Society for Aesthetic Deletions

Most interesting recent referrers in the search log:

Verisign Sucks in many ways, shapes and forms

Lots of Verisign Sucks searches lead to me. I'm wondering if I should make a static link on the main page...

http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&lr=&ie=ISO-8859-1&q=frelling+dren+&btnG=Google+Search

Hee. Farscape rules! Everything else is frelling dren!

http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&lr=&ie=UTF8&oe=UTF8&q=Final+Fantasy+X+blog&btnG=Google+Search

Well, this is interesting. I wonder if I should do a blog of FFX, with each character posting their entries. Maybe that's what the person(s) were looking for.

http://google.yahoo.com/bin/query?p=weight+watchers+diet+blog&hc=0&hs=0

For that, you should go here.

http://google.yahoo.com/bin/query?p=cassandra+claire+live+journal&hc=0&hs=0

I think I should tell Cassie about this.

http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&lr=&q=society+sucks+

Well, that's one person's opinion, and hopefully not found on my blog!

Yesterday, I wanted to work off the points I ate over the weekend, so I asked a co-worker, whom I know walks during lunch many days, if he wanted to walk.

Yes, I know it's 90 degree heat outside.

So he said he was going to walk with another co-worker down to see the Mayflower II, which is docked just down the street from us. Cool, I said, and tagged along. Turns out the Mayflower's going to be in town through the 4th of July.

20 minutes of walking down to the ship, then about 20 minutes of hanging around (it cost $8 to go on board, and I had just done it last year when Lucinda & Grant & kids were visiting), and then 20 minutes back.

I learned I do still walk too fast for most folk. I knew I walked too fast for Lou, but I also walk to fast for others. (sigh)

Today, another co-worker wanted to head down to a clothing store downtown (she uses her credit card as therapy), so I said I'd go with her. That was about 15 minutes of walking there and back, with the rest of the time spent in the store looking at trying on clothes. And Irene taught me to say "I am Julia" in Russian (which I've promptly forgotten) and didn't say I walked too fast.

I am so not the body-type for modern-day fashions. I am too tall, for one thing, and just haven't quite lost enough weight for me to be comfortable in close-fitting clothes.

I tried on two shirts and (ha!) attempted to try on a pair of pants that said they were 13-14. More like kids 13-14. But nothing fit to where I'd feel comfortable wearing it.

So I wonder where I'll walk during lunch tomorrow.

(for more info on the Game WISH, follow the link under "Other Bits" in my sidebar)

Discuss three setting ideas or ideas for elements of settings that you got from movies/books/TV/etc. that you have read or seen recently. These do not need to be full-fledged settings, but can be single elements that could be incorporated into existing games.

In our D&D world, Lou and I have taken the Aes Sedai and made them the priests of our chief god of Light (aka good), The High Lord. The High Lord knows the Beginnings and Endings of All Things, and isn't really concerned with people as anything other than tools to get the outcome.

So the priests, divided into their ajas like the books, each have their own purpose toward that end (Blues with causes, Yellows with healing, Grees with fighting the Dark, Reds with destroying evil in any way shape or form (and probably would get rid of neutrals too, if they could manage it), Whites with diplomacy, Browns with knowledge/learning). One change we made was to allow both male and female priests, which isn't that big of a deal since it really was the structure we imported rather than the whole concept.

I also borrowed his Tel'aran'rhiod, the World of Dreams, for my WEF Amber game. It wasn't until well into the description of the world to the player who is involved in this that I realized I was taking the concept from the WoT books. Basically there is a World of Dreams that sits sort of above ours (and in Amber, it parallels shadow). When people dream, they can sometimes touch this world. And anything that happens to someone in that world happens to them in Real Life. If you die in your sleep, likely you touched Tel'aran'rhiod and were killed there.

And lastly, from Wheel of Time, we took the concept of the Age of Legends. A time when magic was used for everything, empires were great, what would be great magical artifacts today were then simple child's toys. And of course, the Age had to end, and end it did.

I also borrowed, for my ATF game, the idea of floating cities, specifically from the anime, Laputa, though that's not a sole reference for flying cities. I just liked the concept.

I'm really not big on adding influences and elements like that into my games. I've always thought it was a neat idea, but I can't do it on the spur of the moment. I am a spur of the moment GM; many of my game sessions just happen because of how things flow from my mouth, so I really don't take a lot of time to craft other ideas into the adventure or setting.

If I think of any others after reading the posts linked here, I'll be sure to update.

Methinks someone's been watching 1776 recently...

1. "We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness." Bombastic claptrap, overly-sentimental romanticism, or profound truth?
Somewhere between all three, I think.

It's wordy, romanticized, yet profound. They over-worded everything in those days, but a simple statement wouldn't have been enough.

2. Thomas Jefferson originally included a condemnation of slavery in the DoI, but the Continental Congress was faced with the defection of the southern colonies if the clause was not withdrawn. Should Jefferson and the others have compromised on such a principle?
Should they have? Absolutely not.

But there was no way the South would have compromised, so they had to.

I do wonder, if the South had relented, what would have happened. Would the Civil War never have happened? What if the South had not relented, but neither had the North? Unanimity was required (I am watching 1776 right now as I type this) for the independence resolution to have passed.

I think, based on my little knowledge of this time, that if independence had not been declared, the country would have split apart earlier, fighting against itself as well as the British, and most likely have lost.

So while I think it terrible that the condemnation of slavery was removed from the declaration, I don't see how it would have passed otherwise. And we never would have gained our independence.

3. The signatories to the DoI were committing treason against the Crown by taking such a stand. They concluded the document with, "And for the support of this Declaration, with a firm reliance on the protection of divine Providence, we mutually pledge to each other our Lives, our Fortunes and our sacred Honor." Do you have a cause or belief for which you would be willing to put your "life, fortune and honor" on the line?
My husband. My family. His family. A few select friends. But that's about it.

1. Where are you right now?
At work, sitting in front of my computer.

2. What have you lost recently?
Well, I went looking for my John Gorka CD this morning (wanted to rip a song from it) and couldn't find it. I don't know if it was lost recently, though.

Other than that, I've lost 1/2 pound. Which means I'm 1/2 of a pound from my Weight Watchers goal of 169. I am going to try to get down to 164, which would be 30 lbs. lost since I started WW over three years ago.

3. What was the first CD you ever purchased? Does that embarrass you now?
First CD? Oh god, I never really had a CD player until Lou bought me one right when we started going out. So I have no clue, but I don't think it would be something I'd be embarrassed to admit I bought. I had a LOT of tapes before then -- still have them, in fact -- and while it's very 80s music, it's still a favorite.

4. What is your favorite kind of writing pen?
I have a definite weakness for old-style fountain pens. I don't use them, but they are my favorite.

I try to write as little as possible...I hold a pen wrong (I think I've mentioned this before), and it hurts to write for extended periods of time. But of the pens I have now, I love the gold and silver gel ink pens that I use to write in my black-paper notebook from two The Black Road's ago. It has caused comment at GenCon, and I'll probably be bringing it again this year, along with the pens.

5. What is your favorite ice cream flavor?
I love Cherry Garcia from Ben & Jerry's. Probably my favorite, though I don't eat much ice cream these days.

Right now, Lou is in the computer room, enjoying Jedi Knight II: Outcast. Finally.

We bought the game back in April, but the video card I had in it wasn't supported. I bought one on eBay, but that didn't work at all in the machine.

It's possible the card I bought off eBay is bad. I gave it to a friend to try in his machine, and it did the same thing. I'm going to bring it into work and put it into the new Dell desktops we just got in, to see if it works at all. If it does, I'll resell it on eBay, if not, well, that's $80 down the drain.

I went through a period where I tried to get a new motherboard after the video card didn't work, but that was a mess as well.

So finally, Kevin let me try his GeForce 2 MX card, and that works fine in the desktop and JKII:Outcast works fine.

One order from PC Connection later, and the GeForce card was here, installed, and working.

I think we're going to have to put off closing off the computer room for a while. Lou wanted to shut the door and turn off the A/C because we haven't been using it much since we both have laptops and the hub out here in the living room. But the wire to the hub runs through the open door to the computer room (I want to drill a hole above the drop ceiling, he's reluctant. Instead, he wants to file/cut a groove in the frame around the door for the wire to set into.).

I did also offer for us to get wireless networking cards and a wireless base station, but he (and rightly so) nixed that idea. At least not yet.

And it's nice enough today that we have the A/Cs turned off, the windows open, and the fans going.

And I have a Beana on my lap as I type this. The temperature has definitely dropped.

Our skies are yellow.

It is noon, and I need to have lights on in the apartment to be able to see well.

According to the Weather Channel, there is a huge fire in Quebec that is causing smoke plumes to obscure a significant portion of New England's skies.

If you look here, you'll see a streak of cloud across New England.

Only it's not a cloud. That's the smoke.

It's not bad enough that I'm coughing or breathing in smoke, but we may end up putting the air conditioners back on in an hour or two. The humidity is also creeping up on us.

They say the winds will shift and it'll be out of New England tomorrow.

what's your inner flower?

[c] s u g a r d e w

Courtesy of ***Dave.

From the BBC come an article which states that Spielberg was refused an opportunity to direct a Star Wars episode by Lucas.

"I've asked him. He won't let me do one," said Spielberg in the interview.

But Lucas, please! Follow these instructions! For the sake of everyone who loves the Star Wars franchise!

Courtesy of Slashdot.

This could really go into both Entertainment and News, but I'm trying to not confuse things by putting them into two categories, so News it is.

Janis Ian, you know, the one who sang about not getting chosen for the basketball team (with apologies to Christine Lavin)?

Well, turns out she's quite the music activist.

Read her whole take on the RIAA "debacle" as she calls it here. She has excellent points. Read through them all.

One point to particularly note:

Or take author Mercedes Lackey, who occupies entire shelves in stores and libraries. 15 years ago she published a series of books with "Arrows" in the title; she's been getting royalties ever since. However, one royalty period after putting the first "Arrow" book on Eric Flint's "Baen Free Library" site, she received over triple the normal royalty.* In fact, payment on all her old titles increased, suddenly and significantly, with the only change being the availability of that one free book. I don't know about you, but as an artist with an in-print record catalogue that dates back to 1965, I'd be thrilled to see sales on my old catalogue rise.

Lackey says "It's what I'd expect to happen if a steady line of people who'd never read my stuff encountered it for freeﾖthey started to work through my backlist." I've found that to be true over and over again. Every time we make a few songs available on my website, sales of all the CDs go up. A lot.

I had heard the Lackey comment earlier. I know that Lou downloaded the electronic copy of On Basilisk Station from the Baen Free Library when it was available. We already have it in paperback, Lou wanted to see if the electronic format worked for him (it did not). I currently have The Fifth Sorceress on my Palm (free by following a link out of Dragon Magazine), but am having trouble reading it on the Palm's small screen, though I have read some short stories that way.

Okay, I moved off-topic into books. My bad. Go read Janis Ian's article.

Got a 127 in the Emode IQ test, so Anne is smarter than me. I did also get the Insightful Linguist.

At the same time, we compared your answers with others who have taken the test, and according to the sorts of questions you got correct, we can tell your Intellectual Type is an Insightful Linguist.

The first thing we can tell you about that is you have the natural fluency of a writer and the visual and spatial strengths of an artist. Those skills contribute to your creative and expressive mind. But that's just scratching the surface.

Once upon a time, I loved math. Well, I loved Algebra. Then came Geometry. Followed shortly by Pre-Calculus. And my dreams of being a math teacher went up in flames.

Courtesy of Anne.

[EDIT 12/14/02: Comments have been turned off on this entry.]

what movie symbolism are you? find out!

Courtesy of Jack comes this report from our Department of Homeland Defense.

Biological Warfare and the "Buffy Paradigm"

From the report:

If this is the "Buffy paradigm," the "Buffy syndrome" is different. The characters in Buffy constantly try to create unrealistic plans and models, and live in a world where they never really face the level of uncertainty they must deal with. They do not live in a world of total denial, but they do seek predictability and certainty to a degree that never corresponds to the problems they face. In short, they behave as if they could create and live with the kind of strategy and doctrine that is typically developed by the US joint chiefs, could develop and implement an NSC decision memorandium, or solve their problems with the equivalent of a Quadrennial Defense Review.

My cable company's DNS appears to be down. I can reach my website via IP and other places via IP, but not the usual way.

So while I was busy today at work and didn't post, tonight I can't post until this comes back up. Well, I can post via IP, but it's annoying.

I hit my Weight Watchers goal yesterday. In fact, I beat it by 1 pound.

Go me!

I am going to try to lose four more pounds, to reach my own personal goal of 164 lbs., which would be 30 lbs. since I started Weight Watchers, now 2 and a half years ago.

I have to agree with Wendi here:

Losing weight is a mind game. You have to win it mentally before you win it physically. If you think you 'need' something to lose weight, you've already lost. The only thing you need is less food and more movement.

It's a mindset. Just like a lot of things in life, I realized. Put your mind to it, you can do it.

Oops. Forgot about this.

1. Would you prefer to be blind or deaf?
Deaf. If I had a choice to pick, that is.

I'm very very very nearsighted with a bad astigmatism in one eye. But I could not live without being able to see. I could deal (not well, but I think I could do it) with being deaf.

2. If you could transfer to your mate the one trait that you possess that you wish s/he did, what would it be?
This one took a lot of thought. But I think it finally comes down to this: my technical know-how. I'd love for him to be able to "get" all the stuff I do with computers and VCRs and receivers and hooking up the PS2, etc. He could do it if he had to and had the time (and the patience), but he doesn't care to learn. Especially as he has me. (grin)

Then maybe he'd understand my desire for TiVo/ReplayTV.

3. If you could fly in a hot air balloon over any city in the world, what city would you choose?
Oooh, fun question! I always wanted to go up in a hot-air balloon.

But a city, eh? Hrm. It'd have to be an old one, one with history. Venice? No. Paris? Maybe. Athens? Possibly. Giza? Ooh, definitely up there.

But right now, I pick Cuzco, Peru. If we can drift over Machu Picchu as well. I'd love to see those ruins and the mountainsides from high up. Oh yeah.

Google! DayPop! This is my blogchalk: English, United States, Massachusetts, Fall River, The Flint, Julia, Female, 31-35!

Courtesy of ***Dave.

Describe three systems you have gamed under: one you thought was good, one you thought was all right, and one you didn't care for. What were the good points and the bad points of each system? Did the systems support their genre? Were they complex or simple? How easy were they to GM and play? Is there a system you'd really like to try that you haven't? Which ones wouldn't you try based on reading them?

Good: GURPS.

Good Points: Customizable characters due to points-based system.

Bad Points: Breaks a high power levels.

Support Genre: Since it's a generic system, yes, for the most part. See Bad Points.

Complex or Simple: Simple.

Ease of GMing/Play: Very easy. This is THE game system I could pick up and run with out knowing a ton of how all the rules worked.

All Right: d20, specifically D&D 3E

Good Points: Finally a version of D&D where I got in on the ground floor. And it makes sense! Everything goes in the same direction (no more "Do I want to roll high or low for this?"), and no more THAC0. Simple basic system; easy enough that after a few months of being a player, I decided I could run a game!

Bad Points: Not a ton of flexibility; still uses class-based levels; many confusing piddly rules (attacks of opportunity can still confuse even those who play it a lot); pretty much requires miniatures for combat.

Support Genre: I've only really seen a few other d20 systems. It supports high fantasy very well; others not as well.

Complex or Simple: Basic system is simple. It gets more complex

Ease of GMing/Play: Very easy on both counts, at least to this brain. I've actually played an arcane spellcaster and a divine spellcaster, which I never would have considered in previous flavors of (A)D&D.

Don't Care For: HERO System, any edition.

Good Points: Umm...supposedly good for super heroes in its Champions flavor. I don't know personally, never played it for Champs.

Bad Points: Confusing skill system. Requires serious math to get a character done. Favorite of min-max gamers who play points rather than character.

Support Genre: I played it in its Horror flavor, and didn't think it suited the genre well enough. I'd prefer Call of Cthulhu with its Sanity chart.

Complex or Simple: Complex. VERY Complex. At least to me of very little brain.

Ease of GMing/Play: Supposed to be good. I still couldn't get into it. It is just not plain intuitive for me.

The astute will note I did not include Amber in there. Amber succeeds because it has very little system. So I didn't feel I could include it fairly in the judging.

Is there a system you'd really like to try that you haven't?
Hrm. I'm not much for systems. I'd love to one day give Over the Edge a try, or Pendragon. But I'm not a SystemsHo. I'm a GameHo...give me a good scenario, and I'll try any system. Once.

But I would really like to play in a 7th Sea game, as I've only done that at conventions. And eventually run one some day. Love the swash'n'buckle, and the world is just wonderful.

Which ones wouldn't you try based on reading them?
Again, I don't read system books. Not for fun, anyway. Though one that I have browsed through comes to mind. Synnibar (another review here, and the quote below is from this review). Ghoul made up a game at one GaineyCon (this was before they'd moved to North Carolina). Open the rule book and read, until you've found a terrible rule. It was impossible to go more than one page. Literally. Then we had to read it out loud to share it. My favorite one by far was this one:

The rules for GMs forbid any variation. As pg. 332 clearly dictates, "Fate has absolute control during the game regarding rolls and interpretation of the rules. Fate may not, however, deviate from the rules as they are written, for if he or she does and the players find out, then the adventure can be declared null, and the characters must be restored to their original condition, as they were before the game began." Don't think you can tell the munchkin to bugger off if he cites this. McCracken successfully instituted the only Game Police in the industry by writing the following: "Players may attempt what is known as "calling Fate." This means that if a ruling is disputed by a player and he challenges Fate and is found to be absolutely correct, the player may receive double gaming points ("XP"- BCW)for the entire adventure."

Well, I'm straightening up the office before I leave tomorrow for MacWorldExpo. Trying to get all my stuff together, since I won't be in the office tomorrow.

Now trying to activate my new cellphone - with text messaging! - so the cleanup has halted. I really should put it on speakerphone, and probably will, but it's hard to hear with the other noises in my office.

Anyway, I may be very sparse this week as I am away. Alex and Ian, I will email you contact info for me in NYC later.

Yesterday I discovered that the Internet Cafe had Airport wireless capability. One-half-hour before I had to go meet Ian for dinner in Times Square.

Last night, at the hotel, I discovered that those who paid for the Pro Conference (and all the other workshop ones) have a Conference Attendee Lounge wherein Airport networks are setup.

So that's where I am this morning, on the last day of the convention, which is only a half-day anyway.

doh!

The swag has been missing, alas. I was hoping for some good stuff, but the only thing I saw was the Microsoft booth had Silly Putty eggs on the first day, but not yesterday. I will do another sweep around the exhibit hall in a few minutes, so I can't post long.

Next time, I will read the booklet IN ADVANCE of the convention. Sheesh.

I'll do all the Thursday things and the Friday stuff tomorrow.

I am back. Took yesterday off to just sit and veg and relax, and today I will be catching up on email and blogs and such. Hopefully there will be more posts later.

What Was Your PastLife?

Courtesy of ***Dave.

1. One hot summer afternoon, while walking through a parking lot at a large shopping mall, you notice a dog suffering badly from the heat inside a locked car. What would you do?
I must admit, catching up on people's blogs gave me pause to reconsider my first answer.

I would probably make Lou go inside the mall and have the car's license paged, while I waited outside, cell phone at the ready, keeping an eye on the dog.

I would also try the car's doors, to see if I could open any to let the window down a bit.

If I hadn't heard back from Lou, I'd consider breaking a window, but would probably chicken out and call the police and/or mall security to do it for me. And remind them of how bad a penalty there is for such animal neglect.

2. You are in a restaurant rest room. You notice an employee leaving without washing his/her hands. Do you bring the matter to the attention of the owner or manager? If so, do you do it publicly or privately?
To be honest, I probably wouldn't even notice. I don't tend to look at everyone else while in the washroom, I get in and get out. But if I did notice, I would probably tell Lou, who might say something privately. I don't think I ever would. If the restaurant was not a prime favorite, I doubt I'd return to it.

3. What is one item you own that you really should throw away ... but probably never will?
I am a packrat. I keep tons of crap. I did get rid of letters and cards from my old boyfriend a few years back, though in retrospect I wish I'd have kept them.

But I really should throw out my Duran Duran collection of things. I'd keep the records (maybe sell them on eBay if I can get CDs burned of them...once I find them again), but I also have magazines and articles and tons of crap in a footlocker.

But if I were to go in there to throw them out, I'd start looking at them all, and just never find the time/ability to actually do it.

Lou, on the other hand...

I think I'm more of an Amy Wynn, or maybe an Alex. Definitely not Frank. Must take test again.

Courtesy of Doyce.

A bit late, but done...

1. Where were you born?
Hrm. This used to be an off-the-cuff answer, but with passwords on sites and things these days with identify theft, I don't know that I want to throw it out where it'll be indexed on the web forever. So, let's just say in Alabama. I know, a strange place for such a Northern girl as me, but there you have it.

2. If you still live there, where would you rather move to? If you don't live there, do you want to move back? Why or why not?
I do not live there. My younger sister and I were born there, then the family moved to Maryland, and then to Portsmouth, RI.

I consider Portsmouth my "home town," though I'm currently living in the state next door. I know very little about Alabama, and I don't want to live in the south. Too hot, no (or very little) snow. Or seasons' change. I need my colored fall leaves!

I do wish I could live in Portsmouth again, but unless I win the lottery or a lot of money, it's not likely...it's an expensive suburb. But I really enjoyed it as the town I grown up in.

3. Where in the world do you feel the safest?
Safest? I have no clue...it's never been that important to me, even after 9/11. Maybe right after, it was a thought. But my apartment is safe enough for me.

4. Do you feel you are well-traveled?
Not as much as I used to be. I traveled a lot in my 20s, to meet friends I'd met online. I hit Toronto many times, NYC, the Albany area of NY, and parts of New Jersey (including the wilds). I also applied to colleges in Virginia (where I ended up attending), Western NJ, and Missouri, where my Mom's from. The farthest west I'd been in the US up until this February was Kansas City for my brother's wedding, though. The trip to Las Vegas blew that away. I've also been to GenCon in Milwaukee (soon to be in Indianapolis) and Origins in Columbus. Back and forth to Florida a few times to visit the ex-boyfriend, as well.

However, I have also been on two trips over the Atlantic. The first was to Spain for two weeks, with a day jaunt to Morocco. The second was a tour of England, Ireland and Wales. It was supposed to have an extension in Scotland, but that got messed up and we ended up staying an extra few days to go to Galway and the Connemara region of Ireland, which was an adequate substitute. I haven't done big trips in a long time, though. I do miss it.

I'm hoping to hit California next year, possibly the San Diego Comic Con. Lou's aunt and until live in San Diego, and we may be able to stay with them.

5. Where is the most interesting place you've been?
Morocco, by far. It was such a different culture. The kids I was pesudo-chaperoning at the time didn't like it, couldn't stand it. They wanted their sodas in sparkling clean glasses (when they didn't want to drink out of the bottle provided), and were amazed when they didn't get them that way. The food was excellent - I had my first cous cous - and the atmosphere was fun. The kids also got their first look at "professional" beggars, and how the bigger kids would shove away the younger, smaller ones to get the few coins they suckered the students into giving out.

Would love to go back. I want to walk through the Casbah again, but at a slower pace. With my money firmly attached to me.

I gotta get one of these before GenCon (though Lou says, "No Shirts...Till GenCon!" with apologies to the Beastie Boys).

Close up of the actual graphic.

1. You've been diagnosed with a presently incurable disease, with no more than three months to live. If you had a modest chance of surviving cryogenic freezing in the next week, to be awakened in a thousand years to live a greatly extended life ... would you do it?
No. At one time, I might have said yes, but while I'd have a long life, all my friends and relatives would be gone. I don't think I'd want to do that. I'd live those last three months to the fullest.

2. A friend asks for your opinion about an original novel (painting, sculpture, song) they've created. You think it is utterly dreadful. Do you lie about it, diplomatically tone down your true feelings, or tell the complete, unvarnished truth?
I'm known for telling the complete, unvarnished truth (at least I think I am), so I would probably fall somewhere in between the diplomatically toning down my feelings and telling the truth.

Because what I would say is that while it doesn't appeal to me and it is not my cup of tea, there are probably others who would love it. If they asked for true criticism, then I would let them have it, no holds barred. But most people can't take criticism (me included!), so I'd only do it if they really pushed or asked me for my opinion, and weren't looking for me to just praise it, as so many might.

3. In honor of the weather, what do you think is the most enjoyable thing to do in the snow?
Build snowmen, have snowball fights. Basically play in it!

I heard about her escape yesterday morning from Lou, who told me what she had done. I didn't have time to blog about it (and also forgot to do so), but I am very psyched that they caught the guys who kidnapped her.

This girl is just amazing. Seven years old. Chewing her way through the duct tape. Go her!

"I'll tell you one thing," said Mannwell Gellen, a friend of the Pratt family, "You don't mess with a 7-year-old from Southwest Philadelphia."

1. How long have you had a weblog?
Well, this one's been going since September 2001, though I really didn't start using it regularly until January 2002.

I did try blogs before that, though. According to my saved html file that was produced by the original blog, my first post went up on March 28, 2000. I didn't do much with that blog, but I did a lot more with my Aberrant blog. It was a weekly game, and this was my character's journal. The character also happened to be me, which was one reason I wanted to keep the journal. It didn't last very long...it was a lot of work to summarize the game sessions, and it died off in July. I had a lot of fun with that, though.

2. What was your first post about?
The first one on the original blog was about how I'd lost 10 lbs. on Weight Watchers in eight weeks. Only took many more years to lose the rest. I also talked obout...oh hell, let's just do it this way:

I've lost 10 lbs. in 8 weeks on Weight Watchers. I so thought I was going to gain last week, but I lost one pound to make that 10. I really am going to gain or stay the same this week, though. I was rather off the point-scale with food most days.

However, on the good news side, I've learned how to do a number of things! More futzing in Photoshop, though not what I'd promised I'd do. I just can't design that way. I did find a nice way to make some buttons and such, tho.

I've also set up the new backup server at work, and it actually is working! Now we just have to slog through two weeks of "new" backups, until we have enough on the tapes that we're not essentially doing brand new backups.

I need to get back to work on Janet's webpage. Since Rob's doing his own for the SFF Bookclub, or whatever it ends up being called, I should have more time. Lou's also wanting to get back to working on his own. I just need to try and find the best WYSIWYG program for him, of course for the Mac as well.

Back to work. More later, perhaps...

3. How many changes (name, location, etc.) of your weblog have there been, if more than one?
The original one was just called BlogFun, my Aberrant one was called Aberrant - Fight the Future, which was the name of our game. They were originally hosted at my old netspace...er...on netspace. This blog was named for the domain, and won't change its location, but it may change hosts someday.

4. What CMS (content management system) do you use? Do you like it or do you want to try something else?
Movabletype. Will never go back. Used to use Blogger, but outgrew it. It was fun when there weren't TONS of people on it, when it was new. Now it's just slow. I tried Greymatter, but it just didn't work for me.

5. Do you read people who have both a journal and a weblog? Or do you prefer to read people who have all of their writing in one central place?
I read the blogs that are linked on my sidebar, with occasional forays into other links from their blogs.

I also use Livejournal to keep up to date with people I know over there. I must admit, I like the community feel and the "current mood" and the "current music" tidbits, and the ability to post a comment to someone with threading and your own icons and being all logged in. But it's much more of a community style than weblog style, and that's okay for somethings, but not all.

Courtesy of Doyce.

Courtesy of Doyce.

Seven and a half years.

That's a really long time.

Especially in game terms.

But this past Saturday, I put to bed WEF, my once-a-month Amber diceless game. (don't bother looking at the page, there isn't anything there really, and now probably never will be).

I figure in all that time, we probably missed about six or seven sessions, basically making it 7 years of running. 7x12=84 sessions.

Whew!

It almost died a number of years ago. I was losing interest, I couldn't keep myself excited between sessions about running it. Day of the game, I was always on, always having fun, always wanting to keep it going. Then it would fade after the players left.

The first ennui was solved when one of my players, Jim, aka Myth, got talked into helping me run it. This worked out somewhat well - he helped me with some of the plotting and planning, and ran some of the NPCs with which I had saddled myself. But not all...I had tried to give some away, but had players protesting, so they were quickly reshuffled.

Then, late last year, I realized I was heading to the end. It was time. I'd done a lot of stuff, but it was time to move on. I planned toward ending by the end of this year, though I hadn't told anyone save Jim and Lou.

I finally had to break it to my players a few months back, when one of the players had finally gotten her husband to submit a character, since they were driving together to the game. I couldn't, in good conscience, let him start playing when the game would be ending in a few months. They seemed to take it all pretty well.

Then, last month, Lou and one other player, Kevin, put the final nail in the coffin. Lou's character Brennan, still in the grips of his Logrus Madness, got everyone together to solve the Fauxberon situation, and Kevin was going to get himself killed due to a poor assumption on his part, which would take out the NPC he was trying to kill, as well as another NPC, which would put Caprice, the most recent player and PC addition, in charge of the entire Dreamlands.

I realized it would all be wrapped up in the next session. Not even the end of this year as I had originally anticipated.

And so, this past Saturday, it all came to pass. Oberon exploded (literally!), Chyle killed Alex, but was killed by the Pattern in retaliation, which also killed Vash, which brought the Dreamlands into full Reality, an equal realm to Amber or the Courts, and Caprice as the only one with the training and ability to move easily back and forth to it. Stephan, Adrienne's twin and lover, is stuck in the Dream, alas for her. (eventually I see Adrienne as able to move into and out of the Dream, but probably not for a while.)

And in the end, the final wishes of Oberon were revealed. His eldest daughter, Cybele (re-founder of House Barimen, with her consort Brennan, and her personal bodyguards Benedict and Samuel) was to be the next Queen of Amber, or it would all fall apart. So said Oberon.

Grace, the one behind the false Oberon (this time...it was him, he was just compelled) died at the hands of her daughter Darcy and her former lover, Selwin.

I think Adrienne will spend time between Barimen, Amber, and Dream (when she can get there). She won't be happy with this, but she'll deal, as she always does.

I think Jerrym and Rhiannon will leave the Courts and return to Kashfa, visiting their daughter when she's available.

I see Phineas as moving into Barimen with Deirdre and Alain, and maybe eventually finding out who his Amber parent was. Most definitely finding out that Sevaren was the Benedict who had trained him.

I see Brennan encouraging Cybele to take up the role Oberon had prepared for her, and maybe finally giving in on the whole children thing (not that Cybele's desperate for children either), though maybe not taking the throne quite yet. Gerard did well as regent for a time in the past, he could be again.

Lydia could move into the Amber Ambassador to the Courts role, as she's somewhat more balanced with the powers within her, but not quite. Though she may take over as Head of Barimen; I could see Cybele offering her that role.

And I see Caprice being the Dark Queen of Dream for some time to come, with her two mentors dead and being such a very young person to come into so much power.

I think the game ended on a decent note. Not a great note, necessarily, but at least it didn't slowly fade away, or end on a really bad note.

It's hard for me to believe that, when I sent out my original call for players in late 1994, that the game would last as long as it did. I never anticipated it, even though the game's name was "Which Endureth Forever." Lou laughed and said that it should be "Which Endureth For a while," and I countered with "Which Endureth For a really long time."

I wish to thank all my players, past and present.

The original WEF cast list:

Julia Frizzell - GM and player of too many NPCs to list here, but some of the original characters were - Liam, Galen, Moira, Rhiannon, Rhys, Sebastian, Cybele, Samuel, Grace, Stephan, Margarethe, Lindra, and Alain

Louis Evans - Brennan, son of Bleys, consort to Cybele

Michael Curry - Jerrym, son of Brand, partner to Rhiannon, father of Caprice

Jim Smith - Artor, son of Osric

Yi-Mei Chng - Alaina, daughter of Faiella and Oberon, mother of Ardath

Jose Cunha - Selwin, son of Libra and Oberon, father of Darcy

Scott Whitney - Alexander/Snow, son of Fiona

Kevin Hudson - Chyle, son of Mara, originally of House Mishrak in the Courts

Corey Araujo - Rowan, son of Oberon

And the later additions:

Deb Atwood - Adrienne, daughter of Cybele

Dawn Baldwin - Lydia, daughter of Sebastian

Sarah Wishnevsky - Ardath, daughter of Alaina

Pat Washburn - Phineas, son of someone...it was never revealed in game

Jenn Jackson - Caprice, daughter of Jerrym and Rhiannon

Jim Smith - as co-GM, creator of Darcy and Simon, who discovered his Inner Flora one night to all of the players' amazement

You all helped me to have one of the best games I've ever run, or even participated in. I will miss you all terribly. (and oh $diety, I hope I'm not missing anyone!!)

I had a blast for the most part, and will remember the game fondly for the rest of my life, and I hope you will as well.

[Edited to add:] And I never could have done it without the support of my loving husband.

What Farscape Character are you?

Courtesy of Doyce.

Once More, With Feeling

Looks like a September release from Rounder Records. Coolness.

Courtesy of ***Dave.

Gaming requires the GM and players to communicate a large amount of information about system, plot, setting, character, and actions (among other things). There are a lot of places where a failure to communicate on the part of the GM and the players leads to disappointments for the GMs and the players. How do you deal with miscommunications and invalid assumptions as a player and a GM? Give one or more examples of situations and how you resolved them or how you are avoiding them.

I haven't had too many problems with this overall, but when I have had problems, they've been big ones.

Since I've only GM'd three games in my life for any extended period of time, and two of them were Amber games, that's where most of my experience lies.

My first experience with miscommunication came with the roommate of another player in the game who wanted to join. I had no idea of this person, having never met him. Though he was online, as were most of my players then, I'd never had any experience seeing him play or knew anything about him.

This was my first mistake. I let him into the game and it took years of playing before I finally realized (or maybe we both did) that our styles just did not mesh. He wanted a more action-oriented game, I think. I was (and still am, really) a GM who loves to spend a lot of time talking in character, and plot-be-damned. He may have been more of a powergamer, as well.

I suppose I should have realized this in the beginning of the game, when he approached me with the idea of his character being Oberon's personal assassin. Then he proceeded to put very few of his points into Warfare (as compared to other characters), and then walked around telling everyone that's what he was.

We finally decided that we needed to stop being GM and player if we were to continue to be friends (which we had become over the years), so we parted amicably.

There are probably others, but I'm two weeks late answering this, and this is still the only thing I can come up with for a reply.

Sometimes the plot of a game requires a GM to keep secrets. Is it better for the GM and other players to keep most out-of-character knowledge secret, or to assume that players are capable of keeping in-character and out-of-character knowledge separate? Where and how do you draw the line as a GM and/or player between what secrets should be kept and which ones are OK to reveal?

But that's a perfect world, one in which most of us do not live.

I love to talk about the neat things in my games, all the secrets that are going on behind-the-scenes. I managed to share this with my co-GM in WEF once he became that, but still shared some stuff with Lou (my husband). There were times when he did not want to know, and some of those times I respected his wishes and kept him in the dark. It was very hard for me, as a GM, to do that. I love to talk about my game, about all the stuff that goes on, about what players did, what characters did, etc.

Now, I must admit, he is really, really good about not letting some information color his perceptions. Probably comes from him being such a good GM.

I try to draw the line at things that will make a character change their reaction if the player knows the truth. It's hard to tell where that line is, but I try as best I can.

For example, while some players and a few characters knew in WEF that Alex had basically become the avatar of the Pattern, not everyone knew. And when Kevin had Chyle teleport to the Pattern Room after killing Alex, and then was surprised when the Pattern took revenge and snuffed the life out of Chyle, Kevin was rather surprised. He did not know in or out of character that Alex had such a high position. If he had known out of character, it's quite likely he would have picked another place to teleport that would have kept him safe from the rampaging avatar of the Logrus that was attacking him, upset that the Pattern's Champion had been killed.

I don't know that Kevin would have changed his plans, but it's possible he would have, even if Chyle didn't know. Not that Kevin's not a good role-player, and able to separate the IC and OOC knowledge, but it would still be there. It could very easily have had a subconscious influence.

I also have a big secret floating around the NPC in my D&D game. Tallis looks and acts like he's lawful good, but if someone cast Detect Evil on him, he detects as evil. Only with careful study can one determine that he's not evil, but something *on our about his back* is the thing that's detecting as evil. None of the active players nor the characters know what is up with him, though they may find out soon. I have managed to keep this secret only by sharing it with others outside of the game - I have an Evil Planning Committee of three people not in the game whom I turn to for advice and ideas, and they know. The one inactive player knows because I had to share the gorgeous artwork I had commissioned for him - the artist is not done with the one I can show the players yet.

I really have no control over what my players share with each other. While I would like them to keep some things secret, I know they're going to talk. They're friends, they do that. I did have one player in my game to whom I specifically told to keep one thing about his character's background a secret, because it could have impact on the game. I found out later that he had told one other player, and while that player hasn't revealed the information (as far as I know) to the others, it still pisses me off. As long as it's character secrets, that's fine. But when I ask for a specific background detail to remain hidden from the players at large, and there is a reason for it, I get upset. Fortunately, that player is no longer in my game, for other reasons.

As for being on the other side of that fence, being a player with someone else as GM - I try to keep my mouth shut if asked. But like I said, I like to talk about my character to others. Lou does a decent job of sharing information with me if he needs help or advice, and I think I do a good job of not sharing it with others.

It gets hard when both of us have created our game world, and we both GM in it, albeit in wildly different time periods. We try to keep our sharing of information pertinent to getting details nailed down, and the occasional plot point that I often conveniently forget (like how our leader's new cohort was going to be a young silver dragon) until it happens. My mind can be like a sieve at times.

We also had one friend and fellow gamer (player and GM) once that loved revealing secrets. He'd love creating these tortured characters with lots of deep, dark secrets that could never see the light of day. And in the first few sessions, he'd reveal them. We coined a phrase for him - "Hey, I got a deep dark secret. Wanna hear it?"