Eternal Sunshine #120

January 2017

By Douglas Kent 911 Irene Drive, Mesquite, TX  75149

Email: diplomacyworld@yahoo.com or dougray30@yahoo.com

On the web at http://www.whiningkentpigs.com/DW/.  Also be sure to visit the official Diplomacy World website which can be found at http://www.diplomacyworld.net. 

All Eternal Sunshine readers are encouraged to join the free Eternal Sunshine Yahoo group at https://groups.yahoo.com/neo/groups/eternal_sunshine_diplomacy/info

 to stay up-to-date on any subzine news or errata.  If you don’t like the sign-up process just send me an email and I will send you an invite which cuts through the red tape.  You should also join the Eternal Sunshine Facebook group at https://www.facebook.com/groups/270968112943024/

 

Check out my eBay store at http://stores.ebay.com/dougsrarebooksandmore

 

My book “It’s Their House; I’m Just a Guest” is available in softcover and Kindle from Amazon at http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1501090968/ref=ox_sc_act_title_1?ie=UTF8&psc=1&smid=ATVPDKIKX0DER

 

Welcome to the latest issue of Eternal Sunshine, as we continue to run down to a fold.  See you in February

 

Where in the World is Kendo Nagasaki?

Further End-Game Comments

  

Jim said: "And then Mark Firth, was he just tricking us out, or did he forget in the middle where we were, I think the former, it did fool us for a bit, but boy what a guess out of the blue to start, has that ever happened?  But still he didn't win."

 

I'm still dining out on that guess! Yes, I tried to find a clever way to give myself a free turn or two. Unfortunately I didn't drift in to the person quickly enough (or, indeed, at all). As for winning? Ahh, who remembers the winners (the winners usually)? But the moments of glory...

XENOGOGIC: Winter 2016

By Larry van Peery

 

BEETHOVEN: THE WATCH LIST

This was originally a part of an unpublished article I am writing about Beethoven and Diplomacy but it got so long I decided to spin it off on its own. Where else to publish it but in Doug Kent’s own “immortal masterpiece”, ETERNAL SUNSHINE? 

 

The Watch List is just that, a list of motion pictures to watch. Other their common subject, Ludwig van Beethoven, they don’t have a lot in common. The earliest, about which we know nothing, dates from 1909. The latest, about which we know quite a lot, dates from 2009.  Other than Jesus Christ and Napoleon I can’t think of another historical figure that has so intrigued movie makers and movie goers since the beginning of motion pictures. The reason for that, I think, is obvious: Beethoven.

 

This list is not complete, of course, but I have tried to include the best, the most important and some interesting curiosities in it. The Watch list is arranged chronologically and includes the movie title, date, director, actor, comments and, where applicable, a link to an online site where the movie or a preview can be found. For those for whom an online viewing is insufficient I’ve included a list of the films available through Amazon.com. In a few cases I’ve included more detailed information, including some direct quotations from Beethoven’s letters or other writers’ comments.

 

As much as possible I’ve tried to focus on each film’s story line, directing, acting and musical use; although in some cases the staging, location shots, costumes, etc. also demanded comment. These selections include fictional dramas, where the story being told is more important than historical truth; documentaries, where factual accuracy is more important that creative license; biopix, where the life of Beethoven is more important than his music; musical features; where the music and its interpretation is more important than the man or the story, etc. Every producer, director and artist brings us his or her own idea of who Beethoven was and what he did. That is why, I promise you, if you watch all of these films you will never become bored or feel that you have learned all there is to know about The Master, Beethoven.

 

Any movie about Beethoven must deal with the man, his time, his place and his music. Beyond that many of these films try, with varying degrees of success, to lift Beethoven and his work above the ranks of mere geniuses into that special section of the celestial heavens occupied by the greatest of great artistic creators.

 

The challenge for me, and as you can read I have already broken it, is to write something new and original about Beethoven without using that much over-worked word, “genius.”  Perhaps it can be done but I’m not the one to do it.

 

Depending on your prior knowledge of Beethoven’s life and his music you may find it helpful to read some of the online biographical information and “shrines” that exist about him and his music. I have found the Beethoven Haus Museum (in Bonn, Germany) very informative and easy to use by those more used to dealing with computers than real books or musical scores J  Leonard Bernstein’s Lectures and Young People’s Concerts  http://www.leonardbernstein.com/ypc.htm are still, after all these years, the best guide I’ve found to the man and his music. After watching them again after forty years I still find myself wondering, “What would Beethoven and Bernstein have talked about in a face-to-face encounter?”  It boggles the mind to think about.

 

There are, literally, thousands of recordings, both aural and video, out there about Beethoven and his music. A search on Google, a walk through YouTube or a perusal of Amazon.com will reveal them to you. It took me over thirty years and several thousand dollars to compile a collection of Beethoven audio recordings that satisfied me.  Today, with a few strokes of the keys and less than a hundred dollars you can acquire a complete, or nearly complete, collection of Beethoven’s work.   Look here:

 

https://www.amazon.com/Beethoven-Complete-Works-85CD-Box/dp/B000VBNRE4  (complete Beethoven)

 

If you decide you want to want to take the big step and buy one of these sets let me know and I’ll be glad to help you pick out the right one for you. 

 

BEETHOVEN’S MOVIES IN CHRONOLOGICAL ORDER

In addition to their portrayal of the life of Beethoven and his music these movies comprise a brief historical survey of the history of motion pictures over the last century.

 

1909  Harry Baur (1909 portrayal of Beethoven)

The first known film about Beethoven portrayed by one of the time’s leading actors who would, some twenty-six  years later, reprise the role. No information found.

 

1914 “The Kreutzer Sonata” (1914)

A Russian film, with limited subtitles in French. Musical accompaniment.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RO9692p8xW0  ( :28)

 

1927  “The Life of Beethoven” (1927), in German an Austrian silent drama film. Directed by Hans Otto. Starring Fritz Kortner as Beethoven. Not found.

 

As soon as movies took off, Beethoven became a compelling presence on the big screen. The first star to commit the tortured Teuton to celluloid was the French actor Harry Baur. A thickset, lugubrious-looking man, Baur portrayed Beethoven as early as 1909 and returned again to the role almost three decades later in Un Grand Amour de Beethoven, directed by Abel Gance. Wiki’s short biography of Baur suggests that his life was as interesting as Beethoven’s.

 

1936  “Un Grand Amour de Beethoven” (1936/1937), In French.  Directed by Abel Gance, Starring Harry Baur

 

It didn’t take long for movie studios to embrace Beethoven as a subject. In 1936, the great French filmmaker Abel Gance (best known for the silent-era spectacle Napoleon) directed "Un Grand Amour de Beethoven" (The Life and Loves of Beethoven"), which juxtaposes the composer’s life — albeit an idealized one of a tortured artist — to selections from his catalogue of music.

 

Expressionistic and experimental, Gance’s Beethoven makes up with imagination what it lacks in historical accuracy. Harry Baur plays the composer as a depressed, ignored genius.

 

Image Ent. 014381020021, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0gOMwjtvWls  (1:57)

 

1943  “Heavenly Music” (1943)

Heavenly Music is a 1943 American short fantasy film directed by Jose Berne. It won an Academy Award at the 16th Academy Awards in 1944 for Best Short Subject (Two-real). Starred Steven Geray as Beethoven.

 

Beethoven’s iconic status has also ensured his appearance in all manner of other movies. In Heavenly Music (1943), a bandleader arrives in heaven to be told that a committee will review his work and decide whether he is worthy of admittance. Guess who’s chairing the panel? Yes, Ludwig himself along with his chumsWagner, Brahms and other giants of music. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=osoZfHnmUrY  ( :21)

 

1949  “Eroica” (1949), In German, an Austrian film depicting the life and works of Beethoven. Directed by Walter Kolm-Veltee. Starring Ewald Balser. Entered in the 1949 Cannes Film Festival.  Not historically accurate. Vienna Philharmonic conducted by Hanns Kappertbusch.

 

One of Germany’s best-known character actors, Fritz Kortner, also played Ludwig on more than one occasion. However, it was the veteran Ewald Balser who starred in what was described at the time as the definitive Beethoven biopic, Eroica (1949). 

 

Then there was Erich von Stroheim, Oscar-nominated for Sunset Boulevard, who played the composer in Napoléon (1955). Beethoven also popped up from time to time in biographical movies of other composers – alongside Schubert in New Wine (1941) and with Mozart in Whom the Gods Love (1942). But none of these outings really did the old curmudgeon justice. It wasn’t until Gary Oldman donned the shabby coat in Immortal Beloved (1994) that we began to see a Beethoven we could believe in and sympathize with.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5BvUa6iNXag  (1:33)

 

1954  “Ludwig van Beethoven” (1954), a German Democratic Republic documentary. Directed by Max Jaap. Presents the life of Beethoven through original documents, letters and photos that are combined with Beethoven’s music.

Not found.

 

1960s  “A film about the life and music of Beethoven, 1960’s – Film 4771” (1960s) B&W docufilm.

Bonn where Beethoven was born. Vienna where he spent the rest of his life. Paintings of the French revolution. Statues of Beethoven, Mozart. Napoleon Bonaparte Shots of sheet music. The house where e he was born, a small white washed garret. A piano with black ivory keys. Hands playing on a piano. A trio in a chamber music trio play in an elaborately decorated room. Ornate architecture of Vienna. Feet walking over cobble stones, A hand pulls down a flag of a noble. Title page of 'Egmont' by Goethe. Pictures of a cavalry battle. A pond with a willow tree overhanging it. Two boys walk along a street in a Viennese suburb. A shadowed garden path. Farm workers in the field in Austrian folk dress haying. Audience shots, from side and front. Shots of the Austrian Alps. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fztYVhQqJlo  (11:33)

 

1962  “The Magnificent Rebel” (1962)a two-part Walt Disney production made-for-television features a largely fictionalized life of Beethoven. Directed by George Tressler.  Starring Karlheinz Bohm as Beethoven.  Later released to theaters in Europe.  Part of the Disney Wonderful World of Color (1954 – 1991) series.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hPk86Glczlo  (Preview, movie for rent.)

 

1969  “Ludwig van” (1969),

Composer and film-maker Maurico Kagel made Ludwig van in 1969 after the work was commissioned by German broadcaster Westdeutscher Rundfunk for the bicentenary of Beethoven's birth in 1970. The first part of the film is shot from the point of view of Beethoven, who walks around late 1960s Bonn, including paying a visit to his birthplace. The second part includes a number of scenes focusing on modern day perceptions of Beethoven. The film's published score was constructed by Kagel from random pages from Beethoven's compositions, which had been used to decorate the Beethoven-Haus in the film, and the score's performance instructions allowed performers a great deal of leeway in interpreting it, giving them license to follow the pages in any order, omit pages, and to incorporate Beethoven music not already included in the score. In fact, Kagel's own recording of the film score is based on extracts of Beethoven's works not present in the published version. The film was controversial at the time and received a generally hostile critical reception in both West and East Germany. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7l8vPWFIgxI  (1:131)

 

1970  Beethoven Bicentennial (Time-Life Collection)

Not a movie but a ten volume, 40 LP collection put out by Time Life for the bicentennial of Beethoven’s birth. In today’s world that is no big deal but in 1970 it was a very big deal and showed how a mainstream American media company could and would do something of such importance and, equally important, how the average American would respond to it. I know I did. Although I didn’t buy the whole set for financial reasons I did buy the first three volumes that contained all of The Master’s symphonies and concerti. I still have it and I still listen to it all every year on Beethoven’s birthday.

 

1971  “A Clockwork Orange” (1971)

Of these  films, Stanley Kubrick’s "A Clockwork Orange" is the only one where Beethoven does not appear in person. However, the composer is present as the main character Alex’s musical idol, and Alex’s favorite piece of music, the last movement of Beethoven’s Ninth, becomes much more than a leitmotif. The chords of “Ode to Joy” actually motivate him towards gleeful violence, despair and eventually personal triumph. (“Beethoven” is even one of about 10 words that are flashed on screen in the movie trailer, which strangely is accompanied by a synthesized version of Rossini’s William Tell Overture.)

 

The anarchic John Belushi put on the Lud-wig in numerous episodes of Saturday Night Live, transmogrifying into a Germanic Ray Charles. And John Cleese – believe it or not – appeared as Beethoven in the ‘Archaeology Today’ episode of Monty Python’s Flying Circus alongside playing Mrs Dreary Fat Boring Old Git. And then there’s the film franchise featuring the slobbering St Bernard – no connection but the name.

 

Apart from attempts to depict Beethoven the man on film, his works have played an important role in countless movies – Howards End, Mr Holland’s Opus and even George of the Jungle amongst them. 

 

Disney didn’t do him justice in Fantasia visualizing the ‘Pastoral’ Symphony as an art deco Greek idyll, replete with cavorting nymphs and cheeky cherubs. 

 

More powerful and appropriate was the use of the Ninth Symphony in A Clockwork Orange and Dead Poets Society. In the case of Mozart, it’s hard to imagine any film surpassing Amadeus or telling us anything more about the great man. With Beethoven, though, it seems there’s no end to filmmakers’ fascination with or the enduring appeal of this irascible genius. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cQCQRLA05AA ( 1:33)

 

1976  “Beethoven – Days in a Life” (1976), a feature film directed by Horst Seemann for the former East German DEFA Studio for Feature Film. Starring Donatas Banionis. The film covers Beethoven’s life in Vienna between 1813 and 1819.

Not found.

 

1985  “Neveu Beethoven “or “The Nephew of Beethoven”. Directed by Paul Morrisey. Starred Wolfgang Reichman as Beethoven, Dietmar Printz as Karl.

 

In 1957, Jacques Brenner wrote the fictional memoires of Karl van Beethoven, the composer's nephew.

 

He created this work through what he knew of Karl, and from the works of numerous biographers. His book is taken from a human standpoint, and Karl is presented as a victim.

 

In 1972, Luigi Magnani wrote another book about Karl van Beethoven: 'Il Nipote di Beethoven'.

A film was made from these books. The director Paul Morrisey realised this film in 1985.

 

Wolfgang Reichman played Ludwig van Beethoven, Dietmar Printz is Karl, Mathieu Carričre is the archduke Rodolphe. Also in this film: Jane Birkin et Nathalie Baye.

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2WZL6wuc27w  (Preview of English translation of original French film.)

 

1989  “Bill and Ted’s Excellent Adventure” (1989)

 

The time-traveling dudes Bill and Ted call on the composer during their excellent adventure, and bring him back from 19th century Vienna to 1989 San Dimas, Calif. The composer finds a comfortable seat, playing synthesizers at the local mall before he helps Bill and Ted pass their history class and graduate from high school.

 

In Bill & Ted’s Excellent Adventure (1989), Beethoven is one of the historical figures encountered by the time-travelling teenagers.

 

The film was written by Chris Matheson and Ed Solomon and directed by Stephen Herek. Starred Alex Winter as Bill and Keanu Reeves as Ted. It generally received good reviews and was a box office success. It is now considered a cult classic. A sequel was made two years later.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T3Cdbvcacdk  (Link to movie.)

 

1992  “Beethoven Lives Upstairs” (1992), Starring Neil Munro as Beethoven, a Canadian television movie, it won a Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Children’s Program.

 

Beethoven Lives Upstairs is a Canadian 1992  HBO Original Films television movie produced and directed by David Devine.. Based on a very popular children's audio recording written and directed by Barbara Nichol, the film stars Illya Woloshyn as Christoph, a young boy who develops a friendship with composer Ludwig van Beethoven (Neil Munro)), a boarder and villain in the boy's parents' house. The film was shot in Prague in the Czech Republic  for the same reason other period pieces like Amadeus. It looked more like the Prague or Vienna of Beethoven or Mozart’s time than today’s post-WWII cities and has been broadcast in over 110 countries in numerous languages and has sold over one million DVDs and is used extensively in U.S. and Canadian elementary and middle school music classrooms.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f7R8AkopRdA  (:52)

 

1992  “Beethoven” (1992) + 7 sequels has nothing to do with the composer and everything to do with a 180 lb. St. Bernard named Beethoven.

 

A critical flop but box-office hit! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zBkVZDWD0Oo  (1:42)

 

1994  “Immortal Beloved” (1994), Directed by Bernard Rose, Starring Gary Oldman, Sony Pictures Home Ent.

 

Beethoven’s friend, secretary and first biographer Anton Schindler searches for the “Immortal Beloved”, to whom the composer has left everything. Oldman plays Beethoven.

 

Gary Oldman plays the composer in the biopic "Immortal Beloved," which searches for the women to whom Beethoven’s mysterious love letter was addressed. While some bits are true (Beethoven did write the letter in 1812, signing it “Forever thine, forever mine, forever us”), much of the rest was left to artistic license. The maestro’s music is realized in a soundtrack featuring Murray Perahia, Yo-Yo Ma, Bryn Terfel, Emmanuel Ax and Georg Solti conducting the London Symphony Orchestra.

 

Oldman’s performance was highly praised but the box office said otherwise with a gross of $10M (1/9th of what Beethoven, the dog movie, took in.  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o6vJaKpnMaQ  (1:32)

 

2003  “Eroica” (2003), Directed by Simon Cellan Jones, Starring Ian Hart, Opus Arte

A dramatized account of the day that Beethoven’s “Eroica” (Third Symphony) was heard for the first time. “Everything is different from today,” said Haydn. Ian Hart is suitably cantankerous. The soundtrack was conducted by John Eliot Gardiner.

 

In 2003 a made-for-television BBC/Opus Arte film Eroica dramatized the 1804 first performance of the Eroica Symphony at the palace of Prince Lobkowitz. Ian Hart was cast as Beethoven, while Jack Davenport played Prince Lobkowitz; the Orchestra Revolutionary and Romantic conducted by Sir John Eliot Gardiner perform the Symphony in its entirety during the film https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f7R8AkopRdA  (1:23)

 

2005  “The Genius of Beethoven”, a three-part BBC documentary miniseries “ Starred Paul Rhys as Beethoven.

 

A powerful, moving and accurate docudrama based on the life of Ludwig van Beethoven (1770-1827). Paul Rhys's masterful portrayal of Beethoven is particularly noteworthy, doing well to vividly convey the isolation and despair Beethoven experienced throughout his life, while insightful narration from the popular conductor, composer and presenter Charles Hazelwood does well to add a sophisticated educational dimension to the series. 1: The Rebel, 2: Love and Loss, 3: Faith and Fury.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5XsgaBl7KMI&list=PL70C28F708BD93EDC  (3:00)

 

2006  “Copying Beethoven” (2006), Directed by Agnieszka Holland, Starring Ed Harris

 

Ed Harris dons a messy wig to play a credible Beethoven, who is struggling with his demons (deafness and loneliness) and the score to his Ninth Symphony, in the 2006 film, "Copying Beethoven." He finds help from a local music student, played by drop-dead gorgeous Diane Kruger, to help him compose what would become his most famous work, the Ninth “Choral” Symphony (artistic licenses are taken in this film as well). The triumphant premiere of the work uses a recording by Bernard Haitink and the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qB26OmUMctw  (1:44)  

 

2008 “The Kreutzer Sonata” (2008)

The Kreutzer Sonata is a 2008 film directed by Bernard Rose based on the novella by Leo Tolstoy. It is Rose's second collaboration with Danny Huston and his third adaptation of a work by Leo Tolstoy, following 1997's Anna Karenina and 2003's I vans: XTC.

 

"The Kreutzer Sonata" is the name commonly given to Ludwig van Beethoven’s Violin Sonata no. 9 in A major. Director Bernard Rose had previously directed Immortal Beloved, a film on the life of Ludwig van Beethoven, in which there is a major (and pivotal) scene that features a performance of the Kreutzer Sonata.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U8RjYCd9dAA  (Preview   :1:45)

 

2009  “Beethoven Virus”, (2008) A South Korean television series starring Kim Myung-min

Beethoven Virus (Hangul: 베토벤 바이러스; RR: Betoben Baireoseu) is a 2008 South Korean television series starring  Kim Myung-ninm, Lee Ji-ah and Jang Keun-suk. The show drew attention for being the first Korean drama to depict the lives of classical musicians, an orchestra and ordinary people who dream of becoming musicians. It aired on MBC from September 10 to November 12, 2008 on Wednesdays and Thursdays at 21:55 for 18 episodes.

 

Kang Gun-woo (or Kang Mae) is a world-renowned orchestra maestro who is a perfectionist in his work. He is not an easy person to work with and is feared by all his players. By chance, he comes across Du Ru-mi, a violinist, and a young cop who has the same name as his and discovers that even without formal training, the young Kang is a music genius. The three soon get tangled in a love triangle as Kang Mae attempts to salvage a local orchestra.

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GlNQjrn09gQ&list=CLTysIVl8mMN4  (You can see all eleven chapters on You Tube or you can go to viki.com and see it as it was shown on Korean TV.)

 

https://www.viki.com/tv/24c-beethoven-virus?q=Beethoven%27s%20Virus  (Shown in the original 18 parts as shown on Korean TV.)

 

2009  “In Search of Beethoven” (2009), Directed by Phil Grabsky, Narrated by Juliet Stevenson. Starring Lars Vogt and Janine Jansen.

 

A superlative documentary charting the course of Beethoven’s Life, built around some 65 performances and more than 100 interviews, and including the composer’s own letters. Seventh Arts Production.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m2aTpwx3Fw8   (Preview :6:13, other segments on YouTube but no complete on line version yet.)

 

CDS AVAILABLE ON AMAZON.COM

In Search of Beethoven, $40

Eroica, Ian Hart, $30

Immortal Beloved (Special Edition), $10

Great Composers: Beethoven, $13

Keeping Score, Michael Tilson Thomas, $25

Beethoven Lives Upstairs, $16

Following The Ninth: In the Footsteps of Beethoven’s Final Symphony, Kerry Candaele, $20

Concerto: a Beethoven Journey, Leif Ove Andsnes, $35

Beethoven: The Music and the Life, Lewis Lockwood, $20

Copying Beethoven, Ed Harris, $50

 

CUT TO THE CHASE

The movies I selected for the Beethoven beginner were: Heavenly Music, Immortal Beloved, the 2006 BBC miniseries, In Search of Beethoven and Beethoven’s Virus. For kids, of whatever age, I suggest: The Magnificent Rebel, Bill and Ted’s Excellent Adventure, Beethoven Lives Upstairs, and any of the St. Bernard Beethoven movies. I think a movie buff would especially enjoy the 1914 and 2008 versions of Tolstoy’s Kreutzer Sonata.

 

SOURCES

There is a huge amount of material available online and elsewhere about Beethoven. Most of the facts are repetitious but every writer, scholar or whatever, has a different point of view. I found; wiki, YouTube, Google, the  Internet Movie Database, the Beethoven Haus Museum, and some of the Beethoven “shrine” sites to be most useful. Beyond all the books and such I found the notes on the jackets of many of my LPs to be most helpful.

 

CONCLUSION

There is no one Beethoven, as should be obvious by now, but you can find your own; and that is what The Master would have wanted.

 

 

Game Openings

No openings at present.

Eternal Sunshine Game Section

 

Diplomacy, “Milk and Trash”, 2015A, W 09/S 10

Austria (Jack McHugh – jwmchughjr “of” gmail.com): Build A Vienna.. A Ankara – Armenia,

 F Eastern Mediterranean Supports F Ionian Sea, A Munich Supports A Silesia - Berlin (*Disbanded*),

 A Rumania Supports A Sevastopol, A Sevastopol Supports A Ankara – Armenia, A Silesia - Berlin (*Bounce*),

 A Smyrna Supports A Ankara – Armenia, A Trieste Supports A Venice, A Tyrolia Supports A Munich,

 A Vienna - Bohemia.

England (Mark Firth – mogcate “of” me.com): A Armenia Supports A Smyrna - Syria (*Dislodged*),

 F Gulf of Lyon – Tuscany, F Holland Supports A Kiel, F North Africa – Tunis, F North Sea – Denmark,

 A Norway - St Petersburg (*Bounce*), F Tunis - Tyrrhenian Sea, F Tyrrhenian Sea – Rome,

 F Western Mediterranean Supports F Tunis - Tyrrhenian Sea.

Germany (Jim Burgess – jfburgess “of” gmail.com): Retreat A Munich - Ruhr..Remove F Baltic Sea..

 A Berlin – Munich, A Burgundy Supports A Berlin – Munich, F Gulf of Bothnia - St Petersburg(sc) (*Bounce*),

 A Kiel Supports A Berlin – Munich, A Marseilles Supports A Piedmont,

 A Piedmont Supports F Gulf of Lyon – Tuscany, A Prussia - Berlin (*Bounce*), A Ruhr Supports A Berlin - Munich.

Italy (John Biehl – jerbil “of” shaw.ca): NMR! F Apulia U, F Ionian Sea U, F Naples U,

 F Tuscany U (*Disbanded*), A Venice U.

Russia (Kevin Wilson – ckevinw “of” comcast.net): NMR! A Moscow U, A Warsaw U.

 

Deadline for F 10 is January 30th at 7am my time

 

PRESS

 

(JIM-BOB to KEVIN): I gave Jackie-cakes a center, now I take it back....  so it goes.

 

(JIM-BOB to DOUG): I'm done lyin', you are still the best GM ever... especially as you ruled against me!

 

GM – Boob: Ruling against you is the default position.

 

England - World: A happy holiday to everyone. 'Tis only a game!

Black Press Gunboat, “Noah’s Titanic”, 2015Arb32, F 10

A/F/G/I Draw Passes!

EOG Report and Statements Next Issue!

Deadline is January 30th at 7am my time

 

PRESS

 

Rome to Paris: Stop vetoing the draw already! As close as you are, you will not see 18!

 

Vienna to Rome: Stop vetoing the draw already! As close as you are, you will not see 18!

 

London to World: Get the point? Vote for the draw, ya knuckleheads!

 

Ger - GM: The battle lines have been drawn … for now.  Sooner or later, Italy will stab Austria in the back and go for the win.  The Austrian player needs to wake up and move to take the Balkans and Turkey before Italy explodes out of his beachhead in Greece and moves to take Serbia and Romania. 

 

I will soon have a defensive line that Austria cannot break, and then what happens?  A draw?  Not likely with Italy (who is an old nemesis of mine for no reason that I can understand).  My forces will support France for the remainder of the game.  So, when Italy and Austria go to war, the game becomes wide open.  It seems to me that a draw is the best Austria can hope for unless he decides to wise up and formalize an alliance with me, his true and faithful friend who has never attacked him.  Time for Pope Pompous I to die!

 

Zee Pope - French Prez: I might - but I'd rather help you against Germany!  If you've held MAO, Germany has supported you this time. That's fine and therefore I will give you two supports from now on.

If though I've dislodged you he hasn't and it then comes down to trust. You don't trust me? Then simply retreat to Portugal or Brest and support me to stand in MAO. But if you do trust me, retreat to any of the northern waters or Brest. I'll keep on sailing past to liberate England - you're welcome to come along.

 

Vatican - Emperor: Things seem to be going well in the center. May I propose a repeated pattern, commencing next Fall? We order our idle units in Tri and Gre to stand off in Ser. This gives them some useful training and firms up our alliance even more. I'll accept whatever you state formally in the next round of Press.

 

Pope Pluvius - France: The heathen falters! The Austrian pierces his midriff and plays spaghetti with his innards (actually, that's put me off my tea). Germany struck at Burgundy. He will do so again. Push on, push on! The righteous path lays northward.

 

 

 

By Almost Popular Demand

 

The goal is to pick something that fits the category and will be the "second 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. However, the most popular answer in each category scores zero points!  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 10th 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 8 Categories

1.    A character on The X-Files

2.    A mode of public transportation.

3.    A song by Fleetwood Mac.

4.    A measure of weight.

5.    A food associated with Thanksgiving.

 

Melinda Holley scores the high with 13 (out of a possible 22).  Martin Burgdorf and Don Del Grande score the low with 3 points each.

 

Comments By Category

 

X-Files – Andy York “I expect Scully will be #1.”

 

Fleetwood Mac – Rick Desper “Tusk - no, I don't like that.  I'll go with Rhiannon which is much better.  Joker on Rhiannon b/c I just don't care about scoring and I love the song.”

 

Round 9 Categories

 

1.    A “spaghetti” Western.

2.    A member of U2.

3.    Something associated with camping.

4.    Another term for testicle.

5.    A book by Kurt Vonnegut, Jr.

 

Deadline for Round 9 of By Almost Popular Demand is January 30th 2017 at 7am my time.

 

General Deadline for the Next Issue of Eternal Sunshine:  January 30th, 2017 at 7:00am my time.  That’s a Monday!! Hope to See You Then!