You may have noticed a lack of Pratchips this past week. But then again, maybe you didn't. Nobody emailed about it. But you may have said, "Wonder what happened to Pratchips this week." And after the non-appearance of a regular episode yesterday,, you may have said, "Wonder what happened to the Gnome. Hope he didn't get hit by a bus." Then again, you may not have done. 

Well, never fear, dear hypothetical listener. I am intact and unbruised. I am, however, suffering from some (thus far) unexplained throat problems, which have included my voice deteriorating to a sort of raspy growl. The medical advice I have received thus far is to rest my voice; to use it (i.e. speak) as little as possible.

Hence the non-appearance of a regular episode yesterday.

For this third week in November, however, I thought it meet to bring you a rebroadcast of an old show. This one appeared right after (American) Thanksgiving 2019. 

It is therefore identified as The Discworld Portal. Yes, the good old days. It also contains reference to a "Season 4 contest." N.b. this is NOT an active contest. Feel free to send in entries. There will be no prizes, however.

As for the future of Tales from the Drum, well... I will be, one can only hope, resuming regular episodes on the first Friday in December (i.e. December 3rd.) Fingers crossed. The fate of Pratchips is less certain. No one has ever sent me any feedback on them, for good or for ill. That being the case, their fate is still undetermined. 

faithfully yours, 
ye olde Medieval Gnome

This week’s short and sweet biography is about Jason Ogg.

Then, in the Science of Discworld segment this week, we learn about lies-to-children, also known as education. 

What we actually have here is an explanation of the framework for the non-fiction, science-education half of the Science of Discworld series. Fasten your seat belt and hang on to your hat. There probably will be a quiz. 

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Medieval Gnome Productions is-- CEF: Holly Golightly; Engineer: Ivy “Munchkin” McDoodles; host: The Medieval Gnome; and, our new consultant Artimas the Chill.

The Turtle Moves

GNU Terry Pratchett

The steam engine was first developed in Ephebe. It was first used in a boat. Then it powered a tank, which was sabotaged and thus never went in to battle. (Thank you, History Monks.) It’s thus both an item, in the form of a technological advancement, and a concept, in the form of “Hey look what I invented. We can use it to make people’s lives easier” morphing into “Hey, look what I built! We can use it to kill people more efficiently!” 

This never happens on the Roundworld. 

Thanks for popping in for some Pratchips! We love all you guys. We love anyone who derives pleasure, enjoyment, or solace from anything we do. And we know you love your Pratchett! 

Facebook page: Tales from the Drum

Website: https://www.podpage.com/Tales-From-the-Drum/

YouTube channel: Tales from the Drum 

email: medievalgnome@gmail.

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Patreon page: Medieval Gnome Productions 

Medieval Gnome Productions is-- CEF: Holly Golightly; Engineer: Ivy “Munchkin” McDoodles; host: The Medieval Gnome; and, our media consultant Artimas the Chill.

The Turtle Moves

GNU Terry Pratchett 

Think of Ephebe as the Discworld analogue of Ancient Greece. Especially the many-gods and the many-old-men-in-togas philosophers part. 

Ephebe plays a major role in both Small Gods and Pyramids. Come to think of it, I believe it pops up in Eric, too. In Small Gods Ephebe has the misfortune of being conquered by the Omnians—for a while. 

After they reconquered their city, the Ephebeans led the coalition which invaded Omnia. 

The steam engine is actually invented in Small Gods. But that’s a thing for Thursday’s episode. Don’cha thingk? 

Thanks for popping in for some Pratchips! We love all you guys. We love anyone who derives pleasure, enjoyment, or solace from anything we do. And we know you love your Pratchett! 

Facebook page: Tales from the Drum

Website: https://www.podpage.com/Tales-From-the-Drum/

YouTube channel: Tales from the Drum 

email: medievalgnome@gmail.

Discord server: Friends of Medieval Gnome Productions 

Patreon page: Medieval Gnome Productions 

Medieval Gnome Productions is-- CEF: Holly Golightly; Engineer: Ivy “Munchkin” McDoodles; host: The Medieval Gnome; and, our media consultant Artimas the Chill.

The Turtle Moves

GNU Terry Pratchett 

Vorbis is a Deacon in the Church of Om. He is head of the Quisition, and, as you might imagine, not a very nice man therefor. He has ambitions for more temporal power, as well as for complete control of the Omnian church. 

He doesn’t reckon on the novice Brutha, though—nor on the Great God Om manifest as a small, one-eyed tortoise with memory issues. That’s too bad, because together the novice and the turtle will scuttle Vorbis’ plans because, well, the Turtle does Move.

Thanks for popping in for some Pratchips! We love all you guys. We love anyone who derives pleasure, enjoyment, or solace from anything we do. And we know you love your Pratchett! 

Facebook page: Tales from the Drum

Website: https://www.podpage.com/Tales-From-the-Drum/

YouTube channel: Tales from the Drum 

email: medievalgnome@gmail.

Discord server: Friends of Medieval Gnome Productions 

Patreon page: Medieval Gnome Productions 

Medieval Gnome Productions is-- CEF: Holly Golightly; Engineer: Ivy “Munchkin” McDoodles; host: The Medieval Gnome; and, our media consultant Artimas the Chill.

The Turtle Moves

GNU Terry Pratchett 

Brutha is a large, illiterate novice who nevertheless has an eidetic memory (think photographic memory on steroids.) For this reason he is selected by the Deacon of the Omnian church, Vorbis, as part of a plan to conquer Ephebe. 

As we will see in Pratchips 74, this is because Vorbis is not a nice person. 

But, all the best plans, and that. Vorbis ends up comatose, with Brutha hauling him across the terrible Omnian desert. Brutha ends up as the Chosen One—to be the 8th Prophet of Omnianism, that it. 

And the Great God Om ends up making the trip to and from Ephebe with Brutha, and learning some compassion along the way. That has a lot to do with the fact that Om is currently manifest in the form of a small, one-eyed tortoise, and he can’t remember how to change back. He can’t remember much else about his past as a Great God, in fact, but he is desperate to ensure that he doesn’t become a Small God. 

Thanks for popping in for some Pratchips! We love all you guys. We love anyone who derives pleasure, enjoyment, or solace from anything we do. And we know you love your Pratchett! 

Facebook page: Tales from the Drum

Website: https://www.podpage.com/Tales-From-the-Drum/

YouTube channel: Tales from the Drum 

email: medievalgnome@gmail.

Discord server: Friends of Medieval Gnome Productions 

Patreon page: Medieval Gnome Productions 

Medieval Gnome Productions is-- CEF: Holly Golightly; Engineer: Ivy “Munchkin” McDoodles; host: The Medieval Gnome; and, our media consultant Artimas the Chill.

The Turtle Moves

GNU Terry Pratchett 

This week, after the Gnome re-introduces himself, we consider the numerical immensity of Sir Terry’s creativity. We also introduce Short and Sweet Biographies, this week featuring Angua von Uberwald. 

In the second part of the show, we begin to explore the Science of Discworld series. All this for less than $1.99 (plus tax)!!!!!

Facebook page: Tales from the Drum

Website: https://www.podpage.com/Tales-From-the-Drum/

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email: medievalgnome@gmail.

Discord server: Friends of Medieval Gnome Productions 

Patreon page: Medieval Gnome Productions

Medieval Gnome Productions is-- CEF: Holly Goze; Engineer: Ivy “Munchkin” McDoodles; host: The Medieval Gnome; and, our new consultant Artimas the Chill.

The Turtle Moves

GNU Terry Pratchett

King Teppic, speaking through the high priest Dios, decrees that Teppic’s father shall be entombed in a pyramid twice the size of any other ever built. Thus the Great Pyramid is conceived.

Built in just six weeks using paracosmic architecture, the pyramid is just too big. It wrenches the kingdom of Djelibeybi 90 degrees through space-time and cuts it off from the Disc. 

It’s up to the new king Teppic to use the skills he learned in the Assassins Guild in Ankh-Morkpork to set things right by… inhuming the Great Pyramid? Yikes. 

Thanks for popping in for some Pratchips! We love all you guys. We love anyone who derives pleasure, enjoyment, or solace from anything we do. And we know you love your Pratchett! 

Facebook page: Tales from the Drum

Website: https://www.podpage.com/Tales-From-the-Drum/

YouTube channel: Tales from the Drum 

email: medievalgnome@gmail.

Discord server: Friends of Medieval Gnome Productions 

Patreon page: Medieval Gnome Productions 

Medieval Gnome Productions is-- CEF: Holly Golightly; Engineer: Ivy “Munchkin” McDoodles; host: The Medieval Gnome; and, our media consultant Artimas the Chill.

The Turtle Moves

GNU Terry Pratchett 

Djelibeybi—literally “child of the Djel”—is 7,000 years old. It is a 3 mile-wide, 150 mile-long kingdom that follows the course of the Djel river. It is a place of pyramids, alligators, and tradition. 

It is the setting for events which rend the fabric of space-time, motivate a young king to learn about philosophy, and result in the arrival of the kingdom’s numerous gods, in person, as it were. 

It should be noted that Djelibeybi is nothing like Egypt in any way whatsoever. Really.  

Thanks for popping in for some Pratchips! We love all you guys. We love anyone who derives pleasure, enjoyment, or solace from anything we do. And we know you love your Pratchett! 

Facebook page: Tales from the Drum

Website: https://www.podpage.com/Tales-From-the-Drum/

YouTube channel: Tales from the Drum 

email: medievalgnome@gmail.

Discord server: Friends of Medieval Gnome Productions 

Patreon page: Medieval Gnome Productions 

Medieval Gnome Productions is-- CEF: Holly Golightly; Engineer: Ivy “Munchkin” McDoodles; host: The Medieval Gnome; and, our media consultant Artimas the Chill.

The Turtle Moves

GNU Terry Pratchett 

The high priest Dios has a secret. He is also the one who makes sure that the kingdom of Djelibeybi functions as it should—with one day being pretty much like the last. 

Dios has a problem, though. The new king, Teppic, doesn’t think much of that idea. Then he has another problem: the pyramid built for Teppic’s father is so big that it wrenches the kingdom through 90 degrees of space-time, cutting it off from the rest of the Disc. Then he has a third problem: all the gods of Djelibeybi—and there are a lot of them—show up and start raising havoc. 

Dios is not good with change. In the end, though—well, you’ll have to read the book to find out how Dios ends up.

Thanks for popping in for some Pratchips! We love all you guys. We love anyone who derives pleasure, enjoyment, or solace from anything we do. And we know you love your Pratchett! 

Facebook page: Tales from the Drum

Website: https://www.podpage.com/Tales-From-the-Drum/

YouTube channel: Tales from the Drum 

email: medievalgnome@gmail.

Discord server: Friends of Medieval Gnome Productions 

Patreon page: Medieval Gnome Productions 

Medieval Gnome Productions is-- CEF: Holly Golightly; Engineer: Ivy “Munchkin” McDoodles; host: The Medieval Gnome; and, our media consultant Artimas the Chill.

The Turtle Moves