is not one of my favorites. You saw a falling star and then you was like, hey Charles, the illustrator for me. He's also not very interesting. So that was how a stardust was born. Stardust by Neil Gaiman is not one of my favorites. Reading these in publication order is making me realize how much I personally feel he has improved over time because his earlier books are my least favorites. I just never really thought about it in timeline-wise. I just, these are just Neil Gaiman books. So yeah, looking at when I laid him out in publication order, I already kind of noticed that I was like, ah, the early ones are the ones I don't like as much. So Stardust, I am on record as things is one of my, if not my least favorite, than one of my least favorite gaming books. And I'm happy to report that I did like it better the second time. But is it a new favorite? So I want to talk about a few things related to Stardust. Obviously like, you know, just a review, like how I felt about it this time. But I kind of want to talk about the origin of it, what led Gaiman to write it. And the reason I want to talk about that is for similar reasons that I kind of talked about that with Neverware because I think it informs the type of story that it ends up being like what we get in Stardust. And it also, I think, is helpful to know that when you are going to read it and when you are yourself assessing it. I think it's helpful to know how something came to be and with all the baggage that comes with that potentially, as well as what the project of something was initially, I always think it's very important to know. That doesn't mean that you have to like something. You can dislike the project of something. But I still think it's important to know what that project is, so you can judge it more fairly. Judgment is always subjective. But criticizing a romance novel for not having enough grim dark action in it is pretty unfair because a romance novel is not really like, that's not the project of a romance novel, if you see what I mean. So I don't personally like romance novels very much because they don't have a lot of grim dark action. But I can't really hold out against a romance novel because it's not trying to do that. It's all about to say, that's what I kind of want to go over with Stardust. Because again, I think it's important to know what it's set out to be and whether or not it succeeds at that. So if you don't know, Stardust was originally published by DC Comics as an illustrated book. Neil Gaiman was chatting with an illustrator friend of his, Charles Vess I believe. Yes, Charles Vess. Check my notes. And the two of them worked together on it, not just Gaiman writing it and then saying, hey, dude, illustrate it. Like, they worked on it together and some of the text was even changed to fit the illustrations that Charles was producing. And so this was published by DC Comics, but almost concurrently because Gaiman still retained the rights to the prose and he was also approached about publishing a prose version of it. So then he also did that because he had the rights to it as well. So I've only ever read the prose version and now I have also listened to the audiobook version of it. I have never read the DC comic version of it. So that's sort of like, I don't know, more structurally, more like brass tacks, how it came to be. But how the story of Stardust came to be was there was a couple different things that inspired Neil Gaiman. Really three things that inspired Neil Gaiman. First, he was interested in writing a fairytale for adults akin to other pre-Tolkienian fantasy, specifically such as Let in the Mist by Hope Merleys. There is other pre-Tolkienian fantasy that he was influenced by, but that's a big one. Number two, he saw a wall in a field in rural England, just like in the middle of the field. And, you know, Gaiman being Gaiman looked at that wall and was like, what if Fairy was on the other side of that wall? Maybe I should write something about that. Maybe I should write a book called Wall.  And then the third thing is that he saw a falling star and he thought to himself, what if, when that star fell, it was a person? And then he put together that that star falling should be connected with wall, that she would fall into the fairy realm beyond the other side of wall and put those ideas together and decided to write a pre-Tolkienian-esque fantasy story about a star falling on the other side of the wall in Fairyland. And he was like, hey, Charles, illustrate it for me. So that was how a stardust was born. So approaching reading the text, as I said, I have never read the illustrated version of it. I kind of want to. But again, stardust isn't one of my favorites, which is another one big reason why I haven't because it wasn't like, I love this so much, I want more. Let me get the illustrated version. It was like, okay, that was fine. I'm sure the illustrated one is nice, if I'm honest. If it was illustrated by Chris Riddell, I would have read it by now. But so what this book very much is not, is the movie. Now I saw the stardust movie when it came out. I'm not sure that I knew Neil Gaiman existed other than like possibly his name, like coming across my awareness at some point. Like I can't say I had literally never heard of Neil Gaiman, but I didn't really know who Neil Gaiman was when the movie came out. In fact, I probably became more aware that Neil Gaiman existed because like the credits of stardust are like based on the novel by Neil Gaiman. And I was like, oh, and I really, really love the movie stardust. And so I wasn't like immediately after it was years after the movie came out. And I'd seen it many, many times that I finally sat down to read stardust. But still I went into it going, oh, like I love that movie so much. I'm excited to read a book, like or the book that it was based on. It must be great. And the movie has been compared to I've compared it. I think I compared it to that before I heard anyone else compare it to that. Not to say that like I coined that comparison. I'm just saying I think anyone watching the movie would independently arrive at this comparison. It is very much like The Prince's Bride, which is also based on a book. And the book The Prince's Bride, I also don't care for very much. But the book The Prince's Bride is a lot more like the movie The Prince's Bride. There's a lot more of like a one-to-one, like these are similar in tone and style. And so I did kind of, I didn't really like Prince's Bride the book, like I said. So picking up stardust the book, I was like, well, hopefully this is better than Prince's Bride. But I'm still expecting it to be like pretty much like the movie. Which obviously there will be changes. It will be different. They're seldom the same. And I was quite surprised when I read stardust at how not like the movie it is. It's really, really different from the movie. The plot is pretty much the same. They haven't really changed much about the plot. That's not what's different. The movie, as I say, isn't like The Prince's Bride, the movie, in tone, in humor, in the types of like action and adventure. Like those things aren't really in the book stardust. So the broad strokes, you know, there's a young man in the town called Wall, named Wall because it's next to the wall that separates them from Maryland. A star falls from the sky and he tells the girl that he's in love with, that he's going to go get that star for her. So he goes into fairy and the star is a girl named Evane.  There's other people who are trying to find the star as well. So those are the same plot beats in the book and in the movie. That's that remains the same. So it's kind of amazing how different that you can be given. It's pretty much the same plot. And again, it's all just down to tone, really. The film has a lot of adventure. The film has a lot of humor. The film has a lot of romance. It's just more emotive and grand and funnier. The book wasn't really trying to be any of those things. The book is a lot more akin to Let in the Mist by Hope Murley's, which I very recently read. So having read Let in the Mist and now reading Stardust, I gained a new appreciation both because I haven't watched the movie Stardust in a long time. I have read Stardust before, so I know what not to expect. And now I also had read Let in the Mist, which heavily inspired it. So picking up Stardust now, it was a very, very different experience because, again, I knew what to expect and could judge it more on its own, merits on its own terms, and see what it was trying to do, as opposed to being upset at it, not trying to do the things that I was expecting to try to do. It's not just the tone and the style of the story that's similar to Let in the Mist. He makes some direct references to Let in the Mist. For example, The Debatable Hills, which are prominently featured in Let in the Mist. There's a reference to, uh, there's a point where someone asks Tristrin either what is in that direction or which direction they would need to go to get to The Debatable Hills. And, like, it's not really part of the plot at all, so I'm fairly certain it was literally just put in there because Neil wanted to nod to Let in the Mist. So if one has read Pre-Tolkenean Fantasy, I think one would, in picking up Stardust, particularly, again, Let in the Mist, if you pick it up, I think instead of being like, What the heck is this? This is not like normal fantasy. This is not like the movie Stardust. Your reaction would be like, Oh, this is like Let in the Mist. I know what we're doing. So it's a quite different experience if you know what you're getting yourself into. So Stardust is, like I said, it's not my favorite and it still is not my favorite, but I do think it has some definite strengths. The film is very humorous, which isn't to say that the book is not humorous at all. It is humorous more in the way that Let in the Mist is, where it's more satirical. It's more sardonic. It's more sort of social commentary, as opposed to like slapstick adventure situation comedy, which is what the movie does. So we get more sort of like commentary on the hypocrisy of polite society. We get jabs at cultural norms and a generally sardonic tone about everything. So it's not wondrous and magical. It's not like, Oh wow, it's more like, Oh, isn't this strange? And our main character is a bit of a twat. There is a like a mocking undertone to almost everything. So rather than heroic and epic battles and epic climactic sequences and things like that, we have tricks. We have cleverness. We have coincidences. We have technicalities, things like that, which is again very reminiscent of the way the plot unfolds, the way that villains are interacted with in Let in the Mist. So I really disliked that the first time I read Stardust because I was expecting the bigger, the more heroic, the more adventurous. And it's not doing that. I was never trying to do that. It having that kind of a tone is something that I actually do really enjoy the second time around knowing what to expect. And it does have some clever barbs and witticisms. And it's, it's charming and quirky. And it's kind of hard to put into the words what the tone is like, because it's not like constantly ripping things to shreds and it's not constantly like sarcastic and cruel, but it's not like pleasant and nice either. So really the only comparison I can make is that it's like reading Let in the Mist. Or also I compared Let in the Mist in our live show to Jonathan Strange and Mr. and Oral. So the only thing that's like that, that I've read that's more modern is Jonathan Strange and Mr. and Oral. Stardust is more like that in tone. So why don't I love Stardust even now with the benefit of knowing what it was trying to be and what it was inspired by, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah? Well, I do think Let in the Mist is a much more successful version of this type of story. While Stardust does include social commentary, it does include strangeness and fairy tricks and all that. I don't feel that there's a cohesive theme, a cohesive kind of like overall criticism that it's trying to levy at society or at the culture or any one particular thing. It's just kind of like a scattering of sardonic wit, leveled at no one in particular. Which is also strange because the plot of Stardust, which I briefly outlined, it's kind of strange to approach that plot with this sort of tone. Let in the Mist, it doesn't have any like heroic figures. It doesn't really have a chosen one. It doesn't really have like a good versus evil even setup where you could explore, where you would expect it to unfold in that way. Whereas Stardust is. Stardust does have a chosen one. Tristrand is a chosen one. Evane is a love interest. There are evil witches who are villains. Just it feels much more like an adventure story with a that should have like a hero's arc and a climax and all this sort of thing. Like that is the story arc that is present in it in the bones of the story. It's just being told instead in the style of something like Red and the Mist. Whereas the film Stardust does lean into this having a hero, making Tristrand a hero, making Evane more of a love interest and having her become more human over time even though she's a star. In the book, Evane just kind of stays inhuman and star-like and kind of grumpy and never like becomes more human, never changes over time. Her and Tristrand's relationship doesn't really change over time. So the movie leans into sort of like humanizing them and making them grow and making them kind of grow up over the course of the adventure. It leans into the adventure side of this because we have a series of quests or a general quest and a series of adventures on that quest in the book. But it's kind of like passed over in this like hand-wavy sardonic way. The film is like, no, let's like let's really do some adventure. Like let's have them do adventurous things and like really like have the score be like, let's do adventure. And the book, like it's just like, no, we're not doing adventures even though technically this is a book about an adventure. And then again, the ending of the book kind of ends in this more sort of like not grand, more satirical, more kind of like and that was the ending. It's not like perfectly quite happy and no one's really learned anything. And that's just the ending, ta-da! Which kind of even let in the mist had a little more of like a cohesive conclusion to the theme of the story that still wasn't like a happy fairytale ending but it felt more like I see the point was made. And then again, the film of Stardust, it does, it's leaned into making him heroic and making her love interest and making the villain's villainess and having him grow and learn and overcome these odds and everything then it leans into making the conclusion also quite grand and epic and like a big ta-da-da-da kind of like ending. And the ending of the film again, it's not a satirical ending. It's a truly happy ending. And the ending in the book, I mean it's more or less a happy ending but it's just kind of like cold and satirical. So you don't kind of like leave the book with this kind of like warm glow the way you do it, at least I do, in watching the film. The character of Tristron, who is the main chosen one hero type character, like I say in the beginning of the film and in the beginning of the book, they're quite similar. But then the book doesn't really have him grow or change that much whereas the film really makes him change a lot so that by the time he comes back there's words about this lip services page of this in the book where he comes back and he's unrecognizable because he's been on so many adventures and he's tanned and he's been through so much that they're like oh my gosh that can't be the same Tristron that left to go find the star. So which really comes across as he's dirty and tan and he's been roughing it as opposed to when he comes back in the movie and he looks physically different like his hair looks different and he's tanner but he's also matured a lot in how he's caring himself how he's engaging with people it's just an entire like a marked difference in the entirety of his person and Tristron not being that way in the book isn't necessarily a problem like he can stay not being a heroic cool interesting person like he doesn't have to become the heroic great guy that's fine but in the book not only is Tristron not really a great guy he's also not very interesting like he's not interesting to read about and the stuff that's happening around him is also not that interesting to read about because it's not really like all tied to this overall theme or overall message because there isn't one so in conclusion Stardust is fun it's good it's it's written well the prose is very good as usual there are some fun quirks fun jokes there's a charm to it undoubtedly and because this pre-Tolkenean style of fantasy has fallen out of favor than Stardust by emulating it does kind of stand out from the pack now unfortunately in my opinion Stardust is a rather pale limitation of pre-Tolkenean fantasy let in the mist is much better but the book does have clever bits of prose typical of Gaiman the gentle witticisms and sardonic observations kind of trickle by as the book weaves its little spell but while I appreciate the book more now I do maintain that the movie Stardust is better and certainly the book Let in the Mist is better than the book Stardust but if it's your fave let me know why and what is it that I'm missing what is it that I'm not getting what is it you get out of it that I'm not I'd love to know let me know in the comments down below your thoughts and feelings I post videos on Saturdays other random times well definitely Saturdays so like and subscribe join my patreon if you feel so inclined and I'll see you when I see you


We have been getting Inundated in a good way with questions and comments and thoughts about eSims Like we've gotten piles of email into Mackie Keb about it Many of you have been texting me or emailing me personally about it. It's fine. You know, it's I think it's great You all know that I will take the text that you send me and and work them into the show if it works that way In fact, those of you that have been doing that already know that that's the answer But it is better when they come into feedback at Mackie Keb.com because that way everybody gets to see it And we get to you know kind of work on it together Lots about eSIM Robert asks a question He says I know you've talked about your own experiences and mentioned using the iPhone outside the US a few times But could you do a deeper dive or maybe answer the questions I have? Let's do the latter if I'm only going to one or two countries should I buy a local country specific eSIM or just buy a global one anyway and I'm gonna I'm gonna sort of I'll let him ask it I'll read his questions and then we'll we'll go through it He says do I have to sign up and load the eSIM company's app like true phone or whatever just to see the actual prices? It seems like not consumer friendly or maybe even bait and switch and most important since these eSIMs are data only What do you recommend for VoIP app service to make telephone calls? Many of us don't have the luxury of only using our email contact for iMessage or text messages So how do you handle the reality of people not being able to reach us by the phone number? They always use does this mean incoming telephone calls are not feasible unless some kind of hack work around with call forwarding or third-party? Service is put into place. Okay, so to answer the first two questions Which is which sim should I buy and what is the price? I know I've said it a million times and that might not even be an exaggeration but eSIM DB comm is Is an amazing resource You if I'm only visiting one or two countries, let's let's take a specific example when we went to Greece Earlier this year. I knew that we were flying into Athens Uh, we were going to spend some time in Athens and then take a cruise which wound up in Venice, Italy Well, really it wound up in Ravenna because Venice since covet has decided they don't want big cruise ships coming into their town anymore There's city anymore. But anyway, I needed Italy. I needed Greece turned out I also needed a few other countries because the the cruise was stopping at ports that weren't just Greek islands Okay, great. I knew we were going to Croatia and a few other places fine. I knew I had my list I went to eSIM DB. I knew how much data I wanted to buy and we all will overestimate How much data we think we use right so and and you know within reason The prices aren't going to be terrible. So I I think I bought three gigs per person On our eSIMs, which was more than enough for us because we were mostly on wi-fi in different places But you know just having some some data and I don't think any of us even got close to using our three gigs But uh, and then I looked at I knew how long I needed it to last for which is another parameter you can set with eSIM DB and Finally, I knew what countries I needed it to be in and so I narrowed it down by countries and was able to select a family of eSIMs that all Would have fit my needs and then I just chose them based on price or speed or whatever I mean, it just gives you all this data and then yes Once I selected one eSIM DB doesn't sell sims My guess my hope is that they get an affiliate kickback from the places that I do choose to use Because I want eSIM DB to make money. Maybe I should just send them some money. In fact, I think I might do that Uh But you know, then they they say okay, you're gonna go with red phone for this one Like okay, I've never heard a red phone before and it's like yep sure enough I download the red phone app in there is the eSIM for exactly the price that eSIM DB told me it would be Sometimes there's even a coupon code on eSIM DB to get the price down to So something and probably give them their their kickback, which is great. You know, I love it and uh, and then I just and then using the app is sort of the magic that Calls the eSIM on your phone and and then while you're using it You can use the app to see your progress and all of that stuff. So Yes eSIM DB will answer all of those questions And I got to say of the emails and texts and all of that stuff that I got this week I I think like 75 of them were answered by saying visit eSIM DB dot com You might just see all of your answers on the screen in front of you So I will continue saying that but proactively visit eSIM DB dot com folks Thank you


Sam here with late in sports cars doing 2021 Panini prism first off the line Football one box break number 31 random teams. Here is the result again to the random Yeah, you can always find these on the results tab on the website as well as the Lincoln chat. So here we go Looking for some shimmers pull some nice rookie shimmers out of this. It's like a gold or a green shimmer That'd be kind of cash money Good luck here everyone Michael Carter and Ernest Jones got no upfant on the red wave 32 out of 149 Broncos Trevor Lawrence break rookie Nick Bolton and Kellan Mond got Brian Dawkins. That's nasty 155 out of 225 for the Eagles weapon X fireworks of Justin Fields Great Rashawn Slater nice one there now Pat Friar mutes got semi-fajoco on the purple ice cowboys there you go 43 out of 225 and Deion Sanders on the Orange wave coming up to 60. Let's see a rookie out of that one Marquette Stevenson Kenan Wong Wu Orange wave Brian Burns, that's kind of nasty actually 60 out of 60 on the book and there you go Carolina Kenneth L Love Brian Burns Antoine Winfield on the silver. Come on shimmers. Where you at? We're hiding Noah Gray Javante Williams on the rookie. Oh, there's a shimmer Eric Dickerson for the Rams 21 out of 35 red shimmer. There you go LA Kevin H. Nasty Mark Andrews as well that is 111 out of 199 for the Ravens and Silver Miles Gaskin lands. Very true your round tree to want to Smith and Silver Josh Jacobs no color in there Green shimmer guys to five. Come on, baby. Come on, baby Dead Spitz Patrick and Racy Mcmatt. See a rookie Not a rookie March on Wadamore There you go Saints one out of five Congrats on that New Orleans Zabean Howard on the blue wave 193 out of 199 Devonta Smith. Yeah Devonta is nasty I gotta give you credit. Devonta is looking really good this year all all 85 pounds of them. Looks really good They say they're there. Oh Andrews is a beast Andrews. No more this mark Andrews disrespect I will not tolerate it anymore Jake Funk. We got a rookie shimmer For the Titans Elijah Molden there you go Tennessee 32 out of 35 nice. Who's ever disrespecting Everyone Ryan site on the silver auto there you go Browns everyone's disrespecting Now I mean I've heard a lot of people are like, oh like he's not that like he's not a top three I mean obviously it's a top three tight on now right make a case. He's the best in the league Elijah Molden Caleb Farley got JC Morn on the hyper That is 26 out of 175 silver Amonra St. Brown. Where is it? It's definitely top two. Yeah I mean I can make I get the argument for he's a top He's the best tight end and I get arguments against he's the best tight end like I could see both sides, right But obviously you've got blue shimmer coming up. Obviously as a Ravens fan. I'm gonna be biased There's a Mack Jones Pete Burner got chiefs on the shimmer. Come on, baby non rookie Legerious need go into the chiefs 15 out of 25 nice one there Got Miles Sanders blue ice 30 out of 99 the Eagles and Darren Waller fireworks Take that sneak guard. I'll use this See it loses a big chief sand and chat So he's always gonna say Kelsey's number one understandably so but Jalen Darden chess Sirat got Kyle Benoy on the orange that is 207 out of 249 and AJ Brown So for your guys the argument is bias first bias. It is exact 100% bias first bias.  I think this is gonna be a nice card for who's got this team Davis Mills rookie Who is gonna be very happy here? Jeff G. It's about to be very happy purple my homes There you go chiefs 85 out of 125 and How about a Pat Friar Mewth on the blue shimmer auto? 11 out of 25 there you go Jeff Congrats on that one man. That's so nasty That'll do it for the break guys gonna do a quick recap here's not a time to recap Just the two autos had the Pat Friar Mew 11 out of 25 and the Brian Sykes silver auto for the Browns and the Steelers Thanks again everyone for the fill next up 10 box Tuesday


Hoodie to Duke. Hoodie to Duke. Come in, Duke. Who's calling? It's numbers for official GI Joe communication only. It's me, HTC 788. Do I know you? Know me? We did a video together three years ago. Ah, ah, yes. Good to hear from you again, Timmer. No, it's... Yeah, it's Timmer. Anyway, I'm doing a fresh review of the first Duke action figure. I'm inviting you to join. I don't understand. I thought that we did this one already. I did, but that was a long time ago. My videos were pretty rough back then. I think I could do a better job now. I don't understand. I already did it. It should be perfect. Not everything's perfect on the first try. Haven't you ever made a mistake? A mistake? I don't think so. I master every activity I ever do on the first try. That's impossible. Everyone makes an error from time to time. I thought I was wrong once, but I was mistaken. Do you want to be in the video or not? Of course. It'll be my pleasure to help out my friends at GI Joe Berg. No, it's... Yeah, it's GI Joe Berg. Big Cover Commander 788 here. This is the show where we review every vintage GI Joe toy from 1982 to 1994. This week I am redoing a review I did years ago. When I first started this channel, I was so eager to show you my toys that I reviewed some major characters right away. I probably should have waited until I had better examples of those figures and vehicles and until I developed my style and format. That means occasionally I will redo an old video. Duke needs a redo. He's one of the most important characters in the entire line. He appears in almost every iteration of GI Joe. He deserves special attention. Something has changed since I last reviewed this figure. I was never a big fan of Duke. I always thought he was a little too perfect, a little too Hollywood, a little too much like Hawk, who was the real leader of the team. Maybe it's the fact that I've seen a lot of weird, ugly, and bizarre action figures in the last six years. But Duke has started to grow on me. I find myself liking the figure and the character more than I did before. That's why I wanted the real Duke to join us as we look at his first action figure. I'm happy to be here. I'm looking forward to hearing what's on Joe's mind. HCC 788 presents... Duke. This is Duke, GI Joe's first sergeant from 1983. The figure was first introduced in 1983 as a mail away exclusive offer. Duke was released carded in 1984. He was also available carded in 1985 and was discontinued for 1986. He was later available through the mail again from Hasbro Direct. In 1983, order forms for Duke were included with boxed vehicles. To order him, you had to turn in 7 flag points and $1. There are some variations between the mail away release and the carded release. This is the first version of Duke, but there were many versions released throughout the vintage era. Version 2 of Duke was released in 1988 as part of Tiger Force. It used almost the same mold as version 1, but with some updated parts. He had all new colors, including a new hair color. Version 3 was introduced in 1992. He was blonde again with a red and tan desert camouflage uniform. This is not a bad version. Version 4 was released in 1993 as part of Battlecore. It has a more realistic desert camouflage and a non-removable helmet. Version 5 was also released in 1993 as part of Star Brigade. That was the same year as the realistic looking Battlecore figure. This was an armor tech figure and he had a missile launcher for an arm. That's insane. Version 6 was released in 1994. It was also a Star Brigade figure, but it was not an armor tech figure. It was a normal O-ring action figure, but it was another space figure. Most figures of Duke emphasized his gritty military background until someone in the 90s decided to send him to space. I imagine Duke as always having his boots on the ground. In all forms of G.I. Joe media since the character was introduced, Duke has had a leadership role on the team. He was the ultimate leader of G.I. Joe when he appeared in the animated series. Later in the series, it was explicitly stated he was second in command behind Hawk. In the comic book series, he became the field commander. For fans of the animated series, Duke was the first leader of G.I. Joe. In the animated series, the command hierarchy started with Hawk at the top, followed by Duke, then Flint, then Beachhead. For fans of the comic book series, Hawk was the first leader of G.I. Joe and Duke showed up abruptly and was given leadership responsibilities. How you feel about Duke probably depends on whether you primarily followed the cartoon or the comic book series. Duke was designed by Ron Rudat for Hasbro. Ron was tasked with creating a heroic character. Let's take a look at Duke's accessories starting with his submachine gun. This submachine gun is referred to as the M32 submachine gun. It is in light green plastic. This is a copy of the submachine gun that was included with 1982 and 1983 Stalker. When Stalker had this submachine gun, it was called the M32 Pulverizer submachine gun. This weapon is loosely based on the Heckler & Koch MP5. There's a color variation on this accessory. Some of them had a slightly darker green and others had a more pale green. I'm not sure the difference is showing up on camera very well, but this one is a very slightly darker shade of green than the other one. This isn't the accessory that was originally intended for Duke. He was going to have a copy of the XMLR3A laser rifle that came with 1983 Snowjob. Ron Rudat even taped the Snowjob rifle to the final design drawing for reference. In the card art, Duke is holding the XMLR3A. At some point in the production process, they gave him Stalker's gun instead. Now let's look at Duke's helmet. This helmet is in light green plastic. It's very much like the standard GI Joe helmet that was issued with a lot of 1982 and 1983 figures. The helmet color should pretty closely match the color of the submachine gun. There is a color variation on this helmet. Like with the submachine gun, some were in a darker green while others were in a more pale green. There is another variation of this helmet. Early mail away figures had helmets that did not have holes on the sides. The retail release and later mail away figures had helmets that did have holes on the side. The only other figure that had this light green helmet without holes on the side was 1984 Roadblock. Next we look at Duke's binoculars. The binoculars are in black plastic. They have a strap that goes around the figure's neck. There's a bend at the top of the strap so it will rest more closely at his chest. Though not perfectly, it still sticks out a bit. The binoculars will fit in the figure's hand if you put his hand on this thin part of this bend in the binocular lens. And he can hold the binoculars to his eyes, which looks pretty cool. But because he has that stiff black strap, the strap kind of sticks out behind his head. Now let's turn to Duke's backpack. This backpack is in a light tan color. It has some nice details. It has a bed roll and an entrenching tool and some pouches. This is a copy of the backpack that was first included with 1983 Airborne and it's in almost the same color. Airborne's backpack should more closely match the plastic color on the figure and Duke's backpack should match the plastic color on that figure. The problem with color matching is that both these figures and the backpacks have a tendency to discolor over time. So the color matching may not be perfect. There is a molding difference between the Airborne and the Duke backpacks though. The Airborne backpack has crossed support ribs on the inside and the Duke backpack does not. I guess this backpack clips onto his bandolier because Duke doesn't have any other load bearing equipment. The final accessory is the flag sticker. It's an American flag sticker that fits on his right arm. It was only included with the mail away version. It was not with the carded release. This is a very difficult accessory to find. Many collectors will consider the figure to be complete without it. The figure didn't include instructions on where to place the sticker and some fans said they placed it elsewhere like on the backpack. In the artwork on the mail away form you can see part of the flag on the right arm but it's partially obscured by shadow. It's more clearly seen in the 1984 card art. I like the flag. It gives a little splash of color to the figure. It's an extra point to the flag. That's one flag point. That's a lot of accessories but only the binoculars and the flag sticker are original. The rest are borrowed from other figures. Let's take a look at Duke's articulation. He had the articulation that was standard for GI Joe figures in 1983 meaning he could turn his head from left to right. He could not look up and down. He did not have a ball joint neck. The ball joint neck was not introduced until 1985. He could swing his arm up at the shoulder and swivel at the shoulder all the way around. He had a hinge at the elbow that allowed him to bend his arm at the elbow about 90 degrees. He had a swivel at the bicep that allowed him to swivel his arm all the way around. This was an O-ring figure meaning the figure was held together with a rubber O-ring that looped around the inside. That allowed him to move at the torso a bit. He could move his legs apart about so far. He could bend his leg at the hip about 90 degrees and bend at the knee about 90 degrees. Let's look at the sculpt design and color of Duke. Only two parts on this figure are original. All other parts are reused from other action figures. Looking at Duke's head, he has blonde hair. He has brown eyebrows and eyes. He has a grinning face with white painted teeth. There is a variation on this head. The earliest male-away heads had the hair sculpted with less detail. And the later figures, and possibly only the carted figures, I wasn't able to verify that, but later Duke figures had a head with more detailed hair. You can see more lines sculpted into the head for the hair. The head is otherwise the same. The head is a unique part. It was not used on any earlier action figure. The figure is sculpted with an expressive face. He has grinning. The teeth are painted white. I'm glad they added that painted detail on the version 2 Duke figure. The teeth were unpainted. I prefer a neutral expression. Playing with the figure, I would put him in situations where he would not be smiling. Hey Duke, this figure has a perma grin. Do you really smile all the time? On his chest, he has a khaki shirt. He has a green undershirt with a collar. It's a little odd that he would have two collared shirts. He has gold jump wings on the right side of his shirt. He has a green bandolier that runs from his left shoulder down to his right side. The bandolier has a buckle, a couple pouches, and a grenade. He has two unpainted pockets on the front of his shirt. That green bandolier detail does not continue to the back. It just disappears at his shoulder. This back piece is not a unique part. It was reused from 1983 Doc. And it's almost in exactly the same color. I've noticed a paint color variation for the green paint on Duke's chest. This variation is not included on Yojo.com. But I've noticed this difference on several Duke chests. The green paint on this figure is a bit darker than the green paint on the other figure. And that difference can be seen in some other Duke chests that I have. These are all the Duke chests that I have. I have the two intact figures and I have three from spare parts. And you can see the color difference in the paint. The green paint on these three is darker. And on these two, the green paint is a little bit lighter. This Duke torso was reused on several action figures. Including some versions of 1987 Starduster. And some versions of 1987 Steel Brigade. Including the exceptionally rare Steel Brigade version 2. On his arms he has long khaki sleeves that are rolled up to the forearms. He has bare hands, no watch, no gloves, anything like that. The male away figure had the flag sticker which you could place on the right arm. The card art shows it on the right arm. So that seems to be the right place to put it. These arms are reused from 1983 Dock. They changed the skin color. They removed the orange cross on Dock's arm. But the shirt color is almost exactly the same. There is a rare variant of Duke that does not use the Dock arms. It has cuffed sleeves similar to the 1983 reissues of the 1982 figures. The waist piece is unpainted. It is in light green. It has a belt with some detail. A couple pouches. There are pockets in the back. This is another reuse of a part from 1983 Dock. Just recolored. Dock at least had painted details on the belt. So this reuse of parts loses a paint application. The legs are light green, the same color as the waist piece. They are mostly pretty plain, but there are some details. There is a black pistol and an unpainted holster on the right leg. And an unpainted strap that goes around the right leg. He has brown boots and he has a knife on the left boot. The lower legs are reused from the 1983 Major Blood figure. You can see that's the same pistol on the right leg, though the paint applications are a bit different. The lower legs are reused from 1983 Gung Ho. You can see he has the same boots and the same knife on the left side. It's impressive how an iconic figure was created using only two original parts. There is a downside to this approach. The chest and back piece don't exactly match up with the bandolier disappearing on the back rather than continuing as it should. That's my biggest knock on this figure. It seems Doock was intended to be released in 1984. The pre-production design drawings of the figure have a 1984 date, but the figure was issued as a mail away in 1983. Was Doock a rush job? Is that why so many of his parts come from other figures?  The green plastic on the lower half of the figure tends to be fragile. I see a lot of Doock figures with broken crotches and broken heels. So be cautious with this green plastic. Let's take a look at Doock's file card. There are several variations of this file card and we will look at those. There were also some changes to the text of the file card made in pre-production before the text was finalized for the production release. The cards received in the mail in 1983 looked like this. With a white border you were supposed to cut the file card out. There was some copyright information in the white border and there was a close-up bust of Doock in the portrait. There are a couple types of card backs on these early mail away cards. Some of the mail away cards had a plain cardboard backing while others had a plain white backing. And I have a couple examples of those. I don't know which was the earlier one and which was later. I don't know when they changed it. But there are a couple examples of some different card backs on those early mailaways. The retail card was printed on the back of the card on which the figure was packaged. There's some artwork from the front of the card there. There was also a change to the portrait instead of the close-up bust portrait. The portrait is a bit farther back. So we can see more of Doock's torso. As I understand it, the later Hasbro Direct mail away cards had this retail card portrait but had a red backing. There was also a Doock action figure that was sealed with a VHS cassette of the animated series. That also had a red backing on it. But that one had the figure sealed on the back of the card. His faction of course is G.I. Cho. There's the portrait of Doock. He is the first sergeant. His codename is Duke. His filename is Conrad S. Hauser. On the pre-production prototype file card, his name was Carl Hauser.  My name is not Carl. My name is Conrad. Does anyone ever call you Connie? My troops call me Duke. My friends call me Conrad. So, can I call you Conrad? No. The primary military specialty is airborne infantrymen. Secondary military specialty is artillery and small arms armorer. Birthplace is St. Louis, Missouri, and his grade is E8 in parentheses master sergeant. This is a discrepancy. The specialty says first sergeant, but the grade says master sergeant. Both the first sergeant and master sergeant are E8, but they are not the same. The first sergeant is generally considered to be higher in authority than a master sergeant. First sergeants are commonly called top sergeant or first shirt, and they have a hands-on role in field leadership. The version 2 file card from TigerForrest fixed this problem. It has him as a first sergeant in his stated specialty and a first sergeant in his grade. Problem solved. By 1992, the version 3 file card had him as a master sergeant again, but it had him as a master sergeant in both places. However, the text of the file card referred to him as the top kick or the first shirt. That is terminology for a first sergeant, so there's a discrepancy between the pay grade and the text of the card.  Even though technically it's a lateral move, a master sergeant is kind of a step down from a first sergeant. So this is sort of a demotion. I don't know why it's so hard to get this right. He is either a first sergeant or a master sergeant. Just pick one. He can't be both. The original plan was for Duke to be an officer with the rank of major. This was changed at the behest of Larry Hama, who pointed out that the team already had a field grade officer, Hawk, who was younger than Duke. It wouldn't make sense to have Duke come in as a major, so he was given an enlisted rank. This paragraph says, Current assignment acting first sergeant, G.I. Joe team. It says current assignment acting first sergeant. So maybe that's the reason for the discrepancy between the grade and the specialty. Maybe he is a master sergeant, but acting as first sergeant for the G.I. Joe team. But then, why not just make him a first sergeant? This file card portrays Duke as the best at everything. He knows all the languages. He finished top of his class at Airborne school. He didn't just graduate from special forces school. He ran four special forces schools. He's even too tough and gritty to become an officer. This bottom section has a quote from Duke himself. It says, Statement after declining commission. They tell me that an officer's job is to impel others to take the risks so that the officer survives to take the blame in the event of total catastrophe. With all due respect, sir, if that's what an officer does, I don't want any part of it. This file card details his training and experience in Vietnam. Unlike other file cards, it mentions Vietnam by name. Duke would be in his mid 30s by the time he joined the G.I. Joe team in 1983. If he enlisted at 18, his birth year would be 1949. In 2020, he would be 71 years old. The pre-production prototype file card had him enlisting in 1960 and went special forces in 1963. At that time, he worked with the Montagnard tribesmen. Montagnard is a French term referring to the people who lived in the central highlands of Vietnam. In the early 1960s, they were trained by US special forces. I'm glad they changed it. Having him enlist in 1967 makes him a much more reasonable age for his introduction to the G.I. Joe team. Looking at how Duke was used in G.I. Joe media, he was involved in the animated series from the very beginning. He first appeared in the first animated miniseries in 1983. He was the main protagonist and the leader of the team. He was voiced by Michael Bell. He was in many episodes throughout the series. He had a knack for getting captured and going into comas. In the 1987 animated movie, it was revealed that Lieutenant Falcon was his half-brother. Duke was mortally wounded by Serpentor, yet he didn't die. He went into another coma. He was supposed to die, but dialogue was added later that reversed his death. After the backlash from Optimus Prime dying in the Transformers movie, the decision to kill Duke was changed. Unfortunately, they had already completed the animation by then, so they had to do it with a bit of awkwardly placed dialogue. Duke appeared a few times in the Deke era of the animated series as well. He was a popular character throughout the vintage era. Looking at how Duke was used in the comic book series published by Marvel Comics, he first appeared in issue number 22. He and Roadblock shot down a Cobra Rattler that was attacking General Flag's funeral. After that, he started leading the team in the field. In the next issue, number 23, he led an undercover team in the Alps that captured Cobra Commander. It took Larry Hama, the writer of the comic book series, some time to warm up to Duke. He had some appearances, but on some missions other Joes took leadership roles. Larry said the character of Duke never gelled with him. Duke always seemed like an afterthought, he said, in an interview with Toy Fair magazine in 1998. Duke had some good leadership moments, such as when he led the team on the first attack on Cobra Island in issue number 42. His best first sergeant moment was probably in issue number 82, where he was running drills on new GI Joe recruits and selecting new team members. He was harsh, mean, demanding, and merciless. He was Duke. In issue number 109, he led a Joes squad into the fictional desert of Trucial Abysmia. The squad was captured and most of them were executed by a Cobra Saw Viper. The loss of the troops under his command severely affected Duke. He had some good moments in the comic book, but he was never the dominant figure that he was in the animated series. GI Joe wasn't part of the Marvel Universe, even though the comic was published by Marvel. That appealed to me. I wanted GI Joe to occupy a space where nobody is bulletproof, except for bulletproof, and nobody wears a cape on a regular basis. At least until Dr. Meinbender and Serpentor came along, 1986 was a weird year. But is it really true that GI Joe was separate from the Marvel Universe? Transformers appeared in GI Joe, and Transformers were in the Marvel Universe. Also in Amazing Spider-Man number 268, a character called Sergeant, who looks almost exactly like Duke, makes an appearance. Duke had many post-vintage appearances in cartoons, comic books, and live action. He is in nearly every incarnation of GI Joe. Looking at Duke overall, this shouldn't be a good figure. But it is. I shouldn't like this figure, but I do. Almost nothing on this figure is new. Nearly the whole thing is cobbled together from reused parts. Even the accessories are mostly borrowed from other figures. Duke has an expressive face, which is not my preference. The bandolier detail is absent on the back piece. These are all reasons I should devalue this figure. I shouldn't like the character, and in the past I didn't like the character, but I'm learning to appreciate him more. At least I like the idea of Duke. Duke was always too good to be true. He speaks all of the languages. He graduated at the top of his class in everything. In the animated series, he was presented like an old-style Hollywood hero. He would always beat the bad guy, he would always get the girl. Duke has no arc. He doesn't grow, he doesn't learn anything, because he's already perfect in every way. Even though Duke doesn't grow, I have grown to like Duke. He's still far from my favorite character, but GI Joe needs Duke. They need a guy who will be a strong disciplinarian in the field. They need someone who can do what Hawk can't do as an officer. They need someone who will push the team to do what must be done. They need the guy that the comic book promised Duke would be. He's not their friend, he's not their daddy, he's their first sergeant, and he's in charge. Ironically, GI Joe did get a sergeant like that. Sergeant Slaughter rolled in and tightened up discipline on the team, which should have been Duke's job. In the comic book, we already had Hawk as a leader. Hawk does not make Duke redundant. Duke should have been the quarterback on the field while Hawk was the coach on the sideline. Stalker makes Duke redundant. Stalker led many missions and acted as the quarterback on the field. Duke got some good moments though. Sometimes he was allowed to be the leader he always should have been. On the occasions when the character matched up with how I imagine him, I liked him. I respected him. I forgave him for that toothy grin. That was my review of Duke v. 1. I hope you enjoyed it and thank you to Duke for joining us. You're welcome. Now, you'll excuse me. This afternoon I'm trained to become an astronaut. I've received my orders to lead Star Brigade. Personally, I would have called it Space Force. But regardless, I'll be liberating the cosmos from the evil forces of Cobra and bringing democracy to the solar system. Star Brigade? Do you know who's waiting for you up there in space? Stellar Stiletto. Green version of the Cobra Pogo. Some robots. I'm not afraid of them. I'm just glad I won't be encountering any aliens. Good luck, Connie. You too, Kevin. Yo, Joe! Thank you for watching this video. If you enjoyed it, I'm making more like it. So please give this video a thumbs up on YouTube, subscribe to the YouTube channel, hit the notification bell so you don't miss any future videos, and share this video with your friends. That's what helps this channel grow. You can find me on social media, on Facebook and Twitter, and I have a website, hcc788.com. If you want to know if I've already reviewed a vintage GI Joe item, that's a good place to check. Special thanks to all my supporters on Patreon, including the names you see on the screen now. Support on Patreon helps keep this show going. So if you like the show, and you'd like to support the show in that way, please consider checking out Patreon. You can get some special rewards, including early access to reviews, and you can find out how to decode the secret messages you see in these videos. Thank you for joining me on this adventure of collecting vintage GI Joe toys. I'll see you next time, and until then, remember, only GI Joe is GI Joe.


Chapter 9 Part 2 of Arktik, A Study of the Marvels of the North Pole, by Anna Adolf. This LibriVox recording is in the public domain. What? A crown of radiance arisen there? A solemn bell tolls forth. Streams of light are shed around in spectrum sparks. The river banks are deserted. The towers tenetless. As each citizen hastens to the inner aisles of furter depths, where issues shadowed fire. I keep pace with the savante, whom first I see, and reach with him an inner balcony that is endless and curving ring, each side, making amphitheater around the city. The city is a great open retunda of fields, miles broad, of shaking ice. A flame of gold supplying the crown above ascends out of a round cavernous crater in the centre. Savante seats himself on a raised broad platform, commanding a view of the whole scene. I unconsciously sit beside him. With our feet I see a rug of heliotrope. Note, the quotation marks in the flowers give a double meaning. A heel, meaning heel on the rug. A hedge of wallflowers hymns us in from a row of poplar tree columns. Before us on a table is spread a set of china asters under a canopy of blue iris, a flag. As canterbury bells ring forth we begin our feast. The centrepiece is a large, sweet peacock, flanked by chickweed on each side. Buttercup, Piccadilly, and pitcher plants have places. Alarm at my heart at the solemn tolling bell had hastened my feet hither. To find a scenic banquet is somewhat puzzling. The usual ascending glow, with the usual reversal of shadows, is augmented by the added source in new portraiture, adding to the picturesqueness of the occasion, taught at home that all people without Christ are barbaric. I was expecting an abject worship of the disturbed elements. Instead, I am pleased to surprise to find it an inspiration of interest only. I look to get their knowledge of the phenomena. For its solution I have left home and risked my life, that they fear it not as evident. Instead they love and reverence its benefaction to them, lighting and warming their homes all winter, their winter daylight, as Robyn said, in their interior winter quarters. Unusually quiet this season so far. But this is to outdo all, make up for lost time, unprecedented in grandeur, that they understand it I am solicitous to know. I could catch a word now and then, I could understand in the voluble tonic stream of talk I read from their gestures and expressive faces some meaning of their patriotic interest. The morning banquet at an end all sit back in their seats and look at savant as though some special ceremony is to ensue. Gently excited I see them hold a state-book and read. We receive again God's sign of the disturbance of Aurora, our beautiful mother in the earth, who gathers us each winter round her fireside to comfort us in its warm beams. That is Aurora. Yearly we ask this question, none have answered us. We yearly invite our subjects to explore her confines whence she lights her beacon. We invite now. Who will besin the glory-hall to pay duvoise to the country's gortice? I had followed him quite plainly. When he stopped in the silence that followed a great light filled my eyes as the idea that engendered it filled my mind. I arose in my seat which ladder is a rose-vine, insignia of Aurora, which word I hear in suppressed intuition and application to myself as a branch of bloom settles on my head, wreath-like. Raising my hands in acceptance of the undertaking, they look calmly at me, incredulous, when I speak in full earnest tones. I will go. God of the universe, creator of Aurora, has led me hither for that purpose. Sitting again they are convinced, and much upset in their calculations, that I so small should answer the great request. In their surprise I get full revenge of all I have been subject of so long. Now I'll look at Savant, who occasions me to do the same. The phenomenal wave of thought individual to him wraps his countenance in stormy struggle. He speaks. We cannot accept, in duty to gust, and stranger. But I gesture firmly. Again he is submerged with greater struggles to exhaustion of his great strength. When an endearing calm arises in his face, like a smiling island in a hurricane-tossed sea, waving his hands as I had done, he speaks. I will take you. All arise in consternation, and press about us. May, wild-eyed, shakes me back and forth. Father buries his face in his hands. Roba and Charlie only clap their hands. The tide now turns in our favour, all is pleasant bustle. The tender social visiting of their usual tenor and normal habit is changed to agitation and concocting a mode of preparation to ensure our safety, resulting in an elaborate scheme of training to which we are subjected separately next day. Bandaged securely, we are rolled about and tossed. Suspended to a long rope, we are dangled in mid-air, swung in a circle with increasing speed.  Left alone, click, the floor beneath is loosening, revolving, opening. Black darkness ensues, then lights glimmer around. Bells, whistles, and reverberations fill all the air with din, followed by melodies so low as scarcely to be heard. The music of the spheres. This has taken days, as it has been necessary to repeat each lesson over and over.  But at last the day is appointed, as all things are ready. The city is a stir from centre to circumference. We are on view in central hall. The masses pass by us in solemn file, to take leave of us as of their dead. I feel to smile, but, like the dead, am turned to stone. We next are placed in a round crystal globe receptacle. Packed in, savance unique instruments to his hand, fluid food to our mouths through a tube, condensed air to our nostrils. We are locked in by savant. Now carried out on a long platform pier toward the abyss, and placed upon the top of a huge iceberg mass, as weight to sink us. Dynamite hurls us out over fields and blocks of surging ice, lifting us into the rose enfolding pit. My soul experience is precipitation, conscious of swift descent unattended by jar, thrilled to the centre of my being, I realise my position. Readers, what is to ensue is the special key to the phenomena of astronomy. For the contents of the next few pages I have written this story. I am not the first who has thought the earth to be hollow, and entered at the arctics. Also that a rolling fire and open sea are within. That I define this fire and its safe control, thereby discovering the secret of our planet and its object in the solar system, is the first time such definition has been given ever. Is of such high importance I deem it my solemn duty to publish it. Adding a relevant definition of the sun and other sky objects is but following out the line struck by the keynote. In comparison with the present indefinite theory, this illustration far exceeds it in practical demonstration ever satisfactory to truthful students. Shelley in the time of Byron voiced this promise of the arctics. Poets have sung of its unknown city. Capital and life have ever embarked for its discovery. The smoke has cleared, leaving a steady moonlight, brightness intensified. I think to look below and see there a moon, round and glistening, many miles in width, its grandeur startling. Transfixed I see it grow, as it is plainly coming up higher. To relieve my eyes, I look to one side to see its apertures, only to find none. The sides of the cavern are far away and undesernable. I am puzzled. Resolving to understand this unexpected bearing, I look first at my watch. A new puzzle is on its face. Its calendar declares the passage of days since I have been here. I turn square to the beautiful moon beneath me, and bravely steady my understanding. For a queer unrest sensation is trying to creep on me. Though I throw it off in its terrifying aspect, yet it wraps me round and permeates my consciousness. That this moon, now so quiet and glittering, is not only the fire producing the aurora smoke, but something more. The painful solicitude of arch-people at letting me do this daring act, that to me looked like mockery, is demonstrative of their better understanding. If Savant knew what was to happen, I cannot say. For I cannot speak to him, nor he to me, nor see each other's faces. I am alone with the problem I have put myself in. My old statue sense upholds me. I lean on it, as I place straight the lines of new knowledge, that the moon I see is not a moon, but the central fire of the whole earth, the molten mass of astronomical science. That it does not fill the whole centre is second new knowledge. For a haze of distance is each side and above, denoting far removal of the earth-crust, egg-shell. Undiscoverable even by the powerful lens of the crystal globe around me. Central of the earth it may be thousands of miles below, though slowly growing. My strained eyes take its impress on their inner orbs. Wherever I look it is there. I settle bravely to scan it, enchanted. A new phase comes over it. A flame column is rearing. Breaks and sparks fly upward as coals snap outward. Should the latter hit the crust so far away, it would stir it somewhat, giving the outward inhabitants a shock of earthquake. I have it. This is the cause of earthquakes. Third new knowledge. Nearer to the flame that now rolls back and forth as if to engulf us, it bends downward on each side as if the space around it were also below it. Thus have I seen our hall lamp do at home when disturbed by air currents. Huh! Lamp! Lamp! Is the earth a lamp? Before me is the keynote. Yes! It is our life preserver. The iceberg beneath us. Melted of vapor it will ascend and carry our globe to arc again. Listening with wildly beating heart and intense suspense, I become unconscious as fiery serpents twine beneath me. At last recovered I look again. But no longer there. Ah! Above! Have we passed it? Below it and still descending. I lean heavily and wholly on my statue. The days make no impress on me. Not even when I see the sky out of southern zone. Coldly viewing the southern cross constellation of sun-stars, the planet Mercury comes between, taking on a peculiar distinct phase. I sluggishly remember that in mine the planets are seen thus at noonday. Is the earth's center to be a mine to me? My eyes become accelerant as I quickly investigate. I can see its, Mercury's rivers, mountains plainly. I can see into it. As I get excited I see an inside flaming fire as earth's. Then it is, yes, a lamp also. The planet's lamps. Where are their chimneys? I inspect again. There certainly is no chimney to guard the draft. I will study. Oh! Why did I not notice before? It is more like a Chinese lantern. Candle inside. Color shade outside. I look an ecstasy for days. It is, as our dear mother earth, a beautiful Japanese lantern. Made by Deity's hand revolve around the glowing sun. A sun-ray spectrum's the interior of earth. Oh! Beam alive with electric spirit intelligence! Give me a sign. The sun itself comes. My eye on fire looks into its soul. Oh! Sun! What art thou? Worshiped by some as God, by all as a great life-giver. Ages past and future will you roll, unguided by man. I am now so hot. I wonder if I have partly warmed the inside of my statue-being. So wholly benumbed I became at the knowledge of passing below the earth's centre inside-light, losing all shadow of hope of seeing arc again, that my marble state was more than ever marbleised. Now that I am treated in lieu of home, to new explanations of past astronomical phenomena is some recompense to my constitutionally enthusiastic mind. Holding down in equally strong impulse to desire to tell this new acquisition, I let it unfold to myself to warm me under my marble shield. What follows fast? Vision upon vision is enlarging my interior sense of human life, until my outside is only cold. My whole inner life is seething and ardour, until my eyes break through the statue-thrawl. Too hasty! The light blinds me. I close them impatiently, open slowly. Is the sun a china-lamp? Oh, no, no! But an American electric arc-light! I hurrah unrestrainedly.  I see a marking on the desk. As it designates a disturbance within, it grows and changes. Would that some astronomer were here? The globe in which I sit is steady in its motion. But the marking on the sun changes oft. I look up toward the earth-flame to see coming from its side more coals and smoke. So, so far one side is to clear its blaze safely, is a huge mass—yes, ice, coming swiftly directly over me. Having collected all this hard winter, it has rolled over the edge of arc to complete my destruction for daring temerity. Going to retain consciousness, I look downward at the sun-spot. It has changed, is changing. As does the ice-mass above me. Can that mass, an eclipse from the light above, be the spot? I believe it is, and that it will now strike us. Starting only on the edge of our anchor, it spins the globe off into space, over and over. Vapor spouts a deering. But I have seen behind us a slim stationary object. Is it? Oh! Is it a fixture to hold the earth-flame? Relieved of our heavy ice, we gravitate to it. As the ice-mass evaporates, filling the interior with aurora prisms, these, escaping at both northern and southern zone outlet, are certain proof of the attending phenomena. Sliding along its length, we curve toward the side of the earth, which I shall hope soon to see. Having it last far away, like a cloud, now to it, we dip down, or the rod fixture on which we slide, as though some inner electric load drew us. This quite mysterious direction engages my study, as we pass under the earth-crust. Is it, China lantern-transparent-like, curves by around us as if in a rim? I study, why the crust of the earth turns round and round, and not the rod? Surely no earthly lantern is so elaborately constructed. Engaged in study, I find myself outside. The rod arises now in height of location, and branches to each side of the crust rim, fork-like. Extending we go out, ouchward the sun. As we lightly bound hither and thither, side and about, I catch a backward glance of the continent America. Others fill my eyes. As I press them out, I see approaching a white cliff on the rod, covering its width. This side are crowding a swarm of tiny people, absorbed in dislodging a huge boulder of which the ground is covered. Clinging about them is a semi-transparent vapor that floats and densifies, collecting over their heads. They jump into the air, whirl over harlequin-like, and descend to push again the boulder. No sign of vegetation, there must be no air. Can the vapor be their breath? Why does it float away? In the globe I have tubes to my nose that supply my breath. It's little fairies. Are they—I pinch myself, getting into mischief? An adult makes peace by administering sharp pinches. As one moves its mouth to howl, I do too, but cannot make a sound. Neither does the child who cries without. I see the reason. A thin filmy gauze surrounds it, confining the vapor-breath. Over goes the boulder lightly, as if hollow. Losing its rod-gravitation, it flies off toward the earth and disappears, dashing on its surface an arrow-light. Air they select another we enter their midst. Without seeing us within, they grasp the globe and roll it over. Seeing a debris marring its shining surface, they pound it off. This removed from the fastening, Savant swings it open, Pandora box-like, as off they rush. Winding carefully his breath-tubes about him, Savant takes tools, solutions, etc., and stepping out carefully inspects the boulder's surface. Are they the dust on the rod?  I, curiously, steer the globe to the entrance. The inside smooth, he places a block in the center, obvious as rest to the globe which I steer to and stop on, seeing myself an equal distance from the interior sides. Satisfied, he proceeds to throw a solution over the ladder, which brings out a picture or reflection from the globe-disc, camera-like. Is the picture the interior of the earth? I scan it curiously. After the ice-border around the North Pole, land with only one vegetation, a white cactus. White is the color of the whole inside, except some blackened spots. The cactus skin is clothing of a people who appear, who eat the pulp and work the thorns into houses and into ships as water, first shallow, deeper grows, and again into forts upon the cacti-brunches, growing up out of the water, thorn-protected from sea-monsters. Then these last range alone. A great blur where we pass the light. More sea includes the lower half. I exclaim to myself in bitter mood. Is this all? I am quite disenchanted. Is this our brother earth-man? So flat, more wide than tall, who could not lift his feet on account of his centrifugal location. Green artists skewering hair, umbrella-like, nesting on trees as high as Jack's bean-stock. A shade outside draws us hastily there. How came this emerald lawn? With ruby roses, sapphire lilies, made of gem-rock centers. The shade increasing relieves my eyes to see distinctly, as the tiny artists finish their work by sprinkling the sparkling dust over themselves, and resume their jubilee racket. Suddenly I get an odd sense that they are different from ordinary human beings. Grace in every motion, fair flowing hair, deep-dell gray eyes are of plain human-being species. Still I notice strongly a difference as they gather now and hurriedly consult. Children and adults. Are the latter all mothers and fathers? I cannot tell. Before solution dawns I look up and find the moon as approaching close over. Is it whence the unique mites have their origin? Still in the globe my attention turns wholly to it, for the glow-blend shows it distinctly enough to read its surface. Its mountains, valleys, and yes, certainly, human cities grow upon my vision. So interested am I. I forget to look for apertures or attachment fixtures in my new custom of practical demonstration. As I get an important discovery of inventive construction in a certain locality straightened my mind, it is almost knocked out, as now directly over I perceive a central light inside the satellite. It is a taper kind and in disturbance. A burst of blackness drops from it and down toward me. Keenly alarmed the tots are more so as they run and fall down and dig faces and hands beneath the boulder debris. As trembling thus they lay I get another impress of them which suddenly takes definite form. The solution is present. The father and mother, before mysterious, are also present. What is quite astonishing, these two are one human being. Uncanny sense gives way to delight at the vision of strength and dignity. So masculine, enhanced by grace and tenderness, so feminine. I feel to clap my hands, but the inky blackness is coming down so fast I look to it.  The forks of the rod are plain and take on a familiar contour. Contour of the Milky Way. Is it a mirage of this rod on night sky? The cloud falls and fell savant too, nearly breaking the globe as it splashes upon the nearest white cliff. The air now clears and cools as the deposit whitens, emitting a familiar odor. What? Wax dropped out of the moon. The tauts arise and fly with gauzy robes to the cliffside and clamber excitedly about. Savant arises and enters the globe, proceeding to steer that way. As the moon takes a smiling adieu, I turn my attention again to it. I hunt some before I find a faint line, far away attached to the earth rim. Obviously it's fixture. Simple but inexplicable in action. Though an electric connection in the rim may turn the earth crust, it would not also turn the moon, as the latter's motion is monthly, not daily. Unable to solve this, I complete my former broken discovery, that the constructions on it are telescopes. Explaining maybe, informing its people of the earth and how to get there.  We follow the rest unseen into the inner court of their mountain lodge. Excarved alcoves, cloud-styles, line a large area open in the center, thinly to the sky. In one, a tiny table holds tiny plates of brittle make. In them, what? A tiny mosquito trapped in the outer wax, its denuded wings wrapping the imp robbers. Another alcove in high cloud has a choir, lace-straped and seated. I recollect the mist-people. In the center of the swarred plaza, or esplanade, is a circular fountain, and closing within its circular wall of water, a dell, or green glen. Discovering our top, we steer through the fountain-side and to it, discovering ourselves to the others who scurry angrily behind us. We descend the dell, sloping down like a funnel to find it shortly cut off. But lower down, ground again. While gazing at the ladder, a sensation strangely affects me that it is moving, moving slowly by. What is it? In the fixture, lubricated by the fountain in each white cliff, cooling the wax, moving as does the earth-crust. We are lost in study. The tiny fiend's anger culminates, as altogether they give the globe a sudden push. That taking savante unawares, it is precipitated through the funnel, into the moving ground below. Electric tremors shake us up, but insulated, our globe survives, and passes on the ground motor out of sight of the enemies above. A signal from savante, but ere I look ahead, a cake of wax drops upon my lap. I look up and see the wee gnomes above, clinging like fireflies to the ceiling. Their fun is shortened, though, as one accidentally also drops, landing safely in the cake of wax. Zip! Down comes a gauze ribbon, up which goes the little gnome, too, frightened to fly. Breaking up the cake, I see in it a mould of the harlequin form, which I proceed to restore and dress to his consternation. My attention, thus diverted sideways, is attracted by the width of the cavern. The cause soon obvious. It contains other motor-ground beds. The twin of this on which we lazily ride is close by, but moving in an opposite direction, like a band reaching out and returning. Does it contact with the earth-crust, and turn it in a daily curve? Then what about two others on each side of these, farther out but opposite also, and smaller in size? Turn, more slowly turn. Is it the band of the fixture of the moon attached to the earth-crust rim? I now look ahead, in my head, a sun, earth, and moon. What next? The centre.  Shall I see God? No, only a comet. What art thou? A sky-steam-boat, or a torch-flambo? If the latter, then is the universe a campaign, illumination, ratification, and hast thou a human hearer on mighty side-real parade? A living being is by it. Oh, only a babe-chub swinging in the tube. It is gone, and we too are going out. Glow protected from the dazzling light. We look around and see a slow-going meteor. The rest had flew so fast we had not time to read them. This is so like our globe in which we ride. I cry, is this a sky-meteor? This our globe? Answering not, Savant claps his bands, a reverberating crackling following. The other slops and turns our way. In it, as engineer sits the traveller, at whom I will scowl no more. For by his side is robert in bridal phase. What big round eyes! I look around me as I lay in my hammock on my little porch. Directly in front of me is saucy, a grown-up young lady, as genial and ingenious as ever. Now you are really awake. I will tell you what you have been doing while you were asleep.  When I fanned you, you groaned. Lost, lost, oh, the ice! Then Charlie came. I see him, laughing behind a vine. Then talk gibberish to you to see if you were asleep. You commenced making signs with your hands, then slept soundly for a long time. Getting restless, you held the hammock sides, as if you felt to be falling. A branch of wisteria brushing your cheek, you grasped and began eating it.  Bernard the dog licked your hand when you fainted clear away. To restore you, we shook the hammock.  Then you opened your eyes and looked straight ahead for a long time. Charlie got a glass of water and sprinkled your face. Dropping the glass on the stand, you spoke in absorbed fashion. Meteor. Then awoke. A dream. Only a dream. It was more. It was a grand inspiration. I will write it all down. The beautiful coach with sail wings. The sea and ice tour. The city of Ark. City of Zion. The marvels of perpetual amusement, science and spiritism. Of God. Going down the earth's center. The odd terror. Seeing into the planets. I did too. I know I did. I will write it all down. I have spoken aloud my dream to two very intent listeners. One of whom is convulsed anew. A China lantern. Will he never stop laughing? The other. All right, Auntie. You have got it right and, if I mistake not, some other things. Though seen in a dream, it is not the less valuable tour sought for ages. But the ancients did not have arclight suns to see their lanterns by, as do we. But why is the decoration set so far apart, unlike ours, that are close lantern-hung? Oh, I can answer that, says Charlie. The design is but an outline. We will someday catch a meteor and go to inspect it closer. End of Chapter 9, Part 2. End of Arctic. A Study of the Marvels at the North Pole. By Anna Adolf. Thank you for listening.