Friday, July 30, 2004

London Underground Map translated into German

London Underground Map translated into German

Opens to an image of the map. I thought it was amusing. I wonder if this is what it would have been like, if WWII had gone differently?

Francis Crick Dies

Francis Crick Dies

"Francis Crick, who along with James Watson discovered the double-helical structure of the DNA molecule, died Wednesday of colon cancer. He was 88."

Cineplex Odious

Cineplex Odious

"Meet Warronnica Harris and Terrell Tolson. The Florida couple got popped this week at a St. Petersburg theater after Harris, 23, allegedly refused to end a cell phone call as the opening credits for 'Catwoman' rolled. When an off-duty police officer working at the theater tried to curtail her chat, Harris announced that 'she could talk as much as she wanted on her phone,' according to this police report. In short order, Tolson, 25, joined in, allegedly telling Officer John Douglas that he would kick the cop's ass. The report quotes Harris as saying she would 'hit the cracker in his head.' In a bid to subdue the duo, Douglas blasted them with pepper spray. Harris and Tolson were eventually charged with disorderly conduct--and spared having to sit through another Halle Berry bomb."

Thursday, July 29, 2004

Woman Arrested, Cuffed for Eating Candy

Yahoo! News

"A government scientist finishing a candy bar on her way into a subway station where eating is prohibited was arrested, handcuffed and detained for three hours by transit police. "

Monday, July 26, 2004

The Howell Crop Circles and the Illuminati

The Howell Crop Circles and the Illuminati

"Here's something that has been circulating in the form of photocopies in the Grand Rapids area since last fall; I have now translated the newest version of it into an interactive online essay. Looks like this crop formation's been largely decoded! Read closely..."

Thursday, July 22, 2004

Timelord: Adventures Through Time and Space

A site of derivative material for the Time Lord RPG, orginally published by Virgin Books. I think that its a pretty good game for capturing the feel of Dr. Who.

Timelord: Adventures Through Time and Space

Bulwer-Lytton Awards

2004 Results

The winner:
"She resolved to end the love affair with Ramon tonight . . . summarily, like Martha Stewart ripping the sand vein out of a shrimp's tail . . . though the term "love affair" now struck her as a ridiculous euphemism . . . not unlike "sand vein," which is after all an intestine, not a vein . . . and that tarry substance inside certainly isn't sand . . . and that brought her back to Ramon.

Monday, July 19, 2004

Wednesday, July 14, 2004

Free Stuff from TOGC: SRD 3.5 (d20) handouts

Some nice, cleaned up and layed-out pdfs, suitable for handing out to players in most cost conscious groups. Not a bad job with the look, a suitable alternative.

TheOtherGameCompany.com

Just remember though that the SRDs do not reprint the experience progression material. So, you will need a PHB for that and perhaps another thing or two.

Wednesday, July 07, 2004

Mary Sue Litmus Test for Fantasy Fiction

This came up on a discussion on a gaming email list. I wasn't sure what it was, but I thought that it would be worth saving for a later point. It looks like it might have some use for character creation.

NaNoWriMo.org : View topic - Mary Sue Litmus Test for Fantasy Fiction

from http://www.subreality.com/marysue/explain.htm (the second result googling "Mary Sue")

"So you're scratching your head and wondering who the heck Mary Sue IS, hm? Well, "Mary Sue" is an unkind term used to describe a certain kind of character, a style of writing. She (or he) is created to serve one purpose: wish fulfilment. When a writer invents someone through whom he/she can have fantastic adventures and meet famous people (fictional or real), this character is a Mary Sue. (We don't have a name for the male version -- suggestions?)

Although storytellers have been rehashing Mary Sue since the dawn of time, she did not receive her current name until the early 1970s. The original was Lieutenant Mary Sue ('the youngest Lieutenant in the fleet -- only fifteen and a half years old') as immortalized in Paula Smith's 'A Trekkie's Tale,' which she wrote and published in her 1974 fanzine Menagerie #2. (According to Katherine Langley: 'Paula is still active in fandom and, to be sure, suitably bemused that Mary Sue lives on.')"

Wednesday, June 30, 2004

Pulp!

Pulp!

My friend Jon's website for a story that he wrote for one of his Master's classes.

Friday, June 25, 2004

The Investigators, International Private Investigators, El Paso, Texas

Check out the photo gallery and action figure links. I think that I had one of those toys as a kid...

The Investigators

"Thank you for your interest in The Investigators" [via Jason]

Thursday, June 24, 2004

Pair Nailed In AOL Spam Scheme

Spam in the place where you live...now face west.

Pair Nailed In AOL Spam Scheme

"An AOL software engineer was arrested today for stealing the company's entire subscriber list--totaling 92 million screen names--and selling it to a 21-year-old Las Vegas spammer. According to the below federal criminal complaint, Jason Smathers, 24, last year illegally accessed the highly confidential AOL list by using another employee's identification codes. Smathers, who worked in AOL's Dulles, Virginia office, then allegedly sold the list to Sean Dunaway, who used the AOL database to promote his own online gambling business and who also sold the list for $52,000 to fellow spammers, one of whom used the names 'for purposes of marketing herbal penile enlargement pills,' according to the complaint. AOL's subscriber base is about 30 million individual customers, who account for 92 million different screen names. Prosecutors also contend that Smathers subsequently sold Hathaway an updated AOL customer list--this one with approximately 18 million names--for $100,000. Both men have been charged with conspiracy, which carries a maximum prison sentence of five years. The Secret Service probe was aided by a spammer who purchased the two lists from Dunaway and is now seeking 'leniency concerning his/her participation' in the AOL conspiracy, notes the complaint."

Anxious Country Prays to Placate 'Sweating' Deity

Anxious Country Prays to Placate 'Sweating' Deity

"KATHMANDU (Reuters) - Priests offered special prayers as hundreds of devotees thronged a shrine in a remote Nepali village on Wednesday to appease a Hindu deity after its stone idol began 'sweating,' witnesses said."

Tuesday, June 22, 2004

Senate Race Sex Scandal

For all the Star Trek/Boston Public geeks...

Senate Race Sex Scandal

"JUNE 22--In what may prove a crippling blow to his U.S. Senate campaign, divorce records reveal that Illinois Republican Jack Ryan was accused by his former wife, actress Jeri Ryan, of pressuring her to have sex at swinger's clubs in New York, Paris, and New Orleans while other patrons watched. The bombshell allegation is contained amidst nearly 400 pages of records ordered released yesterday by a Los Angeles Superior Court judge who ruled on media requests to unseal documents from the Ryan case. The salacious charge leveled at the politician was made by Jeri Ryan, who has starred in TV's 'Star Trek: Voyager' and 'Boston Public,' in a court filing in connection with child custody proceedings (you'll find a portion of that heavily redacted September 2000 document below). The performer alleged that she refused Ryan's requests for public sex during the excursions, which included a trip to a New York club 'with cages, whips and other apparatus hanging from the ceiling.' While Ryan confirmed the trips with the actress, he described them simply as 'romantic getaways,' denying her claims that he sought public sex. The politician has repeatedly claimed that his divorce file--portions of which were sealed in 2000 and 2001--contained no embarrassing information that would harm his chances against Democratic nominee Barack Obama. The Ryans were married in 1991 and, in November 1998, Jeri Ryan filed for divorce citing 'irreconcilable differences.'"

Extreme Manipulations

Some are funny, some aren't.

Extreme Manipulations

Ookla The Mok

Ookla The Mok

A band with this name can't be that bad.

Friday, June 18, 2004

We Have Confirmation That Someone Has Tested A Thanatos Device

We Have Confirmation That Someone Has Tested A Thanatos Device

"We have received confirmation that, somewhere in the great Garagum desert in Turkmenistan, an organization unknown to us has successfully tested a Thanatos device."

Pitchfork MP3s

A selection of free mp3s of indie and experimental bands. Things that you aren't likely to hear on the radio (at least not in Cleveland).

Pitchfork MP3s [via Daiv]

Thursday, June 17, 2004

Ulysses for Dummies

And not the Roman one...

Ulysses for Dummies

Got His Tongue - June 17, 2004

Eeewwww!

Got His Tongue - June 17, 2004

"Meet Pamela Johnson. The 43-year-old Minnesota woman was swapping spit early yesterday morning with her boyfriend at her St. Paul home (the couple, together for about six months, were making up/making out after a fight). That's when, for no apparent reason, Johnson allegedly bit off about an inch-and-a-half of her 47-year-old boyfriend's tongue. The man was treated at a local hospital and released, but St. Paul cops were unable to track down the missing tongue and think [WARNING: you may gag if you read further] that Johnson might have swallowed her beau's tongue. Arrested for assault, Johnson was booked into the Ramsey County jail, where officers snapped the below mug shot."