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Simon Darkshade wrote: ↑Tue Jun 16, 2026 5:23 pm
I shall have to answer properly tomorrow, but on He-Man:
The morals at the end remain, but they are virtually all done in wise, non-condescending and completely story-relevant manner.
I use the word “virtually” as I may wish to use this great sequence here, entitled “Don’t Put Mustard on the Cat” :
1.) Lauda historically retired in 1985 at 36ish, so, given the generally longer sporting career trend of DE, is likely to go on until he is 40 or so. It is likely he won't have the three year break; the airlines will depend on a host of other factors in the 1980s.
2.) The only part really changed from the historical case was the Swiss use of crossbows. Definitely a classic case of a frustrated officer being buttered up by the Soviets.
3.) The historical 5th Test was a significant victory, with the largest changes here being Richards scoring 329 vs 291 and Lloyd making 110 vs 84 whilst Holding did historically take 14 wickets.
4.) I did take the idea of the £2 fine from a Dave Allen sketch where he, as a judge, sentences a man to death for parking on a double yellow line. Upon the urgent whispering of his clerk, who frantically exclaims that "It's just a parking offence! It's a £2 fine!", he sonorously adds "You must also pay a £2 fine."
5.) It will be a nice, fun and safe park for the whole family. Dinosaur zoo exhibits are not uncommon, but an entire island hasn't been done before. JP has a different future here.
6.) And for me also, with "some" of the action figures replaced by "most" of them. The DE version will not only feature twice as many episodes in the initial contracted arrangement, with more to come, but will also have a number of other subtle changes which I'll expound upon in greater detail in due course.
7.) The inspectors in question were those seconded to the (quite large) investigation. Calhoun is with the Yard, and rather busy with some other matters at present. There has been a previous case of a werewolf being spotted on the streets of Soho in the rain and being promptly shot in 1947, or something written back in 2016; in some ways, this event is my way of revisiting a very old event/joke...
8.) We shall see if said actor gets involved, as he is quite young and very small at this point; at every point, come to think of it. The idea just works though - Miss Piggy as Kelly McGillis, Gonzo as Iceman, Rizzo the Rat as Viper, Fozzie Bear as Jester, Dr Bunsen Honeydew as Stinger and Scooter as Goose, with special appearances by the Swedish Chef as himself and Sam Eagle as the President. Naturally, it wouldn't quite have the same events, with Goose being injured and unable to fly, but the rest of the plot could be adapted directly as a Muppets affair.
9.) Historically, there was no 6th Test; that has often been the one where victorious sides drop a game at the end of a long series and tour.
I will follow up with some more notes in due course, but after tonight's shift (Hurray for thieves and paperwork!) , I'm going to wind down with some bits and pieces to build up some more ideas, including Clint Eastwood's Firefox.
For now, I will say that I am particularly pleased with the Easter eggs embedded on August 12th and 27th, and with how the AD&D stuff on August 23rd came out in the wash. And for good measure, a little tidbit of a longer piece on the British steel industry:
The four major groupings as discussed on August 4
British Steel: West Bromwich*, Corby*, Round Oak*, Bilston, Shelton Bar*; Sheerness*, Isle of Grain, Rochester, Stratford; Parkend, Whitecliff, Cinderford, Ruardean; Ebbw Vale*, Port Talbot*, Brymbo* Dowlais*, Trostre, Llanwen, Panteg, Tredegar, Ynyscedwyn, Velindre, Llanelli
Imperial Steel: Scunthorpe* ; Rotherham*, Parkgate; Tyneside, Newburn, Jarrow*, Consett*; Hartlepool*, Redcar/Teesside*, Brown Bayley, Lackenby, Consett*, Cleveland, Skinningrove
English Steel: Hadfields*, English Steel Don Works, Firth Brown, Halifax, Silverdale, Openshaw*, Barrow*, Irlam*, Hawarden Bridge/Deeside*, Southport*, Workington*, Carlisle, Penrith
UK Steel: Ravenscraig*, Motherwell*, Clydebridge*, Carron*, Coatbridge*, Glengarnock*, Shotts*, Forth ; Belfast, Londonderry, Clondalkin, Inniskilling
- Asterisked plants are integrated steelworks
- Further ancillary plants and specialised works to be added in time for the main piece
- Openshaw historically ended up with English Steel, but only after Armstrong-Whitworth was taken over by Vickers. Here, it ends up with Vickers/English Steel through a series of government nudged sales and negotiations to create the five major regional conglomerates in the aftermath of the Second World War
- British Steel did merge with an entity called the Steel Company of Wales Ltd, but the latter still exists as a semi-detached corporate entity under the banner of the former, primarily as a corporate structure that is most advantageous for tax purposes
- The Olympics see some slightly different winners on the final day, including Mr. T
- Vienna’s bridge is saved conventionally, or at least conventionally for DE
- Romero was historically seen as a dull conservative choice
- Steel, like a lot of industries, is on a different trajectory
- Che Guevara is up to something again
- The handover bridge is not in Berlin, naturally, so doesn’t look as pretty
- Plenty of Aussie Rules action in the VFL update, along with a particular Easter egg. There‘s a little bit of Cazaly in us all
- Sadly, the Estonian shooting is virtually all historical
- Midway is, in a word, grander. Note the cast
- Elder Forest is very big indeed, reflecting the size of the British Isles and their role in Allied strategy. Note that one likely angle of attack, from the high north, is not simulated. Why?
- The Acapulco meteorite has some more exotic properties…
- The San Quentin Six are aided by an early version of the Chewbacca Defence
- Lauda’s non-accident will have ripples
- It does seem like a dragon has eaten another plane in the Andes
- The Swiss spy scandal is basically the same as OTL
- Plenty of cricketing goodness
- More trouble seems bound for the Philippines, perhaps even someone big
- US colour TV election coverage still has Republican blue and Democratic red
- The £2 fine is a reference to a very funny Dave Allen sketch
- Note the ride mentioned in Disneyland Luna
- Angelo Puglisi is saved
- AD&D is a bit more streamlined in some aspects, with Gygax’s more obscurantist tendencies kept to tables of polearms and harlots, and nice and simple things like THAC0 and negative armour class being explained clearly. Guessing the correct 16 classes will win a prize
- Divorce law is different (see appendix below)
- He Man is even better than the historical series
- The cost of the Super Harrier is enough to drive men to wubble
- More to come on the werewolf front. Consider the cure, and who the expert may be
- Collisions at sea are a Cold War hazard
- Master Smith’s article leads to a Muppet Top Gun
- The Atomic Man does get some interesting powers here
Appendix Below
Britain (well, England and Wales) historically did not have no fault divorce until 2020 but even in its absence, the rates were rather higher in the 1970s, coming on the back of the Divorce Reform Act 1969. Historically, the annual rates went from ~ 710 in 1910 to 3089 in 1920, 4501 in 1930, ~8000 in 1939/40, 30870 in 1950, 23868 in 1960 and 58239 in 1970. The jump from 1960 to 1970 can be ascribed to a number of causes, but the 1969 Act cannot be substantively excluded from calculations there. On the basis of population alone, that should result in DE figures of 1500, 6200, 10000, 19000, 70000, 60000 and 120000. Instead, the DE figures are ~ 500 in 1910, 2500 in 1920, 3800 in 1930, 5195 in 1940, 4964 in 1950, 3257 in 1960 and 5269 in 1970. The smaller proportions in 1910 and 1920 don't seem outlandish, but why isn't there a similar leap in the 1930s, a tripling in the 1940s and a doubling in the 1960s?
One aspect is the more conservative social mores of DE, but that wouldn't really make up for the big impact of the Second World War and the subsequent shift towards more rights for women. Rather, what is at work here is one of my favourite little tricks - that of playing around the margin of detail, and playing little tricks with familiar language.
In DE Britain (and note that legally there isn't a distinction between Scots and English law as we find on Earth), the key difference in legislative language is the 1857 encompassing not just adultery, but also cruelty, insanity and desertion (a la the @ 1937 Act), whilst, in a flourish of my inscrutable interest in legal history and the minutiae of legislation, being couched in such language as to make the divorce process still a bit of a rigmarole in order to push more potential candidates down the line of an annulment, which in turn is more strongly influenced by the Catholic teaching thereof. To put things in layman's terms, divorce is the big nuclear option often taken by the rich, whilst annulment and the similar concept of a 'voidable marriage' is the simpler and cheaper option taken by other strata of society. There may seem to be a dramatically lower number of divorces, but a lot of type of marriages which historically ended in divorce in 1940-1970 fall under different 'categories' here, in the form of annulled marriages and voidable ones.
I'm not overly fond of family and divorce law, preferring succession law in general, but some reading on the history of the law always gives me some rather arcane ideas.
(and note that legally there isn't a distinction between Scots and English law as we find on Earth
You'll need to remind me of why that is. In @ Scots (at least the knowledgeable ones) are very proud that we have a separate legal system, and consider it superior to the English one. For example, several @ prominent mismarriages of justice could not have happened because of the need for corroboration.
“Frankly, I had enjoyed the war… and why do people want peace if the war is so much fun?” - Lieutenant General Sir Adrian Carton de Wiart
Different terms, bargaining positions and negotiations leading to the Act of Union, primarily, along with canon law’s little role and the fourth strand of law around at that point (as well as common law, chancery/equity and canon law).
- Planning begins on a domed city in Alaska and arcology proposals are mooted in Japan
- Marriage of a Romanov and a Hohenzollern
- The 1500th anniversary of fall of Western Roman Empire is marked
- The first Presidential debate between Reagan and RFK
- Return of Orion
- The mooted MIA investigation mission heads into North Vietnam
- A cheese loving Lancastrian inventor and his loyal dog go on an adventure with a lively sheep and some escaping chickens
- Belenko defects, whilst the Soviets salvage an F-14
- A mountain climber comes close to disaster before being rescued by yeti
- Electric cars go on sale
- Troubles kick off in Argentina
- An Armenian man saves 20 people after a bus crashes into a lake
- A different Swedish election
- REFORGER 76 takes place, in conjunction with some naval exercises and moves in Southern Europe
- Some further choices are made regarding the Royal Navy, including the purchase of ships built for some foreign states; plus the first of the new cruisers being laid down, other ships launched and a licensed production agreement reached for a plane that few will expect
- Debut of Baa Baa Black Sheep
- Some separatist rumblings in Katanga and reaction from the Congolese federal government
- The VFL Grand Final
- A White Paper on Education is commissioned in Britain
- An incident at the Semiramis Hotel in Damascus
- The USN tests a vertically launched unmanned jet fighter
- The first Presidential debate between Reagan and RFK
I imagine it will be close. Both were fine orators. Which reminds me of how shocking that RFK Jr is what he is (don't do drugs, kids!).
- A cheese loving Lancastrian inventor and his loyal dog go on an adventure with a lively sheep and some escaping chickens
I'm sure they will have a grand day out, although, he better not wear the wrong trousers, or it may be a close shave, involving a matter of loaf and death...and the other film titles don't really fit as puns here!
“Frankly, I had enjoyed the war… and why do people want peace if the war is so much fun?” - Lieutenant General Sir Adrian Carton de Wiart
We do have their historical debate of 1967 as a potential source or exemplar.
I do hope that my event can do justice to the great punning, along with a characteristic bit of left field inclusions; Sooty, Sweep and Soo could be involved, along with something unexpected…
Talking of them, do you remember that there was a story that went around in the, IIRC, late '90s, or early 00s that Soo was going to get pregnant? It was utter nonsense, but the usual tabloids fell for it and were suitable outraged!
EDIT: Turns out that there was a germ of truth in that story. The truth was that Soo was pretending, but it led to predictably confused headlines.
“Frankly, I had enjoyed the war… and why do people want peace if the war is so much fun?” - Lieutenant General Sir Adrian Carton de Wiart
I had not heard of that one, as it occurred in 1994, which was after the peak era of British content on Australian television and before the era of the internet, such that we may not have got said episode and there was no way of knowing about foreign news outside of tiny snippets in newspapers; additionally, by that point, I had probably aged up out of Sooty quite a few years earlier, and had forsaken all children’s television by 12.
It sounds like typical tabloid gullibility for the era, as well being a bit before the period when children’s shows would choose to be daring in such fashion for real.
DE Sooty is still a delightfully innocent show. There has already been a sort of parallel Sooty event back in 1952/2016:
a.) I posted the year with the event “ January 16: Sooty, a talking miniature yellow bear, makes his first appearance on BBC television.”
b.) Certain posters here fell for the “talking” part, including one you know quite well, thinking it meant a radical difference, possibly like Soo
c.) My meaning was that he talked to Harry Corbett, mutely, in the manner of the standard show ‘narration’
He will do so, in a slightly better written special episode/The Secret of the Sword. Not heavily criticising it, but little things like Skeletor using a cake and French chef outfits as a disguise don’t fit quite as well as they might.
A few other minor changes to the overall show might be Adam not getting quite so heavy a tan upon transforming into He Man; different coloured eyes as one manifestation of animation being that bit more detailed; and not as much re-use of stock footage, such as of characters running, or the same type of moves being used in a fight sequence.
In light of current warm conditions on the wrong side of the world, and the bitter cold conditions here, a little reflection on
The Summer of ‘76
- Whilst a bit warm even by DE postwar English standards, it doesn’t reach the peaks of 96.6 F/35.9 C, nor are there 15 days in a row over 89.9/32.2
- Instead of an average mean temperature of 15.7C/60.3 F, the summer average is 13.8C/57 F
- In the background is the fact that people are used to it, with the average British summer temperatures since 1947 being around the 55 F mark. The peak was reached in 1964 when it reached 84 F/29 C, which was a long way behind the hottest ever day on August 9 1911, when it topped 100 F for the first (recorded) time. This manifests itself not just in personal resilience and experience, but the much greater spread of fans, air conditioning and various forms of magitech cooling as a result of the general climate
- Daytime maximum temperatures over the summer were in the 78-82 range across Southern England and Lyonesse and getting progressively cooler as one heads further north
- Offsetting this is that there is relief with cool nights, and with rain
- Summer rain totals were 9.2”, meaning that there was no sense of a drought
- Some of the iconic vision of that summer, be it the parched brown outfields of the cricket Tests or other signs of drought, don’t exist
- People flocked to the seaside, and to lakes and rivers inland, as is quite natural; given the improvements to the water quality of the Thames, there is much swimming there, particularly from children, as was once the case
- Lack of a drought means that food prices did not rise by 12%, nor crop/ag losses top £500 million
- Dress codes, in their DE manifestation, remain strong
- There will be a lot of cultural memory of children playing outdoors
- A boost in swimming, with more public pools and baths, school swimming, and a ‘downstream’ impact on swimming as an Olympic sport
- No increase in crime (thermic law) nor any incidence of increased deaths due to high heat
- A general move towards heating AND cooling systems for homes, schools, public buildings and shops, which will account for some of the greatly increased supply of electrickity
- It is probably too early to assess what long term socio-cultural differences would arise from the lack of the hot summer
Elsewhere, there was a comment:
"If I remember correctly, the two biggest impacts were:
The passing of the OTL Drought Act
The birth of British punk rock
Both of which are most definitely butterflied away."
In response:
"1.) The first one wouldn’t have been a starter even with hotter weather, as the Grand Contour Canal acts to distribute water across the country in such a fashion as to ‘drought-proof’ it; a much superior water distribution net to what is in place now.
2.) Absolutely right that the second would not happen; one can’t get punk rock without rock and roll or the wide pool of unassigned teenagers, with the impact of 1.2 million 18 year old men being called up for 24 months every year removing a sizeable amount of that pool. Subtract virtually every 18 and 19 year old young man from active or regular engagement in a culture, and we are bound to see change.
To parse it apart:
A.) In 1975, there were 6,025,330 British boys aged 15-19
B.) That approximately equates to 1.2 million of each year
C.) The school leaving age is 16, concluding with O Levels in grammar schools, public schools and secondary schools/secondary moderns; technical schools have their own parallel tests and accreditation
D.) Those pursuing an academic path stay on for Sixth Form/Year 12 for the very rigorous A Levels; that comprises around 600,000 out of 2.4 million boys and girls. Of those, around 400,000 will go on to university, either directly or after National Service, and 200,000 into other forms of professional training. The other 1.8 million filter out into work, a gap year/travel, or marriage; there effectively isn’t such a concept as a ‘NEET’, with only a few thousands falling into such a category
E.) Overseas Britons/Expats total 12.4 million, covering those living and working in the colonies, India, Africa, Asia and the Commonwealth
F.) That translates to just under 100,000 Overseas British boys turning 18 each year and becoming liable for National Service
G.) In addition, there are quite a few 16 and 17 year old boys who ‘beat the system’ by signing up early (125000+) ; or who are engaged with the Empire Labour Service (the pay is good for a young lad) (125000) ; or who take advantage of special intensive programmes in the Venturers (50000) ; or who engage with the Voluntary Service Overseas agency (50000) ; or who work as tutors in public schools (10000)
H.) Of the ~ 5 million tradesmen, there are ~ 375,000 apprentices aged 15-18, and this is an area that will grow at the expense of general labourers
I.) For the ~ 2.5 million proper professionals, there is a ‘university pipeline’ of ~ 250,000 graduates per year; again, this is just on replacement rate, and an area which future governments will try to encourage a bit more
J.) This translates to not a large number of young people who aren’t in school, don’t have responsibilities and who would be inclined towards a heavy interest in music, even if the type existed"
A little teaser of something to come:
Chuck Norris
World champion karate exponent, burgeoning Hollywood action star, a veteran of a highly secret special forces team, noted charity fundraiser and family man Norris is having a good middle of the 1970s, having broken through to mainstream success with his role as Wal-Kar the Ranger in Conan the Barbarian. He also has a different role away from three screen, similar to his good friend Bruce Lee.
Michael Jackson
A shy and talented young singer who has experienced some local success with his family group, The Jackson Five, although their music hasn’t had a great deal of airtime on mainstream radio, and his older brothers serving their terms of conscription in the U.S. Armed Forces has somewhat stymied their career. Michael himself is quietly dreading his call up notice on his 18th birthday in a few short months.
Bo Darville
Perhaps the finest driver in America, ‘Bandit’ Darville is enjoying a well earned sabbatical with his new wife Carrie, having successfully made a delivery of Bostonian clam chowder to Atlanta last year. He bears a quite striking similarity in appearance to his distant cousin Burt Reynolds, which is the cause of no end of bemusement to his circle of friends.
Robert Redford
One of Hollywood’s brightest stars, 40 year old Redford is at the height of his acting powers, with his twin Best Actor Oscars of 1973 and 1974 and dashing All-American good looks making him one of the world’s most significant box office draws. Perhaps the one criticism of his oeuvre to date is that the majority of his roles have been heroic types which haven’t truly stretched him. His erudite commitment to various liberal causes has caused a number of many in smoky rooms to ruminate on certain possibilities.
Endeavour Morse
A newly promoted Inspector in the Oxford City Police, Morse has been identified as one of the most capable and perceptive detectives in Southern England by certain Scotland Yard officers, and as a man to watch for potential future roles beyond the city of the dreaming spires. He is recently married to his longtime sweetheart Joan Thursday, the daughter of his now retired former commanding officer.
Sebastian Holmes
Son of the famed detective, at 52, Holmes is London’s leading consultant private sleuth and has built up quite the record over the last 30 years for his cool deduction, incisive intellect and a raffish personal touch quite different from his father. Like many private detectives in the imperial metropolis, he maintains a working relationship with the yard, and has a mobilisation commission in the Special Operations Executive, and is a long time correspondent with Carl Kolchak.
James Bond
Commander Bond is a semi-retired legend within the restricted echelons of the Secret Intelligence Service, having undertaken twenty-five significant missions since the War, against such disparate threats as Nazis on dinosaurs to deranged Chinese mad scientists and from SMERSH renegades to would-be Egyptian dictators. Eventually, when he finally does decide to spend more time in the garden, he will likely be granted a new identity, whilst his old name lives on in a new, younger vessel.
Paul Kersey
An award winning architect who lives and works in Chicago with his wife and daughter after moving there from New York City in the aftermath of an attempted robbery of his apartment. Lieutenant Frank Ochoa made note of Kersey's resemblance to the 'New York Vigilante' responsible for the shootings of a dozen street criminals several years ago, but concluded that the reports were mistaken.
Travis Bickle
Hero taxi driver Bickle, the saviour of Iris Steensma in 1972, has come up and along in the world in the aftermath of his valiant actions, having married his sweetheart Betsy Shepherd, settling down in a brownstone at 14 Parkside Lane and receiving substantive help and counselling for his wartime experiences from the USVA. He works as a driver for the folk singer Harry Chapin and his band, along with promoting Smith & Wesson products in magazines.
Vito Corleone
Executed in the electric chair in Sing-Sing prison in 1920 for the murder of a rival neighbourhood hoodlum in New York City's Little Italy.
Clive Lloyd
31 year old captain of the West Indies Test cricket team, Lloyd is one of the finest and most punishing batsmen in world cricket, and is known for his effortlessly strong striking of the ball over the boundary or, on occasion, out of the ground entirely. Upon succeeding Gary Sobers as captain, Lloyd has continued to guide the Windies on their seemingly inexorable rise to the pinnacle of the cricketing world. He is well known, loved and respected across the West Indies, and is known for his characteristic unflappable leadership.
Randle P. McMurphy
Convicted on statutory rape in the third degree, public indecency, resisting arrest, contributing to the delinquency of a minor, displaying obscene materials, assault in the second degree, criminal trespass, interference with agricultural research, offensive littering, juggling without a licence and public drunkeness and sentenced to 20 to 25 years hard labor in 1961. Currently incarcerated in the Oregon State Penitentiary and assessed as being highly resistant to rehabilitation efforts to date.
Meaning 2b, being the traditional non-mathematical one for general English, is the applicable one here.
To forfend further inquiry, McMurphy's crimes are all derived from Oregon statute/law, with the juggling bit being an example of a silly law that is still on the books through default (and which gets tacked on in cases where authorities seek to throw the book at someone), and the interference with agricultural research being open to a wide variety of interpretation, including the correct one of drunkenly running into an agricultural research nursery whilst attempting to evade police and damaging new grass seed strains.
Meaning 2b, being the traditional non-mathematical one for general English, is the applicable one here.
To forfend further inquiry, McMurphy's crimes are all derived from Oregon statute/law, with the juggling bit being an example of a silly law that is still on the books through default (and which gets tacked on in cases where authorities seek to throw the book at someone), and the interference with agricultural research being open to a wide variety of interpretation, including the correct one of drunkenly running into an agricultural research nursery whilst attempting to evade police and damaging new grass seed strains.
I've learned something today. Thanks!
I had visions of the crappy kung fu movies from the 70's through the 90's where the hero was outnumbered 12 to 1 and his evil enemies were polite enough to only attack him one at a time.
