#pack of thieves

[forestinfire]

enter shikari / pack of thieves

[enterrsshikari]

that's the only thing that ever hurts, the only thing that ever ends. stand up!

[enterrsshikari]

pack of thieves // enter shikari

[booksandwords]

Pack of Thieves?: 52 Port Arthur Lives by Hamish Maxwell-Stewart & Susan Hood

Read time: 1 Day Rating: 4/5

The quote: According to the older histories, convicts were mainly ne'er-do-wells from Britain's inner city slums — members of the professional criminal class. I the words of one historian, they produced crime like hatter produced hats and miners coal. The aim of this book is to challenge such simplistic views, which depicted the mass of convicts as a pack of undifferentiated thieves — Hamish Maxwell-Stewart & Susan Hood

This review will get long because I'm me but let me just say your enjoyment of this bool will depend greatly on your interest in Port Arthur Penitentiary and your wiliness to see past common misconceptions. This review is written in two parts. The first is my opinion, the second more or less explains what Pack of Thieves is, though there is some crossover. This is the deck of cards and book from the 2000s I believe the set up is more expensive now. I really want to go back.

I love Port Arthur I have since I was not much more than a child. It is what spawned my interest in convicts and the historical penal system. This book and the deck of cards that it accompanies reminds me of good times (and idiot high school friends), I cannot judge it objectively. This presents a more human side of convicts and their varied experiences. It stays in it's lane, the research is largely limited to what is available in Tasmania. Their histories would have been in their Port Arthur Records and it doesn't stray outside the convict system or Tasmania. So it will look at what happened to them as free men in Hobart but not Victoria. It's a smart way to write, they are good parameters to work within and none of the stories feel incomplete.

I like the art style, it's almost soft. Each card aligns to the convicts' original crime or something that made their sentence notable. The first two cards of each suit are boys sent to Point Peur not necessarily for anything they did just because of their age and skills. It does a good job of taking a broad range of men and telling a range of stories. This range helps it achieve its goal of breaking down the "Dickinson recidivist" stereotype. Yes Port Arthur was largely for reoffenders but it's not that simple. When is history ever that simple?

Some personal favourites

9 of Clubs, Vincenzo Bucccheri. An Italian convict who earned the loyalty and support of the community.

8 of Spades, Charles Wellings. Okay, Welings is complicated. He was a flagellator (ie he flogged men), a drunk and shall we say he preferred the company of men. Let's just say this is a line used about him "after a life of 'rum, sodomy and the lash'". He's just interesting.

2 of Diamonds, William Pearson. Dead by 22, his story is brutal. His original conviction was for stealing for razors hence the card design.

6 of Hearts, Charles Moore. I like the card design, the ship suits his story. That of a repeat escapee, with a penchant for ships.

Pack of Thieves is an educational project from The Port Arthur Heritage Site, it's could also be seen as promotional but only if you cynically squint. In the museum on-site it is an interactive display. This book is sold as in the gift shop with the full deck to provide more information about the convicts. At the time it was a well-designed piece though it may be appear outdated now, I quite like the idea of using it interactive rather than relying on tech. Disconnect and explore (also tech + ghost tour = no point).

The book works with assumed knowledge, it assumes that the reader knows the background of Port Arthur and Point Peur, something about transportation and the background. This is purely about the human side of what is often just seen as numbers, the convicts themselves. It provides simplistic maps for reference, a list of sources and a reading list

My Goodreds review explains how Pack of Thieves works on site with photos (knida).

[thequantumlyunstableman]

Closing In 15-21 Oct

They were collapsing in on me, but I was still flying forward toward the exit. I could prepare to defend myself or keep pushing onto my way out of here. I saw that as no choice. I was going to be able to defeat all of these guys. Escape was my only real option. So I aimed ahead, kept my focus on the cave exit and sailed forward. Unfortunately, there was nothing I could do to go faster and despite all my efforts, they were closing in on me. I was only feet away now. I could see the literal light at the end of the tunnel.

But before I could reach it, they closed in on me. With multiple impacts coming from multiple directions, we all went tumbling across the cavern, smashing into walls and other people. It was chaos, but I was unfortunately in no position to take advantage of it. I was bouncing off the walls along with them and I had half a dozen of the thieves holding on to me. Some would fall off as we impacted, but pthers would jump on as we sailed between the walls. But I might still have a chance I told myself. All I had to do was keep bouncing.

But the thieves had other ideas. Working together they started grabbing ahold of me and grabbing ahold of their friends who were already wrapped aroud me. Then more began grabbing them and pretty soon I was stuck in the middle of a web of partially floating thieves going nowhere. They began pulling me down toward the ground and, as I tried to fight back, one of them stole the gem from out of my hand. I immediately lost the ability to float and the thieves who were immobilizing me, accidentally ended up saving me from falling to the ground with a splat. As my feet hit the ground, my mind was racing about ways to escape and coming up empty. Grabbing another gem wasn't going to do the job or trying to make a break for it, there were just too many of them. It seemed like I was out of luck. I was at the mercy of these thieves.

to be continued next week

or everyday on @QuantumUnstable

[shitredditrocks]

Enter Shikari - Pack of Thieves

"Pack of Thieves" by Enter Shikari

posted in r/PostHardcore

[pink-hydrangea]

Heyyyy, my friends have a band called Pack of Thieves and they just released their single Disguises and it's really really really really good, it'd be awesome if some of my followers could go listen to it, there's a completely free download if you like it and if you really wanna be awesome you could help them out and follow/retweet them @packofthievesuk on Twitter! They really deserve the recognition because they've worked really hard on it and it's a great song! :)

[neptunescientist]

"Don't be fooled into thinking that a small group of friends, Cannot change the world"