Register a SA Forums Account here!
JOINING THE SA FORUMS WILL REMOVE THIS BIG AD, THE ANNOYING UNDERLINED ADS, AND STUPID INTERSTITIAL ADS!!!

You can: log in, read the tech support FAQ, or request your lost password. This dumb message (and those ads) will appear on every screen until you register! Get rid of this crap by registering your own SA Forums Account and joining roughly 150,000 Goons, for the one-time price of $9.95! We charge money because it costs us money per month for bills, and since we don't believe in showing ads to our users, we try to make the money back through forum registrations.
 
  • Post
  • Reply
Professor Shark
May 22, 2012

Nah, I want to paint some axe handles and thought it'd be nerd cool to use Aubrey's ships.

Adbot
ADBOT LOVES YOU

uPen
Jan 25, 2010

Zu Rodina!
Found a thing at a used bookstore.

Hogge Wild
Aug 21, 2012

by FactsAreUseless
Pillbug
What are you going to do first?

Didn't someone itt try some of those?

ZekeNY
Jun 13, 2013

Probably AFK

uPen posted:

Found a thing at a used bookstore.



Time for some soused hog's face!

:getin:

uPen
Jan 25, 2010

Zu Rodina!


It never rains in California so I might have to make some substitutions though.

uPen
Jan 25, 2010

Zu Rodina!
I'm having a very difficult time finding a recipe that doesn't involve boiling either:
Large amounts of Flour with fat in it
Large amounts of Flour with fruit (raisins) in it
or
Large amounts of Flour with meat in it

ZekeNY
Jun 13, 2013

Probably AFK

uPen posted:

I'm having a very difficult time finding a recipe that doesn't involve boiling either:
Large amounts of Flour with fat in it
Large amounts of Flour with fruit (raisins) in it
or
Large amounts of Flour with meat in it

If you really want to go for authenticity you could mix a few weevils in, too.

3 Action Economist
May 22, 2002

Educate. Agitate. Liberate.

uPen posted:

I'm having a very difficult time finding a recipe that doesn't involve boiling either:
Large amounts of Flour with fat in it
Large amounts of Flour with fruit (raisins) in it
or
Large amounts of Flour with meat in it

Welcome to His Majesty's Royal Navy!

jerman999
Apr 26, 2006

This is a lex imperfecta
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fnl-jOnoYgg

This guy also makes some old timey recipes. Hilariously, he does it in period garb and with (apparently) period equipment. I'd be curious to see how they match up with the book recipes, from what I know the two women who wrote it took pains in researching.

Molybdenum
Jun 25, 2007
Melting Point ~2622C
I subscribe that guy's YouTube channel. I'm pretty sure he actually buried his boston baked beans in a remains of a campfire. Very legit.

ItalicSquirrels
Feb 15, 2007

What?

Hogge Wild posted:

What are you going to do first?

Didn't someone itt try some of those?

I can't find the original thread (or the mention of it in this one), but here are the summaries of my contributions:

ItalicSquirrels posted:

On the recipe book:

*The grape leaves are a pain to make but are goddamned delicious. Use beef suet instead of lamb, though, so you don't bust your bank.
*Raspberry shrub is the most requested drink I've ever made and I brew my own beer and mead. Let it stand for six months and watch your friends demand more.
*Lemonade heightened with Marsala - Good, better when it's been bottled for a week.
*Arrack Punch - Haven't been able to find proper arrack, made it with arack (grain liquor made with aniseed). To say it smelled like licorice would be like saying the ocean is damp. Clears the sinuses a treat, though, and is good for a winter party.
*Lemon shrub - Excellent mixed with 2 parts hot water.
*Grog - Meh. A fine experience, but not a drink you'd pass around.
*Roast chicken - Also delicious. Use a mechanical spit on your grill if you can and remember to actually sew the stuffing in, not just tie the legs together and think that will do it.

ItalicSquirrels posted:

Make the raspberry shrub. Use raspberry puree (available at any decent homebrew store). Let it age for four to six months (the one week in the book is a flaming lie). Serve to friends, especially lady friends. Watch the drink quickly become a staple of your parties. Just take my old roommate's advice to heart. "I found out last night you aren't supposed to drink shrub by the pint".

Raskolnikov2089
Nov 3, 2006

Schizzy to the matic
Subscribed to that channel, thanks.

Could you post the Raspberry Shrub recipe? I'd like to give it a try before I buy the book.

Professor Shark
May 22, 2012

If someone has an idea of where the Sophie and Polychrest are first introduced in the books, could they take a photo of/ type up the description of the paint schemes? Geoff Hunt doesn't appear to give out his email and I live in the country so it would take the library a week or two to get the books back to me...

Decius
Oct 14, 2005

Ramrod XTreme
I couldn't find a description of the paint scheme of either ship directly. I found one for the Lively though:



and one indirect one for the Sophie:



That's the downside of O'Brian's elegant, subtle prose - you don't have a "and here is the thing, and that's how the thing looks and how the thing is"-section, he spreads all this information out of several chapters, musings, dialogues and action set-pieces. That's why it is hard to pin down a description of the paint.

Edit:

Spoke too soon, I've found one for the Polychrest too:

Decius fucked around with this message at 14:06 on May 31, 2016

Professor Shark
May 22, 2012

Awesome, thanks!

ItalicSquirrels
Feb 15, 2007

What?

Raskolnikov2089 posted:

Subscribed to that channel, thanks.

Could you post the Raspberry Shrub recipe? I'd like to give it a try before I buy the book.

1.5 pints fresh raspberries (or 2 cups raspberry puree)
1 cup brandy
1/2 cup sugar
1 tsp lemon juice

Crush raspberries and strain through jelly bag, fine strainer, or panty hose. You should get 2 cups of juice. Add sugar, brandy, and lemon. Bottle and set in a cool, dark place. A wine bottle should do fine, or a 750 with a screw top.

For the brandy, a good rule of thumb is the cheapest thing in a glass bottle. Cheaper will affect the taste and more expensive is a waste.

Ignore the part in the book about letting it sit for a week. Let it sit for four to six months. Serve over ice.

The Lord Bude
May 23, 2007

ASK ME ABOUT MY SHITTY, BOUGIE INTERIOR DECORATING ADVICE
Does it work if you let it sit in the fridge? Cool places are in short supply where I live.

ItalicSquirrels
Feb 15, 2007

What?
Haven't tried the fridge. I keep mine in a closet, maybe 65 degrees Fahrenheit at the coolest.

oldman
Dec 15, 2003
grumpy
I made some lemon shrub because of this thread, and good lordy is it good. A perfect summertime lemonade.

ovenboy
Nov 16, 2014

I feel I must try the shrubs soon. I've in vain tried getting my friends to join me in the making of a drowned baby, a shrub is probably a better gateway.
Other than that, I just got Beasts Royal in the mail. There was some trouble with the shipping and I had entirely forgotten I had ordered it, looking forward to reading it. Has anyone here tried the non Aubrey-Maturin books by O'Brian?

Hogge Wild
Aug 21, 2012

by FactsAreUseless
Pillbug

ovenboy posted:

I feel I must try the shrubs soon. I've in vain tried getting my friends to join me in the making of a drowned baby, a shrub is probably a better gateway.
Other than that, I just got Beasts Royal in the mail. There was some trouble with the shipping and I had entirely forgotten I had ordered it, looking forward to reading it. Has anyone here tried the non Aubrey-Maturin books by O'Brian?

I've read The Unknown Shore. Like Wikipedia says, the two main characters are like prototypes of Aubrey and Maturin. It was quite good, and I recommend it for all O'Brian fans.

Hogge Wild fucked around with this message at 08:56 on Jun 17, 2016

InediblePenguin
Sep 27, 2004

I'm strong. And a giant penguin. Please don't eat me. No, really. Don't try.

jerman999 posted:

Hilariously, he does it in period garb

that's because his day job is running a reenacting sutlery company

BlindGuy
Feb 27, 2011

The Prophet
I've had this series on my radar off and on for years, but only just managed to power through M&C. I'm hooked. Being a little older helped, I think. I remember seeing this movie with my Dad when it first came out, and it left little impression on me.

There was a girl who suggested to me that I might like the Aubrey Maturin books. Wish I knew what happened to her, so I could tell her she was darn right.

Decius
Oct 14, 2005

Ramrod XTreme
That's great to hear! Just don't get disheartened by Post Captain. I just finished the audio book again and really, it is probably the most depressing book of all the series for the first 2/3. Not at bad book of course, actually really, really masterfully written. A lot of subtext and asides I only realised by the third or fourth time I read the book.
But especially Jack doesn't make it easy to like him in the book for a long time, although a lot of his behaviour comes from being treated pretty cruelly by fate and politics. Still, he behaves like a scrub for far too long. He just shouldn't set foot on firm land, especially the part called Britain.

Decius fucked around with this message at 07:10 on Jul 19, 2016

builds character
Jan 16, 2008

Keep at it.
That's one of the things that makes jack interesting though. Anyway, these books are great. Please post your reactions as you read through. Also any hilarious bon mots or puns.

BlindGuy
Feb 27, 2011

The Prophet
Just from the first book, I adored the phrase, "affectionate violence," and the suggestion that the ship's log doesn't know how to record shaking a fist at one's captain. The dry sense of humor evident in both is a remarkable thing, I do assure you.

As for Jack on land, I feel we got an excellent taste of what to expect during the dinner party scene. His descent into vulgarity was difficult to watch.

I'm torn, incidentally, on the best way to read these books. I have access to all of them in eBOok form, and in Braille from my local library for the blind. There are also, of course, the sublime audiobooks read by Mr. TUll. The ebooks are read much faster than either, thanks to synthetic speech, but I rather feel the experience loses something in the process.

Will be reading Pos Captain as soon as I'm able.

3 Action Economist
May 22, 2002

Educate. Agitate. Liberate.
If you aren't reading them yourself, the only good alternative is the audiobooks with Tull. And in some ways I think they're superior even to reading them yourself.

Blue On Blue
Nov 14, 2012

BlindGuy posted:

Just from the first book, I adored the phrase, "affectionate violence," and the suggestion that the ship's log doesn't know how to record shaking a fist at one's captain. The dry sense of humor evident in both is a remarkable thing, I do assure you.

As for Jack on land, I feel we got an excellent taste of what to expect during the dinner party scene. His descent into vulgarity was difficult to watch.

I'm torn, incidentally, on the best way to read these books. I have access to all of them in eBOok form, and in Braille from my local library for the blind. There are also, of course, the sublime audiobooks read by Mr. TUll. The ebooks are read much faster than either, thanks to synthetic speech, but I rather feel the experience loses something in the process.

Will be reading Pos Captain as soon as I'm able.

I'm still only about 1/2 way through Post Captain ebook , but I did the audio book version of master and commander and it was great.

Tull adds a little bit of flourish which really makes it

Hogge Wild
Aug 21, 2012

by FactsAreUseless
Pillbug

Colonial Air Force posted:

If you aren't reading them yourself, the only good alternative is the audiobooks with Tull. And in some ways I think they're superior even to reading them yourself.

Murgos
Oct 21, 2010
I own all the books and all the Tull audiobooks.

I love the books and they do let you absorb things at your own pace, put the book down and go look something up and etc... but the Tull audiobooks are great.

ovenboy
Nov 16, 2014

I recently started the third book of Scott Lynch's Gentlemen Bastards series and thought I once or twice recognized certain turns of phrase or an O'brian feeling, and had to google it, and sure enough:

quote:

Q: I know that you’re a big fan of Patrick O’Brian. Could the entire”piracy on the high seas” story arc of this book be considered somekind of homage to his work?

Lynch: Absolutely. O’Brian wrote a historical series that has the transportive effect of the very best science fiction and fantasy; his Napoleonic era is so vividly and meticulously evoked that it inspires a genuine sense of wonder and bewilderment. He never paused to frame anything in a context for modern readers. He plunked you down, in medias res, in the routines, prejudices, jargon, and minutiae of the early 19th century, and expected you to keep up on your own. I can’t claim to be constantly doing anything of that sort, but I love the Aubrey/Maturin books dearly and will cease homaging them when somebody pries my keyboard from my cold, dead hands.

I didn't detect it when I read his last book years ago (which took place largely on a ship) simply because I hadn't yet read the Aubrey/Maturin series by then. For some reason I just love when people bring up O'Brian, or when he pops up in stuff like Parks & Rec.

ovenboy fucked around with this message at 10:07 on Jul 22, 2016

uPen
Jan 25, 2010

Zu Rodina!

quote:

He stood at bay, with his back to a rock, rearing up seven or eight feet tall – eyes flashing, red mouth foaming, hair on end – looking very like Admiral Duncan, and we could have shot him through and through. But no, no, cried Stephen – a bear is a gentleman, and must be dispatched with a spear. Very true, we said, and begged him to show us how. Not at all, said he: he was concerned only with seeing that the bear was not abused: the honor of killing him obviously belonged to a man of war, not to one of peace. This we could scarcely deny, but the question was, which man of war? I thought the Bey should certainly have the precedence, being of higher rank; he said that was great nonsense – common good manners required him to give way to a stranger. While we were arguing the toss the bear dropped down on all fours and walked quietly into a little bushy dell beside the rock

Every time I go through these books again I find something new to love.

Galaga Galaxian
Apr 23, 2009

What a childish tactic!
Don't you think you should put more thought into your battleplan?!


To be fair, we haven't seen Nate shoot even one person yet. :colbert:

Wait. Why is this post in this thread. :psyduck:

Galaga Galaxian fucked around with this message at 21:03 on Aug 16, 2016

Notahippie
Feb 4, 2003

Kids, it's not cool to have Shane MacGowan teeth

uPen posted:

Every time I go through these books again I find something new to love.

He's amazingly good at communicating clearly through implication. It's appropriate that he's writing period pieces - it's very Jane Austen-esque.

ZekeNY
Jun 13, 2013

Probably AFK

Notahippie posted:

He's amazingly good at communicating clearly through implication. It's appropriate that he's writing period pieces - it's very Jane Austen-esque.

Absolutely, the subtle little touches give more insight into a character than most authors could get from a whole page. There's one book where an admiral's wife, I think, tosses off a glass of wine "with a very practiced air", and you know all about her, just like that.

ItalicSquirrels
Feb 15, 2007

What?

ZekeNY posted:

Absolutely, the subtle little touches give more insight into a character than most authors could get from a whole page. There's one book where an admiral's wife, I think, tosses off a glass of wine "with a very practiced air", and you know all about her, just like that.

Pretty sure that's in Master & Commander at the beginning, it's Commandante Harte's wife when she's wetting Jack's swab.

Edit: Yup, found it: "She despised her scrub of a husband who truckled to her; and she had taken to music as a relief from him. But it did not seem that music was enough, for now she poured out a bumper and drank it off with a very practised air."

ItalicSquirrels fucked around with this message at 18:03 on Aug 17, 2016

Notahippie
Feb 4, 2003

Kids, it's not cool to have Shane MacGowan teeth

ItalicSquirrels posted:

It's Commandante Harte's wife when she's wetting Jack's swab.

heh heh

The Mantis
Jul 19, 2004

what is yall sayin?
holy gently caress just started Book One and read half this morning/afternoon.

hell yeah thanks all

ItalicSquirrels
Feb 15, 2007

What?
Strap in, because they only get better.

Adbot
ADBOT LOVES YOU

Economic Sinkhole
Mar 14, 2002
Pillbug
Push through book 2, it's worth it.

  • 1
  • 2
  • 3
  • 4
  • 5
  • Post
  • Reply