Eternal Sunshine #108 - January 2016

The Dining Dead -
The Eternal Sunshine Movie Reviews

For the time being I am reserving this section for exceptional films, or films we see in theaters. I will also mention films that I backed on Kickstarter or other places, once I get to see them. So some months there will be no Dining Dead section.

Crush the Skull – CtS was a low-budget horror film I backed on Kickstarter some time ago. As is often the case, it takes many months before you get to see the finished product (if ever…there are still projects I backed in early 2014 that haven’t delivered). I can’t remember exactly what made me choose this film as one to support. I think it was a combination of the plot and the prominence of humor in the film. Actually the film’s budget was rather large for Kickstarter standards, about $75,000 (I’ve backed films with budgets below $1,000 if you can believe that).

The film is the brainchild of Viet Nguyen and Chris Dinh. Chris also stars in the film, while Viet served as Director. The plot is somewhat simple: Ollie (Dinh) and Blair (Katie Savoy) are a loving couple who happens to make their living by breaking and entering into upper-class homes. When what is supposed to be their final job before a year of traveling goes comically wrong, they are forced to go into debt to a local gangster and resume “work” to afford their payments. Because time is of the essence, they agree to join Blair’s screw-up brother (Chris Reidell) and his “crew” (the hilarious Tim Chou) in a robbery of a vacation home. Unfortunately, the target property is the lair of a serial killer…and once they break in, they cannot find a way out.

Tight dialogue, great humor and good acting are what pull this film together. There are some suspenseful moments, but things never get too serious, and unlike most low-budget horror films the blood is kept to a minimum. Crush the Skull is one of those movies you need to pay attention to as you watch it or you’ll miss some of the ongoing gags and subtle humor. You’ll still enjoy the more obvious jokes and fun, but the effort you put into the details will be well worth your while.

The characters are well developed and their personalities dictate their actions and the kind of laughter they inspire. The “basement” sets are very well done, and above all the post-production work on sound and music lift Crush the Skull to an even higher level. Those two areas are often shortchanged in the low-budget world, but this team marshalled their resources well and the finished product is much better for those efforts.

I don’t think Crush the Skull is available on DVD or on-demand yet, but I believe it will be shortly. Watch for it, especially if you enjoy dark, intelligent humor mixed with your suspense and horror.

Meet Me In Montauk
The Eternal Sunshine Letter Column

Thanks to everyone who expressed regrets and other comfort for Miss Piggy. I got everything from short notes to longer letters, but many were more personal in nature and not marked as “for print” so I don’t think the authors wanted them included here.

The Best Albums in History - By Decade

The 1960’s – Any Leftovers

Robert Rodday, Jr - Crosby, Stills, and Nash - Crosby, Stills, and Nash

Neil Young - Everybody Knows This is Nowhere

Simon and Garfunkel - The Sounds of Silence

The Beatles - The Beatles

The Allman Brothers Band - The Allman Brothers Band

Roger Cox - The Beatles - The Beatles

The Beatles - Rubber Soul

The Beatles - Revolver

The Beatles - Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band

Joshua Danker-Dake - So Doug suckered me into this. Look, I’m a relatively young man, and I’m a modern metal guy. I don’t listen to any music from the 60s (Why did we start with the 60s? Here I was all ready to get into the best big band albums from the 30s and 40s.). 60s, we’re talking the primeval ancestors of what I’m into. At great pains, I’ve managed to scrape together a list of albums I can stand to listen to. Yeah, I stole a bunch from last issue; what can I say, you people have solid taste in music. 1960s Joan Baez, “Joan Baez” Jethro Tull, “This Was” Deep Purple, “The Book of Taliesyn” David Bowie, “Space Oddity” Beatles, “Sgt. Pepper” Simon and Garfunkel, “Sounds of Silence” Simon and Garfunkel, “Bookends” Johnny Cash, “At Folsom Prison” Pink Floyd, “Piper at the Gates of Dawn” King Crimson, “In the Court of the Crimson King”

Per Westling - 4 more for the 60s:

Pet Sounds, Beach Boys

Highway 61 Revisited, Bob Dylan

At Folsom Prison, Johnny Cash

Stand!, Sly and the Family Stone

Steve Cooley - 1. Rubber Soul, Beatles

2. Revolver, Beatles

3. Abbey Road, Beatles

4. Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band, Beatles

5. Pet Sounds, Beach Boys

6. Sounds of Silence, Simon and Garfunkel

7. Let It Bleed, Rolling Stones

8. The Band, The Band

9. White Album, Beatles

10. Meet the Beatles, Beatles

Robert Lesco - Beatles: Revolver

Juan Garcia Esquivel: Latin-Esque

John Coltrane: A Love Supreme

Herbert von Karajan's Beethoven Symphonies cycle - still the gold standard

William Shatner: The Transformed Man (just because)

Mothers of Invention: Freak Out! (a debut double album?)

Herb Alpert and the Tijuana Brass: Whipped Cream and Other Delights

Beatles: Abbey Road

Ella Fitzgerland: Live In West Berlin

The Shaggs: Philosophy of the World (just for laughs)

Richard Martin - interestingly enough (to me, anyways), my top 5 all-time records are from the 60s (1) and 70s (4) even though my favorite musical era is the 80s. i wonder what that means. (none of them will be on these lists, maybe another one someday) i have a weakness for live music, so i suspect that's how my lists will lean. who knows though, i still haven't decided what's on them.

with buddy holly and eddie cochran dead, chuck berry & little richard exhausted, and elvis making lame movies the early 60s were tough times for rock'n'roll. there were a few alternatives though....

1961 - showcase, by patsy cline. for my money, the best female vocalist ever. "i fall to pieces" & "crazy" plus a handful of re-recorded classics and covers, still holds up today, especially if you have fond memories of ross perot's rendition of "crazy".

1962 - peter, paul & mary. i see that larry picked peter, paul & mommy, but even though that one has a re-release of "puff, the magic dragon", i like this one better. instant folkie classics "500 miles", "lemon tree", "if i had a hammer", & "where have all the flowers gone". if it had puff too, it'd be practically perfect.

1962 - surfer's choice, by dick dale. this dude invented surf guitar & is still rocking 50+ years later and puts on a great live show. see him if you can, while you can! the 2006 cd release includes "misirlou", which i'm sure you remember from pulp fiction. why is he not in the r&r hall of fame already? it's an embarrassment!

1962 - howlin' wolf. an outrageously awesome record of blues, i think every song on here has been covered dozens of times. "red rooster", "shake for me", "wang dang doodle", "spoonful", "back door man" (covers by the stones, cream & the doors pop right to mind). nowadays you can pick it up as a twofer with moanin' in the moonlight which has "smokestack lightning" and "i asked for water". a total steal!

1962 - burnin' by john lee hooker. hooker re-recorded or re-worked many of his best songs. too bad the iconic "boogie chillun" isn't here, but "boom boom" is (i had no idea that was his most popular song). a groove so strong even white people can dance to it. also a steal as a twofer with plays & sings the blues.

1969 - woodstock, 40 years on: back to yasgur's farm. a bit on the extravagant side, since it's 6cds worth of live music from the woodstock weekend. some bits that made it into the movie, most which didn't. i'm amazed at how good this stuff sounds despite the primitive conditions at woodstock. (the extended version of the film is glorious too!) i get a serious case of nostalgia for a time i wasn't old enough to experience first hand whenever i listen to this stuff. [[I won’t be including this in the final list since it is a recent combo reissue of a partial soundtrack.]]

The 1970’s – First Set of Five

Andy Lischett - First, I want to thank Frank Affinito for including a Johnny Winter album from the 1960s.

These first five for the 1970s are pretty easy. The next batch will be tougher because I basically stopped listening to albums after 1972, or so, and I'll have to pick them based on the one or two hits they contain. Is Mississippi Queen good enough to bump We Will Rock You? How about Funk #49 or Black Betty?

1. Bad Girls by Donna Summer. "Toot toot! Aww, Beep beep!" I bet a lot of your readers hate Disco, but that's okay… I hate Pink Floyd.

2. Lola Versus Powerman and the Moneygoround, Part One by the Kinks. I can't say that I've heard the entire album, but the song Lola is one of my favorites of all time.

3. Leon Russell by Leon Russell. I like his piano playing and his odd voice. Not that name-dropping matters, but look at "Personnel" for this album on Wikipedia.

4. Nilsson Schmilsson by Harry Nilsson. "Doctor, is there nothin' I can take? I said, Doctor! To relieve this belly-ache?"

5. Sail Away by Randy Newman. "Don't wanta hurt no kangaroos."

Next month: Some loud Rock & Roll. Maybe even Cat Scratch Fever.

Carol Kay - 1. Let It Be - The Beatles ((Andy here: I distinctly remember driving to school when I first heard Get Back and thought what a cool song it was without knowing who sang it)).

2. Tapestry - Carole King.

3. The Way We Were - Barbra Streisand ((Not the soundtrack to the movie)).

4. Live at Leeds - The Who.

5. Goodbye, Yellow Brick Road - Elton John.

Martin Burgdorf: 1970 The Move: Shazam

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2mj8r9IMjac&list=PL94gOvpr5yt1d7E6U2Mmlm99-7Sr1g0Dd

"Without doubt, it was The Beatles, The Stones, and The Move, in that order, in England." Tony Secunda, Move manager

Well, I never particularly liked The Rolling Stones, and I think that The Electric Light Orchestra, formed by former Move-members,

was better than The Beatles. But all of these bands were much better than today's rock music. By the way, 'Shazam' is a magical word that turns a teenager into a superpowered adult. I wish there was a word that would turn me 16 again.

1971 Sparks: Halfnelson

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p8YRg1rBZSg

The only record by Halfnelson, the precursor of Sparks - an interesting record that, together with the following 'A Woofer in a Tweeter's House' anticipated the style that David Bowie and Roxy Music developed later. With their third record, 'Kimono my House', Sparks jumped on the glam rock bandwagon. Afterwards they released the first punk record for children, 'Propaganda'.

1972 Roxy Music: Roxy Music

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y8DJP6XYGDQ

Roxy Music was new. I liked about this band that it glorified the good and luxurious life, in total rejection of the horrible hippie attitude.

1973 Eno : Here Come The Warm Jets

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nItuhuY1U04&list=PLPaztBWnatciWbMvnF7Rn7eV7Lyz9NTpr&index=3

What if Eno had stayed with Roxy Music? He was probably the musically most innovative band member.

1974 Udo Lindenberg & das Panik-Orchester: Ball Pompös

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OUgrCME4JXM

His name is Udo, he lives in a hotel with a view on the river Alster. The youtube link is an excerpt from this first show on German TV, recorded live at Onkel Pö's concert hall in Hamburg.

Steve Cooley - 1. Darkness on the Edge of Town, Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band

2. Damn the Torpedoes, Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers

3. Late for the Sky, Jackson Browne

4 Armed Forces, Elvis Costello and the Attractions

5 Aja, Steely Dan

Per Westling - Well, I suppose there are parts of your music collection you might not be proud of. I had an album that I know I loved in the mid 70s. It was some brass band from Tijuana. I thought it

was, up tempo, and I loved brass music, and still do (Balkan Brass, yeah!). Looking through google I do find some but it is Herb Albert... and the music is very slick, not at all what I remember. So I'll have to dig through my LP collection if I can find it, the collection that is.

During the 70s, at least late, I did start listening to albums, but I rarely bought some, but did buy a few later.

Had a Pink Floyd period and therefor I pick out two from them:

* Dark Side of The Moon. A classic. Drug smoke is everywhere.... although I have never done drugs.

* The Wall. From 1979 although this is more 80s. Did see the movie one night and almost fell asleep. The album had a very important role 10 years later. Was actually on my first concert in 1983, Pink Floyd, in the Globe Arena in Stockholm. Remember that the sound was OK... if you were standing outside.

1977 Fleetwood Mac released Rumours. My sister spent a year in Boston during this period. The she met another Swedish girl whos laste name was Fleetwood. I suppose you can guess what that girl got as response every time she presented herself? Anyway, my sister brought this back so I listened quite a lot on it. But it took 20 years before I bought it, during the 20 year celebration.

My last choice (if counting the Tijuana mess) is for a group that I did not fancy during the 70s but which I have reevaluated after that. The band is ABBA, which are 70s after all. Their album from 1977 Arrival do contain some gems.

Larry Peery - Colin Davis (conductor), various artists and the Royal Opera House Orchestra and Chorus for Berlioz: Les Troyens. Davis has always been under-rated as a conductor, perhaps because he lacked the charisma of some of his more flamboyant colleagues. Covent Garden always puts on a good show and showmanship is what Troyens requires, as well as a strong bladder for the audience to get through the 5.5 hour work. While most opera buffs focus on Verdi and Puccini; its the trio of Berlioz, Meyerbeer and Wagner that is really fascinating.

Vladimir Horowitz for Horowitz Plays Rachmaninoff. If one word describes Horowitz it would be flamboyant, but he was all business when it came to the works of Russian composers, especially Rachmaninoff.

Alicia de Larrocha for Albeniz: Iberia. I used to love watching videos of her concerts and I was always amazed that somebody so small and with such small hands could play all those notes. She was great at everything she played, but she seemed to have a special affinity for the music of her own country, Spain.

George Solti and the Chicago Symphony Orchestra for Beethoven: Symphonies (9) Complete. Sooner or later every conductor worth a damn tries his hand at the complete Beethoven Symphonies. Inevitably they do well with some and not so well with others. Solti brings out the best in the CSO to produce a set that is consistently fine, if not the greatest.

Itzhak Perlman & Vladimir Ashkenazy for Beethoven: Sonatas for Violin and Piano. Two masterful performers bring out the best in these masterpieces of the chamber music repertory.

All in all the 70s were not a great time for classical music.

Doug Kent - Fleetwood Mac - Rumours

Supertramp – Breakfast in America

Simon and Garfunkel - Bridge Over Troubled Water

Pink Floyd - Dark Side of the Moon

Yes - Close to the Edge

A few albums with won’t make my 70’s list but that deserve honorable mention (in case you want to steal any ideas, although this list is far from complete) include Meat Loaf – Bat Out of Hell; The Cars – The Cars; Frank Zappa – Zoot Allures (which I have always preferred to Sheik Yerbouti); Led Zeppelin – Led Zeppelin III; Led Zeppelin – Led Zeppelin IV; Steve Miller - Fly Like an Eagle; The Rolling Stones – Sticky Fingers; Elton John – Captain Fantastic and the Brown Dirt Cowboy; The Ramones – The Ramones; Tony Williams Lifetime – Believe It; Pink Floyd – Wish You Were Here; Patti Smith – Horses; Journey – Infinity; Billy Joel – The Stranger; Supertramp – Crime of the Century; Joe Jackson – Look Sharp; Joe Jackson – I’m the Man; Elvis Costello – This Year’s Model; Gary Wright – The Light of Smiles; Jethro Tull – Aqualung; David Bowie – Low and Van Halen – Van Halen.

Robbert Rodday, Jr. – Led Zeppelin – Physical Graffiti

Pink Floyd – Dark Side of the Moon

Creedence Clearwater Revival – Cosmo’s Factory

Fleetwood Mac – Rumours

Elton John – Goodbye Yellow Brick Road

Paul Kent – Bill Bruford – One of a Kind

Yes – Close to the Edge

Miles Davis – Bitches Brew

Elton John – Madman Across the Water

King Crimson - Red

Toby Harris - My ‘musical’ repertoire dates back as far as 1974 only (when the Stranglers formed), so although I like some Sixties stuff (The Animals, Steve Harley Cockney Rebel) I have no albums of this era to give any solid opinion of, other than a couple of compilation CD’s produced many years later.

But I can give you five favourite albums of the 70’s.

1. The Stranglers: “Rattus Norvegicus”. 1977

The opening sentence from Wiki about the Stranglers reads:

Scoring some 23 UK top 40 singles and 17 UK top 40 albums to date in a career spanning four decades, the Stranglers are one of the longest-surviving and most "continuously successful" bands to have originated in the UK punk scene of the mid to late 1970s.

To add to this comment; no matter who your favourite band is, 9 times out of ten their best album was their first. Still touring today, they will usually play 3 or 4 tracks from this album at every gig. The music industry’s best bass guitarist (and I would love to see a ‘decisive competition’ on this subject!) & swirling Ray Manzarek keyboard make this album quite unique.

2. The Damned: “Machine Gun Etiquette”. 1979

I took my wife to see the Damned when she was seven months pregnant with our first child. Standing room only. “How foolish is that?” one might ask, but the truth is the Damned are both (a) very professional and (b) their fans very friendly. Several unsightly-looking characters (weith mohicans, nose rings, leather jackets and spots) pulled out some well-hidden chairs for Sital to sit in and enjoy the ‘concert’. Let’s not forget that this is the same band who played their no 3 hit “Eloise” in an open-air London Docklands performance with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra in the 1980’s. The Damned changed their line-up and style many times and this (being their thirds album, in 1979) offered a maturing of ability and a mix of anthems, psychedelics and great rock numbers. The album also sported their first UK hits – three in fact - “Love Song”, “Smash it Up” and “I just Can’t Be Happy Today”.

3. Buzzcocks : “Another Music In a Different Kitchen”. 1978

How many punk bands are there with a “choppy” guitar and blatantly gay (emphasized by voice) lead singer? It is one amazing combination; it shouldn’t work, but does work. And it works well. This debut album by the Buzzcocks only had one hit, but some amazingly popular album tracks which stand the test of time so well. And to change the tempo, the lead guitarist Steve Diggle takes on a few lead vocals as well. “Moving Away From The Pulsebeat” is an awesome finish to the album, making it great listening in any mood. The band were to find later commercial success in 1979 with the single “Ever Fallen In Love?” (a track used in Shrek 2), but they never moved too far from their musical roots.

4. Generation X: “Valley of the Dolls”: 1979

The only “number 1” album (with a number 1 names-sake single to boot) I would consider. Lead singer Billy Idol went on to do bigger and better things for himself, but this (the band’s second album) was where he first hit fame. It illustrates their ability to mix rock with anthems, and some great lyrics throughout.

5. The Ruts: “The Crack”: 1979

The only album ever made by this band, as their lead singer died prematurely. They mixed punk and reggae in an awesome fashion. This is an album I never grow tired of, and it generated two hits; “Babylon’s Burning” and “Was it Something That I said?”

No Clash, no Sex Pistols – these bands never matured with their music (Public Image Ltd, in the case of the Pistols) until the 1980’s. If you are not a fan of “punk music”, but would like a more mellow taster of what it was all about, with some genuine musical talent in places, then these are my five choices. Anybody who has any interest in this genre will have some respect for all five albums (though may well dispute the Sex Pistols and Clash should be in there), but these are the kind of albums I still play on vinyl when out in my garage in an evening.

Have a great Christmas.

Alan Novich: Meat Loaf - Bat Out of Hell

ZZ Top - Deguello

Eric Clapton - Slowhand

Neil Young - After the Gold Rush

The Allman Brothers – Live at the Fillmore East

Andrew Goff - 10. A Day At The Races by Queen - Epic stadium rock at the height of their imperial phase.

9. The Clash by The Clash - The Sex Pistols may have bought punk to the UK but it was the Clash who mastered it.

8. Parallel Lines by Blondie - Arguably the birth of pop-punk.

7. Goodbye Yellow Brick Road by Elton John - Probably the closest this list gets to disco, which is harsh on the genre. The songwriting here is superb.

6. Rumours by Fleetwood Mac - Harmonic and beautiful at times, though with a sense of understated melancholy.

Frank Affinito - 1. "Night at The Opera" (Queen)

2. "Van Halen" (Van Halen)

3. "Band Of Gypsys" (Jimi Hendrix/Band of Gypsys)

4. "Physical Graffiti" (Led Zeppelin)

5. "Paranoid" (Black Sabbath)

Roger Cox - Pink Floyd - Meddle

Pink Floyd - Obscured by Clouds

Pink Floyd - Atom Heart Mother

Pink Floyd - Dark Side of the Moon

Pink Floyd - Wish You Were Here

Joshua Danker-Dake - I’m not really big into much from the 70s, but at least we get the classic heavy metal grandfathers here, and modern enough prog rock that I can get into it a little bit. 1970s Glenn Yarbrough, “The Hobbit” – I grew up on this album. Tolkien, great atmosphere, funky bass lines (well, one), and Yarbrough’s folksy warbling. Classic. Black Sabbath, “Paranoid” Rainbow, “Rising” Judas Priest, “Sad Wings of Destiny” David Bowie, “The Man Who Sold the World.”

Geoff Kemp - Been trying to decide about the first 5 albums. The first two are straightforward.

Moody Blues - Seventh Sojourn. To my mind still the best Moody Blues album in existence.

David Bowie - Aladdin Sane. It is difficult for me to decide between this and Ziggy Stardust, but this just scrapes it.

Emerson, Lake & Palmer. Pictures at an Exhibition.

Focus. Focus II; first band I ever saw live. Superb.

Deep Purple. Made in Japan.

Jim Burgess - 1) Chicago II, by Chicago: When I was a kid AT THIS TIME, I loved "25 or 6 to 4" especially, and also "Colour My World" and "Make Me Smile". I still love these songs and this album when I hear them, though I admit my musical tastes have evolved.

2) Deja Vu, by Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young: Well, this was THE album of that year from the folk rock movement, adding the Neil Young factor. A cool thing about the album is each of them wrote two of the songs, then they did "Woodstock" by Joni Mitchell, and then the album ender "Everybody I Love You" that was the perfect blending Neil Young/Stephen Stills song.

3) Trespass, by Genesis: This was the Anthony Phillips album that Rolling Stone called "boring" and that they are just SO wrong about. "The Knife" is my absolute favorite song of that part of the early Progressive Rock era. This album was REALLY popular in Belgium, because Belgians have such great taste, just check out their beer too!

4) Live at Leeds, by the Who: It has only six tracks, but they ARE all my favorite Who tracks and this Live album captures them at their best.

5) Close to the Edge, by Yes: I've always loved this record, as my first concert was a Yes concert with all these songs played at it. I'd not been listening to it much for a long time, but recently picked up the great boxed live set of a whole stream of their concerts from this period, which is really tremendous.

Sixth and intentionally left off, though it was THE album of the 1970's is Dark Side of the Moon by Pink Floyd. It is really good, I like these better.

Next time, I'll go with the last part of the 1970's, which will be MUCH, MUCH harder, since I have some of my favorite Folk Rock (I Want To See The Bright Lights Tonight by Richard and Linda Thompson probably is just IT), Progressive Rock (Too many to name, starting with Tubular Bells), Punk Rock (Joy Division's Unknown Pleasures JUST beats out the Sex Pistols) , and New Wave (This Year's Model by Elvis Costello nails it, as I remember the day that came into my college Radio Station , so probably just beats out Fear of Music by Talking Heads and Blondie's Parallel Lines) records in there. I wanted to get these five in there before that. And then I can think about these late 1970's ones more, this just records some of my thoughts to think about for a month.

Robert Lesco - Brian Eno: Another Green World

The Ramones: self-titled debut

Nick Lowe: Pure Pop For Now People, released in the U.K. as Jesus of Cool

FM: Black Noise (This is the one they recorded with Nash the Slash - perhaps a local phenomenon)

Steely Dan: Aja

Richard Martin - onward to the seventies....now that i look back at the list, i've seen all these performers live at least once.

1973 - the wild, the innocent & the e street shuffle by bruce springsteen. huh, i had no idea this record even registered on the radar, but the rolling stone top 500 has it at #132. who knew? well deserved, too! kind of jazzy rock, extended story-songs that bruce kind of went away from on his next album...you know, the popular one. springsteen is basically my first hand equivalent to beatlemania.

1976 - station to station by david bowie. huh, #323 on the rolling stone list. evidently it was very popular and i know i played my copy relentlessly, but none of my friends cared for it except for "golden years". most of the tunes are stretched out, funky & angsty. i'm such a sucker for pop music that's a little bit strange, and that's what this is.

1978 - rocket to russia by the ramones. on the other hand, after hearing the ramones for the first time i put away all my yes albums and never listened to them again (and i'm not alone in that department). any one of their first half dozen records would make the list, i think they're all about equal. songs are two minutes and a cloud of dust, with an occasional beach ballad thrown in to confuse the listener. i probably listened to end of the century the most, back in the day. now they're all in the mix. (rock'n'roll high school is one of my favorite guilty pleasure b-movie comedies, too, and end of the century: story of the ramones is an excellent documentary on them)

1978 - q: are we not men? a: we are devo! by devo. these guys were way ahead of their time & probably always will be. loud, aggressive, catchy, arty, and more than a little bit strange with a definite "are they serious?" vibe about them. even though bob2 and alan "the human metronome" myers are now touring the cosmos, the band still rocks hard and doesn't sound dated. this and freedom of choice (with "whip it" and "girl u want") are their best studio records. somehow this snuck onto the rs500 list at #442, but i don't think rolling stone cared for it too much when it came out.

1978 - easter by patti smith. horses may be the record she's remembered for (and it's fabulous also), but easter packs a much harder punch. and it's got a song co-written by that springsteen fella, so it's my kryptonite. the rest of patti's records (and yes, of course i have them all) range from good to very good, but not near the level of easter & horses. i saw patti in person once - at a book signing for her book "just kids". i wonder if they'll bring their 40th anniversary of horses tour to the dc area or if i've already missed it....

People With Incomplete Lists: Jack McHugh (need 5 from 60’s and 5 from the 70’s), Howard Bishop (need 5 from 60’s and 5 from the 70’s), Paul Kent (need 1 from 60’s), Roger Cox (need 6 from 60’s), Richard Martin (need 1 from the 60’s if he wants a complete allowed list), Toby Harris (need 10 from the 60’s).

Deadline for the second set of 5 Albums from the 1970’s is January 26^th at 7:00am my time! Feel free to include comments in your own choices, or on anyone else’s!

Where in the World is Kendo Nagasaki?

Turn 1

Hint to Person Placed Closest to Me:

You are not the first person to identify me correctly, nor the only one this round, but you are closer to my location than anyone before.

Press:

Tom Howell: Well, hello, Mr. Lischett! Fancy meeting you here. Mr. Harrison didn't mention that you'd be along on this visit. Just goes to show great minds think alike, huh?

Deadline for Round 7 is January 26^th at 7am My Time

XENOGOGIC:

A Journal of dip&DIP

December 2015

Celebrating 52 Years As the World’s Leading Source of Peerier and Peeriblah

By Larry Peery

For me the intellectual highlight of 2015 has been watching the international media transit from a female (Lady Gaga) to a male (Donald Trump) poster child; and if that isn’t enough to make you happy; there’s always the latest ISIS atrocity to brighten your day.

Still, there were a few nuggets of pure joy that should make the transition to 2016 just slightly less painful. For instance:

In Music: 2015 marks the centennial of the birth of Edith Piaf, the chanteuse whose anthem “Je Ne Regrette Rien” is the theme song of Dippers everywhere and whose “Hymne à l’Amour,” a.k.a. “If You Stab Me, Really Stab Me” is Yann Clouet’s favorite tune. I’ve been a fan of “The Little Sparrow” since the ‘60s and I still have my old Capitol LPs to prove it. Besides the LPs I have a 12 CD set of the complete; which it isn’t; Piaf discography, also by Capitol, that cost me USD 140 back in the 1980s. Then in Paris I picked up a 2 CD “Best of Piaf” set at Orly Airport in the 1990s for a mere USD 40. And, if that wasn’t enough, I have the DVD of Marion Cotillard’s La Vie En Rose. I like to put the DVD on with the CDs playing in the background, a few old cigarette butts in a chic astray on the table and a few black candles burning to evoke the Piaf memories when I’m feeling particularly “tres melanchoique.” Born eight days before Piaf, Frank Sinatra is also celebrating his centennial this year and, what Dipper hasn’t warbled “Old Blue Eyes” “My Way” in the hotel bar after being stabbed once too often by Tobias? I never saw Frank perform live but I did have a chance to hear him and the other members of The Rat Pack rehearsing in a darkened auditorium at the old Ambassador Hotel in Los Angeles back in the 60s. They were mostly drunk and what I remember isn’t the singing but the coughing --- every one of them: Sinatra, Martin, Sammy Davis Jr., Lawford and Bishop had a unique, distinctive and loud cough; and they coughed incessantly. If they were chugging down the booze or puffing on a cigarette they were coughing up a solo or in a duo or trio. Our third centennial baby this year is Eleanora Fagan, better known as Billie Holiday. Nearly seventy years after her death she still has a cult following including her pets. She had a coat-pocket poodle, a beagle, Chihuahuas, a Great Dane, and more. Dippers remember her for her versions of “Born to Stab” and I remember her for her version of Johnny Green’s 1933 hit “I Cover the Waterfront,” written by San Diegan writer Max Miller about the gangs of crooks and unions that controlled the port of San Diego during Prohibition.

In Books: In a year when my attention span dropped to new lows three books captured and held my attention long enough to finish them with enough interest to commend them to you.

JFK’s Forgotten Crisis: Tibet, the CIA, and the Sino-Indian War by Bruce Riedel. Washington, Brookings Institution, 2015, 256 pp., $29

After years of dragging JFK through the muck and mire of the Cuban Bay of Pigs and Missile Crisis fiascos, members of the Washington literati have found a new subject to capitalize on two of Washington’s hot button topics: the CIA and China. I’ve been reading the literature, such as it is, about the Sino-Indian War of 1962 since it first began to appear. Mostly it has come from Indian, British or American sources --- the Chinese and Pakistanis have published little that has made it to the West. As for a definitive account of what happened and why, after reading Riedel’s book I’m still waiting. If Khrushchev abused Kennedy in Vienna in their 1961 Summit, as I’ve admitted elsewhere, Nehru certainly tried to use him to keep China and Pakistan at bay a year later. It’s a good read but not the great one the subject deserves.

On Stalin’s Team: The Years of Living Dangerously in Soviet Politics by Sheila Fitzpatrick. Princeton N.J., Princeton University Press, 2015, 384 pp., $35

I’m a great fan of “Uncle Joe” and I admit I’ve never read a book about him that I didn’t enjoy. When I have nothing else to think about I often ask myself “Which was the more evil, Stalin or Mao?” That always gives me food for thought for an hour or two. The premise of Fitzpatrick’s book is simple: unlike other historians and scholars who have portrayed Stalin as a bear surrounded by a pack of hungry wolves eager to eliminate him; she suggests that Stalin and his henchmen were just one big, happy family working hard to create the perfect Communist state since creating a perfect Russian Empire seemed to be beyond them. Again, it’s a good, but not great, book; and Fitzpatrick shares a common trait with other Princeton writers: she rehashes materials readily available in the public record and the university’s archives and foregoes diving into the hard-to-get-into secret archives of the Kremlin. Was Stalin as bad as Ulam and Ullman made him out to be? Probably. Was he as good as Fitzpatrick suggests? No way! Still, if weak on Stalin, the book does offer some interesting insights into his inner circle. Sort of reminds me of Bogie and The Rat Pack.

Hubris: The Tragedy of War in the 20th Century by Alistair Horne, London, Weidenfeld, 2015, 304 pp., $45

This book is good, even marginally great, and well worth a read if you’re as confused as I am about what’s going on in the Near East. What’s even more interesting than the book is the author himself. Read the wiki biography, note the reference to Kissinger’s “official” biography that Horne almost wrote, and then go read my essay on the Kissinger, Ferguson and Grandin contra temps! You could easily fill a shelf in your library with copies of Horne’s books about Europe (especially France), war (WWI and WWII) and the theory of conflict in general. Good luck reading them all, but well worth the effort.

On Baby Fat Cheeks: If you’re as fascinated by Kim Jong-Un as I am (and who isn’t) and you have the ability to commit to 50, 45 minute weekly time slots over the next 53 years you may be interested in the NHK network “Big River Drama” or Taiga drama series currently running on South Korean television and available on Hula and Vikki.com. Each year the network hires a producer, director, writer, music director, and actors for a series devoted to some Korean-oriented theme. Money is no object in creating sets, costumes, pyrotechnics, special effects, and mobs of extras. Legend has it that one year the ROK Army had to cancel its summer war games because the show’s director had hired most of the ROK Army as extras for some battle scenes involving a bloody war between the Koreans, Japanese and Chinese. Korean soldiers were used to play the Koreans. Korean actors were used to play the Korean and Japanese soldiers. Chinese extras were brought in to play the Chinese. And appropriately ethnic actors were brought in to play the officers. The battle scenes are very realistic, but there are some quirky things you have to get used to: 1) Lead actors do their own stunts; 2) Horses never poop on camera; 3) Special effects are not used to create mob scenes; 4) Kissing is not allowed; 5) The action moves about as fast as melting Jell-O.

Travel Tip: Which is better, FINNAIR (AY) or SAS (SK)? If you have to ask, you’d probably be better off sticking to Emirates or Etihad. All other things being equal it boils down to two things: 1) if you’re staying in Europe use SK. If you’re going to Asia use AY; and 2) what brand of vodka do you drink on a long flight?

Foodie Tip: Avoid Fast Food, Slow Food and Chipotle like the plague. Instead dine in the employees’ dining room in your nearest regional medical center. Food is usually faster, better and cheaper --- and you’re just down the hall from the ER if you need it.

HAPPY NEW YEAR TO DIPPERS NEAR AND FAR!

ZERO SUM³ Subzine to Eternal Sunshine Issue 10 December 27, 2015

Published by Richard Weiss. richardweiss@higherquality.com.

GM Musings:

Democratic and Republican debates. Republican pandered to terror and extremism. This is the first debate in which I commented I was surprised Rand Paul spoke so little because he said so much and seemingly helped his cause. Children squabbling in the playbox and over toys, otherwise.

The human meanness to each other in our changing world, in some ways seem a return to human existence for all but the last couple hundred years, in which something (human, beast, germ, natural disaster) could come over the river, through the woods, or straight from Grandmother’s house without prior warning. The most peculiar twist is the terrorist attack (San Bernadino) in which all eye witnesses identified large, male whites as the perpetrators. On a positive note, Congress voted tax breaks, new taxes and a compromise in which the Democrats seemed to come out just fine. What is wrong with making the country function and the congress do their job? There are even rumors that they will proceed with Pacific Trade, Higher Education, Infrastructure, and even a form of illegal immigrant resolution.

16020 Sunrise Watch, Auburn CA. Not yet mine. One day closing. Next day funding. Next day recording. Too many holidays and colds.

I play Endless Legend on my PC. Anyone else into this? What is your favorite PC-based, strategy, single player versus AI game not invented by Sid Meier?

I play 2+ games of Terra Mystica a week, as a Euro board game. One of the best players I’ve ever played against is in the regular group of 4. Two others are methodical and studied. Not a lot of laughter when we play. It took me a long time to get good, like a year plus maybe. Then I won more than half and left for 8 months. Now they are each a notch or two better than before. I’m slowly catching up over the past 2 months. My best games now can win when the others don’t play up to their full potential (or miss tacticize).

What board games do you play?

MeetUp.Com is so great. Who knew there were so many gamers in the world and the local world wherever I am?

ZeroSumCubed deadline for Issue 10 is THE SUNDAY BEFORE Doug’s deadline. Deadline is January 24, 2016, a Sunday, at 8 AM California time.

GAME OPENINGS:

Intimate Dip Only Need Two More. I love this game. Zero Sum exemplified. One winner. One loser. No draws. Pure tactics. Come on and play. Are you tactically good enough?!?!?!?

A great two-person variant. The rules are printed in Issue 1, 2 and 9.

Takes two.

Signed up:

See New Game Start The esteemed Harold Zarr Jr. has challenged Douglas Kent, he of Eternal Sunshine.

See New Game Start The esteemed Jack McHugh has challenged Douglas Kent, he of Eternal Sunshine.

Challenge Intimate Dip

Seems SadSack Jack wanted to play “Sackiepoo” and challenged him. The gauntlet thrown with a bunch of Trump-like dissings and the game was on. Why not emulate his eminence Jack and throw down a challenge to whomever you like. Preferably a gamer, but hey, if you want to challenge a model or something, try it with press. No need really for the person you challenge to be playing in ZeroSumCubed or even Eternal Sunshine. We can spread the word and love. You name your opponent and some why language and I’ll see if we can make it happen. If you want to see lots of games going on, visit Geoff Kemp’s “Tween” zine.

The Pope Is A Socialist (nee Nuclear Yuppy Dip)

Game requires seven players. Rules in issues 1-3.

Signed up: Jim Burgess, John David Galt, Doug Kent, and Jack McHugh.

Where In The World Is Kendo Nagasaki In Doug Kent’s House

A game of open participation. Join in the fun now that there are some clues and ways to narrow the search.

LET’S HAVE SOME PUN

A game of open participation. The game is pure whimsy. I list a category and seven items in the category. Complete as many of the categories as you wish to. In addition, you can enter your own item fitting within the category and provide a name for that as well. Each person’s “special entity” will likely be different. No scoring. Style points can be awarded to others via press.

Press is encouraged. This is more about the press than the game.

Suggestions for future categories are encouraged.

At least read it. Laugh at Andy’s humor. Write some comments/press.

At least laugh about the real life situation that cracked me up. I lived in NOLA for years. Bunny Matthews was a cartoonist. His cartoons claimed to be based on what he overheard on the trolley and around town. He never failed to have heard something beyond believable and oh so right on. From my real life this week: a guy comes in to see me. For some reason I look at his address, “Upson Downs Road.” Now why didn’t I think of that for something, like a horse race track? I crack up and waste a quarter of the time telling him why I cracked up.

ONGOING GAMES SECTION

All Orders Due Sunday 24 January 2016 by 8 AM CA time.

Eddie Chapman Intimate Diplomacy Germany (Harold Zarr Jr) vs. France (Doug Kent)

Eddie Chapman ("ZigZag") infiltrated the German Abwehr during World War II whilst feeding intelligence to MI5. He was so trusted by the Germans that he is reportedly the only British citizen to have ever been awarded the Iron Cross.

Doug’s choices: FETRGAI

Harold’s choices:
1. Germay, 2. Austria, 3. Italy, 4. Turkey, 5. England, 6. France, 7. Russia

Another game of very intimate, Intimate Dip, with troops already on the borders.

Supply Center Chart:

France (Doug Kent): Brest, Marseilles, Paris, = 3

Germany (Harold): Germany: Berlin, Kiel, Munich = 3

Country	Doug’s Bid (has 20)	Harold’s Bid (has 22)	Controller of Country
Austria	4	4	Anarchy
England	4	6	Harold
Italy	4	6	Harold
Russia	4	4	Anarchy
Turkey	0	0	Anarchy

France retains all 20 credits.

Germany spent 12, has ten remaining.

The mercenary countries not successfully bid remain in anarchy. They do not move, cannot support, and cannot be ordered.

Spring 1901:

Doug/France

France: Fleet Brest – [[English Channel]], Army Paris - Burgundy, Army Mar – Supports Army Paris - Burgundy,

Harold/Germany

Germany:

German Army Munich to Ruhr

German Army Berlin to Munich

German Fleet Kiel to Denmark

England:

English Fleet London to [[English Channel]]

English Fleet Edinburgh to Norwegian Sea

English Army Liverpool to Yorkshire

Italy:

Italian Army Venice to Piedmont

Italian Army Rome to Naples

Italian Fleet Naples to Tyrrhenian Sea

Mercenaries

Austria: Army Vienna - Hold, Army Budapest - Hold, Fleet Trieste – Hold

Russia: Army Moscow – Hold, Army Warsaw - Hold, Fleet St. Petersburg (SC) - Hold, Fleet Sevastopol – Hold

Turkey – Army Constantinople - Hold, Army Smyrna - Hold, Fleet Ankara - Hold

PRESS: Germany to GM: The guessing games begin!

Fall 1901:

Doug/France

France: Fleet Brest – ECH, Army Burgundy – [[Bel]], Army Mar – [[Pie]]

Harold/Germany

Germany:

Army Ruhr – [[Bel]]

Army Munich – [[Bur]]

German Fleet Denmark - H

England:

English Fleet London to Wales

English Fleet Norwegian Sea - NAO

English Army Yorkshire - Lon

Italy:

Italian Army Piedmont – [[Mar]]

Italian Army Naples - H

Italian Fleet Tyrrhenian Sea - GOL

Mercenaries

Austria: Army Vienna - Hold, Army Budapest - Hold, Fleet Trieste – Hold

Russia: Army Moscow – Hold, Army Warsaw - Hold, Fleet St. Petersburg (SC) - Hold, Fleet Sevastopol – Hold

Turkey – Army Constantinople - Hold, Army Smyrna - Hold, Fleet Ankara - Hold

Supply Center Control

Austria: Budapest, Trieste, Vienna = 3

England: Edinburgh, Liverpool, London, = 3

France: Brest, Marseilles, Paris, = 3

Germany: Berlin, Kiel, Munich + Den = 4, may add one

Italy: Naples, Rome, Venice = 3

Russia: Moscow, Sevastopol, St. Petersburg, Warsaw = 4

Turkey: Ankara, Constantinople, Smyrna = 3

Unowned: Belgium, Bulgaria, Greece, Holland, Norway, Portugal, Rumania, Serbia, Spain, Sweden, Tunis

Press: GM to ringside announcer: The contenders felt each other out this round. One of the most lethargic in recent memory. France edges Germany in style points for escaping without being hit.

Now submit builds for the countries you control and bids for control of the mercenaries in 1902. However, only Germany has a build, and that is only one. The available credits for the bids are France with 23 and Germany with 14.

Country	Doug’s Bid (has 23)	Harold’s Bid (has 14)	Controller of Country
Austria			In Chaos
England	8	6	France
Italy	10	7	France
Russia	5		France
Turkey		1	Germany

France started with 23 credits and spent 23, leaving zero. Germany started with 14 credits and spent one, leaving a remnant of 13.

Winter 1901:

Germany builds Army Berlin.

Press: GM to Streetlight: Ownership shifts. Hmm. Distant country was bid on. Hmmm.

Mercenaries

Austria: Army Vienna - Hold, Army Budapest - Hold, Fleet Trieste – Hold

Denis Donaldson Intimate Diplomacy: England (Jack McHugh) vs. Germany (Doug Kent)

Denis Donaldson, infiltrated the Sinn Féin on behalf the British government. He was found dead in his cottage after a Northern Ireland newspaper revealed this.

Doug’s Choices: TGRAEIF

Jack’s Choices: T E F R G I A

Press Throwdowns:

Jack: I want your ass in intimate dip sackiepoo....don't weasel out. by finding a sub either...

GM: Will this be the battle of sackiepoo versus SadSackiepoo?

Doug to Gm: until he NMRs and I smash him

Doug: I already beat you twice in DW, remember? And I’m playing Zarr now but I am willing to play you too.

Jack: pffft....that's the thanks i get for saving you from larry peery's pres...

Let’s Have Some Pun: Unlimited entrants. Send your favorite names.

Entertainment	Andy Lischett	Doug Kent	Richard Weiss	Jim Burgess
Rock Band	The Beach Buoys	Queen		The Mekons (still the best REAL band ever)
Rapper	Da notorious e e cummings	Dougie Fresh	The Nun With A Ruler	LL Cool J (good music and good actor)
TV Sit Com	S*it Com	Seinfeld	Family Freud	Big Bang Theory (there really isn’t another choice)
SciFi Movie	Bed, Bath and BEYOND!	Blade Runner	Andy Warhole	Metropolis (go for the first, the best)
A Dip Zine	Raised By Wolves	Eternal Sunshine	Entendre Deja Vu	The Abyssinian Prince (mine)
Blog		The Walls of Hell	Nothing But(t)	The Incidental Economist
Reality Show	Surveyor	Naked and Afraid	Toilets of Madison County	Survivor (I never watch it)
Free Choice	Movie Theater Chain: Leopold and Loew’s	Composer: Beethoven	Online Game: Let’s Have Some Pun	Doctor Who

For Next Time: The Celestial Way Genres. Give me what you’d name:

The newest moon of Jupiter	Andy Lischet	Douglas Kent	Richard Weiss
A crater on the moon
Next meteor going to crash into Earth (or come close)
A new nebula
A zodiac-like arrangement of starts you hope to see
The next satellite we send beyond our galaxy
Free Choice (A body that is celestial?)

Press: A guy comes in to see me. For some reason I look at his address, “Upson Downs Road.” Now why didn’t I think of that for something, like a horse race track? I crack up and waste a quarter of the time telling him why I cracked up.

Andy: Rock Band: The Beach Buoys.

All of the good names have been taken. I thought I had an original name for a heavy metal group, The Scabs, but I Googled it and they already exist in Belgium. Rats! (The Rats are also a band). Belgium? Hey! I'll name my group The Belgian Waffles: a fictional 1960s rock band that was the opening act for The Turtles. But The Belgian Waffles are already a band from Bloomington, Indiana, and there are two more Waffles bands, from Los Angeles and Japan. (Also, The Waffles was a wing of Canada's New Democratic Party, just as The Mugwumps were a political movement in the U.S. and a precursor to The Mamas & The Papas and The Lovin' Spoonful).

I tried other names for a heavy-metal band, but Anthrax, Roadkill, Kanker Sore and Cicatrix are all taken. So are Mulch (a garage-surf-mathrobeat-drone-rock band), Serif and Virgule IV. Every name for a rock band has been used.

Then I recalled a discussion in a local Triumph car club (Triumph is also a band) in which a member asked to borrow a specialized tool (Tool is out of Los Angeles). I said yes but I was going out of town and would leave the tool in my back yard under a cement bunny. A third member then opined that Cement Bunny would be a good name for a rock band. Anyway, I remembered this exchange and Googled "cement bunny band" to find that Cement Bunny was a predecessor to The Figgs. Fugg the Figgs!

So I thought of The Squeegees, but it's taken (twice). This lead me to takeoffs on other famous groups, but The Beagles has been claimed, as well as The Donkees, The Whom and The Doorknobs. Some UK punks are The Bleach Boys, while Australia has The Beach BoyZ… but, Eureka! (a polka band), nobody has claimed The Beach Buoys!

[[I’m almost tired with all that research you did. Great name.]]

Rapper: da notorious e e cummings.

[[My second favorite of yours]]

TV Sit Com: S*it Com. I'm surprised that this hasn't been used, since television prefers cheap laughs (from a can!) over actual humor. Carol and I watch Grimm on Friday nights and several times I've turned on our TV early and watched the last few minutes of Truth be Told. I could feel my brain rot.

SciFi Movie: Bed, Bath and BEYOND!

[[My favorite]]

Diplomacy 'Zine: Raised By Wolves. Not exactly apropos of Diplomacy, but I like this phrase. My favorite name of a 'zine that actually existed was Dick Martin's Your Milage May Vary, which may have been the name of only one issue since Dick changed the name often.

Reality Show: Surveyor. Runner up: Real Insurance Agents of Atlanta.

Movie Theater Chain (free choice): Leopold and Loews.

[[This may need explanation for the masses (of readers). Well, for the one or two who made it this far]]

Where In The World Is Kendo Nagasaki in Doug Kent’s House

Errata: For Round 6, Sheriff Andy York did send me a guess. Churchill at Dollywood. He was the closest. In a secret agreement, I sent him a clue. The clue was. “Clue: You are closest but not at all close. You are the right gender. You were only a citizen of one country. I died during your life. We are both dead. We are famous for different reasons.” I consulted the Oracle at Delphi (maybe a Natural Landmark) and decided the clue wasn’t worth sending to everyone and he had no more knowledge than anyone else. So sue me. (Has that been used as the name of a Zine?)

	Round 1
	Person	Location
Mark Firth	Zeus	Stonehenge
John Galt	David Beckham	Delhi, India
Doug Kent	Could not find
Kevin Wilson	Did not submit
Andy Lischett	Little Miss Muffet	1237 Kurdsan Way
Jim Burgess	Toshiro Mifune	Mt. Fuji
Andy York	Richard Weiss	Sacramento

Clue: Gender is correct. I died before s/he was “born. “

	Round 2
	Person	Location
John Galt	Joan of Arc	Memphis, TN
Doug Kent	Teddy Roosevelt	London Bridge
Andy York	George Washington	Denver
Clue: There is something about your name that relates to my fame. We were born on the same continent.

	Round 3
	Person	Location
John Galt	Napoleon Bonaparte	Washington, D.C.
Doug Kent	George Washington Carver	Floating on the Great Salt Lake
Andy York	Napoleon	Kansas City, KS
Jim Burgess	George Washington	On Mount Vernon
Mark Firth	David Lloyd George	Tulsa OK
Clue: I was alive in two centuries, starting the one after you died. We share a citizenship, although each of us had more than one.

	Round 4
	Person	Location
John Galt	Margaret Thatcher	Washington Monument
Doug Kent	Washington Irving	Golden Gate Bridge
Andy York	Churchill	Dollywood
Jim Burgess	George H.W. Bush	Mount Rushmore
Mark Firth	Albert Einstein	Ellis Island
Original Clue: You are closest but not at all close. You are the wrong gender. You were only a citizen of one country. I died during your life. We are both dead. We are famous for different reasons. Subsequent clue to Andy York: You are closest but not at all close. You are the right gender. You were only a citizen of one country. I died during your life. We are both dead. We are famous for different reasons.”

	Round 6
	Person	Location
John Galt	Sir Winston Churchill	Jefferson Memorial
Doug Kent	Laurence Olivier	The Louvre
Andy York	Eiffel	Fort Knox
Tom Howell	Jeremiah J. Murphy	Mount Roraima
Jim Burgess	Leonard Nimoy	Parthenon
Clue: The other landmark there.

PRESIDENTIAL BOURSE

Press:

Interesting smash up online as to the predictors of the primaries based on historical knowledge and “prediction markets.” Prediction markets (large variants of this Bourse) have been the most accurate predictors since they came along and got large enough. Trump, Rubio, Cruz, and Bush are not that far apart on the Republican side. I continue to hear that Trump has no ground infrastructure in any state, including no potential delegates in Iowa. He is relying on self-identification and action.

Neither Mark Firth nor Hugh Polley sent orders. Jack did not sell or buy anything.

John David Galt:

On the Democratic side sold 100 Sanders (again). Buy as many Clinton as possible.

On the Republican side sold 100 Bush and bought as many Cruz as possible.

I did as I promised last month, selling 82 Other Dems and buying Clinton. In the GOP, I sold 37 Carson and 63 Trump and bought 35 Other and 85 Rubio.

The first paste is what each of us did:

The next paste is what all players’ holdings are as of 27 December 2015.

The final paste is what the total sells and buys have been for each candidate to date and what the current stock value is.

I have only Hillary stock on the Democratic side of the Bourse. I promise to sell 74 shares of Carson and 26 of Bush on the Republican side. If either quits then I want to maximize selling the one that’s left and second option is Trump then Other. I will buy as many Rubio as possible. Seems I have the most of him and Bush. I’ll keep my money in the Sunshine State.

The Cathy and Pete Gaughan Snowball Fighting Game.

Players:

Jim Burgess: [Two Balls]

John David Galt: [Brett Favre]

Mark Firth: [Max Splodgey]

Doug Kent: [Jack Frost]

Jack McHugh: JM

Andy York: [Teddy Wayne]

Rules and empty map are in Issue 7.

Reminder: 10 VPs = winner and end of game. 0 remaining HPs = go immediately, directly, and at maximum speed (determined by GM) to the kitchen and wait there three segments.

Teddy Wayne/Andy: Starts at Q3. Has one snowball. Stands and shivers.

RR at BF (0.8 + 0.1 + 0.05 + 0.1 = .95). Rolled 40. Success.
Collect Two SBs
RR at BF (0.8 + 0.05 + 0.1 = .95). Rolled 38. Success.

Ends with one simple snowball

Brett Favre/John: Ends with no snowballs at Q5

Gather 2sb

RR at TW (0.80 +0.10 +0.05 + 0.10 – 0.10 = .95) Rolled 65. Success.

RR at TW (0.80 +0.05 + 0.10 – 0.10 = .85) Rolled 50. Success.

Ends with no snowballs.

Two Balls/Jim: Ends with 2 SBs at G3.

1) RR at Jack McHugh (0.80 -0.05 = 0.75) Rolled 47. Success

2) RR at Jack McHugh (0.80 + 0.10 – 0.10 – 0.25 = 0.55) Rolled 12. Success

3) Gather two SBs.

Ends at G3 with two simple snowballs.

Jack: Ends with no SBs at M9

3.1: Moves to tree at M11 (a two space move)

3.2: Makes two snowballs

3.3: Makes two snowballs

Ends at M11 with four snowballs

Max Splodgey/Mark: Ends with no SBs at E11

Again is shivering.

Jack Frost/Doug: Ends with one SB at Q9

3.1:Rattlesnake at Jack (moving to M11) (.80 -0.05 + 0.10 = 0.85) (Jack’s not yet on Conifer space as he is moving) Rolled 34. Success.

3.2: Collect 2 Snowballs

3.3: Rattlesnake at Jack (0.8 + 0.1 + 0.5 – 0.25 = 0.70) Rolled 54. Success.

Ends with one simple snowball at Q9

Yard Banter

Two guys walking by, Dude 1 says to Dude 2: “Those two kids (TW and BF) are just wailing each other, eh?”

Dude 2: “Yeah, but the guy with the Cheesehead is hitting him harder.”

Dude 1: “Too much testosterone out there.”

Dude 2: “Never” as he gathers some snow and dumps it on his friend’s neck.

TWO BALLS to THE YARD: Hey, guys, this whole game is about the infield banter in the yard.... if you don't say anything I can't banter at you.

TWO BALLS to HIGHER QUALITY: I'm worried if I say much more, I'll just become a target, I like that I'm hiding up in this corner popping off snowballs, we'll see if it is a winning strategy...

TWO BALLS to JM: As long as you are an anonymous fighter, I see no reason not to pepper you with straight shots.

TWO BALLS to SPLODGEY: You move too much for me...

Results:

Snowman at Q3 is headless.

Player	VP to start	VP gained	VP end	HP to start	HP received	HP end
Andy	3	2	5	5	2	3
John	5	2	7	7	2	5
Jim	3	2	5	10		10
Jack	3	0	3	5	4	1
Doug	2	2	4	7		7
Mark	1		1	9		9

Tidbits from “The Early Christian Church” by J.G. Davies

Selected by Paul Milewski

Although a 1965 copyright, there is surprisingly little added by more recent works and is an excellent choice for learning about the history of Christianity in the first few centuries, with an especially thorough discussion of heresies, competing paganisms, and the changing fortunes of the empire.

[Page 211]

The development of the final period of Lent into Holy Week was largely the work of one man and one local church, viz. Cyril at Jerusalem. In order to organize the devotions of the pilgrims around the sacred sites, many of which were being embellished with memorial edifices, and to set forth to the local inhabitants as well the death and resurrection of Jesus as the pattern of Christian living, Cyril devised a series of Holy Week services closely linked with the topography of Jerusalem. So on Palm Sunday there was a procession from the Mount of Olives to the Anastasis; on Tuesday there was a service in the Eleona, built by the empress Helena, to hear a reading of Jesus’ discourse there to his disciples. On Maundy Thursday there was a celebration of the eucharist in the afternoon recalling the Last Supper. On Good Friday, amongst many activities, there was a veneration of the cross in the atrium close to the hill of the crucifixion. On Holy Saturday night a vigil, including baptisms, culminated in the Easter eucharist at dawn. So each day was connected with an event in the final week of Jesus’ life.

[Page 109]

In the second century fasting was expected on Wednesday and Friday in each week, i.e. on those days food was not taken before 3 in the afternoon. The choice of these two days was determined in opposition to the Jewish custom of fasting on Mondays and Thursdays, and the Christians gave them the title ‘station days’, which was derived from the word statio meaning a picket or military guard. So the idea was expressed that Christians by fasting were standing ‘on watch’ or keeping ‘guard duty’ by preparing themselves to welcome the Lord at his return.

[Page 120]

Christian writings surviving from the first and second centuries have two common characteristics: they are all written in Greek and they are relatively meager in quantity. From the third century however the literature becomes more extensive and Latin is added to Greek as a language of theological utterance.

[Page 154]

For ordinary sins, prayer, alms-giving and mutual forgiveness were all that was necessary; public penance was reserved for the graver faults. The definition of these and agreement upon a policy towards them took many decades. In the last years of the second century, adultery, murder and idolatry seem to have been treated as irremissible. Callistus of Rome pursued a more lenient policy, and the effect of his lead may be gauged later from Cyrpian who reveals that, despite previous arguments on the subject, by his day sexual sins were regarded as remissible and among those capable of forgiveness.

[Page 158]

Since Christianity is concerned with the whole of life, there were no minutiae of everyday living too insignificant to be outside consideration. Hence Clement could devote page after page to describing and condemning pagan luxury and lack of temperance and advocating frugality and a plain diet for the faithful, even lising the kinds of food they may eat, e.g. olives, herbs, milk, cheese, fruit, cooked food without sauces and a little meat but boiled rather than roast.

The same condemnation of extravagance extended to clothes. Tertullian could trace female ornament back to the fallen angels. Clement had no doubt that ‘our life ought to be anything but a pageant’, and Cyprian regarded ostentation in dress as fit only for prostitutes. Complicated hair-styles were not tolerated and Christian men were expected not to shave but to preserve their natural beards.

Leisure activity was to be characterized by a similar restraint. There was to be no gambling or dice-playing, instead Christians were to gather together for meditation or sit at home and read the scriptures while the women spun their wool. Amphitheatres and theatres were forbidden; riotous parties were to be shunned. In the world but not of it, the Christian was to bear the mark of the cross of Christ by his self-denial. While still a persecuted minority, the Church was enabled to preserve in large measure these rigorous standards, partly through outside pressure, but once the Church had been opened to the world, with the conversion of the emperor, a constant struggle to preserve the ascetic ideal began.

Brain Farts: The Only Subsubzine With It’s Own Fragrance

By Jack “Flapjack” McHugh – jwmchughjr@gmail.com

(or just email Doug and he’ll send it to me)

Issue #74

Happy Holidays you douchebags. For your enjoyment this month I give you photos taken after the Philadelphia Zoo’s annual Christmas Party.

Game Openings

Diplomacy (Black Press): Signed up: Harold Zarr, need six more.

Modern Diplomacy (Black Press): Rules in this issue. Ten-player variant. No planes will be used, just armies and fleets. Signed up: Jack McHugh, Jim Burgess, John David Galt, Geoff Kemp, Harold Zarr. Needs five more.

Where in the World is Kendo Nagasaki: Rules in issue #102. Send in your guesses. Prize for the winner? Probably! (Don’t forget to play in Richard Weiss’ subzine too!)

Hypothetical Questions: Just send in answers. Anybody can play at any time, just takes participation.

By Popular Demand: Join at any time. Send in your answers! A prize for the winner!

Multiple Openings in Richard Weiss’ subzine – check them out NOW!!

Coming Soon – Colonia VII? Deviant Diplomacy? Kremlin? Make a suggestion or express interest!

Eternal Sunshine Game Section

Diplomacy, “Milk and Trash”, 2015A, A 04/W 04

Seasons Separated By Player Request

Austria (Jack McHugh – jwmchughjr “of” gmail.com): Has F Aegean Sea, A Budapest, A Galicia,

A Rumania, A Silesia.

England (Mark Firth – mark.r.firth “of” capita.co.uk): Build F London..Has F Brest, A Edinburgh,

F English Channel, F London, F North Sea, A Sevastopol.

France (Paul Milewski – paul.milewski “of” hotmail.com): Has F Liverpool, A Portugal.

Germany (Jim Burgess – jfburgess “of” gmail.com): Build A Berlin..Has F Belgium, A Berlin, A Burgundy,

A Gascony, F Gulf of Bothnia, A Munich, A Paris, F St Petersburg(sc).

Italy (John Biehl – jerbil “of” shaw.ca): Build F Venice, F Rome, F Naples..Has A Apulia, A Bulgaria,

F Eastern Mediterranean, A Marseilles, F Naples, F Rome, F Spain(sc), F Venice.

Russia (Kevin Wilson – ckevinw “of” comcast.net): Retreat F Sevastopol - Black Sea,

F St Petersburg(sc) - Finland.. Remove F Black Sea, F Finland.. Has A Moscow, A Warsaw.

Turkey (John David Galt – jdg “of” diogenes.sacramento.ca.us): Has A Armenia, A Constantinople,

F Smyrna.

Deadline for S 05 is January 26th at 7am my time

PRESS

(BOOB to HEATHER AND DOUG): Thanks for the detailed story on Miss Piggy, sorry to hear how it went. I know I had to get another cat in order to get well from Cancer. Miss Willow is key in my recovery... don't get sick while you're waiting for something to happen!

GM – Boob: Beauregard is here to look after us now…although it appears he is a lover, NOT a fighter.

(KAISER BOOB to KING GIOVANNI THE SHORT): Yes, YOU got three builds, too many changes, too many conditionals, time for a separation.

(BOOB to DOUG): Yup, call me a lazy bum....

Doug – Boob: I call you much worse on a regular basis.

Black Press Gunboat, “Noah’s Titanic”, 2015Arb32, F 04

Austria: A Budapest Supports A Vienna – Trieste, F Greece - Bulgaria(sc),

A Rumania Supports F Greece - Bulgaria(sc), A Serbia Supports A Vienna - Trieste (*Cut*), A Vienna - Trieste.

England: F Edinburgh Hold, F English Channel - Irish Sea, F London Hold,

F St Petersburg(nc) - Norway (*Fails*).

France: A Brest – Picardy, A Burgundy – Ruhr, A Gascony – Burgundy, A Marseilles – Piedmont,

F Mid-Atlantic Ocean - Western Mediterranean.

Germany: A Berlin – Silesia, F Holland Supports F North Sea, A Munich Supports A Berlin – Silesia,

F North Sea Supports A Ruhr – Belgium, F Norway Supports F North Sea (*Cut*), A Ruhr – Belgium,

F Skagerrak Supports F North Sea.

Italy: F Adriatic Sea - Ionian Sea, F Aegean Sea Supports F Ionian Sea – Greece,

A Constantinople Supports A Bulgaria (*Ordered to Move*), F Ionian Sea – Greece,

A Smyrna - Armenia (*Fails*), ~~A Trieste - Serbia~~ (*Dislodged*, retreat to Venice or Tyrolia or OTB).

Russia: Retreat A Serbia - Bulgaria.. ~~A Bulgaria - Serbia~~ (*Disbanded*), A Galicia - Warsaw.

Turkey: Retreat F Constantinople - Black Sea.. A Albania - Trieste (*Fails*), A Armenia - Smyrna (*Fails*),

F Black Sea Supports A Armenia - Smyrna (*Impossible*), A Moscow - St Petersburg (*Fails*).

Deadline for W 04/S 05 will be January 26^th at 7am My Time

Supply Center Chart

Austria: Budapest, Bulgaria, Rumania, Serbia, Trieste, Vienna=6, Build 1

England: Edinburgh, Liverpool, London, St Petersburg=4, Even

France: Brest, Marseilles, Paris, Portugal, Spain=5, Even

Germany: Belgium, Berlin, Denmark, Holland, Kiel, Munich, Norway, Sweden=8, Build 1

Italy: Constantinople, Greece, Naples, Rome, Smyrna, Tunis, Venice=7, Build 1 or 2

Russia: Warsaw=1, Even

Turkey: Ankara, Moscow, Sevastopol=3, Remove 1

PRESS

Dateline Europe: German troops have moved back into the province of Silesia only to find a scene of utter destruction and devastation. Russian troops are reported to have looted everything of value, and destroyed anything they could not take with them when they retreated. The atrocities performed on the helpless citizens of the area are so terrible, that this reporter cannot even begin to describe them in this reputable newspaper. German troops have begun an intensive effort to provide aid to the survivors and rebuild the infrastructure so that the citizens may once again enjoy happy lives.

The nearly leaderless and lawless Russian army is reported to have moved into the nearby territory of Galicia. One can only image the destruction that awaits this Austrian province at the hands of this Russian mob, as it can hardly be referred to as an army at this point in time.

Dateline Europe: Reports of major naval movements in Western Europe have been reported by fisherman in the seas surrounding England. French, English and German warships are maneuvering for position around Great Britain, and significant naval action is expected at any moment. The British armed forces, after learning of reports of Scottish support for German naval units is reported to have moved a fleet into Edinburgh and naval troops have been rampaging through the countryside in an attempt to find and destroy the Scottish rebels.

Rumors of the movement of a French fleet into the waters bordering Liverpool have been reported, but have not yet been confirmed. The English royal family has been reported to be in a state of panic, and have threatened to remove the prime minister unless he can come to terms with the German and French leaders. War appears to be imminent unless a peaceful resolution to the situation can be found.

Ger to Fra: Fortune favors the bold, mon ami. Liverpool lies open for your fleet to take anchorage. Move quickly, and we shall put an end to the threat of English pirates in the open seas of Western Europe!

Ger to Aus: Your ally Italy has played you false, my friend. First he delays you much justified revenge on the Russian army in Serbia, placing them in position to move to Bulgaria. Now, with his conquest of Turkey, he is placing himself on your border on two fronts. The treachery of your erst-while ally speaks for itself! Your plight has not gone unnoticed, and France and I shall soon come to your aid!

Ger-Tur: The Pope has declared a new crusade to rid the role of the religion of Mohammad. His treachery is legendary and shall soon be dealt with by Austria. Hold fast to your faith and move your armies to defend your home territory. You may count on your trusted ally to protect your lands in your absence from wandering Russian troops.

Papal Envoy - Sultan: I see, not here either. What's this note? "Off for some quality time on a hookah". Well, I'm not passing that on to His Holiness!

Pope Pluvius - Archduke: That should have resolved things, with you back in your home towns. Now, to the North.

Pope Pluvius - Czar: All supports appreciated.

Ger-Ita: Your ability to convoy troops is impressive. Both a two and three convoy into Turkey in the same game is an impressive display of your naval excellence. I wonder, will Austria be as impressed when you attack Greece with your fleets?

Ger-Fra: I am told that the vineyards in Piedmont and Tuscany are second only to those in Burgundy. Adding those to you existing lands would give you a monopoly on the production of fine wines. It is something to seriously consider as it would enhance your foreign trade prospects!

Rus - Ger: Why are you still egging your Zombies on? I get it, a Vampire with a sick sense of humour.

Rus - Fra: If you believe that Ger drivel about being a most 'loyal ally and friend' you need your head examined. The Vampire will be sucking your blood next.

Patriarch Outahereius - Pope Pluvius: Really, you want to help the Archduke to come after me now? Why?

Rus - Europe: Have I got any friend here? Anyone?

Rus - Ger: That was a Rus army that was in Ser not a Tur one. The Tur one is raping peasant women in Albania.

Great Designs: Fall 04 - the new yellow is actually a pee stain.

Rus to All: I root for Ita. The rest of you can go to Hell.

Switzerland Times: Disturbing reports of countless bloodless corpses in Berlin have given rise to the suspicion of a Vampire in residence. Our belief is that this Vampire is none other than the Kaiser himself. His recent rants about English imperialists is nothing but a cover for his macabre and depraved thirst for fresh blood - in this case, English sailors blood. Apparently, female virgin blood no longer satisfies his thirst (we told you he is depraved). The Times calls on all Saints and Sinners to arm themselves with Silver Stakes and drive one through the Kaiser's heart.

Bul: General Runningoff pondered the situation. It was bleak. "Well, at least, we are on the road back to the Motherland."

By Popular Demand

The goal is to pick something that fits the category and will be the "most popular" answer. You score points based on the number of entries that match yours. For example, if the category is "Cats" and the responses were 7 for Persian, 3 for Calico and 1 for Siamese, everyone who said Persian would get 7 points, Calico 3 and the lone Siamese would score 1 point. The cumulative total over 10 rounds will determine the overall winner. Anyone may enter at any point, starting with an equivalent point total of the lowest cumulative score from the previous round. If a person misses a round, they'll receive the minimum score from the round added to their cumulative total. In each round you may specify one of your answers as your Joker answer. Your score for this answer will be doubled. In other words, if you apply your Joker to category 3 on a given turn, and 4 other people give the same answer as you, you get 10 points instead of 5. Players who fail to submit a Joker for any specific turn will have their Joker automatically applied to the first category. And, if you want to submit some commentary with your answers, feel free to. The game will consist of 10 rounds, with the 10^th round being worth double points. A prize will be awarded to the winner. Research is permitted, but cooperation or collusion between players is not!

Round 6 Categories

1. Someone who has portrayed Dr. Who.

2. Someone who has portrayed Sherlock Holmes.

3. Someone who has portrayed Hamlet.

4. Someone who has portrayed a comic book superhero.

5. A John Wayne film.

Congrats to Marc Ellinger who scored 49 out of a possible 54 points. Steve Cooley (and the NMR’s) got stuck with 28.

Comments By Category

Dr. Who – Andy Lischett “Who says I'm not taking this game seriously? Actually, all I know of Dr. Who is that he travels in a phone booth and wears a scarf.” Andy York “Favorite is John Pertwee with Tom Baker close behind.” Kevin Wilson “Probably the best Doctor, certainly of the recent series.” Dane Maslen “The first category has appeared somewhere else relatively recently. But was it in Variable Pig or in WIMM? I know that my answer was not very successful, so it would have been useful if I could have looked back to see what the popular answer was then, though of course a largely American readership might well come up with a different answer. In the absence of this I'll go for the original.” Jim Burgess “So I'm watching Matt Smith as Doctor Who now, but I really think that with this crowd that Tom Baker is going to be the best answer, or that could be completely wrong.”

Sherlock Holmes – Andy York “Rathbone, McKellen and oh so many others.” Kevin Wilson “And, again, probably the best Sherlock recently although I really like Jonny Lee Miller in Elementary.” Dane Maslen “The second category is currently also in Variable Pig, so I get the opportunity to score badly in two games simultaneously with the same answer, though I suspect it will do even worse in ES than in VP.” Jim Burgess “Oh gosh, NO clear choice here. Robert Downey, Jr. is probably the most famous actor who has done it; however, his Holmes movies are PURE crap! Basil Rathbone is the classic, but he's just SO out of all of our memories now. Tom Baker also played Holmes! Benedict Cumberbatch has been doing it recently, I've not seen it, but I think that's the choice. Benedict Cumberbatch.”

Hamlet – Andy York “Though Tennant would work, but considered Olivier and Burton as well.” Kevin Wilson “Had to look this one up and picked Tennant only because I picked him in #1.” Dane Maslen “For the third category I've gone for someone who won an Oscar for his portrayal of Hamlet, but as this was in a film that's now getting on for 70 years old, I'm expecting another low score.” Jim Burgess “Can we detect an ON-GOING Doctor Who theme? David Tennant has done a great Hamlet. Mel Gibson, and all the classics like Burton/Barrymore/Olivier have done it. I'm going to pick up on the Doctor Who, so I will take David Tennant.”

Superhero – Andy Lischett “In an attempt to avoid being last, I changed this from Michael Keaton.” Kevin Wilson “Seems like it ought to be from one of the recent Marvel movies given how successful they’ve been and RDJ as Iron Man makes the series.” Dane Maslen “I'm vaguely hopeful that I might get a half-way decent score for the fourth category.” Jim Burgess “Christopher Reeve is the classic Superman, Robert Downey, Jr. (see him again...) is the classic Iron Man, and Michael Keaton is the classic Batman (except for Adam West, of course...). I think Christopher Reeve is the classic choice, we'll go with that.”

John Wayne – Dane Maslen “I was surprised that no single John Wayne film stood out as being obvious to me. When I first saw the categories, I thought that I'd play my joker here because I'd be making wild guesses in the others, but I've come to the conclusion that category 4 is a better bet after all.” Jim Burgess “John Wayne film? WOW. He has some really good films that no one will choose, like Rio Bravo and Sons of Katie Elder (my fave). The Searchers is THE great John Ford film. And True Grit and Man who Shot Liberty Valance are the great newer movies. Then there are those who think the Quiet Man is THE ONE, or The Green Berets. Yuck, which to choose??? I think it comes down to The Searchers or True Grit.”

Round 7 Categories – Don’t Forget to Choose a Joker Category (Double Points)

1. A former Pope.

2. A film featuring Christopher Walken.

3. A type of bread.

4. A television game show which was broadcast in black and white (for at least part of its life).

5. A mental illness.

Deadline for Round 7 is January 26^th at 7am My Time

General Deadline for the Next Issue of Eternal Sunshine: January 26th, 2016 at 7:00am my time. Hope to See You Then!