![[info]](http://l-stat.livejournal.com/img/userinfo.gif){kind=small}
Friends
Dec. 28th, 2009
08:41 am - Sunday Family Outing
Originally published at Deadly Fredly. You can comment here or there.
I always like to get a day of recovery after travel. This past Sunday was exactly that.
Our morning started with a trip to Mayorga Coffee down in south Silver Spring. Christie had gone there a few times as part of one of her moms’ groups, and had nothing but good things to say about it.
Hm, make that almost nothing but good things. The bad thing was that it’s shutting down at the end of the year.
Dec. 25th, 2009
09:18 am - Bandwidth
Originally published at Deadly Fredly. You can comment here or there.
So, common gaming question: if we had superheroes in the actual world, what government agency would regulate them? If you’re from the United States like me, your first answer is probably The Department of Homeland Security. But that’s too pat and too boring of an answer for me.
So I’m looking to head in another direction, one based on something that I think Rob Donoghue cooked up for a supers game once (though it might have been Matt Gandy). I don’t remember much about it, other than the idea that the folks with superpowers were regulated by (and in several cases, employed by) the Food & Drug Administration. Now that’s something that has legs, because the FDA is a weird choice, and it forces you to sit and think about what that choice means for the nature and origin of superpowers in your setting as well as the politics of regulation and oversight that got things stashed there in the first place.
So let’s go back to my original question, and turn it on its ear: starting with a particular government agency as the body of regulation, what’s the reason superpowers exist in the world, and what form do they take?
08:39 am - HAPPY HOLIDAY!
HAPPY HOLIDAY!!!
Whomever you may be, wherever you may roam, whatever you may believe.
The "reason for the season" is this: We are united by our common existence, and understanding that fact may be the best way to get us all through the cold days and back again towards hope.
So yes - Merry/ Happy/ Blessed/ Good Whatever Connects With You.
By all that's Holy and Unholy to us all, may the New Year exceed the old.
Have a good one, folks!
*big virtual hugs*
*and Godzilla breath...*
![[mood icon]](http://l-stat.livejournal.com/img/mood/charitycam/goth_boy/happy.gif){kind=small}
happyDec. 24th, 2009
11:48 am - Ho Ho Ho...
Peace on Earth
And Goodwill toward all!
HAPPY HOLIDAYS!
cheerful09:05 am - Charlie Brown Christmas - Alternate Ending (NSFW)
So not safe for work... or the kiddies... or people of faith... or with good taste.
That said, it's pretty funny.
Thanks a lot, Vault of Buncheness!
Happy Holidays, y'all!
www.deusexmalcontent.com/2009/12/real-re
amusedDec. 23rd, 2009
09:19 pm - Happy Holidays
I'm going out of town for a bit. Hope everyone has a happy holiday!
![[mood icon]](http://l-stat.livejournal.com/img/mood/classic/smile.gif){kind=small}
excited02:50 pm - Jimmy Olsen
The man did find plenty of excuses to dress up as a woman. I'm just saying.
12:06 pm - Captain Zero
I like the idea of Captain Zero. Lee Alleyn involuntarily turns invisible every night from midnight to dawn. Apart from that, Lee is an unimpressive little blonde guy wearing thick horn-rimmed glasses and working as a staff copy writer at a crappy newspaper. He's like the proto-Peter Parker.
09:00 am - Popovers
Originally published at Deadly Fredly. You can comment here or there.
Popovers are ludicrously easy to make (though the cleanup afterwards can be a mild pain sometimes). I have deep, fond memories of the popovers of my youth. I’ve eaten them with strawberry preserves and butter with an accompanying lobster bisque while sitting by Jordan Pond in Maine. Everyone should have popovers in their lives — the crispy fluffy eggy buttery goodness of them. Today, I share the recipe with you. They are this easy. Make them. Better yet, make them for people you love; they’ll know how you feel.
Dec. 22nd, 2009
09:37 pm - War of the Worlds
There is something intrinsically cool about tripod war machines driven by invertebrate aliens.
05:44 pm - Presents & Surprises (Traditional Holiday Repost)
It's that time again - the "giving" season. As folks who've been reading my LJ for a while know by now, each holiday season I post a reflection about the nature of presents and giving. I originally posted this entry in 2004, but as with It's a Wonderful Life, old friends keep requesting it and new friends have yet to see it.
Although I know many of you have seen this article before, I still enjoy putting the sentiment out there each year. If you've never seen it before, read and enjoy; if you have read it, enjoy anyway. In this hectic season, these thoughts about the deeper level of giving can be inspirational.
Happy Holidays, folks! 
------------------
The book on my pillow inspired a sudden burst of pleasure. Oh, look - a present! My disappointment when I recalled that I'd left the book there myself that morning didn't completely diminish that momentary excitement. And that, of course got me thinking...
I love surprise presents - both giving and receiving them. Many of my favorite memories of childhood involved unexpected gifts: models, books, toys, even a homemade cardboard headquarters for my GI Joes. My parents were great about leaving such presents around my room or on my bed, and I brought that tradition with me to my love and living situations. In all my partnerships, I've been known to leave surprise gifts on my lover's side of the bed... and they've reciprocated the same way. I've done it for my roommates, too, and many have done as much for me. During my relationship with Francesca, I would travel across the country to visit my beloved, enter her house when she was at work, and find cards or little gifts welcoming me "home." Of all the things I miss about a romantic relationship, I think that feeling of joyful surprise - and the ability to inspire same - for a close partner is one of the elements I miss the most.
That sensation of gifting or being gifted by surprise is so wonderful, yet so easily lost in this season of consumption and expectation. As we go into the dreadful splendor of Christmas/ Hanukkah/ Kwanzaa/ Solstice/ Yule/ Whatever, it may be worth reflecting on the nature of gifts and the pleasures they can bring.
----------
The verb "present" means "to give, to show"; related to "presence," which means "to be in attendance, to be there." As a noun, present infers both the act of giving and the act of being there. To give someone a gift is therefore to be in his or her presence, even if you're not physically... well, present. Seen this way, a gift implies that you are with your loved one. We don't often think of gifts so consciously, but the manners around giving and receiving (and the appropriate gratitude and display of gifts) keep this connection alive, if not always acknowledged.
In our society, however, this expression of sharing has become a lynchpin of social and economic survival. The act of giving has become both chore and expectation. It's like demanding "You be here NOW!" and having that same command placed upon you. It can be joyful, but some of the spirit disappears, along with the element of surprise, when one's presence/ presents is EXPECTED rather than surprising. And let's not even go into the socio/economic factors. These days, it's treason NOT to go into debt each December. And across the counter at the store where I'm employed, I see very little joy in giving.
Maybe this is one reason the obligation to give can be so onerous. When we're EXPECTED to provide our presence/ presents, that demand can rob the gift of joy. Spontaneous giving and receiving, on the other hand, is powerful. It says "HI! I'm here for you!" in ways no words can match. Surprise gifts are often more appreciated than lavish ones; I know that in my memory the model kit I found beside my bed one morning when I was seven just because holds greater value than expensive gifts I've long forgotten. (That being said, lavish presents CAN be fun, of course...) It's sad that our consumerist society has linked spontaneous expressions of affection with the old winter tradition of mass survival and the modern tradition of buying everything in sight to keep the economy afloat. The dread we feel about holiday shopping and the drama of family gatherings reflects, I feel, the shift from true presents/ presence to expected obligation (from ob - ligare, "to bind").
So - how might we appreciate and share true giving, now and every season?
1: Be spontaneous. Give for no expected reason. Leave gifts or cards on your loved ones' beds, in their mailboxes, on their desks just BECAUSE. Any time of year. These don't have to be lavish - my aforementioned lover left me greeting cards, used books and small scented soaps. It's the surprise that matters, not the cost of the gift.
2: Be memorable. A clever or insightful gift says "I am thinking of you" rather than "I spent money on you." And it will be remembered long after rich toys gather dust.
3: When giving or receiving gifts on expected occasions, recognize that each a gift carries a little bit of the giver with it.
4: Be grateful. Remember that a present symbolizes showing up in the recipient's life. Acknowledge that, and be present in return.
That book on my pillow may have been my gift to myself. For although I left it there unintentionally, it inspired me to think - and to share - more consciously about giving.
Wassail!
*hugs*
![[mood icon]](http://l-stat.livejournal.com/img/mood/charitycam/goth_boy/thoughtful.gif){kind=small}
contemplative02:54 pm - Green Lama II
The protagonist of the next book is going to be this guy; the grandson of Jethro "Green Lama" Dumont and Magga (the mysterious Tibetan woman who helped our hero out from time to time).
06:13 am - The Moon Man
This is one of my favorite pulp characters because of sheer goofiness. The Moon Man was Detective Steve Thatcher, who carried out a secret Robin Hood existence as the Moon Man despite the fact that his loved ones were gunning for the vigilante.
That's not the goofy part.
The goofy part is that he did be wearing a black cape and an argus glass globe on his head. I always got the feeling that he would stand still like a mime and hope the criminals would mistake him for the actual full moon. Maybe it even worked. Like Batman used to say, criminals are stupid.
Now that I think about it, even though it is an odd way to disguise yourself, Stan Lee apparently thought it was cool enough to use for a Spider-Man bad guy.
![[mood icon]](http://l-stat.livejournal.com/img/mood/classic/thinking.gif){kind=small}
thoughtful06:02 am - A Little Holiday Cheer
Because it just wouldn't be Christmas without zombies.
![[mood icon]](http://l-stat.livejournal.com/img/mood/classic/tired.gif){kind=small}
tiredDec. 21st, 2009
09:16 am - For anyone in Chicago, or with friends there...
Could you please boost the signal about this missing girl and of course, keep your eyes open for her? The police are considering it a runaway situation and so there hasn't been an Amber Alert, which means it's not getting a lot of media attention. Her family is worried sick; she's been missing since December 18th. If you see her, or if you could pass along the information to people you know in Chicago, that would be appreciated.
10:27 am - PDF, Print, Pricing
Originally published at Deadly Fredly. You can comment here or there.
Today I want to talk about PDF pricing, after seeing my friend Matt react poorly to the pricing of the recently released Dr. Who RPG PDF. (Don’t take this post as an attempt to jump on Cubicle 7’s case. As I’ve said before, I like the guys at Cubicle 7, and there are things I like about another game of theirs – Starblazer Adventures — that I’ve talked about before on Deadly Fredly. Heck, I was almost a part of the Dr. Who RPG project, and helped with their initial pitch to the BBC, but ducked out early on due to other time demands. This is a convenient and recent example, is all.)
PDF pricing with this product in particular is an interestingly sticky one. The physical product is going to manifest as a boxed set, so the PDF can’t bring along any physical components for the ride (though the only hint as to what those comprise is listed as “tokens” on the PDF listing). So things are already a little off the usual track here. Based on the markdown indicated on DriveThru, I’d surmise that the boxed set comes in at $60, and the PDF is showing as $35. That’s about 58% of the physical price for the PDF. Looking at Cubicle 7’s other “straight up gaming book” products, since DWRPG is their only boxed set so far, it looks like they trend towards pricing their PDFs as 70% of the cover price, so one could surmise that the math here is $60 = $50 of books (there are three in the box looks like) + $10 components (the box itself, the tokens), and thus 70% of $50 = $35.
For Matt, $35 is an abnormally high price to pay for a PDF, at least in this case. It’s a price he is deciding not to pay, at least at this time. I think Matt’s perceptions here match my own as a consumer, so I want to dig into that, and then talk about how my perceptions as a consumer affect the pricing decisions I make as a publisher.
Dec. 19th, 2009
05:00 pm - Open Letter: What is WRONG With You?
Dear Representatives of the Citizens of Our United States,
What is wrong with you?
For the past year, we – your voters, your supporters, the human beings you are charged by oath and paycheck and some would say even by God to represent – have told you our plight.
The companies paid to help us with such costs do nothing of the kind. Instead, they deny coverage, cut coverage, raise the costs of coverage without any practical or legal limitations. These “insurance companies” take as much as they want, give as little as they please, and pocket the difference as profit. In no other field, save gambling, are such practices legal.
We have cried out for reform. And you have failed us. We have come to you in person. In letters. In phone calls and protests and petitions, we have told you what we need.
And you have ignored us. Instead of reform, you seek to bind us by law to the very companies that exploit us. Some of you block reform and call your deeds “patriotic” or even “Christian.”
Others among you make “deals” that gut reform until all that’s left is a huge gift to insurance companies and another burden for us.
Here’s the real deal. You have failed us. You have betrayed us.
You are profiting from the suffering, the debts and even the deaths of the human beings in your care.
The “contributions” – and let’s call those transactions what they truly are, BRIBES – you accept from the insurance companies are bought with the money, pain, suffering and lives of We The People.
And We The People have told you as much to your faces.
What by all that’s holy is WRONG with you people?
How can you face yourselves in the mirror?
How can you get out of bed?
How can you pray to whatever you call God?
Those of you who consider yourselves “Christian” – how can you square your actions with words and deeds of the Christ? How can you square things with the Man Upstairs if you can’t even square them with us?
And how dare you claim to represent us as you hang us out to dry?
Do you even have an answer?
Because so far, all we’ve heard are excuses, slogans and lies.
![[mood icon]](http://l-stat.livejournal.com/img/mood/charitycam/goth_boy/sick.gif){kind=small}
nauseatedDec. 18th, 2009
05:11 pm - letters from the query wars - holiday edition
# of queries read this week: 56
# of partials/manuscripts requested: 0
As I mentioned last week, I am currently closed to new queries until January 15th.
However, I am still continuing to review, albeit somewhat slowly with my sprained wrist and reduced typing speed, those that were already in the queue. I've appreciated people's support and will, no doubt, continue to be thankful for their patience.
I'm seeing many of my colleagues mention that today is their last day officially at work until the New Year. Our agency is closed from December 24th until January 4th to celebrate the holidays (and probably get in some reading). In January there will be the now-annual query stats of the year, among other things.
Happy holidays.... And in the spirit of the season.....
01:29 pm - A Holiday Message to Our Esteemed Representitives
Dear Mr. President and members of Congress:
You fail.
Merry Krampusmas to you all.
nauseated09:18 am - Brutal
Originally published at Deadly Fredly. You can comment here or there.
I just finished reading Joe Abercrombie’s Best Served Cold, a sort-of sequel to his The First Law trilogy (The Blade Itself, Before They Are Hanged, and The Last Argument of Kings), in that it’s set in the same world.
I like grim fantasy (at least in some varieties). The horrible things that happen to characters in George R. R. Martin’s A Song of Ice and Fire are right up my alley (though I’ve stopped reading that series until the author finishes). Glen Cook’s work ala The Black Company also sits right in my sweet spot. It’s not that I hate heroes — I don’t — but I really relish the explosion of chaos when a plan goes pear-shaped, and the sudden, bracing losses that happen to the people in these books. I suppose it feels real, or at least not-Hollywood. I like my Hollywood stories, but I also love it when those conventions get torpedoed merrily.
That said, Abercrombie has pushed me with the books in The First Law. My little inner Hollywood got hit with a mega-quake and slid right off into the ocean. Things end so poorly for several characters in the books, and things are so brutal along the way, that I had to put a little effort into shaking it off. But on the balance, after I while I found myself thinking that was pretty frickin’ cool.
Naturally, my thoughts then turned to gaming.
Navigate: (Previous 20 Friends)