Through The Wind Door

Allies - Part 9 (Arlington)

The nitty gritty of Chapter 12, where we meet The Swordmaster (but really, in mighty duel fashion, we range all over.) The topics of the day:

• Frank putting his foot in it
• The Calm before suddenly, A Manticore
• The Majesty of Weapon's Lab A and its artisans
• Further reflection on our master Spy
• And how really, the title Arlington doesn't refer to Thomas, but the entire family

 

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Intro is "One Person, Listening Now" by Doctor Turtle of FMA

Outro is "Don't Stop" by Fleetwood Mac

Allies - Part 8 (Arlington)

Trigger Warning for discussion of both fictional and real world police violence.

Today we finish off thoughts on Chapter 9 and move well into 10 and 11. Our cast of topics:

• Speculation on the fact that Truth and Harry are twins
• Our thoughts on Agent Li as she is portrayed from Chapter 10 and 12
• Wondering about how certain choices were made to include historical characters like Annie even though the Wendigo outbreak would dramatically change her story
• Our thoughts on Raven, both his influences and his role in the story
• And a brief discussion on the police-led murder introduced in these chapters, and it's basis from the real world history taking place during writing

This means that technically, the episode(s?) to come will be primarily focused only on Chapter 12... or will they? The scope of our conversation when picking a range of chapters is often related, after all...

Spoilers for The Mummy (1999)

 

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Intro is "One Person, Listening Now" by Doctor Turtle of FMA

Outro is "Human Beings" by Seal

Allies - Part 7 (Arlington)

Today we begin to cover chapters 9-12 of Arlington. I say begin, because as always, our first entry always manages to focus mostly on the first chapter (though we do briefly discuss some elements of Chapter 10 as well, so, progress!) Today's topics include:

• The exploration of Frederick's absence
• Further discussion on hamartia
• Thomas being 'the angriest man [Sarah] has ever known'
• Discussion of the Arlington family, with specific focus on Truth and Thomas

At the end, instead of outtakes, we have a sober, unexpected conversation about Toby's relationship with his father, and how it culminated with his unexpectes passing nine years ago. Trigger Warning for frank discussions of familial loss and grief. But if you can hold a space for it, it's a touching stort that we even manage to relate back to New Century, and ponder its relevance for coming up at the time it did.

 

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Intro is "One Person, Listening Now" by Doctor Turtle of FMA

Outro 1 is "Father and Daughter" by Paul Simon

Outro 2 is "Father to Son" by Phil Collins

Allies - Part 6 (Arlington)

And here, the final episode on chapters 5-8. Thus far, most of our conversations seem to run long enough that there is enough material for three episodes. That does mean that it might take longer to get through a book if we keep doing three 45-55 min episodes instead of two episodes of around an hour and a half. But given the erratic nature of our recording, it works to have the content stretch. Today we cover:

• A brief exploration on British vs. American humor
• How Chapter 8 is divided - for us - between an entertaining portion and a heavier portion
• Analysis of Thomas's behavior under stress, and an unexpected conflict with his wife
• Our analysis and feelings about Colonel Tremaine
• And finally, a discussion on the naming conventions of Arlington's chapters.

This episode also contains outtakes and further conversation after the outro.

 

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Intro is "One Person, Listening Now" by Doctor Turtle of FMA

Outro is "A Change Is Gonna Come" by Sam Cooke

Allies - Part 5 (Arlington)

As so often happens, the B episode is where we cover the most ground on our assigned chapters! (As a reminder, those include chapters 5-8) Today's topics include:

• A discussion on the real world Ulysses Grant as well as his incarnation in New Century
• Further analysis on Sarah Arlington as she interacts with Frank, General Curtis, and why she's the official Deputy Director of the NIA
• The differences in Frank's relationships with the Arlingtons
• The frustrating aspects of real world white supremacy and their role in New Century
• Discussion on the comedic and non-comedic aspects of Calvin Wilson, Jeremy Pines, and Donald McTavish

The quote history about Grant: https://quoteinvestigator.com/2013/02/18/barrel-of-whiskey/

More on Victoria Woodhull: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Victoria_Woodhull

 

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Intro is "One Person, Listening Now" by Doctor Turtle of FMA

Outro is "Rocky Mountain High" by John Denver

Allies - Part 4 (Arlington)

Today, we begin our look into chapters 5-8, though focusing mostly on chapter 5 because of the deep dive it takes into Thomas and The Handbook once more. Our discussion includes:

• Our first introduction to Truth, and the many roles she holds in terms of connections, metaphors, and her position of authority
• The beginnings of our analysis of the novel from the perspective of literary tragedy, and a discussion on the nature of hamartia.
• Thomas's goals as regards the RSA and how the Handbook is a tool to enact them, as well as potential consequences of same
• And a discussion on the significance of positive and negative elements of Nostalgia.

OSP on Tragedy: https://youtu.be/TL4ti1EGNiw

OSP on Medea:

https://youtu.be/b7WH30_8vos

 

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Intro is "One Person, Listening Now" by Doctor Turtle of FMA

Outro is "Shine a Little Light" by James Taylor

Allies - Part 3 (Arlington)

This episode wraps up our discussion on Chapters 1-4 (though focusing mostly on chapters 3 and 4) and includes our thoughts on:

• The developing relationship between Frank and Thomas
• The new dynamic coming from Frank, Thomas, and Sarah all interacting together
• Learning more about Thomas as a father, rather than simply a leader or orator/writer
• What 'The Deputy Director' starts to reveal about Sarah as a character
• More discussions on communication, and musing on how what is revealed explicitly and implicitly about Thomas reflect on his interactions and the Handbook

Which isn't to say these topics won't get more play in future episodes. But every story has a beginning, and more conversations will be had as more is revealed.

The wall hanging referred to in Toby's room:

 

The video of Apple as shared in the outtakes:

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1F8iRDmWipNBk7D4uhqoGIrH4V8K3uu-A/view?usp=sharing

 

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Intro is "One Person, Listening Now" by Doctor Turtle of FMA

Outro is "If Everyone Cared" by Nickelback

 

Allies - Part 2 (Arlington)

Further insights as we delve into more parts of Chapters 1, 2 and 3. Today our topics include:

• The original opening lines of this novel
• Further discussion on the momentous pronouncement at the end of Chapter 1
• The new characters that Chapter 2 and 3 introduce, both historical and fictional
• How Frank uses his people skills to navigate through these new personalities
• A careful discussion about certain religious sects and the danger of lauding faith over logic

And furthermore, discussion on the dangers of this new world that come from within, rather from without, like the wendigo.

Chapter 2 is a breath of fresh air after the intensity of Chapter 1, and help set the stage for things to come in this book and beyond. It's one of my favorite parts of New Century to revisit, so we get into it with gusto.

 

On the Amish: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amish

On the BLM protest by the 'Amish'. https://anabaptisthistorians.org/tag/black-lives-matter/

 

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Intro is "One Person, Listening Now" by Doctor Turtle of FMA

Outro is "You Gotta Be" by Des'ree

Allies - Part 1 (Arlington)

The second half of Season 4 begins in earnest, as we move into chapters 1-4 of the novel Arlington.

These chapters will be covered by three smaller episode in total, and today we get into:

• A look back on where we've been
• The connecting thread of how these four chapters introduce our four primary narrators
• A discussion of Annie Oakley, and how starting with her narration puts us in familiar territory 
• A change of mood, and a new setting that makes the beginning of the novel line more up with what we learned of the world from the Handbook
• How from the very first chapter, plot twists occur that throw everything into chaos, and set not only the tone for everything going forwards...
• ...but also with it's final lines, the novel telling us exactly what kind of story it is.

 

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Intro is "One Person, Listening Now" by Doctor Turtle of FMA

Outro is "Hard Times" by Paramore

Dramatis Personae - Part 4 (The Cartographer’s Handbook)

Finally, the end. (just of this novel.)

As feels right, most of our conversation hinges around the tale of Thomas Arlington's life, what is revealed of it in the Handbook at least. It is autobiographical, so there are details yet to be learned in future books. But for now, we discuss what Thomas chooses to say about himself, as well as what that reveals about his character at this time, and whether the intent of his story is ultimately successful.

From there, all our final thoughts from all our Yesterdays in regards to the Handbook. Where it belongs in the reading order, how it stands among other books in the series, and why. Reflecting finally on its place in publication history as the first New Century book, and how things have changed since 2013.

With the full context only hinted at in Secret Rooms revealed - we, like the New Century itself - can move forward into Arlington.

 

The Insidiousness of Root Beer and the Federation: https://youtu.be/6VhSm6G7cVk

Remembering Mattie: https://www.oprah.com/spirit/in-memory-of-mattie-stepanek/2

 

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Intro is "One Person, Listening Now" by Doctor Turtle of FMA

Outro is "Don't Dream It's Over" by Crowded House