Circular Arguments

Tea Party Nation exposes it's genius

2011-10-24T13:21:00.000-07:00

Since the GOP has been unanimously voting against bills to create jobs, the Tea Party Nation has decided to up the ante by emailing it's 30 thousand members and asking business owners not to hire anyone until a Republican is elected president.

It's pretty surreal to read, and includes this nugget of economic genius:

I, an American small business owner, part of the class that produces the vast majority of real, wealth producing jobs in this country, hereby resolve that I will not hire a single person until this war against business and my country is stopped.

Yeah. I'm sure that will really help the economy.

I'd like to believe that conservatives care about the economy more than the upcoming elections, but it's painfully obvious they don't. I mean, for all the hooplah about a crappy economy and how "terrible" Obama's Jobs Bill is, where the jobs bill from the GOP? Beyond complaining about Obama, Socialism, and Occupy Wall Street, why doesn't the House pass something to help the economy? I mean, the GOP completely controls the House, right? It's hard to take the GOP seriously when it comes to the economy when they are holding the purse strings and don't even lift a finger to try getting the economy moving...

I'd rather Occupy Reality

2011-10-05T13:42:00.000-07:00

IMO, if the "Occupy Fill-In-The-Blank" groups generates enough momentum to keep going, then it stands a very good chance of becoming the liberal version of the Tea Party. If that happens, the Democratic party will be thrilled.

Unfortunately, while I think a liberal Tea Party would be good for non-moderate Democrats, it would be the death knell for moderates and would make the situation in DC even worse. It would drive the Democratic party even further to the extremes, in the same way the Tea Party has done to the already obstinant Republican party. Thus, more gridlock, nothing get done, and the folks who blame the government for not functioning will (ironically) turn to the GOP who have this belief as one of their party planks.

I certainly won't deny that a liberal Tea Party would be great for motivating Democrats and driving out the vote (and that is absolutely critical for winning elections... and Obama would really need support from those folks), but it's ground zero for inconsistent and incoherent messages that don't even really connect with the political and economic realities that we need politicians to deal with. Right now, there are way too many people wanting to legislate via slogans and not reality. We don't need more people babbling how taxing CEOs & the top 1% as well as ending both wars will solve our budget problems (when it would barely make a dent in it), just we don't need Tea Party types ranting about how eliminating taxes magically creates jobs and how a giant wall between Mexico and the US would end our immigration and drug war problems (they won't).

We need more rational people and less hyperbole and bullshit.

What we need to do is raise taxes across the board, and cut the major expenditures in our budget (cut the military, medicare, medicaid, and raise the age you draw social security). Unfortunately, that requires killing the sacred cows of both parties, which Occupy/Tea Parties would never stand for. So, you know how well that will fly. It won't, but at least the people will enjoy feeling like they are doing something by yelling and holding a sign rather than trying to actually deal with the problem, all the while talking how when they "rock the vote" then "everything will be different". Surely once they "change Washington/Wall Street", everything will be magically better and jobs will appear in the millions...

Government interference is bad, unless it's helping me

2011-09-23T15:08:00.000-07:00

Check out this article on CNN regarding GOP candidate Rick Santorum's outburst against Google.

...if you Google Santorum's name, the first result you'll probably get is not his personal website but a fake definition of "santorum," a sexual byproduct that's a bit too graphic to talk about in detail here. (Of course, you can Google him and easily find out.)

We'll get into how that all happened in a second, but here's what's new: On Tuesday, the socially conservative politician lashed out at Google, saying the company could get rid of the sexual references to his name on the search results if it wanted to -- and perhaps would do so if he were a Democrat.

"I suspect if something was up there like that about Joe Biden, they'd get rid of it," he told Politico. "If you're a responsible business, you don't let things like that happen in your business that have an impact on the country."

He continued: "To have a business allow that type of filth to be purveyed through their website or through their system is something that they say they can't handle, but I suspect that's not true."

This is a Tea Party guy who advocates that the government has no business interfering with businesses, so if Google tells him tough shit, what is his recourse?

Any bets on who the Senator thinks should arbitrate this dispute between a citizen (like him) and a publically-traded business?

I'm sure throwing a tantrum in the media and "shaming" a giant corporation is going to be a winning combination. That seems to work all the time...

Jerry Brown veto message

2011-09-22T21:36:00.000-07:00

Man, I like Jerry Brown. I just read this in SF Gate:

[Governor Jerry] Brown [vetoed] a measure by state Sen. Tom Harman, R-Huntington Beach (Orange County), that would have required the Department of Parks and Recreation to post on its website information about parks scheduled for closure and how nonprofits or other groups could contact the department to potentially take over the management of the park.

Brown wrote in his veto message that the bill was "a good idea but not one that needs a law. What the parks do need is sufficient funding to stay open - something I feel compelled to note the author and his colleagues refused to let the people vote on."

Even Ron Paul's campaign manager had the liberty and freedom to die penniless and uninsured

2011-09-14T15:58:00.000-07:00

Ron Paul really believes that the state shouldn't pay the bills of the uninsured, no matter what. When asked about uninsured young man who suddenly found himself in dire need of intensive health care during the last debate, Paul said, "That's what freedom is all about: taking your own risks."

Turns out that he is quite sincere about that. Kent Snyder, Paul's former campaign chairman (who was the one who coinvinced Ron Paul that he had a shot running for President) died of pneumonia, dirt broke and uninsured.

The Kansas City Star quoted his sister at the time as saying that "he was uninsured because a pre-existing condition made the premiums too expensive."

When he heard the news of Snyder's death, Ron Paul posted the following on the Campaign for Liberty website:

"Like so many in our movement, Kent sacrificed much for the cause of liberty. Kent poured every ounce of his being into our fight for freedom. He will always hold a place in my heart and in the hearts of my family."

Talk about being sacrificed for the cause of Liberty...

Sources:
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB121521859205329713.html?mod=todays_us_page_one
http://www.redpills.org/?p=1230
http://gawker.com/5840024

Article by ex-GOP staffer

2011-09-14T08:57:00.000-07:00

The following link goes to an article by recently retired 28 year Congressional staffer, 16 of which with the GOP House and Senate Budget Committees.

http://www.truth-out.org/goodbye-all-reflections-gop-operative-who-left-cult/1314907779

Here are a few quotes:

A couple of years ago, a Republican committee staff director told me candidly (and proudly) what the method was to all this obstruction and disruption. Should Republicans succeed in obstructing the Senate from doing its job, it would further lower Congress's generic favorability rating among the American people. By sabotaging the reputation of an institution of government, the party that is programmatically against government would come out the relative winner.

....

This constant drizzle of "there the two parties go again!" stories out of the news bureaus, combined with the hazy confusion of low-information voters, means that the long-term Republican strategy of undermining confidence in our democratic institutions has reaped electoral dividends. The United States has nearly the lowest voter participation among Western democracies; this, again, is a consequence of the decline of trust in government institutions - if government is a racket and both parties are the same, why vote? And if the uninvolved middle declines to vote, it increases the electoral clout of a minority that is constantly being whipped into a lather by three hours daily of Rush Limbaugh or Fox News. There were only 44 million Republican voters in the 2010 mid-term elections, but they effectively canceled the political results of the election of President Obama by 69 million voters.

....

This tactic of inducing public distrust of government is not only cynical, it is schizophrenic. For people who profess to revere the Constitution, it is strange that they so caustically denigrate the very federal government that is the material expression of the principles embodied in that document. This is not to say that there is not some theoretical limit to the size or intrusiveness of government; I would be the first to say there are such limits, both fiscal and Constitutional. But most Republican officeholders seem strangely uninterested in the effective repeal of Fourth Amendment protections by the Patriot Act, the weakening of habeas corpus and self-incrimination protections in the public hysteria following 9/11 or the unpalatable fact that the United States has the largest incarcerated population of any country on earth. If anything, they would probably opt for more incarcerated persons, as imprisonment is a profit center for the prison privatization industry, which is itself a growth center for political contributions to these same politicians. Instead, they prefer to rail against those government programs that actually help people. And when a program is too popular to attack directly, like Medicare or Social Security, they prefer to undermine it by feigning an agonized concern about the deficit. That concern, as we shall see, is largely fictitious.

Pity it was posted on truth-out.org, but on the whole, it's an interesting read from someone who has left the party.

Ahhh.... politics season again!

2011-09-07T16:18:00.000-07:00

Presidential politics are shifting into a higher gear, and now I'm actually interested in venting about it online again. ;)

I just noticed that my favorite Massachusetts flipflopper just came out with a plan for jobs and economic growth before the GOP debate and Obama's speech. Now, I'm always happy when a candidate spells out specifics, rather than vapid promises to "create prosperity", so I always check this stuff out.

Create Reagan Economic Zone
But we can hardly rest there, for there is an opportunity to pursue a gamechanging multilateral agreement among like-minded nations genuinely committed to the principles of open markets. As president, Mitt Romney will pursue the formation of a “Reagan Economic Zone.” This zone would codify the principles of free trade at the international level and place the issues now hindering trade in services and intellectual property, crucial to American prosperity and that of other developed nations, at the center of the discussion.

Such a partnership would be extraordinarily attractive to most developed nations, and to those developing nations that have embraced free enterprise and open markets. With membership open to any nation willing to abide by the rules, two primary U.S. objectives would be fulfilled. First, as the most open and innovative economies came together, the dynamism of the resulting economic zone would serve as a powerful magnet, drawing in an expanding circle of countries willing to abide by the rules in exchange for greater access to one another’s markets. At the same time, it would also serve as a mechanism for confronting nations that violated trade rules while free-riding on the international system. Creating a large open market, and excluding countries that failed to respect the rule of law, would prevent cheaters from prospering and provide a major incentive for them to reform.

Seriously? This snippet is pretty much how the entire plan reads. A hundred and sixty pages of a jobs plan... minus the plan. No real specifics, beyond party platitudes and wishful thinking. It's like the Underpants Gnomes of Politics: "1. Cut taxes! 2. ... 3. Lowered Deficit!" He might as well have made a commercial that said, "I promise that things will be better because I'll make it better!"

Wake me when he actually plans on talking seriously about the issues he cares about. If you care about the deficit, then let me know how much you plan on trimming the major expenses of our government: Defense, Medicare, Social Security, and Medicaid take up 70% of our budget. Talking about cutting "waste, fraud and abuse", or getting rid of "Obamacare" (which is laregely based on the GOP's health care proposals during Clinton's first term and Romney's plan actually implemented in Massachusetts), or reducing capital gains taxes for the poor (who on the whole have no money in the stock market) tells me that he isn't interested in taking the problems seriously.

Ultimately, what I get from this "Plan" is that Romney is trying to throw red meat to the crowd and praying that it helps him catch up to Perry in the polls.

Good luck with that, Mitt.

Big surprise! Stark is re-elected.

2010-11-19T19:10:00.001-08:00

Pete Stark didn't do as well as his previous two elections (both banner Democrat years), but he blew away his competition at 71.6% vs. 28.4%. In fact, the last time he he had an election which he got less of the vote was in 1998, where he scored a measly 71.2%...

Looking back on it, there are only three times in his 38 year history in Congress where he has scored below 60%. His first election in 1972 (52.9% vs. 47.1%), his fourth re-election race in 1980 (55.3% vs. 41.1%), and his ninth re-election race in 1990 (58.4% vs. 41.6%). Even during the Republican wave of 1994 he scored 64.2% of the vote, and this most recent wave saw him at 71.6%.

Honestly, unless the GOP can come up with a moderate candidate *and* politics becomes less polarized (ha!), then I can't imagine a scenario where Stark wouldn't be re-elected.

I'm sure they can change his congressional boundaries, but good luck getting a challenging seat in the East Bay. It's like saying you can redistrict San Francisco or Salt Lake City and see a different result.

Pete Stark gets reelected because his opponents are more insane than he is

2010-09-28T12:17:00.000-07:00

Pete Stark is my congressman and I can't stand him. If you've listened to me talk about Stark, you'll know that I loathe the guy, so whenever a Democratic primary or the general election rolls around, I always review the other options.

He only faced one opponent during the 2010 primary, who claimed to be a Democrat, but when you read his campaign platform, you quickly notice that his ideas revolved around "Jesus and traditional values will make America strong again." Errr.... no thank you. I'd rather pick a jaded party-loyalist over a guy telling this non-Christian that I need to turn to God.

Needless to say, Stark won the primary. on to the general, and looking at his competitor's website.

http://forest4congress2010.wordpress.com/

Oh, boy. This guy is a fruitcake.

Anyway, I posted to his website, but my comment didn't appear (as it's probably moderated) so I doubt it will show up. As a result, I'm posted that feedback to his site here.

I can't stand Pete Stark, but after reading the contents of this website pretty much confirmed the sad fact that he'll easily be re-elected.

Frankly, when I got to a campaign website, I want less buzzwords and more concrete suggestions on how to deal with these problems. It's not enough to say "state's rights", "local control", or whatever the latest jargon is, but instead I want to know exactly how you plan on cutting the 70% of the expenditures that the feds have on my tax dollar. Specifically, what do you specifically want to do to reduce spending for medicare, medicaid, social security, and the military? That's 70% of every tax dollar, and if you can't address that in concrete terms, then I can't see why I'd consider voting for you.

You can't just say, "We should take back our responsibility for Health, Education, and Welfare" without addressing what you actually mean by that. What would you cut, create or change in federal legislation? Are you talking about eliminating medicare, medicaid, social security, and the education department? If not, then what are you talking about? If so, what do you propose will provide eductation, health and elder care for our citizens? Does it matter if a percentage of the population (such as age, illness or disability) simply can't support themselves, or can't rely on others to do the same for them?

You mention that those in government programs and housing projects should turn to their families for support. What about the people that don't have families that are willing or able to support them? Should they be on the street, homeless and hungry because they don't have a supportive family? Do they get exemptions and federal cash, or do you simply wish them luck as you kick them out into the street?

What about health care? What do you do if you have a pre-existing condition, or your healthcare carrier drops you because you gained an illness they don't want to pay for? Beyond health insurance for people who are lucky enough to have a job that gives that to them, what about everyone else? What about the guy who just got laid off and can't find a job? What about the guy who has to work multiple part time jobs to feed and shelter his family? Do you expect him to be able to afford health care as well? When the poor go without vaccinations or basic health care, don't you think their children are going to bring those illnesses to school and expose your children?

You say that "we don't need the government to intrude into our families with the fiction that we would not take care of our own responsibilities, according to our own morality, social ethics and reasonably within the context of our own various cultures." So, where do you stand on abortion, drug use, or gay marriage? Is it ok for the government to intrude in those cases?

These items and more make me realize that simply stating that there shouldn't be party politics and uncompetitive seats isn't enough of a reason to throw Stark out of office. Stark is an idiot and I can't stand him, but I don't see the benfit to replacing a disingenuous politician for one party with someone who wants to be a disingenuous politician for the other party...

Newsflash: GOP doesn't give a shit about spending

2010-09-22T17:26:00.000-07:00

From Politico:

To cut spending, Republicans say they are committed to canceling remaining expenditures from the 2009 stimulus law, return domestic appropriations to 2008 levels, impose "hard" budget caps on discretionary spending accounts, reduce spending for congressional operations, have weekly floor votes on winners of the "YouCut" program that allows citizens to vote online for programs that should be slashed, end the Troubled Asset Relief Program, end government control of the secondary home-mortgage lending giants Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae, freeze federal hiring for non-security jobs, sunset programs after a certain number of years, and use more straightforward budgeting for entitlement programs.

That is it? That's the Republican plan for cutting spending? That's a joke.

If you want to cut spending, you need to address the four key expenditures of our tax dollars: Medicare, Medicaid, Social Security, and the Military. Once you start talking about cutting the four of those things, which take up 70% of our expenditures, then I'll know that you are serious about cutting spending.

Until then, it's election year rhetoric which will do nothing for us, and four years later we'll be bitching about the new set of assholes in congress.

Then again, what was I thinking? Why should I assume that they actually meant what they said about cutting spending? It's like I failed politics 101.

Prospectus results!

2010-09-21T08:49:00.000-07:00

Weeding out the results for games that any player disliked, we are left with three potential campaigns: Gamma World, Superheroes, and Northern Crown.

The average ratings were as follows:
2.875 - Superhero
2.625 - Gamma World
2.125 - Northern Crown

Now that the players know what the final three are, we'll talk about what our preferences are and plan for character creation/campaign brainstorming this weekend!

Fourth and final response

2010-09-21T08:48:00.001-07:00

RESPONSE #4
3 - A Touch of Madness (Urban Fantasy)
2.5 - The Covenant (Dark Ages Occult)
2.5 - Gamma World (Post Apocalyptic gaming)
2.5 - Superheroes
2 - Legacy of Fire (Sand, Sword and Sorcery)
2 - Northern Crown (Colonial Fantasy)
2 - The Price of Power (Modern Occult)
1.5 - Free Trader Beowulf (Star Wars)
1.5 - Alone in the Dark (Star Wars)
1.25 - Star Wars w/ Lightsabers
1 - Ultraviolet Paranoia (Conspiratorial Humor)

While wating, here are the results so far

2010-09-20T08:36:00.000-07:00

We have one more response to go, but this appears to be the list of a campaigns still in the running, in order from the highest rated to least.

3.0 Superheroes
2.3 Star Wars w/ Jedi
2.3 Gamma World (Atomic Highway? GW?)
2.2 Northern Crown
2.0 Alone in the Dark (run it as Star Wars w/ Jedi?)
2.0 Free Trader Beowulf (run it as Star Wars w/ Jedi?)

It should be interesting seeing what the fourth player responds with ...

Third response

2010-09-20T08:29:00.000-07:00

The third response from one of the players was tempered by the fact that he knew what the first two results were. (He talked to them...) So, he knew that the Covenant, Price of Power and Ultraviolet Paranoia were rated a one or zero, so he didn't bother voting for them. He also rated A Touch of Madness a zero and Legacy of Fire a one, so we now have five campaigns that are not in the running.

Gamma World and a Superheroes game were the highest rated (both threes), followed by a "high two" Northern Crown, and a two all of the sci-fi games. Looking at the sci-fi options (Star Wars w/ lightsabers, Alone in the Dark, and Freetrader Beowulf), he was of the opinion that they could be refocused as Star Wars campaigns. For example, perhaps the PCs are Jedis sent to a world where the Republic has lost contact with in Alone in the Dark.

Regardless here are his ratings:

RESPONSE #3
3 - Gamma World (Post Apocalyptic gaming)
3 - Superheroes
2.5 - Northern Crown (Colonial Fantasy)
2 - Star Wars w/ Lightsabers
2 - Alone in the Dark (Star Wars)
2 - Free Trader Beowulf (Star Wars)
1 - Legacy of Fire (Sand, Sword and Sorcery)
0 - A Touch of Madness (Urban Fantasy)
x - The Covenant (Dark Ages Occult)
x - The Price of Power (Modern Occult)
x - Ultraviolet Paranoia (Conspiratorial Humor)

First two responses and results

2010-09-18T14:58:00.000-07:00

Still waiting Response #3 & 4, but the first two shed some light as to what won't fly with this group.

RESPONSE #1
2 - Free Trader Beowulf (Frontier Sci Fi)
* - Star Wars w/ Lightsabers
* - Superheroes
* - Gamma World (Post Apocalyptic gaming)
2.5 - A Touch of Madness (Urban Fantasy)
2 - Alone in the Dark (Sci Fi Survival Horror)
2 - Legacy of Fire (Sand, Sword and Sorcery)
2 - The Covenant (Dark Ages Occult)
2 - Northern Crown (Colonial Fantasy)
1 - The Price of Power (Modern Occult)
0 - Ultraviolet Paranoia (Conspiratorial Humor)

* - not initially rated, but suggested. That infers to a me that it scores at least a 3 and might beat out their #1 pick.

RESPONSE #2
4 - A Touch of Madness (Urban Fantasy)
3 - Superheroes
3 - The Price of Power (Modern Occult)
2 - Alone in the Dark (Sci Fi Survival Horror)
2 - Star Wars w/ Lightsabers
2 - Free Trader Beowulf (Frontier Sci Fi)
2 - Legacy of Fire (Sand, Sword and Sorcery)
2 - Northern Crown (Colonial Fantasy)
2 - Gamma World (Post Apocalyptic gaming)
1 - Ultraviolet Paranoia (Conspiratorial Humor)
1 - The Covenant (Dark Ages Occult)

Since I almost always strip out games that anyone rates at a 1 or 0. No sense running a game that nobody likes. That would mean that Ultraviolet Paranoia, The Price of Power, and The Covenant are off the table, and that a superheroes or Changeling: the Lost campaign might be next up...

Additional campaign suggestions

2010-09-18T14:54:00.000-07:00

Three more campaigns were suggested, and were put on the list as well. More Gamma World/Postapocalyptic gaming, Jedi-focused Star Wars (KotOR being my choice), and some form of superhero game would be the list of possibilities.

No established campaign descriptions were written up for them, but it should be relatively self-evident what they are.

Ultraviolet Paranoia (Conspiratorial Humor)

2010-09-18T14:51:00.000-07:00

Ultraviolet Paranoia (Conspiratorial Humor)

"You’re responsible for this disaster, unless you can pin the blame on someone else."

Setting: You are a High Programmer, trusted to administer Alpha Complex and even program The Computer itself. You are not alone. You are part of a committee of High Programmers. Your duties are to solve crises, eliminate traitors and make everyone happy. Happiness is Mandatory. The Computer says so. If people are not happy, this too is your fault and The Computer will use you as reactor shielding. To solve crises, you have lots of flunkies, servants, spies, agents, minions and Troubleshooters. Many of these are Communists, mutants and traitors who cause yet more crises. Once again, this is your fault. Your only chance to survive is blame everything on the other High Programmers. They probably deserve it, anyway.

Characters: PCs are the elite of a high-tech dystopia, and focuses on the political plotting and infighting that dominates their lives.

Game System: Paranoia

The Price of Power (Modern Occult)

2010-09-18T14:49:00.000-07:00

The Price of Power (Modern Occult)

"Don’t tell me what I can’t do."

Setting: Magicians know how to summon spirits, and for a price, bind them to their will. Spirits are wonderfully versatile and ask for so little in exchange. Spirits of greed can give you money, while a wolf spirit can make you into a vicious predator. Spirits you have bound are easier to control, and someone else's bound spirit is harder, but failing to properly bind a spirit correctly can mean that it misinterprets or disobeys your commands, or even worse that it screws things up. In short, you play a person -- a normal person -- who knows how to summon and bind beings from beyond for personal purposes. The question is: can you handle it? Where do you draw the line when you see what other magicians are doing?

Characters: PCs will be ordinary people who have stumbled upon how to summon otherworldly beings and make deals with them. Given how spirits fued with each other, the prices that they ask make other summoners potentially dangerous threats, thus the PCs will find banding together for safety essential to their survival.

Game System: World of Darkness, Unisystem, or GURPS

Northern Crown (Colonial Fantasy)

2010-09-18T14:47:00.001-07:00

Northern Crown (Colonial Fantasy)

"One part exploration, one part planning, one part Civilization"

Setting: The PCs are one of several groups which have gone into the frontier to establish new nations in the Wild Lands. It certainly won’t be an easy task. Before any such settlement can even begin, the bandits and monsters must be dealt with—and once that initial task is done, the danger will only increase. As you struggle to foster a fledgling kingdom, build up its cities, and expand its farmlands, your group is destined to face rival warlords, ferocious beasts, strange cults, invading barbarian hordes, and even the mysterious fey denizens of the exotic Shadow Lands. Can you tame the Wild Lands and forge a lasting settlement amid such opposition? Who will survive to rule your kingdom? Who among you possesses the makings of a king?

Characters: PCs will explore vast wildernesses and settle them, build cities and nations, and even fight wars against opposing kingdoms.

Game System: d20, GURPS, Runequest, or Song of Ice and Fire

Legacy of Fire (Sand, Sword and Sorcery)

2010-09-18T14:44:00.001-07:00

Legacy of Fire (Sand, Sword and Sorcery)

"Welcome to the bazaar of the bizarre, stranger!"

Setting: Katapesh! Land of adventure, excitement, and addiction. The present blurs into the past as ancient ruins and weathered monoliths, once hidden, come to light. Scouring sandstorms whip away the dunes to reveal the planed sides of pyramids. Caravans gone astray on the savannah find the bones of old settlements, their inhabitants gone but their relics left behind. The tokens and trinkets of bygone Katapesh all make their way to the great city of the same name, to find a place among the stalls and shops of the city of trade. There, the battered gold necklace that once hung around the neck of an Osirian pharaoh sits in a tangle next to smooth blocks of pesh, while one of the enigmatic Pactmasters glides by, his madness-inducing visage concealed behind a bizarre mask. Katapesh may be many things: hostile, brutal, dishonest, opportunistic, uncivilized, pious—even beautiful. But it is never dull.

Characters: PCs will be comprised of adventurers who have come to Katapesh for fame, glory and wealth.

Game System: d20, GURPS, or Runequest

Free Trader Beowulf (Frontier Sci Fi)

2010-09-18T14:41:00.000-07:00

Free Trader Beowulf (Frontier Sci Fi)

"Stock your starship, grab your gun, and take to the stars… fortunes don’t come easy!"

Setting: Humanity has gone to the stars and found them crowded with other forms of life and other sentient races, and science and technology have advanced vastly over the present day – but the essential nature of humanity is unchanged, just spread out over the sea of stars. An Imperium unites thousands of diverse and independent star systems under a single rule, but it is beset by enemies both internal and external. The Imperium is strong enough to defend itself from its neighbors, but has little else to enforce order within its territory. Order is the responsibility of local leaders, of which many ` bicker and feud, leaving a feeling of a wild frontier throughout the Imperium. Despite this civilizations on a myriad of worlds endure, and despite piracy, trade continues to flourish. Megacorporations and feudal lords conduct the bulk of this trade, but there will always be a place for the free trader – hardy travellers and adventurers on the fringes of known space, dealing in strange goods and smuggled cargoes, doing whatever they can to make a buck.

Characters: Think Firefly. The PCs form the crew of a free trader merchant vessel, wheeling and dealing with locals, while taking whatever cargos they can get to keep their spacecraft aloft and in one piece.

Game System: Traveller, GURPS, or Unisystem

The Covenant (Dark Ages Occult)

2010-09-18T14:39:00.001-07:00

The Covenant (Dark Ages Occult)

"Only wizards walk unafraid in the revenant-haunted and wolf-infested night."

Setting: It is a world lit by torch-fires and ruled by superstitions, where humanity does not have dominion over every corner of the world. It is a time when medieval folk beliefs and superstitions are correct: lost children are really abducted by Faeries, sickness and crop failure are caused by Demons, Angels help the righteous, and dragons and other mythical creatures exist. Treading in the shadows of the world, consorting with spirits and monsters, these magicians, wield unfathomable magic in a world veiled in mystery.

Characters: PCs will be wizards who have recently completed their apprenticeship and now look to find an unclaimed place of power, establish a sanctuary, and defend it from the darkness.

Game System: Dark Ages: Mage, Ars Magica, or GURPS

A Touch of Madness (Urban Fantasy)

2010-09-18T14:36:00.000-07:00

A Touch of Madness (Urban Fantasy)

"Kidnapped, transformed, and kept as a slave or pet - but you’ve managed to escape… for now. "

Setting: Stolen away from your human life, you spent what seemed like years or even centuries in Arcadia, chattel to beautiful but inhuman lords and ladies. Fed on faerie food and drink, you gradually became more like the fae themselves, your body shifting slightly to reflect your role. You, however, managed to escape. Holding on to your memories of home, you found your way through the winding thorns of the Hedge, the barrier between the mortal world and time-twisted Faerie. You return, however, was all too bittersweet. Some come back 20 years after they’d first vanished, even though it had never seemed that long to them in Faerie. Others who had reached adulthood in Arcadia found that they returned only a few hours after their abduction. And almost all found, horribly enough, that they weren’t missed. Left in the stead of each abducted changeling was a replica, a simulacrum, a thing that looked like him or her — but wasn’t. Now, with inhuman strangers living their lives and nowhere to go, the Lost must find their own way in the world that was stolen from them.

Characters: PCs will be comprised of Changelings who have returned to Earth after being abducted and enslaved by the inhuman fae. PCs will deal with issues of trust, insanity, and the ramifications of other Lost doing whatever it takes to survive and not be drug back to Arcadia… by whatever means necessary.

Game System: Changeling: the Lost

Alone in the Dark (Sci Fi Survival Horror)

2010-09-18T14:34:00.000-07:00

Alone in the Dark (Sci Fi Survival Horror)

"This doesn’t make any sense. Guys? What happened here?"

Setting: All communication has ceased from MR-372, a thriving colony world far on the edge of explored space. There were billions of credits worth of equipment, manpower, and development tied up in MR-372 and not a single corporation or the government was willing to walk away without knowing exactly what happened to their investments and thousands of colonists. When an automated distress signal was suddenly received by Earth's monitoring stations, it became quite obvious that the problems on MR-372 were far more serious than faulty transmitters. Even worse, given the amount of time it takes for messages to travel through the vastness of space, the message was nearly three months old by the time Earth received the distress call. Nobody knows what the crew of the Esperanza will discover when it arrives at MR-372.

Characters: PCs will be comprised of small advanced recon team made up of soldiers and technical experts, given specific instructions to discover what has happened to the colony and alert Earth.

Game System: GURPS or Unisystem

Campaign Prospectus time!

2010-09-18T14:28:00.000-07:00

It's that time again! The Gamma World "Famine in Far-Go" game with Scott, Robin, Mimi and Aaron has come to an end, so now we are trying to figure out what to play next.

So, the following posts will be the individual campaigns I've brought up as suggestions, and below are the rules.

Instructions

The following pages contain capsule descriptions of eight potential campaigns to choose from. Read through them and then follow the instructions below to best illustrate your preferences.

1) Rate each campaign with the appropriate score.

Score Meaning

4 This is great! For God's sakes, I really want to play this!

3 All this being equal, you'd prefer playing this type of game.

2 You would be fine with playing this game.

1 You don't like it, but you'll play if everyone else wants to do it.

0 You refuse to play this. If this game is picked, you won't show up to play.

2) Arrange the campaigns in order of preference.

Order the eight campaigns into a list that (in your opinion) ranks the best to worst. (The game you are most interested would have a one, and the one you are least interested would have an eight.)

I'll also post the ratings of what the players have selected so far.

The Kingmaker Adventure Path So Far...

2010-06-10T19:53:00.000-07:00

Let me start by saying while I have all three of the Kingmaker Adventure Path products that have been released, I don't play Pathfinder/3e/3.5/Fantasy Craft/4e or much d20 at all. I certainly don't own any of the other Paizo Adventure Path modules, nor ran one from a previous issue of Dungeon Magazine. Since I don't use the systems I listed above, the stat blocks in Kingmaker only serve as a benchmark for me to wing it a different system, and only then if the critter actually inspires me to come up with stats for the system I'm using at the time.

Second, I always alter game products to fit my game, and most modules rarely survive contact with my game table without serious modifications. From what I hear, Paizo's Adventure Paths are notorious for being railroads, but I don't have any first hand experience with that.

That said, I was intrigued by the buzz around Kingmaker and I decided to pick it up. So far, I'm quite pleased with it.

The first supplement provides a encounter-infested wilderness environment where your low-level PCs can explore, build contacts, fight bandits and other threats, as well as discover resources for the next stage of the game: building a kingdom. There are notes about the difference between moving through hexes and exploring them, as well as hidden items that wouldn’t be discovered by explorers unless a certain check is made. Honestly, the contents of the first Kingmaker supplement is nothing that I couldn’t have come up with on my own, but it inspires that style of campaign, as well as is filled with ideas to steal. For example, I tossed out the map that came with the Adventure Path and created my own with Hexographer, but I sprinkled the Kingmaker encounters that I liked on my map. My PCs (a gaming buddy, my wife and two young daughters) are puzzling out how best to defeat the Stag Lord and his bandits up in the mountains…

The second supplement more wilderness encounters (which are designed for slightly more powerful characters), as well as rules for running and developing your own kingdom. I really like the rules they presented for building your community. It even has a city map grid and building tokens, where your choices in what type of buildings to construct next has a direct impact on your stability/economy/loyalty checks. Ironically, I’m using REIGN to play Kingmaker, but I have no interest in using the company rules in that book. I like the idea, but frankly it’s far too abstract for my taste. Instead, I’m using the kingdom mechanics in the second Kingmaker supplement. It requires very little tweaking to get it working for the system I’m using, and it isn’t overwhelming or horribly unbalanced like most RPGs that focus on nation building. IMO, these rules alone were well worth the money I spent for the supplement.

The third supplement has even more wilderness encounters, as it adds another map directly to the east of where the first two supplements took place. It’s a mountainous realm, with lots of interesting encounters… but that’s about it. I mean, some of these encounters are somehow linked with their adventure, but honestly, I could care less about the railroad Paizo is creating in this book. A cyclops lich with a magical gem for an eye is interesting as a bad guy in the mountains, and the mystery of why a settlement in this area became a ghost town is fleshed out… but frankly neither of them inspired me. Since the previous two supplements had solid hooks to them (Explore! Build!), the third one just seemed unfocused. Bah. Worse, it looks like the fourth and sixth books are all about the railroad express as well, but at least the fifth one has mass combat rules in it.

For all my negativity about the third supplement (and my doubts about most of the future ones), I’m pretty happy that Kingmaker inspired me to run a third weekly game, but one that involves my daughters (ages 7 & 9). We aren’t using any variation of D&D, but the Kingmakers books did a good job of inspiring me to run a “sandbox game” with my kids that would make an old school grognard proud. ;)

[LOST] You can probably tell that I'm not a Kate fan

2010-05-17T02:58:00.000-07:00

This is definitely not a spoiler. Click to see the photo larger.

LOST Prediction Accuracy ...

2010-05-05T15:08:00.000-07:00

Let's see...

I was wrong about the Swan and Orchid being the sites where Jacob and MIB are buried. I was wrong about what the Whispers are, that Ben was "claimed", Kate's number being significant.

I was wrong that Desmond was married to Penny in the 2004 bizzaro world, but that was based off the fact that he wore a wedding ring in the premiere and didn't in subsequent episodes. (ie, it was a production goof.)

I was wrong about the "the sickness", mainly as everything we've learned about it has been completely contradictory. Russeau's husband, Claire, and Sayid have had different reactions to "the sickness"/"being claimed", and honestly, neither Claire or Sayid's behavior line up with what Dogen said or how Russeau's husband acted.

I was wrong that James Ford would be married to Cassidy and still be Clementine's father, but I was right that he worked for law enforcement as an undercover agent who tracks down people like Anthony Cooper and other con men.

I was wrong that the Dharma Initiative & Hawking were coming back to the island, but I was right that it was Widmore. I guess the Widmore's science bozo's don't count as Dharma Initiative, although they have the same Keystone Cops routine down.

I'm pretty sure that while we don't know why the island sank in the 2004 bizzaro world, the fact that Ethan Goodspeed and Dr. Pierre Chang (who were on the island when the bomb exploded) are still alive validates my theory that Jughead wasn't responsible for the island sinking.

I was right about why Jacob touched some of the main characters, what it means to be a Candidate, who Christian Sheppard is/was, Claire, the Numbers, the Temple, and Desmond becoming aware of both timelines.

Jury is still out on what the smoke monster is, what it takes to kill him, why Desmond is so special, how Sayid came back to life, who Invisible Jungle Ghost Kid is, who Widmore is working for (my money is with MIB), or if #108 Wallace is important. We still don't know who shot at Sawyer, Juliet, Miles, etc. while in the the canoe in Season 5. Nor why pregnant women (and their children) die in childbirth post-1977.

All in all, not bad.

[LOST] My thoughts on the main character deaths...

2010-05-05T14:15:00.000-07:00

Sayid
Yay, Sayid! Unlike most people on the internet, I never stopped liking Sayid because he shot young Ben. I always took that situation to be the classic "would you kill Hitler as a kid" question, so I can sympathise with Sayid's situation. Honestly, Roger really gave Sayid what he deserved, so I didn't have any Sayid-hate in Season 5. If he stayed dead in the Temple, or died during The Incident, I would have been happy. Where Sayid went off the rails for me was after he came back from the dead... yet the actor played the character like a damn zombie. Detached immoral robot = boring, so I was pretty happy when Desmond pierced through his shell and gave Sayid's humanity a chance to assert itself. Considering everything he's done, I though his self sacrifice was a great way to end the character. Thumbs up.

Frank
Sadly, Frank's death was about as long as his lines in each episode. If you weren't watching closely, you missed it entirely. I liked him in Season 4, but he sure got the short end of the acting stick for Seasons 5 & 6. Then again, you can say the same about Miles in Season 6...

Jin
Jin who? Jin hasn't been an exciting character since... ever really. He was interesting in the early seasons when you saw the raw emotions of Jin and Sun's relationship (building, breaking and building back up on the island). I would have been fine with him dying on the frieghter at the end of Season 4, mainly because Season 5 & 6 consisted of nothing but him saying "I won't leave if there is a chance to find Sun!". Flat character, but he had his good moments and a nice death scene.

Sun
The death of Sun is a damn tragedy, IMO. I loved the transformation to the timid/fearful wife of season one to the bad ass woman who takes charge of her destiny. Her transformation began when she stood up and faced down Jin early on, with her confidence building four seasons which peaked at her facing down her own father and Charles Widmore himself. At that point, I was very happy with her character, and was hoping that the death of Jin on the frieghter would make her even more driven and determined. I was happy to see her with a gun ready to kill Ben at the start of Season 5, but unfortunately Ben pulled out Jin's ring and Sun's character unravelled and never recovered. Ever since that moment, she basically did whatever the rest of the group said, punctuating her speech with Jin-isms. "I have to find Jin!" blah blah blah. Four seasons of building strength washed away with two seasons of weakness and confusion. If you needed to manipulate Sun (which even Ilana did), all you had to say is that you knew the way to Jin. That's a damn shame for that character to be wasted.

At least their final scene in the sinking submarine was excellent and was a much better emotional reunion than what we saw last episode. IMO, their reunion wasn't even as dramatic as when she was first reunited with Jin back in Season 2 (the same scene when Bernard and Rose were reunited). Perhaps if the electric fence zapped them there would have been more electricity in that scene. ;)

Ji Yeon
As for Ji Yeon, she joins Aaron and Walt with characters with parental abandonment issues. Hopefully these three are addressed before the shows in, but I'm not holding my breath.

Irrational anger appears as American as apple pie

2010-03-22T07:47:00.000-07:00

The irrational anger from the minority party (like the Dems during Bush or the GOP now) is always stunning to me, as it shows how hypocritical we are as a people. For instance, I have a hard time sympathizing with individuals who believe that the current administration is tyrannical and oppressive, when just a few years ago many of them were fine with the last administration discarding haebeus corpus, centralizing our intelligence agencies, supporting wiretapping on American citizens, and organizing our national security apparatus to a degree never seen before in the past (DHS). If Obama did any of the above, there would be irrational cries of "Communist Tyrant!" on FOX News, just like MSNBC howled "Fascist Tyrant!" when Bush was in office. It's that irrational hypocrisy that makes me concerned for the future of our republic.

Guess who is coming to the island?

2010-03-02T19:58:00.002-08:00

I bet it's the Dharma Initiative, Widmore & Hawking.

We also know that Hawking is in fact running a Dharma station and that Widmore is a zillionaire. I'm willing to bet that after The Incident, Jacob told them to leave the island and do what we've seen during the past 5 seasons.

We know the Dharma Initiative on the island was gassed and killed, but what about the ones back in Ann Arbor? I'm willing to bet there are the hard core Razinsky-types, who won't tolerate dealing with the Hostiles... and there are the Chang-types who are willing to work with zillionaire Widmore and Hawking (who was the leader of the Hostiles at the time). We all know what happened to the Razinksy-types (either gassed or left pushing the button), but I'm willing to bet that the off-island DI was willing to cut a deal with Widmore when he showed up post-purge.

Jacob, Desmond and #108 Wallace

2010-03-02T19:58:00.001-08:00

I'm going out here on a limb, but I'm guessing that Jacob is Desmond's father, as well as the individual listed as "108 Wallace" in the Lighthouse.

In The Subsitute (6x04), we learned that the candidates are here to replace Jacob and that all of the ones written on the cave ceiling have the numbers (4, 8, 15, 16, 23, 42) in front of their name. We also know that the show has always made a big deal about the numbers adding up to 108. (The obvious example being that every 108 minutes the numbers must by typed in and the button pushed.)

We learned in the Lighthouse (6x05) that the name written next to #108 was someone named Wallace. Given the signficance of #108 and what little time there is to introduce a whole new character into the show for us to care about, odds are Mr. Wallace is someone we've already seen. Virtually every character in the story has a first and last name, however Jacob would certainly be a notable exception.

Speaking of Jacob, I wanted to touch on Desmond.

Before Desmond broke off his relationship with Ruth, we don't know anything about his past, beyond that his father "died" when Desmond was young and he spent his time taking care of his brothers rather than going to school. Given that the show has gone to great lengths to show how unique and special Desmond is, I think there is a link between Jacob Wallace and Desmond David Hume.

I believe that the reason Desmond is unique and miraculously special is explained by him being Jacob's son.

Mind you, this is a wild ass guess, baced on Wallace being a scottish name and the lack of info on Desmond's past, but it seems like a reasonable wild ass guess to me. ;)

LOST Thoughts from The Substitute (6x04)

2010-02-17T18:52:00.000-08:00

Hot damn! Without a doubt, The Substitute is easily the best hour of Season 6 so far. Screw Claire, Jack, Kate or the Temple. Give me Locke, Richard and the show's extensive mythology.

Locke's story in the alternative timeline was flawless. The amount of raw emotion pulling our heartstrings was only matched by the intensity of the revelations we were given. Locke is friends with his father? The MIB used to be an ordinary human? The all knowing Richard Alpert is completely clueless as to what is happening? The fact that Ben has no hesitations to conceal his emotions when it comes to murdering Jacob, but simultaneously pours out his regrets when attending Locke's funeral (combined with Frank's comment at the end) was absolutely priceless.

This episode is a 9.5 out of 10. Not quite as tightly organized as The Constant, but it's a worthy successor to Walkabout, Locke's first centric episode.

Now, back to my predictions...

Claimed = In The Smoke Monster's Army

We know that the Temple Others appear aligned against those who are "claimed", so it's a safe bet that being "claimed" means you are effectively recruited into MIB's side. Odds are Claire was claimed after MIB (in the guise of Christian Sheppard) led her away from Aaron and into the cabin. She's definately not on Jacob's list anymore, as the cliffside cave ceiling showed "313 Littleton" crossed out. While a number of fans are speculating this references Aaron, but in my book, it's Claire. Just like how we've endlessly speculated about Walt's "specialness", I don't think Aaron is going to have nearly as crucial of a role in this show as some people theorize. IMO, the key players in the end are going to be the folks they've been showing us week after week.

This isn't Jacob's handwriting on the wall

Speaking of the cave ceiling, I don't believe MIB when he said that Jacob wrote the names on the ceiling. The cave doesn't strike me as Jacob's, but rather MIB's. Jacob has his home-under-the-statue/foot, so odds are this is MIB's home away from home. If that's the case, odds are this is MIB's hit list. He has been writing down the names of Jacob's candidates, and then has been systematically having them killed (such as telling Locke that he needed to die) or "claimed" (as in the case of Claire & Sayid).

I've said it before, "The Candidates" will replace Jacob and the MIB

My theory that the "Candidates" are Jacob's replacements just got a big credibilty boost. Biggest issue with it is that it was revealed by the MIB (who is a master manipulator), but the best lies are often couched in truths... Additionally, MIB also revealed that he used to be an ordinary human before becoming what he is today. It should be interesting when Frank asks Ilana what the hell Bram meant about him being a candidate. Given the flashbacks with Jacob, I seriously doubt that Frank is a candidate, but he doesn't know that. More importantly, this is LOST, so nobody ever asks a logical follup question.

Invisible Jungle Ghost Kid is Jacob

The only two who appear to know what the rules are seem to be Jacob and MIB, so my money is that invisible jungle ghost kid is a manifestation of Jacob. The invisible jungle ghost kid clearly said "You know the rules, you can’t kill him." This seems to be a reference to killing Jacob, however it could very well be about Sawyer (and all other Candidates).

Kate's Number Is Significant

Given that Kate is a canidadate, I'd be surprised if her name and number wasn't on the ceiling. The fact that they didn't mention it makes me think that to reveal her number would have clued us into something the writers want under wraps. If her number was 12, we'd be celebrating that she'd isn't special enough to get one of the show's magic numbers (and give us hope she might get killed off before the end). If it was 108 or 815, we'd be howling with rage that one of the most annoying cast members has such a significant number attached to her.

Richard lost his training wheels and only has his faith in Jacob's instructions to sustain him

Richard doesn't know a damn thing about the inner details of the conflict between Jacob and MIB. He knows a lot about the island and the Others, but honestly, the Others seem mostly in the dark about the mythology of the show half the time. He clearly has a previous history with MIB, which undoubtably will be covered in detail. It's apparently enough to convince him that he shouldn't abandon Jacob's instructions, and is staying as far away from MIB as he can. The scene showing Richard and Sawyer talking was priceless, as Richard was completely terrified of his current circumstances. (After all, his life has just gone to hell after being pretty stable for centuries...)

Final thoughts.... I had no idea that the fortune teller that Hurley's dad took him too was in the episode until someone pointed it out to me. She was the employment councillor in the Alternate Timeline that asked John what sort of animal he would be. The fact that the writers are focusing on details like having obscure characters show up in the alternate universe makes me feel more confident that they actually have a coherent plan as to how this will end.

Speaking of obsure characters, when Locke rolled into the teacher's lounge, the woman in the foreground looked a lot like Harper (Goodwin's wife). Nobody has mentioned it, so odds are it isn't. Still, a boy can dream.

Anyway, it was an excellent episode that reminds me why I watch this show in the first place. I can only cross my fingers and pray that the rest of the season is this fantastic!

The Others can't be trusted. News at 11.

2010-02-10T13:49:00.000-08:00

I'm amazed that people are complaining about how the Others are acting in Season 6. Hello? Did you watch Seasons 2 and 3? Don't you remember how The Others in those seasons constantly attacked and betrayed the survivors while *always* saying that they were the good guys or that the survivors needed to trust them?

The big difference between Season 3 and 6 is that the survivors (like Jack) aren't putting up with the bullshit by the Others this season. When they wanted Sayid to go with them privately, Jack put up a fight after the Others wouldn't answer his questions. Same with the pill. Saying, "Trust us" isn't enough to get Jack to hand an unknown pill to Sayid.

Back in Season 3, Jack & crew would whine about the others and sit there and accept it when the Others got angry. Take Danny Pickett for example. He got pissed off because Sun shot his wife, yet at no point did Jack or any of the survivors say, "Gee, I guess you shouldn't have attacked us, then. I mean, what do you expect when you attack us? Isn't that exactly how you react to us? Turnabout seems like fair play to me."

If Jack (or Sawyer... or Kate) said that back on Hydra Island, I'd have liked the first half of Season 3 so much better...

LOST Theory - Ben is Claimed

2010-02-10T10:01:00.001-08:00

It makes so much sense now. The reason why the sweet little Young Ben became the sociopath we know and love today is because Richard took him to the Temple to be "Claimed".

Ben didn't get the spring healing treatment from Richard in 1977, but rather was infected with the sickness and turned into what he is today.

Being "Claimed" seems to have the same issue that Richard mentioned would happen to Ben: Ben would lose his innocence, never be the same again, forget the whole event, and "always be one of us".

That's my theory, and I expect to be proven dead wrong next episode.

LOST Thoughts from What Kate Did (6x03)

2010-02-10T02:05:00.000-08:00

I hate Kate, and even though it was a Kate-centric episode, I loved it. New answers about the mythology were injected into the story (the sickness), the characters were 100% believable, a few actors pulled off some amazing scenes (Sawyer in this case), and Kate didn't make me want to kill her during every scene she was in. Heck, I even liked this episode better than the premiere.

Specific comments:

Damn, Josh Holloway has risen to the status of one of the best actors this entire season. (Welcome to the club that Terry O'Quinn and Michael Emerson have dominated all this time.) His performance as Sawyer has been simply amazing in both the premiere and this episode. The scene where he blames himself for Juliet's death and throws the ring into the water was probably the best scene I've ever seen the guy do. Simply amazing.

My guess is that being claimed is the same as what Rousseau described as catching "the sickness". Remember how her husband tried to kill her after having gone under the Temple? I'm willing to bet it's the same thing, and the outstanding question is how Claire became one of the claimed/sick.

I'd like to say that Ethan existing in the 2004 bizzaro world is evidence of the nuke not killing everyone, but it could have been that Amy and infant Ethan left via the sub when Chang evacuated the island. Presumably if that happened, Ethan is somehow called back to the island as a teenager, as seen in Ben's flashbacks.

I'm definitely looking forward to next episode. If a Kate episode was good, you know the next one is going to be great!

More LOST predictions!

2010-02-09T17:17:00.000-08:00

I already blew my prediction about the Whispers and most likely my answer about Smokey is dead wrong.

Let's try more predictions before the third hour of Season 6 starts tonight...

Jughead sinking the island
While detonating Jughead set off the chain of events that resulted in the island being submerged, I don't think that happened immediately after the bomb exploded. Detonating Jughead probably set off a chain of events that triggered whatever sunk the island. The best way to confirm that would be seeing an Other or a Dharma person in the 2004 bizzaro world, and I'm optimistic that we'll see Ben in bizzaro world. He's too popular a character to not have an even more convoluted backstory. :) Of course, that just my ten cents and if my track record is correct, I'll be proven wrong during the next episode. ;)

Sayid
At this point, anything is possible why my favorite torturer is back from the dead. Presumably the healing waters did it, but the dirty water means there are "complications". Who knows? My only guess is that Alpert's line in 1977 about losing one's innocence, not remembering, etc. will apply to Sayid.

Penny
Since I believe that Widmore & crew left the island before it was submerged, I think Penny is alive... and hopefully married to Desmond, given that he wore a wedding ring on flight 815 in the 2004 bizzaro world.

Desmond
I think his "uniqueness" means that he'll become aware of the different timelines, perhaps by waking up in 2007 and realizing that the 2004 bizzaro world exists... just like what happened in Season 5. While he is only a guest star this season and not a regular, he'll probably be in the background while the character drama/soap opera of the main characters play out, and then he'll Suddenly-Appear-to-Mention-the-Important-Plot-Device, and then die or receed into the background. You know, just like Daniel did in Season 5.

I also think Desmond will physically flash between both timelines, so one moment he is on the plane in bizzaro world, and the next he's physically in 2007, and then he flashes back to bizzaro world...

Cassidy & Clementine
Wouldn't it be surreal if bizzaro James Ford is actually living with Cassidy & Clementine in a normal life, but working for law enforcement as an undercover agent who tracks down people like Anthony Cooper and other con men? Given Juliet's line about going for coffee, odds are against it.

Pre-Season 6 Predictions regarding LOST

2010-02-01T16:16:00.000-08:00

As of right now, there is just under 29 hours until the Season 6 premiere of Lost, probably the best television show I've ever seen. If you don't know, the name of the show doesn't refer to the characters being physically lost, but the viewer being lost in trying to decipher the narrative. In theory, the conclusion of the final season will either provide a extremely satisfying conclusion (similar to how Battlestar Galactica ended), or it will rapidly collapse after being revealed to be a shifting house of cards (like how the X-Files ended). If this show goes the X-Files route, IMO, it will be the single biggest dissapointment in TV history. I'm optimistic that they are aiming for a great ending, but it ain't over until it's over.

That said, given that their advertising campaign is swearing up and down that (in a booming voice) "answers will be revealed!", I assume that the major questions that have arisen from the Jungle of Mystery will be addressed in Season 6. Half of fun of the show is the cerebral exercise of trying to figure out what the hell is going on, so while I also expect answers to things like, "Who shot at Sawyer, Juliet, Miles, etc. while in the the canoe in Season 5", but I'm really interested in the answers that tie directly into the mythology of the show. The numbers, smoke monster, why Desmonds is so special, etc.

As such, I figured it would be a good idea to post my guesses regarding what is happening on the show. Odds are, I'll be proven wrong in just 29 hours...

Question: What's the connection between the Swan and Orchid sites? Why do they have massive pockets of electromagnetic energy, and why are they linked
My Theory: That's where Jacob and the MIB are buried. They are already dead, and they simply manifest as various ghosts. (Somehow I doubt there is a charred corpse for Jacob in the fireplace, or that the campfire was an instant-cremation device.)

Question: Why was it so difficult for the MIB to kill Jacob?
My Theory: Jacob and the MIB can only die (or in this case, "cease being ghosts") under certain specific circumstances. MIB managed to fufill Jacob's requirement (to be murdered by a leader of the Others). The main characters will end up killing the MIB in Season 6.

Question: What the the Whispers?
My Theory: It's heard whenever Jacob and the MIB are nearby and before they manifest.

Question: Why did Jacob touch a handful of 815 survivors (John, Jack, Kate, Sawyer, Hurley, Sayid, Jin, Sun)?
My Theory: Everyone Jacob touched is a "candidate", which will ultimately take Jacob's place as the leader of the others and spiritual master of the Island.

Question: What the heck are "candidates" for?
My Theory: I think that the island always needs a guardian and a rival, and since Jacob's 'reign' ended in 2007, the MIB's will end by the time the season ends. Both of them will ultimately be replaced by one of the main cast. (Locke or Jack to fill Jacob's shoes; and Ben or Sawyer to fill MIB's shoes.)

Question: Who is Christian Sheppard?
My Theory: Beyond Jack's dead father? The guy walking around looking like Christian is a manifestation of either Jacob or MIB. Most likely the MIB.

Question: What is the Smoke Monster
My Theory: The monster is someone who screwed up his chance for redemption a long time ago. Just as Jacob made Richard ageless, he made the other guy the Smoke Monster. His job is to be the defense mechanism for the island, protecting the Temple, judging those who might be worthy, and obeying Jacob. Like my theory on Jacob and MIB, I believe this person will be released from service and then replaced by one of the main cast. (My guess is Ben Linus or Sayid.)

Question: What is the Temple?
My Theory: It's the only spot on the island which is not only safe, but purposfully beyond the reach of Jacob and the MIB. They agreed that those in the Temple were not to be used as tools in their conflict against each other, so that's why the innocent (Cindy, Zack and Emma, etc.) were kidnapped and taken there, rather than enduring the rampaging Smoke Monster and the machinations of the other denizens of the island. When Jacob dies, the agreement between him and the MIB regarding the Temple ceases to exist, and thus everyone in the Temple is in danger from the MIB in Season 6.

Question: What is going on with pregnant women post-1977?
My Theory: I don't think it was caused by the destruction of the statue, given how it wasn't around in the 70's. I believe the problem regarding delivering children on the island started after The Incident (after both the Swan and Orchid released a huge amount of electromagnetic energy). The events of the Incident triggered something, most likely angering the MIB enough to have him cause the problem in the first place. He doesn't like people on the island, so why not prevent children being born? Perhaps he damaged a sacred spot of Tawret's that requires the main cast to either restore this place, or perhaps "killing" the MIB will restore the natural order. Regardless, the main cast will do something during Season 6 to allow children to be born on the island again.

Question: What happened to Claire?
My Theory: When Ben turned the wheel and the main cast started jumping through time, she didn't. She found herself alone on the island, and living a life almost identical to Russeau for over three years (2004-2007). The rest of the main cast will find her living in the jungle, as hard-core as Russeau was. As an added bonus, she'll blame them for taking Aaron and leaving her. With luck, Kate will step in a bear trap that Claire set.

Question: What the heck are the Numbers?
My Theory: I don't expect a clear answer on this. What we know is that those who are exposed to the numbers and do not or cannot reach the island (like Leonard Sims) are slowly driven crazy. Those who deliberately use the numbers (like Hurley or Sam Toomey) are plagued with bad luck until they either make it to the island or are driven insane. My guess is that if Sam Toomey had gotten on a boat or plane after using the numbers, he would have ended up on the island. Regardless, we know that the numbers are mentally corrosive and has driven numerous people who are exposed to them nearly went crazy (Hurley and Desmond), over-the-deep-end crazy (Leonard Sims), or suicidal (Radzinski, Sam Toomey).

As for why the numbers are in the show (beyond a neat coincidence), is that they are most likely linked to however Jacob summons people to the island. I imagine there will be a structure on the island with the numbers on them, most likely under the Temple, guarded by the Smoke Monster.

Question: Why is Desmond uniquely and miraculously special?
My Theory: Desmond is the key to the entire show happening, as 815 would have never crashed without him failing to press the button, however he is special for reasons beyond just this event. Desmond is uniquely and miraculously special in regards to time travel, because he turned the fail-safe key and was exposed to the massive discharge of electromagnetic energy under the Swan.

This blast of electromagnetic energy changed his relationship to time, allowing him to not only experience precognatitive flashes (such as Charlie's death or of Locke's speech), but to twice project backwards in time (once after he turned the key, and the other when Lapidus couldn't exactly follow the course Faraday gave him.) He also appears to be the only time-traveller who has successfully found his Constant. Desmond alone appears to have survived the process of time travel without serious side-effects, unlike Faraday, Theresa, Minkowski, Brandon (the guy on the raft with Minkowski) and the cast of main characters who were left behind on the island as it skipped throughout time in Season 5.

In fact, turning the fail-safe key appears to be the defining moment of his life. Due to this one event, the island has influenced his destiny (before and after turning the key), similar to how the Island prevented Michael from killing himself off the island. The Island (which is virtually the same thing as saying "destiny") insured that he had the desire to sail across the ocean (to get his honor back from Widmore), to obtain a boat (miraculously given to him by Libby), to crash on the island and push the buttom (in order to learn about the failsafe), to cause the Oceanic 815 to crash on the island by causing the system failure, was unable to escape the island even after he got his boat back, and ultimately was shown the printout from the Pearl Station to convince him of the need to throw the failsafe key.

Similarly, I expect Seasion 6 to involve an alternate timeline, where the button was never needed, and Desmond never crashed on the island and Oceanic 815 safely landed in LAX. When this alternate timeline occurs, I expect Desmond to be the only person aware that the timeline is different. Unaware of

The lives of the rest of the main characters (Jack, Kate, Sawyer, etc.) will be much like their lives in Season 4, a complete wreck for having not gone to the island. I expect them to encounter something (Jacob? Desmond?) that allows them to witness how much their lives have fallen apart and then are presented the choice to correct the timeline to it's proper course.

So, Desmond is special because his unique experiences in time travel mean that he is the only one who can allow the 815 passengers the choice to reset the timeline to it's proper course.

Other than that, I'd like to know what the backstory is with the Black Rock, Richard Alpert, why Walt is special, or why Miles talk to dead people. I expect answers about Richard Alpert (and lord knows what they are), and most likely we'll learn about the Black Rock, but I'm not holding my breath about the rest. I'd love to know why Walt was special or the reason for Miles' ghost whisperer powers, but just like trying to figure out where all these Dharma stations get their electricity, I don't expect any answers in that department.

Anyway, the episode will be released soon enough, and the season will come to an end after nineteen hours of new material comes to a conclusion. We shall see exactly how wrong I am. Given my previous track record, I'm probably going to be proven wrong after the first ten minutes. ;)

Sweet sweet hypocrisy

2010-01-08T21:31:00.000-08:00

No one has been less forgiving than Glenn Beck when it comes to Democrats with tax problems. Not just the well-known ones like Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner but also less serious ones such as Labor Secretary Hilda Solis, whose husband only recently paid off $6,400 in tax liens on his auto repair business, and Nancy Killefer, who withdrew her nomination to be White House chief performance officer, citing a $946.69 tax lien on her Washington home.

Their tax issues are just one indicator of “a culture of corruption among some of the left,” Beck declared just last month in a segment on his hugely popular Fox News television show, in which he branded Geithner, Killefer, Solis and a handful of other Obama nominees “tax cheats,” whom he wouldn’t trust “with my children, let alone my children's future.”

....

So what to make, then, of the fact that Beck has had his own minor tax problems over the past few years?

....

“What I think would be helpful for everyone is to have is a much bigger dose of sympathy for how complicated it is to comply with the tax laws”

Bwahahahaha! What a joke.

My congressman won't pee on my leg

2009-09-15T11:51:00.000-07:00

I love hearing my congressman in the media, because he invariably sticks his foot in his mouth. That said, if you insult someone by telling them not to pee on your leg, you have no right to complain when you get a response like this in return. Such are the joys of our national circus we call politics.

(CNN) — Rep. Barney Frank, D-Massachusetts, raised eyebrows last month when he told a constituent at a raucous health care town hall event, "Trying to have a conversation with you would be like arguing with a dining room table."

Now Rep. Pete Stark, D-California, is involved in a similar instant YouTube classic, telling a town-hall participant over the weekend that he wouldn't "waste the urine" to pee on the man's leg.
First reported by the San Francisco Chronicle and confirmed by a YouTube clip of the event, the longtime congressman made the remark after the participant launched into a long, but calm, litany about government inefficiency when it comes to nation's health care system. The man concluded his remarks with warning Stark not to "pee on my leg and tell me it's raining."

As the audience cheered, a calm Stark responded: "Well, I wouldn't dignify you by peeing on your leg. It wouldn't be worth wasting the urine."

There was a mixture of laughter and boos as Stark motioned for the next question.

Czar Wars

2009-09-08T13:16:00.000-07:00

Pundits use the title "czar" for high-level executive branch officials who direct or oversee activities on a given topic or who coordinate policies between different departments on a given topic. The drug czar heads the Office of National Drug Control Policy, the cyber-security czar is the highest-ranking Department of Homeland Security official on computer security and information security policy, etc. The title is also used for specialized advisors to the President, such as the counter-terrorism czar, who (you can probably guess) advises the President on terrorism policy.

Glen Beck, Fox News, and other conservative pundits are making a big protest over how Obama has thirty two of these czars that advise him. The big furor apparently revolves around the fact that czar's aren't approved and answerable to congress, unlike Cabinet positions. Secretary of Defense, State, Homeland Security, etc. So Obama is apparently surrounded himself with unelected and "unaccountable" advisors, and somehow this is some reason Americans should be worried about socialism, bloated government bureaucracy, blah, blah, blah.

Ignoring the chatter of pundits like Beck and focusing on the facts shows that Obama has 31 Czar's in his administration. That's definately more than virtually every administration before him. Czar's have been around since the 40's, but ignoring the ones created during World War Two, there are only typically about one or two of them per administration. To put it in perspective, Reagan had one, Bush Sr. had two, Clinton had six, and George W. Bush had 35 czars. So Obama having 31 is a huge problem for conservatives, yet strangely enough they didn't have any problem with the practice back when George W. Bush was in office. Now that a Democrat is in office, it's ok to attack the President for surrounding himself with "unaccountable" advisors.

There is an argument to be made against the practice, but it's hard to take conservatives seriously when they didn't register a single protest until a Democrat became president. If history is any indication, the righteous indignation of convservatives to take a moral stance against big government always seems to evaporate when a Republican is in office. It's pretty clear that (like health care) conservative pundits aren't serious in debating the issue, as they simply automatically attack the President on any subject with the underlying reasons being that Obama has the audacity to be a Democrat.

In short, nothing has changed for the Party of No.

"If Hitler were alive today, he would be a talk show host"

2009-08-11T12:26:00.000-07:00

What a brilliant quote from this Politico article.

I like listening to talk radio because it reminds me of how insane people can get, but I've always took comfort in the fact that it was simply a platform for the fringe and not a serious reflection of the American "mainstream". That said, hearing more and more of the same vitrol reported as factual news during the past two years has been disturbing, but the signal-to-noise ratio has gone completely off the top lately. I mean, I'm getting emails from people comparing Obama to Joseph Stalin, for Christ's sake. It always drove me nuts when my liberal friends called Bush a fascist, as there was so many more valid reasons to dislike Bush than making up crap about him wanting to just bomb brown people and make America a totalitarian state.

IMO, Sarah Palin, Glenn Beck, Keith Obermann, Lou Dobbs, Rush Limbaugh, Ed Shultz, Bill O'Reilly, and pretty much any cable news channel should be labeled as propoganda and treated as the faux-infotainment that it is. Alas, news and talk shows are driven my advertising dollars and not ideology, because if people wouldn't tune in if they didn't like it. Clearly, the public loves hysteria-generated news...

Save $7 billion a month with health care

2009-07-02T09:52:00.000-07:00

Just read this at CNN

WASHINGTON (CNN) – A health-care reform bill that includes a public insurance plan and requires employers to cover workers would cost $611 billion over 10 years, far less than previous estimates, according to a new analysis from Congress.

...

"The completed bill virtually eliminates the dropping of currently covered employees from employer-sponsored health plans," Sens. Edward Kennedy and Chris Dodd said in a letter to members of the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee, one of two panels working on the legislation.

"In addition, our bill, combined with the work being done by our colleagues in the Finance Committee, will dramatically reduce the number of uninsured — fully 97 percent of Americans will have coverage, a major achievement," they wrote.

So, this plan is effectively $61 billion dollars a year, which is just over $5 billion per month. We spent $12 billion dollars a month in Iraq in 2008, I'd say that pulling that money out of Iraq and investing it into this health care plan would save us $7 billion a month. Not bad.

Character Illustration

2009-06-11T17:54:00.000-07:00

(click on the image for the larger version)

Tai is my character for Paul's Kindred of the East campaign. I was fooling around in Photoshop and Illustrator and churned this out. Nothing amazing, but fun to make. ;)

Insightful Republican commentary on Sotomayor

2009-05-28T07:01:00.001-07:00

In the war of rhetoric being spewed about Obama's Supreme Court pick, I thought this Republican commentary was fairly insightful:

Those who have not been able to lay a glove on President Obama, with his 60 percent-plus approval ratings, now think they can define him by smearing Sotomayor.

For a political party that lost an election just six months ago by 9½ million votes, the second largest vote margin of defeat ever for a Republican presidential candidate, you would think we would shut our mouths and figure out how to get more votes in the future.
...
Let me state that I am sure Sotomayor and I don't agree on very much. And I am sure some of her liberal rulings will drive me nuts. But President Obama won, is a liberal and gets to put liberals on the court. That's the way it works. Ideology aside, is she qualified?

There can be no debate over her qualifications. Her lifetime achievements in the academic world, in the legal world and the judicial world are unchallengeable. If that was the only measure, she would be confirmed unanimously.
...

The confirmation of Sonia Sotomayor is not the battle to be waged and it won't be won. No one should be brutalized like Judge Robert Bork was in the 1980s. And no one should be rubber-stamped either.Sotomayor is not deserving to be on the Supreme Court because she is Puerto Rican or a woman. She has been appointed by the president because she is extremely well-qualified. Judge those qualifications fairly and without malice. To do less will antagonize Hispanic and female voters, two voter groups Republicans must do better with to have any chance of electoral success.
...
Republicans are in a position where we are the underdogs. Unfortunately, no one is cheering for us to win. These nationally televised hearings may be an opportunity for Republican senators to take a step in the right direction. Don't treat her like a lady. Treat her like an extremely qualified American who the president chose to elevate to the nation's highest court.

Great quote about Game Mastering from Dreaming Cities

2009-05-05T23:37:00.001-07:00

If you want your players to think you are the best Game Master in the world, you only have one option: cheat, and cheat often. Never make a single dice roll without thinking to yourself, “Hmmm ... if I cheat and change the result of this roll, will I make it a better game?” In the games of Game Mastering and roleplaying, there are no rules about “being fair,” “sticking to the dice roll,” or “being honest with the players.” There is only one rule: make your game the best it can be. As Einstein once said, “Gott würfelt nicht (God does not play dice),” and neither should you. Dice are only a tool to suggest how you should make up your mind. You make the decisions, not the dice.
-- BESM Dreaming Cities, page 115

200th post spent complaining about the GOP. What else is new?

2009-05-02T11:51:00.000-07:00

Since I'm no fan of one party rule (even my own), I keep hoping the GOP will pull themselves back from irrelevancy. The problem is they keep coming up with more public relations schemes rather than addressing the fundamental issues facing the country and their party. If they can't address those, then the only way they will get back into power is that they become as bad as the Republicans became under Bush. I don't want another failed administration in charge of my nation, so I'm hoping the Republicans will regain their focus and present coherent ideas

Unfortunately, the National Council for a New America initiative is their latest attempt at PR spin.

You would think that Republicans don't need more PR spin, but rather they need ideas that resonate with the voters, but apparently it's simply easier to ignore the fact that they doubled the national debt from $5B under Clinton to $10B under Bush, and now they are full of righteous indignation that Obama has take it to $12B. Their credibility on this issue is slim to non-existant, but they do have a legitmate concern regarding increased debt. Of course, the only solution they mention is "smaller government", but the National Council for a New America certainly doesn't give us anything other than slogans about what "smaller government" really looks like.

For instance, if you are for smaller government, then tell us exactly what you plan on cutting. Talking about earmark reform or pork (which accounts for a sliver of a fraction of the overall budget) isn't an answer. Just how exactly do you plan on cutting back the major expenditures in the Federal budget, such as Medicare & Medicaid (23% of budget), Social Security (21% of budget), or Defense (21% of budget)? Apparently cutting the amount the defense budget increases from 15% to 4% is apparently too draconian for the Republicans. How do you plan on convincing the elderly or poor that they should vote for you after slashing Social Security, Medicare & Medicaid?

Until you can convince the American people that they need to receive drastically less services from the federal government (ie, the "you are on your own" theory of government), then you have to face the reality that these programs aren't vanishing.

I mean, why do you think McCain kept talking about earmarks during the '08 campaign, rather than talking about a coherant vision for what a smaller government would really look like for the millions of citizens in this country.

The reality of it is that GOPs vision of smaller government isn't any different than the Democrats. The real difference is where they spend the money... which is to whatever pleases their constituents.

Hence, the song remains the same and the Republicans continue cementing themselves into minority status.

Lost about The Variable

2009-04-30T15:14:00.000-07:00

While it wasn't in the same ballpark as The Constant, The Variable is a darn good episode and delivers exactly what we expect from Lost. Four out of five stars.

IMO, the episode did what this show does best: it used flashbacks to not only answer and create the mysteries surrounding the plot, but the episode fleshed out the history of the characters and makes them even more compelling to watch. While I had some issues as to what happened outside of the flashbacks (the 1977 island scenes), the strength of how they presented Faraday’s character and how that propelled the overall story eclipsed most of the problems I had with the story.

Ok. That’s the praise. Here are the criticisms.

The "Daniel Faraday comes clean regarding what he knows about the island" description of the episode was certainly disingenuous. While we certainly learned more about Faraday, he certainly didn't "come clean" with what he knows with the other survivors. He told Jack that he doesn't belong, that he needed the bomb to stop The Incident, and that he believes that people can change the past. That's pretty slim pickings when it comes to what he knows about the island.

What Faraday did on the island in 1977 was to planting a seed of doubt in Jack regarding his destiny, telling Dr. Chang to evacuate the entire island (with presumably their one submarine), and then told Jack and Kate that using the hydrogen bomb would change the future.

As to the first item (talking to Jack about destiny), that felt like an incredibly forced scene to me. I could almost see the hands of the writers steering characters this way and that. Faraday shows up on the island, runs to Jack's house, quickly states that Jack doesn't belong, and then runs out without any further explanation to the Orchid station. Not only doesn't it make a lick of sense, but it was blatantly obvious to be forced scene by the writers to dribble out information. Another great example of this is Hurley having absolutely no idea about the Sawyer & crew being in 1954. After everything the survivors have been through, it seems insane to think that they haven't at least told each other the basics of what happened since they last saw each other. I absolutely hate it when characters in Lost act stupid in order to perpetuate on-screen drama, as it reminds me of the annoying bits of Season 3 (like the Others being upset that the survivors don’t trust them) instead of the far more believable scenes of Seasons 1 & 4.

As to the second item, while the photo of Jack, Hurley and Kate brings Faraday back to the island, what prompted Faraday to suddenly run to the Orchid Station? How does he know that the energy under the Swan and Orchid station was going critical before he eavesdrops on Dr. Chang and the construction foreman? In his conversation with Miles after Dr. Chang leaves, it’s clear that Faraday knows that some of the Dharma folks (like Miles and his mother) will be evacuated. How he learned it is a mystery, and again, Faraday certainly didn’t say anything to give us a clue about it.

The third item, Faraday’s variable theory of time-travel and using Jughead to change history, came totally out of left field. After watching the concept of "what happened, happened" being hammered into our heads for at least an entire season, I was fairly surprised to see Faraday-the-Time-Travel-Expert suddenly claim that free will supersedes destiny. The writers are clearly setting up Faraday’s plan with Jughead and the Swan to be the center point of season finale, and the kick off for whatever twist carries us into the final season. While I’m fine with that, I’m completely at a loss to figure out why Faraday suddenly believes that free will trumps destiny. Everything we’ve seen has shown us otherwise, and frankly Faraday’s death and his mother’s foreknowledge doesn’t give me a lot of faith that he is barking up the right tree.

Erasing the history of the previous five seasons sounds like a really dubious place for the show to go, but that’s exactly what Faraday is proposing. It’s dangerously close to the “Then They Woke Up” method of storytelling, and hopefully it’s just a plot device to motivate Jack. Right now, I am assuming that Jack will use Jughead to create/stop/deal with The Incident and the results will be what has always happened, and thus history will not be erased. Unfortunately, that would mean that time travel expert’s variable theory is wrong, and so Faraday would essentially die for no logical reason, except to provide a plot point.

Pretty crappy options, if you ask me.

As for other items…

Dr. Chang’s research is classified, but he’ll tell the construction foreman that they are trying to manipulate time?

Those submarines are fast. It’s only been a couple days since the new Dharma recruits were dropped off, so a copy of the photo of the new recruits must have been sent back with the sub, and Faraday and the Swan crew in Michigan immediately came back to the island. Perhaps the island is in the Atlantic now? ;)

Desmond doesn’t own bulletproof groceries, and he beat the crap out of Ben after being shot. This guy is still my favorite character on the show. Pity he gets hardly any screen time in Season 5…

Speaking of lack of screen time, Jin is sliding into irrelevance. Beyond his scenes with Russeau in the 80s, and running around the Flame Station for an episode looking for Sun, he’s pretty much been a glorified extra in Season 5. His contribution to this episode is saying that he won’t leave without Sun during the meeting, and then he vanishes into obscurity again.

Penny’s mother isn’t Eloise Hawking, since we know that Widmore was banished from the island after having a kid with an outsider. Since Hawking is an Other, clearly Penny’s unknown mom is that outsider.

Why did Widmore need to sacrifice his relationship with his daughter, and why did he bring it up? Hawking’s real sacrifice of her son makes Widmore’s line seem even more pathetic, and the slap he received that much more deserved. From the cunning mastermind and ex-leader of the Others, that was a boneheaded line from Widmore.

Faraday experimented on himself (and then Theresa) after Desmond’s visit during The Constant. Theresa becomes catatonic and Faraday loses his memory. The only explanation I have for why Faraday’s notebook is filled with Dharma notes (like the Orchid symbol) is that he became mentally unstuck in time during the experiment. He lost his memory, but periods of lucidity allowed him to jot down fragments of what he learned, thus filling the notebook with valuable, but enigmatic, information. I thought that might be why Faraday knows about what is happening with the Swan and Orchid stations, but he’s dead by the time The Incident occurs. How would it explain how he knows that there is only six hours until something catastrophic happens to the Swan, or that some of the Dharma folks (like Miles and his mom) will escape the island? Unless his time travel experiment was even stranger that previously assumed, Faraday never experiences any of this first hand.

Ok. Enough nitpicking. Despite all of the above, just like with Charlie’s death, Faraday’s death sets up Jack & crew to really shine in the final few hours of the season.

The preview for Follow The Leader looks amazing, and I’m sure that combined with the Incident, I’m going to be a very happy camper.

I can’t wait until next week!

A poll to talk about over tea

2009-04-15T15:22:00.000-07:00

I just saw this on CNN:

A national Gallup poll conducted last week finds that 48 percent of Americans say the amount of federal income taxes they pay is about right. That's two points higher than the forty-six percent of those questioned who felt that the taxes they pay were too high. It's also the most positive assessment on taxes that Gallup's measured in six years.

"Most of the movement in the Gallup poll came among people who make less than $75,000 a year," says CNN Polling Director Keating Holland. "A majority of people in that category say their taxes are not too high, and they are the ones that the Obama administration has been targeting with their tax policy and their message on taxes. Maybe that message is being heard."

When I'm reading about the astro-turf tea party protests, I can't help laughing when I read stuff like this. Then again, I can't get worked up about the right being outraged over Obama over-spending, considering that the same people were cheerleading the Republican party for eight years of big government excess and spending.

I mean really, what's different? Oh yeah! Their party isn't in power anymore, so I guess it's ok to start screaming about small government again. *snort* Such hipocrates...

From Spin to Reality

2009-04-11T14:18:00.000-07:00

After all the fire and brimestone regarding Jindal, Sanford and Palin refusing to accept any stimulus money, guess who caved and asked for money from the feds? I just read this in Politico:

The list of governors threatening to decline federal stimulus money last month read like a list of Republicans considering running for president in 2012: Govs. Mark Sanford, Bobby Jindal and Sarah Palin led the anti-stimulus charge.

But what began with a bang is ending with something closer to a whimper. All three of those governors have been forced to scale back their expectations, to varying degrees, as the push of conservative philosophy gave way to the pull of political reality.

All three found that praise from the conservative movement in Washington meant nothing to furious state legislators of both parties. And in the end, along with other conservative Republican governors, the three submitted letters in recent days asking to be eligible for federal funds, a spokesman for the White House Office of Management and Budget confirmed.

[Lost] Can they change the future?

2009-04-07T01:40:00.000-07:00

No. Faraday says quite clearly at the beginning of the first episode of the fifth season that you cannot change the future. He goes so far as saying that attempting to change time will always fail. He says in that episode that what ever happens, happened.

The survivors who are currently in the Dharmaville barracks in 1977 are only simply watching a scene unfold. While they are participants, no matter what they do, young Ben will have always been taken by Richard to the Temple. Ben eventually loses his innocence and becomes the amoral killer we know in 1977, and that happens no matter what the survivors do. Not even Sayid shooting young Ben will alter this fact. It's now simply a reason why he had to go the Temple.

That said, Faraday also says that Desmond is the only person that the rules don't apply to, as he is uniquely and miraculously special. Unlike everyone else, Desmond remembers in his present whenever something alters his past. This is because the past and future can potentially be changed around Desmond.

Even so, the universe will course correct around any attempted changes around Desmond. Remember, he couldn't save Charlie from dying, no matter what he did

Desmond did prevent Charlie from being electricuted, drowning while trying saving to save Claire, and being killed by one of Russeau's traps. While Desmond ultimately couldn't stop Charlie from drowning in the Looking Glass station, the universe ultimately did "course correct" in order to insure that Charlie died and that the timeline was restored. Despite that, Desmond was able to change the future, as Charlie wasn't never electrocuted.

That is the extent to which the future could be changed. This means that the our survivors can only make negligable changes the future at best, if they are able to make any changes at all.

As they cannot change the past, they cannot create an alternate timeline. There is only one timeline, and it unfolds the way it has always unfolded. If there are any discrepancies, then it's like as Miles said, we just haven't experienced how it all turns out yet.

Now, it's possible that Faraday is wrong and everything written up above could off base, but I think Lost spelled out exactly what's going on with time travel in the very first episode of the season.

Talk about The Party of No...

2009-04-02T20:42:00.000-07:00

After all the hullabaloo about the alternative GOP budget, I was a bit surprised to read this in Politico.

About twice as many Republicans (38 or 20 percent of their conference) voted against the GOP alternative budget -- than Democrats (20 or 8 percent) who nixed their party's spending plan.

Damnit!

2009-04-01T07:33:00.000-07:00

If you are accused of commiting a crime, you get a trial with a jury of your peers, and if you are found guilty, you have to pay the piper.

Losing an election should never be an excuse for dismissing criminal charges. When is the last time you've heard of the government asking a judge to drop the charges *after* the jury has convicted the defendant? Unfortunately, that is exactly what the Justice Department is doing in the corruption case of former Senator Ted Stevens.

Christ, this article is infuriating. What is next? Dismissing ex-Rep. William Jefferson's 16 corruption charges because he lost his election?

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- The Justice Department asked a federal court Wednesday to "set aside the verdict and dismiss the indictment" in the corruption case against former Sen. Ted Stevens of Alaska, court documents show.

Stevens, 85, was convicted in October on seven counts of lying on mandatory financial disclosure forms.

Stevens hid "hundreds of thousands of dollars of freebies" he received from an oil field services company and its CEO, Assistant U.S. Attorney General Matthew Friedrich said.

Many of the alleged free services were given as part of a renovation of Stevens' Alaska home.

Stevens maintained his innocence even after the conviction, and his sentencing has been delayed amid charges by an FBI agent of prosecutorial misconduct.

Stevens lost a re-election bid in November to Democrat Mark Begich, who had been Anchorage's mayor.

Stevens was appointed to the Senate in December 1968.

There is chocolate in my peanut butter

2009-03-31T02:34:00.000-07:00

The following video takes two things I enjoy (watching LOST with Robin and Spongebob Squarepants with the kds) and puts both shows into one video.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H26eRojA09Q

Words fail.

Lost clips featuring Hurley

2009-03-30T09:01:00.000-07:00

Hurley and the sea urchin
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LmkzuL1YHDA

Hurley on effective parenting
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oG26OdMCYQg

Hurley on driving
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zwZOmB9Fi30

Clear now?

2009-03-30T08:51:00.001-07:00

For people who don't know about Lost, Hurley (one the characters on the show) explains everything that has been going on in this video:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eZErJDc6978

That should clear everything up. ;)

The GOP Plan: Have no plan.

2009-03-27T01:02:00.000-07:00

The party of binge spending, the GOP, has been bashing Obama's budget to the point of histronics lately. Of course, after the rants were over, Democrats kept asking the GOP to provide their own suggested budget. Essentially, put your money where you mouth is.

You can probably guess what their budget turned out like after they released it yesterday...

This is a Video of a GOP Representative talking about their 19 page budget that contains no numbers, but only more answer-free criticism of what Obama's doing.

This is the video of the Press Secretary talks about the GOP's new budget.

Wake me when the party of binge spending can formulate a coherent rebuttal to the party of steady spending increases.

Lost Season 1 Promo

2009-03-17T17:37:00.000-07:00

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-g3REC4DMMs

What's interesting about this video (beyond the surreal dancing in the plane wreck), is the fact that who they are dancing with is a pretty good indication of what happens later in the story.

Who would have guessed that Mugwumps were Republicans?

2009-03-17T09:26:00.000-07:00

I've read and watched The Naked Lunch probably too many times in my life, so I've always associated the word "Mugwump" with a creature that prowls the hallucinatory Interzone. They are hedonistic predators in a surreal environment that look like this:

So you can imagine my surprise when I'm reading an wikipedia article on Grover Cleveland, and it turns out that Mugwumps were a group of Republican activists who supported Cleveland (the Democratic candidate) in the 1884 presidential election. According to Wikipedia:

Dictionaries report "mugguomp" was an Algonquian word meaning "person of importance" or "war leader." Charles Anderson Dana, the colorful newspaperman and editor of the now-defunct New York Sun, is said to have given the Mugwumps their political moniker. Dana made the term plural and derided them as amateurs and public moralists.

During the 1884 campaign, they were often portrayed as "fence-sitters," with part of their body on the side of the Democrats and the other on the side of the Republicans. (Their "mug" on one side of the fence, and their "wump" on the other.)

Even stranger, apparently "Neo-Mugwump" is apparently another term for RINO: Republican In Name Only. Meaning, we almost elected a Neo-Mugwump for president in 2008. ;)

I don't know what to say, given that one of the wierdest images in my life is apparently a Republican movement...

It's like discovering that chocolate has one of the higher concentrations of lead among foods us Westerners typically eat.

The Daily Show on CNBC's financial reporting

2009-03-14T14:45:00.000-07:00

For those of you living under a rock and haven't seen these videos, then here are the links:

Jon Stewart railing against CNBC
http://www.thedailyshow.com/video/index.jhtml?videoId=220252&title=cnbc-gives-financial-advice

Jon Stewart railing on Cramer after Cramer reponds to Stewart's original rant
http://www.thedailyshow.com/video/index.jhtml?videoId=220288&title=in-cramer-we-trust

Cramer interviewed on the Daily Show
http://www.thedailyshow.com/full-episodes/index.jhtml?episodeId=220533

Why I am annoyed Rep. Pete Stark ... again

2009-03-11T20:40:00.000-07:00

Once again, my representative has the worst voting record in the entire House.

Pete Stark has missed nearly 57% of the votes so far in the 111th Congress. 57% @(#&#@(& percent.

It turns out that the only Representative with a worse record than he does actually has an excuse: Rep. Hilda Solis has missed 75.6% of the votes because she is our new Secretary of Labor, so her seat in the House is currently empty.

I'd love to hear what his excuse is...

Sometimes, actors say the stupidest things

2009-03-11T20:36:00.000-07:00

As you can tell by this CNN article, stupidity apparently isn't limited to the Hollywood loonies on the left, but the ones on the right as well.

[Chuck] Norris wrote that he would be interested in becoming the president of Texas, if the state were ever to secede from the Union.

“I may run for president of Texas,” Norris wrote Monday in a column posted at WorldNetDaily. “That need may be a reality sooner than we think. If not me, someone someday may again be running for president of the Lone Star state, if the state of the union continues to turn into the enemy of the state.”

The actor claimed “thousands of cell groups will be united around the country in solidarity over the concerns for our nation” and said that if states decide to secede from the union, that Texas would lead the way.

“Anyone who has been around Texas for any length of time knows exactly what we'd do if the going got rough in America,” Norris wrote. “Let there be no doubt about that.”

There would be no doubt at all. Texas would get their ass handed to them, just like the South did after the Civil War. You know, back long before the Federal government (and U.S. military) was as powerful and authoritarian as it is today?

That secession plan didn't work out so hot for the South last time, but perhaps Chuck Norris is just nostalgic for the reconstruction / carpet bagging era…

Earmarks

2009-03-11T09:05:00.000-07:00

Beyond knowing that John McCain hates them, and that the Republicans don't like them when the Democrats are in charge, the following CNN Money article goes into detail into what the hell earmarks actually are.

I suggest reading the article, but here are the highlights:

... Republicans, who have sought unsuccessfully to amend the $410 billion fiscal year 2009 omnibus spending bill passed by the Senate on Tuesday night. That bill is estimated to have $7.7 billion worth of earmarks requested by lawmakers -- or about 2% of the total bill.

In any given year, earmarks requested by members of the majority party typically account for 60% of earmarks, with the remaining 40% coming from members of the minority party.

Typically, when Congress appropriates federal funding to government agencies, it's up to the agencies to decide how that money gets doled out to projects in states, cities and counties, and those decisions are made through an application-and-review process.

...

Most typically, an earmark is defined as a slice of the money allocated to an agency that a lawmaker or the president has requested be set aside for a specific project.

So earmarks aren't additional spending -- they're a portion of the total amount lawmakers have agreed to spend for a given year.

"If earmarks go, the amount of money stays the same. It's more about who decides how the money will be spent," said Charles Konigsberg, a former assistant budget director in the Clinton administration and now chief budget counsel at deficit watchdog group the Concord Coalition.

While there have always been earmarks, their number grew exponentially between 1995 and 2006. That's partly because lawmakers began to use earmarks as a way to help incumbents who risked losing re-election, Ellis said. And part of it was a feedback loop: as earmarks grew, so did the ranks of lobbyists to secure them.

"More earmarks begat more lobbyists begat more earmarks," Ellis said.

Today, earmarks can number several thousand a year. But in the end, their total dollar amount typically represents less than 1% of the federal budget.

"People think big chunks of the federal budget are being shoved into earmarks, and it's just not the case," Konigsberg said.

"Some are worthwhile projects, but they're the product of a bad system," Ellis said.

It's a system based on "political muscle rather than merit," he said. Translation: Senior members of the House and Senate Appropriations Committees typically get the most earmarks.

Is there a better way?

Ellis believes Congress should set up an objective, merit-based earmark system that establishes a list of priorities. Transportation projects, for example, could be required to meet criteria that reflect national priorities such as improving traffic density, commuter safety or energy efficiency.

"Right now, no one can tell me why one project gets money and another doesn't," Ellis said.

Some experts say the biggest problem with earmarks is that their status as budget-bad-boy is overblown, detracting from the real trouble with federal spending.

As astonishing as the government's debt levels may be in the short-run because of the financial crisis -- well over a $1 trillion deficit this year alone -- the long-run picture is much uglier because of the pressures entitlement programs will place on the federal budget.

Left unchanged, federal spending on Medicare and Medicaid alone, which now accounts for roughly 5% of GDP, is projected to grow to more than 6% in 2019 and to 12% by 2050, according to the Congressional Budget Office. And that doesn't include the growing cost of Social Security and other government spending.

"The impact of earmarks has been overemphasized; they're a red herring," Konigsberg said. "So much attention is paid to them and so little attention is paid to our long-term fiscal condition."

Man, I love The Onion

2009-03-03T19:02:00.000-08:00

ARKHAM, MA—Arguing that students should return to the fundamentals taught in the Pnakotic Manuscripts and the Necronomicon in order to develop the skills they need to be driven to the very edge of sanity, Arkham school board member Charles West continued to advance his pro-madness agenda at the district's monthly meeting Tuesday.

"Fools!" said West, his clenched fist striking the lectern before him. "We must prepare today's youth for a world whose terrors are etched upon ancient clay tablets recounting the fever-dreams of the other gods—not fill their heads with such trivia as math and English. Our graduates need to know about those who lie beneath the earth, waiting until the stars align so they can return to their rightful place as our masters and wage war against the Elder Things and the shoggoths!"

The controversial school board member reportedly interrupted a heated discussion about adding fresh fruit to school lunches in order to bring his motion to the table. With the aid of a flip chart, West laid out his six-point plan for increased madness, which included field trips to the medieval metaphysics department at Miskatonic University, instruction in the incantations of Yog-Sothoth, and a walkathon sponsored by local businesses to raise money for the freshman basketball program.

1) Attack Democrats. 2) ... 3) Profit!

2009-02-26T23:03:00.000-08:00

(CNN) “I tell you, that moment was not our best moment,” he said. “It would have been our best shot at winning the White House a chance to offer a true authentic, conservative choice rather than a big government echo, rather than a meek, ‘me too’ way of doing things.”

... and what choice would that be? *crickets chirping*

Oh, how the mighty have fallen.

Now, don't get me wrong. I expect the Republicans to attack anything the Democrats do, regardless of outcome. After all, the Democrats do the exact same thing.

No, what annoys the crap out of me is that GOP never seems capable of backing up their words with a coherent solution that isn't just a redmeat filled soundbite.

If you have a worthwhile idea, then present an alternative that reflects the problem. The issues facing our country are complex and require a degree of critical thinking and sacrifice. So, don't present a solution that could have been hastily written on a cocktail napkin.

Developing economic strategy in a manner similar to the Underpants Gnomes from South Park isn't exactly a winning solution, nor reassuring that you are competent enough to be handed the reigns of government again.

IMO, the Republicans are on a trajectory for remaining in the wilderness for a few more years. They are doing their best to sound like the Democrats in 2002. ie, ideologically bankrupt, reactionary, and completely and totally irrelevant.

Your suffering is my opportunity. Vote for me.

2009-02-24T07:48:00.000-08:00

I couldn't help laughing when I read the following editorial on Politico.

Some Republican governors, who normally like federal tax bucks, now want to turn them down. Why? Because they aren’t just tax bucks, they are “Obama-bucks.”

They are bucks from President Obama’s stimulus plan, and if these bucks put people back to work and let people hang on to their homes, he and the Democrats might get the credit.

And that would never do.

...

Bobby Jindal, the Republican governor of Louisiana who often has “rising star” and “presidential hopeful” attached to his name, also said he didn’t want some of the federal money.

But under questioning by David Gregory on “Meet the Press” Sunday, Jindal seemed to wilt a little when it came to explaining why.

“Well, let’s be clear,” Jindal said, not being clear at all. “The best thing that Washington could do to help Louisiana and all of our states with our budgets is to get this economy moving again.”

Gee, thanks. But don’t get him wrong. While some people see these times as filled with pain and suffering, Jindal sees them as an opportunity. A political opportunity.

Save! Save! Oh crap! Spend! Spend!

2009-02-21T16:15:00.001-08:00

TOKYO — As recession-wary Americans adapt to a new frugality, Japan offers a peek at how thrift can take lasting hold of a consumer society, to disastrous effect.

The economic malaise that plagued Japan from the 1990s until the early 2000s brought stunted wages and depressed stock prices, turning free-spending consumers into misers and making them dead weight on Japan’s economy.

...

Japan’s aging population is not helping consumption. Businesses had hoped that baby boomers — the generation that reaped the benefits of Japan’s postwar breakneck economic growth — would splurge their lifetime savings upon retirement, which began en masse in 2007. But that has not happened at the scale that companies had hoped.

Economists blame this slow spending on widespread distrust of Japan’s pension system, which is buckling under the weight of one of the world’s most rapidly aging societies. That could serve as a warning for the United States, where workers’ 401(k)’s have been ravaged by declining stocks, pensions are disappearing, and the long-term solvency of the Social Security system is in question.

Link: http://www.nytimes.com/2009/02/22/business/worldbusiness/22japan.html

My 401K has been hammered... but I can't look at my retirement investments in the short term. Right now they are in the tank, but I'm not going to be touching that money for at least another 30 years. In that time, the U.S. will go through multiple booms and recessions before I retire. I feel for all the people who are looking to retire in the near future, however this is a huge warning/reminder for people to slowly shift their investments out of the stock market and into more secure funds the closer to retirement age you go. People that ignored this old advice (or just didn't pay attention their investment) ended up gambling with their retirement funds or assumed that the bubble/boom time wasn't ending anytime soon.

This sucks right now, but at least I can give thanks that I have a stable job and it's not the end of the U.S.

Fast Times during a Down Economy

2009-02-21T15:55:00.000-08:00

It's interesting seeing that despite the rollcoaster ride, I'm insanely busy at work... and have very little time to check the net, Facebook or the blog. We went from a dead period for a few months, which we were busy trying to complete all the task we've ignored since we were last busy. After the calendar year changed, most of the clients we deal with started issuing RFPs and RFQs, and so we went from zero to seven proposals crossing my desk in no time flat. Of course, virtually every submittal has the envitable presentation preparation section, where I make posters, animations, power point shows, and where I practically live in Photoshop working with aerial photography.

So, while I'm working late nights, I'm watching news of the economy going south... and I consider myself a very lucky guy to have a stable job with a firm showing signs of growth. Heck, my company is flying me out to their corporate HQ next week, so I'll have a night or two running about Manhatten having a good time.... like having a hotel room about two blocks from the Complete Strategist, a game store in New York. :)

Comedy Gold

2009-01-12T21:06:00.000-08:00

(NYT) "Mr. Bush said he was not certain why he had become so divisive. “I don’t know why they get angry,” he replied to a question about those who disagreed with his policies so vehemently that it became personal. “I don’t know why they get hostile.” He added that he had learned not to pay attention."

Gee, do you think the two things are related?

Where have I heard this before

2009-01-12T20:59:00.001-08:00

(BBC) "... senior Hamas leader and former Palestinian Prime Minister Ismail Haniya stated in a televised address from a secret location in Gaza that the group was "approaching victory".

"I tell you that after 17 days of this foolish war, Gaza has not been broken and Gaza will not collapse," he said.

My favorite Rock Band 2 song

2009-01-04T16:57:00.000-08:00

"Conventional Lover", Speck

VERSE 1:
Who left you hanging on that peg all alone
You look near mint to me babe and I wanna make you my own
I wanna be your captain, my Pon Farr is a-risin’
So step on over here girl, my love is enterprisin'

CHORUS:
Let me be your conventional lover
Let me show you some conventional love
I don't mean to boast, I don't mean to brag (ooh love long and prosper)
But I'm a man whose only issues all come in mylar bags

Let me be your conventional lover
Let me give you my conventional love I'll give you my heart,
I'll treat you nice (ooh love long and prosper)
And the games that I play only have twenty-sided dice
They're polyhedral!

VERSE 2:
Let's hit the dealer's room and you something fine
That collectors bust of Cthulhu reminds me of how you blow my mind
Now let me take you dancing in my best Starfleet dress uniform
You'll want to tap my mana once you’ve seen me perform

REPEAT CHORUS

Uh oh... SAVING THROW!

VERSE 3:
And when we get to mating, I'll always treat you kind
I'll never bend you too far back or ever crease your spine
But there's one thing I won't promise, there's one thing I won't do
Can't leave you in the box babe, this collector is coming through

REPEAT CHORUSx2

ALT-CHORUS:
Let me be your conventional lover
Let me give you my conventional love
I'll give you my heart, I'll treat you fine
And I'll make sweet love to you while we're watching Deep Space Nine

Best. Headline. Ever.

2009-01-04T16:41:00.000-08:00

Now probably a ‘bad time’ for Jeb to run for W.H.

WASHINGTON (CNN) – His son hasn’t left the White House yet, but former president George H. W. Bush is already thinking about the next Bush who might one day move in. The elder Bush says his oldest son, former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush, has all the qualities necessary to occupy the Oval Office.

“I’d like to see him run, I’d like to see him be president some day,” the nation’s 41st chief executive declared on “Fox News Sunday.” He is “as qualified and as able as anyone I know in the political scene."

However, the senior Bush acknowledged, “Right now is probably a bad time, because we've got enough Bushes in there.”

HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!!

God lord, I haven't laughed that hard in a very long time.

Now that is politics

2008-12-11T22:23:00.000-08:00

The Senate just shot down the bailout bill for the automotive industry. While 52 voted for and 35 against, it required 60 to bring it up for a vote. The votes were pretty much along party lines ("Yes": 40D, 10R & 2 independents. "No": 4D and 31R)

What amazed me about this is what Harry Reid said immediately afterwards. The following is from the NY Times:

"It’s over with,” the Senate majority leader, Harry Reid of Nevada, said on the Senate floor, after it was clear that a deal could not be reached. “I dread looking at Wall Street tomorrow. It’s not going to be a pleasant sight.”

Mr. Reid added: “This is going to be a very, very bad Christmas for a lot of people as a result of what takes place here tonight.”

Sounds pretty straightforward for a Democrat... except then I checked out the roll call that was published by the Associated Press.

Turns out that Reid voted against it.

So, how much do you want to bet that the talking points from the Democrats will be about how it's the Republicans fault for voting against the bailot, and nobody is going to bring up the fact that the same guy wailing and gnashing his teeth about it didn't vote for it either.

Now that's the kind of a chutzpah that you see in politics.

Good riddance, Rep. Jefferson

2008-12-06T23:03:00.000-08:00

First Senator Ted Stevens (R-AK) and now Representative William Jefferson (D-LA). Goddamn, this has been the best election I've ever experienced.

While it costs the Democrats a vote in the House, removing from office incumbent scumbags who perpetuate criminal behaviour transends partisanship. IMO, it's more than acceptable loss. (That, and the Democrats have a huge majority in the House, so watershed event, this ain't.)

From the NY Times article:

NEW ORLEANS — Representative William J. Jefferson was defeated by a little-known Republican lawyer here Saturday in a late-running Congressional election, underscoring the sharp demographic shifts in this city since Hurricane Katrina and handing Republicans an unexpected victory in a district that had been solidly Democratic.

The upset victory by the lawyer, Anh Cao, was thought by analysts to be the result of a strong turnout by white voters angered over federal corruption charges against Mr. Jefferson, a black Democrat who was counting on a loyal base to return him to Congress for a 10th term.

...

With all precincts reporting, Mr. Cao, who was born in Vietnam, had 49 percent of the vote to 46 percent for Mr. Jefferson, who had not conceded as of late Saturday night.

...

Mr. Jefferson, 61, awaits trial on federal counts of soliciting bribes, money laundering and other offenses. Prosecutors contend that he used his Congressional office to broker deals in African nations, and say he received more than $500,000 in bribes."

Now Mr. Jefferson can spend his full time and energy working on his trial, and leave the legislating to less corrupt members of congress.

Woo hoo!

Photo slideshow

2008-12-05T20:04:00.001-08:00

Layoffs at Wizards of the Coast

2008-12-05T01:37:00.001-08:00

Wizards of the Coast, the publishers of Dungeons and Dragons just announced some deep layoffs, just in time for Christmas. ~24 people laid off, cutting the WotC staff to around 100, so around a 20% workforce cut. The people laid off include art directors, editors, designers, etc. Two icons at WotC (Jonathan Tweet and Dave Noonan) were among those who lost their jobs.

I wish these folks the best, and now I'll be very interested to hear how the industry fares during the current downturn.

Family photos on Photobucket

2008-12-03T20:53:00.001-08:00

Photobucket Album

Draft GURPS Dark Sun GM Screen

2008-12-02T22:45:00.000-08:00

Meh. I'm not thrilled with it... but it's the best I have this iteration. I'll revisit it later, but now I need to spend more time working on the game itself.

GURPS Dark Sun!

2008-11-22T15:36:00.000-08:00

Seventen years after I first played Dark Sun with Doug, Aaron, Herb and Jim, I'm breaking out the boxed set and running the setting again!

My Runequest group spent the last night talking about the Sandstorm campaign they just voted for, and the question of what game system to use came up. We knew we wanted to aim for a system that reflected the gritty swords and sorcery style world, where life was cheap and survival was a challenge.

I brought up a laundry list of systems, from MnM, Storyteller/ing, BRP, True 20, Reign, and GURPS. They unanimously picked GURPS, so GURPS it is.

Adam is playing a thief who possesses a few psychic tricks, such as the reoccuring vision of his last days being endlessly tortured by a Sorcerer King. (Kind of a bummer destiny, if you ask me.) Either his mother or father is the black sheep of an wealthy merchant house, and knows that Marc's character is actually a distant cousin.

Robin is playing a former templar who was magically augmented by a Sorcerer King into being a highly skilled soldier. Something happened, and his memories were stripped and he was cast into the slave pens. From her character's point of veiw, she only remembers life from the slave pits, but retains some basic knowledge about how templars act.

David is playing a former-templar spy who was sent along with a small group of other templars into a nearby city by a rival Sorcerer King. When the templars discovered a large amount of money, they betrayed David's character and sold him off to slavery, rather than give him a cut of the loot. David's templar only has his fellow escaped slaves as allies, but he still remembers the location of where that large treasure is buried...

Marc is playing a member of a wealthy merchant house, who has recently been discovered to display magical talents, and since sorcery is illegal outside of the Sorcerer Kings and their templars, he joined an underground "Mages Guild", the "Veiled Alliance". Unfortunately, shortly after he joined the guildhall was raided by Templar agents. The more powerful members were put to death, and Marc's character was identified as one of the knowing servants or ignorant apprentices, and joined them after being cast into the slave pits. He has some talent at healing, and his family has ostracised him.

I'm looking at psychic powers being relatively low-key and fixed, with sorcery being more powerful and flexible. Sorcerers have a moral dilemma when they cast magic, as they can defile the life around them for even more power, or use only what energy they can for weaker effects ... but will preserve the life and land around them.

I haven't figured how how the mechanics of magic and psionics work yet, but with GURPS Thaumatology and Powers at my side, it should be resolved fairly quickly. :)

The results are in!

2008-11-21T11:41:00.000-08:00

... and the winner is Sandstorm!

Sandstorm and The Night Watch tied for the highest ranking, but Sandstorm had more players that were interested in the setting.

The Isles of Jakandor, Fall of the Camarilla and Wastelands Reborn were all tied in rankings, but with the edge going to Isles of Jakandor when it comes to numbers of interested players.

Coming in at sixth place is Agents of Freedom, with every other campaign idea was responded negatively to by at least one player.

Here are the results:
#1 - Sandstorm
#2 - The Night Watch (very close second)
#3 - The Isles of Jakandor
#4 - The Fall of the Camarilla (very close fourth - tied for fourth)
#4 - Wastelands Reborn (very close fourth - tied for fourth)
#6 - Agents of Freedom

Here is how the votes breakdown (with scores ranking of 0 to 4):
#1 - Sandstorm: 3, 3, 3, 2
(average of 2.75, three players interested)

#2 - The Night Watch: 4, 3, 2, 2
(average of 2.75, one player interested, one excited)

#3 - The Isles of Jakandor: 3, 3, 2, 2
(average of 2.5, two players interested)

#4 - The Fall of the Camarilla: 4, 2, 2, 2
(average of 2.5, one player excited)

#4 - Wastelands Reborn: 4, 2, 2, 2
(average of 2.5, one player excited)

#6 - Agents of Freedom: 3, 2, 2, 2
(average of 2.25, one player interested)

Hezbollah Boy Scouts

2008-11-20T21:59:00.001-08:00

From a distance, it resembles any other Boy Scout camp in the world. Two rows of canvas tents face each other on the banks of the Litani River, the powder-blue stream that runs across southern Lebanon not far from the Israeli border. A hand-built wooden jungle gym stands near the camp entrance, where pine trees sway in the breeze and dry, brown hills are visible in the distance.

Then, planted on sticks in the river, two huge posters bearing the faces of Ayatollah Khomeini and Sheik Hassan Nasrallah, the leader of Hezbollah, come into view.

-- NY Times

Speaking as an Eagle Scout, that has to be the single most surreal article I've read in awhile.

Thousand Suns GM Screen

2008-11-20T08:59:00.000-08:00

Looking at the early returns shows that the while the Night Watch campaign is doing good, the Thousand Suns sci-fi campaign is also going strong. Since I made a Night Watch GM's screen (and I have time to burn until I get the other half of the ballots back) I decided to put together a Thousand Suns screen together. The graphics are courtesy Hubble, EVE Online and a neat software package I have that makes planets.

Lord knows if we'll actually play this game, but I had fun making it. :)

Click on the image above to see

the entire GM's screen

Campaign Candidates - Part IV

2008-11-19T11:34:00.000-08:00

Freedom's Guard
(Fantasy Superheroes)
On the western rim of the Iron Sea the city of Freedom's Reach is home to one of the largest populations civilized man has gathered in the known world. Originally little more than a hastily constructed harbor built by ancient empire, the city stretches inland from the coast, along twin rivers to the spell-twisted foothills of the Blackfell Forest. The city is a thriving nexus of money, power and magic, and a frequent target for black hearted villains who seek to steal the wealth of Freedom's Reach for themselves. The city watch is often hard at work dealing with the scoundrels and thieves that prey upon merchants or stalk the streets, however there are threats that are beyond even their capacity to deal with. A small number of people possess magical talents. Those who possess this advantage can do so through a variety of means, such as enchanted artifacts, arcane spells, divine blessings, psionic talents, or by being a supernatural creature (such as a werewolf or vampire). These individuals find that few people can stop them, and this fact has led many to be ruled by the vanity and greed rather than their better natures. When those who possess these magical talents consider themselves above the rule of the local lord or the city guards, it is up to magical heroes to protect Freedom's Reach. This campaign is essentially a superhero campaign set in a fantasy environment, but follows standard comic conventions, and not fantasy ones. The PCs will have a supernatural schtick, such as an enchanted ring, magical spells, or be a werewolf, however so will the various villains and monsters who threaten the city!

The Fall of the Camarilla
(Historical Vampire)
Rome is crumbling and the Empire is near death. Wolves circle the gates, while the mystics claim that the gods have cursed the Camarilla as the prophecies have fallen silent. It's a time of chaos for the vampires of Rome, as the elders flee, entomb themselves deep in the earth, or go to watch the sunrise for the final time. In this anarchy, the PCs have been embraced and now walk the halls of the Necropolis. Set in the end of the Imperial Roman era, the characters are Roman citizens turned vampires, faced with options that were impossible for neonates to choose just decades ago. Do they rise up as heroes and defend the pagan Camarilla or are they instigators of the final collapse in order to gain power with the Lancea et Sanctum - the Christian Kindred that rule Byzantium? Do they take advantage of political opportunity to seize power and steer history, indulge in decadent escape unparalleled in modern nights, or simply bathe in the blood of their enemies?

Sandstorm
(Swords and Sorcery)
Amid the desert wastelands lie scattered city states, each in the grip of tyrannical sorcerer-kings. Protecting their own positions with dark magic, they demand absolute obedience. Priest-templars enforce the will of the tyrants, while placating restless mobs with bread and circuses. Arenas overflow with spectators seeking release from the grim reality of their harsh lives. The land outside the cities belongs to no one. Gypsies travel across crumbling desert roads while insectoid savages satisfy their taste for blood. Slaves labor for their masters on projects beyond the scope of men, and those who have escaped their shackles form drifting communities, eventually to be consumed by the sandstorms. It is a land of deadly magic and powerful psionics that offers no promise of glory or peace. Those who don't have the cunning to carve out their destiny from this harsh life will surely perish - leaving nothing but bones bleached white under the blistering rays of a uncaring sky.

Campaign Candidates - Part III

2008-11-19T11:32:00.000-08:00

Spycraft
(Modern Action and Espionage)
Characters are capable spies working for a secret global defense organization called "The Agency." This intelligence directorate sends character teams on missions at trouble spots all over the globe, striving to thwart the objectives of criminal masterminds and evil geniuses everywhere. These missions take the agents on a wide variety of incredible adventures - from high-speed boat chases in Camron Bay to treks through the jungles of Kenya to infiltrations through Siberian military compounds - with downtime in the form of luxurious getaways to Monaco, Casablanca, and other romantic hotspots. A typical game might feature elements of high society politics, urban tension, government intrigue, wilderness exploration and survival, hightech gadgetry, and battlefield dominance all at once, sometimes even in the same mission! Spies travel the world, encounter strange and sometimes terrifying situations, engage in over-the-top pursuits, and use technology years or even decades ahead of its time. Spies have diverse and colorful backgrounds, and well rounded abilities allowing them to become part conspirator, part soldier, part criminal, and part outlaw hero during any mission. Most agents are competent troubleshooters, recruited for their natural talent or voracious devotion, but retained fortheir personal strength and style. The agents' enemies are just as fantastic, commonly fielded by corrupt governments or corporations acting beyond and sometimes above the law. Most of these structures are eternal, too large even for The Agency to topple entirely, though the agents are their best shot.

The Isles of Jakandor
(Fantasy Exploration)
Decades have passed since the survivors from the nations of man fled the howling chaos which enveloped their homelands. The survivors that settled the many islands on the Sea of Jewels still tell tales of the Great King, a Spirit Talker who held together the alliance of men and ultimately led the people to safety when their homeland sunk deep beneath the waves. When the King died, the survivors splintered into squabbling communities, each claiming his legacy. They settled upon various islands and floating raft-towns, worked to provide for their descendants. Over time humans have cleared out and civilized a number of islands, however the majority are wild, unexplored, and dangerous. Humans have discovered that they are not the first to have settled in the Sea of Jewels, as the remnants of an ancient civilization abounds. Everywhere is evidence of sunken cities, stone ziggurats half submerged into the sea, crumbling ruins lost the jungles and swamp. Those who channel the spirits sense native vestiges that speak to them of ancient wisdom, while true namers search for words of power in long abandoned temples. Those who explore must be careful, as the spirits of the dead linger in these ancient ruins. Some scouts have returned from unexplored islands, speaking of natives who worship Gods of Death and master black necromantic arts. The PCs can be a variety of roles, ranging from explorers, scholars, soldiers, or adventurers sent to various communities to help provide aid, restore order, or deal with problems that beset the villagers and land.

The Price of Power
(Modern Occult)
"Magic" is a load of hogwash. Everyone knows that it is simply nonsense. People can't learn spells, powers, or possess magical senses. In fact, the only thing that "magicians" know is how to summon spirits and bind them to their will. That's all. Spirits are wonderfully versatile and ask for so little in exchange. Spirits of greed can give you money, while a spirit of ruin can cause firearms that are pointed at you to misfire. Spirits you have bound are easier to control, and someone else's bound spirit is harder, but failing to properly bind a spirit correctly can mean that it misinterprets or disobeys your commands, or even worse that it screws things up. In short, you play a person -- a normal person -- who knows how to summon and bind beings from beyond for personal purposes. The question is: can you handle it? Where do you draw the line when you see what other magicians are doing?

Campaign Candidates - Part II

2008-11-19T11:31:00.000-08:00

Wastelands Reborn
(Serious Post-Apocalyptic)
Hundreds of years have passed since the Fires of Heaven destroyed human civilization and created a new world. Scattered settlements have arisen from the ashes, growing into small nations that have been separated from one another by a savage frontier filled with wastelands and ruins. As the years have passed, contact between the new nations has been more successful and trade has begun to flourish again. While centuries of isolation has turned into cautious interaction, more and more young people start to dream of a unified and rebuilt civilization. Despite these dreams for the future are the old fears of the horrors that come when greedy leaders wish to take the wealth and resources of others in order to make themselves stronger. The campaign is post-apocalyptic with a very gritty and serious feel to it. While there will be non-humans, unusual mutations and strange powers, the tone of the game will not be a campy Gamma World game with psychic rabbits, but closer in spirit to Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind.

Thousand Suns
(Sci-Fi Exploration)
Barely two decades after the faster-than-light drive was invented, mankind has not only taken to the stars, but has left mining outposts and colonies in its wake. While corporations will be busy for years developing and profiting from these new worlds under their control, the governments of Earth realize that they need to not only provide assistance to the off-world colonies, but contact with other space-faring alien civilizations has made exploring further into the unknown a high priority. The PCs will be part of the crew of a long-range starship, whose primary mission is exploration, research, defense and diplomacy.

The Infinite Prison
(Surreal Occult)
The characters are occult researchers who have recently awakened and discovered that arcane rituals can change their very destiny. While filled with good intentions, they ultimately begin using their new talents for more selfish ends. Papers being published in prestigious journals. Inheriting money from unknown - but wealthy - relatives. Access to certain tomes in forbidden libraries. For a period of time, it seemed like rituals only resulted in good fortune for the characters... but that changed after accepting an invitation to the Batell Mansion, a place rumored to be filled with supernatural lore and occult rituals. Unfortunately, only after entering the mansion did the characters realize that their luck had suddenly run out. The mansion is an unconventional prison-like environment. No door or window seems to lead outside, and rooms and hallways shift and change over time. The mansion appears to expand as the characters explore, and corridors and rooms don't map to any earthly geography. The prison is also a place where strange phenomena and occult powers wax and wane with the passing hour, occasionally threatening the safety of the inhabitants of the mansion. Worse, the characters are not the only prisoners, and some are more than willing to fight over the scarce resources available. The only option for the characters is to escape... but how?

Campaign Candidates - Part I

2008-11-19T11:28:00.000-08:00

The Night Watch
(Supernatural Cops)
The PCs are investigators in the modern world who maintain the veil of secrecy between the mundane and supernatural. The Night Watch takes it upon themselves to not only help supernaturals in trouble, but to police the degenerate and unstable creatures who prey upon humanity and threaten to provoke a new bloody inquisition. The organization fears that mortals will discover the supernatural and upset the status quo, but they cannot be everywhere and they do not have unlimited resources. With occasional support from their superiors, the PCs have been assigned their beat, relying on their own skills and wits, performing their role as police, crime scene investigators, judge, jury, troubleshooters and problem solvers.

Northern Crown
(Colonial Adventures)
The PCs have sailed across the ocean to the distant shores of a new world filled with unknown denizens, strange magic, riches and dangers. The characters will be residents of one of the Old World colonies that now dot this new land, one of several groups that have traveled to the new world for riches, fame, faith and/or freedom. Tension between factions within the community as well as relations between neighboring colonies will receive a lot of focus in the game, as well as exploring the unknown, dealing with natives, pirates, and bandits. As members of the colony, the PCs will have a voice in what decisions that the new community makes, as they can attempt influencing the factions and help chart the direction the colony will develop.

Agents of Freedom
(Agents vs. Supers)
Someone going face-to-face with a villain armed only with a blaster pistol is just as much a hero as those guys wearing spandex. Courage is courage, and agents in a world of superhumans have it by the boatload. The PCs will be part of UNISON, the United Nations International Superhuman Oversight Network. They are investigators attached to major crime organizations such as Interpol, assisting in tracking superhuman criminals and extra-dimensional and extra-terrestrial threats around the globe. Elsewhere, they are a peacekeeping and fighting force, with a mandate to prevent superhumans from stealing political power. It is about bad guys who are genuine threats to democracy and how an odd bunch of ragtag agents band together to stop them. It is about one of the biggest threats to the world and their plans for conquest. And it is about you, the heroic men and women who will stand directly in the path of their nefarious schemes and stop them dead in their tracks!

The upcoming important election

2008-11-19T11:25:00.000-08:00

No, not 2012 or anything dealing with American Politics. What has my interest is the upcoming vote by my Sunday game group regarding our new campaign! Our City of Theives Runquest campaign has just came to a successful conclusion, and when one game ends we hold an election to find the game to take its place.

Usually I draft up a list of campaigns concepts I'm interested in running, mainly from concepts that I've had on the backburner. I then give each campaign the "one paragraph" treatment, and then provide all of the descriptions to the players. The first step is marking their interest level in each game by using a simple 0-4 point system. (4 means they are excited about it, 3 means they are really interested, 2 is an acceptable replacement, 1 means that it doesn't interest them, but they would give it a shot, and 0 means that they wouldn't show up to game sessions if that's the game picked). After determining those scores, they then rank all of the games in order of interest. When they provide me their answers, I plug them into an excel sheet and compare which potential campaigns the group appears interested in, and eliminate games than any one member isn't interested in. (Anything marked with a 0 is off the list, and usually after comparing the votes, most games that have received a 1 are discarded. Usually we pick something that a few people are jazzed about, but most players are neutral about.)

This all happens by email, and I sent the "ballots" out last night at 3am. Hopefully, I get responses before the Friday session. On Friday night we'll get together and disect the numbers. We'll talk about the most likely candidates, and then go into a discussion about what game system to use.

Ironically, I've found that picking a game system is fairly easy for my group. Our "go to" games right now appear to be Mutants and Masterminds, True 20, Unisystem, nWoD, BRP (Cthulhu/MRQ), GURPS. We can kitbash any of these systems we like to run any setting we like, so the real trick is figuring out what setting is interesting. We don't care about the shape of the dice or whether they are called "advantages", "powers", or "feats", but instead they want an interesting game world where they can create and flesh out some dynamic characters. While the choice of game system can influence that, the reality of the situation is that individual gamers have a much bigger impact on roleplaying that systems do.

Anyway, I'm going to post the candidate campaigns to the blog and I'll post the results as I get 'em!

Democrats reach 58

2008-11-19T01:52:00.000-08:00

With the Democrats gaining a senate seat in Alaska, the total numbers of the senate have reached 58. Two shy of the fillibuster majority.

The race in Georgia is now going into a special election this December. Since Obama isn't on the ballot, I'm skeptical that there will be enough of a surge in Democratic votes in Georgia to unseat a sitting Republican senator. Then again, stranger things have happened. Let's just say I'm not holding my breath on this one, and we'll see in the first week of December.

The race in Minnesota is definately a wildcard. From all appearances, the Republican won the race, as Al Franken is trailing Norm Coleman by 215 votes, or less than 0.0075%. That margin is so small, that the law in Minnesota requires an automatic recount. The recount starts today, but odds are we won't know the results until sometime in December. Given how recounts rarely ever return the exact same result, and how close the margin of error is, this race might as well be determined by a coin toss. The only thing we can do is wait and see.

Given the situations in both Georgia and Minnesota, odds are pretty long that the Democrats will hit 60 votes. As I said before, I'm happy the Democrats won't have that majority (and will be forced to rule from the center), however there is a theoretical chance they can still reach it.

I'm just happy that on the day before the election, I guessed that the Democrats would get 58 seats in the senate... and it turns out that I actually predicted something correctly for once.

Then again, even a broken clock is right twice a day. :)

Bye bye, Ted Stevens and Sarah Palin

2008-11-19T01:23:00.000-08:00

Sarah Palin's best shot at joining the Senate just went to the Democrats.

Surprisingly enough, Alaska has just now called the race between seven-times convicted felon Ted Stevens and Anchorage Mayor Mark Begich for the Democrat. Begich beat the the seven term Republican Senator by just over 1% of the vote, which was roughly 3,724 votes.

If Stevens had of won, he would have been booted out of the Senate for being a felon, and then Alaska would have had to hold a special election to fill his seat. Given her popularity, Palin could have tossed her hat into that race and thus greatly increased her chances of running against Obama again in 2012. (The Senate would be a perfect spot to gain national and international experience, as four years of senatorial experience would really complement her existing executive experience and thus be a credible threat in the future national stage.)

Unfortunately, Begich won. That means the next election for Alaska Senate is in 2010, which is held by Lisa Murkowski, daughter of Frank Murkowski... the former governor whom Palin defeated in the Republican Primary in 2006. If Palin runs for the seat, expect fireworks as influental Republicans slug it out to the bitter end. *If* she won that race, she'd only have two years in the Senate before the 2012 elections which is cutting it really close... but it worked for Obama. Time would tell if she could replicate his success. (IMO, Obama was in the right place at the right time. I'm skeptical that anyone in the near future will replicate that sheer amount of luck he had in this election.)

Her other Senate option is to wait six years to run against Begich, and then she would have to wait two more years before the next presidental election. Eight years is an eternity in politics, and I think Begich's win means that Palin's chances of recapturing the spotlight in a race for the White House is so far off, that we have no idea what politicans will be the latest flavor of the week.

Let's just say I'm not expecting Palin to return to the national scene for a long long time... if ever.

Thank you Mark Begich!

Another Republican that I like

2008-11-18T14:43:00.000-08:00

Yeah, yeah, yeah. It's easy red meat for the Democrats bashing Limbaugh, but Chuck Hagel hit the nail on the head when it comes to the biggest issue facing our nation: partisanship. The Code Pink and the Savage Nation fanatics are what will ruin this country.

I sincerely hope that Obama will tack to the center, and not automatically placate the unions, MoveOn.org and the Code Pinks out there. I don't want the Republicans to drift farther towards the religious right, and I sure as hell don't want the Democrats to drift to the loony left.

Oh well. A boy can dream.

(CNN)
— As his Senate career nears its end, Republican Chuck Hagel isn't holding back when it comes to criticizing members of his own party — including conservative talk radio hosts.

"We are educated by the great entertainers like Rush Limbaugh," Hagel said Tuesday during a speech in Washington, according to the Huffington Post.

"You know, I wish Rush Limbaugh and others like that would run for office," a sarcastic Hagel continued. "They have so much to contribute and so much leadership and they have an answer for everything. And they would be elected overwhelmingly. [The truth is] they try to rip everyone down and make fools of everybody but they don't have any answers."

Hagel has increasingly become critical of his party in the aftermath of the Iraq War and notably held back endorsing his longtime friend John McCain during the presidential campaign. He's reportedly under consideration for a cabinet post in the Obama administration.

Speaking at the Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies, Hagel also faulted Washington lawmakers for "raw, partisan, political paralysis."

"The American people don't like what is going on… they want us to start doing what leaders are expected to do, address the problems, find some consensus to governing. Get along. There will be disagreements, sure… but in the end we can't hold ourselves captives to this raw, partisan, political paralysis."

More thoughts on the supernatural police campaign...

2008-11-15T15:15:00.000-08:00

I was on a thread in RPG.net asking about potential names to use for "The Agency" the PCs belong to in this draft campaign, and I ended up getting a few good questions that got me thinking more about the game. The good thing about good questions is that it finds you reexamining your assumptions and you end up with a better idea of what you are doing.

Q: I would start off by working out when and where this organization was created. Is it something crafted centuries ago, or did it only come into existance in modern times, when fast communication and travel means that enough monsters can be in contact at once to form an effective police force?

Me: I think that there has always been a few supernaturals who took it upon themselves to police the excesses of other local supernaturals, this activity didn't exist as an hierarchical organization or agency. It was probably born in the modern era, given the dangers of quick communication, information retreival and global travel. While those factors would help an agency function, it would do wonders for mortal hunters and also enflame local mobs to be a much larger and more difficult to manage scale. The fear would be that in the past the local village would flip out and kill the local supernaturals, but now these mobs could engulf entire regions - if not entire nations.

This would also create a nice rift between the needs of the supernaturals to keep the "masqerade" intact along with the powerful "old school" monsters/wizards who don't like young turks policing them or telling them what to do.

Q: Is it purely a police agency, or do they have the power to carry out trials and pass sentences?

Me: I'm envisioning that supernatural "society" is best described as anarchy. There is no law, conventions, or constitution, although supernaturals are definately aware of and interact with other types. (A cabal of witches can hook up with a werewolf for a bit of security muscle). What "The Agency" has is the consent of many weaker supernaturals who are acutely aware of the danger that mortal hunters present, and thus tolerate "The Agency" having a group of troubleshooters not only putting a lid on the problem, but providing services to said supernaturals. ("Vince the Vampire lost his blood bank access due to tight security and record keeping and now Vince is reduced to assaulting mortals in dark alleys. If the PCs help him get a stable herd, the risk of hunters detecting the supernatural drops, and it gets Vince indebted to the Agency when they need his services to figure out how to deal with the crazy elder vampire, Baron Belial and his brood.")

So, they have the power to carry out trials and pass sentences, so long as they can convince others that what they are doing is in their best interest. As a result, I'm planning that there will be supernatural antagonists in the game will try to frame "The Agency" as the tool of other elders to seek out and destroy their enemies. (Baron Belial might realize that the Agency is a threat to his power, and thus could try removing that threat...)

Q: Do agents join for life, or are most of its operatives volunteers for a limited term of service?

Me: I'm envisioning that it's largely a volunteer force, however there are some that are roped into it for life. If you are a supernatural who is somehow dependant on your master for some reason, and he supports "The Agency", he could probably easily compel you into a lifetime of service.

The majority of supernaturals who join do it because of personal reasons and because they believe in the cause. Kinda like why people become police officers.

Q: Based on [my responses above], it seems like the organization is going to have a very decentralized, informal structure. They are probably less organized than the Boy Scouts, much less the FBI. Actually, the organizational structure of the Boy Scouts would probably be a weirdly appropriate starting place. That is, there's a national organization that sets standards and gives approval for individual "Troops" to call themselves Scouts, tracks membership records, and organizes national events. Yet at the same time, the national organization has little say in the day-to-day operation of an indvidual Troop, which must secure its own meeting area and (generally) fund and organize its own activities. The national organization is only likely to intervene if there is some complaint that the local Troop is in some way not living up to Scout standards.

Me: "The Agency" is structured that way because while I want a police-style game, I really don't want a heirarchy that tells the PCs what to do. I don't want Bureaucracy: the Procedural. I want the characters to be the primary drivers of the local law enforcement community, and not a precinct captian telling them what to do. The PCs will be largely responsible for handling the day to day affairs of their "turf" and insuring that their broad mandate for maintaining the veil of secrecy is their responsibility #1. The PC's superiors will give them broad marching orders, access to resources (information, guns, money, safehouses, etc.), and the requirement to regularly report on their activities. In fact, if their superiors show up, it's either to help out with something near the end of some investigation (such as to incarcerate someone) or because the PCs screwed up bigtime.

Q: Have them operate according to a "Night Watch Handbook" that lays down the operating principles and rules of the organization, with some handy operational pointers. Each Watch is probably organized on a town or metropolitan area basis. Each Watch is responsible for getting funding and support from the local community and sending dues to the national office. (It's funded from the bottom up, not the top down.) More than anything else, the whole thing is held together by a common reputation. People trust the Watch because it's been effective elsewhere.

Food for thought!

If we can't have Xena, we'll keep Orcus

2008-11-14T14:05:00.000-08:00

I'm still dissapointed that boring scientists changed the name of Planet Xena (and Gabrielle, it's moon), to Eris. Still, it's nice to see that another (likely) dwarf planet in our solar system has been named something near and dear to my heart: Orcus.

Of course, when I think of Orcus, I'm not wondering about a Roman god of the underworld. I'm thinking of the Big Lebowski himself, the abyssal demon prince of the undead in Dungeons and Dragons.

Yeah. I'm a geek. Sue me.

New GM Screen

2008-11-13T20:53:00.000-08:00

click the above picture for a larger version

This is the central logo of the agency.
The slogan is Amat victoria curam,
which means Victory favors those who take pains

I've been creating a roleplaying game campaign for the last few weeks and tonight I decided to make a custom GM screen for it. I did all the work on it tonight using Adobe Illustrator and a few vector graphics I've gathered up and tweaked.

The game would be be a modern occult "police procedural" style game. Think NYPD Blue meets the supernatural. The PCs will be assigned a city and told to maintain the peace and make sure that problems are solved. More importantly, they need to keep the mundanes in the dark as to what is going on behind the shadows...

Essentially, the PCs will bust the heads of those supernaturals (vampires, werewolves, mages, etc.) who really get out of line and threaten other supernaturals. That, and they will solve the problems of everyone else (ranging from mysteries to diplomacy). It's a crap job, but they have no choice. The characters pretty much get an offer they can't refuse...

The game will ge structured like a mortal hunters game, but with the PCs possessing their own supernatural powers, some agency support, and they also have to problem-solve issues for other supernaturals (like cops getting cats out of trees or intervening in domestic disturbances).
The PCs will have some supernatural powers of their own, but they won't be that overwhelming. They will be competent, but other trained humans (such as the FBI) can be a danger in this game as well.

A driving antagonist in the game will be non-supernatural human hunters, similar to the Inquisition in the World of Darkness. If the mundanes catch wind of what is happening with the supernaturals (such as encountering blood sucking vampires), the PCs will have to make sure that the Inquistion doesn't find out and or make the problem worse. If the situation blows up and grows out of control, the risk is that large numbers of mundanes could freak out and next thing you know every supernatural (even the ones minding their own business) are getting torched by the angry mob with pitchforks.

That is why the PCs exist. They are tasked with keeping the peace, and making sure that other supernaturals don't cross the line. The PCs will determine where the line is, and how to deal with situations as they come up. so long as they keep their nose clean as well as making sure that those other supernaturals who flip out don't attract the human hunters, the PC's employers will be happy.

In a way, the PCs are like the Aurors from Harry Potter, except they don't have much of a Ministry to call for backup.

Largest game book in the world

2008-11-10T21:15:00.000-08:00

It's an Italian copy of My Life With Master, which is about 140 x 100 cm big. You probably need some big dice to play this game... :)

Election Art 5

2008-11-10T16:59:00.001-08:00

Election Art 4

2008-11-10T16:58:00.000-08:00

Election Art 3

2008-11-10T16:57:00.000-08:00

Election Art 2

2008-11-10T16:54:00.000-08:00

Click on the image for the full thing

Election Art 1

2008-11-10T16:48:00.000-08:00

Smart Republicans

2008-11-07T14:45:00.000-08:00

"The time is now to set in motion the changes needed to rebuild our party from the grassroots up, modernize the way we run campaigns, and attract different, energetic, and younger candidates at all levels," the site says. "We must be conservative in philosophy — but bold in our approach. We don't need a slight tweak here or there. We need transformation. We can't keep fighting a 21st century war with 20th century weapons."
...
To develop a more-“people-powered” party in the future, the group of activists is encouraging the RNC to reform how its organizes Republicans at the most local, volunteer-to-volunteer level, to move away from large-dollar donors that have historically financed the party and toward fundraising on the Internet from a base of small-dollar donors in the model of the Obama campaign, recruiting 25,000 new campaign workers, and making use of online technologies pervasive throughout the RNC’s operations.
...
"We must trust the online grassroots who want to take action on our behalf, and who need a decentralized, peer-to-peer volunteer community supported by our campaigns to really be successful. That will require giving up some control — more control than our traditional institutions are used to giving up — in exchange for an exponentially larger and more effective volunteer/donor/activist ecosystem.

Obama tapped the Internet successfully because he made it about "you" and "us" not "me" and "I." You were invited in. You were a key part of his campaign/movement. Your help was truly appreciated. Republican candidates need to grow more comfortable talking in these terms and focus less on being inaccessible objects of hero worship (the "me/I" strategy)."

Wow. These guys get it.

Time will tell if the old guard follow the Clinton model of smothering themselves in the past, or blazing a new trail like the Obama model. It will certainly be entertaining to watch!