Eternal Sunshine #95

December 2014

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 – or go directly to the Diplomacy section 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 http://games.groups.yahoo.com/group/eternal_sunshine_diplomacy/ to stay up-to-date on any subzine news or errata. 

 

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

 

REMEMBER: NO STANDBY PLAYERS WILL BE CALLED IN ANY GAMES.  CONSECUTIVE NMR’S = CD

 

 

 

 

 


Meet Me In Montauk
The Eternal Sunshine Letter Column

 

Paul Mikewski: Ehrman scrupulously avoids trying to prove or disprove the resurrection from the dead, or the divinity, of Jesus.  He does discuss the broad spectrum of Christian beliefs regarding the divinity of Jesus: whether He became divine at His baptism (in the Roman world's sense of adoption, which differs from what our notion of adoption), or at His birth, or whether He existed in some kind of divine form before His birth, and how some of these beliefs "won out" over others, of which there is considerable historical evidence.  I recommend any of Ehrman's books as an interesting read, and I think reading his works can be enjoyable regardless of ones own beliefs.  What I like about Ehrman's works is that they show there can be a scholarly discussion of the New Testament without asserting that some beliefs are right and others are wrong, without preaching, and without delivering a sermon.

 

 

 

 


An Excerpt from “For All the Tea in China”

Respectfully Submitted for your Approval by Paul Milewski

     This book by Sarah Rose (ISBN 978-0-670-02152-0), the full title of which is For All the Tea in China: How England Stole the World’s Favorie Drink and Changed History, is both entertaining and informative.  It is essentially a retelling of the exploits of Robert Fortune (1812-1880) who was singlehandedly responsible for the smuggling of tea plants out of China and their being transplanted in India, and covers, along the way, the demise of the East India Company, its trade of opium grown in India for tea grown in China, and the Opium Wars.  I thought the readers of ES would particularly enjoy this excerpt:


     If China was ripe for foreign incursion and a fertile hunting ground for botanist spies, it was equally a nation primed for threats from within.  Unknown to Fortune, an insurgency was fomenting along his route.  A charismatic rebel leader in the south, Hong Xiuquan, had seized the imaginations of China’s impoverished and bedraggled peasantry.  As a young provincial in Canton, Hong had tried to gain acceptance into the higher ranks of intellectual bureaucrats by training for imperial service, but like so many rural Chinese, he had failed to pass the examinations.  His impoverished family had sacrificed everything to pay for his education, and he had tried three times to qualify for the degree that would give him the social status of wearing scholar’s robes and receiving a lifetime stipend from the state.  Hong was a Hakka, a member of an outsider race, one of the hundreds of ethnic minorities in China who did not enjoy the full social standing of the Han Chinese.  The Hakka were rural farmers, their women did not follow the approved practice of foot binding, and centuries after settling in southern China, they were still viewed by locals as guests in the area.  The magnetic Hong took all the disappointment and rage of his failure and modest beginnings and transformed them into a creation myth of biblical proportions.

     After Hong failed the exams for the third time, he grew ill, weak, and fevered, descending into a delirium full of dark and wonderful visions.  In his hallucinatory state he saw a dragon, a cock, and a tiger, Chinese symbols for power, aggression, and luck.  He saw demons as well and the king of Hell.

     A woman greeted him in Hell and called him “son.”  She bathed and soothed him, wiped his brow, and cradled him to her bosom.  An old man with golden hair and beard and wearing a black dragon robe identified himself as Hong’s father and commanded the young scholar to change the world.  He handed Hong a sword and a golden seal and instructed him to cast out and destroy all the evil demon devils.

     In the vision Hong saw another man, younger and glowing, who he learned was his older brother.  While Hong would gladly have stayed with his family, his older brother was impatient that Hong should return to the world.  Without his help, how would the men of earth be transformed?

     “Fear not and act bravely,” his dream-father said.  “In times of trouble I will be your protector, whether they assail you from the left side or the right.  What need you fear?”

     Hong awoke a changed man, although it wasn’t until he happened to pick up and read a Chinese translation of the Bible, which had been disseminated by missionaries, that he was able to make some sense of his dream:  It had been the Christian God who had spoken to him.  The “older brother” in the dream was none other than Jesus Christ, which meant that he, Hong Xiuquan, a poor Chinese peasant, had to be the younger brother of Christ and like him, a son of the one true God.

     Hong shared this revelation with his neighbors and began to preach a fire-and-brimstone version of Old Testament Christianity.  He baptized converts, called for a Christian community based on faith in God the Father, and demanded the destruction of the Confucian state and the demolition of ancestral shrines.  He forbade household idols and ordered the elimination of ancestor worship.  His followers were called on to shun opium, alcohol, foot binding, and prostitution.

     Hong declared himself the Heavenly King of the Heavenly Kingdom of Great Peace.  He raised a vast army of the Heavenly Kingdom, the Taiping Tianguo, foot soldiers to aid in God’s fight against the Qing emperor’s mandarins.  His followers sold their property and earthly possessions and pooled their resources in a common treasury in order to bring the son of the one supreme God to rule over China.  [Pages 144-146]


 

 

 

 

Eternal Sunshine Game Section

 

Acquire Game #2 - “Juliet” – Eternal Sunshine

Players: Tom Howell, Mark Firth, Andy Bate, Richard Weiss, Hank Alme

 

Turn 6

Hank plays 3-C and buys two Festival.

 

 

Turn 7

 

Tom plays 11-F.

 

Mark plays 5-C and buys three Worldwide.

 

Andy plays 10-E and buys three Worldwide.

 

Richard plays 7-H.

 

Hank plays 1-C.

 

Turn 8

 

Tom plays 12-B.

 

Mark plays 7-A.

 

Andy plays 3-I and buys 3 Imperial.

 

Richard plays 2-I.

 

Hank is up!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 


Diplomacy “Jerusalem” 2012A, W 12/S 13

 

England (John Biehljerbil “of” shaw.ca): Build F Edinburgh.. F Barents Sea Supports A St Petersburg,

 A Burgundy - Munich (*Fails*), F Edinburgh - Norwegian Sea, F English Channel - North Sea,

 A Finland Supports A St Petersburg, A Gascony – Marseilles, F Gulf of Lyon Convoys A Marseilles – Tuscany,
 F Gulf of Bothnia - Baltic Sea (*Bounce*), A Kiel Hold, A Marseilles – Tuscany,

 F North Africa Supports F Western Mediterranean, A Ruhr Supports A Kiel, A St Petersburg Hold,

 F Western Mediterranean Supports F Gulf of Lyon.

Italy (Mark Firth – mark.r.firth “of” capita.co.uk): F Tunis Supports F Tyrrhenian Sea,

 F Tyrrhenian Sea Supports F Tunis.

Russia (Richard Weiss – richardweiss “of” higherquality.com): F Livonia - Baltic Sea (*Bounce*),

 A Moscow Supports A Warsaw - Livonia (*Fails*), A Prussia Supports A Silesia - Berlin (*Void*),

 A Ukraine Supports F English Channel - Irish Sea (*Fails*), A Warsaw - Livonia (*Fails*).

Turkey (Geoff Kemp - ggeoff510 “of” aol.com): Build A Smyrna.. F Aegean Sea Supports F Ionian Sea,

 A Apulia – Venice, A Bohemia Supports A Munich, A Constantinople – Bulgaria, F Ionian Sea Supports F Tunis,

 A Munich Supports A Silesia - Berlin (*Void*), F Naples Supports F Tyrrhenian Sea,

 F Piedmont Supports F Tyrrhenian Sea - Gulf of Lyon (*Void*), A Rome Hold, A Serbia – Trieste,

 A Silesia Supports A Munich, A Smyrna – Constantinople, A Tyrolia Supports F Piedmont.

 

All Draw Proposals Fail.  Now proposed – E/I/R/T.  Please vote.  NVR=No.

F 13 Deadline is December 30th at 7:00am my time

 

PRESS

 

London (Mar 1, 1913): The Foreign Ministry is puzzled by the Italian Naval manoeuvers of the previous Fall season. The Ministry expects the Italian Navy to defend itself against the Turkish depredations.

 

Whitehall (Apr 1, 1913): The Royal Navy seeks a piece of the Russian Coastal Defence Flotilla (the Whole Piece).

 

Praetor – Scrivener: Once, just once, could you write “Jeruslaem” properly at the top? Neptune’s trident – now I’m doing it!

 

GM – Praetor: No, because this is how it is spelled in what I am referencing with game names.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 


Diplomacy “Walkerdine” 2012D, F 08

 

Austria (paul.milewski “of” hotmail.com): A Bulgaria - Greece (*Disbanded*).

France (Jim Burgess – jfburgess “of” gmail.com): F Adriatic Sea - Ionian Sea,

 F Aegean Sea Supports F Ionian Sea – Greece, A Burgundy Hold, F Eastern Mediterranean Hold,

 A Edinburgh Hold, F English Channel Hold, F Ionian Sea – Greece, A London Hold, F Mid-Atlantic Ocean Hold,

 F North Atlantic Ocean Hold, F Norwegian Sea Hold, A Piedmont – Venice, A Trieste Hold, F Tyrrhenian Sea Hold,

 F Western Mediterranean Hold.

Germany (Steve Cooley – tmssteve “of” gmail.com): F Barents Sea Supports A Norway,

 A Budapest Supports A Serbia, F Denmark Supports F North Sea, A Kiel Supports A Munich,

 A Munich Supports A Tyrolia, F North Sea Supports A Norway, A Norway Hold, A Rumania – Bulgaria,

 A Serbia Supports A Rumania – Bulgaria, A Sevastopol - Armenia (*Fails*), A Smyrna – Ankara,

 A St Petersburg Supports A Norway, A Tyrolia Supports A Trieste, A Vienna Supports A Tyrolia.

Turkey (Civil Disorder): A Armenia U, F Constantinople U, F Greece U (*Disbanded*).

 

Deadline for W 08/S 09 is December 30th at 7am my time

 

Supply Center Chart

 

Austria:            None=0, OUT!!

France:            Belgium, Brest, Edinburgh, Greece, Liverpool, London, Marseilles,

                        Naples, Paris, Portugal, Rome, Smyrna, Spain, Trieste, Tunis, Venice=16, Build 1

Germany:         Ankara, Berlin, Budapest, Bulgaria, Denmark, Holland, Kiel, Moscow, Munich, Norway,

Rumania, Serbia, Sevastopol, St Petersburg, Sweden, Vienna, Warsaw=17, Build 3 (Room for 1)

Turkey:            Constantinople=1, Remove 1

 

 

PRESS

 

Paul to Jim-Bob:  What do I have to say?  What is the question?

 

France to Germany: Now we control the destiny, methinks.

 

(BOOB to WORLD): Only the Con is left....

 

Vienna-Paul: "Play this out properly" means fight to the very end, give it your all, never quit until the last unit you possess is forcibly removed from the board.

 

Berlin-Constantinople: No offense, but I've decided to bypass you and take a bit of time vacationing in Ankara. I hope you don't mind. Well, if you do, please let me know.

 

Constantinople-Berlin: Actually, "CD" means "can't decide." I would have thought you would know that by now. Oh, and I do mind: get out of Ankara ASAP. As a matter of fact, it's too late. I'm about to open up a can on you.

 

 

 

 

 


Black Press Gunboat, “Fred Noonan”, 2013Arb32, F 10

 

France: F Barents Sea Supports F Norway, A Burgundy Supports A Picardy (*Cut*),

 F Edinburgh - North Sea (*Fails*), F English Channel - Belgium (*Fails*), F Mid-Atlantic Ocean - Irish Sea,

 F Norway Supports F Edinburgh - North Sea (*Cut*), A Picardy Supports A Burgundy,

 F Spain(sc) - Western Mediterranean.

Germany: Retreat F Norway-Sweden.. F Belgium Supports F North Sea (*Cut*), A London Hold,

 A Munich - Burgundy (*Fails*), F North Sea Supports F Belgium (*Cut*), A Ruhr Supports A Munich – Burgundy,

 A Silesia Supports A Warsaw, F Sweden - Norway (*Fails*), A Tyrolia - Venice.

Italy: Civil Disorder.  F Apulia U, A Budapest U, A Serbia U (*Disbanded*), F Tyrrhenian Sea U (*Disbanded*),

 A Vienna U.

Russia: A St Petersburg - Moscow (*Fails*), A Warsaw Supports A St Petersburg - Moscow.

Turkey: F Aegean Sea - Ionian Sea, F Black Sea – Rumania, F Bulgaria(ec) Supports F Black Sea – Rumania,

 A Galicia - Budapest (*Fails*), A Greece Supports A Rumania – Serbia, F Ionian Sea - Tyrrhenian Sea,

 A Moscow Supports A Silesia - Warsaw (*Void*),  F Naples – Rome, A Rumania – Serbia,

 A Sevastopol Supports A Moscow, F Tunis Supports F Ionian Sea - Tyrrhenian Sea.

 

 

Now Proposed: F/G/I/R/T, F/I.  Please vote, NVR=No.

Deadline for W 10/S 11 Will Be December 30th at 7am My Time

 

Supply Center Chart

 

France:            Brest, Edinburgh, Liverpool, Marseilles, Norway, Paris, Portugal, Spain=8, Even

Germany:         Belgium, Berlin, Denmark, Holland, Kiel, London, Munich, Sweden, Venice=9, Build 1

Italy:                Budapest, Trieste, Vienna=3, Even

Russia:             St Petersburg, Warsaw=2, Even

Turkey:            Ankara, Bulgaria, Constantinople, Greece, Moscow, Naples, Rome, Rumania, Serbia,

Sevastopol, Smyrna, Tunis=12, Build 1

 

PRESS

 

SWISS OBSERVER: I'll add MY two cents to Doug's, all your press sucks!

 

Turkey to Germany: We can get the Italian centers at our leisure, let's take out Russia now!!!

 

Russia - Germany: Thanks for any support given.

 

France to GM: In the spring, I ordered my fleet in Edinburgh to the North Sea.  I was always under the impression that if a fleet was attacked, it could not convoy an army.  If that is correct, how was the fleet in the North Sea able to convoy an army to London?  If it was a mistake (heaven forbid), how do we correct this problem?

 

GM – France: A fleet attacked can convoy a unit without a problem.  If the fleet in question is DISLODGED it cannot convoy.  A fleet attacked cannot SUPPORT (unless it is attacked from the space into which the unit it is supporting is moving).

 

France to Russia: Do you think that there might be a German-Turkish alliance?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 


Woolworth II-D “Coney Island” 2013Bcb19, F 08

Balkans (Secret): A Bur-Pic, A Par S A Bur-Pic, A Swi-Bur, A Tyr-Swi, A Alb S F Tri, A Ser S F Tri, F Tri S A Alb.

England (Secret): Ret F Mao-Nao..A Pic S F Bre, F Bre S F Nao-Mao, F Nao-Mao.
Italy (Secret): F Por-Bas, F Mad S F Wms-Mao, A Gas S F Mao-Bre, A Tus S A Ven, A Ven S F Tri, F Wms-Mao,

 F Tys H.

Russia (Jim Burgess - jfburgess “of” gmail.com): F GOB-Swe, F Bal C A Ber-Den, A Ber-Den,

 A Kie S A Ber-Den, F Hol-Nth, F Hel S F Hol-Nth, A Bel S A Bur-Pic, A Ruh S A Bel, A Sev S A Rum.

Scandinavia (Geoff Kemp - ggeoff510 “of” aol.com): F WAO S F NAO-MAO, F Ech S F Bre,

 F Nth S A Den(ret Lon, Yor, Edi, Nwg, Nwy, Ska, OTB), F Swe S A Den, A Den S F Swe.

Spain (Civil Disorder): No units.

Turkey (Hugh Polleyhapolley “of” yahoo.ca): F Cre-Ion, A Rum S A Bul, A Bul S A Rum, F MAO-Bre,

 F HAO-WAO, F Ion-Ems, A Alg-Mor.

 

Deadline for W 08/S 09 is December 30th at 7am My Time

 

Suppy Center Chart

 

Balkans                        Ser, Gre, Bud, Vie, Tri, Swi, Par=7                                             Even

England           Lvp, Bre, Lon?=2 or 3                                                               Even or Build 1

Italy                 Nap, Ven, Rom, Cre, Mar, Por, Mad=7                                       Even

Russia              Mos, War, Sev, Stp, Gal, Ber, Kie, Mun, Hol, Bel, Den=11          Build 2

Scand.              Nwy, Swe, Edi, Ice, Lon?=4 or 5                                                Even or Build 1

Spain                None=0                                                                                    OUT!

Trkey                Ank, Con, Smy, Bul, Rum, Tun, Mor=7                                      Even

 

PRESS

 

Geoff - Jim Bob: Thanks for that, well on way to recovery and hopefully almost ready to resume pubbing Quartz & Tween. Don't worry I totally understand and apologise for not being able to give this game as much time as I should have done.

 

RUSSIA to THE UNKNOWN PLAYER: Now we don't have any NMRs....

 

 


 

 

 

 


General Deadline for the Next Issue of Eternal Sunshine:  December 30th, 2014 at 7:00am my time.   Hope to See You Then!