June 2016
By Douglas Kent 911 Irene Drive, Mesquite, TX 75149
Email:
diplomacyworld@yahoo.com or dougray30@yahoo.com
On the web at http://www.whiningkentpigs.com/DW/. Also be sure to visit the official Diplomacy
World website which can be found at http://www.diplomacyworld.net.
All Eternal
Sunshine readers are encouraged to join the free Eternal Sunshine Yahoo group at https://groups.yahoo.com/neo/groups/eternal_sunshine_diplomacy/info
to stay up-to-date on
any subzine news or errata. If you don’t
like the sign-up process just send me an email and I will send you an invite
which cuts through the red tape. You
should also join the Eternal Sunshine Facebook group at https://www.facebook.com/groups/270968112943024/
Check out my eBay
store at http://stores.ebay.com/dougsrarebooksandmore
My book “It’s Their
House; I’m Just a Guest” is available in softcover and Kindle from Amazon at http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1501090968/ref=ox_sc_act_title_1?ie=UTF8&psc=1&smid=ATVPDKIKX0DER
Welcome to the latest issue of
Eternal Sunshine, where I have nothing very interesting to say and all the
space in the world to say it. But I
won’t waste your time; unless something comes up during the day this section
will be short and sweet.
Jack McHugh, Larry Peery, Paul Milewski and (I hope) Jim Burgess all appear this issue
with their columns and subzines. Check them out.
We have two new game openings. I am offering game of Balkan Wars VI (rules
and map in this issue) and Roger Cox has officially offered a game of
Dune. You can sign up for either
directly with me.
Due to lack of interest the game
opening for Modern Diplomacy has finally been cancelled.
If there is a variant you’d like to
see, please let me know. One individual
suggested Colonial Diplomacy (not Colonia VII but the game Avalon Hill sold
themselves) but I never liked that variant so its one
of the ones I don’t have an interest in running.
Don’t forget Father’s Day is just
around the corner…encourage everyone to check out my
eBay store…the link is listed above.
Over 1500 items included rare signed and numbered books, First Edition
volumes, and other stuff. Tell your
friends and relatives! I need more
people promoting it…please???
Oh, and I’ve become more active on
Twitter lately. Some of my tweets get
automatically posted to my Facebook page, but other’s don’t.
My main ID is @EternalSunshDip and then my
“author page” is @itstheirhouse. So feel free to follow me there if you need
more of my wit and wisdom. Bwahahaha.
See you in July! Stay cool!
Last month we gave
you two questions:
#1 – You have a
struggling young company. You have to
choose between two equal candidates for a job: a man and a woman. The woman will work for $5,000 per year less
than the man. Do you hire her for that
reason?
Andy York - I would choose the most qualified candidate without regard to
the pay (as I would not have talked specifics with any of them). I would, in
the interview, discuss any limitations on the pay scale (especially the maximum
that I'd spend). Once the candidate was chosen, maybe through a second
interview or skills demonstration/test, then the specifics of pay would be
discussed with the selectee. I wouldn't play one candidate against the other,
trying to get the "cheapest." If the first person turned me down,
then I'd discuss pay specifics with the second candidate.
John David Galt - It depends on what my company does and needs. Economists know that the "wage gap"
in the real world simply reflects the fact that women, more often than men,
will take time off to have families. If
I thought that possibility likely to cost my company more than $5,000/year, I'd
hire the man. If less,
I'd hire the woman.
Kevin Wilson - Yes, I hire the woman but not because she’s a woman but
because she willing to work for less.
Why she’s willing to work for less isn’t my concern provided the
candidates truly are equal in all other respects.
Don Del Grande - It depends on how you discovered that she would work for
less. If they both put in "minimum
salary requests" separately, and hers was $5000 lower, and everything else
is equal, then I probably would - and had the man put in the $5000 lower bid,
then I would hire him for the same reason.
On the other hand, if she comes right out and says, "I'll work for
$5000 less than what the men want," then no, I wouldn't - at least, not
for that reason.
Steve Cooley - No. I’m going to hire whomever I think will help me the most,
which is entirely subjective. The objective part has been declared a tie.
Andy Lischett - If the candidates
for the job are really equal, yes, I hire the woman for less money, just as I
would hire the man for less. Of course, I would wonder why the woman was
willing to take less.
Roger Cox - No, wouldn't hire the woman on that basis.
Melinda Holley - No. I hire based on
(1) experience (2) qualifications (3) references.
Jack McHugh - Not sure i'd be doing anyone a
favor by hiring them to a failing company.
Dick Martin - sure, i'd hire the cheaper of
equals in any case.
Tom Howell - Equal? If one is
willing to work for $5k less a year, they ain't
equal! Even with the same training and
same life experiences - that last is impossible, anyway - a man and a woman are
going to approach problems from different directions. However, in this instance, the bottom line,
so to speak, is your first condition: a young, struggling company. I would hire either of them at the pay level
the position was advertised
at. If, for some other factor, the man appeared
preferable, but declined the job offer because of the pay, I'd give the woman
the offer; at the advertised pay level. [[Pay
levels are rarely advertised any longer or even hinted at until you’re in an
interview. They almost always ask you to
submit your salary requirements.]]
Mark Firth - Fairly sure our (neither small nor struggling) company would
take the cheaper of two otherwise equal candidates for one post. Gender
wouldn't be considered. If they were of
sufficient merit, we'd probably look to create two posts.
#2 – You dislike all
the Presidential political candidates in the general election, and their
parties. Do you vote?
Andy
York - Absolutely (and I have, though not in a
presidential race). I always vote for the "best"
candidate, in my opinion, even if I didn't agree with their position on a
specific point (I'm not a one-issue voter). If I couldn't choose a
"best" candidate (or, I suppose, least worst), you always have the
write-in option. As a side note, I do look at all candidates - even those that
aren't in a major party.
John David Galt - I would (and often do) vote for the least bad minor-party
candidate. If there aren't any, then I
don't vote.
Kevin Wilson - Yes, I vote. While it
may be a lesser of two (or more) evils choice, one will still likely be less
likely to piss me off than the rest. If
people choose not to vote because they don’t like any, the chances of the
absolute worst winning increases and that should be avoided. Now, if there was ever a test of this theory,
this cycle may provide the opportunity.
Don Del Grande - Yes - just as I have voted in every election, presidential or
not, since I turned 18. This includes
elections where (a) the only thing on the ballot was a community college board
race with three openings and three names on the ballot, and (b) a special
election in March where the only thing on the ballot was an elementary school
tax increase (and the only reason it was there was because the same issue lost
by one vote in the previous regular election - and yes, the tax increase was
higher the second time to pay for the special election).
Steve Cooley - That’s impossible! It could never happen!
Oh.
Yes, I *will* vote. In that “unlikely” event, I would vote for a
minor party candidate, or write-in a friend. Isn’t Edi
Birsan eligible, even though he’s originally from New
York?
Andy Lischett - 1972 was the
first election in which I could vote and while I voted in congressional and
state races, I did not vote for Nixon or McGovern. This time around I feel that
Hillary Clinton would just build on the leftist, big-government, incompetent
and imperial presidency of Obama, so I MIGHT vote for Trump, even though he is
a pig. I don't know yet.
Roger Cox - Yes, I would simply not vote if I disliked EVERY party and
candidate.
Melinda Holley - Yes. If nothing else, I write in a candidate.
Jack McHugh - I'd vote third party....done it in the past...
Dick
Martin - always. since the 1980 election (the first i was eligible for) i've voted in
every one...and only voted for the winner once!
Tom Howell - Yes, for the least of the evils.
Mark Firth - I would and indeed have, including two spoiled ballot papers.
For Next
Month (For the time being, I am often selecting questions from the game “A
Question of Scruples” which was published in 1984 by High Games Enterprises). Remember you can make your answers as
detailed as you wish..but “this could never happen” is
a cop out answer: #1 – The person you have been living with hints at suicide if
you carry out your intention to leave.
Do you leave as intended? #2 –
You and your mate expect loyalty and honesty from one another. One night, out of town, you have a
fling. Do you tell?
For
the time being I am reserving this section for exceptional films, or films we
see in theaters. I will also mention
films that I backed on Kickstarter or other places, once I get to see them, and
films made by some of my friends or acquaintances. So some months there will be no Dining Dead
section.
Film Review – A Dog
Named Gucci: If you are familiar
with the work of Writer and Director Gorman Bechard, it may be from his early dark
comedies like Psychos in Love and Friends (with Benefits). Or perhaps the moody You
Are Alone (which was based in part on his novel Ninth Square). More recently Bechard has made a name for
himself in music-focused documentaries, notably Color Me Obsessed: A Film About the Replacements and the upcoming Who is Lydia
Loveless?
With
that kind of track record, A Dog Named Gucci may seem to be quite a
departure. But it only takes a few
minutes of the film to realize this is a subject he understands and cares
deeply about. And it takes a special
craftsman to tackle the topic of animal cruelty, and more specifically the
struggle to enact tougher laws against it, without simply going the easy route
of tear-jerking horrors and melodramatic soundtrack music.
I’m
not trying to say you won’t cry when you watch this film. If you have any kind of heart, you will. But you will also be inspired to stand up and
be counted, to speak out for those who have no voice. And you will have a much better understanding
of just how difficult it was to get many of today’s laws in place, and just as
importantly you’ll see that laws serve no purpose when time and again
prosecutors choose not to pursue cases, or judges let the guilty off with a
slap on the wrist because…well, because, after all, it’s just a dog.
Most
of the film tells the story of Gucci, who became the face of animal cruelty in
1990’s Alabama (and beyond). As a
ten-week old puppy, Gucci was owned by a 15-year old runaway. As “punishment” for refusing to date a local
teenager, a group of males took Gucci from this girl, hung him by his neck,
doused him with lighter fluid, and set him on fire. Doug James, an Adjunct Professor who was in
the process of selling his home up the street, had been standing on his porch
awaiting a prospective buyer. Hearing
the dog’s cries, he and another neighbor rescued Gucci – still aflame – from
under a house, doused him with water to extinguish the fire, and returned him
to the girl. But she knew there was
nobody she could turn to who could help this poor suffering creature, so she
begged Doug to take him and help him, which he did. Gucci was eerily quiet all night, and Doug
didn’t expect him to survive to the next morning. But Gucci was a fighter, and he did survive.
With
this nightmare begins a multi-year fight to change the laws against animal
abuse in Alabama. The prosecutor found
he had to charge the thugs with destruction of property (pets being considered
nothing more at the time) because the laws were written in such a way that
setting fire to a couch carried a heavier punishment than strictly being
charged with animal cruelty. Building a
large following through the state and the south, Gucci became the face of the
movement to change those laws and make animal cruelty a felony in Alabama.
Bechard’s
direction style puts all the horrors Gucci and the other dogs he features
suffered through right on the table, but is careful to keep the story moving in
a forward direction. Instead of 90
minutes of happy endings, focus is constantly redirected at how difficult it is
to get laws to change. The “Gucci Bill”
as it became known took 6 years before it was finally passed and signed. Along the way exclusions had to be inserted
about the right of a landowner to shoot a dog with a BB gun if it is going to
the bathroom on his property. The
details of how the debates are shaped, and how asinine some of the arguments
against it become, will motivate and energize you to be more involved in strengthening
the laws of your own state. Other cases
are looked at that were used as rallying cries to change laws in North Carolina
and Ohio; South Dakota became the 50th – and last – state to make
animal cruelty a felony only a few years ago.
And,
of course, the fight doesn’t stop there.
Bechard never hits the audience over the head with anything, never
browbeats. He just spells out the facts,
and displays the human emotion and the faces of those who have suffered. Animal abuse is a major problem in this
country; it isn’t just kids throwing rocks at stray dogs. Public pressure is the only way to make sure
cases are actually prosecuted, and that punishments are handed down by the
judges in a serious fashion. One poor
dog who gets just a moment on the screen had been
blown up by explosives; punishment in that case was a joke. The interviews with prosecutors and animal
control officers are bright lights focused on what people need to do if this
problem will be treated more seriously.
The public must keep the pressure on local and state politicians, and
need to show support for prosecutors when they are trying cases against animal
abusers. As one woman says, in a
courtroom there is often a group of people sitting behind the defendant…but for
the victim, nobody. And these victims
cannot speak for themselves.
The
credits include the song “One Voice” – featuring stars like Niko Case, Lydia
Loveless, Norah Jones, Aimee Mann, Susanna Hoffs, and Queen’s Brian May - which
can be purchased through ITunes (the proceeds from the song go entirely to support
the cause of animal rights and the fight against animal abuse). And, if you could do me a personal favor,
watch the film all the way to the end of the credits, until the screen goes
dark.
A
Dog Named Gucci is available on DVD from Amazon and can be viewed on demand
from multiple sources. There have also
been local screenings, sponsored by various animal organizations and rescue
groups, so keep your eye out for one of those.
I urge you to watch this film, and then tell five other people about it. Buy the DVD as a gift for others if
necessary…I did. Spread the word. One person, one voice, CAN make a difference. Doug James proved that, and so did Gucci.
To ll of those who wrote in about how I
should have ended Kendo Nagasaki last issue after Turn 10…yeah, I know. I forgot.
But it was worth it since someone guessed the right answer this turn
anyway. A new game starts this issue, so
send in your guess!
Andy Lischett – (regarding Kendo Nagasaki)
I give up. I can't find an airport within 500 miles of Vele
that hasn't been picked already, either because I'm stupid or I'm dumb. Maybe
it's an island too small to show up on a Google map of the South Pacific. I
don't know. Then I tried nations within 500 miles of Vele
that issue stamps and found none not already picked. What am I missing? If I am
inspired before 7 tomorrow morning I'll send in a new guess, but for now my
Round 11 pick is...Jeanne Claude Van Damme in
Boston. [[Andy later changed his pick]]
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The Eternal Sunshine
Dead Pool
Richard Weiss won this hands down just with one correct prediction: Jihadi
John. I’ll be in touch about a prize.
The 1960’s or 1970’s
or 1980’s – Any Leftovers
Howard Bishop - In a vain attempt
to catch up a bit, here are my 80's picks.
Top
10 from the 80's [[these are the 10 that count]]
Stan
Ridgway - The Big Heat
The
Waterboys - This Is The Sea
REM
- Document
The
Fall - Hex Enduction Hour
The
Smiths - Hatful Of Hollow
Echo
& The Bunnymen -
Porcupine
Beastie
Boys - Paul's Boutique
Wall
Of Voodoo - Call Of The West
Billy
Bragg - Life's A Riot
The
Cure - Boys Don't Cry
80's
bubbling under ....
The
Pixies - Doolittle
Husker
Du - Zen Arcade
Kate
Bush - Hounds Of Love
Icicle
Works - If You Want To Defeat Your Enemy Sing His Song
The
Housemartins - London 0 Hull 4
Despite
the list above I was still leading a double life as a consumer of hair metal
and so I claim an extra bonus top 5 ....
Def
Leppard - High'n'Dry
Motorhead - No Sleep 'til Hammersmith
Queensryche - Rage For Order
Ratt - Out Of The
Cellar
Van
Halen - Women & Children First
Geoff Kemp - Re Albums - Just been
into the loft and pulled out my boxes of albums and checked dates, if they are
in my collection I liked them.
For the 80s.
Pretenders
- Pretenders
Michael
Jackson - Thriller
Pete
Townsend - Empty Glass
John
Fogerty - Centerfield
David
Bowie - Lets Dance
The 1990’s – Second
Set of Five
Steve Cooley - Into the Great Wide
Open, TP and the Heartbreakers
Gone,
Dwight Yoakam
This
Time, Dwight Yoakam
Del
Rio, TX 1959, Radney Foster
Achtung Baby, U2
Joshua Danker-Dake - Blind Guardian, “Nightfall in Middle-Earth” – From a
band that sings about fantasy novels more than any other subject comes a concept album about Tolkien’s The Silmarillion.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IoyToHOWSV8
Therion, “Vovin” – The
“metal” takes something of a backseat to the “symphonic” on this more leisurely
paced album, but it all works phenomenally well.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4PlqeqocBN0
Saviour Machine, “Legend Part II” – The second
album in a never-finished concept quadrilogy about
the book of Revelation; their eschatology may be rather suspect, but they’re in
full mastery of their dark and brooding sound.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YdGT75fsIEw
Symphony
X, “The Divine Wings of Tragedy” – Prog metal
greatness.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M7wkUcKlITg
Leaderdogs for the Blind, “Lemonade” – A wonderful
hard rock album nobody’s ever heard of from a band that was never heard from
again.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=otUqxChxBwc
Andrew Goff - Ah the nineties. I can remember some
of them.
10.
Ultra by Depeche Mode
9.
Nevermind by Nirvana
8.
The Boy With The Arab Strap by Belle And Sebastian
7.
Chorus by Erasure
6.
OK Computer by Radiohead
5.
Different Class by Pulp
4.
Ray Of Light by Madonna
3.
Automatic For The People by REM
2.
Homework by Daft Punk
1.
(What’s The Story) Morning Glory by Oasis
Geoff Kemp - For the 90s.
Pulp
- Different Class
Enya
- Paint the Sky with Stars
REM
- Out of Time
Bryan
Adams - Waking Up the Neighbors
Oasis
- What’s the Story, Morning Glory
Fugee’s - The Score
Alanis
Morrisette - Jagged Little Pill
Neil
Young - Harvest Moon
Eminem
- The Slim Shady LP
Nirvana
- Nevermind
Martin Burgdorf - 1995 elastica
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yMnr_AVihq0&list=PLUo1lRxNwvLU-zPNFm_hmQHUYrJT_gUJ6
A strange case of one LP wonder. "elastica" was the
fastest-selling debut album in the UK since "Definitely Maybe" by
Oasis. Their second LP, which was released five years later, did not even make
it into the top 20 of the charts. Then the band split up. Singer Justine Frischmann is now married to a micrometeorologist at University of
California Davis.
1996
Laibach: Jesus Christ Superstars
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mx6CZoRD_3g&list=PLAKntW2ix4H2IqO-OE-90DOhIgfDStGSe
„Pop
music is for sheep and we are shepherds disguised as wolves.“
"Rammstein is Laibach
for children, Laibach is Rammstein
for adults." The first time I heard from this band was in California in
1987, when they played "Geburt einer Nation" (Birth of a Nation) on the radio.
1997
SUPER FURRY ANIMALS: RADIATOR
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GWGx7vAA9qc
This
record contains songs in very different styles. The New Musical Express called
SFA the most important band of the last 15 years. That was in the year 2005.
1998
thejesusandmarychain: munki
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L6Nu3najgpk
This
is the last album of JAMC. JAMC was the last really great band that came out of
the New Wave explosion of the late 70s / early 80s.
1999
The Pale Orchestra conducted by David Thomas: Mirror Man
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UVJ_Ac4flvw
Mirror
Man was performed at the Queen Elizabeth Hall as part of the 4-day festival,
"David Thomas: Disastodrome!".
The album was recorded primarily live at the debut performance. In the
description of the rules of "Best Albums of all Time" it was not
clear whether live albums were allowed or not. I shall name another record if
this is not the case.
Doug Kent - Tori Amos - From
the Choirgirl Motel
Tori
Amos - Little Earthquakes
Toad
the Wet Sprocket – Fear
Toad
the Wet Sprocket - Dulcinea
Genesis
- We Can't Dance
Robert Lesco - I am finding this one pretty difficult. I will repeat my offer to sell spots on my
list (sort of like I wish someone had done for me where the 70s and 80s were
concerned).
So
far all I could come up with was Sir John Eliot Gardiner's Beethoven Symphonies
cycle. Much as von Karajan's cycle
became the gold standard, this occupies the same status for period instrument
performances.
Rossini
Recital by Cecilia Bartoli was my introduction to perhaps
the finest voice of the digital era, though the voice dominating the group at
the interval crush bar may disagree. I
only visit said bar to scoff at the pretentious toff
I hear, I would never actually order a drink even if I did ever reach the front
of the line.
Yo-Yo
Ma: Inspired by Bach. Perhaps not the final word in Bach's suites
for solo cello but I have received a lot of enjoyment from this one.
I
will ponder things and hope I can come up with three more before your deadline,
otherwise I guess everything save for eight records was a thundering flop.
Larry Peery - Leonard Bernstein
and the NY Philharmonic, Ives: Symphony No. 2; Gong on the Hook and Ladder;
Central Park in the Dark; The Unanswered Question At his best Bernstein, the
conductor, was as good as any Europe ever produced. At his best Bernstein, the
composer, on occasion could be almost as good as any Europe ever produced. It
was when he conducted Ives that he managed to excel himself conducting himself.
I could and would say that “Bernstein was born with a mission --- to conduct
Ives!” except that Jim Bob would throw a tizzy fit if I did.
Michael
Tilson Thomas. Stravinsky: Firebird, The Rite of Spring, Persephone. Those of you of a certain
age may remember when Michael Tilson Thomas was one
of those wunderkind I am thinking of. He still is.
It’s just that he’s 72 years old! In the last 25 years he’s done more than 120
albums, mostly of consistently high quality. Whenever I hear the early ballet
music of Stravinsky (e.g. Firebird, Petrushka, Rite
of Spring --- 3 masterpieces in 3 years) it always brings an “unanswered
question” to my mind: what would have happened had Stravinsky stayed in Russia
instead of moving to The West? Sigh…
Peter
Schickele: Hornsmoke (Piano
Concerto No. 2 in F Major “Ole”, Brass Calendar: Hornsmoke
– A Horse Opera). If it’s by Schickele you have to
love it!
Rene
Fleming: The Beautiful Voice: Works of Charpentier,
Gounod, Massent and Flotow.
It’s good to see Fleming among the great divas of her time as she begins to
fade from center stage, although you’d never know it from her performance fees.
She has the voice and looks to excel at the French repertoire and she does in
this recording of works by French composers. Charpentier
is an often over-looked and under-appreciated composer even in France. He’s
always been in the shadow of Lully, who was an Italian after all, at the Court
of Louis XIV, but if you look at the catalogue of his religious music and
operas and watch some of them on You Tube you will begin to appreciate what a
huge talent he was and a noisy one at that!
Janos
Starker: Bach Suites for Cello Nos. 1-6. These solo suites are, I think, Bach’s
finest solo works, even more so than his keyboard compositions. Starker, who
only passed on three years ago, was one of the truly great cello players of the
last century. He wasn’t showy, like some, but he had a refined elegance
combined with a fiery inner soul, that few could match, let alone surpass.
[[and a bonus that won’t be in the final listings]] Carlisle Floyd:
Susannah with Cheryl Studier, Jerry Hadley, Samuel Ramey. Floyd did answer
America’s “unanswered question,” --- can an American compose a real opera? For
years the tentative answer was “Yes, maybe,” and examples like the works of
Joplin, Gershwin and Bernstein were offered as examples. But Floyd’s opera
showed one could not only be composed in America it could be performed, to
world standards, by Americans like Studier, Hadley and Ramey. You may not ever
fall in love with Susannah and you certainly won’t be whistling its tunes in
the streets of Manhattan, but you will respect it.
Paul
Kent
- Prokofiev* - Philadelphia
Orchestra* /Muti
*
- Symphonies Nos. 1 & 3 (CD, Album)Philips432 992-21992
King Crimson;
the Great Deceiver
King Crimson: the Night Watch
Micheal Brecker: Time is of the Essence
Keith Jarrett at the Blue Note
David Sylvian: Dead Bees on a Cake
Robert Rodday, Jr. - R.E.M. - Automatic for the
People
Liz Phair - Exile in Guyville
Modest Mouse - The Lonesome
Crowded West
Weezer
- Weezer
Beck - Odelay
Smashing Pumpkins - Siamese
Dream
Nirvana - In Utero
Talk Talk - Laughing Stock
Nirvana - Nevermind
Radiohead - OK Computer
FYI – The
only people who are up-to-date with all their selections from the 60’s through
the 90’s are myself, Martin Burgdorf, Robert Rodday, Jr., Steve Cooley, Geoff Kemp, Andrew Goff, and
Joshua Danker-Dake.
Deadline for
the first set of 5 Albums from the 2000’s (2000 through 2009) is June 28th at
7:00am my time!
Feel free to include comments in your own choices, or on anyone
else’s! Or just get your ass in gear and
catch up if you are behind.
Where in the
World is Kendo Nagasaki?
Round 1
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