Eternal Sunshine #89

The Dining Dead -
The Eternal Sunshine Movie Reviews

Seen on DVD and Netflix – Excision (B, quirky but well-acted film of a twisted mind), Insidious (B+, a very enjoyable film, we saw it in the theaters first), Insidious Chapter 2 (B, not as good as the first, and they set up for a #3 that looks stupid), The Grudge (B-, not really scary, just a lot of very cool images as you’ll find in many Japanese horror films), The Grudge 2 (C+, there isn’t much of a point to this one), Thinner (B-, one of the better Stephen King adaptations, and pretty faithful to the book), Sybil (C+, this was groundbreaking stuff when I was a kid, but now it just seems corny and obvious and unlikely), Urban Legends: Bloody Mary (B, decent horror film if nothing else with not too much gore), Intruder (B, good cheesy 1980’s slasher fun, with the Raimi brothers acting and a lot of tongue in cheek humor).

Meet Me In Montauk
The Eternal Sunshine Letter Column

Dane Maslen: Have you ever experienced a 'Doh!' moment? As I glanced down the BPD column full of 'Buenos Aires' etc., I was momentarily puzzled until a little voice at the back of my mind said "But the category was capitals and the capital of Brazil is Brasilia." What I want to know is where that little voice was when I needed it while doing my answers.

[[Welcome to every moment of my life.]]

Andy York: OK, the "Stiches" makes more sense. The "Stitches" movie I'm familiar with is pretty bad....why did it move up from a "C-" to a "B+" this time?

[[Come on Andy, a sarcastic killer clown, back form the dead? Kills one kid with an ice cream scoop? Gotta be worth a B at least.]]

You Don't Know Me

The Eternal Sunshine Interview

Yes, it has been a long hiatus, but I hope to rectify that by doing this more frequently in the future. This month’s interview is with Robyn Dell’Unto, a talented (and beautiful) singer/songwriter from Canada. It took a while to finish this interview: Robyn has been really busy, plus she can only stomach a few moments of me at a time (can you blame her)? Yet, despite that, Robyn accepted my engagement proposal a year or so back and we were officially engaged…but I let her escape to a happier world, with this interview as my “settlement” to call things off. She’ll never know how little she paid compared to the agony which could have awaited her!

What is your name: Robyn Nicole Dell'Unto

What is your astrological sign:Taurus

How old are you (exact or approximate):A lady never tells. (27, but I'm gonna stop answering that question soon)

What is your earliest childhood memory? Probably wrestling under a pile of sisters (there were four of us all close in age)

Describe your immediate family (present day): Boyfriend Ryan and two cats. Parents (divorced) and three sisters with their respective, sometimes changing partners. Lots of other dogs and cats.

What do you do for a living: Play, write, compose and teach music.

Where were you born: Toronto, although I grew up in Mississauga.

What did you want to be when you were growing up: This, except with a million additions, including feature film scoring and expanding my business A Song Of My Own, and I'd like to write something someday soon. (Like words without music.)

You’ve just released your second CD, Little Lines. How would you describe the differences between creating that and I’m Here Every Night?

I think Little Lines is a bit less polished and a bit rougher around the edges. Making it was a real learning curve for me, production and collaboration wise, and I had a lot of time to listen and play with sounds and go insane and stuff like that. I was really concerned with pleasing people with my first record, including the label I was with, my producers, managers, my audience, maybe even commercial radio programmers. With this record, I just wanted to like it myself.

Little Lines was mostly (or fully) funded through a Kickstarter-type web site [[please remind me which one?]]. Is that how you financed your first CD?

It was partially funded by a pre-sale campaign through Kapipal.com and partially funded by FACTOR, a heavenly organization that funds arts in Canada. My first record was also funded by FACTOR but through a record label called Orange Lounge Recordings, and they dealt with all the financials. Since leaving the label I've become very good at organizing and fund-hunting. Doing pre-sale felt a bit awkward for me at first but ended up being an amazing motivator. It was like my backers were saying, "We're watching you! Give us something good or you're dead to us!" Not exactly that, but, you know…

The word isn’t exactly the right choice for what I mean, but Little Lines sounds and feels a bit more Pop than IHEN. Would you agree? Was that done on purpose, or is that just how the songwriting went?

I think I just let the songs be hooky if that's where I was going. I love pop songs. I love structure and hooks. I don't want to be confused or feel inferior when I'm listening to something. I want to have memorized most of the words after hearing the chorus once. I stopped feeling like that was a bad thing, I guess. I'd be a terrible hipster.

What’s a typical process for you when writing a song? Do you get a hook or a melody, or write the lyrics first, or what?

I usually get the "heart" of it first, if that makes any sense, like exactly what it's about, even if I skirt around it in the actual lyric. I know the exact thing it's about, and then all the pieces (progression, melody, lyric, etc) can grow off of that. I co-wrote a lot on this record, and I found it really challenging when I was working with someone who liked to make up the progression and melodies before deciding on the heart of the song. It feels like painting the outside of a house with no guts in it. It was really valuable to me to have the chance to defend and bend my process. I'm around people who are really good at this stuff. Sometimes I just watch.

What instruments do you consider yourself proficient in?

Guitar, but some days I'm like, "Wow I've just been sitting at a computer for weeks and barely playing anything legit." I really love guitar though, different tunings, or just stupidly simple stuff. I play mandolin and banjo and slide and stuff like that on recordings but am a little afraid to play that stuff live. I play bass a lot at home. I played piano live one time, and it was on national TV. Sometimes the decisions I make are kamikaze.

How would you describe your music to someone who has never heard it?

Pop songs in different outfits I guess. My voice doesn't really smack you in the face. I would tell them to prepare to experience feelings, possibility. My friend's boyfriend once called my music his "guilty pleasure." He's been dumped, but I sort of took that as a compliment.

As an independent artist from Canada, do you think it is more difficult for you to break into the U.S. market than if you were based here? I’ve noticed that a number of Canadian independents gain a following in the UK or Europe a bit easier, but building a following in the U.S. can be harder for them. Dala is the first example that pops into my head, although I know there are others. If you agree, why do you think that is? I also find the reverse can be true for some UK artists (Gabrielle Aplin has gotten plenty of attention in the UK and Canada and Australia, but the U.S. market doesn’t know who she is).

I believe it does happen on an indie scale, but song placements in US films and series really helps, as does radio support of course. UK seems closer to Canada in my experience with respect to the way fans tend to dig out new artists, as the majority of new music is not popping out of our counties. I think there are a lot of holes in my thesis though.

I first discovered your music in the credits of an independent film where “Be My” popped up and we had to rewind the DVD to find out who sung it. On your website I learned you’ve had success getting your music onto some other soundtracks and Canadian TV shows. How did you hook up with these movies and TV shows? What advice would you give independent musical acts when it comes to getting involved in tv shows and movie soundtracks? (If any of my manuscripts get made into books and then movies, I’ve got a long list of independent artists I want to include).

[The film was An Insignificant Harvey.] Every placement is through different relationship, or an ongoing relationship that has gotten stronger over the years - whether with the director of the bit, a music supervisor, a producer, a picture editor, etc. This has been said to death, and told to me on an endless loop, but it really is your relationships that will get you in the door in the licensing world. No one is going to dig you out of the piles and piles of artists and select you for that national spot. Having the support of a major publisher or label helps as well... so I've heard. J

Who were your biggest musical influences in your childhood and teenage years?

At first it was artists like Jann Arden and Jewel in grade school, then Swedish pop-star Robyn and Ani DiFranco in high school. I always loved Joni Mitchell. Mariah Carey. Stevie Nicks. Any woman who was was writing and/or singing amazing songs and seemed thoughtful or something like that... rather than... cool... like “Madonna cool.” I liked the opposite.

Can you name one or two artists you would love to perform with or collaborate with someday who you haven’t met yet?

I don’t know. I thought about this a bunch. I read artist interviews constantly and get obsessive, but I don’t often think of collaborating or meeting them.

Do you have some cover songs you like to include in your live shows?

I used to do ‘If I Were A Carpenter’ a lot. My dad always sang that one at home.

How does RD’U live compare with RD’U in the studio?

I like to talk a lot on stage. Sometimes there are inappropriate things. Things are pretty loose. I get stage fright sometimes, so I have a love-hate relationship with performing. The studio has always felt more comfortable, and a place to be creative in private.

Do you write all the time, or will you stop writing while you tour to promote the new CD?

I am writing more than ever right now, mostly with other artists for their own projects. I totally love it. It’s a whole different skill set, and feels very rewarding. I wont be touring too much for a little bit.

Okay, a few final get to know Robyn questions. How about five of your favorite movies?

Death Becomes Her, Funny Girl, Now And Then, Little Women, My Girl

Five of your favorite books?

World According To Garp, Me Talk Pretty One Day, I Was Told There’d Be Cake, The Glass Castle, A Fine Balance

Five of your favorite songs (not your own)?

The Promise - Tracy Chapman; If I Were A Carpenter - Harry Chapin ; Handle Me - Robyn ; Weightless - Chris Whitley; Countdown – Beyonce

Be sure to visit both of Robyn’s websites for a sampling of her music and her “A Song of My Own” project. And if you like what you hear, don’t forget there’s nothing wrong with BUYING some of her stuff! Go to www.robyndellunto.com and www.asongofmyown.ca !!

Eternal Sunshine Index – ESI

A Scientific Measure of Zine Health

Current Index: 69.57 +0.63%

The Eternal Sunshine Index is a stock-market-like index of the zine. You don’t do anything in this game, except write press or commentary on price movements (or why you think your stock should have gone up or down). I move the prices beginning with next issue based on my own private formula of quantity and quality zine participation (NMR’s, press, columns, etc.). Any new zine participants become new issues valued at at 50, but the stock for anyone who disappears will remain listed. The average of all listed stocks will result in the ESI closing value each month, which will be charted issue to issue after we have a few months’ worth of data. If you don’t like the stock symbol I have assigned you, you may petition the exchange to change it. Blame Phil Murphy for suggesting this section to me.

Market Commentary: Despite two NMRing players and a number of players dropping to the bottom 0.01 level, enough participation, columns, and orders kept the index slightly higher. I thought it would be a struggle to make a gain this month, but the market somehow managed it. As with other fallen friends, Don Williams’ score will remain unmoved from this point forward. Can we break 70 next month?

Stock	Price	% +/-
AJK - Allison Kent	83	1.2%
ALM - Hank Alme	46	2.2%
AMB - Amber Smith	0.01	0.0%
AND - Lance Anderson	0.01	0.0%
BAB - Chris Babcock	16	6.7%
BAT - Andy Bate	61	1.7%
BIE - John Biehl	137	1.5%
BLA - Larry Peery	68	1.5%
BRG - Martin Burgdorf	125	1.6%
BWD - Brad Wilson	145	1.4%
CAK - Andy Lischett	125	1.6%
CAL - Cal White	0.01	0.0%
CHC - Chuy Cronin	0.01	0.0%
CIA - Tom Swider	0.01	0.0%
CKW - Kevin Wilson	124	2.5%
CKY - Carol Kay	38	2.7%
DAN - Dane Maslen	119	1.7%
DBG - David Burgess	0.01	0.0%
DGR - David Grabar	0.01	0.0%
DTC - Brendan Whyte	109	0.9%
DUK - Don Williams	75	0.0%
FRD - Fred Wiedemeyer	20	-20.0%
FRG - Jeremie Lefrancois	0.01	0.0%
FRT - Mark Firth	121	1.7%
GAR - Heath Gardner	80	-11.1%
GRA - Graham Wilson	0.01	0.0%
HAP - Hugh Polley	57	3.6%
HDT - Heather Taylor	115	-6.5%
HLJ - Harley Jordan	70	-6.7%
JOD - Jeff O'Donnell	25	-16.7%
KMP - Geoff Kemp	114	1.8%
KVT - Kevin Tighe	0.01	-99.0%
LAT - David Latimer	96	1.1%
LCR - Larry Cronin	0.01	0.0%
MRK - Mark Nelson	0.01	0.0%
MCC - David McCrumb	0.01	-99.0%
MCR - Michael Cronin	0.01	0.0%
MIM - Michael Moulton	0.01	0.0%
MRC - Marc Ellinger	127	2.4%
OTS - Tom Howell	121	2.5%
PER - Per Westling	127	1.6%
PJM - Phil Murphy	25	-16.7%
QUI - Michael Quirk	25	4.2%
RAC - Robin ap Cynan	80	1.3%
RDP - Rick Desper	128	2.4%
REB - Melinda Holley	132	1.5%
RED - Paraic Reddington	110	-4.3%
RWE - Richard Weiss	185	3.9%
SAK - Jack McHugh	295	3.5%
TAP - Jim Burgess	200	4.2%
VOG - Pat Vogelsang	0.01	0.0%
WAY - W. Andrew York	122	1.7%
WLK - Richard Walkerdine	141	0.0%
WWW - William Wood	0.01	0.0%
YLP - Paul Milewski	168	1.2%

Hint to the Person in the Closest Geographical Guess: I was born about 12 centuries after you.

Deadline for Turn 3 is: June 24th at 7am my time

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 #67

Write some variant articles for Diplomacy World so Sack will stop bothering me.

ZERO SUM, Subzine to Eternal Sunshine, Issue 23 May 24, 2014

Published by Richard Weiss. richardweiss@higherquality.com

Game Offerings:

Suggestions???
Terra Mystica – Can take three to five (If someone gives me an app for the map or points me to where one is)
Agricola – Can take four or five (If someone gives me an app for the map or points me to where one is)
Puerto Rico – Will take four. Since the game has a significant positional bias, this is really two games with the same players at the same time. Player order 1 > 2 > 3 > 4 in one game will be reversed in the other game. Highest total score between the two games is the winner.

Games Being Played:

Where In The World Is Kendo Nagasaki (Please, others join in!!!!)
World Cup Tournament

GM Musings

Social App MeetUp and Sac Geeks have been pretty phenomenal in getting together all sorts of special interests groups. Of most importance for me are board game groups. I play three nights a week. Monday night is a newly forming group about 3 miles from my house that is in the most popular club in Folsom, otherwise open only for regulars and maybe karaoke after 9 PM. This week, week four, 11 people showed up. Guns and Cops was silly. Played a good game of PowerGrid a couple of weeks ago.

Tuesday is at a restaurant in downtown Sacramento. They’ve been letting gamers play in their rear area for at least six years. Friendly management and staff. Most people eat something. All have something to drink, albeit only some alcohol. Typically 15 – 30 people and a wide variety of games. One group with Terra Mystica/Agricola and similar more serious games with Kingdom Builder as the short and easy game. Others mix and match in and out of King of Tokyo, Settlers, Blockers, Pandemic, Power Grid, Dixit, Guillotine, Citadels, Crash Up and other more social games.

Thursday a game store with a huge warehouse-type space, much built out for those who build environments to play on, and 20 – 30+ players. Primarily these are Magic or similar players, but a devoted small group of gamers including the Terra Mystica group from Tuesdays. I’ve fallen in with the Terra Mystica and Agricola gamers primarily. Loving those games. Still learning the core details so can play interactively and successfully. If I could find software to support running either, I’d be happy to host a game in Zero Sum

So what are you playing?

Where In The World Is Kendo Nagasaki

	ROUND ONE GUESSES AND THOUGHTS
Player	Guess Name	Location
Heath Gardner	Mike Krzyzewski	At the Hagia Sophia, Istanbul
Jim Burgess	Euripedes	At the Summit of Mt. Fuji, Japan
Kevin Wilson	Sir Edmund Hillary	At the Summit of Mount Everest
Doug Kent	Amadeus Mozart	Ankara, Turkey

Clue, from Kendo Nagasaki: You are higher than me, in more ways than one.

	ROUND TWO GUESSES AND THOUGHTS
Player	Guess Name	Location
Heath Gardner
Jim Burgess
Kevin Wilson	Socrates	Taj Mahal
Doug Kent	Geoffrey Rush	Mt. Ararat

Clue, from Kendo Nagasaki: “You are higher than I am. I am taught to students in the “hard sciences.”

	ROUND THREE GUESSES AND THOUGHTS
Player	Guess Name	Location
Heath Gardner
Jim Burgess
Kevin Wilson
Doug Kent	Plato	Flying Tiger Gorge, China

Clue: You are the farther from me than any other winner of a clue so far. You are higher than me, also. I am taught in more disciplines.

World Cup Tournament

Press is always welcome. Write often and early.

The World Cup starts Thursday 12 June in Arena de Sao Paolo with host Brazil playing Croatia.

The most watched television program of the past 12 months? This year’s version is happening on Saturday 24 May. Will the Real Madrid please stand up!

Entrants and Selections:

Category	Geoff Kemp	Brad Wilson	Per Wrestling	Andy Bate
First Round
Group A	Brazil	Brazil	Brazil	Brazil
Group A	Mexico	Croatia	Mexico	Croatia
Group B	Spain	Spain	Spain	Spain
Group B	Netherlands	Chile	Chile	Netherlands
Group C	Columbia	Columbia	Columbia	Cote d'Ivoire
Group C	Greece	Japan	Ivory Coast	Greece
Group D	Italy	Italy	Italy	Uruguay
Group D	England	Uruguay	Uruguay	England
Group E	France	France	France	France
Group E	Ecuador	Switzerland	Switzerland	Switzerland
Group F	Argentina	Argentina	Argentina	Argentina
Group F	Nigeria	Bosnia	Nigeria	Nigeria
Group G	Germany	Germany	Germany	Germany
Group G	Portugal	USA	Ghana	Portugal
Group H	Belgium	Belgium	Belgium	Belgium
Group H	Russia	South Korea	Korea Republic	Russia

Final Four
	Brazil	Brazil	Brazil	Netherlands
	Germany	Germany	Germany	Germany
	Spain	France	Belgium	Spain
	Belgium	Argentina	Argentina	Argentina

World Cup Winner	Brazil	Argentina	Brazil	Germany

Lowest GAA	Belgium	Italy	Italy	Italy

Getting Points in the First (Bracket) Round: Each entrant picks two teams in each group. For each game in the first round (the brackets) when a team you selected wins – you get 3 points. For each game one of your team draws, you get one point. The points for wins (3) and draws (1) for the entrant’s 16 teams are added up and count toward the final score. As examples, If Côte d'Ivoire wins three games in the first round, every person who selected them would have earned 9 points. If Japan had one draw and two losses in that bracket – persons who selected Japan earn one point.

Getting Points in the Round of 16 through the Championship Match: Each entrant picks the final four and the World Cup winner. For each victory in the Round of 16 and the rest of the way, each time one of the entrant’s final four team’s wins, the entrant gets 3 more points. No one can score points for the World Cup game winner unless he or she picked them. All the points from these games are added to the points gained during the First Round.

In case of a tie in total points - there will be a tie breaker. Each player will select the country in the tournament they expect will have the lowest average goals against them throughout the tournament. The tied player with the team that had the lowest average goals against, wins. If, after the tie breaker, two or more persons remain tied as co-winners, congratulations.

Group A
Team	MP	W	D	L	GF	GA	Pts
Brazil	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Croatia	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Mexico	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Cameroon	0	0	0	0	0	0	0

Group B
Team	MP	W	D	L	GF	GA	Pts
Spain	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Netherlands	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Chile	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Australia	0	0	0	0	0	0	0

Group C
Team	MP	W	D	L	GF	GA	Pts
Colombia	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Greece	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Côte d'Ivoire	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Japan	0	0	0	0	0	0	0

Group D
Team	MP	W	D	L	GF	GA	Pts
Uruguay	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Costa Rica	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
England	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Italy	0	0	0	0	0	0	0

Group E
Team	MP	W	D	L	GF	GA	Pts
Switzerland	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Ecuador	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
France	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Honduras	0	0	0	0	0	0	0

Group F
Team	MP	W	D	L	GF	GA	Pts
Argentina	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Bosnia and Herzegovina	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Iran	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Nigeria	0	0	0	0	0	0	0

Group G
Team	MP	W	D	L	GF	GA	Pts
Germany	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Portugal	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Ghana	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
USA	0	0	0	0	0	0	0

Group H
Team	MP	W	D	L	GF	GA	Pts
Belgium	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Algeria	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Russia	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Korea Republic	0	0	0	0	0	0	0

Octopus’s Garden

Issue Eighty-Seven

27^th May 2013

Sub-editorial

HELLO, good evening and welcome to Octopus’s Garden, the subzeen with its very own 7 x 7 Gunboat Diplomacy tournament. It is a subzeen to Jim Burgess’ The Abyssinian Prince, which is now a subzeen to Douglas Kent's Eternal Sunshine. It's produced by Peter Sullivan, peter@burdonvale.co.uk. It's also available on the web at: http://www.burdonvale.co.uk/octopus/.

___________________________________________________________________________________

THAT WAS THE YEAR THAT WAS - 1901

A natural section heading for what is intended to be an annual (in game years!) summary of the latest state of play in the 7 x 7 Gunboat Diplomacy tournament. The cool kids amongst you will, of course, not need telling that it's also, of course, the title of Tom Lehrer's final album in 1965, of his songs from the U.S. Version of That Was The Week That Was. Many people, including myself, consider Mr. Lehrer as America's finest satirist. Although even he had problems keeping up at times – after Henry Kissinger was awarded the Nobel Peace Price in 1973, Lehrer famously announced that he was giving up satire “due to unfair competition from reality.”

The tournament as a whole is called “ANDREW JOHNSON”. Games in Octopus's Garden are all named after Vice Presidents of the United States. Johnson was Abraham Lincoln's second Vice President, taking office on 4^th March 1865 and then succeeding to the Presidency on 15^th April 1865 after Lincoln's assassination. He was the first of only two US Presidents (so far) to be impeached in office by the House of Representatives for “high crimes and misdemeanours,” although the Senate failed to find him guilty by the required two-thirds majority. (A good test of how good a US politics nerd you are is if you can correctly name the second. No, not him.)

As usual for Gunboat, most of the typical bounce points (ENG, Bur, Gal, BLA) were indeed bounced in Spring 1901, with several of these repeating in the Fall 1901 season as well. In the Winter 1901, every country got builds, except for three of the Austrias-Hungary. (Or Austria-Hungaries. No idea what the correct plural there is.) One France and one Germany got three builds.

Current supply centre counts in each game are as follows:

Player	Game 1	Game 2	Game 3	Game 4	Game 5	Game 6	Game 7
Player A	Tur: 5	Ger: 5	Rus: 5	Eng: 4	Ita: 5	Aus: 3	Fra: 4
Player B	Aus: 3	Tur: 5	Ger: 5	Rus: 6	Eng: 5	Fra: 6	Ita: 4
Player C	Fra: 5	Aus: 4	Tur: 4	Ger: 5	Rus: 5	Ita: 5	Eng: 4
Player D	Ita: 5	Fra: 5	Aus: 4	Tur: 4	Ger: 5	Eng: 4	Rus: 6
Player E	Eng: 4	Ita: 4	Fra: 5	Aus: 5	Tur: 4	Rus: 6	Ger: 6
Player F	Rus: 6	Eng: 5	Ita: 4	Fra: 5	Aus: 3	Ger: 4	Tur: 4
Player G	Ger: 5	Rus: 5	Eng: 4	Ita: 3	Fra: 5	Tur: 4	Aus: 5
Neutrals	1 (Por)	1 (Ser)	3	1 (Por)	2	2	1 (Spa)
Total	34	34	34	34	34	34	34

One pleasing side-effect of running the tournament is that it has given me an opportunity/excuse to revive C'est Magnifique, the postal games zeen title that I ran from 1985 to 1994. It's now, to all intents and purposes, a warehouse zeen. Links to the first three issues of this wholly remarkable zeen are at:

Gamestart: CMag 143 http://www.burdonvale.co.uk/gunboat/CMag143.pdf
Spring 1901 : CMag 144 http://www.burdonvale.co.uk/gunboat/CMag144.pdf
Fall 1901: CMag 145 http://www.burdonvale.co.uk/gunboat/CMag145.pdf
Winter 1901: CMag 146 http://www.burdonvale.co.uk/gunboat/CMag146.pdf

Finally, a call for stand-bys. I know all of our players are enthusiastic about the tournament at the moment, and I'm sure all of them intend to stay the course. But, Real Life^TM has a way of banjaxing the best-laid plans, and I'd like to have a couple of spare players on hand in case they are needed. Stand-bys get the zeen for free (which isn't, to be honest, an especially significant incentive these days, given that everyone else does too). But, more importantly, my eternal gratitude. And, come to that, the eternal gratitude of all the other players once they eventually find out who you are at the end...

___________________________________________________________________________________

That was Octopus's Garden #87, Startling Press production 378.

Game Openings

Diplomacy (Black Press – Permanent Opening in ES): Signed up: Paul Milewski, Arthur Shulman, Brad Wilson, Mark Firth, Jack McHugh, Geoff Kemp, needs one more.

1898 (Black Press): Randy Davis designed this simple variant. Rules in ES #87. Signed up: Richard Weiss. Jack McHugh, needs 5 more.

Balkan Wars VI (Black Press): Fast-paced variant with no season separations. Rules and map in ES #88. Signed up: Jack McHugh, Will Abbott, Brad Wilson, needs three more

Middle Eastern Diplomacy (Black Press): Phil Reynolds’ seven-player variant prompted by the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait in 1990. A minimal number of neutral centers. Rules and map in ES #88. Signed up: Jack McHugh, John David Galt, needs five more.

1499: The Italian Wars (Black Press): David McCrumb’s fast five-player variant. A favorite of mine. Rules and map in ES #88. Signed up: Jack McHugh, Mark Firth, needs 3 more.

Colonia VII-B (Black Press): Fred Hyatt’s true wraparound global variant. VII-B was the final version he released; VI was quite popular, and VII and VII-B had some minor tweaks. I once had a zine that only ran Colonia VII-B, Grand Hyatt. Rules and map in ES #88. Signed up: Jack McHugh, Marc Ellinger, Hugh Polley, needs 6 more.

Acquire: Can take up to six players. Signed up: Hank Alme, Tom Howell, Richard Weiss, Andy Bate, Mark Firth, we can take up to one more. This will start during the month, so if you want in sign up NOW. This game may move by email turn by turn instead of simultaneous.

By Popular Demand: Join at any time. I am considering using the Dane Maslen version next time, where one answer must be five letters long, and every other answer must begin with one unique letter of the key word. Or perhaps running two games, one normal and one that way.

Eternal Sunshine Movie Quote Quiz: Join anytime. Switching back to photos now!

Where in the World is Kendo Nagasaki?: Rules in ES #58. Join anytime! Also a SECOND game being run by Heath Gardner in his subzine Equinox and a THIRD game in The Abyssinian Prince and a FOURTH game in Zero Sum!

Coming Soon: Kremlin, Fog of War Diplomacy, Stonehenge IV, Aberration, Mercator. If you’re interested in one of these variants, or have a suggestion, let me know. My signups are getting slower and slower lately. When player interest in games completely dies, I’ll probably fold the whole zine and disappear.

Standby List: HELP! I need standby players! – Current standby list: Richard Weiss, Jim Burgess (Dip only), Hank Alme, Martin Burgdorf, Paul Milewski (Dip only), Brad Wilson (including Woolworth), Chris Babcock, Marc Ellinger, Heath Gardner, Jack McHugh, and whoever I beg into it in an emergency.

Eternal Sunshine Game Section

Diplomacy “Dulcinea” 2008C, W 28/S 29

Austria (Martin Burgdorf – martin_burgdorf “of” hotmail.com): ~~A Brest Supports A Paris~~ (*Disbanded*),

~~A Paris Supports A Brest~~ (*Disbanded*).

England (Hank Alme – almehj “of” alumni.rice.edu): Build F Edinburgh, A London.. F Barents Sea Hold,

A Belgium – Picardy, A Burgundy Supports A Picardy – Paris, F Edinburgh Hold, F Kiel Hold, A London – Brest,

A Munich – Ruhr, F North Atlantic Ocean Hold, F North Sea Hold, F Norwegian Sea Hold, A Picardy – Paris,

A Ruhr – Belgium, A St Petersburg Hold, A Vienna Hold, A Warsaw Hold.

Turkey (Jim Burgess – jfburgess “of” gmail.com): F Aegean Sea Hold, A Bohemia Hold, A Budapest Hold,

F Eastern Mediterranean Hold, F English Channel Convoys A London – Brest,

F Gascony Supports A London – Brest, F Ionian Sea Hold, F Marseilles Hold, A Piedmont Hold,

F Portugal - Mid-Atlantic Ocean, F Prussia Hold, A Rumania Hold, A Silesia Hold, A Spain Supports F Gascony,

A Tyrolia Hold, F Tyrrhenian Sea Hold, F Western Mediterranean Hold.

F 29 Deadline is June 24^th at 7:00am my time

PRESS

None. You guys suck.

“Dulcinea” Diplomacy Bourse

Billy Ray Valentine: Probably in his limousine.

Duke of York: Nothing.

Smaug the Dragon: Snore.

Rothschild: Sells 500 Pounds. Buys 349 Piastres.

Baron Wuffet: Zip.

Wooden Nickel Enterprises:

VAIONT Enterprises: Resting his eyes.

Insider Trading LLC: Grand Jury hearing.

Bourse Master: Stands pat.

PRESS

None. You Guys SUCK.

Next Bourse Deadline is June 23rd at 7:00pm my time

Diplomacy “Jerusalem” 2012A, S 10

Austria (Melinda Holley – genea5613 “of” aol.com): A Tyrolia Supports A Munich (*Cut*).

England (John Biehl – jerbil “of” shaw.ca): F Baltic Sea Supports A Kiel, A Brest – Gascony,

A Burgundy Supports A Brest – Gascony, F English Channel Convoys A London – Belgium,

A Kiel Supports A Berlin, A London – Belgium, F Mid-Atlantic Ocean Supports A Brest – Gascony,

F North Atlantic Ocean Supports F Mid-Atlantic Ocean, F Norway - St Petersburg(nc),

A Paris Supports A Brest – Gascony, F Portugal - Spain(sc) (*Fails*), A Ruhr Supports A Burgundy.

Germany (Heath Gardner - heath.gardner “of” gmail.com): NMR! A Berlin Hold.

Italy (Mark Firth – mark.r.firth “of” capita.co.uk): F Gulf of Lyon Supports A Spain,

A Spain Supports A Marseilles (*Cut*), F Trieste – Venice, F Tunis - North Africa (*Bounce*),

F Western Mediterranean - North Africa (*Bounce*).

Russia (Richard Weiss – richardweiss “of” higherquality.com): A Prussia - Berlin (*Fails*),

A Sevastopol – Moscow, A St Petersburg – Finland, A Warsaw - Livonia.

Turkey (Geoff Kemp - ggeoff510 “of” aol.com): A Bohemia Supports A Munich, A Constantinople – Bulgaria,

A Marseilles Supports A Spain, A Munich Supports A Prussia – Berlin, F Rumania Hold, A Serbia – Budapest,

A Silesia Supports A Munich, A Smyrna – Constantinople, F Tuscany – Piedmont,

F Tyrrhenian Sea Supports F Western Mediterranean (*Ordered to Move*), A Vienna - Tyrolia (*Fails*).

All Proposed Draws Fail

Would Paul Milewski (paul.milewski “of” hotmail.com) please standby for Germany?

F 10 Deadline is June 24th at 7:00am my time

PRESS

None. You guys suck.

Diplomacy “Walkerdine” 2012D, S 06

Austria (paul.milewski “of” hotmail.com): A Serbia - Rumania.

England (Marc Ellinger - mellinger “of” bbdlc.com): F Finland Supports A Livonia - St Petersburg,

A Livonia - St Petersburg, ~~A Moscow Supports A Livonia - St Petersburg~~ (*Dislodged*,

retreat to Ukraine or OTB), F Norway Supports A Livonia - St Petersburg.

France (Jim Burgess – jfburgess “of” gmail.com): A Belgium Hold, F Brest - English Channel,

F Ionian Sea – Apulia, F Liverpool – Clyde, F Marseilles - Spain(sc), F Mid-Atlantic Ocean - North Atlantic Ocean,

F Naples Supports F Tunis - Ionian Sea, F Rome - Tyrrhenian Sea, F Tunis - Ionian Sea,

A Tyrolia - Venice (*Fails*).

Germany (Steve Cooley – tmssteve “of” gmail.com): A Bohemia – Galicia, A Denmark – Sweden,

F Gulf of Bothnia Supports A Denmark – Sweden, F Kiel - Helgoland Bight, A Prussia – Livonia,

A Silesia – Warsaw, ~~F St Petersburg(nc) - Norway~~ (*Dislodged*, retreat to Barents Sea or OTB),

A Trieste Supports A Vienna - Budapest (*Cut*), A Vienna - Budapest (*Fails*), A Warsaw - Moscow.

Russia (Hank Alme – almehj “of” alumni.rice.edu): F Adriatic Sea Supports F Venice - Trieste (*Void*),

A Budapest Hold, A Sevastopol Supports A Warsaw - Moscow.

Turkey (Chris Babcock - cbabcock “of” asciiking.com): F Aegean Sea – Constantinople,

A Albania - Trieste (*Fails*), F Greece Hold, A Smyrna – Armenia, F Venice Supports A Albania - Trieste (*Cut*).

Deadline for F 06 is June 24th at 7am my time

PRESS

(BOOB to WALKERDINE's): With Don passing away too, this game feels more and more depressing, what shall we do.... the celestial Dip Board gets bigger and better, and I feel lamer.

Black Press Gunboat, “Fred Noonan”, 2013Arb32, W 07/S 08

France: Remove F Western Mediterranean.. A Burgundy Supports A Ruhr – Belgium, F Liverpool – Clyde,

F London – Yorkshire, F North Sea – Edinburgh, F Norwegian Sea Supports F North Sea – Edinburgh,

A Picardy Supports A Ruhr – Belgium, A Ruhr - Belgium (*Fails*).

Germany: Retreat F North Sea – Denmark, A Ruhr - Holland.. Build A Berlin, F Kiel.. A Belgium - Ruhr (*Fails*),

A Berlin – Kiel, F Denmark - North Sea, ~~F Edinburgh Supports F Denmark - North Sea~~ (*Disbanded*),

A Holland Supports A Belgium – Ruhr, F Kiel - Helgoland Bight, A Munich Supports A Belgium – Ruhr,

F Norway Supports F Denmark - North Sea, A Silesia Supports A Munich.

Italy: A Budapest Supports A Galicia – Rumania, F Eastern Mediterranean Supports F Greece - Aegean Sea,

A Galicia - Rumania (*Fails*), ~~F Greece - Aegean Sea~~ (*Disbanded*),

F Ionian Sea Supports F Greece - Aegean Sea (*Cut*), A Trieste – Albania, A Vienna - Trieste.

Russia: A Livonia Supports A Warsaw – Moscow, A Warsaw - Moscow (*Fails*).

Turkey: F Aegean Sea Supports F Bulgaria(sc) – Greece, F Bulgaria(sc) – Greece,

A Moscow Supports A Ukraine (*Cut*), F Naples - Ionian Sea (*Fails*), A Rumania Supports A Serbia (*Cut*),

A Serbia Supports F Bulgaria(sc) – Greece, A Sevastopol Supports A Moscow, F Smyrna Supports F Aegean Sea,

A Ukraine Supports A Rumania.

Now Proposed – G/T. Please vote, NVR=No.

Deadline for F 08 Will Be June 24^th at 7am My Time

PRESS

Fra-Rus: It is okay if you are annoyed. You won’t be around much longer anyway.

Fra-Ita: I wish I could do more to help you, but I have trouble up north that needs my attention for the moment. Hang on and I will be back to help as soon as I can.

(ITALY--TURKEY): Can we try again, that's not working for me.

Fra-Ger: I fear, my friend, that you have placed your trust is one who is does not have your interests at heart. I will do all that I can to support you against the Turk and Russian who have deceived you and seek to remove you from your throne. You must, for the good of your people, turn your attention to the east, and face the true threat to your realm. I will do all that I can to be of help.

T => R: The Turkish government ends all hostilities against the remaining Russian home scs. It expects that the Tsar stops his attempts to get Mos back and concentrates instead on defending StP and War.

Italy to France: Hope your fleet is there to help.

GM – Italy: It was a ghost ship.

(France-Turkey): I come to support the Pope....

(GERMANY--FRANCE): You will come to regret that move!

F => I: The Turkish government does not intend to increase the number of its scs by having its soldiers rape anyone, least of all lovely Italian women. F is collapsing and we urge you to turn west in order to make sure G does not become too strong. The Turkish troops will defend the eastern part of the stalemate line.

Russia - World: No press!

Diplomacy “Sweet Spot” 2013A, W 06/S 07

England (Harold Zarr - skip1955 “of” hotmail.com): Build F Liverpool.. A Edinburgh - Yorkshire (*Bounce*),

F Liverpool - North Atlantic Ocean (*Bounce*), A London - Yorkshire (*Bounce*).

France (Melinda Holley – genea5613 “of” aol.com): A Burgundy Supports A Marseilles,

F English Channel Supports A Denmark - London (*Void*), F Holland Supports A Kiel, A Kiel Supports A Munich,

A Marseilles Hold, F Mid-Atlantic Ocean Hold, A Munich Supports A Kiel.

Italy (Hank Alme - almehj “of” alumni.rice.edu): Disband A Marseilles..

F Gulf of Lyon - Western Mediterranean, F Ionian Sea - Tyrrhenian Sea,

F North Africa Supports F Gulf of Lyon - Western Mediterranean, A Portugal Supports F Spain(sc),

F Spain(sc) Supports A Portugal, A Trieste Supports A Tyrolia, A Tyrolia Supports A Vienna,

A Vienna Supports A Tyrolia.

Russia (Chris Babcock – cbabcock “of” asciiking.com ): Build A Moscow, F St Petersburg(nc)..

A Berlin Hold, A Denmark Hold, A Moscow - St Petersburg, F North Sea - Norwegian Sea (*Fails*),

F Norwegian Sea - North Atlantic Ocean (*Bounce*), A Silesia Supports A Berlin,

F Skagerrak - North Sea (*Fails*), F St Petersburg(nc) – Norway, A Warsaw Hold.

Turkey (Larry Peery – peery “of” ix.netcom.com): F Aegean Sea Supports A Greece,

A Albania Supports A Serbia, A Armenia – Syria, A Budapest Supports A Galicia, A Galicia Supports A Budapest,

A Greece Supports A Albania, A Serbia Supports A Budapest.

All Draw Proposals Fail

Now Proposed – F/I/R/T, E/F/I/R/T, E/I/R/T

Deadline for F 07 Will Be June 24th at 7am My Time

PRESS

Eng – GM: Why did you not put my proposal in the latest edition?

GM – England: I believe I misread it as voting on proposals that were not proposed, rather than proposing new ones.

Woolworth II-D “Coney Island” 2013Bcb19, S 06

Game Delayed Due to NMR!

Brad Wilson (fullfathomfive675 “of” gmail.com) is being called to standby for France (Heath Gardner)

As per my Woolworth policies, the game is delayed because of the NMR so the Secret power is not revealed. Below are the results from last issue….

Woolworth II-D “Coney Island” 2013Bcb19, W 05

Austria (Secret): Has A Mar.

Balkans (Secret): Has A Tyr, F Alb, A Gre, A Vie, A Tri.

England (Secret): Has A Yor, F Lon.

France (Heath Gardner - heath.gardner “of” gmail.com): Has F Eng, A Bur, F Tun.

Germany (Marc Ellinger - mellinger “of” bbdlc.com): Remove A Mun..Has A Kie, A Ruh.

Italy (Secret): Bld F Rom..Has F Rom, F Mor, F Tus, A Swi, A Nap, A Ven.

Russia (Jim Burgess - jfburgess “of” gmail.com): Bld F StP(sc)..Has F StP(sc), A Sev, F Bal, A Boh, A Ber,

A Sil.

Scandinavia (Geoff Kemp - ggeoff510 “of” aol.com): Has F Edi, F Nwg, F Nth, A Den.

Spain (Secret): Retreat F Nth-Hol..Has F Hol, F Wms, A Bel, A Gas, F Mad.

Turkey (Hugh Polley – hapolley “of” yahoo.ca): Has F Aeg, A Ruh, A Mac, F Tys, F Ion.

Deadline for Spring 06 is NOW June 24th at 7am My Time

PRESS

(BOOB to DOUG): I know, I'm useless....

Doug – Boob: Well you saved me from having to say “you guys suck” this season.

By Popular Demand

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

Round 6 Categories

1. Something sticky besides tape.

2. An album that Paul McCartney appears on.

3. Another word for “laugh”.

4. A mixed adult beverage besides martini.

5. A small U.S. state.

Selected Comments By Category

Sticky – Dane Maslen “Actually this is a lie: in my experience glue is only sticky when it comes into contact with something accidentally, not when it is applied to objects that are supposed to get stuck together” Richard Weiss “There are lots of options for sticky. Post-Its would be funny if that were #1.” Marc Ellinger “Gum – particularly on your shoe, in a parking lot! Jerks!”

McCartney – Richard Weiss “I'll go with a Beatles Album, but think others will go with a solo one. Although, you do say "album" and I doubt anything recent qualifies therefore.” Marc Ellinger “Abbey Road – Greatest album of all time and there he is walking across the street…barefooted (could it be a conspiracy?)” Geoff Kemp “Although suspect Wings over America may edge it out!”

Laugh – Richard Weiss “Another word for laugh - I had two thoughts. I look in a thesaurus. Not many good choices. I was surprised.” Marc Ellinger “I debated between guffaw and chuckle and decided this category wasn’t really all that funny.”

Beverage – Marc Ellinger “Ah the beach, the winds, the tequila, the fun, the hangover, the agony….ah the beach, the winds….” Geoff Kemp “Mind went blank.”

State – Brad Wilson “Delaware -- as they say three counties, two at high tide.” Richard Weiss “If Jim Bob Bozo's home state isn't the hands down unanimous pick, shame on someone.” Jim Burgess “Mine and the smallest, of course.”

Round 7 Categories

1. Something you buy in a bottle.

2. A brand of cough drop.

3. A bird that migrates.

4. A chemical with a strong odor.

5. An NHL hockey team.