls also favored chain mail armor, which is easier to punch through with a small blade than to chop through with a heavy one. But the main reason was the first one, that it's almost impossible to actually use something like a claymore against someone who's less than two arm's lengths from you despite what it looked like in Braveheart.
Re:Energy density of 'damp sheep manure' (Score:2, Interesting)
I had a very talented blacksmith living in my house for a year. He never had enough money to pay rent, but I happily allowed him to pay in trade. From a forge that he setup in my backyard with little besides found objects and salvaged material, he built kitchen pot racks, stair railings, many artistic objects, and two very well crafted swords (one blued!) that are not only highly prized possessions to this day, but are made in such a way that they could be used for live steel swordfighting. (Personally I was happy for him to take the edges off and mount them as display pieces, but they do have a full tang, are quite well balanced, and when sharpened, were the real deal.)
If he'd actually paid rent, the money would have been wasted on booze.