Philip the Bard's Harappan Blog: Cascadia and the Kootnees

Greetings famous readers. Thanks for being here.

We are talking Cascadia here.

The Cascadians became independent from the Greenies and the LC (or Leadership Council) very early on in recent Earth history. The western portion of North America was devastated by natural disasters in the late twenty-first century and early twenty-second.

There were several great cities along the Pacific coast that were destroyed by storms, tsunamis and earthquakes. Refugees from these cities flocked to the rest of the continent and rioting and looting followed them, eventually bringing down the government of the country that existed there at the time. I believe it was called a United States.

Those who stayed in the west coast formed a new nation and a new paradigm. It was an area rich in natural resources and that made the Cascadian’s task much easier. Early leadership in Cascadia understood that they had to maintain some of their infrastructure. They wanted to keep some of the things modern society had built but also wanted to get rid of some of the things that brought down the old culture.

Jon McCall was instrumental in keeping the Trail smelter going. He and a group of people, often called the Founding Family, made plans to remove most of the dams on the newly renamed Cascade River and replacing them with a series of locks, making the river navigable all the way to the smelter.

A series of dams on the Kootnee River were kept up to provide power for the operation of the smelter. In this way Cascadia had an industry and an industry that provided for them a wide range of metals and building materials.

Never mix red wine and Oodo.

Philip Normer

Kushan Year 88

Earth Year 2480

Philip the Bard's Harappan Blog: Climate control in the twenty-fifth century.

Greetings beloved readers. Thanks for being here.

I’ve never been to Cascadia. I’ve never been to Earth. I hear Earth is a lovely planet. It certainly has become a refuge for philosophers all around the Galaxy. It was indeed the location for one of the most dramatic moments in galactic history and the place where Galactic Peace was born.

I certainly know people from there. I know Max Gavaskar after all. I know some Cascadians too. I know the Starr family. Reeky, Tom and Carla. From them I’ve learned a few things about the place. 

I started sharing with you some things about Cascadia and I will continue to do so this week.

Today, let’s talk about the climate there. Historically that part of Earth was fairly wet and cool. During the “Decades of Disaster” it became warm and dry. Some parts of that area started becoming deserts.

When the SID started their climate control programs in the twenty-second century they concentrated in lands governed by the Leadership Council. They did not directly try to affect Cascadia’s climate. But, they did affect it. The Cascadian climate returned to its original form and the rains returned. The rains returned even more than they were before human climate intervention. Not necessarily heavy rains but a more broad-spread weather pattern. Areas of Cascadia that had been desert for along time started growing forests. Almost all of Cascadia is forested now.

Some people call Cascadia “The Evergreen Nation”

Never mix red wine and Oodo.

Philip Normer

Kushan Year 88

Earth Year 2480

Bubba the Science Fan's Science Blog: What I learned at the North Pole.

Greetings beloved readers. Thanks for being here.

Philip the Bard will return tomorrow but today I want to share with you where one of my insights came from.

Exploring where these paradigm changing insights come from is one of the side issues I am exploring with my novel writing. In the recently released “Kusha” the main character has a brilliant insight after falling into a whirlpool. The experience demonstrates for Max Gavaskar a principal that she was struggling to understand.

One of the other main theories I am exploring with my writing is my theory on the structure of the Universe. Just last night I realized that an event I experienced when I was in the USAF may have been key to me developing my thesis. 

It happened when I flew directly over the North Pole. I was an inflight refueling boomer on a KC-135 when I was in the Air Force. One of my secondary duties was to assist the navigator by operating the optical sextant. We were flying a mission in support of the Cold War and happened to be near the North Pole.

Me and the navigator (or naviguessor if you prefer) decided we should take the opportunity to fly directly over the pole.

The only thing was . . . when you are directly on the North Pole there is only one direction . . . south. There is no east, no west and of course no north. The computer could not understand this and shut down. It was an early computer, this was a long time ago.

But that did get me thinking about the nature of spinning bodies. Therefore when someone asked me about my theory, “If the universe is spinning, then why can’t we see an axis.”

To that I say, “We wouldn’t see the axis if we were on it.”

Never mix red wine with Oodo.

Earth Year 2014

Today is my birthday.

Today is my birthday so I am taking the day off. See you monday.

Friday's Science Blog: Do animals have souls?

Welcome intrepid readers. Thanks for being here.

Do animals have souls? Interesting question for an atheist who wonders if humans have a soul.

I ask because we recently added chickens to our farm family. I have really enjoyed spending time with them. Chickens have a very interesting culture. Is is fascinating to watch and observe what they feel is important. If you’ve never been around chickens then you may not know that they have very important things to do.

Don’t believe me? Just spend some time watching chickens and you will indeed observe them rushing off to do something that popped into their heads at a particular moment that requires immediate attention.

Several years ago while taking a human anatomy class in college the professor began the class with the question; “Name something that is unique to humans.” I came up with the best answer but we’ll get to that in a minute.

One by one the professor shot down the answers thrown out by the class. Other animals used tools, other animals had language, death rituals, and so on. Humans are different from animals only in degrees.

I have to conclude then that if we accept that humans have a soul, then we have to accept that animals do to.

Oh, my good answer to the professors question, Humans are unique because humans are the only species that has ME as a member. For me humans are unique because we share a perspective.

Never mix red wine with Oodo.

Earth Year 2014

Philip the Bard's Harappan Blog: The most beautiful place on Earth.

Greetings intrepid readers. Thanks for being here.

I have never been to Cascadia, In fact I’ve never been to Earth, but I hear it is a wonderful place.

Many people say that Cascadia is the best place on Earth. I can’t say, since I’ve not seen it. The Cascade River is the backbone of the nation but it’s heart is the mountains.

Most of Cascadia is heavily forested. There are some deserts in the eastern portion of the country but they are small and shrinking. Most homes in Cascadia are made of wood. 

I lived in a wood house on Harappa but since I moved to Kusha I’ve lived in a plexi house.

Tomorrow there will be a science blog and I will return next week with tales of Kusha and Earth.

Never mix red wine and Oodo.

Philip Normer

Kushan Year 88

Earth Year 2480

Philip the Bard's Harappan Blog: Cascadian History

Welcome wonderful readers. Thanks for being here.

We’re talking about Cascadia. The independent nation formed in the aftermath of the collapse of world governments as a result of a series of natural disasters that the world was not prepared to deal with.

ca

Historians and, indeed most anyone who reads histories of the twentieth and twenty-first centuries come away astounded that humans were in such a complete state of denial about what they were doing to the environment, despite the mountain of evidence available to them.

It is one of histories mysteries, how humanity became so deluded by political advertising that they took their world to the brink of destruction.

In all of that environmental chaos Cascadia broke away from the Canadian and American governments. They established a new paradigm. They abandoned the Green Bible and the Greenies but wound up being more environmentally friendly than the Greenies ever were.

Never mix red wine and Oodo.

Philip Normer

Kushan Year 88

Earth Year 2480

Philip the Bard's Harappan Blog: Visit Cascadia

Welcome wonderful readers. Thanks for being here.

Last week and yesterday I was discussing people who weren’t covered much in the recently released novelization of the events surrounding our First Contact, “Kusha”.

Today I will switch gears a little and we’ll start discussing Cascadia. The  concluding novel in the Max Gavaskar series (The Mother of the Galaxy) will be out in a few months so I though I’d start laying the background for that. This final book details the events surrounding the Galactic War and it’s “emotional” conclusion.

Some of the more dramatic events of that time took place in Cascadia so for the next few posts I’ll give you some history and background on the Earth nation of Cascadia.

During the “Decade of Disasters” from 2040 to 2050 the western part of North America was particularly hit with a series of natural disasters. Most of the great cities of that area were wiped out. Los Angeles, San Francisco, Seattle and Vancouver, all gone. Nothing left but rubble. The people from those cities were all forced to move to the Eastern Seaboard as refugees.

The refugee problem led to the eventual collapse of the new American Government.

Back in the Northwest a few self reliant individualists decided to stay and form a new nation. Centered around the remains of Portland Oregon and around the Trail smelter in British Columbia and around the Columbia River Basin people gathered in communities and they formed Cascadia. They renamed the river and declared their independence from the new world government that was forming around the new Green Bible. They maintain their independence to this day.

Never mix red wine and Oodo.

Philip Normer

Kushan Year 88

Earth Year 2480

Philip the Bard's Harappan Blog: My wife Ina.

Welcome marvelous readers. Thanks for being here.

The past few days I’ve been discussing events around the First Contact that did not make the novelization “Kusha” which recently came out. I was there in the eye of the storm during all of this. My part in all of these events is fairly well covered in the novel so I wont re-hash my doings.

Last week I mentioned some people who weren’t covered well. My cousin Pando for one but another person that helped but was not mentioned much was my wife Ina. Of course she helped me by having my back when I was so involved in helping Dorian return to power. But she also helped in the transfer of notes between Dorian and his wife Alex while she was in jail.

Ina served as host for several events. I was with Dorian talking issues and such but someone had to be in the background making tea, coffee, snacks, getting the wine, loading the pipes. There was a lot to be done to keep the wheels of government rolling.

Never mix red wine and Oodo.

Philip Normer

Kushan Year 88

Earth Year 2480

Notes from the Author: Why this blog?

Greetings beloved readers. Thanks for being here.

Why am I writing this blog?

I’ve been writing the blog faithfully for over six months. Six days a week, occasionally five, I’ve posted at least a page of my thoughts on science, life and the world of my novels. In all this time I have not got one comment. There is a statistics page for the blog so I get stats and I do get visitors. They just don’t comment.

Who am I writing this for? Based on the information in paragraph one, I have to say for myself. But, my intention is that I am writing for readers of my novels who are interested in more information about the characters in the books. When I get to the end of a really good book I regret not being able to spend more time with the people and places that I have grown to love over the course of reading the novel. With my books you can revisit the people you enjoy from the Harappan History Project.

And, I am indeed writing this for my own benefit. It is a warehouse for information and notes about my creation. When I am finished with this project this blog will serve as a Harappan Encyclopedia.

So, enjoy the blog and if you feel like leaving a comment . . . well that would be great.

Philip the Bard will return next week.

Never mix red wine with Oodo.

Earth Year 2014

Philip the Bard's Harappan Blog: My cousin Pando.

Welcome fastidious readers. Thanks for being here.

This week we’re discussing some of the events and people who did not make it into the novelization “Kusha”.

My cousin Pando was mentioned but maybe his role was more important that the novel lets on. He was very important in helping secure a release for Lanice’s political prisoners. He also helped get the radio station shut down so that the SID could broadcast their message for Dorian. 

Pando was from my clan back on Harappa. He lived in the East Terramark Valley and I only saw him during the seasonal festivals. When we moved to Kusha we became closer and now we are dear old friends.

During Dorian’s return to power Pando was working at the jail as a guard. He helped Dorian and his wife Alex pass notes and helped arrange an escape for all the political prisoners. We had made plans for everyone to show up at the Capitol Hall at a specific time. Pando had everything worked out at the jail so that the prisoners could leave the night before but they all decided to stay in the lockup until the proper time.

Pando brought in some beer and wine and they had a party to celebrate Dorian’s return to power, a day before it happened.

Never mix red wine and Oodo.

Philip Normer

Kushan Year 88

Earth Year 2480

Philip the Bard's Harappan Blog: Stories that didn't make it into "Kusha"

Greetings wonderful readers. Thanks for being here.

Some of you may be reading “Kusha” now that it is available on Amazon for the tabs. I think it gives a fairly complete and certainly a compelling telling of the events around First Contact and the beginnings of the Galactic War. I have mentioned that I was there during these events. I am included in the novelization. I don’t have any complaings about my portrayal. Neither do I have any criticism about what is in the book.

I would only say that there may be a few things that didn’t make the novel. For example I don’t think the novel gives much detail about the concert we (the Gutterminds) gave for the Lors when they first showed up. It is mentioned but not in much detail. From my perspective it was an important event. It helped establish a friendship with the Loric peoples. The Lors are very musically inclined and many people (myself included) believe that humanities’ fondness for music helped endear us to the Lors.

Never mix red wine and Oodo.

Philip Normer

Kushan Year 88

Earth Year 2480

Philip the Bard's Harappan Blog: Welcome to Harappa City

Welcome fine readers. Thanks for being here.

Harappa City had been host to several important historical events. First contact happened here. Of course the overthrow of Dorian thain and his return happened here. The Tarsan theft of an SID spacehip happened here. Several important diplomatic meetings and conferences have happened here.

And I’ve been around for most of them.

There was an ancient Earth curse that went; “May you live in interesting times.”

 I have done that, and yes it is mostly a curse.

The events of the first contact and the roots of the Galactic War are now beint told in the historical novelization “Kusha” which is now available for the tabs and will soon be in paper. I read the galleys and, in my opinion it gets the details right. Over the next few days I’ll share some of my insights from my perspective of these events.

Never mix red wine and Oodo.

Philip Normer

Kushan Year 88

Earth Year 2480

Philip the Bard's Harappan Blog: Life in Harappa City

Greetings mellow readers. Thanks for being here.

Another fine weekend for the Gutterminds. Of course that means I didn’t get around to writing my blog for this morning.

Let me tell you about my office. I life in the same house that my wife, Ina and I moved into when we first came to Kusha from planet Harappa. We are just a block from the city square and Harappaholm.

Back in the day Dorian and Max both lived in Harappaholm. Dorian ran the planet from there. He lived there for a few years after he stepped down but eventually moved to his compound up river. Max moved out around the same time. She spent so much time traveling anyway.

Harappaholm is now more of a public gathering place. It also serves as something of a hotel for dignitaries when they come to see Max. Recently there has been a long line of visitors and Harappaholm has been busy.

I don’t go there much anymore. Once or twice a year the Gutterminds play some function there but I rarely attend the Balls and banquets there.

I stay home mostly and enjoy the view from my office window. On Kusha the sky is always a grand view but I can also see the Rodin Falls from my office. The pink mist floats above the dramatic cascade and lights up in spectacular fashion just before sunset.

That is what you need to know about my office. In my office are the things you’d otherwise expect. Old dusty books a 3deo screen, a couch and a desk. All pretty mundane, but the view, now that’s something not every office has.

A note from the Author: Today is the day that Amazon promised me the proof for the paper version of Kusha. Once it is approved the book will be available as a paper back on Amazon.com. Look here for details and a link.

Never mix red wine and Oodo.

Philip Normer

Kushan Year 88

Earth Year 2480

Saturday's Science Guy Blog: A defense of reason.

Greetings beloved readers. Thanks for being here.

I am waiting for the proof of the paperback for “Kusha” I expect it in the mail any day now. Once it is approved the book will be available on Amazon. Check back with the blog for details.

While watching “The Big Bang Theory” TV show this thursday night I noticed them mentioning a recent discovery, the “Primordial Gravitational Wave”. I had heard something about this recently in the news but it was such a brief mention that I didn’t follow it.

So after the TV show prompt I looked it up. Very interesting indeed. They have found more evidence for the Big Bang (not the TV show) and analysis of the new data may open up the early universe to us. The article I read was from the science people at NASA. I barely understood much of it and I am fairly science literate. 

I have recently been faced with science denial several times. It seems that lately the anti science crowd is getting a lot of publicity. I spent some time the other day debating science with some nice folks from Jehovah’s Witness. 

People often complain that modern society is becoming more and more about the “haves vs the have nots”. I also see a growing divide between the “knows and know nots”.

I am increasingly concerned about our world when we have so many people who are becoming willfully ignorant. Why are we having to spend tax dollars defending evolution? Why are we having to spend tax dollars defending our constitution from a religious assault?

Not long ago I was told by one of the JW’s that I was the “nicest atheist he had ever met”. I felt very good about that. I like to think I am a kind person.

However, the conversation leading up to that compliment was very frustrating indeed. It seems that lately the anti science crowd is gaining ground on reason. Is it that they see their side loosing and loosing in a big way? Are the creationists like a cornered, wounded animal? Are they lashing out as one last desperate attempt to reclaim their former position of prominence?

I don’t know the answer. I just know that it is becoming increasingly important to speak out for reason. There are new discoveries happening in the scientific world that are changing in a big way our perceptions of the universe. Our understanding of the natural cosmos is growing in exponential ways. It would be easy to sit back and let the new discoveries about particle physics, astrophysics, astronomy and more, without considering that there is a large and growing movement to steer people, especially children, away from science.

Those of us who are fans of science need to remain vigilant. Our gains can be easily lost. President Obama recently said that history can move backwards. The Dark Ages being one example. In my mind an excellent example of what we are facing if we lose.

The Dark Ages fell upon humanity when we let the Christians run things. They are currently trying to regain the control that the Renaissance wrested from their grip. I fear for the future of the country I love if we let science and reason become less of a guide for society than faith.

Never mix red wine with Oodo.

Earth Year 2014

Philip the Bard's Harappan Blog: Humans and the Milky Way

Welcome friendly readers. Thanks for being here.

This we we’ve been exploring the Encyclopedia Galactica and some of the peoples we’ve met since Max made her big discovery. Things certainly have changed since then haven’t they?

Back then the Tarsans were the villains, certainly not what they are now. Some of you may remember the SID or Science and Industry Division that were causing problems for all of us. Their betrayal and hunt for Max (detailed in the novelization “Kusha” out now) led to their demise.

We, humans have made friends with most peoples around the Milky Way. We certainly stirred the pot when we joined the family of advanced species. A lot of human words are now used around the Milky Way.

For example the name “Milky Way” was a human invention, apparently it comes from an aspect of Earth’s night sky. I haven’t seen it. Then there is the Gavaskar Field which most people assume is named after Max but actually is named for Debendra Gavaskar an Earther scientist from Earth’s twenty-second century.

We humans certainly made an immediate impact on the galaxy. Fortunately things have mellowed some since our first contact.

Never mix red wine and Oodo.

Philip Normer

Kushan Year 88

Earth Year 2480

Philip the Bard's Harappan Blog: Meet the Fordians

Welcome friendly readers. Thanks for being here.

This week we’ve been exploring the Encyclopedia Galactica. Yesterday we looked into the Taxians. Today let me introduce you to the Fordians, the very first alien species we met. that was back in Max Gavaskars prime time. The story is told in the novelization of the time called “Kusha”.

It was the Fordians who first began calling Max “The Mother”. That was after her first big insight.

We were quite impressed the the Fordians. They had been traveling space for several hundred thousand years. Naturally we assumed them to be highly evolved and significantly smarter than humanity.

Not necessarily so. Turns out that the Fordians are not all that bright. Don’t get me wrong I like the Fordians I have met, they are very nice people, (most of them) but they are not the fastest computer on the desk. 

The Lor and the Tax both believe that the Fordians became simple minded over the years. They achieved spaceflight early on in their evolution then seemed to stop growing.

What I do like about the Fordians is their commitment to family. More on this tomorrow.

Never mix red wine and Oodo.

Philip Normer

Kushan Year 88

Earth Year 2480

Philip the Bard's Harappan Blog: Meet the Taxians

Welcome wonderful readers. Thanks for being here.

The Tax have become one of humanities best friends in the Milky Way. We certainly did not get off on the right foot with them. The Galactic War was defininately a tense time for human/tax relationships. Were it not for the Mother’s diplomatic skills, most likely the Tax would be enimies of the human race. As it is they have stood by our side in several galactic disputes over the years.

The two distinguishing features of the Tax is their size and their pheremones. Some of them are over three meters tall. They are smart apes and the most human looking aliens we have met. In fact thay look like humans 2.0. They are bigger than us, stronger and prettier. Humans most often avoid meeting the Tax face to face preferring EG conferences.

This last fact due to the phremones of the Tax. They can control a set of pheremones that can affect the emotional state of those around them. Ethical Taxians do not use this on humans but some will. In some of our first meetings with the Tax they did try to manipulate our people with their “stink”.

I haven’t met one personally but I have heard that their women are quite spectactular. Human males find them overly captivating and if the Taxian women get their pheremones involved then the human male is totally at the mercy of the Tax.

It doesn’t help that the Tax don’t wear much in the way of clothes. They wear a variety of capes and loin cloths. I understand that the capes designate social status and the color and length tells other tax a great deal of social information. The loin cloths seem similar among the sexes and don’t vary much. Those with very high social status wear ones with finer material but it doesn’t seem to display any social status. Loin cloths are more a matter of taste among the Tax. 

Of course planet Tax is a warm place. Maybe a little warmer after what the Fordians did there.

Never mix red wine and Oodo.

Philip Normer

Kushan Year 88

Earth Year 2480