Hint to the Person
in the Closest Geographical Guess: You died before I was born. I spent many years in the country that
financed your work.
Deadline
for Turn 5 is: August 26th at 7am my time
Woodrow
Wilson’s 14 Points
by Paul
Milewski
The "Fourteen Points"
was a statement given on the 8th of January, 1918 by United States President
Woodrow Wilson. Here is Point #13:
An independent Polish state should be
erected which should include the territories inhabited by indisputably Polish
populations, which should be assured a free and secure access to the sea, and
whose political and economic independence and territorial integrity should be
guaranteed by international covenant.
The operative phrase is
“indisputably Polish populations” and seems to be based on a naïve or ignorant
belief that there were vast contiguous areas of “indisputably” (or
predominantly) Polish, Ukrainian, Belarusian, or another other nationality, in
that part of Europe we think of today as Poland, the Ukraine, Belarus,
Lithuania, etc.
As one of the great
understatements I’ve read, in the introduction to The Soviet—Polish Peace of
1921 and the Creation of Interwar Europe (New Haven: Yale University Press,
2008), Jerzy Borzęcki wrote: “Surprisingly for such an important subject,
the Riga treaty has not yet been satisfactorily explored by historians.” (The Soviet—Polish peace treaty of 1921 was
signed in the city of Riga in Latvia and is often called “the Riga
treaty.”) By the way, the “ę” in
the author’s last name is one of those “modified” Latin alphabet letters not
found in English and is “a nasal sound, somewhat similar to “on” or “om” and
very similar to the French “on” as in “bon.”
A lot about the current upheaval in what is now considered to be the
Ukraine can be better understood after reading this book, which deals
extensively with the “borderlands” over which Poland and Russia fought. The Polish—Russian borderlands included all
territories between Poland proper and Russia proper and can also be understood
as the “Westland” or (in Russian) Zapadnyi
krai of the former Russian Empire and consisting of territories acquired by
Russia in the partitions of Poland during 1772—1795. What you see on the Diplomacy board as the
space identified as “Warsaw” is roughly equivalent to Congress Poland
established by the Vienna Congress of 1815 and annexed by the Russian Empire in
1831. Rzeczpspolita was the union (in 1569) of Crown Poland and the Grand
Duchy of Lithuania; its capital was Warsaw.
Crown Poland, also called the Kingdom of Poland, including ethnic Poland
and Ukraine; in Polish it was called simply “Korona” (literally “the Crown”) because
“Poland” was used to describe the entire Rzeczpspolita. In the most of the disputed territories there
was no clear ethnic majority or uniform distribution of ethnicity from place to
place. Territories had been conquered by
force of arms and borders were as arbitrary and unrealistic as the straight
lines “drawn in the sand” to cut up the old Ottoman Empire that has at least in
part led to the Middle East being the mess it is today. Also, reading about the Russian strategies at
the lengthy peace talks, you can see the continuity to the obstinate denials
and posturing of Putin over MH17 matter today.
Kiev, for instance, a city we’ve heard about a lot in the news lately,
was in that part of the disputed territories that at one time belonged to Crown
Poland.
That space on the board named Galicia
was disputed by Poland and Ukraine:
Poles, as the majority, wanted the entire
province included in the Polish state.
Ukrainians, predominating in East Galicia, demanded separation from the
rest of Galicia…and to become part of in the Ukrainian state. This would mean, however, that a million
Polish speakers would be cut off from Poland.
The same fate would befall Lwów, the capital of Galicia, known in the
half-century preceding the Great War [WWI], as the most important center of
Polish culture, greater even than Warsaw or Cracow. The Polish-Ukrainian conflict in East Galicia
became a full-fledged war after an attempt at a unilateral military takeover of
Lwów by Ukrainian troops on 1 November 1918.
The war ended in July 1919, when the Polish Army forced Ukrainian troops
out of East Galicia.
In other words, after the German
defeat in October 1918, things started popping in the east. By the way, “Lwów” is pronounced as if
spelled Lvoov. An “ó” (or a “u”) are
identical sounds, similar to “oo” in “look” but slightly longer. A “w” is pronounced the way we pronounce a
“v.” Poland and Lithuania fought over
Wilno, which Poland took by force, and which today is the capital of Lithuania
and shown on maps as Vilnius. Any hopes
for a Polish-Lithuanian federation were dashed.
For that matter, the city of Minsk was behind Polish lines in mid-August
1920, as was Kiev. “Soviet-Lithuanian
peace negotiations began in Moscow on 7 May 1920, precisely at the time the
Polish troops were capturing Kiev…”
After the Soviet-Lithuanian peace, Lithuania assisted the Soviets
against Poland in a number of ways: fighting against and disarming Polish
units, letting “the Bolsheviks” pass through Lithuanian positions to surprise
Polish units by going around their left flank, and lending Russia
standard-gauge rolling stock for transporting troops and materiel. On 19 May Latvia entered into a secret pact
with Russia “not to give any assistance to Poland n its present war with
Russia.” By August Russian troops were
attacking the city of Warsaw itself.
While all this fighting was going on, there were other pressures at
work. Poland wanted the plebiscite in
Pomerania to go its way, which it did, so it would end up annexing part of
Prussia (in WWII, German troops drove many miles into Poland just to get to the
cities in which some of the German troops had been born). In 1921 there was the February 223-March 17
uprising at the Kronstadt naval base against the Soviet government. From Wikipedia:
The naval base of Kronstadt lies on Kotlin
Island near the head of the Gulf of Finland. Peter the Great captured the
island from the Swedes in 1703 and built it into a naval fortress to protect
his new capital. During the stormy years 1905-1906 several mutinies broke out
on Kronstadt. The sailors were important allies to the Bolsheviks after the
February Revolution (1917), when the Kronstadt Soviet opposed the provisional
government, declared a "Kronstadt Republic," and took part in the
July 1917 mutiny. The famous cruiser Aurora, which had bombarded the Winter
Palace on October 25, 1917 with its famous “shot heard round the world”
belonged to the Baltic Fleet based in Kronstadt.
On 26 May 1922 Lenin suffers his
first stroke, on 15 December 1922 he suffers his second stroke, on 9 March 1923
he suffers his third stroke and is no longer able to speak, and on 21 January
1924 he dies from his fourth stroke at the age of 53. Add to this the Russian famine of 1921 and
the ongoing Civil War the Bolsheviks were waging against, among others, the
“White Russian” armies, which did not end until 1923. The Soviet Union itself did not come into
existence until 1922 and was set up, perhaps at least in part, for the purpose
of reabsorbing, or trying to reabsorb, into Russia the Ukrainian, Polish, Baltic,
and Finnish territories the Bolsheviks gave up by signing the Treaty of
Brest-Litovsk that concluded hostilities with the Central Powers of World War
I.
I, for one, am not convinced
what is or is not included in the Ukraine is a matter that has been settled and
probably won’t be until everyone involved gets tired of killing other people
over it and it no longer occurs to generations afterward to dispute the borders
settled by so much carnage and violence.
ZERO SUM, Subzine to Eternal Sunshine,
Issue 25 July 27, 2014
Published by Richard Weiss. richardweiss@higherquality.com
Yup, yup, I forgot to send the zine to Doug last time. So,
I sent it out to all in either game, plus to a few others who have not yet
played in the Kendo game.
Game Offerings: With Doug’s announced wind down to a fold,
I’m not going to offer any new games.
However, when this game of WITWIKN is over, I want to run it one more
time. I may do so in Eternal Sunshine, in Quartz’ Tween zine, run by Geoff
Kemp, or in both simultaneously.
Games Being Played:
- Where In The World Is Kendo Nagasaki (Please, others join in!!!!)
Where In The World Is Kendo
Nagasaki
|
|
ROUND ONE GUESSES AND THOUGHTS
|
|
|
Player
|
Guess Name
|
Location
|
|
Heath Gardner
|
Mike Krzyzewski
|
At the Hagia Sophia, Istanbul
|
|
Jim Burgess
|
Euripedes
|
At the Summit of Mt. Fuji, Japan
|
|
Kevin Wilson
|
Sir Edmund Hillary
|
At the Summit of Mount Everest
|
|
Doug Kent
|
Amadeus Mozart
|
Ankara, Turkey
|
Round 1 Clue, from
Kendo Nagasaki: You are higher than me, in more ways than one.
|
|
ROUND TWO GUESSES AND THOUGHTS
|
|
|
Player
|
Guess Name
|
Location
|
|
Kevin Wilson
|
Socrates
|
Taj Mahal
|
|
Doug Kent
|
Geoffrey Rush
|
Mt. Ararat
|
Clue, from Kendo
Nagasaki: “You are higher than I am. I
am taught to students in the “hard sciences.”
|
|
ROUND THREE GUESSES AND THOUGHTS
|
|
|
Player
|
Guess Name
|
Location
|
|
Doug Kent
|
Plato
|
Flying Tiger Gorge, China
|
Round 3 Clue: You are the farther from me than any other
winner of a clue so far. You are higher
than me, also. I am taught in more
disciplines.
|
|
ROUND Four GUESSES AND THOUGHTS
|
|
|
Player
|
Guess Name
|
Location
|
|
Tom Howell
|
Isaac Newton
|
Jericho Synagogue, also known as Wadi Qelt Synagogue, West Bank
|
|
Jim Burgess
|
Sir Isaac Newton
|
Mount Washington, NH
|
|
Kevin Wilson
|
Albert Einstein
|
Angkor Wat
|
|
Doug Kent
|
Euclid
|
Great Barrier Reef
|
Round 4 Clue
to person with closest guess: You are a couple of thousand miles closer
to me than any other guess this time or in preceding rounds. We are both
dead; however, I, at least, met Richard Weiss. We are both considered
founders/Fathers of one or more fields of science.
|
|
ROUND Five GUESSES AND THOUGHTS
|
|
|
Player
|
Guess Name
|
Location
|
|
Doug Kent
|
Carl Sagan
|
Grand Canyon, AZ
|
|
Mark Firth
|
Richard Feynman
|
Alhambra, Granada
|
Round 5 Clue
to both guessers: Each of you are very far away, but the closer is
less than 100 miles closer. I was born
before each of you and died in between you.
I did not have to share a Nobel Prize.
Also, I have an errata. I am
higher than the Round 2 closest guess.
Orders due to me by 8 AM Sunday,
August 24, 2014 (CA time)
World Cup Tournament
Congratulations
to Per Wrestling for winning the World Cup
Tournament. He did not pick Germany to
win, but did select four teams for the final four that each were in the Round
of 16 and each won at least one match.
He was second in scoring in the First Round, one point behind
Geoff. He was tied for first with Andy
in the final rounds. Consistency wins!
Entrants and
Selections:
|
Category
|
Geoff Kemp
|
Brad Wilson
|
Per Wrestling
|
Andy Bate
|
|
First
Round
|
|
|
|
|
|
Group A
|
Brazil 7
|
Brazil 7
|
Brazil 7
|
Brazil 7
|
|
Group A
|
Mexico 7
|
Croatia 3
|
Mexico 7
|
Croatia 3
|
|
Group B
|
Spain 3
|
Spain 3
|
Spain 3
|
Spain 3
|
|
Group B
|
Netherlands 9
|
Chile 6
|
Chile 6
|
Netherlands 9
|
|
Group C
|
Columbia 9
|
Columbia 9
|
Columbia 9
|
Cote d'Ivoire 3
|
|
Group C
|
Greece 4
|
Japan 1
|
Ivory Coast 3
|
Greece 4
|
|
Group D
|
Italy 3
|
Italy 3
|
Italy 3
|
Uruguay 6
|
|
Group D
|
England 1
|
Uruguay 6
|
Uruguay 6
|
England 1
|
|
Group E
|
France 7
|
France 7
|
France 7
|
France 7
|
|
Group E
|
Ecuador 4
|
Switzerland 6
|
Switzerland 6
|
Switzerland 6
|
|
Group F
|
Argentina 9
|
Argentina 9
|
Argentina 9
|
Argentina 9
|
|
Group F
|
Nigeria 4
|
Bosnia 3
|
Nigeria 4
|
Nigeria 4
|
|
Group G
|
Germany 7
|
Germany 7
|
Germany 7
|
Germany 7
|
|
Group G
|
Portugal 4
|
USA 4
|
Ghana 1
|
Portugal 4
|
|
Group H
|
Belgium 9
|
Belgium 9
|
Belgium 9
|
Belgium 9
|
|
Group H
|
Russia 2
|
South Korea 1
|
Korea
Republic 1
|
Russia 2
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Final
Four
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Brazil + 6
|
Brazil +6
|
Brazil +6
|
Netherlands +6
|
|
|
Germany +9
|
Germany +9
|
Germany +9
|
Germany +12
|
|
|
Spain +0
|
France +0
|
Belgium +3
|
Spain +0
|
|
|
Belgium +3
|
Argentina +9
|
Argentina +9
|
Argentina +9
|
|
|
18
|
24
|
27
|
27
|
|
World Cup Winner
|
Brazil
|
Argentina
|
Brazil
|
Germany
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Scores
after Group Rounds
|
89
|
84
|
88
|
84
|
|
Scores
from Final Rounds
|
18
|
24
|
27
|
27
|
|
Final Scores
|
107
|
108
|
115
|
111
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Lowest
GAA
|
Belgium 0.6*
|
Italy 1.0
|
Italy 1.0
|
Italy 1.0
|
Acquire Game #2 -
“Juliet” – Eternal Sunshine
Players: Tom Howell,
Mark Firth, Andy Bate, Richard Weiss, Hank Alme
Turn 2
Tom
plays 12-I and buys 3 Continental.
Mark
plays 3-B. He buys 2 Festival and 1
Continental.
Andy
plays 3-F, founds American. Gets one
free American, buys one more and two Festival.
Richard
plays 2-H. Buys one Imperial, one
American, and one Festival.
Hank
plays 3-A, founds Tower. He gets one
free and buys 3 more Tower.
Turn 3
Tom
plays 12-D and founds Luxor. Gets one
free, buys 2 more and 1 Continental.
Mark
plays 11-E. He buys 2 Festival and 1
Continental.
Andy
plays 3-G. Buys 2 Festival and 1 Luxor.
Richard
plays 1-I. Buys 2 American and 1 Tower.
Hank
is up!
Diplomacy
“Dulcinea” 2008C, W 29
Game
Over! E/T Draw Passes!
End-game
statements and report next issue.
Deadline
is August 26th at 7am my time.
“Dulcinea”
Diplomacy Bourse
Billy Ray Valentine: Nothing.
Duke of York: Why bother?
Smaug the Dragon: Nothing.
Rothschild: Sells 500
Pounds. Buys 301 Piastres.
Baron Wuffet: Nothing.
Wooden Nickel
Enterprises:
Zip.
VAIONT Enterprises: Nothing.
Insider Trading LLC:
Nothing.
Bourse Master: Stands pat.
Jim
Burgess, a.k.a. Duke of York, is the big winner! Obviously all the trading back and forth
between Pounds and Piastres wasn’t especially meaningful, as with the draw both
finish with a value of 17.
PRESS
Bourse
Master: With the fall of Vie Bourse
Master predicts a Turkish Win! What
happened, please no draw, I need Turkish win to increases holdings!
Duke of
York: And that will be that, when
is Doug planning to announce identities and I can duck all of the
Tomatoes?? Rotten and otherwise??
Doug –
Boob: Now.
Duke of
York to Rothschild: I wish you did churn it so I
finished with the most of both currencies, but if not... oh well.... being a mathematician didn't help, did it??
EOG Statements are due August 26th at 7:00pm my time
Diplomacy
“Jerusalem” 2012A, W 10/S 11
England (John Biehl
– jerbil “of” shaw.ca): F Baltic Sea – Sweden, A Belgium Supports A Burgundy,
A
Burgundy Supports A Berlin - Munich (*Void*), A Gascony Supports A Spain –
Marseilles,
A
Kiel Supports A Berlin - Munich (*Void*), F Mid-Atlantic Ocean - Spain(sc),
F
North Atlantic Ocean - Mid-Atlantic Ocean, F North Sea Supports F Norway,
F
Norway Supports F Baltic Sea – Sweden, A Paris Supports A Gascony,
F
Portugal Supports F Mid-Atlantic Ocean - Spain(sc), A Ruhr Supports A Kiel.
Italy (Mark Firth – mark.r.firth
“of” capita.co.uk): Remove F Venice.. F Gulf of Lyon -
Tyrrhenian Sea,
A
Spain - Marseilles (*Disbanded*), F Tunis - Ionian Sea,
F Western
Mediterranean Supports F Gulf of Lyon - Tyrrhenian Sea.
Russia (Richard
Weiss – richardweiss “of” higherquality.com): Build A
Sevastopol..
A
Berlin - Kiel (*Fails*), A Finland - Sweden
(*Fails*), A Moscow - St Petersburg (*Fails*), A Sevastopol Hold,
A
St Petersburg - Finland (*Fails*).
Turkey (Geoff Kemp -
ggeoff510 “of” aol.com): Build A
Constantinople, F Smyrna..
F
Black Sea – Constantinople, A Bohemia Supports A Munich, A Bulgaria – Serbia, A
Constantinople – Bulgaria,
A
Marseilles Supports A Spain (*Ordered to Move*), A Munich Supports A Berlin –
Kiel,
F
Naples - Tyrrhenian Sea (*Fails*), F Piedmont Supports A Marseilles, A
Serbia – Trieste,
A
Silesia Supports A Munich, F Smyrna - Aegean Sea, A Trieste – Tyrolia, A Vienna
Supports A Serbia - Trieste.
All Draw Proposals Fail.
Now Proposed – E/R/T, E/I/R/T.
Please vote. NVR=No.
F 11 Deadline is August 26th at 7:00am my time
PRESS
London (Apr 1, 1911): King John II
declared that England is and will remain at war with Russia for the foreseeable
future. When asked by a reporter from the 'Times' why then do English armies
support Russia in the field the King responded, "Well, you see dictates of
state policy by the Prime Minister necessitate the requisite decisions. We can
only pray that the Czar will see the error of his ways and actually do
something versus the Turkish menace."
Meerkat: Who was lying? Or rather, who wasn’t?
Diplomacy
“Walkerdine” 2012D, W 06
Seasons
Separated by Player Request
Austria
(paul.milewski “of” hotmail.com): Has A
Serbia.
France
(Jim Burgess – jfburgess “of” gmail.com): Build A Paris, F Marseilles, F Brest..Has F Apulia, F Brest,
F
Eastern Mediterranean, F Edinburgh, F English Channel, F Ionian Sea, A London,
F Marseilles,
F
Norwegian Sea, A Paris, F Tyrrhenian Sea, A Venice, F Western Mediterranean.
Germany
(Steve Cooley – tmssteve “of” gmail.com): Build
A Berlin, A Munich..Has F Barents Sea, A Berlin,
A
Galicia, A Moscow, A Munich, F North Sea, A Norway, A St Petersburg, F Sweden,
A Trieste, A Vienna,
A
Warsaw.
Russia
(Hank Alme – almehj “of” alumni.rice.edu): Has F Adriatic Sea, A Budapest, A Sevastopol.
Turkey (Chris
Babcock - cbabcock “of” asciiking.com): NBR,
plays 1 short..Has A Albania, A Armenia,
F
Constantinople, F Greece.
Deadline
for S 07 is August 26th at 7am my time
PRESS
None. You guys suck.
Black
Press Gunboat, “Fred Noonan”, 2013Arb32, W 08/S 09
France: Build F Marseilles, F Brest.. A Belgium Supports A Burgundy
(*Disbanded*),
F
Brest - Mid-Atlantic Ocean (*Bounce*), A Burgundy Supports A Belgium
(*Cut*),
F
Edinburgh Supports F Norwegian Sea - North Sea, F London - English Channel, F
Marseilles - Spain(sc),
F
North Atlantic Ocean - Mid-Atlantic Ocean (*Bounce*), F Norwegian Sea -
North Sea (*Bounce*),
A
Picardy Supports A Burgundy.
Germany:
F English Channel – Belgium, F Helgoland
Bight - North Sea (*Bounce*),
A
Holland Supports F English Channel – Belgium, A Munich - Burgundy
(*Fails*),
F
Norway Supports F Helgoland Bight - North Sea, A Ruhr Supports F English Channel
– Belgium,
A
Silesia - Munich (*Fails*).
Italy: Disband A Galicia.. Build F Venice (plays 1 short).. A
Budapest - Rumania (*Fails*),
F
Eastern Mediterranean - Aegean Sea (*Bounce*), F Naples - Tyrrhenian Sea,
A
Serbia Supports A Budapest – Rumania, A Trieste – Vienna, F Venice - Apulia.
Russia: A St Petersburg Supports A Warsaw – Moscow, A Warsaw - Moscow
(*Fails*).
Turkey: Retreat A Serbia - Bulgaria.. A Bulgaria Supports A Rumania,
A
Galicia Supports A Warsaw - Silesia (*Void*), F Greece - Aegean Sea
(*Bounce*),
F
Ionian Sea - Aegean Sea (*Bounce*), A Moscow Supports F Norway - St
Petersburg(nc) (*Void*),
F
Rome – Naples, A Rumania Supports A Galicia (*Cut*), A Sevastopol
Supports A Moscow,
F
Smyrna - Eastern Mediterranean (*Fails*).
All Draw
Proposals Fail. Now Proposed – F/G/I/T,
G/T, F/I.
Please
vote. NVR=No.
Deadline
for F 09 Will Be August 26th at 7am My Time
PRESS
Turkey
to Germany and Russia: I supported both of you even though I do not expect
either of you to give the order I supported. The reason for this is that I want
good relations with G and R, for I have only one enemy: I. I suggest A Sil -
Boh, A Mun S A Sil - Boh, A Gal S G A Sil - Boh, A War S T A Gal xxx in fall.
This way G can concentrate on the defense against F, T can concentrate on the
defense against I, and R does not have to defend against anyone.
Fra-Ger: Do not be deceived
by the words of Russia, for he speaks lies.
Place no hope in Turkey, for he follows the false prophet and seeks to
destroy our true faith. I am your true
and faithful friend, and with me you will find peace and contentment. Join with me to wage a just war against the
unbelievers and all of our foes will be swept away. Move quickly to the east against the unholy alliance of Russia and Turkey
and we will be victorious!
Russia
- Turkey:
So you don't mind everyone knowing that you are a country that will renege on a
deal on the very same move that it's made?!
You won't get very far.
TURKEY
to ALL:
All of that press labeled T => is most definitely NOT me, I think it is
Russia pretending to be me....
Ger --
Fra:
I continue to bite your hand every time you stick your vile hand through the
fence. The grass is NOT greener over
here!!!
TURKEY
to RUSSIA:
I see through your treachery, we can turn on you quickly, especially with noble
Italian help!!!
FRANCE
to RUSSIA:
See if I care? I can take you all out
alone.
Diplomacy “Sweet Spot” 2013A, W 07/S 08
England
(Harold Zarr - skip1955 “of” hotmail.com): Disband
A Edinburgh.. A London Hold,
F
North Atlantic Ocean Supports F Western Mediterranean - Mid-Atlantic Ocean
(*Void*).
France (Melinda Holley – genea5613 “of” aol.com): A Burgundy Supports A Marseilles,
F
English Channel – Belgium, F Holland Supports F English Channel – Belgium, A
Kiel Supports A Munich,
A
Marseilles Hold, F Mid-Atlantic Ocean Hold, A Munich Supports A Kiel.
Italy (Hank
Alme - almehj “of” alumni.rice.edu): F
Gulf of Lyon Supports A Marseilles,
A
Portugal Supports F Spain(sc), F Spain(sc) Supports A Portugal, A Trieste
Supports A Vienna,
A
Tyrolia Supports A Trieste, F Tyrrhenian Sea Supports F Gulf of Lyon, A Vienna
Supports A Trieste,
F
Western Mediterranean Supports F Spain(sc).
Russia
(Chris Babcock –
cbabcock “of”
asciiking.com ): NMR, plays 1 short.. A Berlin Hold,
F
Denmark Hold, A Edinburgh Hold, F North Sea Hold, A Norway Hold, F Norwegian
Sea Hold, A Silesia Hold,
F
Skagerrak Hold, A Warsaw Hold.
Turkey
(Larry Peery – peery “of” ix.netcom.com): F
Aegean Sea Supports A Greece,
A
Albania Supports A Serbia, A Budapest Supports A Galicia, A Galicia Supports A
Budapest,
A
Greece Supports A Albania, A Serbia Supports A Budapest, A Syria Hold.
All Draw
Proposals Fail
Now
Proposed – E/F/I/R/T, E/I/R/T. Please
vote. NVR=No.
Deadline
for F 08 Will Be August 26th at 7am My Time
PRESS
Eng – Europe: I
will support my friend in Italy to the end.
Oceanside, CA:
I've been busy working in the Peery Archives for the last month or so and it is
amazing how much stuff I've collected over the past fifty years and then
totally forgot about. I figure there's about 130 boxes to go through and I'm
only through the first 30 or so. I had to do those first because they were on
the patio and the patio is where I hosted my first PEERICON in 25 years over
the Bastille Day weekend.
Even though we were competing with the
World Cup Final on Sunday we still had a respectable turn out and an
interesting game with eleven players (Some doubling up with two people playing
one country proved interesting except for one H&W couple who by 1903 were
no longer on speaking terms. Well, you know how those Italians are.).
My guests of honor was the legendary
hobby figure Rod Walker and Mike Maston. The three of us and Adam Silverman
have a total of over 150 years of hobby involvement and Dip playing. The game
went until 1909 and Adam ended up with 11 centers and could have gotten 18 if
we'd continued. Among other guests, attending by phone, were Walt Buchanan, the
founder of Diplomacy World, and another hobby legend, Don Del Grande. A lot of
history there. Our youngest player was 15, so the three generations attending
spanned some 50 years of hobby history. I think everyone had a good time.
I put a lot of Diplomacy memorabilia
out on display for people to oooh and aaah about. HRH Esmeralda was on display
along with members of her family and pins and decorations she has collected in
her nearly 45 years of travel on behalf of the hobby. Copies of DW from the
first issue (40 years ago, I think) to the most recent were viewable and were my
17 different Diplomacy games, including the beautiful Claire Brosius Diplomacy
Board that Claire embroidered for me back in the 1980s. This was only its
second hobby viewing. The original PEERICON trophy (First one was in 1982.) was
on display, and I was sadden to report that Game Towne, an early PEERICON
supporter and sponsor, had gone out of business as a game store after some 35
years.
Like most of you I've been watching the
news about the various airplanes crashing for this or that reason recently. None
of this surprised me. In fact it shouldn't have surprised anyone because in
actuality there have been 11 commercial jets shot down by aircraft, missile or
ground fire since the 1970s including a previous incident in the Ukraine, one
in Crimea, one in Azerbaijan, two in Siberia, one in the Straits of Hormuz,
etc. etc. What always amazes me about these stories is the way the media covers
them. No wonder the world is such a mess. We live in an age of 140 key strokes
and 30 second soundbites.
Istanbul (Spring 1908):
The Sultan stood on the ramparts of the Topkapi Palace which for four hundred
years had been the home of Turkey's Sultans.
He much preferred it to the newer
Dolmabahçe Palace that had been built at a huge cost in the 1850s by his
grandfather who, after visiting Buckingham Palace, Versailles and Sans Souci
decided he too needed something larger and grander than the old Topkapi. The
new Palace was built on a filled in inlet on the Bosphorus that had been a
mooring place for the Turkish Navy. In a modified Baroque style the palace was
big (450,000 square feet) and heavy on marble and gold gilt. Although he had
moved the court, the harem and the treasury to the new Palace the Sultan
preferred to stay as far from it as he could for as much of the time as he
could.
To complicate matters the Sultan had
moved his personal family (as contrasted to his official family) to the Yildiz
Palace in 1887 because of fear of an invasion of the Dolmabahce Palace from the
water. Reflecting the dual personality of most of Turkey's rulers the Sultan on
the one hand had his personal guard at the Yildiz dressed in modern uniforms
and the latest weaponry imported from Germany and on the other hand built a
large opera house and state-of-the-art porcelain factory connected to the
Palace because, as he told his ministers, "All the European powers have
modern porcelain factories so we must have one as well."
Still, he preferred the quiet serenity
of the Topkapi and its libraries, surrounded by memories of the Ottoman's
greatest days.
However, he still felt that the Topkapi
and Yildiz were too large for his personal needs so he built a small (for a
Sultan) pied a terre right on the Bosphorus shore beneath the walls of the
Topkapi. The Abud Efendi Yalisi Uskadar, as it was known, had 18 rooms and 10
baths in a three-story, oak-framed property with walls of glass facing the
Straits. It's flexible floorplan includes a Turkish bath, a sauna, swimming
pool, pool house and private dock. The only access to the property was by boat
or through a "secret" tunnel from inside the Topkapi that the Sultan
had built by slave laborers who literally worked themselves to death on the
project.
Here's a picture of the Abud Efendi
Yalisi Uskadar. If you're interested and have a spare $45 million it's on the
market by Sterling Ackroyd of London according to the WSJ.
On the other hand, those of you
interested in the Judiac/Christian/Islamic tradition may find this story a bit
sad:
The sanctuary of Jama Naballa Jonas is
another place that tradition says is Jonah's grave, near the city of Mosul
(today in Iraq), near the ancient remnants of Nineveh. On one of the two most
prominent mounds of Nineveh's ruins, rises the Mosque of the Prophet Yunus
(previously a Nestorian-Assyrian Church). Jonah is believed to be buried there,
where King Esarhaddon once built a palace. It is one of the most important
mosques in Mosul and one of the few historic mosques that are found on the
eastern side of the city. On July 21st, 2014, the tomb reported to be that of
the prophet Jonah was destroyed by the Islamic State of Iraq.
And that's the way it is.
Woolworth
II-D “Coney Island” 2013Bcb19, F 06
Austria
(Secret): No units.
Balkans
(Secret): A
Pie S A Swi-Mar, A Tyr-Swi, A Tri-Tyr, F Alb S F Aeg-Ion, A Gre S F Alb.
England
(Secret): F Eng-Bre, A Lon H.
France
(Brad Wilson - fullfathomfive675 “of” gmail.com): NMR! Ret F Ech-OTB..A Bur H,
F Tun H(ret
Alg,Wms,OTB).
Germany
(Marc Ellinger - mellinger “of” bbdlc.com): A Ruh-Hol.
Italy
(Secret):
F Mao-Por, F Gol S F Wms-Mad, A Swi-Mar, A Nap-Rom, A Ven S F Alb-Tri(NSO),
F Tys S F Ion-Tun.
Russia
(Jim Burgess - jfburgess “of”
gmail.com): F Gob-Bal, F Kie S F Gob-Bal, A Ber S
F Kie, A Sil-Mun,
A Mun-Bur, A Sev S A Rum.
Scandinavia
(Geoff Kemp - ggeoff510 “of” aol.com): F
Ice H, F Edi S F Nth, F Nth S A Den, A Den H.
Spain (Secret): NMR! F Mad H(Destroyed), A Mar H(ret
Gas,OTB), F Mor H, A Bel H, F Hol H.
Turkey
(Hugh Polley – hapolley “of” yahoo.ca): F Aeg-Ion, A Rum H, A Mac H, F
Wms-Mad, F Ion-Tun.
Deadline
for W 06/S 07 is August 26th at 7am My Time
Supply Center Chart
Austria: None=0 OUT!
Balkans : Ser, Gre, Bud, Vie, Tri, Swi=6 Build
1
England: Lon,
Lpl, Bre=3 Build 1
France: Par=1 Remove
1 or Even
Germany None=0 OUT!
Italy: Nap,
Ven, Rom, Cre, Mar, Por=6 Even
Russia: Mos,
War, Sev, Stp, Gal, Ber, Kie, Mun=8 Build
2
Scand.: Nwy,
Swe, Den, Edi, Ice=5 Build
1
Spain: Bel,
Hol, Mor=3 Remove
1 or Even
Turkey: Ank,
Con, Smy, Bul, Rum, Mad, Tun=7 Build
2
PRESS
Unknown
Player
- Is this A gunboat game without email?
No one wants to make a deal? Will
Germany and France soon follow Austria off the board?
Scandinavia
- Russia 'True, we don't talk much, mainly my fault,
but we will.
Geoff
- BOOB.
True. But no!
RUSSIA
to 5 and DIMERS:
We aren't the most talkative bunch, are we?
RUSSIA
to SCANDINAVIA:
Excuse me while I slip by to bop that stray Spaniard.
RUSSIA
to FRANCE:
You know how we love to speak French, here we come...
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, with the
10th round being worth double points. A prize will be awarded to the winner. Research is permitted, but cooperation or
collusion between players is not!
Round 8 Categories
1. A noise you hear at
night.
2. A golf club other
than a putter.
3. A Nobel prize
category other than Peace.
4. A sexually
transmitted disease.
5. The best month of
the year.
Geoff Kemp scored a huge 66, while Brendan
Whyte limped in with a 19.
Selected Comments By Category
Noise - Richard Weiss “Toughest one for me is a noise I hear at night. Mice, crickets, croakers, cats fighting,
owls, house settling, snoring, traffic, cars, birds, roosters, music, talking,
dogs. Hmmm. Depends if I'm in a motel.” Dane Maslen “I'm hoping that enough of your
readers will have partners who snore that 'snoring' will be a popular answer to
1.” Richard Martin “Music, for all you
Phantom of the Opera phans.” Marc
Ellinger “I thought about “bump”, from the old expression and then realized
bump isn’t really a sound!” [[At least one player disagrees with you.]]
Club – Richard
Weiss “I so want to say "Augusta National" for a golf club other than
a putter. Maybe I'll forego a point or
two. Driver was my alternative.” Dane
Maslen “For number 2 my main worry is whether people will go for classes of
club - e.g. 'wood', 'iron', 'wedge', etc - or for more specific answers, though
I doubt that the wonderful obsolete names like 'brassie' and 'mashie niblick'
will get a mention.” Brendan Whyte
“Tiger’s wood.” Jim Burgess “This is
difficult and may need Doug to be a bit flexible on how people refer to
Crickets.” Marc Ellinger “This is the
club that starts the torture on the course, the putter at least puts an end to
it…until you do it all over again!”
Nobel – Dane
Maslen “For 3 it would be more natural for me to go for 'Physics' given my
scientific background, but I'm assuming that 'Literature' will be a more
popular answer to your readers in general.”
Rick Desper “Math. Just kidding,
there's no Nobel Prize in math.” Marc
Ellinger “Did you know they award the Nobel Prize for economics, that’s not
science or art much more akin to a séance (especially since Obama became
president!)”
STD – GM
“Despite not being technically the same, I am treating HIV and AIDS as the same
answer, since multiple players answered `HIV/AIDS’” Dane Maslen “4 is the only easy
category. Yes, there are several others
that readily spring to mind (or possibly are on the tip of the tongue), but
this is surely the obvious answer.”
Month – Andy
York “October (it's our birthdays!)”
Dane Maslen “I've no idea how most people will choose their answer, so
I've gone with giving an honest answer.
For me the choice is between June and September as July and August are
usually too hot for my liking, while April, May, and October are usually a mix
of nice and horrid weather. I suppose I
could reasonably have answered 'November' as I spend its entirety in the
Canaries so for me it could well be the best month of the year, but I think for
most people in the Northern Hemisphere it must rate as one of the worst months
of the year.” Brendan Whyte “February,
because it’s shortest.” Jim Burgess “How
the heck do I know what people will say here??”
Marc Ellinger “Cold weather, holidays, vacations, what a wonderful
month!!”
Round 9 Categories
1. A fish not generally
kept as a pet.
2. A character from
“Yellow Submarine”
3. A day of the week.
4. A method of birth
control.
5. An American
supermarket chain.
Deadline for Round 9 is August 26th at 7:00am my time
Where in the World
is Kendo Nagasaki?
