Friday, August 31, 2012

FAN #224: "Houseguests" by Johnny Pez

Up today at the Sobel Wiki, along with an article on Taiwan, are two more For All Nails vignettes, my own #224: "Houseguests", in which the royal family of New Granada experiences a British bombing attack in July 1975, and David Mix Barrington's #233: "Shootout at Black Rock", in which the Sobel Timeline analogue of David's mother-in-law gets involved in a political controversy in May 1975.

"Houseguests" was first posted to the soc.history.what-if newsgroup on 15 March 2003, and "Shootout at Black Rock" exactly a month later on 15 April 2003.

Thursday, August 30, 2012

FAN #223: "You Say Goodbye and I Say Hello" by Johnny Pez

Up today at the Sobel Wiki are two more For All Nails vignettes.  First is #223: "You Say Goodbye and I Say Hello" by yours truly, in which German forces withdraw from a military base in Picardy, France in May 1975.  Next is #258: "We're a Happy Family" by David Mix Barrington, a sequel to #186: "A Boy's Life".

"You Say Goodbye and I Say Hello" was first posted to the soc.history.what-if newsgroup on 13 March 2003, and "We're a Happy Family" on 12 July 2003.

And a historical note: today marks the second anniversary of the founding of the Sobel Wiki.  After two years of moderately hard work (including several months of malign neglect), the Sobel Wiki now has 1669 pages, about three quarters of which are FAN vignettes and footnotes.  Whew!  I'd like to thank my collaborators David Mix Barrington and Bel Riose for their assistance in this massive undertaking.  When it's all done . . . if it ever is all done . . . the Sobel Wiki will be the epicenter of the internet (or at least of the For Want of a Nail section of the internet, which is practically the same thing).

Wednesday, August 29, 2012

FAN #222: "Robots and Empire" by Johnny Pez

Up today at the Sobel Wiki are two more For All Nails vignettes.  First is my own #222: "Robots and Empire", a sequel to #207: "The Dingoes of War".  Next is #235: "Captain Confederation" by Carlos Yu, an account of how a North American superhero became a cult figure in the U.S.M.

"Robots and Empire" was first posted to the soc.history.what-if newsgroup on 12 March 2003, and "Captain Confederation" on 14 April 2003.

Tuesday, August 28, 2012

FAN #221: "Such Sweet Sorrow" by Johnny Pez

Up today at the Sobel Wiki are two more For All Nails vignettes.  First is my own #221: "Such Sweet Sorrow", in which the German leadership discuss withdrawing from the Bornholm Pact in April 1975, and second is Noel Maurer's #268: "The Horror, Whatever", a newspaper article from January 1975 discussing Taiwan's new status as the world's leading nation in gross national income per capita.

"Such Sweet Sorrow" was first posted to the soc.history.what-if newsgroup on 12 March 2003, and "The Horror, Whatever" on 27 November 2003.

Monday, August 27, 2012

FAN #219: "Operation Excalibur" by Johnny Pez

Today marks an important milestone in the For All Nails archive at the Sobel Wiki.  FAN vignette #219: "Operation Excalibur" by yours truly, was the last to be posted to Dan McDonald's FAN archive at his website www.kebe.com before real life drew Dan away from the FAN Cabal.  Thus, vignette #220: "Love, North American Style" by Sir Francis Burdett, which is now up at the Sobel Wiki, has never before appeared anywhere on the internet other than its initial appearance at the soc.history.what-if newsgroup on (of course) Valentine's Day 2003 under the title Four Awl Nails XXXIX: Love on the Rocks.  (Except, of course, for its second appearance at shw-i under its current FAN number and title on 13 March 2003.)

From now on, the Sobel Wiki FAN archive will be the place to go on the internet for all your For All Nails needs.  And even more so after Dave MB and I finished posting the rest of them, which ought to take place within a couple of months.

Btw, "Operation Excalibur" was first posted to shw-i on 27 February 2003.

Sunday, August 26, 2012

For All Nails #312: "Machine Politics" by David Mix Barrington and Johnny Pez

Up today at the Sobel Wiki are two more For All Nails vignettes.  First, #215: "Sins of the Father" by Carlos Yu, a newspaper article on Vincent Mercator, Jr. a year after the Christmas bombing.  Next, a brand new vignette from the team of Mix Barrington and Pez: #312: "Machine Politics", concerning a fateful meeting between Bobby Contreras, Joan Kahn, and Paul Markey in April 1970.

"Sins of the Father" was first posted to the soc.history.what-if on 11 February 2003, and "Machine Politics", of course, first appeared today.

Saturday, August 25, 2012

FAN #214: "Notwani Road" by Jonathan Edelstein

Up today at the Sobel Wiki are two more For All Nails vignettes:  first is #214: "Notwani Road" by Jonathan Edelstein, in which Queen Alexandra of the Cape Kingdom visits Botswana in July 1976 and gets more than just a trade agreement; second is #218: "Southern Men" by Mike Keating, in which we are introduced to the town of Payne, Virginia in October 1975.

"Notwani Road" was first posted to the soc.history.what-if newsgroup on 10 February 2003, and "Southern Men" on 27 February 2003.

Friday, August 24, 2012

FAN #213: "Shouted Down" by Noel Maurer

Up today at the Sobel Wiki, along with articles on Francis Marion, Ralph Ocon, Perry Jay, and the Jay Amendment, are two more For All Nails vignettes.  First is #210: "Travelin' Band" by Mike Keating, in which members of the New York chapter of the Samuel Adams Brotherhood travel to upcountry Virginia to meet some fellow Patriots in October 1975.  Second is #213: "Shouted Down" by Noel Maurer, a June 1964 article from the Statist on the defeat of the Jay Amendment.

"Travelin' Band" was first posted to the soc.history.what-if newsgroup on 2 February 2003, and "Shouted Down" on 10 February 2003.

Thursday, August 23, 2012

FAN #212: "A Monarchy, If You Can Keep It" by Noel Maurer

Up today at the Sobel Wiki are four, count 'em, four For All Nails vignettes, all of them by Noel Maurer, all of them articles from the Statist.  First is #140: "Really Boring Stuff", from May 1972, on banking reform in the C.N.A.; second is #141: "More Really Boring Stuff", from April 1974, on futures commodities in the C.N.A.; third is #142: "Yet More Really Boring Stuff", from June 1975, on plans to build the world's tallest building in Michigan City; and fourth is #212: "A Monarchy, If You Can Keep It", actually two Statist articles, from October 1975 and April 1976, on the growing republican movement in New Zealand.

"Really Boring Stuff" "More Really Boring Stuff" and "Yet More Really Boring Stuff" were first posted to the soc.history.what-if newsgroup on 14 October 2002, and "A Monarchy, If You Can Keep It" on 10 February 2003.

Wednesday, August 22, 2012

FAN #207: "The Dingoes of War" by Johnny Pez

Up today at the Sobel Wiki are two more For All Nails vignettes.  First up is #131: "November Election" by Noel Maurer, a look at the November 1974 mid-term elections in the U.S.M.  Next is my own #207: "The Dingoes of War", in which the Governor-General of Australia plots strategy in the upcoming war in New Granada.

"November Election" was first posted to the soc.history.what-if newsgroup on 30 September 2002, and "The Dingoes of War" on 25 January 2003.

Tuesday, August 21, 2012

FAN: "The Last Continent" by Johnny Pez

Up today at the Sobel Wiki is For All Nails vignette #121: "October Surprise" by Noel Maurer, a look at Mexican politics, and the life of Noel's author avatar Sebo Quezadas, in October 1974.  Also up at the For All Nails page is my own "The Last Continent", an essay outlining the history of Australia in the Sobel Timeline.

"October Surprise" was first posted to the soc.history.what-if newsgroup on 20 September 2002, and "The Last Continent" on 12 February 2003.

Monday, August 20, 2012

FAN #206: "Mi Lucha" by Carlos Yu

Up today at the Sobel Wiki are two For All Nails vignettes: first is #118: "Black September" by Noel Maurer, a look at Mexican politics in September 1974.  Next is #206: "Mi Lucha" by Carlos Yu, an excerpt from the feminist manifesto published in 1975 by Vincent Mercator's estranged wife, Imelda Faye del Valle.  As is always the case with one of Carlos' vignettes, all coincidences are intentional.

"Black September" was first posted to the soc.history.what-if newsgroup on 18 September 2002, and "Mi Lucha" on 21 January 2003.

Sunday, August 19, 2012

FAN #205: "Death in the Afternoon, Popcorn Extra" by M.G. Alderman

Up today at the Sobel Wiki, along with an article on Australia, is M. G. "Matt" Alderman's last For All Nails vignette, #205: "Death in the Afternoon, Popcorn Extra", in which three University of New Orleans students attend a bullfight across the border in the U.S.M. in May 1976.  Matt found real life taking up too much of his time to continue with the For All Nails project, and his characters Marie-Claire Reynard and Hugh Schreck were heard from no more, though Captain the Honorable Evangeline Gilmore proved irresistable enough to the rest of the FAN Cabal to survive the departure of her creator.

"Death in the Afternoon, Popcorn Extra" was first posted to the soc.history.what-if newsgroup on 16 February 2003.

Saturday, August 18, 2012

FAN #208: "The Merchant of Guadalajara" by Johnny Pez

Today at the Sobel Wiki we skip ahead a bit to provide the sequel to "Rogue Asset", my own For All Nails vignette #208: "The Merchant of Guadalajara", in which Joan Kahn acts on her hypothesis from "Rogue Asset".

"The Merchant of Guadalajara" was first posted to the soc.history.what-if newsgroup on 3 February 2003.

Friday, August 17, 2012

FAN #204: "Rogue Asset" by Johnny Pez

As I've mentioned before, many of the members of the For All Nails Cabal created author avatars in the course of the project, and today, we meet mine.  Posted today at the Sobel Wiki is FAN vignette #204: "Rogue Asset", in which conspiracy theorist Joan Kahn meets a college professor named John Dickinson Pez in California in January 1975.

"Rogue Asset" was first posted to the soc.history.what-if newsgroup on 2 February 2003.

Thursday, August 16, 2012

FAN #202: "Bullet the Blue Sky" by Mike Keating

Up today at the Sobel Wiki is For All Nails vignette #202: "Bullet the Blue Sky" by Mike Keating, the latest installment in the story of the C.N.A.'s army clubs.  In today's vignette, the Confederation Bureau of Investigation prepares to move on the Endicott, New York chapter of the Samuel Adams Brotherhood in August 1975.

"Bullet the Blue Sky" was first posted to the soc.history.what-if newsgroup on 4 January 2003.

Wednesday, August 15, 2012

FAN #200: "The Lads From Luanda" by Johnny Pez

Today we reach the two century mark, with the appearance in the Sobel Wiki of For All Nails vignette #200: "The Lads From Luanda" by yours truly, a sequel to Sir Francis Burdett's "URGENT BUSINESS PROPOSAL".  Also up is #211: "Fantascience Friction" by David Mix Barrington, a Statist article from June 1976 about trouble for Mexican filmmaker Lucas Jorge in the Cape Kingdom.

"The Lads From Luanda" was named after a website called Scam o Rama: The Lads from Lagos, whose participants enjoy baiting 419 fraudsters.  I'd also like to take this opportunity to take credit for coining the word "fantascience", the Sobel Timeline's version of science fiction.

"The Lads From Luanda" was first posted to the soc.history.what-if newsgroup on 22 December 2002, and "Fantascience Friction" on 6 February 2003.

Tuesday, August 14, 2012

FAN #199: "What's on the Vita Then?" by Sir Francis Burdett

Up today at the Sobel Wiki we have two more For All Nails vignettes.  First is #111D: "Kill All the Lawyers" by Noel Maurer, the final installment of his vacation quartet, in which the U.S.M.'s Secretary of War provokes a constitutional crisis in September 1974 by refusing to let the President fire him.  Next is #199: "What's on the Vita Then?" by Sir Francis Burdett, a look at the new 1975 vitavision season in the C.N.A.

"Kill All the Lawyers" was first posted to the soc.history.what-if newsgroup on 10 September 2002, and "What's on the Vita Then?" was posted on 18 December 2002 as "Anything Good on Vita Tonight?"  The title was changed at the request of David Mix Barrington for the sake of the Monty Python reference.

Monday, August 13, 2012

FAN #198: "URGENT BUSINESS PROPOSAL" by Sir Francis Burdett

Up today at the Sobel Wiki are two more For All Nails vignettes.  First, the third of Noel Maurer's quartet of post-vacation vignettes, #111C: "Call the Police There's a Madman Around", in which President Moctezuma's aides discuss the disturbing information provided by Joan Kahn.  Next, #198: "URGENT BUSINESS PROPOSAL" by Sir Francis Burdett, in which we learn that not even the Sobel Timeline is safe from advance fee fraud.

"Call the Police There's a Madman Around" was first posted to the soc.history.what-if newsgroup on 10 September 2002, and "URGENT BUSINESS PROPOSAL" was first posted on 18 December 2002 as Four Awl Nails XXIV, this being Sir Francis' way of posting unofficial FAN vignettes (as noted earlier, "Drinking Guide to Burgoyne" was originally Four Awl Nails vignette # IX, and "There She Is" was originally # XIII).  The FAN Cabal was so taken with "URGENT BUSINESS PROPOSAL" that it was retroactively made an official FAN vignette and assigned slot #198.  I made it even more official by writing a sequel, which we will be seeing here in a couple of days.

Sunday, August 12, 2012

FAN #197: "What Dreams May Come" by Johnny Pez

It was pretty much inevitable that at some point, I would write a crossover episode combining For All Nails and the Drowned Baby Timeline, and this is it. Up now at the Sobel Wiki is For All Nails vignette #197: "What Dreams May Come", in which Polish leaders from two alternate histories briefly meet each other: King Frederick Hohenzollern of the Sobel Timeline, and President Edward RaczyÅ„ski of the Drowned Baby Timeline.  Also up is the second part of Noel Maurer's mighty vignette, #111B: "You Can't Go Home Again", in which we are introduced to Sebastian Quezadas, Mexican academic and reserve army officer, and Noel's author avatar (most of us in the FAN Cabal had at least one).

As noted before, all four of Noel's 111 vignettes, including "You Can't Go Home Again", were first posted to the soc.history.what-if newsgroup on 10 September 2002.  "What Dreams May Come" was posted on 19 December 2002 (and its sequel, Drowned Baby Timeline episode 76: "Must Give Us Pause", was posted on 19 January 2003).

Saturday, August 11, 2012

FAN #194: "La Reforma Politica" by Noel Maurer

Today at the Sobel Wiki we've got another Noel Maurer two-fer for you.  First is For All Nails vignette #111A: "The Osterman Weekday", in which Joan Kahn passes along the information she gained in vignette #104D: "The Gun Room".  The second is #194: "La Reforma Politica", an account of President Immanuel Moctezuma's various political reforms in the spring on 1975, and their subsequent effects on Mexican politics.

"The Osterman Weekday" was part of a massive untitled vignette that Noel wrote after returning from a vacation in the summer of 2002.  He left it to the rest of the FAN Cabal to turn it into something that could be posted to the soc.history.what-if newsgroup.  I volunteered for the duty, and I divided the vignette into four parts, gave each a separate title, and performed a general rewrite which Noel praised more than it deserved.

"The Osterman Weekday" was posted to shw-i (along with its three sibling vignetts) on 10 September 2002, and "La Reforma Politica" on 7 February 2003.

Friday, August 10, 2012

FAN #192: "God's Smugglers" by Vegard Valberg

Up today at the Sobel Wiki, along with articles on John Hancock and his namesake California city Puerto Hancock, are two more For All Nails vignettes: first, #85: "Mobile Locos" by Noel Maurer, in which a North American travel writer talks about driving in the United States of Mexico, and #192: "God's Smugglers" by Vegard Valberg (the only FAN vignette by this soc.history.what-if regular), in which a Scandinavian priest travels to Victoria in January 1973.

"Mobile Locos" was first posted to the soc.history.what-if newsgroup on 21 May 2002, and "God's Smugglers" on 16 December 2002.

Thursday, August 9, 2012

FAN #189: "(Can't Get No) Satisfaction" by Johnny Pez

Up today at the Sobel Wiki are two significant For All Nails vignettes, serving as signposts to the American War.  First is #71: "Southern Exposure" by Noel Maurer, where we look at the origins of the Elbittar Coup in New Granada from February 1971 to May 1973.  The second is my own #189: "(Can't Get No) Satisfaction", in which the Bornhold Pact chooses between peace and war in January 1975.

"Southern Exposure" was first posted to the soc.history.what-if newsgroup on 6 April 2002, and "(Can't Get No) Satisfaction" on 11 December 2002.

Wednesday, August 8, 2012

FAN #188: "The Second Republic" by Johnny Pez

Up today at the Sobel Wiki, along with an article on vulcazine, are two more For All Nails vignettes.  First is #68: "She's Got Legs" by Noel Maurer, in which the newly-elected President of the USM meets an influential senator in May 1972.  Next is my own #188: "The Second Republic", an excerpt from a history of the Polish uprising of 1881.

"She's Got Legs" was first posted to the soc.history.what-if newsgroup on 7April 2002, and "The Second Republic" on 9 December 2002.

Tuesday, August 7, 2012

FAN #187: "The Children's Crusade" by M. G. Alderman

Up today at the Sobel Wiki are two more For All Nails vignettes: first is #67: "Even Paranoids Have Enemies" by Noel Maurer, in which Mexican businessman Robert Contreras learns that he has a dangerous enemy in the War Department.  Next is #187: "The Children's Crusade" by M. G. Alderman, in which a student at the University of New Orleans writes home in January 1975.

"Even Paranoids Have Enemies" was first posted to the soc.history.what-if newsgroup on 6 April 2002, and "The Children's Crusade" on 13 January 2003.

Monday, August 6, 2012

FAN #185: "Ramadan" by Jonathan Edelstein

We have two more For All Nails vignettes up at the Sobel Wiki today.  First is #64: "A Meeting of the Minds" by Noel Maurer, in which Noel's Robert Contreras character meets his Immanuel Moctezuma character in September 1971; it's a direct sequel to #37: "The Candidate".  Next is #185: "Ramadan" by Jonathan Edelstein, set in Ouadai, the For All Nails version of the North African nation of Chad, in October 1974.

"A Meeting of the Minds" was first posted to the soc.history.what-if newsgroup on 14 March 2002, and "Ramadan" on 4 December 2002.

Sunday, August 5, 2012

FAN #184: "How You Like Them Oranges?" by Noel Maurer

Today at the Sobel Wiki it's another double dose of Noel Maurer.  First up is #60: "The Spaced Service", in which the Governor-General's aides discuss the CNA's new space program in February 1973.  Next is #184: "How You Like Them Oranges?", a Statist article on organized crime in the CNA stock market from May 1976.

"The Spaced Service" was first posted to the soc.history.what-if newsgroup on 5 March 2002, and "How You Like Them Oranges?' on 10 December 2002.

Saturday, August 4, 2012

FAN #216: "My Home Town" by Johnny Pez

Up now at the Sobel Wiki are two more For All Nails vignettes.  First, David Mix Barrington has posted his #203: "All the World's a Stage", in which CBI agent Clarissa Forster conducts a raid on a criminal mastermind in January 1975.  Next, I've posted my own #216: "My Home Town", an article by the Statist from March 1975 about Guadalajara's reaction to the new notoriety of its most famous native son.

The Statist, btw, was created by Noel Maurer as the Sobel Timeline's version of the Economist, since "statist" (i.e. one who works with statistics) is an old word for "economist".  The name also pokes fun at libertarians, who insist on calling all non-libertarians "statists" (i.e. proponents of "big government").

"All the World's a Stage" was first posted to the soc.history.what-if newsgroup under the title "Mistaken Identity" on 24 January 2003, David having forgotten that I had previously used the title "Mistaken Identity" for vignette #81E.  "My Home Town" was first posted on 12 February 2003.

Friday, August 3, 2012

FAN #183: "Wheeler Wars" by Noel Maurer

Up today at the Sobel Wiki are two more For All Nails vignettes.  First is Noel Maurer's #183: "Wheeler Wars", an article from the 9 July 1976 issue of the Statist about drug wars in the CNA's criminal underworld.  Next is #191: "Mail Call" by David Mix Barrington, Maurer, and myself, a series of letters from various participants in the early months of the American War.

"Wheeler Wars" was first posted to the soc.history.what-if newsgroup on 4 December 2002, and "Mail Call" on 16 December 2002.

Thursday, August 2, 2012

FAN #182: "Arma Superior" by Noel Maurer

Today at the Sobel Wiki we have a double dose of For All Nails vignettes by Noel Maurer.  First is #59: "Not-So-White Trash Nation", an excerpt from the introduction to Russell M. Walters' The British Roots of Mexican Bellicosity.  Next is #182: "Arma Superior", an account of a dogfight between New Granadan and British jets in the opening days of the American War.

"Not-So-White Trash Nation" was first posted to the soc.history.what-if newsgroup on 26 February 2002, and "Arma Superior" on 10 December 2002.

Wednesday, August 1, 2012

FAN #180: "Interruption" by Henrik Kiertzner and Johnny Pez

Up today at the Sobel Wiki are two more For All Nails vignettes: #180: "Interruption" by Henrik Kiertzner and myself, sees the King of Scandinavia contemplating direct action in response to the Bali incident; and #186: "A Boy's Life" by David Mix Barrington, shows us the life of a teenage boy named David Barrington.

"Interruption" was first posted to the soc.history.what-if newsgroup on 2 December 2002, and "A Boy's Life" on 9 December 2002.