Hint to Person
Placed Closest to Me:
I
died before you were born. Wrong
nationality…but correct chromosome.
Deadline for Round 2 is August 25th
at 7am My Time
XENOGOGIC - Est. 1964
By Larry Peery
Since time is of the essence, as David Hood would never say,
I thought I would try something a bit different in this issue of XENOGOGIC.
Instead of reprinting an article(s) and then commenting on it at length, I
thought I would streamline things a bit and suggest a topic, introduce you to
it very briefly and then, if you’re interested, send you off to Google, Yahoo,
Wiki, You Tube, etc. to do your own research, if you are good. If not, well,
that’s your loss. Just keep in mind that the most unfamiliar subjects may turn
out to be the most interesting.
To make it really easy for you, I’ll even give you a list of
the topics at the top so you can pick and choose which ones might interest you.
Here they are: Hermes/Mercury, the original Diplomacy movie, the German BND,
“Anthrax Island and Mailuu Suu, The Russian Air Force, Helen Gahagan Douglas,
Thomas Pickering, Ho Feng-shan, Michael Jabaley, and last but not least, Eloise
and Barack.
As an aside for the “techies” among you, after years of
using Windows Internet Explorer and then Google as my browsers, I finally got
tired of the battles being waged on my computer (mostly late at night) between
them and McAfee and Norton over who would control my browser and computer
security. My computer guru, Mike Maston, told me that their battles had totally
screwed up my system. His solution was simple --- get rid of Internet Explorer,
Google and McAfee and switch to Firefox. So I did. Bingo!
Hermes, a/k/a Mercury
Twenty years ago Simon Szykman, a Dipper and valued
contributor to TDP, wrote: “One of the first diplomatic figures appears in
Greek mythology. Hermes, the brother of Apollo, was known for his charm,
cunning and trickery. What better qualities for a diplomat? (Or a Dipper?)
Zeus, having a similar opinion, employed Hermes for the most sensitive diplomatic
missions and he came to be regarded by the other gods as the intermediary
between the upper and lower worlds. The Greeks regarded him as the patron of
travelers, trade, merchants, thieves, persuasion, writings, athletics, animal
husbandry and diplomats!
The Romans renamed Hermes Mercury for reasons of their own. Although the
Norsemen had hundreds of minor and major gods in their pantheon they had no
direct equivalent to Hermes. Interestingly, the Chinese Buddhists, at least
according to a temple in Macau, elevated a foreigner to their pantheon because
he had many of Hermes characteristics. His name was Marco Polo.
Hermes/Mercy is still very much in our memories. Mercury
auto hood ornaments are still collectibles although the Mercury Milan was
phased out in 2011. The Mercure hotel brand is the largest of Accor’s (in
itself the largest hotel chain in the world) labels with 711 hotels on five
continents and 89,203 rooms in 54 countries.
Today, of course, Hermes is known, at least among
fashionista of a certain class for its luxury goods: leather goods, bags,
belts, perfumes, etc. To go along with its two boutiques in New York the
company is opening an exclusive perfumerie in the chic chic Brookfield Plaza
across from the WTC. Check it out and be sure to ask for a sample of their new
line, “Horses’ Sweat.”
But surely pride of place in today’s “bling world” belongs
to the Hermes collection of ultra, high-end bags and the “best of the best” of
these is the Hermes Birkin bag 35 made of porous crocodile skin in black with
an elephant gray black horseshoe. You can have that “one of a kind” bag for a
mere $125K at Hermes flagship store in Paris.
Movie Diplomats
Unless you’re a serious actor or an amateur thespian of more
than ordinary skills, the name Victorien Sandou may not mean anything to you,
but Sardou was a playwright who kept Paris amused while Berlin was building the
ancestors of the “Big Berthas,” the fore-runners of the long-range Paris Guns
that the Germans used to bombard Paris in 1918. Among Sardou’s 40+ plays was
one called “Diplomacy;” which was made into a movie in 1926. Finding a copy of
the play or movie is just about impossible these days, but a review of the
movie, “Movie Diplomats” by Mordaunt Hall in the 13 September, 1926 NY Times
may be enlightening.
German Intelligence “to be reorganized in response to spy
scandal”
In a recent issue of DW or TDP, or perhaps even Eternal
Sunshine, I wrote about the “spy scandal” involving the USA, Germany and
Austria spying on each other. The story made front-page headlines in the
international media for a couple of days and then dropped off the radar,
apparently when their respective intelligence agencies agreed not to wash their
dirty linen in public. Now we learn that the German intelligence service is “to
be reorganized in response to the spy scandal.” According to the head of BND,
Germany’s premier intelligence service, 6,500 field officers will be brought
back under central control following the revelations that the BND spied for the
USA on European partners. Under the new plan 120 field officers will be
transferred from Bad Aibling, near Munich, the former base of the Gehlen
organization, and a key US intelligence base in Europe to that magnificent new
intelligence Taj Mahal just a short walk from the German Chancery.
Poisoned Legacy
Not surprisingly two of the world’s most polluted spots are
“Anthrax Island,” a former island in the Aral Sea” and Mailuu-Suu, a town
in southern Krygyzstan’ The Vozrozhdenike” (or “Renaissance Island,” was
the site of Cold War Soviet experiments, manufacturing and disposal of
extremely toxic WMD wastes. With the shrinkage of the Aral Sea caused by the
Russians siphoning off water from its rivers, that island has now become
connected to the mainland and the best efforts of Russian and US ECHS people
aren’t helping much. Mailuu-Suu is a primary site for some 21 Soviet-era
uranium mines and processing plants. Today, the whole mess threatens the nearby
Fergana River valley, home to ten million people and some of the best farm land
in Central Asia.
The Russian Air Force Is Falling Out of the Ground
For the last month or so the international and military
media have been covering the woes of the Russian Air Force which seems to have
a problem --- keeping its planes in the air. Recently the Russians have lost a
Su-24M tactical bomber, two Mig-29 fighters, a Su-34 strike fighter, and two
Tu-95 strategic bombers. The youngest of the planes was 24 years old. The
oldest dates back to a design that pre-dates me. Some experts blame this on the
poor maintenance of the Soviet aircraft fleet. Others blame it on the increased
demands Putin has put on his Air Force to fly more and longer flights to
impress other countries with how powerful the “new” Russia is in comparison
with the former Soviet Union. Only half-jokingly I suggested all these crashes
were actually being caused by US Special Forces operating on the ground or in
the area using a variety of “special” weapons. After all, if amateurs armed
with a simple laser can almost bring down a commercial jet on an approach to
Newark Airport why not a fifty-year old Tu-95 on an approach to the Ukrainka
Airbase in the Russian Far East?
Ho Feng-Shan
If the story or 1993 movie of “Schindler’s List” moved you,
you might enjoy the story of Ho Feng Shan, who is known as “The Chinese
Schindler” for his efforts during the Anschluss to save thousands of Austrian
Jews while serving as the Republic of China’s consul in Vienna. Another part of
the story is Ho Man-Li, Ho’s daughter, who spent 15 years tracking down and
writing the story of her father’s remarkable career as a diplomat and
humanitarian.
Helen Gahagan Douglas
Those of you of a certain age, especially if you are from
California or loathed Richard Nixon, may be fascinated to read something about
the life of Helen Gahagan Douglas, against whom Nixon ran what most political
scientists and historians considered to be one of the most despicable political
campaigns in American history.
Thomas Pickering
Eighty-three year old Thomas Pickering isn’t a name most
Americans would recolonize but he served the USA long and honorably as a
diplomat; including tours as ambassador to the UN, Russia, India, Israel, El
Salvador, Nigeria and Jordan before retiring with the personal rank of career
ambassador, the State Department’s equivalent to a four-star general; except
there are only six living career ambassadors compared to umpteen retired
four-star generals double-dipping in the MIC trough..
Michael Jabaley
RADM Jabaley is another name most Americans won’t recognize
but he is following in the steps of Hyman Rickover and William Raborn as a
“father” of the US nuclear submarine fleet. Today he’s the Navy’s new point man
for the Navy’s current Virginia-class subs; the new, longer, and more heavily
armed Virginia variant; and the replacement to the ballistic missile Ohio-class
subs; the cost of which may sink the rest of the Navy. Jabaley’s new job title
is Program Executive Officer – Submarines. Keep a periscope on him.
A New Take on Eloise and The Plaza (about the time ABC was
designing Dip), Roy and Sultan of Brunei; Barack Obama and The Waldorf-Astoria
Thompson and Knight, the creators of Eloise, followed up Eloise (1955) with
four sequels. Eloise is a girl who lives in the "room on the tippy-top
floor" of the Plaza Hotel in New York City with her Nanny, her pug dog
Weenie, and her turtle Skipper. I don’t know what she paid for her room at The
Plaza but she managed to sweet-talk Conrad Hilton into appearing in the first
Eloise movie in 1956.
Conrad Hilton sold The Plaza to The Childs Corporation in
1955 for $55.7M. That was about the time Eloise moved in. Eventually the hotel
fell into the hands of the Sahara India Pariwar, an Indian financial services
group controlled by billionaire Subrata Roy (Think Donald Trump.). Subrata
tried to peddle his interest in The Plaza and the Grosvenor House in London to
the Sultan of Brunei to raise funds to pay his $1.6B bail in a law suit but
that deal fell through.
Anbang Insurance Group, owned by Wu Xiaohui, who is married
to a daughter of the former Chinese leader Deng Xiaoping bought The
Waldorf Astoria Hotel in 20144 for $1.95B. The Hotel has always been the home
of the US Ambassador to the UN, the US Secretary of State, when in NYC, or the
President when he’s in NYC. However, after the hotel’s sale, the unhappy Secret
Service and NSA let it be known they thought the President should look for some
place cheaper than the $25,000 a day Waldorf Presidential Suite. In a
2015 visit to NYC with his daughters Malia and Sasha, Barack did not stay at
The Plaza, for “security” reasons according to some. Of course what we
really want to know is would Obama pay the rack rate of $25,000 a night or the
$304 a night per diem GSA allowance for NYC?
Government security experts were worried about the dangers of “bugging” and
other forms of spying in a Chinese-owned Waldorf Astoria. I’m sure Conrad
Hilton would have found that amusing since his hotels, including the ones in
Cuba, the Dominican Republic and Turkey were used for years to spy on guests,
complete with audio and video recordings, at the request of the CIA and NSA.
ZERO SUM3 Subzine to Eternal Sunshine, Issue 5 July 26, 2015
Published by Richard Weiss. richardweiss@higherquality.com.
GM Musings: The USA Presidential
Primary Bourses have started. Anyone can
join at any time. Clarification of the
rules below. July deadline extended to 1
August. August deadline 8 AM Oregon time
Sunday 23 August 2015.
Jack McHugh asked me to consider running a Dead Pool. Doug was considering running one. He is/will be. Please join in – via Eternal Sunshine.
I asked about the name Golden Gate. Jim Burgess replied, ” On the Golden Gate
Bridge, that's easy, isn't it? I thought the Strait it passes over is the
Golden Gate Strait.... then if you ask how THAT got its name, I think it
was Fremont who named all those things when he made his map of California.” Yes, mostly. Gate has
a few meanings. On coastal CA, where
there is a low coastal range or a gap in the range and fog pours through and
fills up the next valley, that is one “gate.”
However, the primary reason is that when first Europeans sailed into SF
Bay, all of the hills were covered in golden poppies, now the CA State
Flower. Thus, the Bay, the strait, and
then the bridge became known as the Golden Gate.
I have accepted a permanent position with The Permanente
Medical Group (the Physicians who provide the care to members of Kaiser
Permanente) in the Sacramento suburb of Roseville. I believe The Permanente Medical Group is
again demonstrating what the future of medicine is now. Payment by Insurers and employers is
capitated. Pay to clinicians is based on
health of a panel of patients, not productivity or fee for services. Care can be telephonic, web cam, email, in
person, or other as the person prefers and their condition allows.
I plan to live a few miles up into the foothills past
Auburn, CA, so I can see the Sierras every day, have some land, and grand
vistas. If all goes well, this will be the last home I guy, unless assisted
living apartment counts in 30 years.
Will start in early November.
I finish in Salem 4 September. I’m looking into a trip to Vermont to visit
family, finally make it to Quebec City, and maybe see some foliage before back
to Portland to move back to NorCal.
Then, I think 3 weeks in New Zealand.
At one point, I thought my youngest daughter was going to be
getting a Master’s from Cambridge in late October and I’d go to New Zealand,
India, Africa, Europe, England, Vermont, then back to West Coast, just to fly
around the world. But, that will wait
for another year, it seems, as she has been delayed. Have you flown or sailed around the world?
I imagine being on six continents is rather easy. I don’t know that I have a goal of all seven,
any more than I have a goal of getting to Earth, our moon, and Mars.
GAME OFFERINGS:
- Intimate Dip Only Need Two More
A great two-person variant. The rules are printed in Issue 1 and Issue
2.
Takes two. Will run multiple games.
Signed
up:
- Where
In The World Is Doug Kent In Kendo Nagasaki’s House: .
Rules are in Issues 1 – 4.
Can take any number. Minimum
of six before the game starts. Need One More.
Signed
up: Kevin Wilson, Doug Kent, Mark Firth, John David Galt, Jack McHugh and
Jim Burgess signed up, technically after the deadline. So WITWIDKIKNH officially starts. Send in names and locations. All those who already have done so, if you
send something new, that will take precedence.
- The Cathy and Pete Gaughan Memorial Snowball Fighting Game.
For those who have played, this is
a frivolous game of runny around the yard throwing various types of snowballs
at whomever, sometimes running into the house to have hot chocolate with Mommy,
and sometimes making all the snow and icicles on the roof fall down on an
unsuspecting kiddo.
Rules:
Doug did send me the rules. The map will be sent to all entrants and
printed in the next Eternal Sunshine
Can take any number. Need One More to start.
Signed
up: Jim Burgess; Doug Kent, Jack McHugh, Mark Firth, John David Galt
- Nuclear Yuppy Dip now changed to Nuke A Gay Baby Seal for Christ Dip (after my favorite
outrageously offensive to everyone bumper sticker of all time)
Game requires seven players. Send in requests for home countries. Algorithm decides per GM whim. Rules per regular Dip except as below. Spring 01 orders are submitted for units and
also orders for the nukes each country has.
Each country has 5 nukes, except Russia has 4. Thus, 34 SCs and 34 nukes.
Spring 01 is adjudicated as moves
first and then nukes.
Unit moves are adjudicated before
Nuke strikes are adjudicated.
Nukes are ordered to strike
(obliterate) provinces. If there is a
unit in the province nuked, the unit is annihilated and the province becomes
impassable for 224,666+ years. If the
province has an SC, the SC is annihilated.
If a nuke is not ordered to strike,
it is effectively decommissioned and does not remain available. Send it or lose it. There is no requirement to send nukes.
For Fall 01, players submit orders
for their units remaining. Provinces
that are impassable are impassable.
Winter 01, is per regular Dip with
the addition that if a player has a surviving Home SC, the player is given
another Nuke for each SC under his or her control.
For Spring 02, players with units
and/or home SCs submit orders for the units and any nukes gained in Winter
01. Moves first, then the nukes. Then Fall 02 and continues until all
annihilated, one victor, or no more home SCs and units stuck without viable moves. A single victor or survivors draw or all
lose. If at any time only one player has a Home SC, that player is immediately
the solo winner.
I’d play on a map of the middle
east (thank you Doug for the map) to make this more realistic, but, heck, who
wants to play a realistic and scary game.
Needs seven.
Signed
up: Jim Burgess, Mark Firth, John David Galt, Doug Kent, Jack McHugh
- 2016 Republican and Democratic Presidential Candidate Bourse
Sign Up to Get Your Free 1,800 Shares of Bourse Stock With Face
Value of 1,800 ZerosCubed. First 27
Entrants Also Get Bonus Gift Packs! Do
It Now.
Signed Up: Richard Weiss,
Hugh Polley, Mark Firth, Jack McHugh, and John David Galt
Democratic Party Presidential
Candidates Bourse
1.
Joseph Biden, Jr
2.
Lincoln Chafee
3.
Hillary Clinton
4.
Martin O’Malley
5.
Bernie Sanders
6.
Elizabeth Warren
7.
Jim Webb
8.
Other
Republican Party Presidential
Candidates Bourse
1.
Jeb Bush
2.
Chris Christie
3.
Ted Cruz
4.
Lindsey Graham
5.
Mike Huckabee
6.
Bobby Jindal
7.
Rand Paul
8.
Marco Rubio
9.
Scott Walker
10. Other, including Ben Carson, Carly Fiorina,
John Kasich, Geroge Pateki, Rick Perry, Rick Santorum, and Donald Trump
Each initial entrant gets 100 shares of stock
in each candidate. (Players joining the
game after start, get shares at then current values.) To start, you have no cash on hand, only
shares of stock.
You have to sell stock to get money
to buy additional shares. Each turn you can sell up to 100 shares of stock in each the Democrat and Republic
bourses. You can buy as many shares of
stock as you can afford. You must have
the full share price available to buy a share.
There are unlimited number of shares.
You can get change to the even penny and save some ZerosCubed$ for
another round. Sales trigger price
changes – down $0.05 (five cents) per share sold. Purchases trigger price changes - 0.05 (five
cents) per share purchased.
There will be a candidate in each
party named, “Other/Not named.” Each
person will get shares in Other. When a named candidate emerges from the Other pool, each shareholder will be
able to transfer whatever amount of shares he or she has in Other to the named candidate, or
not. The newly named candidate’s share
value is what Other was trading at
before the candidate emerged.
Players get initial shares in the
candidates in each party. Each party is
separate regarding money and shares.
Winner of the Bourse is determined in 2016 after the conventions. Only the stock of the winner has any
value. The player with the most money
(shares of stock times $ value) combined for the Republican and Democrat
candidates wins.
Needs enthusiastic investors. Profit guaranteed. Money invested is tax deferred.
Signed
up: Me, Mark Firth, John David Galt,
Jack McHugh, and Hugh Polley.
Deadline: Sign up and third puts and calls: Sunday 23
August 2015, 9 AM Oregon time.
For those with personal stories of interactions
with presidential candidates or other high government officials, send in some
comments. Let’s get something going in
the way of letters and press.
- BY POPULAR VOTE, AKA, BY ALMOST POPULAR DEMAND
By Popular Vote:
Rules
A game of open participation. This is By Popular Demand, with a twist.
The GM lists a category and seven items in the category. Each participant submits a name for
each. In addition, each entrant enters
his or her own item fitting within the category and provides a name for that as
well. Each person’s “special entity”
will likely be different.
As example, Category is Thoroughfare
Names, item is “Circle” and participant submits, “Déjà vu Circle.”
GM publishes the submitted names and each participant gets
one vote for each of the eight items.
Votes are for the “best” entry per type.
“Best” is subjective and not defined.
Participants can vote for any entry other than their own.
No vote received by a participant results in one vote for
each rivals’ entries.
Votes are tabulated.
Winner for each item is given two points. If there is a tie, then each entrant in the
tie gets one point, even if this awards more than two points.
Points are summed for each round and in total.
Any participant can anonymously petition the GM to hold a
vote to decide whether to withhold the results of the penultimate round and the
round before that, if one thinks gaming of the votes is occurring to create a
winner or prevent a winner.
Press is encouraged.
This is more about the press than the game.
Suggestions for future categories is encouraged.
Lacking input, some of the future categories will be
person’s names (eg, name for an electrician), town landmarks (eg, name of a
town park), natural landmarks (eg, name of a Butte), entertainment genre (eg,
name of a country band), franchise type names (eg, name of a sewer clean out
company), and species names for produce (eg, Roses).
ONGOING GAMES SECTION
Aldrich Ames Intimate Diplomacy Jack
McHugh vs. Geoff Kemp
Pre-Pre Winter 00: Selecting Home
Countries
Geoff: No de Plume - Mac ee Jelly!
Colour – Red
Preference list - E
- F - T - R - A - I - G
Jack: Germany, Russia,
Austria, Italy, France, England, Turkey
Press: GM to all: Perhaps not surprisingly, Geoff
chose his home country of England to be his home country. Jack chose Germany. These two countries are about as close as
they can be to each other. This could be
a short game, as the victory condition is when any one country’s own units
occupy the home SC of the opponent. Very
intriguing.
Pre Winter 00: Bidding on the
Neutral Countries
Austria (Neutral): SCs: Budapest, Trieste, Viena
England (Mac EE Jelly): SCs: Edinburgh, Liverpool, London
France (Neutral): SCs: Brest, Marseilles, Paris
Germany (Jack): SCs: Berlin, Kiel, Munich
Italy (Neutral): SCs: Naples, Rome, Venice
Russia (Neutral): SCs: Moscow, St. Petersburg, Sevastopol,
Warsaw
Turkey (Neutral): SCs: Ankara, Constantinople, Smyrna
Neutrals: Belgium, Bulgaria, Denmark, Greece, Holland,
Norway, Portugal, Romania, Serbia, Spain, Sweden, Tunis
Bids England/Mac
EE Jelly Jack
Austria 0 3
France 11 6
Italy 1 3
Russia 8 4
Turkey 0 1
England controls the Neutral Countries of France and Russia at an
expense of -19. Had 20 ZeroSums and now
has 1.
Germany controls the neutral countries Austria, Italy, and Turkey
at an expense of – 7. Had 22 credits, so
now has 15 credits.
Next orders are for Spring 1901.
Spring 1901 Orders for MAC EE Jelly Jelly
England
F(Lon) - ENC
A(Yor) - Wal
F(Edi) - NTH
France F(Bre) - MAO
A(Par) - Bur
A(Mar) SA(Par) - Bur
Russia
F(StP)sc - GoB
A(Mos) - Lvn
A(War) - Sil
F(Sev) - Rum.
Orders for Spring 1901 for Jack
'Set #1:
Germany:
F Kie-De
A Ber-Kie
A Mun-Bur
Austria:
A Bud-Gal
A Vie-Boh
A Tri-Tyr
Italy:
A Rom-Tus
A Tri-Pie
F Nap-Tys
Turkey:
F Ank-Bla
A Con-Bul
A Smy-Arm
Guy Burgess Intimate Diplomacy (AKA: Puddle Jumper)
Doug Kent vs. Mark Firth
Pre-Pre Winter 00: Selecting Home
Countries
Doug: FAGRTIE
Mark:
E/I/R/T/F/A/G
Press:
GM
to all: Perhaps not surprisingly, Mark chose his home country of England to be
his home country. Doug chose
France. These two countries are about as
close as they can be to each other. This
could be a short game, as the victory condition is when any one country’s own
units occupy the home SC of the opponent.
Very intriguing.
Mark
to Doug: Well, I don’t think
you’d get much closer to reverse prefs! Glad it’s not I v F though, as I’m
playing that in Quartz. Doug – in the
spirit of fair play I’ll give you a clue for W’00: I’m not bidding 10 for
Turkey.
Doug
in reply: “So kind.”
Pre Winter 00: Bidding on the
Neutral Countries
Austria (Neutral): SCs: Budapest, Trieste, Vienna
England (Mark): SCs: Edinburgh, Liverpool, London
France (Doug): SCs: Brest, Marseilles, Paris
Germany (Neutral): SCs: Berlin, Kiel, Munich
Italy (Neutral): SCs: Naples, Rome, Venice
Russia (Neutral): SCs: Moscow, St. Petersburg, Sevastopol,
Warsaw
Turkey (Neutral): SCs: Ankara, Constantinople, Smyrna
Neutrals: Belgium, Bulgaria, Denmark, Greece, Holland,
Norway, Portugal, Romania, Serbia, Spain, Sweden, Tunis
Bids Doug Mark
By Popular Vote (AKA
Sorta By Popular Demand)
Unlimited entrants. First round of possibly regular/erratic/only
SBPD. Send your favorite names (if you
got to name the thoroughfares in a town) for each of the following types of
thoroughfares.
|
Thoroughfare
|
Doug Kent
|
Jim Bob Burgess
|
|
Street
|
42nd
|
Fascination
|
|
Avenue
|
Electric
|
Danger
|
|
Boulevard
|
Hollywood
|
Sunset
|
|
Place
|
Park
|
This Must Be the
|
|
Square
|
Times
|
Tompkins Square Park
|
|
Circle
|
Columbus
|
The Circle Game
|
|
Road
|
Thunder
|
Abbey
|
|
Lane
|
Penny
|
Penny
|
|
Canyon
|
Grand
|
Grand
|
|
Way
|
Blue Jay
|
My
|
Jim explains his selections, explaining all are song related:
1. Fascination Street -- a great song by the Cure!
2. Danger Avenue -- a great song by the Schemers!
3. Sunset Boulevard -- sort of a song, sort of an album, just a place...
and so then....
4. This Must Be the Place -- one of my favorite Talking Heads
songs
5. Tompkins Square Park -- cool song by Mumford and Sons
6. The Circle Game -- Joni, I couldn't think of the right way to
do this
7. Abbey Road -- where else?
8. Penny Lane -- ditto
9. Grand Canyon -- don't know what what else to choose here...
isn't really a song, but inspires songs!
10. My Way -- by Frank, how else could you end this?
PRESS:
From Andy Lischett: “I've never thought of renaming streets but
often wonder how they got their names. Most are obvious like country roads
named after farmers, or roads named after presidents or war heroes, or
those named for landmarks like Hill Street or Twisted Oak Road or Old Barn
Road. West of Chicago is Shoe Factory Road, although any shoe factory is long
gone.
“North of Chicago in a
subdivision in Northbrook (gee, I wonder where that name came from?) is my
favorite street name, Pensive Lane. I figure that when planning the subdivision
the developer ran out of tree names and was sitting in his study with his feet
on his desk and staring into space while chewing on the end of a pencil when
his wife walked in and said, "What are you so pensive about?"
“I never have, but always
meant to turn down Pensive Lane to see if the rest of the subdivision has names
like Truculent Street or Irascible Avenue or Content Court.”
Doug and Jim please
vote. Or not, as you wish.
GM 2 ¢:
I like “Déjà vu Circle, personally.
Come on, join in this game.
Next Round (first real round)
|
Town Landmarks
|
- Green
|
- Tower
|
- Bridge
|
- Park
|
- Square
|
- Common
|
- Library
- Your Option
(come up with whatever you
think is cute)
|
|
|
Due 23 August 2015, 9 AM Oregon time. Be there, or “Be Square”
(obviously would be my choice for “square.”)
Presidential Bourse
Mark (Robiv) and Jack Mchugh sent orders.
He sold 25 shares of Biden, Warren,
Webb, and Other. He bought 40 shares of
Hillary and 30 shares of Chafee and Sanders.
On the Elephant side of the Bourse,
Mark sold 25 shares of Graham, Huckabee, Jindal, and Paul. He bought 24 shares of Cruz, Rubio, and
Walker. He bought 14 shares of Christie
and Other.
As per announcement last month, I
sold 100 shares of Bernie Sanders and bought 50 Other and 50 Hillary. On the Republican side, I sold 100 shares of
Lindsey Graham and bought 25 on each Walker, Paul, Other, and Bush.
Presidential Primary Bourses Values as of Close of Business
Issue 4, the 28th of June 2015
Due to technical difficulties
entirely of my making, the Bourse for this issue (July) is not closing until 8
AM Oregon time, Saturday 1 August 2015.
Then I will distribute the results, new stock values, player holdings,
and the next deadline will be Sunday 23 August, 9 AM Oregon time.
For next month, I am selling 100
Lincoln Chafee, and using 2/3 of my money on Hillary and 1/3 on Other. On the repub side, I’ll sell 100 shares of
Jindal and split again, evenly, between Walker, Paul, Other, and Bush.
Comments from Jim Burgess: think it's funny that you
have Donald Trump in your Other category, but you do have a policy for changing
it if he stays big in the race. He's certainly going to have his niche
from now until the primaries. He is sort of inoculated against anything
to knock him out of the race (like he's really pro-choice, doesn't practice
religion, etc.) that would kill another Republican candidate. He never
apologizes, never.
GM response: I assume there will be the first televised
debate this month, featuring Trump among the select group. Hopefully the bourse is going smoothly by
then with at least six entrants. I will
explain the split of Trump and Other in the August 23rd issue and
allow all to choose. Likely, new
entrants after the split will have to make a choice as to how to divide 100
shared between Trump and Other, then.
Any advice on par values for each stock after the split will be
appreciated. Perhaps I should leave Trump at the value for Other and decrease
the value of Other as though each Trump stock is a sale of Other. ???
The CNN/ORC polls reported in late
June show the national bourse prices would be about like this:
![MCj03243400000[1]](eshtml103_files/image032.gif)
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 #70
Work has kept me very busy this
month. Good thing the Phillies are so
awful I don’t have to worry about them.
Maybe the Eagles will give me something to cheer for, since Philadelphia
doesn’t have a basketball team, it has a MASH unit instead. I hope Demarco Murray runs for 2000 yards so
all those little Cowgirl fans can cry themselves to sleep after every Eagles
win.
So short subzine this month. Just some jokes and a few photos. But I did get a letter from Jim Burgess:
“For a game,
you should test a variant that you want to discuss in DW!!! I don't care which one, but I'll play if you
choose one.
I laughed
hysterically at your gaming friends!!! And how COULD you put Adolf and Hillary
together??? Well, might mean
something. And as I think you know, my
Father passed away this year, so this was my first Fatherless Father's Day, but
your picture (as they always do) made me laugh.
Don't go away, someone has to make Doug readable!!!”
I try to save funny pics when I see them but
my laptop has been slower than your publishing schedule. I’m thinking about Crowded but I don’t want
to commit to a game yet.
Two girls take a walk on a hot summer
day. They see an old lady sitting in
front of her house eating watermelon.
They notice she isn't wearing any panties. "Is it cooler without
panties?" they ask. She says, "I don't know if it's cooler, but it
sure keeps the flies off the watermelon."
What do you get when you put Raggedy Ann
and the Pillsbury Doughboy together? A
redhead with a yeast infection.
Two men work in a mortuary. One says to another, "You should see
that woman they brought in today. She'd
been in the water for a week. Her clit
was like a pickle." "Ew!" says the other fellow. "It was green?" "No, it was
sour!"
Doesn’t food get stuck in there?
A bad haircut made worse.
Got enough cheese?
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!
Diplomacy,
“Milk and Trash”, 2015A, A 02/W 02
Seasons
Separated by Player Request (Blechh!)
Austria (Jack McHugh
– jwmchughjr “of” gmail.com): Build A
Trieste, A Vienna.. Has A Budapest, F Greece,
A
Rumania, A Serbia, A Trieste, A Vienna.
England (Mark Firth
– mark.r.firth “of” capita.co.uk): Has F
English Channel, F Mid-Atlantic Ocean,
F
North Sea, A Norway.
France (Paul
Milewski – paul.milewski “of” hotmail.com): Retreat
F Mid-Atlantic Ocean - North Atlantic
Ocean.. Build F Brest.. Has F Brest, F
Gascony, F North Atlantic Ocean, A Picardy, A Spain.
Germany (Jim Burgess – jfburgess “of” gmail.com): Build A Munich.. Has F Baltic Sea, A Belgium,
F
Denmark, F Helgoland Bight, A Holland, A Munich.
Italy (John Biehl –
jerbil “of” shaw.ca): Has A Albania, F Ionian Sea, A Tyrolia, F
Tyrrhenian Sea.
Russia (Kevin Wilson
– ckevinw “of” comcast.net): Retreat
A Rumania - Ukraine.. Remove A Silesia..
Has
F Gulf of Bothnia, F Sevastopol, A Ukraine, A Warsaw.
Turkey (John David
Galt – jdg “of” diogenes.sacramento.ca.us): Has
A Ankara, A Bulgaria,
F
Constantinople, A Smyrna.
All Proposed
Draws Fail
Deadline
for S 03 is August 25th at 7am my time
PRESS
Rome
(Apr 1, 1903): King Giovanni the Short
(in many ways, height-wise, assuredly,
but also fuse-wise) was in a pensive mood, "Our Austrian Friend is
friendly, yes, but he just doesn't listen. He suggests and I agree and I
propose, well , we both propose, but then he does something different
anyway." What perplexed Giovanni most, however, was why the Emperor
proposed one 'thing' then decides not to act. He has forsaken a potential great
opportunity. "It must be that in-bred mountain blood of the
Hapsburgs", Giovanni mused, "what the Germans call a 'Dumkopf."
Black
Press Gunboat, “Noah’s Titanic”, 2015Arb32, W 01/S 02
Austria:
F Albania – Greece, A Budapest Supports A Trieste – Serbia, A
Trieste - Serbia.
England:
Build F London.. A Belgium – Picardy, F English Channel -
Irish Sea (*Bounce*),
F
London - English Channel (*Fails*), F North Sea - Norway.
France: Build F Brest.. F Brest - Mid-Atlantic Ocean (*Fails*), A
Gascony – Burgundy,
F
Mid-Atlantic Ocean - Irish Sea (*Bounce*), A Portugal - Spain.
Germany:
Build F Berlin, A Munich.. F Berlin -
Baltic Sea, F Denmark Supports F Berlin - Baltic Sea,
A
Holland Supports A Belgium (*Ordered to Move*), A Munich - Tyrolia
(*Fails*), A Silesia - Bohemia.
Italy: Build F Naples.. F Naples - Ionian Sea, F Tunis Supports F
Naples - Ionian Sea,
A
Tyrolia - Piedmont (*Bounce*), A Venice - Piedmont (*Bounce*).
Russia: Build A Moscow.. F Gulf of Bothnia – Sweden, A Moscow Supports F
Sevastopol, A Rumania Hold,
F
Sevastopol Supports A Rumania (*Cut*), A Warsaw - Silesia.
Turkey: Build A Constantinople.. A Armenia - Sevastopol
(*Fails*),
F
Black Sea Supports A Armenia – Sevastopol, A Constantinople – Bulgaria,
A
Serbia Supports A Constantinople - Bulgaria (*Dislodged*, retreat to
Albania or OTB).
Deadline
for F 02 will be August 25th at 7am My Time
PRESS
Germany to GM: I find it interesting how the movement of just
one army can have such a profound impact.
As everyone knows, Silesia is a major source of raw materials, finished
goods and food stuffs for my army. We
have traditionally moved our army in Munich to Silesia for summer war games,
and then return to Munich in the fall.
This year, following our long established pattern we did the same, but
low and behold, the upset these maneuvers caused was profound.
Russia denounced my move and sought to entice
other countries to attack me. Now,
Turkey is poised on his southern border to take both Rumania and Sevastopol in
1902. Italy attempted to take Munich in
a futile attempt to re-establish the bankrupt Holy Roman Empire. Fortunately, my army in Silesia blocked this
attempt and prevented the depredations of his solders from being inflicted on
my loyal subjects. Italy will soon have
Turkish fleets to contend with in the Mediterranean, and Turkish armies in the
Balkans.
I seek peace with all, and war with no one. I ask my fellow monarch’s to return to the
days of peace and trade so that we all may prosper in the days that lie ahead.
GM –Germany: While you’re at it, may as well wish for a
pony.
Germany to Italy: So, you think you know
who I am. All I can say is … you don’t
know crap!
Rus - Tur: the Tsar
would like to re-affirm the Rus desire for peace with Tur. If the Sultan wishes
to convoy A Arm - Bul, the Tsar has no
objection. The Tsar hopes that Tur might leave Rus alone. The Tsar would like
to travel in another direction via motor car and train but cannot when Tur
threatens Sev. Such a trifle, Crimea, is it worth conflict when you have such
greener pastures to the west.
Rus - Tur: Thankx for the friendliness, with friends like
you who needs enemies.
Rus - Aus: Why Aus, why did you do what you did
Rus- Ita: All up to you now since Aus found a way to go
backwards
Rus - All except Ger: Is anyone
going to stop him.
Rus - Fra: Why Fra do you ignore Bel & Bur
Il Duce – Popeye: I see my work is done.
Il Duce – Archduke: Now you know I‘m your
friend, how about that ticket to Greece we discussed?
Il Duce – Sultan: It seems the Persian
Linguistics Dep’t is in Perugia. It’s the Pisan Linguine Dep’t at the Tower.
Please send your message again (you could hand it over to us in Greece if you
like).
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
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 1 Categories
1. A blues singer.
2. The number of game
years a Diplomacy game lasts.
3. A movie featuring
Clint Eastwood as an actor.
4. A financially poor
country.
5. An architect (other
than Frank Lloyd Wright).
Comments By Category
Blues
Singer – Richard
Weiss “Susan Tedeschi is my fave for 15 years, but no one else will vote for
her. BB King just died, and is more
famous than Billie Holiday, Etta, James, or any of the 100 different artists I
have CDs of, so I'll go with BB. Blues
is my genre.” Marc Ellinger “BB King is
the KING!!” Jim Burgess “This has to be
BB King or Muddy Waters, I like Muddy Waters so much more, I go with Muddy
Waters.”
Diplomacy
Years – Marc
Ellinger “If I have a chance to win, the game goes on forever until bad things
happen. If not, then it ends quickly…go
figure.” Brendan Whyte “Real years, 15
if in DtC. Closer to a century in TTT.”
Jim Burgess “The French under C-Diplo play to 1907, I'll lose this one,
but aren't the French always right???”
Clint
Eastwood – Marc
Ellinger “The Good, the bad and the Ugly – Greatest Spaghetti Western of all
time…and a top 10 movie in my mind!” Jim
Burgess “This is incredibly tough, I'm going with Unforgiven. The inside choice would be High Plains
Drifter or the Outlaw Josey Wales. And
what about Dirty Harry, I think this one will be all over the place.”
Poor
Country – Dane
Maslen “As a European this answer [Greece] springs so obviously to mind that I
feel I have to give it even though there are many poorer countries in other
parts of the world - I suspect Haiti might well prove to be a more popular
answer.” Marc Ellinger “If Illinois was
available, I’d opt for it instead!” Jim
Burgess “Greece, gotta be the choice of the moment.”
Architect
– Richard
Weiss “Architect not FL Wright (who was bankrupt twice, out of favor twice, and
whose wife convinced him to open an institute and teach and then the third
renaissance). Well, one of the three
loves of my life was an architect. I
am/was family friends with a family named Pritzker (our sons are close friends)
and once met Jay Pritzker (when his grandson and my son were his guests in Palm
Springs and treated to a personal golf pro for a round and lessons), who he and
his wife have half of Chicago named after then and have an annual award for
architect of the year. I am more
knowledgeable than I guess most would be.
Which doesn't help in this game.
I'm guessing I.M. Pei will be the most frequently mentioned. . Plus, I
have seen two of his buildings.” Marc
Ellinger “I.M. Pei – Can’t think of anyone else, it’s an overrated field as a
whole.” Brendan Whyte “George Costanza
always wanted to pretend to be an architect. John Cleese played one in a famous
sketch.” Jim Burgess “Another
interesting category. Frank Gehry would
be the knowledgeable choice, but I'm going with I.M. Pei. Mies van der Rohe, Sir Christopher Wren,
Gaudi, and Le Corbusier also would be great choices. I.M. Pei is more known by Americans, I
think.”
Congrats to Melinda holley, scoring 55 which was the
highest POSSIBLE score given the entries.
Poor Dick Martin starts at the back of the pack. Remember folks, you can join in now and
you’ll start with 20 points, and since there are 9 more rounds (with Round 10
doubled) you can easily catch up!
Round 2 Categories – Don’t Forget to Choose a Joker Category
(Double Points)
1. A U.S. Political
Party other than Democrat or Republican.
2. A pop music star
(individual or band) from the 1980’s.
3. The weight of a
newborn baby (in pounds, rounded to the nearest pound).
4. A poet.
5. A book by Dr. Seuss
other than The Cat in the Hat.
Deadline for Round 2 is August 25th
at 7am My Time
General Deadline
for the Next Issue of Eternal Sunshine:
August 25th, 2015 at 7:00am my time.
Hope to See You
Then!
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