S T O R I E S F R O M M Y H E A D
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the writings of R.B. BANFIELD
Follow my football team!
Books, the final frontier.
These are the stories of R.B. Banfield
his lifetime mission
to explore strange new words
to seek out new plots
and new characterisations
to boldly write what no one has read before.
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BETTER CRICKET STATS
The game of cricket needs a better system of statistics to reflect the skills and performances of the players in a true and unbiased manner. A batsman should be judged by how many runs he makes for his team in every innings. A bowler should be assessed by how frequently he takes wickets, not just by how many runs he concedes. Once the old system is removed we see a true reflection of the great players and the mere good players, and those who make up the numbers.
This book presents revised and truer statistics of every player appearing in Test Cricket from 1877, plus the top ranked, the bottom ranked, the oddly ranked, and the rank. There is the Top Test Batsmen and Bowlers, the Top ODI and T20I Batsmen and Bowlers, the Worst Test Batsmen, the Worst Test Bowlers, the best Test All-Rounders, a World XI, a World 2nd XI, a World Worst XI, Country-by-Country stats and XIs, Decade-by Decade stats and XIs, Month-by-Month XIs, Alphabet XIs, best performances per calendar year,, RI and RWI stats for each Test player.
Better Movie Awards
How many times have film fans seen a great film and think that it should win awards only to have things like the Academy Awards snub it. Why do they do that every year? Not because the films we love are not up to standard, it's because groups like the Academy know little about great films and a lot about pleasing their Hollywood buddies. Fortunately they no longer get away with it, and haven't for years, as seen by their television ratings dropping each year. The term Oscar Winning Film no longer brings in the crowds or sells DVDs.
Sorry Academy, but the reality is that your Oscar award is considered a joke by serious film fans. That's what you get for being elitist, going all the way back to Buster Keaton and Charlie Chaplin being told they're not good enough.
This book lists the outstanding and notable films and acting of each year (and most of the time they're easy to spot), and also lists all the winners and nominees from each Academy Awards show, so we can all have a good laugh.
Updated to the 2021 show.
The New Covenant - Reference Edition
The purpose of this translation is to show the New Testament of the Bible in a clear and easy to follow English that remains as close as possible to the original style of each author, while achieving a strong continuity with each word. Translating ancient Kione Greek into readable modern English is neither a difficult nor mysterious process. The question arises, therefore, as to why an accurate version, free from bias, religiosity and embellishment, is seldom produced. The older translations tend to be dry in their transliterating, while the modern can be overly paraphrased. All translations must have some paraphrasing, but in an effort to appeal to modern readers, sometimes the original text is glossed over, causing a loss in the original meaning and allowing opportunity for misunderstanding. Another blight on the majority of translations, both modern and old, is a fondness of the editors to include unnecessary paragraph headings, which can be distracting. Not only were the original books of the Bible not divided into paragraphs, there were also no chapters or verses, or even punctuation. For example, Matthew 5 was not headed by the words “Beatitudes”, and Matthew 28 was not called “The Great Commission”. These are modern additions that serve no real purpose, and neither they nor anything like them are included in this translation. The same applies for words they today carry strong religious meaning. An example of this is “church” (ekklesia), which did not carry the meaning it does today. Ekklesia meant any kind of group meeting together for a common purpose. This translation renders the word “assembly” throughout. This is regardless of the word indicating the meeting of believers, or a secular meeting, or a quote from the Old Testament, since it is always the same word in the Greek.
The New Covenant - Presented in a Modern Style
In keeping with the style of the original New Testament texts, this Non-Reference Edition contains no chapter or verse numbering. This bare-bones treatment causes the text to become surprisingly readable and similar to the way it would have been read and studied by the early Christians.
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The text is arranged into easy-to-read paragraphs, plus the dialogue set out like a novel. Quotations used by the original authors are presented as they would in a modern non-fiction book.
Revelation in Harmony
This is a major breakthrough in the study of the Book of Revelation that discards the interpretations of the past that have proven themselves to be failures. None of the previous answers stand up to modern day life. They are dated and, in some instances, they are ridiculous. This study shows how major events of history that shaped our modern world are described and foretold in Revelation. These events are almost universally ignored by other interpretations. The powerful and highly influential Mongol Empire of the 13th and 14th Centuries, to name but one, garners no attention at all, simply because it does not fit their systems of interpretation. Similarly, the monstrous Black Death, that probably had a killing rate of 50%, sees no place in any other book about Revelation.
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What is it about this book that separates it from the others? It contends that Revelation can naturally be divided into four parts, and each part interprets the others. This harmonizing of the prophecies is unique in the study of Biblical prophecy, and yet makes perfect sense. The Four Horsemen can be seen as the same of the Two Beasts, and the ministry of the Two Witnesses is repeated in the Seven Letters.
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The literal beliefs of the Early Church Fathers is continued, with quotes from their works, that showed a real expectation of the coming Messianic Kingdom. This was the hope of the Early Church, and it was not bogged down with complicated formulas of interpretation, guided by pre-supposed and biased opinions.
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This book shows that Revelation is real and vital to our understanding of the world today, that the world of yesterday must not be forgotten, and what we should expect to encounter in the world of tomorrow.
AGAINST THE NIGHT
The Story of Ireneaeus and the Second Century Christians
“I can easily describe the places for you where Polycarp used to sit and carry out his discourse. I remember his going out, his coming in, and his general mode of life and personal appearance. . . . He would speak of his friendship with John, and the others who had seen the Lord. . . . Through God’s mercy, I was able to listen to such a witness. I treasured his words, not on paper, but in my heart. I am still continually, by God’s grace, thinking about these things in my mind.”
IRENAEUS
The Second Century A.D. saw relative peace settle on the Roman world, under the strong leadership of emperors Hadrian (117-138), Antoninus Pius (138-161) and Marcus Aurelius (161-180). Aside from the Bar Kokhba revolt (132-136) that saw the destruction of Jerusalem, and skirmishes on the northern borders, the people enjoyed the empire at its peak years. Yet the Christians of the time still remembered the terrible days of the previous century when the emperors Nero and Domitian inflicted persecution against their faith. The events depicted in the Book of Acts did not end in the mid-first century, but continued far into the Second Century, with the hearers of the Apostles teaching the generation that followed them. As Christianity became more established, so too did the general public’s fear of it, fuelling slanderous rumours that led to ruling authorities issuing harsh new laws. Christian leaders were made examples of, but that proved to be an example for their faith, as it led onlookers to marvel and then to also believe. For all the heroism of the saints, the greatest threat to the Church came not from without, but from within. Similar to Simon Magi, the works and influence of the Gnostic teachers began to spread throughout the Roman Empire, producing their own versions of the Gospels. Men such as Marcion, Cerinthus, and Valentinus had their own holy books, their own followers, and their own missionaries. Standing against them were men such as the disciples of the Apostle John, Polycarp and Papias, and the next generation in Justin Martyr of Rome (Dialogue with Trypho), and Irenaeus (Against Heresies) the Bishop of Lugdunum (now modern Lyon, France), originally from Smyrna (modern Izmir, Turkey).
LABOUR THE LIGHT
The Story of Origen and the Third Century Christians
“The discussion of prayer is so great that it requires the Father to reveal it, His firstborn Word to teach it, and the Spirit to enable us to think and speak rightly of so great a subject.”
ORIGEN
“They think the Christians the cause of every public disaster, of every affliction with which the people are visited. If the Tiber rises as high as the city walls, if the Nile does not send its waters up over the fields, if the heavens give no rain, if there is an earthquake, if there is famine or pestilence, straightway the cry is, ‘Away with the Christians to the lion!’ What! Shall you give such multitudes to a single beast?”
TERTULLIAN
“It is a bad world, Donatus, an incredibly bad world. But I have discovered in the midst of it a quiet and good people who have learned the great secret of life. They have found a joy and wisdom which is a thousand times better than any of the pleasures of our sinful life. They are despised and persecuted, but they care not. They are masters of their souls. They have overcome the world. These people, Donatus, are Christians … and I am one of them.”
CYPRIAN
The Roman Empire of the Third Century A.D. began to fracture, with arguments over leadership, economic failure, and increased threats from their enemies. Emperors came and went, from the deranged teenager known as Elagabalus, to the intimidating veteran general Maximus Thrax, to friends of Christianity in the young Severus Alexander and Philip the Arab. Almost every general made a claim to the throne, for over fifty years, while the Persians gained power in the east, and the Gothic tribes became restless in the north. As Christianity continued to spread throughout the Roman Empire and beyond, it faced pressures from outside and within. In Roman Carthage (Northern Africa) the lawyer Tertullian defied what he saw as hypocrisy in Christian leadership. The rich man Cyprian gave away his riches and became his city’s bishop, to lead them through both a plague and opposition from rival bishops. In Italy, Hippolytus wrote volumes against the Gnostic heretics who were claiming to be the true faith.
BY WHAT MIGHT
The Story of Constantine and the Fourth Century Christians
“Constantine the most mighty victor, resplendent with every virtue that godliness bestows … an emperor most dear to God … recovered the East that belonged to them, and reformed the Roman Empire, as in the days of old, into a single united whole, bringing under their peaceful rule all of it, from the rising of the sun round about in two directions, north as well as south, even to the uttermost limits of the declining day.”
EUSEBIUS “
The first point of wisdom is to discern that which is false; the second, to know that which is true.”
LACTANTIUS
The Fourth Century was one of the most pivotal moments in world history. This is the story of the men who shaped those times, and why. At the dawn of the century the empire was ruled by a team of four generals, Diocletian, Maximian, Galerius, and Constantius, calling themselves the Tetrarchy, dividing the empire into four. The peace would be short lived, as other men fought for control, including one man who was driven by his belief in divine guidance, whatever that divinity was. Once fully under his control, Constantine brought peace and unity to the Roman world, including the various factions of Christianity in the Council of Nicaea (325), and the building of a “New Rome” in Constantinople. Through his work he became credited for bringing the acceptance of Christianity to the empire. He was influenced by Lactantius, personal tutor to his son Crispus and eye-witness to the historic Battle of Milvian Bridge (312), who wrote The Divine Institutes. Perhaps the biggest Christian influence came from Eusebius Pamphilus, author of Constantine’s own biography, and the editor of the oldest surviving documentation of Christianity, Ecclesiastical History. Following after those men came one of the most celebrated Christian of his age, a young man named Martin who once gave his cloak to a freezing man, and later become the bishop of Caesarodunum (modern Tours, France). But as the power of Christianity grew, so too did the corruption, and ambitious men keen to rule sided with politicians and kings, against men such as Martin.
Acteon's Game
Acteon has arrived back in Rome from Antioch to answer a request from his sister Alena. A man known for his detective skills, Acteon seeks to search the dark and unknown streets for the man who attacked Alena’s husband, the retired soldier Pompilius. His slave was killed by a knife attack, his blood spilling to the street. The attacker got away, somehow escaping away in broad daylight. Only days before, a man came to Pompilius in secret, offering money to purchase the Ismene Bath. This was denied, since such business must be carried out legitimately, not in secret. Could that be linked to the stabbing of his slave?
Born to Rome, Acteon says he can find the answer. He thinks he knows the city from his childhood, but it has changed much since he has been away. There is a new ruler, Augustus Caesar, and a new attitude with the people. There are new temples, new statues, new buildings, and different people from foreign lands. This is not the city he knew. This is a place of high danger.
A crime mystery set in ancient Rome, Acteon’s Game is a tale of intrigue and doublecross, against a backdrop of dinner parties, circus races, and the common daily ritual of cleaning at bathhouses. Everyone from family friends, their slaves, senators, and the emperor himself is a suspect.
A COURSE FOR STARS
The Prince of Eshlon, interested more in his games and life of luxury, is forced to survive in a galaxy that he does not know and never really wanted to experience. When his family and world come under deadly attack from the Saraft, only his personal servant Dangart can save him, by hiding him aboard the Fah Jah, an old and east to ignore growthship. With bounty hunters on his path, potential enemies on the ship, and a new identity to cope with, he is faced with dangers at every turn. Shasla-Riol, born to Space, becoming Fah Jah captain at a young age, keen to adapt to every culture and world she visits, had never met anyone like this mysterious hiding prince. She may either become a cherished friend, or his greatest enemy, depending on whom amongst her crew she believes.
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This is story about people breaking free from their troubles. The prince who would rather be a free pilot on an ordinary ship. The man chased by another version of himself. The dumb neglected man who becomes a champion. The woman who does not understand why she has special fighting powers. The woman denied education, and yet finds the source of too many secrets.
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Included is a glossary of 939 definitions.
UNTIL ALL THEIR DREAMS FADED
four interconnecting short stories
SYSTEM OF THE UP
There is only one reason why Perri Beddle would endure a long flight to a remote planet full of nothing but mines and dust. It is not because it is her job, and the Company would act favourably if she does what they want. Nor is it to make herself look good in the eyes of the bosses, although it certainly will. She has career ambition, the same as everyone else she knew, but this place has something that nowhere else in the Federation has: a man named Lorrance Adon, and she had not seen him for years.
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INFINITY CRAWL
Relton Ganard is so famous that he misses the days when he would need to introduce himself. It seems like the entire population of Delna Dacon follows his every breath, but they are unaware that his dream is to get as far away from them, and their world, as he can. His brilliant blend of breakthrough technologies is about to be used on something no one had ever considered to be possible, the ability to travel so fast that there would be nowhere in the universe out of reach. Instant transportation is the term given to it, while Relton waits for something better to come from the marketing department.
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EYES OF A DREAM
Kat Deltor wakes to find that the simple stasis trial that she was promised would last a week, went horribly wrong. Not only is her hair messed up beyond what is acceptable, she slept on the same side for too long and now has a nasty crick in the neck, plus a sudden realisation that she might have been watched by way too many people. It scares her that the testing room looks drastically different from when she last saw it, and she is certain that the ceiling should not be transparent, nor the sky sullen.
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REQUEST DENIED
After months of constant low flying, survey officer Alon Gidd thinks that he knows every shadowy crater, cracked hill, and endless crevasse of the barren moon where he is stationed. His only company during such flights is his shuttle’s computer that has too much personality and likes to chat. But lately, the computer’s attention is distracted, and if Alon was not so bored, he would welcome the silence. It only made the dark and empty sky look a little questionable.
The Burning Star Series
With everyone wishing they could be chosen to become a colonist to the newly found paradise world Ancia, some seek to go there through illegal means. Johnny 'TC' Beggs may be a famous pilot, but they don't realise he's washed up and bitter that it was his rival Baxter Gammond who found Ancia.
Jupe Beggs, seeking to find the truth about what he discovered during his venture to space, becomes part of Lars Best's plan to go to Ancia. He also finds that people whom Jupe thought were his friends, were only using him to get to Ancia.
Dawn-Star Beggs has not heard from her husband Robbie for three years. The official report is that he is on deep space assignment, but she fears for his safety and seeks answers. Meanwhile, Jupe Beggs is trying to live a normal life on Harax Pras, but finds that Ancian colonists have also arrived.
When T Station finds evidence of an unknown enemy, alien expert Parry Langdon is sent to investigate. The Morgan family of Harax Pras offers Jupe Beggs the chance to command his own exploration mission.
Beta Dillour, lone survivor of a space disaster, becomes a celebrity on Harax Pras, and the subject of con artist Buddy Shane. Together they organise an exploration mission, with the help of Jupe Beggs, who prefers to remain incognito.
Tarron Rees tries to find what happened to his mysterious grandfather Jupe Beggs, with the help of Freefall Calp, at the cost of ignoring his work on the Rees Estate. The world Harax Pras is facing problems with its terraforming.
Space historian Tavars Reyn begins an educational tour of the "old worlds", to remember how the first explorers lived. His interest is triggered by the discovery of an ancient ship that may or may not contain the remains of legendary pilot Wille Kran.
Willie Khan's rise through the ranks of space cadets and pilots did not come easy, as he is rejected by UDE's DSE. It is left to fellow rebel Johnny Beggs to help him, and together they make history.
Despite having no money or family connections, Johnny Beggs becomes a space pilot. In contrast, sports star Doniel Tanner has everything he needs to get into space, but find he needs to go home. The two help each other in ways they did not plan or could ever realise.
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There are only four cities left, and they are mighty. One is North, one is South, one is West, but the one that is East is called Easy. There the population is divided and placed into three sectors and controlled, but some keep slipping through the cracks. City President Merb Irfing has an unusual plan for better control. Guard Degan Blonn has no plan at all, and is happy with that. Jedda Danfol’s plan is to collect junk off the streets, but no one knows why. Warlord Grel Skace builds his army and plans to take back streets.
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In this gripping novel, the lives of silent revolutionaries connect in ways they didn’t plan or foresee, as they fight for their freedom against a society too corrupt to see that it is collapsing.
EASY SAY THEY
MERCIES OF MOON CRESCENT
"He was never a good man.” Vissy was known to say little else when talking about her husband Gilbert, who liked to go long walking and not talk about it when he got back. Otherwise, she was a pleasant woman. Mavis was her given name but she had gone by Vissy since a girl. She lived to the age of ninety-two, dying in her bed in 1996. Cam remembered his grandmother as stoic and a little demanding. His older brother Jeffery knew her as a kind and generous woman, but Cam never saw her like that.1948 was the last Vissy had seen of Gilbert, but she always lived in hope that one day he would step through the front door again.When Cam Mercie returns to live in his family home, he finds it has rekindled unwelcome memories for his mother Bev. The unsolved mystery of what happened to both his father and grandfather lingers not only in the Mercie household, but also in the entire county.
THE GREAT ASSUMPTION
In this hard hitting and fast moving thriller, set in the near future, church leader Roy Hoyle must question what separates true religion from false, as he battles to overcome crises both worldwide and personal. He has colleagues Rick Rheem and Jamieson Laturette to help him, along with church members, like the young and impressionable Lenny Sharma, the elderly and kind Ida Zarman, and the disillusioned and yet searching Shari-Anne. Above all else, to help him through such a time, is the works of the founder of his Kingdom of God church, the brilliant Julius Mann, whose wisdom and faith Roy has based his faith on.
THE WRITER
Sophie has a dream to write her first novel and she plans on the perfect setting, her grandmother’s house in the quiet town of Gendry. Little has changed there since she left to live in the big city, and yet she finds inspiration hard to find. It does not help that there is both a mysterious stranger and a murder in the town. And yet there is also something else that does not fit, and it all points to Sophie herself. When police investigator Dan Ironwright is called in, he finds more to Sophie than anyone expected, including her.
A Scratch & Sniff Guide To Churches In Southern Spain
HI TOURIST! You’re looking at a handy reference book for a weary traveller who wants to find someone a bit different on their travels, plus some joyful memories of the author growing up in the pleasant and prosperous Wellington community of Wainuiomata in the early 1980s thrown in free of charge. This added bonus is a notable difference to most other guide books you may find on the bookshelves which do not include personal recollections from the author, to serve as a way to see off the occasional tedium that comes with visiting foreign lands. They may be beautiful with sights to behold, but to get there can be a chore, and tiring, and a little stressful, let’s be honest. I mean, those travel books don’t include anything extra at all. All things to do and people to see and places to meet but nothing about what to do when you get exhausted. What’s with that? We all know how dull hotel rooms can get. Not everyone wants to go out on the town and party the night away after travelling all day to get there. How desperate do you have to be to sit down and read about the hotel’s history or what the town was like a hundred years ago? As if we’re going to touch that minibar and pay way too much for small samples. And what’s with those tiny televisions? Would it kill them to have a decent-sized widescreen? And how about a remote that’s not grubby and has fresh batteries? If there’s any hotel in the world with nice pillows, please let me know. Or do tourists and travellers enjoy sleeping with their head raised by only five millimetres? And blinds that actually keep out the lights from outside would be helpful when I’m trying to sleep. Same too with walls that aren’t paper thin. And why, in every hotel I’ve ever been to, do people go up and down the halls yelling in the middle of the night?Happily, this book will render such annoyances obsolete, as I will conduct a tour of my own school days that will entertain as much as it will educate. After reading through his book, you might be inspired to take a tour to Wainuiomata, as well as Spain, since it will detail what a gorgeous, delightful and remarkable region of our globe it really is. No churches worth smelling there, though.
THE MAN WHO FLEW TOO MUCH
Bennet was a man who decided to put his dream to the test, and set about putting one foot to the air followed by the other, and not touch the ground again. He would be the first to defy the ground and soar into the blue, and impress the world and especially the young lady who worked in the same office but never paid him much attention before. The Man Who Flew Too Much is a whimsical novella whimsical about dreams, love and a little bit too much of a good thing. It's also about those who dare to underestimate cats.