Eternal Sunshine #165
February 2023
By
Douglas Kent
- 911 Irene Drive, Mesquite, TX 75149
Email: dougray30@yahoo.com
On Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/groups/270968112943024/ or on the web at http://www.whiningkentpigs.com/DW/. Follow on Twitter at @EternalSunshDip. Also be sure to visit the official Diplomacy
World website at http://www.diplomacyworld.net.
Sign up for the Eternal Sunshine Mailing List
at https://mailchi.mp/45376bbd05df/eternalsunshine
Check
out my eBay store at http://stores.ebay.com/dougsrarebooksandmore
Quote of The Month – “Oh, obscene finger gestures from such a pristine girl!” - (Bender in
“The Breakfast Club”)
Welcome to Eternal
Sunshine, the dying Dipzine. Not much to
say this month. Diplomacy and By Popular
Demand continue, towards their inevitable end.
Still looking for a new job (while this one is not completely dead, but
seems to be on life support). Sanka’s health is up and down, as described in the letter
column. Survived the latest Texas
freeze. Started watching film
submissions again for the documentary film festival, which means I’ll be
bleeding internally for months.
I guess that’s it from me for now.
See you in March!
Game Openings
No game openings, as the zine will fold when the currently-running
games are completed.
Standby List: Current standby list who are qualified to
standby in More Than Ever: Harold Reynolds, Graham Wilson.
Meet Me in Montauk
The Eternal Sunshine Letter Column
Mark
Nelson:
You could reduce the work on my "electronic zine bank" by not
restricting it to the "most recent issues". You just add the most
recent issue of each zine as it appears. You could reduce the work further by
only updating it once a week. Still, it requires someone to do the work...
[[If
I was young and full of energy, or older but returning with NEW energy as
Stephen Agar is, I might think about it.
But most ideas I see or hear just sound to me like plenty of work with
little or no result (and zero reward).]]
APA
= Amateur Press Association, which is something I learnt about from science
fiction fandom - though they did not originate there. At their most basic an
APA might be something like this. Thirty people are on the mailing
list.
Each person writes their own fanzine. They send thirty copies of their fanzine
to the organiser. The organiser
mails out the combined package to all members. There are usual rules in terms
of minimum involvement to remain
on
the mailing list, publish a certain number of zines and/or pages a year. Typically,
some component of your fanzine is you writing about whatever interests you
(fitting into the theme if there is one). The other component of your fanzine
is comments on the last round of fanzines that were mailed out. These comments
on other people's contributions replaces a letter column.
[[Geeze,
now I remember, and I haven’t heard that term in ages.]]
I
wouldn't be surprised to learn that in 2023 there are APAs that are only distributed
electronically. I wouldn't be surprised to learn if there are APAs that only
exist in hardcopy form.
I
haven't watched any old films recently. However, I did buy "My Fair
Lady" which has been on my to-buy list for such a long time that I no
longer remember why I put it on it. I'm not sure that I've ever watched it from
start to finish, though it's possible that I did so on a Sunday afternoon when
I was a child. Still no sign of
Excalibur - which is what I really want!
[[While
I quite enjoy My Fair Lady, Rex Harrison bugs me. I don’t believe anyone else could be as
effective in the role, but he still bugs me.
I’ve always believed he was a major jackass, and from what I’ve read in
more recent years, he was an even bigger jackass than I thought.]]
Talking
of lists and King Arthur, I just came across a list that ranks all King Arthur
movies. I'm surprised that it only contains twenty movies. I suspect that it is in fact not a complete
list of King Arthur movies... and some
of
the movies on the list are not ones I'd consider to be King Arthur movies. Perhaps they were included to make the number
to twenty. The 2004 King Arthur, which was mentioned in an earlier issue, was
ranked nineth.
Here's
their top five.
5
Excalibur
4
The Sword in the Stone
3
Monty Python and the Holy Grail
2
The Green Knight
1
Camelot
I've
not seen The Sword in the Stone, The Green Knight, or Camelot.
[[They’re
making a live action version of The Sword and the Stone presently. I haven’t seen The Green Knight, but I notice
critics liked it much more than audiences.
I’ve never considered Camelot to be a great film. To me it was just an above average stage
musical.]]
Richard
Smith:
All the stuff about cats in the last issue rang bells for me as I am currently
a cat custodian (as described in Variable Pig 198). The zine directory thing
too as it reminded me of the old "Mission From God" that used to come
out once a year and still has a website http://www.fbgames.co.uk/words/mfg/mfromgod.htm - the nearest thing currently extant for UK
zines is the listing in Dane's Games (no website but you can get the zine from
Dropbox https://www.dropbox.com/s/fr6m9cyz66ge7q8/latest-issue.htm?dl=1)
[[Yup,
Mission from God was the UK Zine Register.]]
Andy
Lischett: Carol has decided to visit her brother in
Atlanta sometime next summer and I'll stay home with the three dogs, so I'm
making a list of horror movies you've recommended to borrow from the library.
[[Assuming
you’ve seen The Exorcist already. I’d
make it a point to include Sinister and Cabin in the Woods.]]
Brendan
White:
I've just discovered a few comic zines you used to include with WKP issues you
sent me in the early 1990s.
I've
got Power to the People Mover / issues 1.0, 2.0, 3.0 & 3.1
https://www.rootsimple.com/2013/05/power-to-the-peoplemover-a-zine-about-riding-the-bus/
Funkapotamus/ Joshua #7
(ok the ink is to #8, but what's an issue here or there 30
year on, hey?)
King
Cat comics / John Porcellino #47
https://www.king-cat.net/history/
The
Hanging Tree #1 / Jeff Levine
Help
/ Jeff Levine
Life
makes my head hurt / Jeff Levine #1 & 2.
https://www.jefflevinecomics.com/blog/
Just
rereading them now and recalling how they made me feel when I got them.. so urban and hip and underground....and now I can
google them and find blogs by their authors 30 years on, but balder and greyer....
I
think I appreciate them more now... the drawing especially. At the time I just
thought they (and probably you!) were weird. Still do, but less so. I'm
probably just as weird which is why I've kept them for 30 years and several
international moves!
Thanks
for including them!
[[Ah
yes, the mini comics I would toss in the envelope when mailing occasional
issues of Maniac’s Paradise. I did that
in an attempt to get some zine readers to explore the wonderful universe of
comics zines and mini-comics themselves.
I did that despite knowing that more than half of MP readers wouldn’t
even bother looking at the comics (and yeah, I had to buy the 80 to 100 copies
of each comic). A noble experiment, and
by all accounts an abject failure.
John
Porcellino has a documentary film about him called
Root Hog or Die, if you want to see more about him. And I believe King-Cat is – even now – still
irregularly published. Jeff Levine was a personal favorite (and for a while he
was in a relationship with Lisa Maslowe, another
comic publisher who I included once or twice).
His “No Life” full-size comic is something I read – from first to last
issue – at least every couple of years.
He even had his own zine about mini comics called Destroy All
Comics. Ah, the good old days…]]
Andy
York: Glad
Sanka is back to almost 100% and keeping you on your
toes.
[[She
had a really bad episode last weekend, starting Friday night. By Saturday morning I was considering taking
her to the vet for shots and fluids, but two things kept me from following
through. Well, there things…first was my
normal vet wasn’t working, and I trust her the most. The second was that Sanka
was still trying to eat, mostly unsuccessfully.
And the third was that Sanka HATES the car,
and the carrier. I figured if I could
avoid it, I should, just for her basic comfort and happiness. Fortunately she
bounced back somewhat by Saturday night.
Days later – as I write this – she isn’t back to normal, but she’s much
improved. I realized after her major
attack in November that she’d experienced smaller attacks for years, but they
only lasted a day or so. Nausea and
vomiting in cats, when not just the normal occasional hazard of the trade
variety, are very difficult for any vet to diagnose until they become serious
and lasting.]]
I'm
sure you'll find something, the good thing is you're
looking before you're out of a job. Too many folks wait and then they are under
the gun to land anything.
[[No
luck so far, but not much I can do except keep applying and hoping on both
sides.]]
The Dining Dead – Eternal Sunshine Movie
Reviews
The
Pale Blue Eye (Netflix) – The inclusion of Edgar Allan Poe as a supporting
character in this is what moved the needle enough to give it a try. I’d tried to watch another film recently
where he was a main character – taking place during the same period, his time
at West Point – but it was far too slow and boring. In this one, Christian Bale stars as Augustus
Landor. In 1830, Landor is a retired New
York City Police Detective. He is
contracted by West Point Military Academy to investigate the death of a
cadet. The departed cadet, Leroy Fry,
has seemingly hanged himself, and just as shockingly his corpse was violated by
having its heart removed while lying in the academy’s morgue. (The academy is concerned not just about the
violation of the body, but also whether they will be blamed for pushing young
Fry too far in training, leading to the suicide). As you’d expect, Landor quickly discovers
that there is a lot more to the death than initially suspected. And he soon encounters cadet Edgar Allan Poe
(Harry Melling), who approaches him with his own theories, and shows a talent
for deduction. There’s a nice gothic
feel to most of the film, between the cold stone walls, shadows, and snow
everywhere. It took me a little while to
get used to the mix of unconventional accents, and admittedly the story is a
slow (but steady) burn. It’s not
groundbreaking by any means, but it’s enjoyable nearly all the way
through. I admit to finding late parts
of the plot tedious or downright eye-rolling in terms of their clichéd
convenience, but you shouldn’t let that deter you from giving it a try.
Alien
Code (Amazon)
– Despite often being disappointed, I have an affinity for mind-bending movies,
and when I come across them, I try to at least give each one a try. I watched part of a trailer for Alien Code,
which suggested the film was more mind0bending than its short description would
lead someone to believe. I guess it
was. In Alien Code, Alex (Kyle Gallner) is a cryptographer with a checkered
reputation. He is approached by a
private company, working for the Federal government. They want to hire him to decipher a message
they’ve found inside a satellite which they believe may have been sent from the
future. And that’s the catalyst that
begins the story. I was expecting to be
bored, or disappointed. I don’t think I
was ever the former, and well…..as for the latter, it’s
generally a prerequisite for low-budget films with a high minded concept. I think if writer and director Michael Cooney
had aimed a little lower when it came to a conclusion, it would have been more
effective overall. But up until the last
fifteen minutes or so, I felt the film held things together. And that places it a step above many of its low-budget
contemporaries.
XIII
(Tubi)
– A little found footage film I stumbled across when I had an hour to
kill. Written by and starring Nathan Cox
and Archie Meyer (and directed by Meyer), it’s a two-man project from start to
finish. Coming in at around 45 minutes
in length, the two gentlemen are working on a project for a University
class when they stumble across a strange looking book in the library. The volume is a normal novel, but with pages
at the front and back containing cryptic hand-written messages and strange
symbols. After some work deciphering the
contents, they believe one part of the scribbling gives coordinates to a
location an hour or so away by car. And,
as you’d imagine, they grab their cameras and take off to investigate. The creepy atmosphere and building tension
are done surprisingly well. Sadly, the
resolution of the buildup is a real letdown.
I probably should have seen that coming.
Still, with the short running time, I didn’t mind sitting through
it. I just wish they would have left
something in the tank for the ending.
Skinamarink (Shudder) – I’d heard
some over-the-top praise for this film, as well as some outright panning. “When does Skinamarink
start to get good?” one friend asked on Facebook when about half way through
it. I’m not here to say there’s a right
or wrong side to that debate. The way it
polarizes viewers has been compared to The Blair Witch Project; that’s a
comparison I think is incorrect, because when it was released, Blair Witch
seemed to thrill audiences during the theatrical run. It was only when it spread to home video (and
through the eyes of modern-day viewers) that it gained a reputation for being
utterly overrated. One similarity the
two films hold: a microscopic budget. I
believe Skinamarink was made for about
$15,000. On a limited theatrical release it earned about $2 million, and now it’s on Shudder.
I
admit I spent the first ten minutes wondering if this was all a bad joke, a “no
soap, radio” kind of inside con. But
once things got underway, I saw where the attraction is. The plot is basically this: two children
(maybe 4 and 3 years old) wake up to find their parents missing and the
external doors and windows to the house gone.
They spent their time watching 1930’s-era cartoons on VHS tapes and
eating cereal, slowly realizing there is something in the house with them,
watching them. Kyle Edward Ball wrote
and directed, filming inside his parents’ home. Ball had done a series of short
YouTube videos based on childhood nightmares viewers had submitted, and his
goal was to do the same here but on a larger scale. And that’s the thing: Skinamarink
has a surreal nightmare quality to it.
The cinematography has a lot of low shots, panning of walls and floors
and ceilings. There are no direct shots
of the two children, other than feet or legs.
It’s less of a story than an immersion; jumping into a pool of
confusion, representing the combination of children’s lack of context to their
ability to just adapt to whatever is in front of them. Some people will find this refreshing,
interesting, and haunting. Others will
just think it’s boring and stupid. I
can’t tell you which category you’ll fall into, but it’s original enough to try
and find out. Just promise yourself that
you’ll watch at least twenty minutes.
Pearl
(DVD)
– The prequel to the fun horror film X that I reviewed a few issues ago,
Pearl tells the story of the titular character as a young adult, with
Mia Goth reprising the role. Stuck at
home on the farm with her mother (Tandi Wright) and
invalid father while her husband Howard is off fighting World War I, Pearl
hates her life and only find solace in daydreams of stardom. Slowly but surely
Pearl is beginning to realize she is not like most people, and that her anger
issues and desire to hurt animals are simply not normal. And she fears that her mother knows just how
twisted she is. The tone of Pearl
is very different from X. The
latter had a Texas Chainsaw Massacre sort of feel, while the former has
drawn comparisons to Mary Poppins and The Wizard of Oz…twisted
homages to them, but comparisons nonetheless. I didn’t feel this film had a
script as strong as X, but Mia Goth puts on a tour de force. There’s one scene late in the film where she
has a monologue that must be seven minutes in length. I believe that Pearl probably stands
fully on its own, so if you haven’t seen X that’s not a reason to avoid
this film. And Pearl is not
nearly as bloody or violent; it prefers to offer chills and creepiness, and to
place uncomfortable things in plain sight.
Now I’m looking forward to seeing Infinity Pool, Mia Goth’s next
film which is already out in theaters and should be on physical media in a few
months (despite the mixed reviews).
Older
Movies Watched (that I’ve seen before, sometimes many times) – Margin Call, Mama,
Primal Fear.
Out of the WAY #53
by W. Andrew York
(wandrew88 of gmail.com)
Howdy!
I’m
sure most of you’ve heard of the Ice Storm that hit the US recently. Texas was
particularly hit, especially Austin. It was quite a bit different than the Snowpocolypse of two years ago. In that event, the statewide
power grid was overwhelmed at the electrical power generation side of things.
This event, which I’ve called the Treepocolypse and
others the Oakpocolypse, was more local in nature. Basically,
the power generation side of the grid was hardly touched while the other side,
the local distribution infrastructure, was devastated in the area.
In
short, due to significant ice buildup on power lines, guywires, trees, etc. the
load bearing levels were far exceeded -resulting in their collapse and followed
by cascading issues. For instance, in one case, the guywires steadying a metal
tower with main power lines on it brought the tower down – and all wires/trunks
relying on it. Once that debris was cleared out (and in some cases access
routes to the location cleared), the tower was re-erected and thousands of feet
of new cable strung. This, then, allowed identification of the intermediate
wiring from there to neighborhoods and such that also failed. After those were
repaired, then the individual lines to businesses, houses and such that were
damaged could be identified and repaired. This takes multiple days working out from
the central lines to the individual.
Added
to that, once the utility lines were up and energized, many locations had local
damage outside of the utility’s control. One news report showed footage of the
ice damage to the electrical connections into buildings (one case the equipment
had been pulled off of the building due to the ice’s weight). These repairs are
on the building owner and couldn’t be finished (if a contractor could be found
at all) until the utility was ready to reconnect the building. Needless to say,
it was (and in some cases still is) a long recovery.
Fortunately,
as in the Snowpocolypse, my apartment building was spared
the electrical outage (and no water outage this time!). I feel lucky as there
were plenty of tree limbs down, blocked driveways/roads/sidewalks and the ilk
that could have impacted my neighbors even with this portion of the grid staying
up. There is still plenty of clean-up left in the complex with piles of limbs waiting
on collection (landscapers cleared up what they could reach), tree limbs
hanging in trees waiting on finding an available tree trimming company and
general clean-up of the smaller debris all around.
Turning
to the zine, congrats to Kevin Wilson for winning this round of Facts in Five.
Another round is starting, and it may be the last. Also, a new Hangman game
with a brand-new definition is below. Feel free to jump into either.
As
for the continuation of this, I appreciate all the words of support, hopes for
it staying around and in enjoyment of the commentary outside of the games
themselves. I’ll likely make a decision on the future in the next issue or two.
That said, I’m also going to carry on some discussions with the offeror of the
place to rehouse it. I’d like to be sure that if I move there, both of us are in
agreement on what’ll happen so neither is caught off-guard or is unhappy with what
it ends up being.
Please
note I’ll be heading off to OwlCon shortly after this
comes out (Feb 18-19). I’m planning to take the opportunity to visit a friend
in Beaumont before the convention itself, so I’ll be out of pocket for several
days beforehand. Of course, I’ll have a bit of a catch-up once I’m back so don’t
expect order submissions to be fully acknowledged until midweek afterwards.
==================================
Letter Column
(always welcome,
send them in!)
(if something shouldn’t
be included here, clearly mark it as a personal comment)
[Mark Nelson] – Our exchange about
recipes put me in mind of something I read in the paper before Christmas. It
started with
an anecdote from Stephanie Alexander. Who's
Stephanie Alexander? She's an Australian cook, restaurateur and food
writer. Her book "The Cook's Companion"
(1996) would be on any list of iconic Australia cooking books. It's sold
half-
a-million copies, which given the size of the
Australian population is amazing. What was her anecdote? That the thing
she hates most about book signings is when
someone asks her to sign "The Cook's Companion" and adds something
along the lines of "I was given this as a wedding
present/birthday present when I was X" and the book is in pristine
condition with no indication that it has ever
been used. [WAY] – I can certainly see that!
[MN] - Later on in the article there was a comment to the effect
that publishers are happy if, on average, a person who buys a
cooking book makes two of the recipes in it. [WAY] – Interesting
take, hadn’t heard of that benchmark.
[MN] - I
wondered how many of my cooking books I'd used more than twice... A quick count
suggests that we have about 65
cooking books. However, some of those belong to
my wife. So perhaps 60 belong to me. The oldest one I bought when
I was a student in September 1991. So that's 60
books in thirty years, two a year. However, when I moved to Australia
in 2000 I didn't bring all my cooking books with
me. (I didn't expect to live here for the rest of my life, in fact I thought
I would only be here for three years). I only
brought two. So, it's sixty books in twenty years... three a year. That
includes presents, I've not bought them all.
Sixty books sounds
a bit excessive, but I don't collect cooking books. At least that's what I am
telling myself. Rather, I buy
books that I want to cook from. So, without
looking, I knew that I had cooked more than two recipes from almost of
them. An exception is a book I bought for $1 from
the second-hand bookshop on campus. This is "New Flavours
from
Finland". You may ask, why did I buy this
book?
My dad's mother was Finnish, making me
25% Finnish if you base your nationality on where your grandparents were born.
So, I thought I'd buy the book to learn about
Finnish cooking. At the time I read the article in the newspaper I hadn't
cooked anything from this book, despite having it
for a long time (maybe ten years). There were two reasons for this.
Firstly, some of the recipes use Finnish specific
ingredients. For example, Reindeer Fillet baked in unleavened potato
bread. Secondly, these are recipes from a
contemporary Finnish restaurant and they are a bit too chefy
for me. On a
first reading, of the 16 recipes in the Summer section eight are ruled out due to these reasons. (A
second more detailed
reading of the recipes would up that count).
Still, I have now cooked two recipes from the book.
The first one I cooked was
"Perch Fillets and Vegetables in the Style of the Traditional Summer
Soup". Summer soup is
essentially seasonal summer vegetables cooked in
milk. The "fancy" restaurant version involves adding perch fillets
and
making a fish stock using the carcass. (This is
combined with milk). I could handle that, though not sure I'd do it again.
It's not difficult, but not sure that the time involved
in making the stock was worthwhile. Although the fishmonger
sometimes has perch, the time that I wanted to
make this they didn't. So I replaced it with another
fresh-water fish. The
second recipe I've done is "Fennel and
Potato Soup with Garlic Soured Cream" which is straightforward.
Any other books that I've not cooked
from? There is one more...
[WAY] – Well, I have a bit over twice as many as you, but
quite a few were acquired when I was volunteering at a cooking
school
and touring chefs would stop by with a new book to promote. So, I picked up
many that way, and those were
signed
before I could do any recipes out of them. But,
usually the food presented in that class were from that book, so you could say
I usually had cooked (or assisted in cooking) at least two from each of them.
There are some of the others that I’ve cooked more than a dozen from, and many
that I’ve used as inspiration for something of my own take, or as inspiration
for something else. Substituting ingredients, such as the fish you mentioned,
is very common in my use of recipes. And, yes, there are some books that I’ve
not made anything from – but those are the chefy ones
or are around some theme that isn’t high on my taste list (fruit, for one). That
said, I might have to try to cook at least two recipes from each book….new goal? (as if I need more on
my to do list, right)?
[Andy Lischett] – I enjoy Out of the WAY (although I've usually
skipped the recipes) and would like to continue receiving it,
but
don't understand how becoming a subzine elsewhere
means it will necessarily evolve into not being a subzine.
[WAY] - without being too obvious on who approached me, the
zine that offered to host me is mostly a web-based zine
without
a major offline/download/print component. So, if I ended up there, my part
would have to be downloaded as I'm
not
a great .html coder (basic stuff, yes; but it has been years). So, it'd be sorta a hybrid subzine/zine
(though I'd likely
end up
calling it a zine, maybe with a new or recycled name).
[AL] - I am going to look
for The Father Christmas Letters for Carol and get a head-start on Christmas
presents. She loves
Tolkien.
Don't tell her. [WAY] - no, I won't tell Carol. But,
if she reads the zine/subzine/lettercol it might be
let out
(unless you'd like to declare that "not for
print"). It's more a kid type book (being written for Tolkien's kidlings), but it brings a smile to me. And, if she's a
Tolkien fan, she'd certainly like the artwork and alphabet/script he created.
[AL] - Go ahead and print my
comments about The Father Christmas Letters if you want to. Carol never reads
any of my
Diplomacy
stuff. [WAY] – what can we do to change that???
===================================
Mini-Book Reviews
(finished
since last issue)
Casca: God of Death by Barry Sadler (1979; 218p).
The second Casca book builds on the set-up of the
first book. Taking up the modern-day thread as a baseline, Casca leads the reader
in another deep dive into his past life continuing at the Roman/Germanic
frontier as he moves into a narrative of living as a Viking relating some
adventures, loves and discoveries from that time.
Leaving his stronghold, he leads his Norsemen on a
sea voyage that ends up in MesoAmerica. How he
interacts with those cultures, changes the course of their future (and subsequent
civilizations of the area) is the bulk of the book. It closes with a coda
bringing things back to the museum in Boston where a mask is the catalyst for
the tale.
Reading these books in order is not necessary, but
helps build the mystic of the series and anchors the reader who may be a bit
lost with the modern bookends of the story, and some of the depth of the backstory.
Recommended if you enjoyed the first book. [February 2023]
===================================
Babylon 5 Quote
In “Point
of No Return” – Sheridan: “Always plant a lie inside a truth. Makes it easier
to swallow.”
Source: But In Purple...I’m Stunning!
by J. Michael Straczynski, edited by Sara “Samm” Barnes, copyright 2008.
===================================
Game Section
Everyone Plays Games: Hangman,
By Definition; Facts in Five
Game Openings: None currently
Standbys: Gunboat Diplomacy (x1)
+++++++++++++++++++++
“Round Rock Express”
(No-Press Gunboat, Game #1)
MN: 2021Crb32
Spring 1907
Austria:
F GRE-aeg, A TRI s a ser-bud, A ser-BUD, A RUM
s a ser-bud, A BUL s a rum
England:
F hel-KIE, F gas-MAO,
F SPA(SC) s f pie-mar (nsu), a bel-pic (ann), F ENG s a bel-pic, F
EDI-nth
France:
A bur-MAR, A PAR s a bre, A BRE s ger a pic (nso)
Germany: F NTH-eng, A pic-BEL, A TYL s ita
a ven-tri (nso), A MOS
s a war-ukr, F NWY-nth, A war-UKR, A HOL s a pic-bel, A VIE s aus a bud-gal
(nsu), A bud-GAL, A MUN s a tyl,
A RUH s a pic-bel, A sil-BOH
Italy: F CON-bla, A SEV-ukr, A VEN
s aus a tri, F AEG-con, F PIE holds. A rom-TUS,
F nap-ION
Turkey: F ANK-bla
Supply Center Count
Austria: Tri, Ser, Gre, Bul, Rum
England: Edi, Lpl, Lon, Por, Spa, Bel
France: Mar, Par, Bre
Germany: Ber, Kie, Mun, Den, Hol, Swe, War, Mos, Stp, Vie, Bud, Nwy
Italy: Nap, Rom, Ven, Tun , Smy, Con, Sev
Turkey: Ank
Neutral: none
Next Due Fall 1907
Note – Split seasons are granted
when 2 or more requests are received if 4+ players; 3 or less requires only 1.
+++++++++++++++++++++
Hangman, By Definition
**See Rule Change in bold below**
This is a five-round game,
with each round consisting of a variable number of turns. The winner will be the
person who wins the most rounds, with a tie breaker being fewest total number
of turns in those winning rounds. Second tie breaker will be the greatest
number of letters guessed (by total count revealed, not by individual letter).
Each round will consist of
identifying a word of at least six letters. Along with each word will be the
first definition given. All words and definitions will be identified by blank
spaces. Words and definitions are verified in a dictionary that was my high school
graduation gift (slight hint to those who might want to find the edition).
The goal is to guess the word
in as few turns as possible. Each turn, all players will submit up to three different
letters to be revealed. The letter submitted by the most players will be
the letter revealed in the next turn. Ties will be broken by a randomized method.
Additionally, each player should submit a guess for the word. Once the word is
correctly identified (spelling is important), that round will end and a new
round will begin. All players who guess the word in the same turn will share in
the win for the round. If the word is not guessed by the end of six turns with
no letter being revealed, no one will win the round.
Along with revealing letters
in the word, letters will be revealed in the definition. There are no bonus points
for guessing any part of the definition, it is only there to help players
figure out the word. No guesses about parts of the definition will be confirmed
or displayed except by the letter revealed in that round. The letters “E” and
“S” can never be chosen as the letter to be revealed.
Game 2, Round Three Turn 0:
New Word!
Solution:
Word: __ __ __
__ __ __
__ __ __ __ (10)
Definition: __ (1) __
__ __ __ __ __ __
(7) __
__ (2) __ __
__ __ (4) __
__ __ __
__ __ __ (7)
__ __ (2) __ __
__ __ (4)
Never Revealed: E,
S Already
Revealed: tbd
Game Words
Correctly Guessed: Metamorphosis (Firth, Maslen, Smith, Wilson); Chromatic (Firth, Maslen, Smith)
Player
Comments:
[Andy Lischett] – Rats, rats, rats! I though
of chrome but didn’t stretch it out, Rats.
+++++++++++++++++++++
FACTS
IN FIVE
Rules: There will be five rounds, the cumulative high
score at the end of the fifth round will be the winner. Anyone may join anytime
with a starting score matching the lowest total from the previous round. Anyone
missing a round will add the lowest score of that round.
Each round will consist of five categories and five
letters. Each player submit may an entry
for each category which has a key word that starts with each of the letters (twenty-five
total entries). Key words are generally the first word; however, articles (the,
a, etc.) and modifiers (“red” in red bicycle for “R” in “mode of transportation”
or “general” in General Lee for “G” in “Military Leaders”) are not key words. A
word in the category may not be the key word (“bank” in “Bank of America” for “B”
in the category “Banks”). For given names, the last name is the key word, if married
it will be their post-marriage last name. However, in the case of commonly used
stage names, that name should be used (in a category of female singers, ”Q” could be “Queen Latifa” and “Cher” for “C”). An entry
may only be used once per round. Please clearly identify which individual you
are using as your answer if there are multiple potential people with a given
name. For instance, if the category is American Presidents, answering Washington
is fine as there is only one; however, if you decided to use Bush you need to
indicate whether you are submitting the father or the son. Unclear answers will
be matched to score the least points. Using the Bush example, if one person submitted
“Bush” and three people submit “George W. Bush” the latter would score 2 points
and the former 1.
One point will be scored for each entry that
unarguably meets the letter and category. An additional point will be added if
anyone else also uses the same valid entry for the same category. Maximum
possible score in a round is 50 with a lowest possible score of 25, presuming
an individual submits a valid entry for each category and letter in that round.
Research is allowed, collaboration between players is
not.
Game Six, Round Five
Bolded - Scores 2 points for matching another entry; Crossed
Out - scores 0 points; otherwise scores 1 point.
REMINDER - Last names are generally the key word, not first names.
A C F
K Y
Players
Name of Island Chain
Doug
Kent Aleutian Canary Falkland Kuril Yap
Andy Lischett Aleutians Canary Islands Falkland Islands Kirov
Islands Yokatsu
Islands
Paul
Milewski Aleutian Canary Faroe Kuril <>
Walt
O’Hara Azores Canaries Finlayson Is Keith Islands Yokatsu Islands
Kevin Wilson Aleutian Islands Canary Islands Faroe
Islands Kuril Islands Yam Islands
US State Capitols
Doug Kent Atlanta Carson City Frankfort <> <>
Andy Lischett Atlanta,
GA Columbus, OH Frankfort, KY Kaskaskia IL <>
Paul Milewski Albany, NY Columbus, OH Frankfort, KY <> <>
Walt O’Hara Atlanta,
GA Columbus, OH Frankfort, KY <> <>
Kevin Wilson Atlanta, GA Cheyenne,
WY Frankfort, KY <> <>
Horror/Detective Story/Novel
Writer
Doug
Kent Addison Christie Faherty King Yarbro
Andy Lischett M
Allingham R Chandler Dick Francis Stephen King Margaret
Yorke
Paul Milewski Bryan Alaspa Leslie Charteris Joanne Fluke Stephen
King Seishi Yokomizo
Walt
O’Hara VC Andrews R Campbell Henry Farrell Stephen
King C Q Yarbro
Kevin Wilson Agatha Christie John le Carre JG Faherty Stephen King Hideo Yokoyama
Asian Food Dish
Doug
Kent Achcharu Chop Suey Fried Rice Khao
Soi Yakitori
Andy Lischett Aloo
Gobi Chow Mein Fried Rice Kung Pao Chicken Yellowtail
Sashimi
Paul Milewski Asparagus Curry Falafel Kabob Yogurt
Walt O’Hara Braised
Abalone Char Siu Fuj
Fried Rice Kung Pao Chicken Yanpi
Fujian
Kevin Wilson Adobo Char
Siu Falafel Kimchi Yakiniku
Latin Word, 2-5 Letters
Doug Kent Abeo Cena Ficus Ka <>
Andy Lischett Ante Cum Fides <> <>
Paul Milewski Ave Carno Fiscus Kaput <>
Walt O’Hara Abeo Canto Falsus Korus Yatus
Kevin
Wilson Aqua Curia Finis Kardo Yata
Note – for allowed and disallowed
answers, please feel free to correct me!
General Notes –
Notes on Doug’s Answers: Ka is disallowed as I
can find no specific reference in Latin to “ka” as a stand-alone word
Notes on Andy’s Answers: M Allingham
is Margary Allingham, R Chandler is Raymond Chandler
Notes on Paul’s
Answers: Asparagus is disallowed as it is an ingredient in a number of Asian
dishes but not a “dish” in and of
itself, Falafel is disallowed as it is a Middle Eastern dish not
an Asian dish
Notes on Walt’s Answers: Walt notes Finalyson Islands (Nunavut, Canada), Keith Islands (Nunavut,
Canada), Yokatsu Islands
(Japan); Walt notes VC Andrews
is V.C Andrews (US), R Campbell is Ramsey Campbell (UK), Henry Farrell (US)
(d),
Stephen
King (okay, that is somewhat obvious as a choice), C Q Yarbro
is Chelsea Quinn Yarbro (US); Walt included Asian
spelling/letters which I’ve omitted, otherwise he commented Braised Abalone is
seafood, Char Siu is pork based, Fuj Fried Rice is
Fujian Style Fried Rice, Yanpi Fujian is made from
pork skin/a kind of soup - however is disallowed as it is an ingredient (pork
wonton skin used as a wrapper) rather than a dish in and of itself; Walt notes Abeo means to retire or go away, Canto means to sing, Falsus means false or deceptive, Korus means music-chorus, Yatus means gaped
Notes on Kevin’s Answers: Agatha Christie is
disallowed as the last name doesn’t begin with an “A”; Falafel is disallowed as
it
is a Middle Eastern dish not an Asian dish
General Player
Comments:
[Andy Lischett] – I’m not a fan of detective stories and
embarrassed at not remembering Dick Francis. [WAY] - I’m a fair
weather reader of detective/mystery mostly based on the author, but
definitely not of the horror genre (some
exceptions).
[AL] – I’m NOT a fan of Asian food. “Yellowtail
Sashimi” just sounds like a sub-type of Sashimi – whatever that is – but it’s
the only Y I could find. [WAY] – on the other hand, I’m
quite a fan of Asian foods, especially southeast Asian (not so
much curries, though). In my understanding, Sashimi is generally raw,
thinly sliced, seafood (could be other meats)
served to be eaten by itself (adding condiments, such as soy sauce,
herbs or wasabi, as desired). If you serve it on rice, it
becomes sushi.
[AL - Later] - I am doing an acrostic in the Wall Street Journal and
one of the clues is "State whose first two capitals were
Kaskaskia
and Vandalia." So, please change my K state capital from
blank to Kaskaskia, Illinois, assuming past
capitals
are allowed. [WAY] – Done, so long as the category wasn’t “current”
capitals or the capital was solely of a
territory
or from other pre-statehood existence, it’ll work. [AL] - Before
submitting my original answers I had a vague
feeling
that Illinois once had a capital starting with K, but couldn't think of
anything except Kankakee. Another
coincidence
is that the same acrostic has another clue - "Remote and hard to get to;
'Move it!'" - whose answer is "Out
of
the way."
I will NOT change my K
island chain to Key West, because Wikipedia is unclear. In one sentence it says
Key West is one
island,
in another it says it's a city comprised of several islands (or portions). I'll
stick with Kirov Islands. [WAY] –
Good
decision, Key West is an island in the Florida Keys. The City of Key West is centered
on the island of Key West
and includes
areas of nearby islands in the Florida Keys.
[Paul Milewski] – I failed to find an island chain beginning with the letter Y. I’ll
be interested to see if anyone else succeeded.
There is no state capital beginning with the letter K or the
letter Y. Correct me if I’m wrong. [WAY] – Sorry, can’t do
that. But, this game is designed to not
necessarily have a valid answer for each category/letter combination. It’s more
of
a factor in the original game (using only memory, and no internet
searches) in deciding how much of your “five
minutes” do you spend trying to come up with a potential match or
spend the time on something that has a better chance
of scoring.
[PM] – As I understand it, Y was
added to the Latin alphabet in the first century BC in order to write Greek words
that had an
upsilon in them. When I was in a Latin class in ninth grade, the
teacher said I was the worst student he’d ever had, so I
was put into a different class instead. [WAY] – I’ll trust
you on that, as I have no background in the language.
.
[Kevin Wilson] – At this risk of being considered pedantic,
I assume you meant “Capital” for the second category rather than
“Capitol”. The former is the City which would
be the state capital and the later the building for the legislature probably
sitting there. [WAY] – correct. Spell check and autocorrect are not my
friends, especially when I’m single-finger typing on the phone
(where I respond to most of my Emails). Since
I’ve moved from typewriter to computer, my typing/spelling skills have
tanked – especially in the past decade or so.
[KW] – I wasn’t sure but I assumed
the Horror/Detective meant horror or detective not some combo. I suspect there
are horror
detective stories but as they’re not my favored genre I wasn’t
sure. [WAY] – correct on the first count. As you suspect,
there probably are detective horror cross-over stories (maybe some
of Lovecraft’s stories?) but not something I’ll seek
out.
Game Seven, Round One
Letters: B I J R S
Categories: Fuels; Human Body Part; Prehistoric
Animal; Article of Clothing; Musical Instrument
Current Standings
Scores by Category 1st 2nd 3rd 4th 5th Now Previous Total
Kevin
Wilson 9 5 6
5
5
30 + 145 = 175
Andy Lischett 9 7
6
7
3
32 +
138 = 170
Walt O’Hara 7 6
7
6
6
32 +
136 =
168
Paul Milewski 8
5 6 3 4 26 +
137 = 163
Doug Kent 9
5
8
6 4
32 + 130 =
162
===================================
Deadline for the Next Issue of Out of the WAY:
March 8, 2023 at noon Central US Time Zone
See You Then!
Game entries, letters of
comment and other material can be sent to:
wandrew88 at gmail.com; or by post to: W. Andrew York;
POB 201117; Austin TX 78720-1117
Eternal Sunshine Game
Section
Diplomacy,
“More Than Ever”, 2021A, W 06/S 07
Austria: Andy Lischett – andy@lischett.com – F Aegean Sea Supports A Bulgaria,
A Bohemia Supports A Munich – Silesia, A Budapest Supports A Galicia – Rumania,
A Bulgaria Supports A Galicia - Rumania (*Cut*), F Eastern Mediterranean –
Smyrna, A Galicia – Rumania,
F Irish Sea -
Mid-Atlantic Ocean, A Serbia Supports A Bulgaria, A
Trieste - Vienna.
France: Brad Wilson - fullfathomfive675@gmail.com - Build A Marseilles..
F London Supports F
English Channel - North Sea, A Marseilles Hold,
F North Atlantic Ocean
Supports F Wales – Liverpool, A Venice Hold, F Wales - Liverpool.
Germany: Andy
York – wandrew88@gmail.com - Build A Kiel.. F Baltic Sea Supports A
Prussia - Livonia (*Cut*),
A Berlin Supports A Munich – Silesia, F English Channel - North Sea
(*Bounce*), A Kiel – Denmark,
A Munich – Silesia, F
North Sea - Norwegian Sea, A Prussia - Livonia (*Disbanded*), A Ruhr –
Munich,
A Sweden - Finland.
Russia: Graham Wilson - grahamaw@rogers.com – Remove F Clyde.. F Black Sea - Bulgaria(ec) (*Fails*),
A Constantinople Supports
F Black Sea - Bulgaria(ec), F Edinburgh - North
Sea (*Bounce*),
F Gulf of Bothnia -
Baltic Sea (*Fails*), A Liverpool Hold (*Dislodged*, retreat to
Clyde or Yorkshire or OTB),
A Livonia Supports A Silesia – Prussia, F Norway Supports F Edinburgh - North
Sea,
A Rumania Supports F
Black Sea - Bulgaria(ec) (*Dislodged*, retreat to
Sevastopol or OTB),
A Sevastopol – Ukraine, A
Silesia – Prussia, A Warsaw Supports A Silesia -
Prussia.
Now Proposed – A/F/G
Draw. Please vote. NVR=No.
PRESS
MADRID to MOSCOW: Good luck.
Deadline for F 07 is March 11th at 7am My Time
By Popular Demand
The
goal is to pick something that fits the category and will be the "most
popular" answer. You score points based on the number of entries that
match yours. For example, if the category is "Cats" and the responses
were 7 for Persian, 3 for Calico and 1 for Siamese, everyone who said Persian
would get 7 points, Calico 3 and the lone Siamese would score 1 point. The
cumulative total over 10 rounds will determine the overall winner. Anyone may
enter at any point, starting with an equivalent point total of the lowest
cumulative score from the previous round. If a person misses a round, they'll
receive the minimum score from the round added to their cumulative total. In
each round you may specify one of your answers as your Joker answer. Your
score for this answer will be doubled. In other words, if you apply your Joker
to category 3 on a given turn, and 4 other people give the same answer as you,
you get 10 points instead of 5. Players who fail to submit a Joker for any
specific turn will have their Joker automatically applied to the first
category. And, if you want to submit some commentary with your answers, feel
free to. The game will consist of 10 rounds.
The score for Round 10 is doubled.
Turn 6 Categories:
1.
Something you buy at a hardware store.
2.
A flavor of milkshake.
3.
A former male U.S. Supreme Court Justice.
4.
A bank.
5.
A Frank Sinatra film.
Joker category shown in BOLD. Most popular answer shown in the bottom row.
Andy York gets the top score of 36 this
round (out of a possible 39). Mark Firth
gets the low score of 11.
Comments by Category:
Something
you buy at a hardware store: Kevin Wilson – “Items at the hardware store
will be the toughest. You can buy all kinds of stuff there. I admit, my local
is where I swap out gas canisters but I don’t really buy much else there. Nails, hanging hooks, etc. This one will likely miss for a lot unless
there is something that should have popped into my mind but didn’t.” [[I’m also expecting your answer of
Tools to be mixed in with more specific answers. That’s been my main mental question: will
people say “tools” or be more specific with answers such as “saw” and
“hammer.”]]
A
flavor of milkshake: Kevin
Wilson – “Yeah, vanilla is simple and plain but it’s my favorite. I like
vanilla. I even put vanilla beans in my bourbon bottle and infuse it for a
couple of weeks before starting in on the bottle.” Andy Lischett – “Can
I triple my bet on Chocolate?” Brad Wilson – “I think 95 percent of the milk
shakes I have consumed have been vanilla. If well made, they are perfect.” Walt O’Hara – “Although Strawberry is the
superior flavor.”
A
former male U.S. Supreme Court Justice: Kevin Wilson – “With all the recent press
and having only recently died, I considered Antonin Scalia for the SCOTUS
justice but Marshall was a towering figure on the court.”
A
bank: Kevin
Wilson – “While perhaps not very popular from a customer perspective, Bank of
America does have banks just about everywhere in the US so a decent guess.” Richard Smith – “*Was briefly called Morgan
Stanley Dean Witter, and when the name was shortened there was a joke my side
of the pond that it was because of Cockney Rhyming Slang, the longer name being
an alternative to "Gary Glitter" or "council gritter".” [[That was a very short period from
what I remember, but maybe the kept the name longer in the UK?]]
A
Frank Sinatra film:
Kevin Wilson – “I’m not a big Sinatra fan.
Ocean’s 11 was the first to pop into my mind. I did then look online and
saw several others I didn’t recognize or like so I just stuck with what came to
mind first.” Andy Lischett
– “During a battle scene by a railroad tunnel in Von Ryan's Express my first
wife asked, "How many bullets does a machine gun hold?" "Oh,
about 3 million, I guess."” Brad
Wilson – “The Sinatra film guess may be too obscure but maybe not with this
group. It's certainly his best movie.”
Walt O’Hara – “Original...a masterpiece.”
General
Comments:
Kevin Wilson – “Ugh, poor performance last time dropped me quite a bit. I’m
going to have to really step it up to catch up.” Brad Wilson – “If Mark Firth thinks cocktails
are too sweet, he should try one of my Gibsons. Ooh!”
By Popular Demand
Turn 7 Categories –
Remember to Specify a Joker Category
2. An animal you
see in a zoo.
3.
A difficult High School subject.
4.
A defensive NFL Football position.
5.
A superhero movie.
Deadline for Turn 7 is March 11th at 7am My Time
Deadline for the next issue of Eternal Sunshine is: Saturday
March 11, 2023 at 7am My Time (U.S. central time) – some games and subzines earlier