ciroccoj | Culture or its closest simulation

Finished Years of Rice and Salt. I would so have Kim Stanley Robinson's children, if he ever asked.

This was a journey through 700 years of history, based on the premise: what if the Black Death had wiped out 90% of Europe's population in the mid 1300's, instead of just 30-50%? The last 700 years dominated, not by Christianity and European colonialism, but by China and the Muslim world. Buddhism, Confucianism, Islam, and to a lesser extent, Hinduism as the main religions, with Judaism and Christianity mere historical footnotes. Europe repopulated by Muslims and renamed "Firanja" (after France). Spain renamed Al-Andalus, Germany = Al-Alemand, Scandinavia = Skandistan, Switzerland = Alpine Emirates, Britain = Keltic Sultanates, etc. North America colonized by Buddhist Chinese on the West Coast, Muslims on the East Coast, and pretty much left alone all the way down the middle. India and Native North America as major world powers standing against the superpowers of China and the Muslim world.

Really, really cool.

Wanna see a map of this alternate Europe? Alternate world?

So that's the literature part of this month's cultural programme. We also went to West Coast Video and rented Fame, which Chris has never seen, and A Clockwork Orange, which I have never seen. I'd forgotten how much I liked Fame. And Clockwork... well, I haven't finished watching it yet. But... uh... gross.