Posts

In this week’s WISH, Ginger asks: What do you think the value of contributions to a game is? Do you think it’s fair for the GM to give out experience or character points for contributions? If so, what qualifies? What about the informal value of contributions? Do they balance or unbalance a game? I think contributions can add a lot to a game (he said modestly). They’re not essential, but they can really help set tone and feel and they definitely make players feel more of a stake in the world. That’s not always a desired effect, but it’s an effect I happen to like, so I’m all for it. It takes a certain willingness for the GM to let go control, but that’s OK. ...

Anyone else had weird problems with Kung-Log in the last couple of days? Like… since the new year? And I can’t download a new version because the guy who wrote it is doing a new for-pay version called Ecto, which I would happily buy but it isn’t out yet. Zempt hasn’t been ported to the Mac yet. NetNewsWire is good, but you have to pop up a modal dialog box to edit your extended entries. I am beginning to feel very edgy; I’ve grown addicted to saving drafts and working on posts over time. (Just wait till you see my favorite movies of 2003 post.) I need my fix.

WISH 79 (original) asks: What do you think is the best cast size for the games you’ve played? What are the factors that go into your answer: genre, play group, gaming system, etc.? Well, once upon a time I would have said “three, maybe four.” But the Unknown USA campaign had, what, six regular players and worked like a charm. Not all of ‘em showed up every time, of course. ...

Daniel Keys Moran has another story up on his web site. It’s not really all that; it’s just social and technological extrapolation without any plot. It’s firmly in Greg Egan territory without breaking new ground. But, you know, if you still hold out hope that A.I. War will show up at some point this is your bi-yearly fix.

Tired. Synchronicity of the night: “Hey, what’s Leon Marr’s name doing on that mailbox?” “Oh, he’s in California.”

“Why is there a Mashup there?” “I’ll tell you later.” This entry, by the by, will probably not become a googlewhack (original), but only cause all of you are gonna use “Buckaroo” and “mashup” on your pages. C’est la vie. Where was I… ah, yes. Mashup #21 is Buckaroo Banzai, goofy flagbearer of 80s sci-fi pulp. All the men want to be Buckaroo Banzai, and all the women want to look at him misty-eyed across the floor of Artie’s Artery. The movie is really a revamp of Doc Savage; you’ve got the mysterious ultra-competent leader and his henchmen, each of whom has a different specialty. If you dial down and focus on the movie’s plot, you’ve got a fairly standard alien invasion plot mixed with a kind of a pod people riff and some multiple dimension stuff which doesn’t entirely matter. More important, though, is the deranged hipness which permeates the entire thing. You could say that Buckaroo Banzai is a mashup itself: Doc Savage plus 80s style. You wouldn’t be far wrong.

Phil Carter notes new rules for military tribunals (original) (PDF), including a right of review, and does a far better job of analyzing them than I would. So go read him (original).

Hey, look: more right-wing cop-killers (original). But remember, it’s the left which is the problem. Arthur Bixby is just another exception. Edit: I’m going to expand on this, because I jotted it off a bit too quickly. If you look at Bixby’s history (original), you’ve got a pretty iconoclastic guy who doesn’t respect the legitimacy of the United States government. The problem is the violence. The other problem is the strange alternative government people like Bixby make up. Being an anarchist is one thing; inventing new rules and expecting people to live under them is another. ...

Anita Mui, one of my favorite Hong Kong stars, died today (original). I guess she was better known for her singing, but I really admired her acting. I first saw her in My Father Is a Hero, but she was also pretty special in Heroic Trio, Executioners, and Drunken Master II. This makes me sad.

John Clute’s review of the new Heinlein novel is great reading. It makes me want to read the book, which was somewhat unlikely given that I’m not so fond of posthumous literary exhumations. It also takes down Spider Robinson about as nicely as you’ll ever see it done.