Boring Through and Through

Okay since it seems Saturday evening works best for my posters, I thought we'd try it out. If it doesn't work out, let me know.

I recently rewatched the British movie Threads and it's got me thinking. Not only do Ellanjay utterly, utterly fail at describing the aftermath of even one of the myriad of disasters that hit Earth back to back, but it makes me wonder if Michael "Heckuva job" Brown was a fan of the Left Behind books. Maybe that was why he was so slow to react to Hurricane Katrina: after all, people couldn't possibly suffer much from a mere hurricane. Anyway to make this rambling short, watch Threads. It's a harrowing look at what would happen in the event of all-out nuclear war and succeeds where Ellanjay fails. I'd post a link to the Youtube video, but my computer is being fussy, so I can't. Just search for "Threads." It shouldn't be too hard to find.

Anyway, as always, nothing is really happening. I must apologize: I've since run out of ways to say this. Basically, the chapter begins with Vicki hiding in a cave. :yawn: :snore:

Meanwhile, there's more discussion about this guy named Chris Traickin, enough that makes me wish I'd read the wikipedia page about this series more closely so I'd know whether he'll actually have a part to play or if he'll just be mentioned a little before disappearing from the pages forever like so many other characters in this series.

Apparently Traickin initially supported Nicholae Carpathia, but later changed his mind calling him the "pied piper from Romania." He later participated in the militia uprising against Carpathia and from there disappears for a few months before showing up claiming to be a supporter of Token Jew. The YTF, in a rare display of intelligence, conclude that Traickin was a mole working on behalf of the GC and that his arrest was all play-acting. I really wish they could give more reason behind the YTF's deductions like was Traickin missing the all-important Zod-mark which is how they knew?

But their discussion of Traickin is interrupted when one of them notices gasoline dripping from the ceiling. They run upstairs and find that Janie has drenched herself and Melinda in gasoline and is preparing to light a match in order to make their suffering end. The YTF wrestle Janie to the ground and nothing happens.

There's a bit of nonsense about Pete being thought dead that I won't go into, suffice to say the next chapter opens with him returning safe and sound. I'm sorry to summarize so much, but like I've said before, nothing really happens. Left Behind: the kids may not be as bad as the adult version, but it also lacks the creepy sexual politics that made the adult version remotely interesting.

In New Babylon, Judd meets up with Nada who says she heard from a girl her brother dated, Kweesa Darjonelle, that her brother may have seen the light before being squished in the Wrath of the Lamb quake. I leave it to my faithful readers to try to parse out just what ethnicity Kweesa Darjonelle is supposed to be (a name like that in an Ellanjay novel is usually an attempt at an ethnic character). Judd basically tells Nada to be careful about trusting Kweesa and that's it.

I decided to throw in another chapter, just as an apology for the poor quality snark.

Judd is reading Kasim's computer diary and apparently Kasim was starting to become more and more aware of the gaps between Nicky's words and his actions.

The most interesting sections detailed the turmoil Kasim experienced when he wrote about Dan. “The more I see of the Global Community and the way they treat people,” Kasim wrote, “the more confused I get. They talk about tolerance, then threaten people if they visit the Ben-Judah Web site.

Kasim in his confusion, attempts to resolve his turmoil over whether to follow his parents or Nicky, by making a side-by-side list comparing the positives of both faiths. I tried to copy-paste from the eBook version so we could have fun mocking it, but was unable to. Suffice to say, Ellanjay can't even create decent strawman for his characters to knock over.

Vicki, meanwhile, is hanging in the underground Johnson City church meeting place teaching. They devote only one paragraph to her teaching.

Vicki went over the same information she had taught Carl Meninger when he was at the schoolhouse. She referred to the notes Lenore had typed for her, but as she went over the Scriptures, she found herself relying less on notes. Things Tsion Ben-Judah had said or written came back to her, and the people were amazed such a young woman could teach so well.

Frankly though I spot a breach of Ellanjay ethic here. Vicki's teaching a group of people some of whom are men. Aren't Ellanjay rabidly on the "Woman shouldn't have authority over a man" side? For shame...

But a man with a scraggly beard shows up asking what are they doing in his mother's house and Vicki's section ends there.

Next section we're in New Babylon and we finally get to see and hear what the EBOWF worship is like. Now Fred has already devoted many pages to explaining why the EBOWF is impossible, so I will spare you.

Judd slipped into the back pew of the Enigma Babylon One World Cathedral, not far from Pavel’s apartment. The church was a monument to every religion except Judaism and Christianity. There were statues of gods and goddesses, pictures of people on their knees before pieces of wood and stone, and framed speeches of Nicolae Carpathia. Since the attack of locusts, all services had been canceled, but the building was open to anyone. Huge stone archways stood a hundred feet above Judd’s head. Inscriptions were written on pillars throughout the sanctuary. The first said, “One world, one faith.” Another simply said, “Tolerance.” Still another read, “Strive for unity.”

Judd sits and listens to the SuperPope eeevil preach the most eeevil virtue of all, tolerance, which ends when the locusts attack.

Meanwhile, Vicki talks with the guy with the beard whose name is Omer. Omer tells Vicki if she promises not to tell anyone about him. If what I've told you didn't set off several warning klaxons, clearly you have no pulse.

In New Babylon, they decide to try to track down that person Kasim kept talking about, Dan, in order to find out whether Kasim converted or is currently experiencing hellfire, only to discover that Dan has been arrested for subversion and Nada's on her way to see him. Me, I'm too bored to continue, so I'll sign off for this week.