Tales from the Drum

• The Discworld Portal will return on Friday, December 6th
• Until then, there's the Discord server, the Patreon Page, and the Portal's home on the web. Links for all are at the bottom of these show notes.

Although wizards may not have balls (there is a popular song about it) they do have egos, and this week we consider the nature of that phenomenon, and consider its relationship to the ego of witches, which they famously do not have. Instead they have pride, at least if their name happens to be Granny Weatherwax. But in comparing the egos of wizards with the pride of witches, we discover—well you’ll just have to listen and find out.

This is the final show of season 3, and the 34 episode since the Portal began opening on April 19th of this year. Therefore we take some time to talk about where things might be headed, as well as where some things currently are. Again you’ll have to listen to learn the details.

The Portal will be on hiatus for a couple of weeks. The next show, the first of season 4, will be published on Friday December 6th. To tide you over there is the Discord server, which now has 14 members and is being used more and more, including for the posting of some very nifty quizzes (which will be placed on the Discworld Resources page of the website (mindkindle.net)). You may join the server using this link: https://discord.gg/YBD2rzK but if you have problems you can always search Discord for “Friends of the Discworld Portal” which of course you are. There is the possibility that the Gnome might show up for live chats on the Saturdays of the interregnum, and if so a very good chance that a chat topic might be posted there to get things rolling.

Remember you can visit the Portal’s Patreon page (https://www.patreon.com/user?u=21210045) to become a subscriber or just to see what’s happening there. 

You can also find the official Portal blog, Gnomic Musings, here: https://mindkindle.net/gnomic-musings-the-discworld-portal-blog/

With luck the above will be enough to keep you busy until December 6th. And whether it is or not, you can always reach me at [email protected]. I’d love to hear from you, and I promise to write you back. Ask anyone who has. Only wait, you can’t. So I guess you’ll have to take my word for it. But then, have I ever lied to you? 

Do NOT slack on the random acts of kindness between now and the start of season 4. As always no turtles were harmed in the production of this podcast. 

Season 3 Episode 11

We conclude our look at the wizards, and wizardry, of the Discworld. Our attention centers on the evolution of wizardry during the course of the Discworld novels. We take a look at the hierarchy of wizardry in the early books, and examine the evolution of wizardry at Unseen University. UU comes to embody Discworld wizardry, after the ascension of Mustrum Ridcully to the Archchancellorship. Ridcully is indeed the fulcrum on which the concept of wizardry transforms. No more Dead Men’s Shoes; no more reference to or concern with Orders or Levels of wizardry.

We also explore the role the younger wizards of UU, especially Ponder Stibbons, are playing in a further evolution of wizardry: a movement away from the octograms and dribbly candles of traditional magic practice, and toward a more scientific view of the vocation. 

Finally, we end with Rincewind, whose evolution through the books takes him from being a failed student, ejected from UU after his look at the Octavo, to being a professor at UU, holding at least 18 positions (most all of which are meaningless) and even being allowed to sit in on faculty meetings.

And as always, you can reach me at [email protected], or go to the Portal’s Discworld feedback page, at https://discord.gg/snVHpxM

Remember you can also join the Portal’s Discord chat channel, Friends of the Discworld Portal, at https://discord.gg/YBD2rzK. There are now 11 listeners who have joined this channel, so with any luck we will be able to start having some actual chats soon. I host a one-hour chat at 7 a.m. and at 3 p.m. (US Pacific Standard Time, or 3 p.m. and 11 p.m. GMT.)

Finally, here is this week’s lottery question, and your last chance to enter the lottery. Winners will be announced at next week’s show, which will be the final episode of season three. To the question: If a “lost Discworld” novel were to be found, what would you like it to be about? 

And remember to keep committing those random acts of kindness. 

Season 3 was supposed to be ten episodes, but I ended up doing two bonus episodes for all listeners, making the season 12 episodes long. Get the idea I love to do this show? I do. This past week I did ponder Ridcully a lot. Yes, a pune or play on words. Spontaneous, too. Ponder Stibbons ponders Mustrum Ridcully. Mustrum Ridcully frustrates Ponder Stibbons. Stibbons tries to explain things to Ridcully, and Ridcully is either willfully obtuse or finds no value in what Ponder has to say. Actually it’s often a combination of those two things.  

This week we also consider the Archchancellor’s relationship with his faculty apart from Ponder Stibbons; especially, his relationship with the Bursar (lots of shouting) and with the Librarian (not so much shouting at all.) 

Remember to come join the other Friends of the Discworld Portal on our Discord server (https://discord.gg/YBD2rzK). There is now also a Discord server called Portal Feedback which is for, well, for feedback about the show. https://discord.gg/snVHpxM

Remember you can always reach me at [email protected]. Come visit the show’s Patreon page as well, at https://www.patreon.com/user?u=21210045.

This week’s lottery question: Who’s your favorite Discworld villain? 

A free-for-all bonus episode. You can also find it (also for free) on the Portal's Patreon page. Herein you'll find some anecdotes about Dr. Terry Armstrong (the other profoundly influential Terry in my life,) a discussion of J.R.R. Tolkien and Sir Terry, and, as a Hallowe'en treat, the first-ever Portal blooper reel. Trick or treat! 

You can now visit the Discord site to leave feedback about the show. Just follow this link (https://discord.gg/snVHpxM), sign up, choose a username, and post suggestions, comments, criticisms, and any other feedback you'd like.

You can also join the Portal's chatroom on Discord, by following this link:
https://discord.gg/YBD2rzK

The Portal's Patreon page, which includes a Portal blog, can be found here:
https://www.patreon.com/user?u=21210045

And last but not least, you can always contact me at [email protected], and you'll find another Portal blog, some Discworld resources, and candid photos and video of my engineer and producer (Ivy and Holly.) 

In The Color of Magic/The Light Fantastic and Sourcery, the life expectancy of the wizards of Unseen University is distressingly short. All eight heads of the Orders of Wizardry meet a stony doom in The Light Fantastic, and of course the new Archchancellor at the time of Sourcery never even gets to officially don the pointy Archchancellor’s hat, while once again there is a veritable massacre of the senior wizards at the end of the book.

In this week’s episode we take a look at why that is, and your Gnomic host asserts that their mortality is as much a hindrance to their becoming engaging characters as their generally unpleasant personalities. Thus, the true “sea change” in wizards and wizardry in the course of the books is not the attenuation of their wizardly powers, but Sir Terry’s decision to develop them as a group and as individual characters rather than killing them off. Or something like that. 

This week’s lottery question: “Who is your favorite wizard character, and why?”

The feedback I received on the issue of show length came down firmly on the side of remaining with the 20-minute show format. However, I will be producing two 20-minute bonus episodes a month, beginning in November. These will be available to Patreon subscribers only. See the Portal’s Patreon page (https://www.patreon.com/user?u=21210045, or just search Discworld Portal on the Patreon home page)for details.

This means that the ability to pick a topic for a show, as well as to access the show’s chat server on Discord, are no longer restricted to Patreon subscribers. If you have a topic you would like to hear covered, just send in an email requesting it. First come, first served, and I reserve the right to restrict the topic to fit a 20-minute show.

. The Discord server is called “Friends of the Discworld Portal.” There is (of course) a mobile app for it, but you can also get the desktop app at discord.com. I will be hosting chats on the server on Saturdays at 3 p.m. and 9 p.m. GMT. You can also go to the server any time to chat with whoever’s around—including, rather frequently, me. 

[email protected]

Believe it or not, I do talk about the Discworld this week. Just not for a while. There are more show notes than usual this time, but then there is also more show than usual.

 There are a couple of things I would like all of you to give me some feedback on, and although these are described in some detail in the first part of the show, here’s a quick recap:

Would you prefer the prerecorded intro I’ve been using this season, or would you rather have the more free-form (and unique) intros from seasons 1 and 2? 

This week’s show is 40 minutes long. I had a listener mention my doing a longer show, and I’ve been thinking about it since Day One. So, I tried it this week. I’m excited to hear what you think about it, and I want you to have a chance to make your voice heard on the issue.

As I say in the show, I will start doing a 40-minute show every week as soon as I get 20 Patreon subscribers at $5 per month. The specific mechanics of that are to be determined, but that is my goal. If you’d like to make it a goal of yours, please consider getting yourself signed up as a Discworld Portal supporter at $5 per month.

If you’re considering plunking down some of your hard-earned money every month to help support the show, please let me know of any questions or potential conditions you might have.  

The “experts” all say this is impossible—there is absolutely no way I can get 20 subscribers out of a fan base of maybe 200 people. Statistics say that can’t be done. One of my hobbies is to prove statisticians wrong. Anyway….

You can go directly to the Portal’s page here: https://www.patreon.com/user?u=21210045

And here is a great page, my favorite reference page for all things Discworld in fact, from the lspace wiki: https://wiki.lspace.org/mediawiki/Main_Page

Oh yes he did. If you've read Jingo you'll get the title reference; if not, just consider it a mangling of Caesar's words. This week we take on a topic requested by a listener-- that being the relationship between Sam Vimes and Havelock Vetinari. This relationship is a complicated one, and a single show isn't really enough to do justice to it, but it is a start. Part II will come along one of these days; either at the end of this season, or next week (bumping the wizards back to episodes 6-10) or even as a bonus episode, if there is enough interest. 

If you'd like to hear the rest as a bonus episode (before Friday October 18th) just send me an email at [email protected]. If I get enough response, I'll do it.That email's also where you can send your answer to this week's lottery question, which is "what was the first Discworld novel you read?' And you can go to https://www.patreon.com/user?u=21210045 to see the cool stuff you can get there. 

The Portal's opening was delayed two days this week due to the classic "family emergency." My wife ended up in the hospital, but she's home and doing fine. And here is this week's episode, albeit two days late.

This week we conclude our discussion of the witches of the Discworld with a look at the newest and youngest of their number, Tiffany Aching. 

To enter the season three lottery (for a copy of The Discworld Atlas) just send an email stating your favorite Discworld character to [email protected]. There were only two entrants last week so make sure and get your entry in this week! 

The topic for next week's show will be chosen by one of our Patreon subscribers. You can visit the Portal's Patreon page at https://www.patreon.com/user?u=21210045. 

Granny without Nanny would be like eating your vegetables without any prospect of dessert. This week we explore the relationship between these two worthies, as well as examining their exploits together and considering their difficulties in finding (and keeping) a third member for their little coven. The pair are a perfect comedic duo in addition to being the perfect complements to each other temperamentally. And do you know it was just at this moment that the Gnome learned that "temperamental" does require the a after the r? And to think I've wandered around the earth for 50 years without realizing that. 

This week we also continue to encourage you to visit the Portal's Patreon page at https://www.patreon.com/user?u=21210045. It doesn't cost anything to look, and it will let you in on the specific goodies available at the various monthly subscription levels. And remember if you prefer to give a one-time contribution you can do that via PayPal at [email protected].

That email is also the one to use to enter this season's lottery. Just tell me what your favorite Discworld book is, and why, and I'll enter your name in the pool for the drawing at the end of season 3. You'll get an additional chance for every ticket you send in, so be sure to listen for, or look here at the show notes for each week's question. N.b. sending multiple emails in answer to a week's question is cheating, and will be punished by holy fire. Probably. Well, you never know. 

Weatherwax, that is. The doyenne of the Disc's witches, that is. Foremost among the leaders the witches do not have, she is. Whatever the score between the witches and the wizards, Granny Weatherwax is always ahead of the game. This week we begin to understand why that is, as well as getting a very useful perspective on why witches and/or wizards do not rule the world. We also consider the notion that the trajectories or arcs of development over the books for witches and wizards are mirror images of one another. This may of course be just so much Klatchian mist. 

As always you can reach me at [email protected]. You can also check out our Patreon page at https://www.patreon.com/user?u=21210045