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Month: March 2004

Familial fun

March 12, 2004
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So while my mother was in the hospital, I got her a NetFlix account. Since she’s not always into the technogeeky thing, and because I wanted to make her life as easy as possible while recovering, I manage the queue. It’s worked out really well — she gets the fun of opening a surprise in the mail every few days. And I have a pretty solid idea of her tastes.

But I’m feeling whimsical, so now I want recommendations from y’all. What would you rent her? The list of movies rented to date is in the extended entry — she claims to have enjoyed everything so far.

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Elected turmoil

March 12, 2004
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President Roh of Korea was just impeached. He’d been tagged "the world’s first Internet president", mostly because his victory was driven by Internet activism.

Don Park has another take on the impeachment. He’s a smart guy and I trust his insights on the situation. KoreaTimes talks about what happens next.

Aside from the obvious “old school tears down the Internet generation” angle, I’m a bit concerned about the “tumult right next to North Korea” angle. Dunno how worried I should be, though. It’s not as if the opposition politicians hadn’t managed to handle the North Korean situation for quite some time before Roh came along. It’s mostly the uncertainty of not knowing who runs the country right now that bugs me.

There’s also something to be said about media coverage of South Korea versus media coverage of Spain, but I don’t know how to say it without sounding heartless. I think both the Madrid bombing and the impeachment are exceedingly important, and it bothers me that the Madrid bombing is front page news while the impeachment drifts to one side.

(How original! I’ve just discovered that media is tragedy-driven!)

Wednesday Weird #5: Wizard

March 11, 2004
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Here’s the cliche:

This week’s Wednesday Weird isn’t about just any old hedge Wizard, but the classic wize old wizard that is a staple of the fantasy genre. Although Merlin is a heck of a lot older than Gandalf, I’m not sure if he started wearing the pointy hat before Tolkein’s wizard. However, since D&D and most fantasy fiction has (for better or worse) been heavily derived from Tolkein’s work ever since, we’ve seen a lot of wizards in the Gandalf/Merlin mold. They’ve been dispensing sage advice and assisting heroes for ages. Sometimes they have the hat. Sometimes they don’t.

My wizard has the hat. Here’s why.

The PCs establish the traditional relationship with the wizard — advice, counsel, “fool of a Took!” He identifies magic items for ‘em. All that fun stuff.

Somewhere along the line, someone asks the PCs why they’re spending so much time hanging out with the guy everyone else knows as a simple farmer. “Look, he’s a nice guy, Toby, but… he’s just a farmer. Or anyway, he was before he moved into that old tower at the edge of the forest. We’ve been wondering what he’s up to now, because he’s not too bright and we’re kind of worried about him.”

It’s the hat. Toby found it; it’s a very powerful magic item which bestows both the ability to use magic and the skills to use it wisely. Anyone could benefit from it. The party wizard could benefit from it quite a bit. Just, Toby’s the guy who found it.

Jack Dandy

March 9, 2004
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Jack Dandy, Gentleman About Town!

Sadly, I don’t know very much about him. Yes, it’s true: he’s just a set of powers and a vague appearance looking for a background. Perhaps I should go all Ripper and make him the Prince of Wales in a disguise. No? Well…

Right; he’s the Honorable Austin Alexander, second son of the Right Honorable Lord Islington. He does wear a mask, because his elder brother — who he adores — thinks that he’ll bring shame on the family name, blah blah blah. His father is senile and could care less. He mostly cares about having superpowered larks, and feels the mask adds to his air of mystery.

His armor is a glowing force field in a thrilling shade of hunter green. His quantum bolts are, um, quantum bolts. I was very entranced by the thought of flying whilst wearing a tailcoat, but the more I examine it the less thrilled I feel.

I am having deep trouble working up backgrounds lately. My wuxia Charnel Gods character, who doesn’t even have a name yet, is in even worse shape.

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Monday Mashup #31: Lensman

March 9, 2004
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I promised the Lensman series, and thus the Lensman series will be mashed. Onwards, stalwart companions!

If you haven’t read the Lensman books, you should. They are a fundamental part of science fiction history; get past the sexism and you’ll find a surprisingly liberal — even radical — set of ideals. Particularly in Children of the Lens. You’ll also find big explosions, and everyone likes big explosions.

Continue ReadingMonday Mashup #31: Lensman

Dreams of future past

March 8, 2004
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All the hip liberals are dogpiling on libertarianism this month, and skillfully missing the point. Apparently the lure of libertarians potentially voting Democrat in the face of Bush’s overspending is too much for some.

The question is not “would it be OK to let everyone in the world own nukes right now?” That’s a very easy one. “No, it would be pretty much completely not be a good idea.” The question is “Would this be a better world, and if so, what do we need to do to get there?”

In the debate which is the primary target of mockery, Richard Epstein is taking precisely that approach. Randy Barnett and David Friedman are not, mind you, which goes a long way towards explaining why I don’t self-identify as a libertarian.

But it is important to remember that a hundred years ago, concepts such as welfare seemed hopelessly utopian. Things change.