Drop the Scythe and Turn Around Slowly

If complete and utter chaos was lightning, then he'd be the sort to stand on a hilltop in a thunderstorm wearing wet copper armour and shouting 'All gods are bastards'.Terry Pratchett, The Colour of Magic

I'm off this afternoon, having a lot of interupted sleep this weekend with batphone and Barfley, who had an upset tummy for a couple of days (and kept me company, also down sick for a few days with a minor bug). So rest, and books. Terry Pratchett to be exact. There is nothing like curling up with such a book while it rains out, being transported to another world, legs tucked under a blanket, head bent as if listening to something much further way than the dimensioned room in which you sit. Outside, rain stuttering on the roof, the syncopated bark of a dog in the distance. Going through the motions of listening to the reality around that only serves to deceive you as to what you already hear.

A good place.

Just finished re-reading Reaper Man and Colour of Magic. As is obvious from my sidebar, I'm a big Terry Pratchett fan. If you've not read the Discworld series you should. But unlike our own world, on the Discworld, there are some 3000 gods. Who came first is a subject of debate, the gods who believed and thus created the people, or the people who created the gods because they believed. However you looked at it, it was a mutually beneficial relationship, gods that needed people to believe in them so they existed, and people needing someone to blame when it all went to hell.

On Discworld the gods played games with mere mortals, the game inself somewhere between Dungeons and Dragons, Risk and Chess, with Monopoly and Battleships thrown in for good measure along the way. It wasn't a complicated came. No gods anywhere played chess. Gods prefer simple, vicious games, where you Do Not Achieve Transcendence but Go Straight to Oblivion.

Some of my favorites -

Bibulous, god of wine and things on sticks. Resembles John Belushi.
Destiny, not popular around the games table; he always wins.
Fate, not to be tempted.
Flatulus, god of the winds.
Aniger, goddess of squashed animals
Anoia, goddess of things that stick in drawers
Bilious, oh god of hangovers.
Grune, god of unseasonal fruit.
Petulia, goddess of "negotiable affection," worshipped by (ahem) ladies of the night.
Herne the Hunted, god of small furry creatures.
and lastly Libertina, goddess of the sea, apple pie, and certain types of ice cream.

Libertina might have liked this. If I'm lucky, there's still a little left in the fridge.

Dark Chocolate Stout Ice Cream

If you don't have or want a cone, put some in a bowl and drizzle with Blackberry Brandy.

It's better than a straight shot to oblivian any day.