Eternal Sunshine #60

Description: gdalogo January 2012

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 – or go directly to the Diplomacy section 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 http://games.groups.yahoo.com/group/eternal_sunshine_diplomacy/ to stay up-to-date on any subzine news or errata. We also have our own Eternal Sunshine Twitter feed at http://www.twitter.com/EternalSunshDip, and a Facebook group at http://www.facebook.com/?ref=logo#!/group.php?gid=112223650909

Quote Of The Month – “I agree. This is about Joel, who’s an adult. Not Mama Carrie’s child.” (Rob in “Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind”)

Welcome to Eternal Sunshine, the only Diplomacy zine that will shortly officially also have as its own subzine the zine it is an official subzine to. That’s right folks, Jim Burgess has finally decided to bite the bullet and make The Abyssinian Prince a subzine of Eternal Sunshine. Now my personal hope is that not only will he get the games going again and then finished, but he’ll also either put a new game out there at some point, or else just use TAP as an outlet for his normal writing and letter column. That’s the stuff I miss most from his zine. Jim-Bob sent me a one-page insert just at the last minute, so look for it elsewhere in this issue!

Due to a number of problems, both dealing with the past and the present, I’ve been struggling quite a bit mentally lately. Heather has been forced to bear the brunt of my anxiety attacks and panic modes, and has done all she can to help. Fortunately for her I’m going back into therapy right after the New Year, and I’m hopeful it will help some. I don’t like to live this way, and I don’t like to be this way. Just because I have such tremendous self-loathing issues is no reason I need to live in misery as well. I suppose my medication may see some adjustment soon, but I don’t know how much that would help. I am permitted to take up to twice my average dose of my anxiety medication whenever necessary, so I’ll be relying on that extra push to help me in the meantime on days when I find I need it.

In zine news, The Twisting Tale needs help. I need more volunteers to join the rotation of writing chapters. Remember, the chapter only has to be about 500 words, and you’re only called on to write once every go around, which would mean every 3 or 4 months (or longer if we get more participants). And you can send the story in whatever direction you want. Think about it; you might enjoy it!

In other zine news, I’ve got a new You Don’t Know Me interview lined up for next issue, so I’m happy to report that section will return. A few of you have given me contacts to interview, but as of now none of them have come to fruition. In the meantime, I’ll keep poking random folks until I find willing victims.

I’m closing down two of my peripheral websites: www.helpfulkitty.com and www.guysexplained.com. Helpfulkitty was never emant to be more than a place to update news on our pets, but I wasn’t using Facebook back then so it doesn’t have much purpose anymore. As for Guysexplained…well, despite some recent letters, I don’t do enough on there to keep it interesting, and I don’t get enough hits to generate much material. I do think the idea itself has plenty of merit, so I may revisit it someday. In the meantime, anything of that nature which I feel like writing I’ll put in here. As a matter of fact, I plan on sticking one of my old guysexplained essays in here to see what you ES readers think.

If I can somehow find the drive, I have decided to step back and focus on my book about Mara for the time being, instead of trying to assemble my prison stories into a more workable format. I may find myself doing both though, especially if I ever stumble across some sort of publisher interest in the prison material. On the other hand, I can take a page from many other authors and self-publish on the internet, pricing it at $1.99 or 99 cents just to get it out there. Anyway, I’m putting a draft of the Introduction (or Chapter 1) of the Mara book in here, and would greatly appreciate feedback. And if anybody has thoughts on publishing either subject, contacts I should talk to, or personal experiences I would love the advice. Unfortunately the books I worked on with my boss are all financially-oriented so his publishing house is not a useful source for me at the moment.

That’s about it. Hope you all enjoyed the holidays and have a safe and happy New Year. Be sure to check the Game Opening section…I’m going to drop a few openings next month if we can’t find at least one new player joining the list. You have been warned. See you in February!

Playlist: Blaze of Glory – Joe Jackson; Electric Guitarist – John McLaughlin; Greatest Hits – The Byrds; Rachmaninoff Piano Concert No. 3 – Arcadi Volodos; No End in Sight – Foreigner.

Hypothetical of the Month

Last month, we gave you these two hypotheticals: #1 (from Andy Lischett) - You are a rabid environmentalist. You are driving across Siberia in a coal-powered electric car when you get a flat tire. While changing the tire you are attacked by an ultra-endangered Siberian Blue Tiger. There are now 7 billion humans on Earth but only three Siberian Blue Tigers. Do you bash in its skull with the tire iron? #2 – On the street where you live, there are two neighbors in particular with whom you have poor relationships, and you do your best to avoid them. One foggy morning you see a car in the driveway of one of them back out and hit a car belonging to the other, leaving a huge dent in it’s door. The car pulls back into its driveway where the driver (who you can’t make out because of the fog) looks for damage on his car, and there appears to be none. Then they back out again and drive away. You are the only witness, as near as you can tell. Do you say or do anything?

Melinda Holley - #1 - I refuse to be a rabid ANYTHING just on general principle. But, for the sake of argument, does being a rabid environmentalist mean I'm equally a rabid animal lover? Not necessarily. Yep, I'd defend myself although I'd probably lose...and would serve me right for being on the tiger's home turf. And being a rabid environmentalist, I probably wouldn't be driving a coal-powered anything.

#2 - I'd send an anonymous letter to the driver of the dented car. Then sit back and watch them fight it out.

Andy Lischett - #1 - Not being an environmentalist, I bash in the tiger's brains and sell its rare carcass for $700,000. If I WERE a rabid Greenie, I'd still bash in the tiger's skull, unless it were a pregnant female. P.S. There is no such animal but it sounds pretty.

I really didn't intend this silly Scruples question to be used, as there isn't much of a dilemma in the situation.

#2 - I tell Neighbor A that an unidentified car from Neighbor B's driveway hit A's car, stressing that I could not identify the car. If I don't tell him, I'm letting a potential creep get away with hit-and-run. Of course, A might tell B that I said B did it, so then B hates me. I should probably also tell B that oh, by the way, I saw a car leaving your driveway hit A's car this morning and maybe if you know who it was - an encyclopedia salesman? - you should tell A so he doesn't blame you.

What I don't do is say nothing and let A's insurance pay for it. They didn't hit the car.

Richard Walkerdine - #1 - No I do not kill the rare endangered tiger – but I get back in the car pretty damn quick!

#2 - No I don’t say anything, it’s none of my business and to hell with them all.

Richard Weiss - #1 - Sure, bash away. Regarding the highly philosophical question of survival of me or it, I've always considered that I'd choose me. I doubt I'd bash its skull in before I died, so if you read my obit, please announce to the world that I chose survival of the fittest and rarest and wanted to allow it to try to mate with me.

#2 - Yes siree, I know what Andy York would do. I am beholden to no less a standard. More truthfully, my most basic belief is in fairness. What is fair is to go knock on the door of the bashed car in the driveway house and tell them what I saw. Of course, when asked who, I will repeat the famous Seargant Dumbkopf on Hogan's Heroes - "I saw no one."

Jack McHugh - #1 - If I am a radical environmentalists--I guess not...but I personally am not a radical environmentalist so I would cave in the tiger skull....besides two tigers is too small of a gene pool to sustain the species anyway...

#2 - I would probably say nothing since I don't like either one and i see no point in getting involved, especially since I can't see who was driving anyway...

Amber Smith - #1 - Yes.

#2 – Not a word...

Andy York - #1 - Don't know how to answer this, another situation I'd never find myself in while (reputedly) know the intimate details of an animal I've never heard of......that being said, I'd likely defend myself with the goal of incapacitating the animal while preventing serious injury to myself while simultaneously calling the

local Siberian Blue Tiger rescue team to come to collect the beast from my implanted head/satellite phone (considering the number of improbable events, this likelihood of a rescue team and implanted phone are not ruled out).

#2 - I wouldn't necessarily run over and leave a note with the particulars, I don't know the actual actions of the driver (for all I knew, he called the other person on a cell phone in the car or will get with him upon his return as he's heading to perform emergency surgery). However, if asked (police, the "hit" neighbor) or in a situation where the information would be pertinent (in a conversation with other neighbors, someone said "did you hear...and no one knows who did it) I would pass on the facts as I had them.

Don Williams - #1 - This reminds of me of that guy who went to live with the grizzly bears and record their habits and then got eaten by one of the bears. What do I do with the Blue Siberian Tiger? I bash its freakin’ head in. It attacked an armed human, the tool-using top of the food chain animal? Maybe that’s why it’s extinct. ‘Course, I have a hard time imagining myself as an uber-environmentalist, and maybe it’d be better to be eaten than to lose my street cred by killing an endangered species.

#2 - Nope, I don’t say a word. This might be fun to watch. Sorry, I probably lose a few ‘good person points’ on the Karma Poll, but some things are just worth it. And wh am I going to report anyway? I didn’t see anyone’s face, and that won’t stand up in a trial.

Heather Taylor - #1 – If I truly was a rabid environmentalist, I guess I wouldn’t. But since I’m not, hell yeah, that fucker’s going down.

#2 – Yes, I tell the neighbor exactly what I saw and who hit him. And I would hope they would do the same thing for me.

For Next Month (For the time being, I am usually selecting questions from the game “A Question of Scruples” which was published in 1984 by High Games Enterprises). Remember you can make your answers as detailed as you wish.: #1 - In order to marry someone you love, you must change your religion. Do you do it? #2 - You are visiting an unmarried, elderly aunt. On the table is her will. When she is out of the room, do you glance at it?

The Dining Dead -
The Eternal Sunshine Movie Reviews

No movies found their way into our schedule this month, which isn’t all that surprising considering what a busy month it was…and how mundane the choices seemed to be. A few of the films were added to our Netflix list.

Seen on DVD – Bones, Season 6 (B-, the characters still work but some of the episodes get too topical and the technology is silly); Little Britain Season 1 Disc 1 (D, we made it through about 10 minutes. I think compared to many shows, the humor here is simply too England-centric). Reservation Road (B, the plot itself seems to move towards an inevitable conclusion, but the performances are strong and make it a decent watch). My Soul to Take (D, bordering on unwatchable….boring and moronic). Blue Valentine (B+, Michelle Williams and Ryan Gosling give strong performances in this small film they also were Executive Producers of).

Guys and Negatives

(Originally from my website www.guysexplained.com)

Description: MC900441321[1] It isn't uncommon for one of my female friends to complain to me about how the man in their life simply does not pay attention when they're speaking to them. This is especially true when the woman is trying to give the man instructions about something, such as what household chores they'd like some help with.

Obviously, the American male is capable of blocking out quite a bit of unwelcome sound. Reminders to clean the gutters, do some laundry, or perform some minor plumbing repair go in one ear and out the other. There are a number of tricks you can use to combat this behavior, but those are for another essay on another day.

Instead, today I want to focus on a specific problem and the tactic you can use to overcome it. The problem is simple: you tell a man to be certain NOT to do something, and yet he does it anyway. It's almost as if he is purposely trying to irritate you and disobey you.

Sometimes yes, it can be a battle of wills, and in that instance you need to put your foot down and assume command. But often that is *not* the reason for this seemingly deliberate antagonism. The cause is surprisingly simple: men don't pay much attention, and only hear about half of what you say. This means you have only a 50/50 chance (at best) that he'll absorb and follow your instructions; those odds are lessened when you use that magic word "don't."

It's ironic that, subconsciously, the man is probably doing his best to fulfill your request, while he's actually setting the groundwork for a nice loud argument. Let me give you an example: you're having some friends over one night for dinner, and you've made your famous pineapple upside-down cake for dessert. You stick it in the fridge for safekeeping early in the afternoon, and then you get ready to go pick up some wine and cheese. On your way out the door, you pass by your husband, sitting on the couch, twisting in agony as his football team gives up a 75-yard pass. This is where you make your big mistake; you tell him "Don't eat the cake in the fridge." When you get no response, you wave your arm in front of his face to get his attention. "Yeah, I heard you," he grunts, as his favorite player fumbles the kickoff.

You leave, and ten minutes later halftime arrives. El Dorko wanders into the kitchen for a beer, opens the fridge, and lo and behold, he finds the cake, delicious and moist...the cake you just told him not to eat. Inevitably, he decides to have a slice (or three) while he watches the rest of the game. You come home, discover what has transpired, and the yelling ensues.

The mistake here is two-fold. First of all, he is only going to hear half of what you said in the first place (especially when he's watching football), so the odds are he won't absorb your meaning. Instead, when he sees the cake, his mind will jump to the most immediate and pleasant conclusion: "This was the cake she was telling me she made. She must have mentioned it so I'd know it was in here. It's CAKE TIME!" Second of all, a man's brain is built to try and block out nagging, and any sentence which begins with the word "don't" is subconsciously classified as such and filed away under the "yeah, yeah, yeah" section. Your pineapple upside-down cake was doomed from the moment you walked into the living room.

So, the two keys to solving this problem:

1. Never start a sentence with a negative, especially when the man isn't paying full attention. Try spinning it into a positive statement, like "I made a special cake for dessert tonight. Please make sure you leave it alone until then, so we can all enjoy it together." Or even better "The cake is off limits until dinner, because we're having company over." His brain can register that: "cake is off limits." Simple.

2. Never attempt to talk to a man when he's watching football, unless it is during a commercial, and unless he is looking you in directly in the eye. It's also best to be in physical contact with him; hold his hand, rub his head, grab his crotch, whatever. It'll greatly increase his mental absorption.

This is a draft of what I believe will be the introduction of the book I am trying to write about my experiences with Mara.

Feedback is encouraged.

Her name was Mara, but her Hebrew name was Miriam or Miryam, written מִרְיָם. The very first day I met her, and for some time afterwards, she wore a thin gold chain around her neck with that Hebrew script as the charm in the middle. I had no idea what the letters on her chain meant, but eventually I asked her, and that’s what she told me.

I’d never met anyone with the name Mara, but she always told me that she loved the way I said it. Part of the reason was that I pronounced it correctly (with no forethought on my part); she hated it when people pronounced it differently. Sometimes she would correct them, but usually she would just stew or sulk. I’m sure the other part of why she liked to hear me say it had to do with how much I loved her, but she never specified. For Mara, it had a calming effect on her. On some of her worst days - in agonizing pain from Crohn’s disease, in a state of mental collapse, or unable to stand any light or sound from another crippling migraine headache – she’d ask me to stroke her hair and whisper it to her slowly. Whether it made her feel much better, at least it gave me something to do so I didn’t feel so useless.

From what I’ve learned over the years, Jews do not always make a direct connection between their Hebrew name and their Anglicized name. In the Old Testament, Miryam was the sister of Moses. She saved his life by hiding him in a basket by the river’s edge, obscured by the rushes, until Pharaoh’s daughter found him there. In later years, she was punished by God, either for speaking out against a woman Moses was to marry, or for questioning Moses’ exclusive religious authority (versions differ). Regardless, God inflicts tzaraat upon her, which is loosely translated as any of a number of skin-based afflictions from scaling to leprosy to cancer. Moses prays for her forgiveness and, after she suffers for seven days, she recovers.

Mara also appears in the Bible. Naomi, the mother-in-law of Ruth, in grief over the deaths of her husband and sons, takes the name Mara herself as a representation of that unhappiness.

Coincidence or not, the names are commonly translated in modern times to mean bitter or embittered, among other things. Her naming was rather prophetic, considering how her life went. If I had to choose, despite the fact that she never used the name Miriam, that is the one which in hindsight best represents her. She would cry over the innocent and helpless (especially animals), and try to save them, as Miryam saved her brother. And during the portions of her life when she believed in God, in the depths of her deepest and darkest fits of crying and sobbing and helplessness over her life and suffering, she would ask me why God had chosen her for such misery. What had she done to deserve it? Why had God chosen to punish her, so relentlessly and constantly?

I don’t believe Mara was singled out in that way. Her life was a serious of unfortunate circumstance, bad luck, poor choices, and the effects of human actions. It was not a supreme being who took a promising life and twisted it until it could never be straight again. There was enough damage from people in her life – deliberate and not – to chip away at her physical, mental, and emotional strength until nothing was left.

I carry a tremendous amount of guilt in my heart from the years we spent together. No matter what others tell me, I believe I deserve at least some of that guilt. But only those who unfairly want to wash the blood from their own hands point their fingers at me as the cause for Mara’s life. It could be that they simply don’t understand how she became who she was, but I’m too cynical to accept that notion. Place blame on me all you want, those of you who stood by and did nothing to help (or worse). Deep in your heart of hearts, you know what sins you hide, and nothing you say or do can change that. You haven’t convinced me otherwise, and I do not think you’ve convinced yourselves either.

Sadly, no amount of prayers would save Mara from her fate. By the time I met her, she was already in pieces, despite the fact that neither of us understood that or the consequences. Perhaps if we had, things would have turned out differently. One of the thousands of regrets and what-if’s I carry in my heart…regrets that serve no real purpose now but to allow me to punish myself. But I can’t seem to let them go, or I don’t want to. Someone should pay for the sins of her world, and in this case I haven’t been able to find any other volunteers.

At least this book will give me the opportunity to tell her story. Maybe that will help in some way; help me, or help someone else. If nothing else, the truth she always wanted others to know, and to understand, will have been presented.

100 Movies to See Before You Die

An Eternal Sunshine List Challenge

Yahoo Films (part of the Yahoo online pages) has posted two lists of movies “to see before you die.” The first list was composed of mostly classic film choices, while the “modern” list was 100 films from 1990 onward. You can find their lists at: http://movies.yahoo.com/feature/100-movies-to-see-before-you-die.html and at http://movies.yahoo.com/feature/100-movies-to-see-before-you-die-modern-classics.html. Some of these choices I agree with, and some I think are completely off the mark. So I issued a challenge to each of you: Submit to me the 100 Movies to See Before You Die that would make your list. The lists could be submitted all at once, or 10 films at a time. Any comments on your choices (or future comments on the choices of other people) are encouraged. After 10 issues I plan on publishing a complete list of all films included on any list, as well as a count of how many lists each appeared on. I am offering prizes: two of the respondents who submit a full complement of 100 movies (whether all at once or 10 per issue) will be selected at random for prizes. So to win, all you have to do is play.

Next issue: The ninth set of 10 movies from each of you, and from me (more movies if you missed either of the previous rounds). Please note: These films are not meant to be placed in order by you, from top to bottom, unless you want to do that for some reason.

Kevin Wilson:

1. Avatar: not the greatest movie every made, but one of the greatest visual movies to come along in a long time.

2. Titanic: not a theme with James Cameron movies just another that was amazing to see.

3. On Golden Pond: an oldie but a goodie. I really like Henry Fonda

4. Seven Brides for Seven Brothers: I like musicals and this one was fun.

5. The Bridge Over the River Kwai: I’m sure I didn’t understand this one when I first saw it as a kid but I get it now and it’s still good.

6. The Incredibles: Some don’t like animation, I do and this one was good.

7. To Catch a Thief: Another for my fondness for Cary Grant.

8. Back to the Future: very creative and fun to watch. The follow-ons were fun too but the original was the best. I wish I had a hover board.

9. Mona Lisa Smile: I’m not sure why I liked this one so much but I really did.

10. An Affair to Remember: Yet another Cary Grant.

23 Tunes Game

Here are the rules for 23 TUNES. You send me three tunes for the first turn, and then two tunes in each of the last ten turns for a total of 23. If you missed the first turn, you can still catch up by sending five tunes next issue, and guess on submitters to this issue. Actually, you can send all 23 tunes at once if you want to, but then you’ll need to remember to guess everyone else’s each month. I am also submitting my tunes. After we're done, I'd like to exchange CD's/Tapes for as many of the tunes players as possible, but this is not required. I'll be sending the winner my 23 Tune list. The winner is determined by having you guess each issue who submitted what list (I will tell you who the submitters are). For each song you get right (except those you submitted yourself), you get a point, you also can win bonus points from me for really cool tune selections. That's it, not complicated. I hope by starting this up, we'll get more to join. So, put simply…you send in the name and artist of songs you really like or have special meaning to you. I print 3 of them the first turn, and 2 year turn after that (you can submit that way, or send in all 23 at once, or anything in between). Each issue I list the songs for that turn, without revealing who submitted which song. I also print a list of who submitted songs (again, without telling you which songs they sent in). Your mission is to match the people with the songs (but no points for your own). Simple. And I’ll offer other prizes as well, to be determined later. If you miss a turn, make it up my sending enough songs to catch up with the other players (and the overdue songs will simply be revealed immediately).

23 Tunes - Round Ten

Submitting songs this issue are: Andy Lischett, Andy York, David McCrumb, Douglas Kent, Geoff Kemp, Heather Taylor, Rick Desper, Martin Burgdorf, Richard Weiss, Richard Walkerdine, Paraic Reddington, Jim Burgess, Mark Firth, Hank Alme.

1. Baby It's You – Smith – Andy Lischett. Correct: GK.

2. Beating of Hearts – XTC – Mark Firth. Correct – RWe.

3. Beautiful Day - U2 – Paraic Reddington. Correct: AL.

4. Bubbly - Colby Caillat – Heather Taylor. Correct: RW.

5. Don’t Push me – Hedgehoppers Anonymous – Richard Walkerdine.

6. Don't Stop Believing – Journey – Heather Taylor. Correct: RW.

7. Folsom Prison Blues – Johnny Cash – Richard Walkerdine. Andy Lischett “A good song, which I was going to use.” Correct: GK.

8. For My Lady - The Moody Blues – Geoff Kemp. Correct: PR, RWe.

9. Government Walls – James – Mark Firth. Correct: PR.

10. High - James Blundt – Hank Alme. Correct: AL.

11. I Ain't Living Long Like This - Emmylou Harris – Douglas Kent. Correct: PR.

12. Jump With Me - Big Bad Voodoo Daddy – Andy York.

13. Left My Heart in San Francisco – Chrome – Martin Burgdorf. Correct: AL.

14. Little Sparrow - Dolly Parton – Dave McCrumb. Correct: AL, RWe.

15. Love Me Do - The Beatles – Andy Lischett. Correct – RWe.

16. Lovely Day - Bill Withers – Paraic Reddington. Correct: GK.

17. New World Symphony (No. 9 in E Minor) - Antonin Dvorak – Dave McCrumb.

18. Praise You - Fatboy Slim – Rick Desper.

19. Rough Boys - Pete Townsend – Douglas Kent.

20. Shake it Out - Florence and the Machine – Andy York.

21. Teddy Bear - The Residents – Martin Burgdorf.

22. The Knife – Genesis – Jim Burgess. Correct: MB.

23. Touch of Grey - The Grateful Dead – Richard Weiss. Correct: JB.

24. When I'm Dead and Gone - McGuinness Flint – Geoff Kemp.

25. White Rabbit - Jefferson Airplane – Richard Weiss. Andy Lischett “My favorite song.” Correct: PR.

26. Why Does My Heart Feel So Bad? – Moby – Rick Desper.

27. Wise After the Event - Anthony Phillips – Jim Burgess.

28. You Better You Bet - The Who – Hank Alme.

Scores This Round –Paraic Reddington [PR] – 4; Andy Lischett [AL] – 4; Geoff Kemp [GK] – 3; Richard Walkerdine [RW] – 2; Jim Burgess [JB] – 1; Martin Burgdorf [MB] - 1.

Total Scores (of those who submitted at least some guesses in any round): Andy Lischett [AL] – 42; Martin Burgdorf [MB] – 31; Paraic Reddington [PR] – 30; Geoff Kemp [GK] – 24; Richard Walkerdine [RW] – 22; Jim Burgess [JB] – 20; Phil Murphy [PM] – 10; Mark Firth [MF] – 9; Brendan Whyte [BW] – 7; Melinda Holley [MH] – 6; Hank Alme [HA] – 6; Kevin Tighe [KT] – 6; Chris Babcock [CB] – 5; Marc Ellinger [ME] – 4; Richard Weiss [RWe] – 2; Amber Smith [AS] – 1.

23 Tunes - Round Eleven (Final Tunes)

Submitting songs this issue are: Heather Taylor, Martin Burgdorf, Hank Alme, Andy Lischett, Andy York, David McCrumb, Douglas Kent, Richard Weiss, Richard Walkerdine, Jim Burgess, Mark Firth.

1. #1 Crush - Garbage

2. A Whiter Shade of Pale - Procol Harum

3. Animal Boy - Matt the Electrician

4. Beauty Case - Stereo Total

5. Christmas Wrapping - The Waitresses

6. Closer - Nine Inch Nails

7. Coal Miner's Daughter - Loretta Lynn

8. Coin-Operated Boy - Dresden Dolls

9. Coward of the County - Kenny Rogers

10. Dust My Broom - Elmore James

11. Greensleeves - Traditional

12. Helter Skelter - Siouxsie and the Banshees

13. House of the Rising Sun - John Otway

14. Jailhouse Rock - Elvis Presley

15. Karmacoma - Massive Attack

16. Lost Christmas Eve - Trans-Siberian Railroad

17. Mack the Knife - Bobby Darin

18. Mona Lisas and Mad Hatters - Elton John

19. Once in a Royal David's City - King's College Cambridge Choir

20. Quick Joey Small (Run Joey Run) – Kasenetz Katz Singing Orchestral Circus

21. Someone Saved My Life Tonight - Elton John

22. The Story - Brandi Carlisle

Deadline for the final round of guesses (no tunes need to be submitted) is January 29th at 7pm my time.

That’s the day BEFORE the regular zine deadline.

Description: MC900444665[1] The Eternal Sunshine

Dead Pool

Another update: Jim Burgess grabbed a point for silent film star Barbara Kent, while the late North Korean leader was on the lists of Paraic Reddington, Michael Quirk, and Dane Maslen. So there are some with two points, some with one, and a few still have none. Remember, if someone on your list expires, drop me a note in case I haven't heard about it! Here’s a copy of the current table:

Stock	Price	% +/-
AJK - Allison Kent	60	1.7%
ALM - Hank Alme	52	4.0%
AMB - Amber Smith	60	1.7%
AND - Lance Anderson	59	3.5%
BAB - Chris Babcock	25	-24.2%
BIE - John Biehl	73	2.8%
BRG - Martin Burgdorf	63	3.3%
BWD - Brad Wilson	64	3.2%
CAK - Andy Lischett	65	3.2%
CAL - Cal White	25	-24.2%
CHC - Chuy Cronin	1	-75.0%
CIA - Tom Swider	15	-31.8%
CKW - Kevin Wilson	67	4.7%
CKY - Carol Kay	15	-31.8%
DAN - Dane Maslen	67	3.1%
DBG - David Burgess	10	-28.6%
DTC - Brendan Whyte	62	3.3%
DUK - Don Williams	50	4.2%
FRD - Fred Wiedemeyer	62	3.3%
FRG - Jeremie Lefrancois	12	-20.0%
FRT - Mark Firth	64	3.2%
GRA - Graham Wilson	24	-20.0%
HDT - Heather Taylor	64	3.2%
HLJ - Harley Jordan	62	3.3%
HPL - Hugh Polley	35	6.1%
JOD - Jeff O'Donnell	63	3.3%
KMP - Geoff Kemp	62	3.3%
KVT - Kevin Tighe	72	2.9%
LAT - David Latimer	62	3.3%
LCR - Larry Cronin	5	25.0%
MRK - Mark Nelson	44	-8.3%
MCC - David McCrumb	66	3.1%
MCR - Michael Cronin	1	-75.0%
MIM - Michael Moulton	62	1.6%
MRC - Marc Ellinger	61	3.4%
OTS - Tom Howell	60	3.4%
PER - Per Westling	55	1.9%
PJM - Phil Murphy	50	-10.7%
QUI - Michael Quirk	35	-10.3%
RAC - Robin ap Cynan	58	1.8%
RDP - Rick Desper	59	3.5%
REB - Melinda Holley	67	3.1%
RED - Paraic Reddington	69	3.0%
RWE - Richard Weiss	52	0.0%
SAK - Jack McHugh	85	4.9%
TAP - Jim Burgess	65	8.3%
VOG - Pat Vogelsang	16	-20.0%
WAY - W. Andrew York	64	3.2%
WLK - Richard Walkerdine	97	6.6%
WWW - William Wood	1	-75.0%
YLP - Paul Milewski	70	4.5%

PRESS

Anonymous: Who's all this deadwood in here with fours? Dead Wood, and a lot of chromosomes!

Description: MCj03243400000[1] Brain Farts: The Only Subsubzine With It’s Own Fragrance

By Jack “Flapjack” McHugh – jack@diplomacyworld.net

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

Issue #38

There isn’t a single positive thing I can say except the Eagles aren’t making the playoffs. I’d hoped that would be the end of Andy Reid but it looks like he’ll be back next year. I can only dream about the day he stuffs a sandwich in his fat mouth without noticing the toothpick in it. Thanks for a complete lack of Christmas presents. Doogie sent me something; that’s it. So you can all go shove sand up your respective asses.

Your shipment has been back ordered:

We apologize for the delay. We simply cannot keep up with the demand for this very popular item.

128 million are currently on back order.

We will complete your delivery as soon as possible.

Description: toilet
We thank you for your patronage.

Krampus is Coming!

Arizona Sheriff Entrance Exam

A man in Arizona looking to join the Pima County Sheriff's Dept. was being interviewed.

The Sergeant doing the interview says, "Your qualifications look good, but there's an attitude suitability test you must pass before you can be accepted."

Then, sliding a S & W .45 pistol across the desk, he says to the man, "Take this pistol; go out and shoot six illegal aliens, six meth dealers, six religious extremists, six 'Progressive Liberals' and a rabbit."

"Why the rabbit?" the man asked.

"That's the attitude we're looking for!" said the Sergeant, "When can you start?"

Contagion (4 stars of 5 stars)--This is kind of like Outbreak meets the PBS series Nova, e.g. less governmental conspiracy more science, here the government are the good guys but the pharm industry are the bad guys but many more grey hats and fewer white or black hats. The movie is a scientific "who done it" with the murder only revealed in the final scene. I thought the film was tense but not hysteric. Jude Law plays the blogosphere, internet based journalist, although he actually discovers more information and sooner than the mainstream journalist and medical people who spend most of the early part of the movie looking down their nose at him and his website (I love his sites name--"the truth serum".) Yet, Law's character is the one who finds the video of the first victim captured collapsing on a Japanese bus and later finds the homeopathic cure that appears to work.

Rise of the Planet of the Apes (4 out of 5 stars) Pretty decent action flick that has been updated to the current century. Instead of using time travel we have big pharm working on senility drugs which will allow the brain to heal itself and on non-diseased brains it is essentially an intelligent enhancement drug. You can see where this is leading, experimentation on apes leads to a super intelligent apes and when the experiment goes bad all the chimps are put down--save one of course. The movie doesn't quite go the extremes of the original movie--there isn't a whole back story to get chimps to replace dogs and cats--but the movie moves along pretty well and to be entertaining.

A bowling alley in Clearwater, FL is doing a record business. Wanna knock his teeth out? A bowling alley in Clearwater, Florida, Bowl-O-Bama, is doing record business despite a bad economy. The alley also reported a record number of 300 games. Since opening in November 2010, 963 patrons have bowled a perfect game, including strikes in the warm-up frames. This alley also has the highest bowling league average in the country, with a 237. And that's the senior league.

Description: bowlobama

That’s it for this month. Help find me a job or you’ll get more of the same.
THE VILLAGE IN WALES

by Richard Walkerdine

A tourist in Wales decides to visit the island of Anglesey, just off the Welsh coast. While there he takes a trip to the village with the longest place-name in Europe, Llanfairpwllgwyngyllgogerychwyrndrobwlllantysiliogogogoch (also one of the longest place-names in the world).

He is feeling a bit hungry and finds somewhere to have a quick snack. As he has no idea how to pronounce the name of the village when the waitress brings him his order he smiles at her and asks, “Excuse me miss but could you tell me exactly where I am?”

She smiles back, leans across and whispers in his ear, “Burger King”.

Author’s note: Translated into English the name of the village is ‘St Marys Church in the hollow of the white hazel near to the rapid whirlpool of Llantysilio of the red cave’. If you don’t believe me you can look it up on Google or Wikipedia.

ON THE LINKS

by Richard Walkerdine

A Catholic priest and a nun were taking a rare afternoon off and enjoying a round of golf. The priest stepped up to the first tee and took a mighty swing. He missed the ball completely and said, “Shit, I missed.”

The good Sister told him to watch his language.

On his next swing he missed again. “Shit, I missed,” he said again.

“Father,” the nun said tartly, “I’m not going to play with you if you keep swearing.”

The Priest promised to behave better and the round continued. On the fourth tee however he missed again and the usual comment followed.

The nun was really angry now and said, “Father John, God is going to strike you dead if you keep swearing like that.”

But on the very next tee Father John swings and misses again. “Shit, I missed,” he repeats.

The sky darkens and a loud rumble of thunder is heard. Then a gigantic bolt of lightning shoots from the clouds, striking the nun and killing her.

And then from the sky comes a great booming voice: “SHIT, I MISSED.”

THE ABYSSINIAN PRINCE #327.5

December 27, 2011

Jim Burgess, 664 Smith Street, Providence, RI 02908-4327 USA, (401)351-0287, jfburgess of gmail.com

E-MAIL/WEB ONLY ISSUE! PDF will be available on the website.

Web Page Address: http://www.diplom.org/DipPouch/Postal/Zines/TAP/index.html

Flip Flopping TAP back to being the subszine that it originally was: Doug has convinced me of the most logical thing to do with TAP and that is to make it a subszine of Eternal Sunshine. Then Doug can bug me to keep me on schedule and we can finish off the games that are in here. After that? Who knows? But right now that is the logical thing to do. Here is where we stand then:

Last issue with all positions: http://devel.diplom.org/DipPouch/Postal/Zines/TAP/abyss327.html

I’m going to put out a TAP #328 really soon as I contact all the players and assess who is continuing and what new standbies we need, so we can hit the ground running for January, DEADLINE: Friday, January 20^th.

GAME STATUSES:

The Phil Reynolds Memorial, 2006B: Winter 1905 due, adjustments needed from E: Drew James (build 1), I: John Crow (remove 1), R: Mike Barno (build 1); other players A: David Burgess, F: Don Williams, and G: Marc Ellinger.

Spirals of Paranoia, 2005A: Spring 1909 due, orders needed from F: Buddy Tretick, G: Eric Ozog, I: Doug Kent, R: Matt Sundstrom, and T: either John Biehl or STANDBY Vince Lutterbie.

Flip Flop, 2003G: Spring 1913 due, orders needed from A: Brad Wilson, E: Doug Kent, F: Jack McHugh, G: Matt Sundstrom, T: Alexandre Levinson.

Secrets, 1999D: Still taking any Endgame statements.

CAST NO SHADOWS: Breaking Away, Designer’s Rules:

Rules at: http://devel.diplom.org/DipPouch/Postal/Zines/TAP/Tinamou/rules/BreakingAway.htm

Playing are: Rick Desper, Tom Howell, Dave Partridge, Brendan Whyte, Alexander Woo, and Andy York.

I want to get back on track and I know Doug will hold me to these schedules. I’m going to make my deadlines on the Friday before Doug’s deadlines and I think if I do that I can keep up over the weekends. We have a few formatting issues to work out though. I’ve tried to copy over some of my formatting here, but that didn’t quite work. But these are relatively minor issues in the grand scheme of things. I may also only put the maps on my web site, we’ll see how that goes. We also need to decide what to do with the other subszines. I think we can pull in Peter Sullivan, who is moving again. I don’t think Dave Partridge will be back, but we can deal with that.

TempleCon: February 3-5, Providence, RI, http://templecon.org/12/ or for specifics on the Diplomacy that I’m running, see the top of the upcoming conventions site: http://devel.diplom.org/DipPouch/Face/cons/index.php

I am the convention director and can help set you up with arrangements, transportation and anything else you need. Contact me at jfburgess of gmail.com or see the invitations on Facebook at TempleCon.

DEADLINE FOR ORDERS FOR ALL GAMES: FRIDAY, JANUARY 20TH

THE GREAT PYRAMID

Paul Milewski

Lest there be any doubt, almost all of this article is copied and pasted off the web, and I have omitted any literary attributions.

At completion, the Great Pyramid was surfaced by white "casing stones" – slant-faced, but flat-topped, blocks of highly polished white limestone. These were carefully cut to what is approximately a face slope with a seked of 5½ palms to give the required dimensions.

The seked was an ancient Egyptian unit for the measurement of the slope of an inclined surface. The system was based on the Egyptian's linear measure known as the royal cubit. The royal cubit was subdivided into seven palms and each palm was further divided into four digits. The inclination of measured slopes was therefore expressed as the number of palms and digits moved horizontally for each royal cubit rise.

Visibly, all that remains is the underlying stepped core structure seen today. In AD 1300, a massive earthquake loosened many of the outer casing stones, which were then carted away by Bahri Sultan An-Nasir Nasir-ad-Din al-Hasan in 1356 to build mosques and fortresses in nearby Cairo. When you look up at the Great Pyramid, its apex seems to be missing. It is flap topped and not pointed like a pyramid should be. Usually, when a pyramid was constructed, the top part, or capstone (also called top-stone), was the last thing to be placed on it. It was considered the most important part of the pyramid and was made of special stone or even gold. The capstone was usually highly decorated. Was the great pyramid always without a capstone or was it stolen, destroyed, etc? No one knows but the accounts of visitors to the pyramid from the ancient past (as far back as the time of Christ) always reported that the pyramid lacked a capstone. It is possible that it was never finished. Another possibility is that capstones were sometimes made of gold and maybe the first thing looted. The only problem is that this would be a very large capstone. If you climbed to the top, you could walk around very freely on the pyramid as many have done. It is about 30 feet in each direction. Thus, this capstone would have been huge and weighed a tremendous amount. Also on the summit you would see something that looks like a mast or flagpole. Actually it was placed there by two astronomers in 1874 to show where the Pyramid's actual apex would have been if finished. On the back of a dollar bill, you can see a pyramid with a flat top. No one has been able to explain why the Great Pyramid would have been built without a capstone. This is an interesting story associated with a visit to the top of the great pyramid. Many tourists have climbed to the top, which is not an easy journey. One such person was Sir Siemen's, a British inventor. He climbed to the top with his Arab guides. One of his guides called attention to the fact that when he raised his hand with outspread fingers, he would hear an acute ringing noise. Siemen raised his index finger and felt a distinct prickling sensation. He also received an electric shock when he tried to drink from a bottle of wine that he had brought with him. Being a scientist, Siemen than moistened a newspaper and wrapped it around the wine bottle to convert it into a Leyden jar (an early form of a capacitor). When he held it above his head, it became charged with electricity. Sparks then were emitted from the bottle. One of the Arab guides got frightened and thought Siemen was up to some witchcraft and attempted to seize Siemen's companion. When Siemen's noticed this, he pointed the bottle towards the Arab and gave him such a shock that it knocked the Arab to the ground almost rendering him unconscious. When he recovered, he took off down the pyramid shouting loudly. What kind of natural phenomena on the top of the Great Pyramid could produce such an electo-static effect?

Description: Description: http://www.gizapyramid.com/Capstone.jpg

Above on the left is an example of a capstone (currently in a museum)—not the one from the Great Pyramid of Giza. On the right is a picture of the framework placed on top of the pyramid by the abovementioned astronomers. Between the polished casing stones and the capstone, the pyramid would have been a dazzling sight, literally glistening in the sunlight. What we see today are essentially the ruins. Of course, the symbol on the back of the one dollar bill alludes to the missing capstone:

Description: Description: Post image for Mystery of the Great Pyramid missing capstone

Where in the World is Kendo Nagasaki?

Rules in ES #58. Send in your guesses. I’ve played this in Brandon Whyte’s Damn the Consequences a few times and it’s fun, takes only a minute or two each turn, and helps you work your brain!

ROUND 1

Clue to Person with the Closest Guess (Notified by email): We were born during the same century, but not on the same continent.

PRESS

Agent F to Agent B: If you're on the seat across the aisle on the flight out of Hanoi, I'm going to start getting paranoid...

Deadline for Round 3 is January 30^th at 7:00am My Time

Game Openings

Diplomacy (Black Press – Permanent Opening in ES): Signed up: Mark Firth, John Biehl, Brad Wilson, Jack McHugh, Geoff Kemp, need 2 more to fill. Sign up now!

Youngstown IV – The classic 10-player variant, which seems to have fallen through the cracks lately. Jack McHugh is going to write an article on it for Diplomacy World, but he wants to play again first, so sign up and help out! Signed up: Jack McHugh, Brad Wilson, Geoff Kemp, Martin Burgdorf, Don Williams, need 5 more. Sign up now!!!

Balkan Wars VI – To be Guest GM’d by Brad Wilson: Signed up: Doug Kent (that’s me folks), Jack McHugh, Lance Anderson, needs 3 more. Contact Brad to sign up at bwdolphin146 “of” yahoo.com. Sign up now!!! HURRY!!!

Everybody Plays Diplomacy (Black Press): An ongoing everyone-plays variant. Rules are in ES #47. Join in at any time!

By Almost Popular Demand: Underway, join anytime.

23 Tunes: Game currently underway, join any time.

Lifeboat: Everybody plays, whether you actually do anything or not.

Movie Photo Contest: 10 Rounds, with a prize to the winner. Join anytime!

Where in the World is Kendo Nagasaki?: Rules in ES #58. Send in your guess! Join anytime!

Kremlin: House rules in ES #59. I’d like to get five players for this, any takers? Jack McHugh and Jim Burgess signed up, need at least 2 more.

Standby List: HELP! I need standby players! – Current standby list: Graham Wilson, Jim Burgess (Dip only), Lance Anderson (Dip only), Martin Burgdorf, Paul Milewski (Dip only), Brad Wilson, Kevin Tighe (Dip only), Chris Babcock, Don Williams, and whoever I beg into it in an emergency.

I’m going to continue to go through my files and seeing what other variants I can offer, until I find one that gets enough interest to fill. When I offer a variant I’ll give it an issue or two, but if nobody signs up I’ll drop the opening and replace it. If somebody wants to guest-GM a game of anything, just get in touch. If you have specific game requests please let me know.

Eternal Sunshine Game Section

Diplomacy “Dulcinea” 2008C, W 15/S 16

Austria (Lance Anderson – lance_anderson “of” hotmail.com): Build A Vienna..

A Belgium no move received, A Brest – Paris, A Budapest - Rumania (*Bounce*),

A Denmark Supports A Sweden, A Finland – Norway, A Gascony no move received, A Holland no move received,

A Kiel Supports A Denmark, ~~F Mid-Atlantic Ocean - English Channel~~ (*Dislodged*, retreat to Western

Mediterranean or Brest or OTB), A Paris – Burgundy, A Picardy no move received, A Ruhr no move received,

A Sweden Supports A Finland – Norway, A Venice Hold, A Vienna no move received.

England (Kevin Tighe – tigheman “of” yahoo.com): Disband F St Petersburg(nc).. Remove A Norway,

F Norwegian Sea.. A Clyde - Liverpool (*Bounce*), A Edinburgh – Yorkshire,

F English Channel - Mid-Atlantic Ocean (*Fails*), F North Atlantic Ocean - Irish Sea (*Fails*).

Turkey (Jim Burgess – jfburgess “of” gmail.com): Plays 5 short.. F Greece Hold,

F Irish Sea - Liverpool (*Bounce*), A Livonia Supports A St Petersburg, F North Africa - Mid-Atlantic Ocean,

F Portugal Supports F North Africa - Mid-Atlantic Ocean, F Rome Hold, A Sevastopol - Rumania (*Bounce*),

F Spain(sc) Supports F North Africa - Mid-Atlantic Ocean, A St Petersburg Supports A Finland – Norway,

F Tyrrhenian Sea - Gulf of Lyon.

Fall 1916 Deadline is January 30^th at 7:00am my time

PRESS

England: Come get me!

“Dulcinea” Diplomacy Bourse

Billy Ray Valentine: In the Jacuzzi.

Duke of York: Holds.

Smaug the Dragon: Nada.

Rothschild:Sells 500 Crowns and 500 Pounds. Buys 787 Piastres.

Baron Wuffet: Busy with some kind of scientific experiment, crossing a tuffet with a triplane.

Wooden Nickel Enterprises: Sells 500 Crowns. Buys 511 Piastres.

VAIONT Enterprises: Um, I think nothing.

Insider Trading LLC: Still waiting for release.

Bourse Master: Stands pat.

Next Bourse Deadline is January 29th at 7:00pm my time

PRESS

Duke of York to Market Manipulators: We'll see if any of you have enough manipulation time to catch up. I'm going to sit on my currencies. I shall not buy a Pound....

Graustark Diplomacy Game 2006A, W 13/S 14

Austria (Don Williams – dwilliams “of” fontana.org): Remove A Vienna.. F Apulia - Venice.

England (Fred Wiedemeyer – wiedem “of” telus.net): Build A Edinburgh.. A Brest – Gascony,

A Edinburgh – Norway, A Gascony – Portugal, F Mid-Atlantic Ocean Convoys A Gascony – Portugal,

F Naples – Apulia, F Norwegian Sea Convoys A Edinburgh – Norway,

A St Petersburg Supports A Warsaw – Livonia, F Tunis - Ionian Sea (*Fails*), F Tyrrhenian Sea – Naples,

F Western Mediterranean - Gulf of Lyon.

France (Hank Alme – almehj “of” alumni.rice.edu): ~~F Portugal~~ (*Disbanded*).

Germany (Harley Jordan – harleyj “of” alum.mit.edu): Build A Berlin, F Kiel.. A Berlin – Prussia,

A Bohemia – Vienna, A Budapest Supports A Trieste – Serbia,

~~A Galicia - Rumania~~ (*Dislodged*, retreat to Silesia or Bohemia or OTB), F Kiel – Holland,

F Livonia - Gulf of Bothnia, F Prussia - Baltic Sea, A Rome Supports F Apulia – Venice, A Silesia – Warsaw,
A Spain Supports A Gascony – Portugal, A Trieste - Serbia (*Bounce*), A Tyrolia - Trieste (*Fails*),

A Warsaw - Livonia.

Russia (John Biehl – jerbil “of” shaw.ca): Remove A Albania.. F Adriatic Sea Supports F Ionian Sea,

A Bulgaria - Serbia (*Bounce*), F Eastern Mediterranean Supports F Ionian Sea,

A Greece Supports A Bulgaria – Serbia, F Ionian Sea Hold, A Moscow Hold,

A Rumania Supports A Ukraine – Galicia, A Sevastopol Supports A Moscow, A Ukraine - Galicia.

F 14 Deadline is January 30^th at 7:00am my time

PRESS:

Ghost of Turkey: My favorite character returns.... yeah, I know I'm a dead Italian, but there's no such thing as an Italian ghost.

Ghost of Turkey to Useless Duck: At least get orders in, man! Merry Christmas and Happy New Year.

Ghost of Turkey to Hank: Sorry to abandon you, Hank. I doubt they'll be as friendly to you as I was. When you get here, we'll raise a toast!

Black Press Gunboat, “Scream” 2010Brb32, F 07

England: F Edinburgh - North Sea (*Bounce*), A Liverpool - Yorkshire.

France: A Holland - Kiel (*Fails*), F Marseilles - Gulf of Lyon (*Bounce*),

F North Africa Supports F Western Mediterranean – Tunis, A Paris – Brest, A Ruhr Supports A Holland – Kiel,

A Venice - Rome (*Fails*), F Western Mediterranean - Tunis.

Germany: A Burgundy – Paris, F English Channel – Belgium, F Mid-Atlantic Ocean - Portugal.

Russia: A Budapest Supports F Sevastopol – Rumania, A Denmark Supports A Kiel,

A Galicia Supports F Sevastopol – Rumania, A Kiel Supports A Munich (*Cut*),

A Moscow - Sevastopol (*Bounce*), A Munich Supports A Kiel, F North Sea - Helgoland Bight, A Norway Hold,

~~A Serbia Supports F Sevastopol - Rumania~~ (*Dislodged*, retreat to Albania or OTB), F Sevastopol – Rumania,

F Skagerrak - North Sea (*Bounce*), A Trieste Supports A Serbia, A Ukraine Supports A Moscow - Sevastopol.

Turkey: A Armenia - Sevastopol (*Bounce*), F Black Sea Supports A Armenia – Sevastopol,

A Bulgaria Supports A Rumania – Serbia, A Greece Supports A Rumania – Serbia, F Ionian Sea - Adriatic Sea,

F Rome - Tyrrhenian Sea (*Fails*), A Rumania – Serbia, ~~F Tunis - Western Mediterranean~~ (*Dislodged*, retreat

to Ionian Sea or OTB), F Tyrrhenian Sea - Gulf of Lyon (*Bounce*).

W 07/S 08 deadline is January 30th at 7:00am my time

Supply Center Chart

England: Edinburgh, Liverpool=2, Even

France: Brest, Holland, Marseilles, Spain, Tunis, Venice=6, Remove 1

Germany: Belgium, London, Paris, Portugal=4, Plays 1 Short

Russia: Berlin, Budapest, Denmark, Kiel, Moscow, Munich, Norway, Rumania, Sevastopol,

St Petersburg, Sweden, Trieste, Vienna, Warsaw=14, Builds 1 or 2

Turkey: Ankara, Bulgaria, Constantinople, Greece, Naples, Rome, Serbia, Smyrna=8, Even or Remove 1

PRESS:

england to the world; either we all unite against russia or he wins a solo.

england to russia; nice game well played...

Diplomacy “Dublin Boys” 2010D, W 05/S 06

Austria (Paul Milewski – paul.milewski “of” hotmail.com): Build A Trieste.. A Budapest Supports A Serbia –

Rumania, A Moscow – Sevastopol, A Serbia – Rumania, A Trieste – Serbia,

A Ukraine Supports A Serbia – Rumania, A Vienna - Galicia.

England (Kevin Tighe – tigheman “of” yahoo.com): F Denmark – Kiel,

F Helgoland Bight Supports F Denmark – Kiel, F North Sea - Holland (*Fails*), F Norwegian Sea – Norway,

A Prussia - Berlin (*Bounce*), F St Petersburg(nc) no move received, F Sweden - Baltic Sea.

France (Jeff O’Donnell – unclestaush “of” yahoo.com): Build A Marseilles.. A Burgundy – Belgium,

~~F Ionian Sea - Naples~~ (*Dislodged*, retreat to Albania or Adriatic Sea or Apulia or Tunis or OTB),

A Marseilles – Piedmont, A Paris - Burgundy (*Fails*), A Picardy Supports A Burgundy – Belgium,

F Tunis - Tyrrhenian Sea, A Venice - Rome (*Bounce*).

Germany (Melinda Holley – genea5613 “of” aol.com): ~~A Belgium Supports A Ruhr - Burgundy~~ (*Dislodged*,

retreat to Ruhr or OTB), A Holland Supports A Belgium (*Cut*), ~~F Kiel - Berlin~~ (*Disbanded*),

A Munich Supports A Ruhr – Burgundy, A Ruhr - Burgundy.

Italy (Hank Alme – almehj “of” alumni.rice.edu): Disband F Greece.. F Naples - Rome (*Bounce*),

F Tyrrhenian Sea - Western Mediterranean.

Russia (Jack McHugh – jwmchughjr “of” gmail.com): ~~A Rumania Supports A Serbia - Bulgaria~~

(*Disbanded*), F Sevastopol - Armenia.

Turkey (Brad Wilson - bwdolphin146 “of”yahoo.com): Build F Smyrna.. F Aegean Sea - Ionian Sea,

F Black Sea Supports A Bulgaria – Rumania, A Bulgaria - Rumania (*Fails*),

F Greece Supports F Aegean Sea - Ionian Sea, F Smyrna - Eastern Mediterranean.

F 06 Deadline is January 30th at 7:00am my time

PRESS

france to germany; never mind. you are going down. my request for your help in italy is withdrawn

Eng-Ger: There is no wall. There is no spoon.

Constantinople: Justinian lives!!

Everybody Plays Diplomacy “Dandelion” 2010Cvj08, F 06

Player Names or Handles will be shown for any power they commanded each season.

Remember, in some seasons if we get enough players you may not wind up commanding any nations. All press submitted will be printed.

Austria (Jack McHugh): Retreat A Piedmont - Venice.. F Adriatic Sea - Ionian Sea, A Berlin no move received,

A Munich no move received, ~~A Rome Hold~~ (*Dislodged*, retreat to Apulia or Tuscany or OTB),

A Rumania - Bulgaria (*Bounce*), A Serbia – Greece, A Tyrolia - Trieste (*Bounce*), A Venice Hold.

England (John Biehl): A London - Belgium (*Bounce*), F Mid-Atlantic Ocean – Brest, F North Sea Convoys

A London – Belgium, F Norway Supports F St Petersburg(nc), F St Petersburg(nc) Hold.

France (John Biehl): F Gascony Supports F Portugal - Mid-Atlantic Ocean, A Holland Supports A Kiel,

A Kiel Hold, A Marseilles – Burgundy, F Piedmont - Gulf of Lyon, F Portugal - Mid-Atlantic Ocean,

A Ruhr - Belgium (*Bounce*).

Germany (Richard Weiss): Disband A Munich, A Norway..No units.

Italy (Dave McCrumb): F Albania - Trieste (*Bounce*), F Constantinople - Smyrna (*Bounce*),

F Naples – Rome, F Tyrrhenian Sea Supports F Naples - Rome.

Russia (Jack McHugh): A Armenia - Smyrna (*Bounce*), F Denmark Hold,

A Livonia Supports A Moscow - St Petersburg, A Moscow - St Petersburg (*Fails*).

Turkey (Richard Weiss): F Ankara - Constantinople (*Fails*), F Black Sea - Bulgaria(ec) (*Bounce*),

F Smyrna Supports F Ankara - Constantinople (*Cut*).

W 06/S 07 Deadline is January 30^th at 7:00am my time

Supply Center Chart

Austria: Berlin, Budapest, Greece, Munich, Rumania, Serbia, Trieste, Venice, Vienna=9, Build 1 or 2

England: Brest, Edinburgh, Liverpool, London, Norway, St Petersburg, Sweden=7, Build 2

France: Belgium, Holland, Kiel, Marseilles, Paris, Portugal, Spain=7, Even

Germany: None=0, OUT!

Italy: Constantinople, Naples, Rome, Tunis=4, Even

Russia: Denmark, Moscow, Sevastopol, Warsaw=4, Even

Turkey: Ankara, Bulgaria, Smyrna=3, Even

PRESS

Ger says Eng, Ita, Rus & Tur should ally to co-ordinate their orders to crush both the Aus & the Fre monstrosities before it's too late.

Black Press Gunboat, “Streets of Soho,” 2011Arb32, W 04/S 05

Austria: Build A Vienna, A Budapest, A Trieste.. A Budapest – Vienna, A Constantinople – Ankara,

A Galicia – Ukraine, F Greece - Ionian Sea (*Bounce*), A Rumania Supports A Galicia – Ukraine,

A Serbia – Bulgaria, F Smyrna - Aegean Sea, A Trieste Supports A Vienna – Tyrolia, A Vienna - Tyrolia.

England: Disband F Irish Sea.. Build F Liverpool, F Edinburgh.. A Denmark - Kiel (*Fails*),

F Edinburgh - North Sea, F Liverpool - Irish Sea (*Fails*), F London Supports F North Sea - English Channel,

F North Sea - English Channel, A St Petersburg - Moscow (*Fails*), F Sweden - Gulf of Bothnia (*Fails*).

France: A Burgundy – Munich, ~~F English Channel Hold~~ (*Dislodged*, retreat to Brest or Picardy or Wales or

Mid-Atlantic Ocean or OTB), A Gascony Hold, A Holland – Belgium,

F Irish Sea Supports F English Channel (*Cut*), A Marseilles – Piedmont, F Tunis - Tyrrhenian Sea (*Fails*).

Germany: F Gulf of Bothnia Hold, A Kiel Hold, A Moscow Supports A Warsaw (*Cut*),

A Ruhr Supports A Holland – Belgium, A Warsaw Supports A Moscow.

Italy: F Naples - Ionian Sea (*Bounce*), F Tyrrhenian Sea Supports F Naples - Ionian Sea (*Cut*),

A Venice Hold.

Russia: Remove A Ankara.. F Black Sea – Constantinople, F Sevastopol - Armenia.

F 05 Deadline is January 30th at 7:00am my time

PRESS

AUSTRIA - WORLD: Italy seems to have given up!

Geneva Observer: The world is ablaze…but a London/Vienna axis could be the key to world peace. Can they reach an accord…are they evening talking…stay tuned.

Dateline Monaco: France and Italy seem to be aligned…can that hold if the French start losing up north? The English fleets seem to be unstoppable or at least unflappable.

ITALY to WORLD: Is this how Garibaldi did it?

ITALY to AUSTRIA: Just stay pointed that way and I’ll keep the rest of the world at bay by making myself utterly useless and a threat to no one but myself.

Diplomacy - “Lighthouse” - 2011? – S 02

Austria (Don Williams – dwilliams “of” fontana.org): F Albania - Adriatic Sea,

A Budapest Supports A Serbia – Trieste, A Serbia - Trieste.

England (Paul Milewski – paul.milewski “of” hotmail.com): F London Supports F North Sea –

English Channel, F North Sea - English Channel, F Norway - North Sea (*Bounce*), A Wales Hold.

France (Kevin Wilson – ckevinw “of” comcast.net): F Brest - Mid-Atlantic Ocean,

~~F English Channel Supports F Holland - North Sea~~ (*Dislodged*, retreat to Brest or Irish Sea or OTB),

A Paris – Picardy, A Portugal – Spain, A Spain - Marseilles.

Germany (Brad Wilson – bwdolphin146 “of” yahoo.com): A Belgium Hold, A Berlin – Munich,

A Denmark Hold, F Holland - North Sea (*Bounce*), F Kiel - Helgoland Bight, A Munich - Tyrolia.

Italy (Melinda Holley – genea5613 “of” aol.com): F Naples - Ionian Sea, A Rome - Venice (*Fails*),

A Trieste – Vienna, F Tunis Supports F Naples - Ionian Sea, A Venice - Trieste (*Fails*).

Russia (Fred Wiedemeyer – wiedem “of” telus.net): A Armenia - Ankara (*Bounce*),

F Rumania - Black Sea, F Sevastopol Supports F Rumania - Black Sea, A St Petersburg Hold, F Sweden Hold,

A Ukraine - Rumania.

Turkey (Lance Anderson – lance_anderson “of” hotmail.com): ~~F Black Sea - Ankara~~ (*Dislodged*,

retreat to Bulgaria(ec) or Constantinople or OTB), A Bulgaria – Greece, A Constantinople - Smyrna.

Fall 1902 Deadline is January 30th at 7:00am my time

PRESS

BERLIN: Damnit, Scheer, get moving!!!

By Almost Popular Demand

The goal is to pick something that fits the category and will be the a popular answer but NOT 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. However, if your answer is the most popular answer, you score ZERO. 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, and the score is doubled for Round 10. A prize will be awarded to the winner. Research is permitted!

Round 7 Categories

1. Something you use in the shower.

2. A type of hat.

3. One of the “seven deadly sins.”

4. A coin denomination.

5. A country beginning with D.

Congrats to Brendan Whyte for the high score of 26 this round. Poor Heather managed to collect only a single point. Fortunately, I don’t think she cares!

Selected Comments by Category:

Shower – Brendan Whyte “A fellow prisoner?” Paraic Reddington “I think soap or shampoo will top the list – hopefully with soap coming second.” Marc Ellinger “I thought of soap, but it seemed to obvious, as did shampoo.”

Hat – Marc Ellinger “If Baseball Cats are good enough for my kids, their good enough to guess!”

Sins – Rick Desper “In honor of Joe Wheeler, I have to go with Sloth.” Marc Ellinger “It is the holiday season…time to use many of the sins but I had to choose between gluttony and sloth…sloth is more relaxing!”

Coin – Paraic Reddington “Quarter is likely to be the most popular - but if everyone thinks that…”

D Country – Marc Ellinger “I once went kayaking in Dominica; so beautiful and peaceful.” Per Westling “Only four of them in the world... I go for Djibouti although Denmark was the first I thought of.”

Round 8 Categories

1. Something a cat plays with (more specific than “toy”).

2. A brand of shoe.

3. A town or city in Scotland.

4. A cartoon movie.

5. A country beginning with F.

Deadline for Round 8 is January 30th at 7:00am my time

Eternal Sunshine Movie Photo Contest

There are ten rounds of movie photos, and each round consists of ten photos. Identify the film each photo is from. Anyone may enter at any point. If you want to submit some commentary with your answers, feel free to. The game will consist of 10 rounds. A prize will be awarded to the winner – and it might be a very good prize! Research is not permitted! That means NO RESEARCH OF ANY KIND, not just no searches for the photos themselves. The only legal “research” is watching movies to try and locate the scenes. Each round will also contain one bonus question, asking what the ten movies being quoted have in common. The player with the most correct answers each round gets 3 points, 2^nd place gets 2 points, and 3^rd place gets 1 point. In the event of ties, multiple players get the points (if three players tie for first, they EACH get 3 points). High score at the end of ten rounds wins the game, and a prize (unless you cheated). If there’s enough participation I may give a prize for 2^nd and maybe even 3^rd place overall too. The final round will be worth double points.

Round 2

Note the error on #8 (not that most people would know the difference). I therefore gave correct answer credit for either First Blood or for Rambo: First Blood II or even for simply Rambo.