Rick Desper sent this and got it from the NY Times, Gail Collins:
Al Gore: ``The African-American experience is unique . . . the Irish-American experience is unique . . . all the experiences are unique . . . the African-American experience is uniquely unique."
((I like it.... it's unique. Hey, we all get stuck on a word. I actually voted for Al the morning I got this and am marginally excited about getting a less glib, but more moral, version of our current President. George W. Bush makes my skin crawl.....))
THE NEXT TINAMOU DEADLINE IS ANNOUNCED IN TINAMOU!
The postal sub price is a flat
$1.00 per issue in the US and Canada,
a bargain at twice the price.... but
you can double that for other foreign subbers (or $2.00 per
issue sent airmail).
Players in current games and standbys will
continue to get the issues for free, and future game starts
(except for Nuclear Yuppie Evil Empire Diplomacy, which is free) cost
$20.00 ($15.00 for a life of the
game subscription and $5 for the NMR Insurance).
After the current series of games, I probably won't
start another until the Modern game ends (that will be Modern
with the Wing rule).
Please consider joining Mark Kinney's regular Diplomacy
game start if you want to get going in one.
Let's help Mark get at least ONE regular Diplomacy gamestart.
We have to have it in us......
five players supposedly are signed up so far.
Check out the connections in the Diplomatic Pouch with all of the information you need to play Diplomacy on the Internet at:
http://devel.diplom.org/DipPouch/
Through Stephen Agar's (who is still in charge here) Postal portion of the Pouch:
http://devel.diplom.org/DipPouch/Postal/Zines/TAP/index.html
the szine resides in html format. Presently, issues from #190 to the current issue are there, and I will be updating the back issues gradually in the near future. Also, check out Stephen's more extensive efforts at (note the new address): http://www.diplomacy-archive.com
The most recent issue of TAP also can be accessed through Pete Sullivan's web page and occasionally David Wang's:
1) David has grabbed and reserved the HIGHLY prized name: www.szine.com!! David Wang's site also allows you to follow John Caruso's postal baseball league that I am in. My team finished Spring Training on a roll, with the best record in the league. We hope it translates over to the regular season.
2) For the most recent issue of Pete Sullivan's subszine check out:
http://www.manorcon.demon.co.uk/octopus/index.html
Pete is looking for Railway Rivals standbys, but otherwise, he is full with games at the moment.
By electronic mail, through the Internet, subs are free and can be obtained automatically by sending the message: subscribe tap
to majordomo of diplom.org and messages can be sent to the entire electronic mailing list by mailing them to tap of diplom.org which will forward your message to all of the people currently on the list. The message:
unsubscribe tap
sent to majordomo of diplom.org gets you off the list. Please make careful note of that as well since you generally can get yourself off the list a lot easier than I can, and NOBODY likes to see unsubscribe messages sent to the entire list. A big, big thank you for David Kovar for setting this all up!!
We have more from Brenton Ver Ploeg which should be of interest to our old timers.... This actually was a search with a twist. I actually am offering up TWO $50 rewards. The first reward was finding for Brenton - that goes to Pete Gaughan, which he will use to get some of his szine collection into the Bowling Green Diplomacy Archives. The second is for resolving a certain mystery that currently exists in our hobby for which Brenton is particularly well qualified to solve. I have shared with Brenton ALL of the information I currently have on this mystery and he will thus have the leg up to get the second $50 reward. I won't be announcing another person to search for until Issue #235 while we allow time to search this mystery. Feel free to assist Brenton or others to solve it. I shall be saying nothing more about it.
Or spend the time looking for some of the backlog. I can't believe Garret isn't on the Internet somewhere these days for example. Let's get Kevin, Al, and Jerry found too!!! Note that Brenton would love to find the woman that Jerry Lucas used as his front too. This is a regular continuing feature of the szine and I will be introducing a new ``search for'' every five issues. Moreover, you can win a $25 prize for finding some previous target who went unfound in the original $50 period. That means that if Kevin Tighe or Garret Schenck or Jerry Lucas or Al Pearson is ``found'' from now on it is worth $25. Plus, Steve Emmert will throw in another ten spot for Garret Schenck if you can get Garret to write to him.
Winners will receive credit for Dip hobby activities that I will pay out as requested by the winner. Subscribe to szines here or abroad, run your own contests, publish a szine, finance a web page, or whatever. Spend it all right away or use me as a bank to cover hobby activities for years. What must you do to win? Get me a letter to the editor for TAP from the person we're searching for.
This is very important, just finding them doesn't do it. They have to write me a letter. The final judge as to the winner of any contest will be the target himself and I reserve the right to investigate the winning entry. When you find someone I'm looking for, you should ask him to send me a letter for print that includes a verification of who ``found'' him.
Brenton Ver Ploeg (February 25, 2000)
Dear Jim: Buddy Tretick? Gene Prosnitz? Don't these people know how to stay retired? Gene was in my first (1968CI) and last (dunno the number, but it was a demo game in Hoosier Archives in maybe 1972) games. He was always a good player. ((And he still is, he's been something of a ``Colonia'' specialist for the last decade or so. That's why he is here.)) Buddy flailed around a few games I was in but whether he was an active participant is a rather more subjective issue. He dropped out of the hobby after developing an, er, quixotic reputation. ((Oh yes, I know. I'm glad as part of searching for him in this same section, I convinced him to come back as himself. I think it is the right thing to do, but he still is.... to quote Al Gore, unique. This next section of your letter is relevant to the other part of this project and I will withhold it for now, and skip to the end.))
I enjoyed your magazine, however, and if you're offering to send it to me for awhile I accept. Thanks for the project.
((You're quite welcome. We have a whole bunch of other ``golden oldies'' around here. Perhaps some of them will speak to you. I already know that Doug Beyerlein keeps in some touch with you.))
The British representative is the editor of Mission From God, John Harrington. John may be contacted at 1 Churchbury Close, Enfield, Middlesex EN1 3UW, UK.
E-Mail: fiendish of operamail.com or johnh of fiendishgames.demon.co.uk).
Please include the full name and address of the foreign publisher with your order, if possible, as well as the szine title. Make your check in US dollars out to me personally or in GBP to John if you're doing things from that end. I will conduct business for Canadians as well, if I can, but prefer to deal in US dollars with them if possible, or Canadian dollars cash. To subscribe to American szines, the system works in reverse. There has been some interest in finding a new Australian representative. Should someone Down Under have an interest, or from anywhere else in the world, please contact me.
If you've had your head under a tree, the World's Largest Diplomacy Tournament is currently underway by E-Mail, featuring over 550 players from all around the world. TAP readers who are participating are ENCOURAGED to write in commentaries on games, or teams, or whatever. You can see the commentary on the games by logging in as a guest at this website:
http://webforum.cloud-nine.com/~ worldmasters99/login
Richard Weiss (Sun, 27 Feb 2000 19:03:37 -0800)
Jim; More on the World Dip Tourney and reply to Leif Bergman:
I am playing in the game with your team member Aron Ambrosiani who as a HS student is showing remarkable tactical and diplomatic skill. However, his SCs are about to shrink. He remarked that he is used to playing FTF and the deadline is ordinarily 8 years only! He was having trouble adapting to the longer 12 years! And I'm having trouble accepting that most games will end in draws - after the unlimited life of games in TAP and the rest of the PBM hobby. The timeline does change strategy - or should. ((Yeah, it SHOULD, but many players used to playing 8 years have done just that and ended their games. Almost everyone had to ``adapt", as I believe I mentioned before the tournament started. The only surprise I had was how many TOTALLY useless HS students there were out there, good to hear one that actually played. One in my game was one of those people without a real E-Mail account and only could access the game through the web at school and he wasn't really paying attention, even then.))
In the game I GM'd I expected that there would be a little scurry of grabbing available SCs in the last 1-2 years of the game, but they voted for a draw instead. Peculiar I thought. Is that customary as well? ((This is what they refer to as ``carebear" strategies or draw whittling. There are a number of pockets of the hobby that play this way (they got down to three or four players first, right??) and many games have turned out like this. The game I GMed also did this, after eliminating World Class Dipper Chris Martin. This is a different pocket than the European continental FTFers who are used to playing C-DIPLO at tournaments with 1908 game stops. The 1912 idea comes from the British FTF tournament style, but most Brit tournaments build in a randomization, so it ends somewhere between 1910 and 1914 (??? I forget the details) and you don't know whether the game has ended until the Winter adjustment point. Brit tournaments do this by enforcing uniform deadlines though, which they couldn't do here and they didn't want different games with different ending points.))
I had thought almost no games would end as solos. For those not involved, if there is a solo, only the winner gets any points to help his/her team. If there isn't a solo, then all survivors get points. Seems a no brainer to insure that a stop-the-leader happens because no matter how many SCs the toady has, they still get zero points. I would expect that the next round will be tighter and all games will be draws. ((Probably the case, I generally agree. Forming stop-the-leaders was made more difficult by the nature of player assumption disagreements. I couldn't form one in my game, because one player wouldn't communicate at all (and this was the one that visited me in person in Providence in the middle of the game and I told him what I was doing STRAIGHT to his face) and another wouldn't put his cards on the table and I suspected had a secret alliance with the player who won. It is much easier with people in the same ``milieu" to form STL's.))
Jim, I share your sentiments of over-involvement in this one game in the tourney. I ``came out of retirement" for this game and it's been a lot of work. A fascinating game, but I already knew that I could get hooked again on playing Dip - thus I have been avoiding it. I just made a tactical error, and wonder whether or not a subconscious desire to insure I don't get into the semis was at play! ((Yes, I did the same thing in my game and I KNOW that subconscious desire was involved. After that, I was consciously playing for second place, for my team.))
Great, great time. I recommend all readers get involved in next year's tournament.
And, your joke about the chess nuts, heard that most of my life. I believe those kind of jokes are called ``spoonerisms." The chess nuts one is imperfect however, because there is not exact transposition of two or more initial consonants. The ``b" that changes roasting into boasting would have to come from somewhere and the ``r" should go there. ((Yes, it is a bad one. I was hoping someone had heard some similar one specifically for Dippers and would write it in. I first heard it in high school at my chess club in the 1970's.)) The only other one that comes to mind right now from the same vintage is something about ``singing in the nun's line, shelly" and imagine the set-up. ((Yeah!))
Obscure and not-so-obscure ramblings on the state of the hobby and its publications, custodians, events, and individuals with no guarantee of relevance from the fertile keyboard of Jim-Bob, the E-Mail Dip world, and the rest of the postal hobby. My comments are in italics and ((double quotation marks)) like this. Bold face is used to set off each individual speaker. I should also make a note that I do edit for syntax and spelling on occasion.
The game Diplomacy is a copyrighted product owned by Hasbro and all reproductions or other use of that material in this szine is intended to be personal use and not infringe on those rights in any way. All reproductions are done at a heavy financial loss to the editor and thus are without the remotest possibility of commercial intent, except to promote THE game, the Game of Diplomacy, which you all should purchase from Hasbro or other duly licensed distributors.
Bruce Geryk (Sat, 4 Mar 2000 01:01:52 -0600)
Hi Jim, In response to your personal note of some time ago:
``The new Diplomacy software is awful!! Hasbro has balls of gold, can they cash in w/such a terrible product?"
No, they're not going to be cashing in. I doubt the game will sell well. First of all, as you said, it sucks. I gave it 1 1/2 stars in my review in Computer Gaming World (see Feb '00 issue) and I've seen it panned just about everywhere. Its $45 selling price puts it in a category where it's very unlikely to sell. The whole PC games industry is changing rapidly, and is becoming increasingly hit-driven. I think Hasbro thinks they can just skim some money off the AH product line with minimal development costs, but the market won't support it. It would have worked five years ago. Not now.
I'm surprised Hasbro is involved with Avalon Hill at all in the computer game arena. They're making a bunch of really stupid moves right now (see Gunship!) so we'll see what happens.
While I'm writing, thought I'd mention that it's obvious that either Alan Stewart was drunk when he compiled his best movies of the 1980's list, or that the Rehnquist court has made him so giddy that he's unable to think clearly. ((Dish, dish, do tell!)) What about Blue Velvet? What about The Sacrifice, possibly the greatest movie ever made? Kiss of the Spider Woman? Anyone who lists Working Girl in a list like that is clearly beyond hope. ((I think he was intentionally trying NOT to be too intellectual about his choices, but that one went a step too far for me too.)) I'm not going to dignify that list with any further response. Didn't he try to pass himself off at some point as some sort of conservative intellectual (Praxis)? Now it seems he's more like the I.F. Stone of movie selection. Lubyanka for him!
((Hyork, hyork, hyork.... next up, some comments from our latest Boston Diplomatic Incident get-together.))
Chris Lockheardt (Tue, 7 Mar 2000 09:03:57 -0800 (PST))
Just wanted to say thanks to Jack for hosting the Incident and also thanks to him and the rest of you for Saturday's lesson in humility. God knows I need a full semester's course in it . . .
But I'm a damn fine bicyclist, aren't I, Jim? ((Yes, see elsewhere, where I am signing you up for the ``Devil Take the Hindmost'' postal experiment.))
I hope Sunday was just as entertaining as Saturday's session. But since there probably wasn't an Italian fleet in Brest and an Austrian fleet in Naples, I can't imagine it was.
I look forward to providing cannon fodder again for you all soon. Well, maybe not too soon, because after John's inspiring description of his eight-month old as being ``the shit" (in only the most positive manifestation of the word), my wife and I have decided to have a baby at the end of this month. Now that's called being inspired!
((Yeah! Thanks, here are some quick comments from me.... David Partridge's family all got sick and he stayed home to take care of them. So Jack and I talked about doing it again earlier than usual..... in say June. And Doug is still planning another Vermont event in July. No one was willing to pay EITHER Doug or I $25 for our autographs. There was much lamenting all round.... well, actually just from Doug and me. I wasn't able to come back on Sunday, but Ralan and his promised Tufts crowd did NOT show up on Saturday and it really was one of our smaller crowds - disappointing, you might say.))
((On the plus side, there was a hell of a Diplomacy game and I got a chance to try out Devil Take the Hindmost, a cycling game I just picked up. As I said, I did not come back on Sunday, but John Fitzgerald had a real good position as England that they were going to pick back up in the morning. Unfortunately, the Austrian and Italian players did a ``publically announced alliance" in Spring 1901 and were routed out of the game very quickly.))
Doug Massey (7 Mar 2000 00:05:15 GMT)
On Saturday there were seven players who started around noon - Jim-Bob showed up around 3 pm. We drew randomly and played 15 minute deadlines.
Austria: Chris Lockheardt
England: John Fitzgerald of AOL fame.
France: Adam Silverman, sophomore at MIT
Germany: Jack Sinnott, host of the game.
Italy: Bob Rodday (?), friend and neighbor of Chris
Russia: Doug Massey, pin-cushion-extraordinaire
Turkey: Avi Pfeffer, Harvard prof and Vermonster.
As Jim-Bob mentioned, AI announced that they were friends, neighbors, and allies. After Jack taught them the Lepanto opening (!), Chris came to Avi and I separately and told us that we needed to plead our case for AI to attack the other one. Avi and I then went away and incredulously agreed on an RT alliance. Both players were eliminated by 1905 or so.
An EFG started out, with EG tricking me into taking Sweden in 1901 but leaving my northern land defenseless in 1902. I made a horrid mistake by building F Stp(NC) rather than (SC), and it was land-locked and useless for the entire game. I never moved in the north.
EFG took turns switching allies for the entire game. I swear, two turns never passed without a change in the alliance structure. ((This is a pleasant tendency in the Incident games, except for the time that John Quarto and Pitt Crandlemire did one on me and kept an alliance that I thought was shifting.)) Jack made a mistake or two that cost him a chance at the upper hand (he walked through a center, rather than staying in it in the fall and taking it from France; he also was hemmed in too tightly by the English fleets - if I handn't messed up the STP build, though, we could have arranged something . . .). Adam scooted into the Med to pick up what he could from the AI demise, while John just lorded over the northern third of the map.
Turkey's gains in the south made him the early leader at about nine centers; I attacked him just as he was about to make a push for the Atlantic. I felt a stab was imminent; Avi says this was not the case, so it was another mistake on my part. Avi rearranged himself and stopped me cold - Germany also slipped into a center and damaged my ability to make any progress.
I then lost both fleets and was reduced to five centers and armies. EGT apparently saw fit to eliminate one variable from the game. I went from five to zero in one year. In the fall, having lost two centers already and defending War, Mos and Vie with armies there and in Gal and Ukr, I found my five armies surrounded by TEN enemy armies. They got together and plotted my demise. No set of orders could have saved me at that point.
The damage had been done to Turkey, though; France and England were now in better position than he. Germany was really stuck in the middle and Jack played Adam and John against each other as best he could, staying alive and biding his time in an effort to survive until he wasn't the best target on the board. But they took him down to four centers by the end of the night and declared an EFT draw (with 9-9-12 centers, I think) the next morning.
Sorry for the Doug-centric report, but there you go!
Jack Sinnott (Thu, 9 Mar 2000 13:15:37 -0500)
All - I had a great time this weekend and I appreciate everyone making the trip. Even with NMRs from John Quarto, Pitt Crandlemire, Dave Partridge & David Kovar for the weekend, and my own sad downfall at the hands of my ``peers", I think I can declare DipIncid XIII a rousing success. Weirdest board I've ever seen.
Jim mentioned, and I agree, that we should do this again in a month or two. So consider this an official invite - tho only for a Saturday. Unless I can get my wife, Heather, into Dip... oh god, what am I thinking? Any suggestions for which weekend? How long are you college boys in town? When are your exams? Anyone taking vacation before Memorial Day?
On a related note, Pete was talking about getting together some time for Age of Renaissance. Let him know if you're interested. Oh, and one more thing - Dave P. said he had some t-shirts. Drop him a line if you want one.
Thanks again for coming and I'll see you soon.
p.s. Doug - oops, forgot to call. Sorry. Here's a free ``Get Out of Stab" card...
Comments on the 1999 year in music are still welcome.
The tape thing is still going very slowly. I need some uninterrupted time to do it.... I need to figure out some timings and get together to actually make a master tape. Then I'll find a commercial service to copy them for me. Once I find the cost of that, I will let people know the cost. I am leaning toward a five dollar fee, so the people I've chosen below for five dollar awards automatically get them for free. There are a few other selected individuals who've been sending me tapes and CD's and things who also will get them for free.
To encourage voting early, I picked five voters at random to receive five US dollars from me (either in cash or paid to someone for Dip stuff or to get a free tape). Tony Dickinson won the Round 5 prize, so we had three of the six Round 1 voters won and one of the three Round 2 postal voters who also got five chances to win. That showed the value of getting in early!! Voters in Round 1 were Mike Barno($5), Rick Desper ($5), Tony Dickinson ($5), Drew James, Heath Gardner, and John Harrington. Round 2 postal voters were John Schultz ($5) Ian Moore, and Stan Johnson. Round 2 E-Mail voters were Scott Morris, Warren Goesle, Peter Sullivan, and Michael Lowrey. Round 3 voters were Dick Martin, Richard Weiss, and Rip Gooch. Round 4 voters were Roland Sasseville, Jr. ($5), Don Williams, Brent McKee, and Andy York. Round 5 voters were Mark Larzelere, Al Tabor, Jody McCullough, and that's it.
We'll end up with a monster party tape at the end of it that I plan to segue and sequence and copy for distribution. The result will be a great New Millenium party tape - we're going for 90 minutes. I've also been thinking that I should put this out on CD as truly emblematic of the new millenium. I don't have the capability to do that quite yet, but I think I might by then. Any suggestions (or especially volunteers) on this front will be cheerfully accepted and could receive monetary payments! The CD way may still occur if someone steps forward and actually does it for me.
So far, we have ``I Melt With You'' by Modern English; George Gershwin's ``I got Plenty O' Nuttin' '' from Porgy and Bess in the 1957 concert recording with Ella Fitzgerald finishing off the vocals after Louis Armstrong blows and sings through the tune; Duke Ellington performing Billy Strayhorn's ``Take the A Train''; Frank Sinatra's ``New York, New York''; something from the B-52's; the original Van Morrison and Them version of ``Gloria''; The (English) Beat's 12 inch version of ``Save It for Later'' ratchets things up to the next level (wherever you put it!); Buster Poindexter's ``Hot, Hot, Hot'' keeps you there; ``Atomic Dog'' by George Clinton blows the doors off, and Koko Taylor cleans up singing Willie Dixon's ``Wang Dang Doodle''. After I get timings down, I'll choose exactly which songs below make the list.
EXTRA SPECIAL B-52'S BULLPEN: (7) ``Love Shack''; ``Rock Lobster". ((A tie, a tie!!!!))
BULLPEN: (9) Nirvana - ``Smells Like Teen Spirit"; ``Cumberland Blues'' - the Grateful Dead. (8) ``Twistin the Night Away" - Sam Cooke; ``In Between Days'' - The Cure; ``Mannish Boy" - Muddy Waters; ``Shake, Rattle, & Roll" - Big Joe Turner; ``Proud Mary'' - Ike and Tina Turner. (7) ``I Wanna Be Sedated" - Ramones; ``Twist & Shout" - Beatles. (6) ``Magic Carpet Ride" - Steppenwolf; ``Crossroads'' - Eric Clapton; ``Play That Funky Music'' - Wild Cherry; ``I Feel Good" - James Brown; ``Radar Love'' - Golden Earring; Devo - ``Whip It"; ``Echo Beach'' - Martha and The Muffins. (5) ``Sing Sing Sing'' - Benny Goodman; ``Rocking the Casbah'' - The Clash; Squeeze - ``If I Didn't Love You"; ``Roadrunner'' - Jonathan Richman and the Modern Lovers.
SPECIAL ROLLING STONES BULLPEN: (6) ``Paint It Black''.
SPECIAL TALKING HEADS BULLPEN: (9) ``Take me to the River". (4) the entire Speaking in Tongues record (special call for ``Road to Nowhere'').
SPECIAL ALPHABET SONG BULLPEN: (6) ``YMCA" - Village People.
SPECIAL DRUG MUSIC BULLPEN: (8) ``Red, Red Wine'' - UB40. (6) ``Don't Bogart that Joint'' - Fraternity of Man; ``The Old Dope Peddler'' - Tom Lehrer. (5) ``Cocaine'' - Eric Clapton's version; ``Casey Jones'' - the Grateful Dead. (4) ``White Rabbit'' - Jefferson Airplane; ``Love Is the Drug'' - Roxy Music.
Drew James (Tue, 07 Mar 2000 12:53:34 -0500)
Jim, I just purchased the sound track to the movie ``The Beach". I have never purchased a movie sound track before in my life (although someone once gave me a tape of ``Clockwork Orange") . I was driven to buy this one since it contains the new New Order song ``Brutal" - their first new song in about 6 years. I, of course, knew ``Brutal" would be great, but was very impressed with the rest of the album as well. The songs by Blur, All Saints, and Faithless are outstanding as well. There are only a couple of bad songs on the album. Too bad the movie is so lousy.
((Yeah, I mean to pick up that soundtrack too. Thanks! Rick is up next responding to a number of things, including my decision to use his quote as my lead quote. Be careful in reading the following if you have NOT seen ``The Talented Mr. Ripley'' or ``American Beauty'' and intend to do so. There are some partial spoiler comments. I edited our original discussion to disguise them a bit. But some GOOD movie discussion should lead us up to the Oscars. Did you hear that some of the statuettes were stolen? Cool, now they will go back to the armed guards that used to be ridiculed by everyone. The first time they stop that, voilà, theft!))
Rick Desper (Wed, 8 Mar 2000 20:21:26)
Who was it who said ``It's nice to be nice....to the nice"? Oh yeah, Frank Burns. Any chance of voting for Bush went out the window when Bush said that he would not consider any openly homosexual people for his cabinet. I just cannot tolerate that kind of stuff. I voted for Bradley in the CT primary, and would prefer a stronger candidate than Al Gore. But usually, I'll vote against whoever the Christian Coalition endorses as a matter of principle.
((You probably heard that Rutgers beat Notre Dame last night and goes up against UConn tonight for the Women's Big East Championship. They will lose ;-) but it should get them a good seeding for the National Tournament (I would guess a Number 2). Any way that you get to see or hear these games? The Championship tonight is on ``The Deuce", I think.)) College basketball is simply not covered. I can watch one or two NBA games per week, if I want. But I prefer college. I'm not surprised that Rutgers is in the Finals. They've given UConn fits in the past, but this year's team is the best UConn team I've seen (including the 35-0 team). Definitely in the Final Four, and they should be the favorites to win the championship.
The UConn men are not quite as good. Still, they suffered a lot this year as every team they faced was juiced to try to beat the National Champs. Still they showed they could beat Duke, Arizona, Texas, and Syracuse. If they get lucky, they could be Final Four. If unlucky, only Sweet Sixteen. I predict they lose in a regional final.
I could catch some games on ESPN radio online. Or whatever Armed Forces Radio has. I listened to Red Sox/Yankees via ESPN radio. Not bad. If only the phone call was free.
While I'm blabbing...my next job will be in the DC region. My contract here ends at the beginning of July, but my Mom wants to have a family reunion in Ireland around Labor Day. I may just take the whole summer off as my last vacation.
I got the bike race game in the mail from John. Expect some press on this topic (and others) in the coming days. I hope to bring it to Baltimore, though I haven't totally fixed my plans yet.
((I really thought ``The Talented Mr. Ripley'' was dreck. Notice the way they played the end few scenes. That voiceover at the end indicated to me that they changed the ending. He was supposed to kill the last person he met on the boat (instead of the one the final script had him killing) in the original shooting script was my bet..... the movie would have been better if it dealt more with the women. Cate Blanchett and Gwyneth Paltrow were nearly completely wasted.))
I'd have to look at the book. The movie would have been MUCH better had they stopped about 15 minutes before they did. I just didn't buy the ending. It made no sense to me. I guess the idea was that he couldn't kill the other character since the whole family was there, so he had to use the other solution. But wouldn't it have been much, much easier for him to just admit that he wasn't Dickie Greenleaf? So that person is pissed off at him and the family is a bit embarrassed. Who cares? He hasn't solved his ultimate problem of confused identities, just delayed it.
I just liked the idea that they should have stopped the movie at the point where Daddy Greenleaf has decided that he's a good guy, and Gwyneth is ignored as a hysterical female.
Overall, I didn't think the movie was that great, but I identified somewhat with the guy with Princeton envy and the whole expatriate thing. ((I liked it a whole lot less than that....))
I saw ``American Beauty,'' but dubbed in German. I think I missed a lot since Kevin Spacey's voice is so important. But I was on the whole not as impressed with this movie. It seems the central theme of the movie is that you should fear nothing. Well, that's great if you're young and without responsibilities, but most adults cannot realistically follow the devil-may-care path the Spacey character takes. Still, it was a lot better than most of the stuff Hollywood makes, and certainly a level higher than ``Braveheart", ``Forrest Gump", and ``Saving Private Ryan" which were all just sentimental tripe. (Though ``Gump" was at least a nice nostalgic tour.) ((I never did see ``Forrest Gump'' or ``Saving Private Ryan''. Was Tom Hanks in both of those? I like watching Tom Hanks awful movies much better, especially his screwball comedies from the 1980's.))
I thought Ripley was a little better than American Beauty since I could actually imagine this story happening. What I really liked were the characters of Dickie Greenleaf and Freddie Miles. They seemed quite realistic to me. The story really captures the class differences well. The real thing to say about this movie is that Jude Law steals it from Matt Damon. Once Law is out of the picture, the movie becomes much less interesting. ((That's for damned sure. Jude Law was the best thing in the movie. He is a really good actor. Another movie that should have generated a ``Best Supporting Actor'' nomination was ``The End of the Affair'', where Stephen Rea played against his usual type absolutely brilliantly! It's a crime that got ignored. A really good flick, too.))
There's a common theme in Ripley and American Beauty which I've noticed a lot with Hollywood movies: it's OK to have gay characters as long as they are either dying of AIDS or they kill somebody. Ripley was rather deceptively advertised. They made it seem like Ripley was really after Marge as a romantic partner, when really it seems quite clear that he was after Dickie. ((Absolutely. All my gay friends thought that the gay characters in both movies were portrayed with DEADLY accuracy. I couldn't help it....))
In any case, I thought ``Three Kings'' was much, much better than either of these two. ``Three Kings'' was also poorly advertised. It seemed like basically a remake of Kelly's Heroes if you believed the trailers. This movie is so much more! It really captures how Americans are viewed abroad, how the media interacts with military conflicts in such a random nature, how modern politics can be so gonzo at times, etc. And it quite graphically shows how modern weapons kill. That in itself is amazing. A nice contast to the Rambo genre. ((Everyone I know who has seen it agrees with you entirely. I missed it, but plan to rent it on video.))
I think George Clooney is becoming the underappreciated star of Hollywood. For the most part, he's making very good movies with intelligent scripts (``From Dusk 'Till Dawn'' excluded - but Clooney was really good in this movie) but he's not making a lot of money. But I'd take him over Tom Cruise any day. ((His big 1998 movie ``Out Of Sight'' was probably my favorite movie that year. ``Three Kings'' looks like more of the same.))
((Next up some heavy NCAA Tournament basketball talk.... you might want to check the time stamps carefully, some of this was added at the VERY last minute... warning, warning, warning. You are entering a Shea Ralph controlled zone.))
Jim Burgess (to Rick Desper - Wed, 15 Mar 2000 22:58:09 -0500 (EST))
Rick, I just want to send some of my picks on to you so that you know I made the choices before the games started, but obviously TAP won't come out until after the games begin. From this you can construct my full bracket.
I always choose too many first round upsets, but I really hate MISSING a first round upset. To keep myself under control, I limit myself to 12 upsets out of 32 first round games (obviously the other games I have the favorite by seeding winning). ((My 13th upset was going to be Seton Hall over Oregon, which of course is the only one I missed.... but more on that below.))
First Round Upsets: Fresno St. (lots of experience, good guard play), Indiana St. (mostly a vote against Texas who I know REALLY well, but coach Rick Barnes and star Chris Mihm have a disturbing tendency to let down in the big games), Winthrop (a hunch admittedly...), Gonzaga (am I stuck in last year? Perhaps), St. Louis (NOT a fluke that they are here, peaking enough to get by Utah), Samford (another hunch, also motivated by Syracuse's point guard Jason Hart being in the tank with no back up), Creighton (they don't have the big man and they don't have the athletes, but this team WORKS harder than any team in the country, has a good young coach who will be really hot if they go deep into the tournament, though probably they just win this game), DePaul (gee, can Kansas ever play well?), Penn (seriously! Penn's Michael Jordan is a real athlete), Pepperdine (my man Chuck Wilson likes them and that's enough for me, plus Booby (sic) Knight is a disgrace, again...), Missouri (I hate UNC and this is a good time to hate them), and Arkansas (I know Miami VERY well, saw Arkansas play early and then they peaked late).
West: Arizona, LSU, Purdue, and St. John's (with form after first round upset of Oklahoma).
Midwest: Michigan St. (I like them, for awhile), Kentucky, UCLA, and Iowa St.
East: Duke, Florida (go, Billy Donovan!), Pepperdine (this is my major picked Sweet Sixteen surprise, I may not be picking enough upsets in this round!), and Temple (everyone's favorite matchup zone).
South: Stanford, UConn, Ohio St., and Tulsa (I like Tulsa getting Cinci a lot).
((Late comment, since SO few upsets occurred in Round #1, I am set up to possibly do really well in Round #2. Only one mistake at this writing, addressed below in discussion with Rich Goranson....))
West: I have St. John's beating LSU (a one seed out from LSU, with late injury having impact, I think St. John's will be on a real run).
Midwest: I have UCLA beating everyone's favorite, Michigan St. UCLA is on the run. Once I made this pick, I heard others making it too.
East: I think Temple beats Duke (Duke has a great team, but it is a year short of another Final Four run and I think this is John Chaney's time).
South: Ohio St. beats UConn (I surely am picking Khalid El-Amin too far before he has his bad game and UConn goes out, Scoonie Penn surely does it here if Stanford doesn't, I don't like the ones this year...).
I am happy getting everyone here but am at a loss as to who wins at that point. I have two twos, a three, and a six. Historically, the low seeded team always goes out in the first Final Four game, so that is UCLA and gets St. John's to the final, where I say they lose to Ohio St. I will be rooting for all of these teams at this point though. Go Scoonie and Jim O'B.
Women's Tournament: Shea Ralph and the UConn Huskies win it all. Rutgers is the other team that this szine is watching, but they can't beat the Lady Huskies. Shea Ralph has become the consummate team player this year, which makes everyone on the team better.
((I also sent a copy of my picks to Jamie McQuinn, who was trying to get Dippers into his NCAA tournament pool on ESPN.COM. I tried to put mine in, but couldn't get through to the Web Page. We'll see how I do relative to Jamie anyway...))
Jamie McQuinn (Thu, 16 Mar 2000 12:59:18 -0500)
Jim, I got to your message too late. The games have started and they locked the pool. You probably had trouble last night becaues it was so close to the deadline. I'm sure lots of people didn't get in that wanted to.
I have attached my grid. We'll see who does better. Since I know almost zilch about basketball, it should be no contest....
((Just a few differences between Jamie's and my list. Jamie missed all three of the actual first round upsets. He had Texas beating LSU, which didn't happen. His final eight are Stanford*, Ohio St., Arizona*, St. John's, Duke, Temple, Michigan State, and Iowa State* (*'ed ones differ from mine).))
Rich Goranson (Sat, 18 Mar 2000 12:35:51 EST)
The Gods of sport must really hate Western New York. I really wonder what we have done to offend them so badly. We've had to deal with ``Wide Right", ``No Goal", ``Forward Lateral", NHL rule changes after controversial losses in successive playoffs (the Bondra goal in the conference finals two years ago and the Hull goal that clinched the Cup for Dallas last year), an NFL rule change after a controversial Bills loss to New England last year that cost them a division title, two NHL rules in the last two years to combat specific Sabres players (the ``Ray" rule and the ``Biron" rule) and now we have THIS.
When St. Bonaventure beat Temple in the Pit in Olean earlier this year we knew this team had a chance to be special. They cruised through the regular season and they were 21-8 going into the A10 conference final against their old arch enemy on their home court. Yet still we thought we might be screwed. If Bona did indeed beat Temple in the final it was going to take a miracle for them to even be ranked ahead of them in the Big Dance and if they lost they might not even go at all. Such is the luck of WNY sports teams. Well they were stomped and we were prepared for the worst, but the convincing win over Dayton in the A10 semis garnered them some support and the best WNY team in over a quarter century (and only the second one to reach the tournament since the 73 Bonnies (a weak Canisius team won the MAAC in 97 and was promptly squashed by #2 Utah) got in, although with a few qualifications:
1) They got a 12 seed instead of the 7, 8 or 9 they deserved. ((I don't think so, other than Temple, the A10 was REALLY awful this year. Cruising through the A10 was not impressive. I think their seeding was just right. And that isn't to say I don't like the Bonnies, I do. They have the best home court advantage in the nation, which does help them, but they tend to rely on it a bit too much.))
2) They got placed in the Midwest regional instead of the East regional which was being held in Buffalo for the first time since 1954. ((Yeah, well, as a 12 seed, you will admit that they didn't really deserve to get that home court advantage? Only top seeds get that.))
3) They drew the winningest team in college basketball history; the University of Kentucky, as their first opponent. ((But eminently beatable, as Syracuse showed.))
4) They would be the first game in the entire tournament. ((Hey, that actually was a chance to set a tone. After they blew it, the rest of the First Round was a disgrace from my point of view.))
It was a recipe for disaster. And yet disaster did not happen. The Bona-Kentucky game was the best first round game I have ever seen in the tournament. But in the end the result was one WNY sports fans are used to...
When Tim Winn's game tying trey rattled off the rim as time ran out in the second overtime the hearts of every sports fan from Olean to Buffalo to Rochester sunk again, as they have so many times over the last decade. Is there nothing we can do to get a win in a critical situation? Is there no higher authority we can go to? Is everyone going to continually put the prize within our grasp only to take it away at the last moment? Is there a reason that leagues are so afraid of WNY teams that they have to go out of their way in order to shaft us, as the NHL has done? The saga will never end for us. The curse of the Cigarette Smoking Man is not just against the Bills; it is against the entire city.
Wide Right, No Goal, Forward Lateral, Nothing but Iron...screwed again.
Rick Desper (Sat, 18 Mar 2000 20:41:25)
I read that El-Amin sprained his ankle yesterday. Bummer. Makes me doubt that my Yahoo picks will do well - I have UConn making the Final Four. I have them losing to Stanford in my ESPN picks.
A very surprising low number of upsets in the first round, especially if one thinks, like I did, that Gonzaga and Pepperdine should have been favored. Only 3 upsets, but I got two. I missed on Seton Hall, but got the other 4 Big East teams (the conference seems to have been underrated, but we'll have to wait a bit on that judgment.)
((On UConn: yup, but either way,
if you had asked me, I would have told you that
UConn has been totally erratic all season (especially El-Amin and
Tony Robertson) and they have NO chance of making the Final Four.
I think they beat Tennessee and I chose them to beat Stanford,
but I have little confidence in the pick. UConn has actually
played better with El-Amin out sometimes (there is where
Robertson is the key and he was great against Utah St.).))
((As I write Kentucky and Syracuse are going nip and tuck. I think Kentucky will win before losing to MSU next Thursday. I'm upset that I missed on Seton Hall. Shaheen Holloway was GREAT early in the season as he came in for the fall in phenomenal shape and on a mission. But then Seton Hall really slumped badly at the end and I thought Oregon had enough to get by them. I ***hate*** missing an upset and thought about that one. It would have been my 13th upset pick, but I already picked way too many. I am NEVER going to do well unless there are a lot of upsets. I love this tournament for the upsets.))
((I do think the Big East is a great conference, it is just so big that it's lost a lot of focus.))
- - - -
Jim-Bob (Sat, 18 Mar 2000 15:09:31 -0500 (EST))
I'm nothing if not brave, but Syracuse pulled it out by 2 at the end. I'll now be rooting for them against MSU, even though I picked MSU. I have UCLA going to the Final Four and I'd like to see them beat Syracuse....
Rick Desper (Sat, 18 Mar 2000 21:12:43)
Well, I suppose I don't really think that UConn should make the Final Four, but they are the lowest seed that really could conceivably do so. (Unless you believe in Tulsa or Pepperdine.) ((UCLA is a six and they have an excellent Final Four chance, they just killed Maryland.))
I think, if they were healthy, they ought to beat Tennessee. After that, they probably would not be able to handle Stanford. Voskuhl has been a big disappointment this year. Based on where he was last year, he should have been a big presence in the Big East this year. Instead, the team was embarrassed twice by Notre Dame primarily because nobody could stop Troy Murphy, who played like Voskuhl should have played.
I think Ohio State could beat Cincinnati w/o Kenyon Martin, and think that, if somehow UConn were to beat Stanford, they would beat Ohio State because Jim Calhoun always beats Jim O'Brien.
I think the logical outcome for UConn this year is two wins and then a loss. That's about where they are. Not enough scoring, weak frontcourt play, and too many people who started thinking themsselves to be too good because of the championship (namely Voskuhl and El-Amin).
According to ESPN.com, Syracuse just beat Kentucky by 2. Probably bodes poorly for Tubby Smith, as the team has been going steadily downhill since he took over. (Which is a bit surprising to me.)
On the Big East: Yes, if you could take the top 8 teams and trim the rest off, the conference would certainly be stronger than the ACC. But the power rankings people always drag the Big East down because of the bottom few teams. With the win by Syracuse, I would not be surprised to see 3 or 4 Big East teams in the Sweet Sixteen.
((Darn, St. John's just lost. I wanted to take Gonzaga farther, but thought that I just was dealing with last year's team.... then, heading back to Rich Goranson, I responded to him, ``This has been a disaster for fun upsets..... THREE first round seeding upsets??? Must be the lowest in years and years. I picked Kentucky to win, so I was happy ;-) but yeah, I know what you mean.''))
Rich Goranson (Sat, 18 Mar 2000 15:45:21 EST)
Well, Florida needed a miracle to win against Butler and the Hall pulled off a good one versus Oregon. But the Bona-UK game was as probably as good as its going to get. And if you picked UK to win you obviously never watched Bona play this year. Kentucky was overrated and the Bonnies were underrated. This was a game between equals but conferences and reputations and not talent made UK a #5 seed and Bona a #12 seed. Siena was snubbed from the tournament and now has a good chance to run the table in the NIT after beating UMass. ((I do disagree with you about the Bonnies being underrated. You don't really have much of an argument for strength of the A10. Unless Temple really kicks some butt, the A10 will have nothing to show for this season, in the NCAA's or the NIT. The Bonnies were REALLY lucky to get chosen at all. I do agree with you in general about Kentucky.))
I think it's not a coincidence that in NCAA football you've had two teams run the table and not have a chance at the national title in the two years the BCS has been in effect. It's like saying ``Only these six conferences have a chance. If you're from another conference you might as well not even play." I'm sure the fans of Tulane and Marshall feel that way. They deserved a chance to prove it on the field, not by the biases of the voters.
The same seems to be true in the seeding in the Big Dance. If a team like Idaho State goes 28-2 and loses their conference final, they may not even get in, much less be ranked highly. Bona was screwed this year because:
1) They are a small school
2) They play in what has traditionally been a two team conference (Temple and UMass) and not a conference that is well respected nationwide (the A10)
3) They are in a rural area quite far away from urban population centres
4) They haven't been to the tournament since 1973
5) They are from an area where college basketball is very weak
That is why they were a #12 seed. That is why they drew a perennial power in the first round. And that is why they're back home in Olean now. Its money conference bias...and it makes me sick.
((In general, I am sympathetic to these types of arguments, but St. Bonaventure did NOT play a strong non-conference schedule and the A10 was even worse than usual this year. I just don't think the Bonnies were that good.))
Rich Goranson (Sat, 18 Mar 2000 16:37:44 EST)
Syracuse beats Kentucky in a battle of two perennial NCAA basketball powers. The Orangemen win 52-50 on Preston Shumpert's 19-foot jumper with 37 seconds left to advance to the Sweet 16. Kentucky loses in the second round for the first time since 1994.
Tim Winn, by Grigthor's hammer, we shall avenge thee!!
Rick Desper Sun, 19 Mar 2000 16:24:35 -0500 (EST))
UCLA? Don't know much about them other than that they finished the season strong. Don't think they would beat MSU. ((We'll see, I still think they will.))
Hey - I see Arizona lost. Not a big surprise there. I felt they were overrated. I picked Purdue to make the Sweet Sixteen. ((As did I, I had LSU making the Elite Eight, which still looks like a good pick to me.)) But now the whole West bracket is wide open. Probably should jump back on the Gonzaga bandwagon.
((Yeah, I picked the WRONG team from that conference. Oklahoma St. edged Pepperdine today and now with St. John's down, I will be rooting for Gonzaga to take St. John's place. I watched the Gonzaga/St. John's game, it was REALLY good. I still like my Ohio State and UCLA picks a lot.))
Rich Goranson (Sun, 19 Mar 2000 17:38:19 EST)
It seems you got your upsets in the second round and not in the first. ((Yeah, a big surprise. I still have half the teams in the Sweet Sixteen and four of the nine teams seeded fifth or higher that made it. The only other one of you involved in this discussion who I had a whole bracket for was Jamie McQuinn, who only had 5/16 and just one of the upsets and that being Florida who is the only five seed remaining. What is really difficult is that the teams that I knew the best, from the Big East, I had precisely backwards. The two I had making the Sweet Sixteen were out and the three I had out made the Sweet Sixteen. If you flip those five teams as well as getting the right team between Pepperdine and Gonzaga I would have had a stellar record. The other ones I missed were heart/head battles (disliking North Carolina and liking Lute Olsen and Arizona more than they deserved).))
Temple gone. Stanford gone. Cincinnati gone. Illinois crushed by a team that was lucky to get out of the first round. Maryland hammered. Arizona gone. St. John's gone. At this rate the favourite will end up being Gonzaga.
((That seems like a good place to end the discussion. I hope people weren't too bored reading this.... Go Gonzaga! Go UCLA! Go Big East! Yes, East and West.... my last second new dreams would be UCLA and Gonzaga from the West and Midwest regions, the West Coast teams in the west; and Big East teams in the East and South (Seton Hall and Miami! Our awful PC Friar team beat both of them down the stretch.... I also will be rooting for Tulsa and Florida.) ))
``So I called up George and he called up Jim, I said let's make a deal.
He said he'd talk to him. Gonna start a church where you can save yourself,
You can make some noise, When you've got no choice...
You told me useful things, what people think of me, I guess I should thank you.
It's true, then I agree... I'm all alone, I've got no choice,
I'm all alone, I've got no choice."
From ``Got No Choice" by the incomparable Mark Cutler, from the CD Mark Cutler and Useful Things.
If you want to submit orders, press, or letters by E-Mail, you can find me through the Internet system at ``burgess of world.std.com''. If anyone has an interest in having an E-Mail address listed so people can negotiate with you by computer, just let me know. FAX orders to (401) 277-9904.
Standby lists:
Mike Barno, Dick Martin, Brad Wilson, Jack McHugh, Glenn Petroski, Steve Emmert, Mark Kinney, Vince Lutterbie, Eric Brosius, Paul Rauterberg, Stan Johnson, Randy Ellis, Bob Acheson, Heath Gardner, Phil Reynolds, Paul Kenny, Sean O'Donnell Dan Gorham, and John Schultz stand by for regular Diplomacy.
Phil Reynolds, Sean O'Donnell, and Jim Sayers stand by for the Colonial Diplomacy game.
Brad Wilson, Jack McHugh, Phil Reynolds, Jim Sayers, and Kurt Ozog stand by for the Modern Diplomacy game.
Hank Alme and Art Schleinkofer stand by for Colonia.
Let me know if you want on or off these lists, especially OFF. Standbies get the szine for free and receive my personal thanks.
I have no regular Diplomacy game openings, but am actively recruiting players for Mark Kinney so he can get his szine restarted. To assist him, I have agreed to join his game. See the note in the Dip Hobby section above.
Also, from Eric Ozog: ``What do you say to me running Bernie Oaklyn's Air-Sea Diplomacy variant as a subzine in TAP? The Maricopa game is going to wind up pretty soon, and I'd still like to GM. I fit the profile: I'm a `not as young as I used to be somewhat old-timer burned-out dip-deadwood daddy,' so GMing a single game (preferably variant) in an orphanage zine (like TAP) of HOFs (Hobby Old Farts) seems to be the fashionable thing to do these days. It might help forestall alzheimer's, if anything. If you remember, Air-Sea is the variant Uncle Bernie designed, based on the standard map except it adds airplanes and submarines. Maybe even Bernie would play. I just need to clean up the rules a little bit and would like to run it as an email game, and you can print it in your zine. You can make the announcement in the next issue of TAP if you'd like, and shortly I'll edit the rules and send them to you for publication. What do you think?'' GO FOR IT, ERIC. You know that as one of my originals, you only have to ask. Send requests to join this game either to me or to Eric.
The only Diplomacy oriented opening left that I am GMing in this szine is an opening for a game of Star Trek Diplomacy! These will be the last Diplomacy game openings until more games end. See Stephen Agar's rules on his web page at (new location, and including that little typo on ``start trek''):
http://www.diplomacy-archive.com/resources/variants/rules/start_trek.htm
I decided how I will treat the Star systems and the ``revolving rings'' rule. I will keep the map as a ``code" and the real locations (which I will provide as names from Star Trek) will rotate through the coded spaces. This WILL make it easy to make up maps. The game start is open now, and since I want to STRONGLY encourage press, you can sign up and ``claim'' a race. Chris Trent claims the Ferengi, Stephen Agar claims the Borg, and Jody McCullough claims the Romulans. Buddy Tretick and Roland Sasseville, Jr., also are set to play. Chris Lockheardt has taken the sixth spot. I'm expanding my net and hope to fill this very soon, we now need only TWO more players. This game also has the $20 game fee ($5 of that refundable for NMR insurance).
Then, for NON-Diplomacy oriented types. John Harrington is offering to guest GM a game of Office Politics. Any interest in that?? Let me or John know!
Also, I am going to design some postal rules for Devil Take the Hindmost, and Chris Lockheardt is the first one to sign up (so say I). We will play with four players, so I need three more. Postal rules from me will be forthcoming.
I suppose I have to admit that no one is requesting Pontevedria, the North American game opening flyer, from Conrad von Metzke any more. You can contact Conrad by E-Mail at metzke of san.rr.com if you want to ask him about it. I'd be pleased to help anyone find other game openings on a personal basis too. The longer run solution might come out of the efforts of the Brits, on which we might be able to piggyback. If you are interested, contact Stephen Agar at stephen of spoff.demon.co.uk who still heads up The Diplomatic Pouch postal section or or join the Brit hobby mailing list at (aw, you guessed it, another new address): http://www.diplomacy-archive.com/about_this_site.htm
THE DUE DATE FOR SUMMER 1902 IS APRIL 1ST, 2000
THE DUE DATE FOR FALL 1902 IS APRIL 22ND, 2000
Spring 1902
AUSTRIA (Gorham): a VIE S a tri, a TRI S a vie, f ADR-ven, a WAR-gal, a ser-GRE.
ENGLAND (Biehl): f lon-ENG, f mid-BRE, f NTH S a bel, a BEL S GERMAN a bur-pic.
FRANCE (O'Donnell): a PAR S a mar-bur, a mar-BUR, f por-MID,
a pic S ENGLISH a bel (d ann), a spa-GAS.
GERMANY (Shreve): a mun-RUH, a ber-MUN, f DEN-nth, a bur-PIC,
a HOL S ENGLISH a bel.
ITALY (Tallman): a VEN-tyo, f tun-TYH, a TYO-vie, a BOH S a tyo-vie.
RUSSIA (Tretick): a MOS S a arm-sev, f SWE h, a arm-SEV, a GAL-rum.
TURKEY (Ellis): a smy-ARM, a ank-CON, f BLA S a bul-rum,
a bul-RUM, a rum-UKR.
Addresses of the Participants
AUSTRIA: Dan Gorham, PO Box 279, Belmopan, BELIZE, CENTRAL AMERICA ($5)
Frdan of BTL.NET
ENGLAND: John Biehl, 8809 Delwood Drive, Delta, BRITISH COLUMBIA, V4C 4A1 CANADA,
(604) 589-9124 ($10); jeen of telus.net
FRANCE: Sean O'Donnell, 126 S. Park, Oberlin, OH 44074 (E-Mail)
sean_o_donnell of hotmail.com, seanside of snap.com
GERMANY: Dwayne Shreve, 739 Union Church Road, Elkton, MD 21921 ($5)
dwayneshreve of yahoo.com
ITALY: Terry Tallman, 3805 SW Lake Flora Road, Port Orchard, WA 98367, (360) 874-0384 ($3)
terryt of sinclair.net
RUSSIA: Buddy Tretick, 9607 Conaty Circle, Spotsylvania, VA 22553, (540) 582-2356 (E-Mail)
batretick of mindspring.com
TURKEY: Randy Ellis, 9501 W 89th, Apt 201, Overland Pk, KS 66212 (***NEW***) ($10)
Game Notes:
1) Note the following from Buddy: ``I will be off line from early evening, Tuesday, 21 March, until mid morning, Thursday, 30 March. Please arrange deadlines to give me a day or so for diplomacy.'' No retreats, so April 1st is just a press season. Fall moves aren't due until the 22nd.
Press:
(FRANCE-ENGLAND): No offense in the mao just a protective maneuver.
(PARIS FEB 28, 1902): The British Ambassador, upon his return to Paris immediately requested and was granted a meeting with the President of France, ``Monsieur le President, my return will be very brief as, in this winter of discontent, I must inform you that a state of war now exists between our two nations."
(IN THE BAY OF BISCAY MAR 1, 1902): 2nd Sea Lord Fisher, in command of the fleet, spoke to Captain Hood, ``I expect you to lead the assault on Brest. Also included in your orders is a letter of marque signed by his Majesty King George V for the purpose of privateering. If you can capture any French shipping then so much the better for your career."
(OFF USHANT ISLAND, BRITTANY MAR 5, 1902): Captain Hood could see no sign of French shipping through the periscope of HMS Kipper. Perhaps, he thought, a surprise attack on Brest harbour was possible.That evening, fancying himself a `privateer of old' he shouted orders to his crew, ``Blow the ballast, ready torpedoes, full speed ahead, steer due east helmsman. Let us give `Frenchie' some `tunnyfish'!"
(I to EVERYONE): Ok, EVERYONE except France wants me to hit France. Everyone wants me to fight most anyone but Austria. Well, most everyone, there is at least one who says I do what I want there and they won't be miffed. Everyone but Russia wants me to air drop on Russia. No one liked my last set of moves, including me. So dots are gold here folks, ideas???
(DOWN AT THE BARROOM WITH SHREEVY): It was one of those really good nights at the Doo Drop Inn. Crazy Henry was arguing politics with Billy the Creep and Shreve was in fine, if tipsy form. He was chuckling about some threats that had come from some young fellow named Sean.
``Ya gotta figure that these boy wonders ain't going to amount to much, unlessen someone is stupid and goes along with them," said he, employing a long quaff of beer for emphasis.
``Me, I figure this Sean guy oughta get into some kind of remediationalist class. The kid ain't exactly stupid. Maybe he could amount to something some day."
Right then, the conversation went over to the merits of women's beach volleyball (should they be more scantily clad, and wasn't their game more exciting than basketball, no matter what the women did?)
Actually, it was a rather quiet evening. Hopefully, there will be more to report next time.
(VIENNA-GENTLEMEN): Let me talk about something other than the game for a moment. If you know anyone, or perhaps you yourself is planning to travel to Guatemala. FORGET IT! The bandits have taken over the highways in that country and the buses and trains are being robbed EVERY day. They are arresting hundreds and it doesn't seem to be stopping the out of control situation hitting that country. They are packing in over fifty in cells meant to hold two, and still they come. Just recently a bus full of college students from the states was stopped and robbed, the girls were raped and two of the guys were shot. Plus they lost everything. Be careful and DON'T go to Guatemala.
THE DUE DATE FOR SUMMER 1753 IS APRIL 1ST, 2000
THE DUE DATE FOR FALL 1753 IS APRIL 22ND, 2000
Spring 1753
AUSTRIA (Prosnitz): a surinam-MANAUS, a vienna-BAVARIA, a budapest-GALICIA,
f tahiti-SOUTH PACIFIC, a SILESIA S a budapest-galicia, a burgundy-toulon (d r:flanders,otb),
f ADRIATIC SEA S f papal states(wc), a VENEZUELA S a colombia, f new zealand-BISMARCK SEA,
a venice-SAVOY, a SWISSE S a venice-savoy, a COLOMBIA S f gulf of panama-ecuador,
f PAPAL STATES(WC) S a venice-savoy, f gulf of panama-ECUADOR.
CHINA (Acheson): a xian-CHINGHAI, a WUHAN S a xian-chinghai, f amoy-EAST CHINA SEA,
a JEHOL S f yellow sea-manchuria, f YELLOW SEA-manchuria, a GOBI DESERT-mongolia,
a nanking-SZECHUAN, a NEPAL-mahratta, a SINKIANG S a gobi desert-mongolia,
f JAPAN S f amoy-east china sea.
ENGLAND (Power): a nigeria-KAMERON, a ecuador S a amazon (d r:peru,otb), f malaya-ANDAMAN
SEA, f edinburgh-NORTH ATLANTIC OCEAN, f ENGLISH CHANNEL-east atlantic ocean,
f NORTH SEA-english channel, f java-TIMOR SEA, a AMAZON S a peru-bolivia, a fezan-CONGO,
a peru-BOLIVIA, a GABON S a fezan-congo, f sumatra-EAST INDIAN OCEAN,
f HELGOLAND S RUSSIAN f den-han (nso), f EAST ATLANTIC OCEAN-central atlantic ocean
FRANCE (Gamble): a PARIS S a toulon-burgundy, a toulon-BURGUNDY, f quebec-HUDSON BAY,
f BAY OF BISCAY-leon, f LIGURIAN SEA S a savoy-papal states, a MASSACHUSETTS-ohio,
f GHANA-dakar, a savoy-papal states (d r:toulon,otb), a SAHARA-dakar,
a ontario-YUKON, a leon-hue (d r:bordeaux,aragon,otb).
NETHERLANDS (O'Donnell): f melbourne-CORAL SEA, f SARGASSO SEA h, a angola-KATANGA,
a hague-RHINE, f TASMAN SEA S f melbourne-coral sea, a rhine-ANTWERP, a VIRGINIA-ohio,
f hanover(nc) h (d ann), a congo-UGANDA, f coral sea-SAMOA.
OTTOMAN (Johnson): a IZMIR-armenia, a jerusalem-SUEZ, f baghdad-PERSIAN GULF,
f istanbul-BLACK SEA, f hawaii-NORTH PACIFIC OCEAN, a armenia-PERSIA, a EGYPT-sudan,
f yemen-RED SEA, f romania S f istanbul-black sea (d r:bulgaria(ec),otb),
f wake-CENTRAL PACIFIC OCEAN, a KAZAKSTAN S a turkestan-omsk, a LIBYA S a egypt-sudan,
a turkestan-OMSK, f GREECE h, f iwo jima-SOLOMON SEA.
PORTUGAL (Stimmel): f LISBON S SPANISH a madrid-leon, f LAGOS S f lisbon, a brazil-MATTO
GROSSO, f goa-BAY OF BENGAL, a KHANDESH-mahratta, f BAHIA-mid-atlantic ocean,
f canaries-AZORES, a VANCOUVER-manitoba, a MISSOURI-manitoba, a mahratta-BENGAL,
a ARGENTINA-bolivia, f MID-ATLANTIC OCEAN-central atlantic ocean.
RUSSIA (Rauterberg): a CRIMEA S a poland-romania, a kiev-LITHUANIA, f cape colony-KALAHARI,
f vladivostok-SEA OF JAPAN, f malagasy-WEST INDIAN OCEAN, f BALTIC SEA S a prussia-
hanover, f KOREA S f manchuria-yellow sea, a omsk-URAL, a CAUCASUS-armenia, a MONGOLIA-
manchuria, a poland-ROMANIA, a prussia-HANOVER, a chinghai-sinkiang (d r:kashmir,tibet,otb),
a ZAMBIA S f cape colony-kalahari, f DENMARK S a prussia-hanover, f MANCHURIA-yellow sea.
SPAIN (Partridge): a somalia-KENYA, f manila-SUBIC BAY, f mexico(wc)-CALIFORNIA,
a madrid-LEON, f valencia-GIBRALTAR, f borneo-GULF OF SIAM, a ETHIOPIA S a sudan,
a honduras-MEXICO, a aragon-TUNIS, a HUE S a madrid-leon, a texas-LOUISIANA, a SUDAN h,
f WESTERN MEDITERRANEAN C a aragon-tunis, f new guinea-PHILIPPINE SEA.
Supply Center Chart
| AUSTRIA (Prosnitz): | BUD,VIE,SUR,TRI,TAH,ven,bav, | (has 14) |
| bel,NAP,sam,vza,col,nwz,pps |
| CHINA (Acheson): | PEK,WUH,XIA,AMO,tib,nep, | (has 10) |
| tai,NAN,sin,jap |
| ENGLAND (Power): | ECU,NIG,MLA,EDI,LON,kam,peru, | (has 14) |
| sia,nwy,ire,jav,fez,gab,sum |
| FRANCE (Gamble): | PAR,DAK,TOU,QUE,BDX,sav, | (has 11) |
| tau,ohi,gha,mas,ont |
| NETHERLANDS (O'Donnell): | ANT,FLO,ANG,HAG,MEL,lou, | (has 10) |
| fij,vir,con,han |
| OTTOMAN (Johnson): | IZM,JER,BAG,IST,HAW,persia, | (has 15) |
| egy,afg,bul,gua,yem,rom,wak,gre,iwo |
| PORTUGAL (Stimmel): | LAG,ALA,GOA,BRA,LIS,manitoba, | (has 12) |
| mah,arg,azo,kha,bah,van |
| RUSSIA (Rauterberg): | MOS,KIE,OMS,CAP,STP,VLA,CRI, | (has 16) |
| pol,mon,moz,swe,manchuria,mal,kor,zam,den |
| SPAIN (Partridge): | MAD,MEX,SOM,VAL,MAN,cal, | (has 14) |
| sud,tun,rab,bor,eth,hon,tex,nwg |
| Neutral: | ben,bol,bur,cam,cey,cub,die,ifn, | (Total=136) |
| ken,mor,nat,niz,num,ore,ric,tar,tim,togo,uga,vol |
Addresses of the Participants
AUSTRIA: Gene Prosnitz, 2600 Netherland Ave., Apt. 1116, Riverdale, NY 10463, (718) 601-8131 ($5)
ProsnitzE of aol.com
CHINA: Bob Acheson, 807-556 Laurier Ave., Ottawa, ONTARIO K1R 7X2, CANADA ($5)
racheson of intranet.ca
ENGLAND: John Power, 5043 Lymbar Dr., Houston, TX 77096, (713) 283-8962 ($5)
nat-john of swbell.net
FRANCE: Terry Gamble, 201 Kenney Ave., Barksdale AFB, LA 71110, (318) 752-1787 ($5)
velobus of shreve.net
NETHERLANDS: Sean O'Donnell, 126 S. Park, Oberlin, OH 44074
sean_o_donnell of hotmail.com, seanside of snap.com
OTTOMAN: Stan Johnson, 2401 W. Southern Ave. #56, Tempe, AZ 85282, (602) 454-9356 ($5)
PORTUGAL: Robert Stimmel, Apt. #57, Casa de Sherry Apts., 2462 North Sycamore Blvd.,
Tucson, AZ 85712-2541, (520) 326-8369 ($5)
RUSSIA: Paul Rauterberg, 3116 W. American Dr., Greenfield, WI 53221, (414) 281-2339 (E-Mail)
prosit of execpc.com
SPAIN: Dave Partridge, 15 Woodland Drive, Brookline, NH 03033
rebhuhn of rocketmail.com
Game Notes:
1) Note that Bob Acheson has moved to a new apartment in the same building.
2) We have six retreats, by my count, and some more fancy adjudicating. We'll see if I got everything right. Remember that if I make a mistake in Spring, you NEED to alert me to it by the Summer deadline.
Press:
(SPAIN - OTTO): Hope my letter got there in time.
(SPAIN - NETH): Welcome aboard.
(SPAIN - FRANCE): I thought we already discussed this. Go Home!
(BOOB to COLONIA'S): Kinda quiet on the press, but I know it takes a lot of effort just to follow all these units around. The Spring/Fall map appears again. I know this is helpful to me for getting a sense of the big picture, but I don't ``set up'' the game like most of you probably do. I adjudicate using the large blank map and just entering the orders. Probably not a wise idea, but that's the way I GM. Doing the paper map is my last check, note that I missed the Russian move from Caucasus to Armenia the first time around and thought that the Ottoman's got in, but doing the map made the correction obvious.
THE DUE DATE FOR FALL 1903 IS APRIL 1ST, 2000
Summer 1903
AUSTRIA (Zarr): has a BOH, f GRE, a SER.
ENGLAND (Sayers): has f ENG, f NTH, f MID.
FRANCE (Sasseville): has a BUR, f GOL, f WES, a PIC, a PIE.
GERMANY (Johnson): R f swe-SKA; has f DEN, a PRU, a MUN, f HOL, f SKA, a RUH, a BEL.
ITALY (Schultz): has a VEN, f TUN, a VIE, f TYH, a TRI, a BUD.
RUSSIA (Trent): has a WAR, a LVN, f SWE, a FIN, a SEV.
TURKEY (Munson): R a gre-ALB; has f AEG, a ALB, f BLA, a RUM, a BUL.
Addresses of the Participants
AUSTRIA: Harold Zarr, 215 Glen Drive, Iowa Falls, IA 50126-1957, (515) 648-2821 ($5)
hdzarr of dmacc.cc.ia.us
ENGLAND: Jim Sayers, 15 Holdsworth Street, Woollahra 2025, AUSTRALIA ($10)
100233.513 of compuserve.com
FRANCE: Roland Sasseville, Jr., 38 Bucklin Street, Pawtucket, RI 02861, (401) 722-4029 ($5)
roland6 of home.com and ICQ: 40565030
GERMANY: Stan Johnson, 2401 W. Southern Ave. #56, Tempe, AZ 85282, (602) 454-9356
ITALY: John Schultz, #19390, MCF POB900, F112, Bunker Hill, IN 46914
RUSSIA: Chris Trent, 8553 Banff Vista Dr., Elk Grove, CA 95624-1746, (916) 685-7772 ($5)
chrisimaus98 of hotmail.com
TURKEY: Scott Munson, P.O. Box 1042, Gardiner, MT 59030 ($5)
samunson71 of hotmail.com
Game Notes:
1) Note the small location change in John Schultz' address.
Press:
(E to F): You moved into MAO which meant I had to move into NAO, thus losing Norway. Your words may be friendly, but not your actions.
(ITALY to FRANCE): Looks like one of your buds has broken ranks! Whazzup!!?
THE DUE DATE FOR SPRING 1905 IS APRIL 1ST, 2000
Winter 1904
AUSTRIA (Reichert): has a VIE, a BUD, f TRI; and 5 nukes.
ENGLAND (Schultz): has f LON, a LVP, f EDI; and 5 nukes.
FRANCE (Gardner): has f BRE, a PAR, a MAR; and 5 nukes.
GERMANY (Barno): has f KIE, a BER, a MUN; and 5 nukes.
ITALY (S. Kenny): has a ROM, f NAP, a VEN; and 5 nukes.
RUSSIA (McCullough): has f STP(SC), a MOS, a WAR, f SEV; and 4 nukes.
TURKEY (Weiss): has f ANK, a CON, a SMY; and 5 nukes.
Addresses of the Participants
Sandy Kenny, 23 East Coulter Avenue, Collingswood, NJ 08108-1208
Jody McCullough, 1071 Brown Avenue, Lafayette, CA 94549-3153
jodym of sprintmail.com
Richard Weiss, 2777 Northtowne Lane, Apt V 1105, Reno, NV 89512
rcw23 of hotmail.com or diplomat of higherquality.com
Sara Reichert, 20805 Margaret, Carson, CA 90745-1224
sarareichert of aol.com
John Schultz, #19390, MCF POB900, F112 Bunker Hill, IN 46914
Heath Gardner, 3017 Mayview Road, Raleigh, NC 27607, (919) 834-4832
hgardner of prodigy.net
Mike Barno, 634 Dawson Hill Road, Spencer, NY 14883
mpbarno of lightlink.com
| 01 | 02 | 03 | 04 | 05 | 06 | 07 | TOTAL |
| SANDY KENNY | 4 | 3 | 0 | 5 | 12 |
| JODY MCCULLOUGH | 3 | 1 | 6 | 1 | 11 |
| RICHARD WEISS | 4 | 1 | 0 | 5 | 10 |
| SARA REICHERT | 1 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 9 |
| JOHN SCHULTZ | 0 | 6 | 2 | 2 | 10 |
| HEATH GARDNER | 5 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 8 |
| MIKE BARNO | 0 | 5 | 4 | 3 | 12 |
| Black Holed | 15 | 15 | 16 | 11 | 57 |
| Neutral | 2 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 7 |
| Total | 34 | 34 | 34 | 34 | 136 |
| Times GM Nuked | 1 | 1 | 3 | 5 | 10 |
| Ind. Prison Off. | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 |
| Greenland | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Iceland | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Kurt Ozog | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
Game Notes:
1) Note that I have finally corrected Sara's E-Mail address and John appears to have changed his location slightly. Note the additions above.
Press:
(WINTER AS RUSSIA): Build one dirigible and two snowballs, plus one extra nuclear device to take to Turkey. ((Fails, impossible.))
(SARA-GM): I received a letter from John Schultz today (10 March) and he wrote ``F112" on the envelope in place of ``D331". ((Thanks, same here, see changed address above.))
(SARA REICHERT-ALL): For some reason, the GM keeps re-printing my no-longer-used-or-available e-mail address with NetZero. For the third time, let me inform everyone that I am now at sarareichert of aol.com ((Sorry about that, it's OK now.))
(SARA-GM): I note your problems and interests in new game starts. For what it may be worth, I most certainly would like another game of OUTPOST, either in your szine or in one of the sub-szines. I am starting my first OUTPOST game in Mike Lowrey's zine. I am on the waitlist for OUTPOST games in KeithThomasson's and Chris Hassler's zines. What is my fascination with this game? It is about SHOPPING! The game is mostly a matter of deciding what to buy, and when, and for how much. Any other questions? ((I don't think I am interested in running the game, but I'll watch it in Lowrey's and Thomasson's szines and see what I think of it. I am NOT really looking for more games to run myself, but don't mind supporting guest GMs or other szines that want to start.))
(SARA-JOHN HARRINGTON): I MIGHT be interested in seeing a copy of the rules for OFFICE POLITICS. However, I cannot make an actual commitment to play at this time. For one thing, I am sure that a nice woman like me would know little about such things as ``empire building, negotiations, double-dealing, backstabbing, and perfidy" And if you did run the game, I'd prefer that it would have deadlines every other issue of TAP, as TINAMOU does.
THE DUE DATE FOR SPRING 1905 IS APRIL 1ST, 2000
Winter 1904
AUSTRIA (Pollard): bld a vie; has a VIE, a UKR, a SER, a BUD, f BUL(SC),
a WAR, a RUM.
ENGLAND (Tallman): has f DEN, f SWE, f NWY.
FRANCE (Morris): bld f bre; has f BRE, a RUH, f LON, a BEL, f ENG,
a BUR, a PIC.
GERMANY (Sayers): R f den-HEL; rem f nth; has f HEL, a KIE, a MUN, a HOL.
ITALY (Munson): has f ION, f GRE, f NAO, f CLY, a PIE, a TYO.
RUSSIA (Reynolds): has f YOR, a MOS, a STP.
TURKEY (Barno): has f SMY, a CON, f BLA, a SEV.
Addresses of the Participants
AUSTRIA: Kent Pollard, P.O. box 5726, Fresno, CA 93755-5726 ($4)
ENGLAND: Terry Tallman, 3805 SW Lake Flora Road, Port Orchard, WA 98367, (360) 874-0384 ($4)
terryt of sinclair.net
FRANCE: Scott Morris, 12110 Shelbyville Rd., Louisville, KY 40243, (502) 893-8260 ($5)
Scottm221 of aol.com
GERMANY: Jim Sayers, 15 Holdsworth Street, Woollahra 2025, AUSTRALIA ($10)
100233.513 of compuserve.com
ITALY: Scott Munson, P.O. Box 1042, Gardiner, MT 59030 ($5)
samunson71 of hotmail.com
RUSSIA: Phil Reynolds, 2896 Oak Street, Sarasota, FL 34237, (813) 953-6952
preyno of yahoo.com
TURKEY: Mike Barno, 634 Dawson Hill Road, Spencer, NY 14883 ($5)
mpbarno of lightlink.com
Game Notes:
1) Not much to say, some of this game's usual wacky press....
Press:
(ELLIS to BARNO): My. Getting dead to a pair of rookies (Pollard and Munson). Who would have thought the great fuzzy head would be losing dots to this pair whom he has dismissed as raw rookies. Then again, as they say, YOU'RE NOT ALL THE WAY JUST YET!
(AMBASSADOR POLLARD to MR.FLASHMAN): The Emperor along vith the High Command has raised the new 15th.Army Group.It is a combination of former soldiers from the now defuct 2nd. and 3rd. Army Groups and certain Upper Class men of the High Born...Together, they are the cream of the Austrian Mobile Mounted Infantry.I vould like to issue you a Command in zis strong,highly motivated group as an Advisor.You vould receive the rank as Herr.General and all of za privileges and Honors that go along vith it.........Your reputation as a fighting man and your courage as a leader has no equal...I look forward to hearing from you.....
(FANTASTIC VOYAGE TURKEY to AUSTRIA AND ITALY): Get him all the way, boys, all the way...
(FRANCE to ALL): Scott, I have recieved your psychic transmission. I know that despite any ``spoken" allaince we are still on the same page. I have felt the vibes from the East and West. We have lots to discuss, regarding our beer drinking neighbors. Please send clearer psychic transmissions for the Spring moves. Builds are easy to get the crystal ball to materialize but moves are tougher. If you get garbled transmissions we may have to actually call each other or send a mail.
(ADMIRAL PAUL VON SHERRHODT to THE PALACE OF LIGHT AND GLORY): I was hoping to avoid hostilities. Ooops!!! Your reply came too late...I assure you that the remains of the Dead shall be put to rest.(Not much left after the Wolves and Ravens had their way.)To make it all proper,my Government has invited the Pope himself to bless the Battlefield and bones of all who have fallen....Perhaps they at least will find Peace at last...
THE DUE DATE FOR SUMMER 1905 IS APRIL 1ST, 2000
THE DUE DATE FOR FALL 1905 IS APRIL 22ND, 2000
Spring 1905
AUSTRIA (K. Ozog): a tri-SER, a BUD h, a gal-UKR, a VIE-tyo,
f CON S a bul, a ven-ROM, a BUL S f con.
ENGLAND (James): a lon-BRE, f ENG C a lon-bre, f wes-SPA(SC), f STP(NC) h,
f GOL S GERMAN a pie-mar, f MID S a spa-por, f fin-SWE, a spa-POR.
FRANCE (Kinney): a mar S a por-spa (d r:gas,otb), a por-spa (d ann).
GERMANY (Goesle): a kie-MUN, a BER S a kie-mun, a tyo-VEN, f PRU h,
f swe-NWY, a mun-BUR, a pie-MAR.
ITALY (Rauterberg): f tyh-TUS, a BOH-tyo, f ION C a gre-nap, a gre-NAP.
RUSSIA (Rusnak): a ARM S a rum-ank, a WAR S AUSTRIAN a gal-sil (nso),
f BLA C a rum-ank, a rum-ANK.
TURKEY (Emmert): f AEG S f smy-con, f SMY-con.
Addresses of the Participants
AUSTRIA: Kurt Ozog, 391 Wilmington Drive, Bartlett, IL 60103, (630) 837-2813
heyday6 of yahoo.com
ENGLAND: Drew James, 8356 Radian Path, Baldwinsville, NY 13027-9357, (315) 652-1956 ($5)
dkbn of msn.com
FRANCE: Mark Kinney, 4820 Westmar Terrace #6, Louisville, KY 40222, (502) 412-3079
alberich of iglou.com
GERMANY: Warren Goesle, 3907 Cedar Ridge, #1B, Indianapolis, IN 46235 ($5)
gozcorp of iquest.net
ITALY: Paul Rauterberg, 3116 W. American Dr., Greenfield, WI 53221, (414) 281-2339 ($5)
prosit of execpc.com
RUSSIA: Russ Rusnak, 1551 Highridge Avenue, Westchester, IL 60154-3428 ($5)
RRRRRUSNAK of aol.com
TURKEY: Steve Emmert, 1752 Grey Friars Chase, Virginia Beach, VA 23456-5436, (757) 471-1842 ($4)
Lse of SykesCarnes.com or semmert of mindspring.com
Game Notes:
1) Mark Kinney will end up getting a retreat and at least one more move, but it isn't looking good....
Press:
(KURT OZOG): BTW, your favorite band has a new album out. Illinois Entertainer reviewed it this month and gave it a 6 on a scale of 10. I just may have to see their show again. ((I gotta track it down myself.))
(ENGLAND to FRANCE): I know that I have announced your demise several times, but this time I think it is about to be for keeps.
(GERMANY to AUSTRIA): No, not quite yet. Maybe I'm embarrassed here, but I am betting not.
(BOOB to ENGLAND AND GERMANY): Huh??
(ENGLAND to TURKEY): Hang in there. You never know. If the worst comes to pass, our government would be happy to host your government in exile.
(GERMANY to AUSTRIA): Well, ok, let's just see what happens.
(BOOB to ENGLAND AND GERMANY AGAIN): OK....
(GERMANY to ITALY): I've looked over all my correspondence in this game and I still can't find it. What season was it supposed to happen?
(BOOB to GERMANY): Look, if YOU can't keep all these things straight, don't expect ME to do it for you.
(GOZ to SGIH): I'm running for Commissioner of MLB. Write your favorite team's Owner and tell him to vote for me. Hurry before the Yankees win it again. ((The Yankees are goin' down. Watch out for my Red Sox!))
(JAMES to WORLD): SU finished the regular season at 24-4, not too shabby. I bet they will still be alive in the NCAAs when you read this - and not just because of the quick TAP turnaround. The only problem is there are no worthwhile sports until next fall once the NCAAs are over. ((Ooooh, not a baseball fan, eh?? Well, see the discussion between me and Rick Desper elsewhere, but you are correct, sir. Syracuse IS alive. I honestly thought that Jason Hart would continue his late-season funk, but he has awakened and Syracuse will go as far as he carries them.))
(JAMES to GM): I saw that New Zealand retained the America's Cup. I watched some of the matches on ESPN. I have known several sailors who have been involved with Dennis Conner in previous Cups and met him about 15 years ago prior to the '83 campaign so I have always been interested in the America's Cup event. Too bad the Americans couldn't get their act together and combine resources this year. We had too many syndicates poorly organized and funded. Hopefully we learned our lesson. Do the people in Rhode Island still follow the Cup or is it a non-event since it left Newport? ((Absolutely! The Young America campaign was the one that was followed the closest around here (most Rhode Islanders in it and the one that would have brought the race back to Newport). Quite frankly, Dennis Conner is not real popular around here for a number of reasons, the selfish one is that he started the trend to pull the America's Cup away from Newport. As we speak, it looks like the next challenge will not include ANY US team which would bring the match back here. I absolutely agree with you on the problem and I think it is likely we will condense to two, or at most three, syndicates in 2003, but the massive interest around here will slowly erode if we don't have a part in it. Parochial yes, but also truthful.))
THE DUE DATE FOR TURN 4 IS APRIL 1ST, 2000
| 29 (replenish with a 8): | Sir Isaac Newton (Breaking Away!) |
| 28 (no replenishment): | None |
| 27 (no replenishment): | None |
| 26 (no replenishment): | None |
| 25 (no replenishment): | None |
| 24 (no replenishment): | None |
| 23 (no replenishment): | None |
| 22 (no replenishment): | None |
| 21 (replenish with a 3): | Will Shakespeare |
| 20 (replenish with a 4): | John Logie-Baird, Alfred the Great, Luke, Darrell C |
| 19 (replenish with a 8): | Pollution, Broke Leg Meg |
| 18 (replenish with a 10): | Chasin' Jason, War |
| 17 (replenish with a 12): | Shane the Chain, Darrell B, Famine, |
| 16 (replenish with a 15): | John, Barkin' Larkin', Pestilence, Buhrt, Mock Turtle |
| 15 (replenish with a 15): | Matthew, March Hare, White Rabbit, Darrell A |
| 14 (replenish with a 15): | Mad Hatter |
| 13 (replenish with a 15): | Mark |
Addresses of the Participants - Their Team and Their Cards
TEAM 1 (The Wrecking Crew): Harry Andruschak, PO Box 5309, Torrance, CA 90510-5309, (310) 835-9202
(0 points) Tapmdfrance of aol.com
| Team Leader: Thanatos |
| A: War | 15 8 10 |
| B: Pollution | 9 8 8 |
| C: Pestilence | 7 15 14 |
| D: Famine | 6 8 12 |
TEAM 2 (The Evangelists): Eric Brosius, 53 Bird Street, Needham MA 02492
(0 points) 72060.1540 of CompuServe.COM
| A: Matthew | 15 3 3 15 |
| B: Mark | 15 14 15 |
| C: Luke | 15 4 5 |
| D: John | 12 15 3 |
TEAM 3 (Brit Pack): John Harrington, 1 Churchbury Close, Enfield, Middlesex, EN1 3UW UK
(0 points) johnh of fiendishgames.demon.co.uk, fiendish of operamail.com
| A: Alfred the Great | 3 3 11 4 |
| B: Sir Isaac Newton | 7 6 8 |
| C: Will Shakespeare | 5 3 11 |
| D: John Logie-Baird | 3 4 11 |
TEAM 4 (Amateur League Inciting Cycle Exchange): Tom Howell, 1011 West 18th Street #1,
(0 points) Port Angeles, WA 98363-7413; off-the-shelf of olympus.net
| A: White Rabbit | 14 7 15 15 |
| B: March Hare | 15 8 13 |
| C: Mad Hatter | 15 14 9 |
| D: Mock Turtle | 10 8 15 |
TEAM 5 (The Mainiacs): David Partridge, 15 Woodland Drive, Brookline, NH 03033
(0 points) rebhuhn of rocketmail.com
| A: Darrell A | 15 15 3 3 |
| B: Darrell B | 14 12 12 |
| C: Darrell C | 4 15 3 |
| D: Buhrt | 15 3 4 |
TEAM 6 (The Flat Wheel Society): John Schultz, #19390, MCF POB900, F112, Bunker Hill, IN 46914
(0 points)
| A: Broke Leg Meg | 4 8 10 14 |
| B: Shane the Chain | 8 12 9 |
| C: Barkin' Larkin' | 15 7 8 |
| D: Chasin' Jason | 5 10 3 |
Game Notes:
1) It looks like everyone is getting ready to attack the first Sprint line. Isaac has the inside track to get the first. How will everyone else line up next time? 31 looks like a hot number.....
Press:
(MANIACS to GM): Yuck! First missed the rule change, then missed the boat! ((Don't cry for me, Argentina....))
(WHITE RABBIT): I'm late, look at the time, oh my goodness, I'm late, I'm late ...
(MARK-BOOB): I'm no triskadeliphobe. I don't have time for that nonsense!
(BOOB-MARK): Your choice, but it looked pretty unlucky to you until Mad Hatter played low and kept you connected to the pack. Still, your 15 has you way behind some other 15's. The ALICE team picked up four 15's in all!
(FIELD to DESIGNER): Looks like a nice pack coming up at 26-29 next time.
(BUHRT - MAD HATTER): It ain't the crowdin ya need to watch out fur, its what they make out of hay that makes the track slippery.
(OTHERS to AMATEURS): You're doing all too well for a first-timer, we think.
(ERIC-HARRY): Have you ever noticed the service guarantee on the Post Office's Priority Mail? They promise it will probably get there in two days. That's going out on a limb!
(MATTHEW-HATTER): To say nothing of the smell�
(MAD HATTER - MARCH HARE): A very happy un-birthday to you!
(REST-TFWS): Being a nice guy earns our eternal admiration.
(MOCK TURTLE - TFWS): Nice guys come last.
(TFWS - > BOOB): I have the most uncanny ability to find the gap in the line. It's like reverse clairvoyance or something. ((Well, you didn't score REALLY well this time, but at least you made ``safe in the pack'' scores.))
(MANIACS to ALICE): As you can see from my performance here so far, it's no surprise I didn't notice you were here. I think I'd being doing better running actually.
(MARCH HARE - MAD HATTER): Maybe they'll trip over each other.
(HARRY ANDRUSCHAK-GM): ``CUISUS TESTICULOS HABEAS, HABEAS CARDIA ET CEREBELLUM" Polite translation: ``When you have their full attention in your grip, their hearts and minds will follow".
(CHEF - BRIT): Hey, I got the game in the mail. Thanks!
(CHEF - FIELD): I'll bring the bike race game to Balmer in August, most likely. Unless I decide to skip WDC this year and spend the time wandering in the Alps instead. Since my next job is in the DC area, I will most likely go.
(CHEF - MAD HATTER): Too much mercury, eh? Modern psychiatry could do wonders for your condition.
(JOHN HARRINGTON to GM): I have finally sent a copy of Breaking Away to Rick Desper. I hope he enjoys it. Ironic in a way that I was hoping to get more Americans interested in this type of game and it goes to someone living in Germany, the world capital of good board games. ((Well, he is an American and headed back here soon... let me direct people to your game company web page....)) Fiendish Board Games - makers of innovative and interactive board games for people of all ages. http://www.fiendishgames.demon.co.uk but changing to http://www.fbgames.co.uk
THE DUE DATE FOR WINTER 2001 IS APRIL 1ST, 2000
THE DUE DATE FOR SPRING 2002 IS APRIL 22ND, 2000
Fall 2001
BRITAIN (Schultz): f NTH S f ska-den, f SKA-den, a MUR S f stp, f lap-NWG,
f STP h, f ENG S f mao, f MAO h.
EGYPT (J. O'Donnell): f ARA h, a SYR h, a wsa-ALG, f GOL S ITALIAN a swi-mar,
a ser-BOS, a IRN h, f SAO S BRITISH f mao, a URA S BRITISH a mur-gor (nso),
f eme-AEG.
GERMANY (Rauterberg): f HOL-nth, a sax-MUN, a mun-RUH, a BEL h,
f bhm-DEN, a mar-auv (d ann), a LIT-lat, a CZE S a slo, a WAR h,
a SLO S a kra-pod, a PAR-bre (imp), a PIE-swi, f HAM S f bhm-den,
a LYO S a pie-swi, f bal-SWE, a KRA-pod.
ITALY (Ozog): a TUS-pie, a rom-VEN, a AUS-swi, f LIG S a swi-mar,
a MIL S a aus-swi, f cro-ADR, a MON S a swi-mar, f AUV S a swi-mar, a swi-MAR, f gre-IST.
RUSSIA (Ellis): a GOR S UKRAINIAN a mos-stp (nso).
SPAIN (S. O'Donnell): f por-SVE, a and-BAR, a mad-POR, a nav-BOR,
f gib-SOG, a bor-BRI, a bar-NAV.
UKRAINE (Partridge): a sev-ANK, a ODE S a mol-pod, a VOL h, a pod-BIE,
a mol-POD, a LAT S a pod-bie, f EBS C a sev-ank, a MOS S a pod-bie,
a KIE S a pod-bie, f ist-WBS, a GEO h, a RUM S a mol-pod, a HUN-slo.
Supply Center Chart
| BRITAIN (Schultz): | EDI,LIV,LON,ire,nor,mur,stp | (has 7, even) |
| EGYPT (J. O'Donnell): | ALE,ASW,CAI,isr,sau,lib,mor, | (has 9, even) |
| ada,irn |
| GERMANY (Rauterberg): | BER,FRA,HAM,MUN,den,hol,cze | (has 15, bld 1) |
| swi,par,lyo,gda,kra,war,lit,swe,bel |
| ITALY (Ozog): | NAP,ROM,VEN,cro,ser,mon, | (has 10, bld 2) |
| mar,gre,izm,aus,mil,ist |
| RUSSIA (Ellis): | GOR | (has 1, even) |
| SPAIN (S. O'Donnell): | SVE,MAD,BAR,gib,tun,por,bor | (has 7, even) |
| UKRAINE (Partridge): | KHA,KIE,ODE,SEV,ros,rum,bul, | (has 13, rem 1) |
| geo,ank,mos,bie,hun |
| Neutral: | none | (Total=64) |
Addresses of the Participants
BRITAIN: John Schultz, #19390, MCF POB900, F112, Bunker Hill, IN 46914
EGYPT: Jeff O'Donnell, 402 Middle Ave., Elyria, OH 44035-5728, (440) 322-2920 ($4)
FRANCE: Harry Andruschak, PO Box 5309, Torrance, CA 90510-5309, (310) 835-9202 ($5)
Tapmdfrance of aol.com
GERMANY: Paul Rauterberg, 3116 W. American Dr., Greenfield, WI 53221, (414) 281-2339 (E-Mail)
prosit of execpc.com
ITALY: Eric Ozog, PO Box 1138, Granite Falls, WA 98252-1138, (360) 691-4264 ($4)
ElfEric of Juno.com
POLAND: Roland Sasseville, Jr., 38 Bucklin Street, Pawtucket, RI 02861, (401) 722-4029 ($5)
roland6 of home.com and ICQ: 40565030
RUSSIA: Randy Ellis, 9501 W 89th, Apt 201, Overland Pk, KS 66212
Changing his E-Mail address to ???
SPAIN: Sean O'Donnell, 126 S. Park, Oberlin, OH 44074 ($5)
sean_o_donnell of hotmail.com, seanside of snap.com
TURKEY: Kent Pollard, 1541 W. San Jose, Fresno, CA 93711, (209) 225-0957 ($10)
UKRAINE: Dave Partridge, 15 Woodland Drive, Brookline, NH 03033 ($8)
rebhuhn of rocketmail.com
Game Notes:
1) Check out the Modern Dip web page at: http://www.modernhof.webprovider.com/
2) Note the slight change in the location in John Schultz' address.
Press:
(THE MEKONS QUOTE OF THE MONTH): ``Here's to a band that deals in the facts of life; in their ten short ugly years ((written in 1987)) I wish the Mekons good fortune; I sold them fame and riches and good health.'' From ``Sympathy for the Mekons'' off of Honky Tonkin'.
(TO THE MEKONS): It never ceases to amaze me how Europeans think they are so enlightened and superior to Americans in general. ((In my view, this usually is for two reasons, one is the reason we are discussing here, the other (which actually has more credence to me) is the selfishness of Americans regarding the existence of rest of the world, epitomized in this presidential election by George W. Bush's lack of interest and knowledge in anything happening anywhere else in the world. Your average European knows ten times as much about politics and current events in other countries. I will shortly be writing about this more elsewhere.)) I'm not disagreeing with the facts as presented, but I'm wondering why, when comparing Europe to the US in terms of violence, the ethnic cleansing civil strife in Eastern Europe doesn't count. ((It does count, but we tend to be a day late and a dollar short in dealing with things like this and the Europeans have to wait for us, given the world geopolitical situation.)) If you can ignore civil violence and religious strife that has been raging in some areas for hundreds of years, I'll ignore the violence that more often than not occurs in our inner cities. PS Does Hitler murdering 25 million people count?
(RICK - ALL): actually, the Modern homepage has moved. New address:
http://www.modernhof.webprovider.com/ ((See that I changed it above.))
(SPAIN-BRITAIN): Kneel down, you're too tall to whack in the face...
(BRI - EGY, SPA, UKR): I'll consider any aid based on specifics - but enough of the vagueness, please!
(SPAIN-EGYPT): May I have Mor???
(SPAIN-GERMANY): Sorry guy, I already made a deal with Britain moments before you attacked and I am a man of my word.
(VOICE OF THE GREATER REICH): We should have nice, tidy new fronts here while we see what the untermensch are up to.
THE DUE DATE FOR WINTER 1908 IS APRIL 1ST, 2000
THE DUE DATE FOR SPRING 1909 IS APRIL 22ND, 2000
Fall 1908
BRITAIN (York): a DEL-raj, a ben-ass (d r:nep,luc,hyd,otb), f ADEN S DUTCH f goa-rs,
f ERI S DUTCH f goa-rs, f HK-can, f BAN(EC) h, f ARA(NC)-bag,
f BOB-u.bur, a PUN-kam, f can-ton (d ann).
FRANCE (Sasseville): a u.bur-BEN, f COC-ann, f ton-CAN, a MAY-u.bur,
a N.SAM-ran, a hyd-MAD, a ASS S u.bur-ben.
HOLLAND (Desper): f sar-SUL.S, f sio-WIO, f ANN S f sun.s-gos, f AS S a ran,
f FOR S f scs, f goa-RS, f MP S f for, a RAN S BRITISH f bob-u.bur,
f sun.s-GOS, f SCS S f ann.
JAPAN (K. Ozog): f OS-ys (imp), a SHA S a lan-pek, a LAN-pek, a IRK h,
f ECS S f nan, f NAN S f ecs, a MAC S a lan-pek, f UP h, f ys-P.ART,
f SOJ h (unordered), a VLA S a irk.
RUSSIA (Williams): a KRA S a uru-mon, a bok-AFG, a KAR-raj, a MON-mac, a KAG-kam,
a raj-NAG, a URU-mon, a PER-kar, f EGY S f rs, a MEC S TURKISH a bag-ara (nso),
a SIK S a pek-lan, a SHI h, a PEK-lan, a TIB S FRENCH a u.bur-ben,
a CHU S FRENCH f ton-can, f rs S TURKISH f sud-eri (d ann).
TURKEY (Tallman): a BAG h, f SUD h.
Supply Center Chart
| BRITAIN (York): | DEL,HK,SIN,mal,cey,kam, | (has 8 or 9, even(r:otb) or rem 1) |
| aden,ban |
| FRANCE (Sasseville): | TON,COC,may,u.bur,ass,bom, | (has 7, bld 1 (PLAYS ONE SHORT)) |
| mad,ben,can |
| HOLLAND (Desper): | BOR,SUM,JAVA,SAR,new,dav, | (has 10, bld 1) |
| mna,cebu,ran,for,ann |
| JAPAN (K. Ozog): | TOK,KYU,OTA,KYO,vla,fus,sak, | (has 11, even) |
| p.art,seo,sha,mac |
| RUSSIA (Williams): | MOS,OMSK,ODE,rum,mon,ang,tab, | (has 15, bld 2) |
| pek,con,chu,shi,egy,per,tas,kag,sik,kar |
| TURKEY (Tallman): | sud,bag | (has 2, even) |
| Neutral: | none | (Total=58) |
Addresses of the Participants
BRITAIN: Andy York, PO Box 201117, Austin, TX 78720-1117
wandrew of compuserve.com
CHINA: Rich Goranson, 4351 Chestnut Ridge Road, #7 Amherst, NY, 14228-3227 ($5)
ForlornH of aol.com
FRANCE: Roland Sasseville, Jr., 38 Bucklin Street, Pawtucket, RI 02861, (401) 722-4029 ($5)
roland6 of home.com and ICQ: 40565030
HOLLAND: Rick Desper, Bergheimer Strasse 114, 69115 Heidelberg, GERMANY (E-Mail)
rick_desper of yahoo.com or desper of math.rutgers.edu
JAPAN: Kurt Ozog, 391 Wilmington Drive, Bartlett, IL 60103, 630-837-2813
heyday6 of yahoo.com
RUSSIA: Don Williams, 27505 Artine Drive, Saugus, CA 91350, (661) 297-3947 ($4)
wllmsfmly of earthlink.net
TURKEY: Terry Tallman, 3805 SW Lake Flora Road, Port Orchard, WA 98367, (360) 874-0384 ($0)
terryt of sinclair.net
GM: Jim-Bob Burgess, 664 Smith Street, Providence, RI 02908-4327, (401) 351-0287
Game Notes:
1) An FRT draw is proposed. Please vote with your Winter orders. Eric Cartman already is recorded as voting YES. Oh, yes, there also is a call for a concession to Chef. Cartman votes yes to that one too. Failure to vote vetoes the proposals
Press:
(KENNY IN PEKING UNDER ATTACK BY JAPANESE DIVISIONS): (SPLAT!) Stan - ``Oh my God! They've killed Kenny! You bastards!''
(ON BOARD THE DUTCH BATTLESHIP LINDHOOVEN): During a spell of rough seas last night, Captain O'Toole (the only Irish officer in the Dutch fleet) fell on his head. He is now convinced that he is T.E. Lawrence, uniter of the Arabian peninsula!
``To arms, men, to arms! We shall rally the British to fight the Russian enemy. To the Red Sea, and beyond! Let the Turks join our cause as we march on Moscow."
Sarcastic Charlie, the wry first mate, comments, ``Gee, you're supposed to be Lawrence of Arabia, and you want the Turks to join you? Wasn't the whole film about fighting against the Turks? And when did the Russians get involved? And how did an Irishman get in charge of a Dutch ship in the first place?"
Poor Charlie was immediately tossed overboard.
(HOLLAND - FRANCE): Thanks for the South Park press last time. I missed an issue.
(T to R): You heard from the Toady Ghoddess?
(ODESSA to SAIGON): I'll do my best, but it may be too little, too late. Hope you keep running amok in India, though ... who knows, Gandhi may be a Francophile.
(T to R): You heard from Williams? Me neither.
(TOAD to BOARD): Can't we all just be friends???
(ERIC CARTMAN to TURKISH TALLMAN): Hey! If Russia asks you to take some dots, go ahead! Build another army. You'll be popular. All the other kids will like you. ((He's so impressed, he refused to move either of us units....))
(F GOA - F RED): CHARGE!
(ERIC CARTMAN - GM): I vote `yes' on every draw proposed this time. For next time, I propose a concession to Chef. Not Holland, but Chef himself.
(CHEF - PLAYERS OF SMTM): If you concede to me, I'll sing you a groovy tune.
(ERIC CARTMAN - GM): Oh, I also propose a concession to the talented Mr. Ripley. That movie was schwee. But why did Ripley ignore Gwyneth while trying to get into a bathtub with Jude Law? ((Beats the hell out of me, literally!))
(KENNY - ERIC): Mmm-mmm-mmmm-mmm
(BIG GAY AL - KENNY): Little boy, ``pillow biter" is not a very nice phrase to use.
(BIG GAY AL - GM): Can you believe that some people still don't think that the Ripley character was gay? Did we see the same film? ((I don't know what movie they saw. Maybe they really were watching ``Stuart Little'' and got confused.))
(STAN - GM) I think the NBA should concede that they don't have any players have as interesting as Michael Jordan. Rather than trying to turn every Kobe Bryant or Vince Carter into ``the next Jordan", they should just let the game be for a while. It's insulting to all the players like Kareem, Bird, Magic, Dr. J., Bill Russell, etc. Also, Bill Bradley should just concede already. (Probably has done so already by the time this goes to press.)
(KYLE - GM): I think the Academy of Motion Pictures should concede that they were on crack when they nominated ``The Sixth Sense" for Best Picture over ``Three Kings". ``Three Kings" was easily the second-best picture of the year, following, naturally, ``Bigger, Longer, and Uncut". Too bad we only got nominated for Best Song. And now they want to censor it! Just 'cause we talk about ``that bitch Anne Murray". She thought it was funny! Look at ``http://www.allladvantage.co.uk/south/4.htm" for details. It's silly! Our movie is about fighting censorship, but the Oscars people want the lyrics changed or it won't be part of the broadcast! ((Yeah, what nonsense. I really, really liked your movie!))
(BIG GAY AL - GM): Oh dear me, California has just outlawed Gay Marriages! Guess it's ok for gold-diggers to marry rich a**holes they just met on TV as part of a FOX promotion, but heaven forbid two loving lifelong partners should want the same tax protections! Any pair of mentally deranged twits are allowed to marry, as long as it's one man and one woman. All in the name of ``Christian values". And I thought we had a separation between Church and State in the U.S.! The more this erodes, the worse it is for the country!
(KYLE - AL): Just think: what would Brian Boitano do?
Personal Note to You: