Pure Good

After starting his show a few years prior, many things came down to a moment in 1969 before a senator known as tough and skeptical. Mr. Rogers was a remarkable man and I still fondly remember watching his show as a young child.

In many ways even then he seemed a bit of an anachronism. As the world seems to speed up it is almost hard to believe it is the same place he occupied. Still his basic message will always resonate. What greater gift can anyone be given than to be loved just the way they are?

His advice is likewise timeless. Just one of the many thoughts for all ages on his website sums up so much of what could be better in our world:

One of my wise teachers, Dr. Orr, told me, "There is only one thing evil cannot stand, and that is forgiveness."

Goodbye Black Hole

Some researchers have come up with a new theory about all that unseen stuff in our universe that is propelling us apart. And no, I don't mean the local problems we all deal with.

It ties into this science about black holes and old stars. Unfortunately, this revelation is not without collateral damage. If you read the first article carefully, it may remind you a bit of this wonderful story.

[Edit] Well it looks like the Simpsons have known this for a while.

Random Amusements

Presented, for your enjoyment, stuff:

Gaming Trend

Things That Jiggle

Flame On!

Folding

Exam

Bubble Gum Blonde

Gaming Humor

Flickr Album

With a little more free time, I've had a chance to go through my digital photos and pull out some of the best. They are not hosted here: My Flickr Page.

Now we'll see if I ever get around to sorting through all those old prints that are stored away.

Remember or Repeat

Recently, Neil Young released a new album on the internet called Living With War. It is interesting to me, the reactions that this move has made. Certainly, he isn't the first artist to protest against the war and president. A single bold statement by The Dixie Chicks resulted in a boycott against them. Eminem (of all people) released a fairly powerful political video in the run-up to the 2004 elections.

On a local radio station the reaction to Neil Young's decision to release this album ranged from wondering whether as a Canadian he should be commenting on U.S. politics, to whether he was just trying to make a comeback by tapping into cheap politics, or even whether it was too little too late if he was sincere. I find this all quite disappointing. It was 36 years ago today that events spun out of control, and left four dead in Ohio. This was an incredibly important event in our history, but one that is also largely remembered due to the reaction it produced in a much younger Neil Young.

I have listened to the new album, and while I don't find it as inspiring as that effort of 36 years ago, I cannot impugn the intent with which it is made. It is the role of the artist to hold the mirror up to us and help us see our world. We shouldn't blame them if we don't like the warts we see.

White House Correspondents' Dinner

The annual White House Correspondents dinner was held recently in Washington, DC and covered on C-Span. No, I didn't watch. But, some of the video was so good it has been making the rounds on the internet.

To set things up, here is a clip from The Daily Show with Jon Stewart featuring a little Bush vs. Bush debate.

Perhaps inspired by that clip (though more likely he has no idea it exists), our illustrious president engaged in a comedy bit of his own at the dinner. Seen here as Bush and Bush.

And, finally, the very clever faux-right-wing-commentator Stephen Colbert took the stage to give his own version of the truth, straight from the gut. The first two movies on this page are good, I'd advise skipping the third.

The Role of Game Length

We had six players at Neil's this past Thursday evening for the game night. That is a tough number for splitting into two groups, so we elected to play one game. With four individuals strongly in support of Dune we settled down to play this excellent, if long, game. Ahead of time we agreed to 11:00 P.M. as a cut-off time. As it turned out there was general agreement at that time to play one more turn, which ended around 11:30.

We had spent three (very enjoyable) hours playing ten out of the fifteen turns of the game. With rules explanation the game can last about five hours. This particular game has a sudden death ending, and I actually have rarely seen it last the full time, but this session looked like it may be heading that way.

Afterwards there was much discussion of whether the length was a drawback, methods for shortening the game, and so forth. As an aspiring game designer this interests me greatly. Is the length of this game an artifact of the systems in it? Does it merely reflect a different time in the hobby, when players expected to sit down for longer at gaming session? Is it a necessary piece of the design that allows players to confront each other early and hold grudges until later in the game? In short, if you could shave the game time to be half as long would it be an improvement?

I'm not someone who believes that there is an ideal length for all games. Some last entirely too long at thirty minutes, while others are a great deal of fun whether they last for two hours or four. There are other games that I have grown to dislike specifically because they could last five minutes or an hour, and I don't want to be stuck on those occasions that they last an hour.

I have come to the conclusion that there are different game types that fit into the time available. It is often the longer games that allow for more of a story to be told, and for a greater feeling of history within the game to be developed by the players. These are exactly the sort of games I find I especially like. As a result, I'd advocate against trying to keep games short merely for the sake of fitting in a time slot. That smacks too much of the formula that led to the television sitcom.

Alan R. Moon's Start

Last week, at the Thursday session of the Burlington game group there was some discussion of how Alan R. Moon, now best known for his euro-style game designs, once worked at Avalon Hill. Someone asked me which titles he was involved in while working there and I of course had no idea. As it turns out, I just stumbled across "My Four Years at Avalon Hill", which is a list by the man himself answering exactly that question. Enjoy!