THE ABYSSINIAN PRINCE #346

March 17, 2014


Jim Burgess, 664 Smith Street, Providence, RI 02908-4327 USA, (401)351-0287, jfburgess of gmail.com


E-MAIL/WEB ONLY ISSUE! PDF will be available on the website. We also are being reproduced in Eternal Sunshine.


Web Page Address: http://www.diplom.org/DipPouch/Postal/Zines/TAP/index.html


We continue with Kendo Nagasaki, join ANY time, just send me a guess!!!
This issue continues the szine/subszine inversion. As most of you know, this thing began as a ßubszine" to Terry Tallman's North Sealth, West George, then became its own szine with a host of subszines. The subszines remaining will appear as sub-subszines to our new flipflopped home in Doug Kent's Eternal Sunshine. Doug's incessant nagging is not keeping us on schedule, but will make it so we keep going. I'd like to keep writing and doing some game GMing (note that has been expanding). I'm set on the GMing, soon I hope to follow with the writing. We take a look at the beginning of that this issue.
For production, in addition to the HTML's of each separate product on the web page, I will also have a PDF that you can print of the entire subszine (including my famous handdrawn maps!). You can just print the maps if you like, but remember maps are for pikers anyway, you don't need no steenkin' maps, keep them up in your head where they belong.
General information about the mailing list is at: http://www.diplom.org/mailman/listinfo/tap You can sign up from there, or send E-Mails to: Tap-request of diplom.org; with the word `help' in the subject or body (don't include the quotes), and you will get back a message with instructions. You must know your password to change your options (including changing the password, itself) or to unsubscribe.


THE ABYSSINIAN PRINCE FEATURES SECTION (CONS/LETTERS/MUSIC)
((For upcoming cons around the world: http://diplom.org/Face/cons/index.php, but note that some of the Americans have stopped posting the tournaments there. Shame, shame, shame... The Chicago hobby continues on its active track: CODCon is coming up on April 5th and 6th and Weasel Moot on July 26th and 27th. Although we know that Carnage in Vermont will end off the Nor'Easter sequence of events the first weekend in November, the rest of the year in the Northeast is clarifying slowly. Cheers to Christian Pedone and the Philly crowd for organizing a patriotic July 4-6 Philly Massacre again this year. The website is at www.philadelphiamassacre.com, check it out. Rob Premus hasn't said anything about his tournament though. But expect updates in this space...))


NEW FEATURE: ROCK AND ROLL BANDS AND MOMENTS THAT MATTER
Human Switchboard: This feature is going to wander around through some predictable (to most of you) and less predictable bands. It may (I hope) generate some dialog and comments from all of you too. Let me start with the one band I have most longed to see live, but never did. In one list of songs from the 1980's (http://www.rocknycliveandrecorded.com/songs-for-the-hungry-ipod-ten-essential-non-hits-from-the-1980s.html) that were essential non-hits, they featured one of their songs, "(Say No To) Saturday's Girl", that is one of my favorite road songs of theirs. For those of you who are Lou Reed/Velvet Underground fans, Human Switchboard came out of that trend, recorded one album, and has a retrospective CD that adds some other songs (http://www.amazon.com/dp/B005KVLIC8/). This is on my top-10 CDs that I regularly play in my car (yes, I know, I'm so outdated, seldom using my iTunes, but I don't). In addition to the usual hauntingly insistent keyboards from co-lead singer Myrna Marcarian, "Saturday's Girl" also has Ernie Krivda on sax. Myrna and Ernie going back and forth can wring deep emotion out of any of their songs. I'm sure this was a live band that brought you to 2 A.M. with a thought that you'd just lived a whole other life. That's the way the songs still sound to me, just completely different from all the other stale wave bands of the time. They could never find the right bass player, which I'm sure kept them from being signed and really hitting the big time. But that didn't matter. And then the magic of "Refrigerator Door", the slow song that brings it all home. I assert to you all that the nihilstic magic of this song has no comparator anywhere, it leaves Lou Reed in the dust. It's the space, the hesitation, the angst in the line, "I found your sympathy stuck inside of my refrigerator door, next to my stove... and one thing's for sure, you’re out of heat again" that just makes a magical punk song. There are few groups and sets of songs like these that both make your heart soar and make you want to cry every single time you hear them. I have real rock and roll moments live in bars that we will revisit in this series, my great regret is that I know ANY moment with this band would have been one of them. Bob Pfeifer was the other lead singer, it seemed there always was tension between him and Myrna, and she didn't sing as much as she might have. Bob Pfeifer went on to a producer role at Hollywood Records, the Disney label that went on after Pfeifer was fired to make the Jonas Brothers and Miley Cyrus records. This was a huge shame since Pfeifer has more chops than any record that label ever made, before or since. The raw honesty of this music was the essence of wave/punk of the late 1970's and early 1980's, which of course for me was the time when I was hanging out in small bars listening to essential bands.


DIPLOMACY WORLD CUP TOURNAMENT IS ONGOING - YOU CAN STILL JOIN!
This is the latest incarnation of this team based tournament. I am helping to lead the Nor'Easter team for people in the Northeast part of the United States. https://www.facebook.com/groups/123795024327261/ is the Facebook page for the event.
And you can sign up for the Tournament at: http://aqmn.asciiking.com/. Other US regional teams are the ones in the Pacific, Dixie, and Chicago. Its unique aspect, that is proving to be a bit distorting but in interesting ways, is its "solo only" feature. You advance from the preliminaries to the finals only by soloing, and then need solos in the finals against the other soloists. Though this started last January, it probably will be going on for at least two years, and there is PLENTY of time to jump in. As usual, for those who know me well, I screwed up my first game and allowed a solo to someone from team US. I still don't have a solo in over three decades, and now I'm waiting for my next game to start, you can join and get more games going!!! You can easily throw games, and in this format you can do it. I wonder why people like to drop the levels of the game in this way. It fascinates me. But in the finals of this tournament, it shouldn't happen, should it? The rules for the finals have been tweaked and the finals should start very soon. But you still can join the qualifiers, openings are there now!!!


THE ABYSSINIAN PRINCE LETTERS SECTION
Doug Kent (Tue, Feb 25, 2014 at 7:07 PM)
Want to join the annual Eternal Sunshine March Madness group (free) and try to win a prize?
The link is: http://diplomacy.mayhem.cbssports.com/e?ttag=BPM14_paste_cbsinv
If it asks you for a password, the password is diplomacy. Or email me and I will send you an invite if you have any problems.
Doug, dougray30 of yahoo.com
((So, I'm in for this and the brackets are just out. Please think about joining us. I think we have 13 signed up so far, and that's unlucky. Locally around here, the big news is that Providence College won the Big East Championship, but they still ended up as only an 11 seed in the East. PC has a fun team with only six players playing any significant minutes and most of the team playing 40 minutes many nights. Bryce Cotton is one of those underrated seniors that do well in the tournament. In general, it looks like to me that the Selection Committee had their minds mostly made up before the tournaments, and didn't let outcomes in those last games faze them much. Providence seems like it's playing better than all the 8's and 9's in the tournament and should be able to give North Carolina a run for their first game. That whole bracket with Iowa State and North Carolina Central is rather tough. I don't think Iowa State is a lock to get by NC Central either. Then, Louisville ended up fourth in the Midwest, I think Wichita State, the number one seed in that bracket is going to have a really tough time getting out of that draw. As Rick Desper just mentioned to me, the "one and done" moves by the stars really makes the Tournament hard to predict and hard to know the teams as well as we used to be able to do. Michigan State is another team playing really well now, but only a four seed. I am not a fan of Virginia. And lastly, Syracuse had an amazingly bad recent run, but those are the kinds of streaks that can get turned around in the tournament. They are a three seed in the South, and Kansas doesn't impress me there.))


THE ABYSSINIAN PRINCE GAMES SECTION
I am continuing to note cut or failed support orders with a small "s" instead of a capital "S". This will make it easier on the E-Mailed version of the szine to see what happened, since the italics don't show there. The italics DO show on the web page just fine. Since I'm not postal mailing the szine any more, I've dropped back to just reporting the disguised E-Mail addresses. As someone notes, if you need some more contact information, go back to past issues or ask me.
Standby lists:
Dick Martin, Brad Wilson, Jack McHugh, Glenn Petroski, Steve Emmert, Mark Kinney, Vince Lutterbie, Eric Brosius, Paul Rauterberg, Bob Osuch, Doug Kent, Sean O'Donnell, Heath Gardner, Paul Kenny, and Jeff O'Donnell stand by for regular Diplomacy. Let me know if you want on or off these lists, especially OFF given the new policies.


GAME OPENING INFORMATION
I'm going to start the game opening list over. Under the new regime, who wants to play what?
DIPLOMACY: The Regular Diplomacy game starts in this issue. I would love to run Spy Diplomacy again some time, any interest in that? Something else?? Another Regular Diplomacy game? Maybe I'll just show you all that I can stay on schedule for awhile.
SPY DIPLOMACY: Heath Gardner, need six more.


THE PHIL REYNOLDS MEMORIAL: 2006B, Regular Diplomacy
THE DUE DATE FOR SPRING 1910 IS APRIL 19TH, 2014
Autumn and Winter 1909
AUSTRIA (Burgess): bld a bud; has a BUD, f BUL(SC), a VIE, a TRI, a SER.
ENGLAND (James): has f NWG, a YOR, f BAR, a NWY, a PRU, a STP, f NTH,
f NAP, f GOB, a KIE, f APU, f BAL.
FRANCE (Williams): R a tri-TYO; has f TYH, f WES, a BUR, a MUN, a VEN,
f ADR, a BER, f ION, a TYO.
ITALY (Crow): has a GRE.
RUSSIA (Gardner): rem f aeg; has a MOS, a GAL, a WAR, a BOH, f EAS, f LVN.


E-Mail Addresses of the Participants
AUSTRIA: David Burgess, burgesscd of roadrunner.com or dburgess of glensfallshosp.org
ENGLAND: Drew James, kjames01 of twcny.rr.com or karelanddrew of gmail.com
FRANCE: Don Williams, wllmsfmly of earthlink.net ($5)
GERMANY: Marc Ellinger, mellinger of blitzbardgett.com
ITALY: John Crow, johnny.crow of hotmail.com
RUSSIA: Heath Gardner (aka Heath Davis-Gardner), heath.gardner of gmail.com
TURKEY: Fred Wiedemeyer, wiedem of telus.net or wiedem of shaw.ca


Game Notes:
1) A relatively quiet winter season here... we do repropose the failed EF draw for the Spring turn. As usual, failure to vote vetoes the draw.


Press:
(FRANCE to RUSSIA): Are you feeling lucky? Well, are you? You may be voting for the draw but somebody ain't. The way I see things playing out, you'll lose dots before Austria does. Standing by your ally makes sense to you in that circumstance?
(PARIS to VIENNA): Hey, my friend, I didn't call the tune to this dance - you were the one who shoved that bayonet firmly into the rib cage of your beloved Italian ally. The rest is details. Time to vote for the draw as the days of wine and roses are drawing to an end. Even the Hundred Years War –- and sometimes I feel like this game has bested that time frame –- eventually had to end.
(BOOB to PARIS): Well, maybe not 100 years, but only an order of magnitude less than that. This game really did start in 2006, and it would be fun if it went to 2016, wouldn't it?
LE DUCK du NORMANDIE to LORD JAMES: Nice work last time –- thanks for the assist into the Adriatic. And a retreat into Tyrolia as planned to shore up the line. Time for us to stick together, what, and put paid to these scoundrels. We’ve got some fun stuff coming up yet.
(A TYA to A GRE): Good luck. I hope you make it out of here alive.
(BOOBISH GMING): After long discussions with Keith Sherwood, I ONLY use TYO for Tyrolia, but feel free to abbreviate it any way you want, just don't call it TRO...
(WILLIAMS to BURGESS): Thanks again for keeping this moving -– much appreciated.
(BOOB to DUCK): You're quite welcome, quite frankly, it's Kendo Nagasaki that is holding my interest up at the moment. Just where IS Kendo and who is he anyway???


PRINCE OF DARKNESS: 2013D, Regular Diplomacy
THE DUE DATE FOR SPRING 1902 IS APRIL 19TH, 2014
Autumn and Winter 1901
AUSTRIA (Allen): R f tri otb; has a BUD, a GAL.
ENGLAND (Wilson): bld f edi; has f EDI, f NWY, f NTH, a YOR.
FRANCE (Williams): bld f bre, a par; has f BRE, a PAR, f ENG, a POR, a SPA.
GERMANY (Kent): bld a mun, a ber, f kie; has a MUN, a BER, f KIE, f DEN, a BEL, a HOL.
ITALY (Ruttinger): bld a ven, a rom; has a VEN, a ROM, f TUN, a TYO, a TRI.
RUSSIA (Slossar): bld a stp; has a STP, f SWE, f SEV, a UKR, a WAR.
TURKEY (Gardner): bld a con, a ank; has a CON, a ANK, f BLA, a GRE, a BUL.


E-Mail Addresses of the Participants
AUSTRIA: Scott Allen, scottdjallen of gmail.com
ENGLAND: Brad Wilson, fullfathomfive675 of gmail.com
FRANCE: Don Williams, wllmsfmly of earthlink.net
GERMANY: Doug Kent, dougray30 of yahoo.com
ITALY: Mike Ruttinger, mruttinger of gmail.com
RUSSIA: Bob Slossar, bobsloss of comcast.net
TURKEY: Heath Gardner (aka Heath Davis-Gardner), heath.gardner of gmail.com


Game Notes:
1) I think I do have a call for a unanimous and anonymous vote with your Spring orders for skipping a Summer press season if there are no retreats. If there are retreats, there will be a separate Summer season, unless everyone submits orders going ahead. If my policies on this are unclear, please ask. If you fail to vote on the "no separate summer" question, it is assumed to be default to my standard separation, unless everyone submits orders to go ahead.


Press:
(JIM-BOB to THE GAME): There are a number of press series going on, and for one of them, the one named PoD, I have been asked to continue to reprise the last episode, in this case Part 9, to lead off this issue, this may help people read and follow it better.
(PRINCE of DARKNESS, PART 9): I'd known Ajowan for decades but never seen the look that crossed unbidden on his face just then. As quickly, it vanished. But I'd seen what I'd seen.
"The Wicked Tinker," he whispered hoarsely. "I haven't heard that name in a hundred years. I thought him dead." A hundred years? What? "Cipolin, are you sure?" he said. "That name is old, even if the man using it is not. It is an adversarial name. Or once was. Where did you hear it?"
"In Venice. There was an unknown presence I noted in Rome as I was arranging Italian agreement to attack the Archduke. The presence slipped north and I pursued. I missed him in Venice but caught up to several of his associates. I didn't have a lot of time. The canals were convenient. They didn't know much anyway. But what did you say... what's this about a hundred years? How? Tell me what you know."
"I will not," Ajowan said abruptly. "I’ve said more than enough. Ignore my outburst. It was unseemly. You shall, do you understand? But, yes, this changes things. Go to her, find Lila. Learn what you can. Be careful there and guard yourself, she is more than she appears to be. There is evil in this news and at least one cold, dead ghost is shaking its bones. I'll set out as well. We'll meet soon and share our findings. If the Wicked Tinker is once more prowling the byways and halls of Europe there are those who need to know. They are always seeking photos of ghosts."
"I'll leave next week," I said. There were things I still needed to settle in Munich, maybe Tyrolia, too, and I'd need the time.
"That will be soon enough, I suppose," said Ajowan. The dagger glittered like something alive where he'd left it on the table. He lifted his goblet and drank the last of his wine, wiped his mouth with his sleeve.
"Be wary, Cipolin," he said. "The heads of Europe are not your gravest menace if this story is true. Play the fool with her if you must, but do not find yourself playing jester to the clown. I am away." With that he disappeared from the chamber leaving me to show myself to the door.
(PRINCE of DARKNESS, PART 10): Somewhere a guitar and bandurria played a song of loss and longing. The Portuguese and their fado had nothing on the mournful strains of the Romani's music. The doleful tune spoke to me in the light of the many candles and flickering shadows of the room I'd been waiting in for the better part of an hour.
Once more my travel had been jumbled and confused and had taken too long. After attending to some necessary liaisons with a ranking military adjutant in Munich and a well-placed clerk in Tyrolia I had boarded the train south to Albania.
The war had expanded as planned. Iago's true colors bloomed more quickly than even I had expected with his bloody stab of Dracula and Trieste fell dramatically to marauding Italian regiments from Venice. Iago'd done it after all and I had bested the Wicked Tinker. My train was boarded twice by suspicious Alpini military police while we headed southward through the province. Papers were checked. Some passengers removed. Forcibly. Austria had attempted to follow up its invasion of Galicia by mounting an offensive into hapless Rumania. It had been repulsed by the strong action of the Tsar's army and naval forces, themselves eager to claim the country. Tiny Rumania remained, for the moment, free of foreign troops but the Rumanians were not rejoicing; they knew the respite from occupation would be brief. Moriarty had claimed the Black Sea but I couldn't discern if this was with Sauron's agreement or not. Either way, I knew, future surprises were likely in the offing. Seizing the advantage of a distracted Austrian command, the Sultan had occupied Greece, overwhelmed the defenders of that peninsula and claimed a hallowed victory for Ottoman forces. Only Serbia remained untouched by the bloodshed. That wouldn't last another six months.
HAL had continued his fool's errand, sending French battleships from the Channel into the teeth of Voldemort's North Sea fleet where they'd fought a blustery but fruitless naval engagement off the coast of London. Voldemort had also stormed ashore in Norway, toppling that country's independence in scant weeks. Iberia, at least, had fallen to HAL. The stories of French atrocities there were chilling. It was Palpatine, though, who'd had the most appalling year -– German forces had successfully collapsed Denmark in the spring, and then with rapacious speed occupied Holland and Belgium, doubling the size of her base economy. Palpatine and Sauron had apparently worked a silent deal on Sweden's fate as Sauron's northern fleet had occupied that country with impunity. Winter would hear dark rumbles from Germany as Palpatine's war machine went into full production and doubled in size. I hadn't heard Minister Zander's take on the European war but suspected his face was a mask of smiles as violence erupted from Sweden to Spain, England to Turkey. Things were good.
(SUN-TZU to MICKOLO MOUSEIAVELLI): Everybody knows that. Next you'll be telling us to act like a fox when it's time to be a fox, and a lion when it's time to be a lion. Whatever that means. Look, I said all this centuries before you did -– you just got better press because you're a westerner. Try telling us something really special.
(DEATH PANELS to AYN RAND-PAUL): Speaking of `death panels', we'd like to get our hands on you. When can we make an appointment with your dea... destiny?
(BOOB SPLUTTERS): I'm not letting these people into this szine, next you'll be asking me to bring back Eric Klien!
(CLUELESS PLAYERS to SPLUTTERING BOOB): Your nonsensical utterings are off to a fast and inane start. "Antarctic missions to the soul of Shakespeare." Huh? Make sense, lad, make sense! Oh, and "Spluttering Boob" is redundant, another black mark in your column.
(BOOB SPLUTTERS to the CLUELESS PLAYERS): That's why you remain so clueless!!! I also know how to make waffles, I think we need to group all the wafflers next...
(RUSSIA to FRANCE): You're not doing it right. Germany got three. How can I invade him when he got three? Stick to the plan, man.
(FRANCE to RUSSIA): Who are you really?
(RUSSIA to FRANCE): I got the plan, Stan!
(DENMARK, BELGIUM & HOLLAND to RUSSIA & FRANCE): Hurry up and figure it out -– we hate sauerkraut.
(GERMANY to DENMARK, BELGIUM & HOLLAND): Perhaps you'd prefer boot leather? It can be arranged.
(FRENCH TOAST to BELGIUM WAFFLES): That, um, that looks painful.
(WAFFLERS to TOASTIES): You don't know the half of it. And you should see how he treats us when the kids aren't around.
(ITALY to GM): I don't even want to imagine what you were doing while you were `waffling', but I hope you washed your hands thoroughly after you were done.
(DON & DOUGIE to DOUGIE & DON): Now is the time for all good men to come to the aid of the -– oh, to hell with it! Let's get him.
(WAFFLERS RETURN): My waffle maker can keep up and send more messages than you can!
(BRAD to GM): You mean this isn't Gunboat?
(BOOB to BRAD): No, it is not.
(RUSSIA to BOOB): You're scared at the thought of Double-Ds? That's funny coming from someone with the nickname `Boob'. What size Boob are you, then?
(BOOB to RUSSIA): I'm scared of nuthin', I'm just shootin' off with my waffles!
(AUSTRIA to CRUEL WORLD): I sit on the floor and pick my nose and think of dirty things, of devious Wops who stab their friends, and Turks who drub their dings, and silver-tongued Tsars who speak the truth in riddles wrapped in rings.
(GERMANY to AUSTRIA): Anschluss? Why, no, I’ve never heard of it. Why do you ask? Please go away, I’m busy building the biggest war machine in Europe.
(BOOB to GERMANY): I could take your builds back, be careful how you speak on the grave of the Anschluss...
(GERMANY to FRANCE): Keep it up, Pastry-Face, and I'll show you how to make crepes with a bayonet.
(WAFFLERS UNITE AGAINST THE INFERIOR PASTRY PRODUCTS): We shall have no crepes here, stab the French and cover them with syrup!!!
(GERMANY to RUSSIA): Enjoy Sweden. They're really just Russians with better PR and lighter hair color. Remember, now, you're playing an eastern game.
(RUSSIA-TURKEY): I trusted you for 1 season. I was rewarded for my trust with a Turkish fleet in the Black Sea. Thanks! I don't forget my friends or slime like you.
(GERMANY to ENGLAND): I like the strong, silent type. They attract me like no other. Sort of like a `fatal attraction', if catch my drift.
(FRANCE-TURKEY): Our plan is working perfectly! Good job getting Italy to agree to help you against Russia, after Russia is finished I'll help you take down Italy.
(BOOB REPORTS to GERMANY): I wonder if Glenn Close has double-Ds. That would be really really scary.
(BOOB SPLUTTERS AND WAFFLES): I have had quite enough of all of you!!! I'm not scared and I'm not worried, and I'm not silent!!!
(BUNNY BOILER to BOOB): I also have a very sharp knife. Bet I'd be a great Diplomacy player. I won’t be ignored, Boob...
(BOOB to BUNNY BOILER): I am not ignoring any of you, except perhaps for the Wicked Tinker, him I'm afraid of.
(SHARON STONE to BUNNY BOILER): Stow it, Close. I have a vicious ice pick. Who do you think men fear more, me or you?
(BOOB to MS. STONE): We fear neither of you, none of you hold a candle to the Gypsy Wife. She has some assets neither of you possess. We're about to find out how and why, at least a little bit.
(MEN to STONE/CLOSE): You both make our wienies shrivel.
(AUSTRIA to STONE & BOILER): Which of you is playing Italy? I gotta know.
(POPE RUTTALOTTA to AUSTRIA): I hacked you fair and square. Be good. This won't take long. You know, kind of a badda-bing thing.
(AUSTRIA to CRUEL WORLD II): Clowns to the left of me, jokers to the right. No wait. Clown and jokers wouldn't be so fracking painful. I got serial killers to the left of me, psychopaths to right.
(STONE & BOILER to BOOB): Is he talking about us?
(BOOB to STONE/BOILER): Depends on where the clowns are putting their parts.
(ANDERSON COOPER to HANNITY): We're just glad he's on your side.
(HANNITY to BOOB): You don't need orders from me. I'm always going to attack from right to left. Right to left. Right to left. There is no other way. Germany is warned.
(LINUS to LUCY): Who is this Shakespeare guy and why is he dragging us into it? We haven't been in a good strip since the old man died.
(BAD COMIC STRIPS to DOONESBURY): I am Garfield, and I was President! What are you doing going back to the beginning and reminding us how lame you once were?
(BLACK PRESSER to GAME): Just remember that no matter how much is written that is attributed to Russia or Bob Slossar, he is never, ever going to be the true author of it. `Cause Bob don't do press!
(BOOB to BLACK PRESS): Yes, everyone is out there, one might be surprised to know who is writing what! I'll never tell, and maybe even this is not me, The Boob needs to reserve no bylines to himself.
(COLONEL KILGORE to BLACK PRESSER): Watch your ass there, Presser. That was suspiciously close to "Charlie don’t surf"!
(BOOB to KILGORE): Oh, I'm such a big fan! Can you give us another quote, just for old time's sake?
(COLONEL KILGORE to BOOB): Well, son, I'll give it a try. I love the smell of napalm in the morning. Smells like a six center Germany.
(BOOB to KILGORE): That's not how I remember it, but thanks for playing.
(TROUT to BOOB): Me neither, I think the Colonel is just buggy, I think we need the Founder of THIS Feast...
(TERRY TALLMAN to DUCK): You know, Ducky, that if I'd known then how long Boob would continue to spout drivel I never would have given him his start. I have committed grave crimes against humanity, sins against logic and good taste, atrocities against the written word. I have much to answer for.
(NOSEWEEGIE to BOOB): You can stop at any time. And put your pants back on. That's disgusting.
(BOOB to TOADFATHER): From the day you asked me out, you've NEVER been able to get me to put my clothes back on.
(HAIKU-ER to ODE): Well done! A proto-epitaph in 17 syllables. You're showing talent there.
(ODE to BOOB):
Sense And Senselessness
What Separates Me From You
With All Known Readers.
(BOOB to ODIE): Arf, arf to you too...
(AUSTRIA to ODE):
Screw You Very Much
The Blade In My Open Back
Made In Italy
(TURKEY to ODE-MASTER): Clever, Poetry Boy. But can you man up and write us a full 14 line sonnet? Well, can you?
(BOOB to HEATH MAN): You better write us some poetry yourself, you can run rings around me!!!
(PRINCE of DARKNESS, PART 11): Tirana was a hotbed of rumor and intrigue with the recent military comings and goings and it was a week before I could hire a coach to take me to Korce not far from the Greek border. Korce was a city of the 5th century -– ancient and antiquated. Isolated on a plateau at the foot of the Morava Mountains it had never prospered and had little to commend it as far as I could see. But it was removed from Europe's main flow of affairs, a decided benefit to those who wished their activities to remain hidden in the backwaters. The town curled around itself in the old cathedral center where successive waves of buildings and structures over the centuries had created a quixotic warren of hundreds of interconnected dwellings, shelters, shops, and dens for human activity of all kinds. Connected but impenetrable. An apt metaphor for the woman who made that warren her home.
(BOOB to PRINCE OF DARKNESS): What the hell do we care about Korce, Albania? No one cares about Albania in this game. Let's try to talk about something else, anyone for great literature?
(WILLIAMS to GM): More reflections on favorite movies and books. Recently watched "Inherit the Wind", another old favorite. And I know you won't believe this coming from me, but I finally read "To Kill a Mockingbird" for the first time only last year. Wow. Great story. I must have a secret thing for Gregory Peck.
(GM to WILLIAMS): Really, wow, I loved the book and the movie.
(DON to DOUG): Now comes the truthing of all truthings, mein Kaiser. To the battlements! To the battlements! To the... oh, you get it, come on and show your colors already.
ITALY to AUSTRIA:
"S" is for the way I stabbed you blind,
"T" is for the treachery in my mind.
"A" is very very extra arbitrary
"B" is betrayed more than anyone one I’ve stabbed before
This "stab" was made for you by me!
(DOUG to NKC): It’s a good thing you aren't around to see this.
(BOOB to KBC): Nor you... watch it, it's about to get even lamer. You should be turning in your blessed grave.
(HOLMES to WATSON): We're off to Turkey, my dear Doctor Watson. Moriarty has surfaced, our most treacherous and gravest foe!  The game is afoot, Watson, the game is afoot!
(DRACULA to IAGO): Used a wooden stake for that stab, didn't you? The legend never made it clear you could stab me in the heart from behind.
(IAGO to DRACULA): Open interpretation is a specialty of mine, dear Count. Here, have a nice bracing of garlic while I open the curtain and let some sunlight into this nasty dark room.
(PRINCE of DARKNESS, PART 12): The Gypsy Wife was not Albanian but had adopted the country years ago. Her pronounced accent was a jumble of tongues that hinted of many influences and, as such, was uniquely unplaceable. Maybe she had originally come from Bohemia, or maybe Sardinia or Cypress, perhaps from the Basque country or Armenia. She alluded to them all in her history. It didn't matter to her, she said, as her people had not been accepted anywhere in Europe for more than ten centuries. All lands were inhospitable to those who didn't belong. The music in the other room spoke of that loneliness and alienation. Albania, with its own tradition of not belonging, was not welcoming to the gypsies she said, only less hostile than the rest of Europe.
Sometime in the past she had become owner of The Threshing Floor. The Threshing Floor was a hard-bitten tavern favored by the local criminal element, assorted dark figures, and few others. The tavern was now enmeshed in the mass of mean buildings that were Korce, but centuries ago had stood alone near the old city walls before the town had moodily crowded in around it. It was dark even by tavern standards and larger than any of its competitors. Generations ago it had been a barn, or a granary maybe. One story had it the Gypsy Wife had won The Floor in a duel with knives. Another rumor was that she'd terrified the previous owner with baleful readings from her tarot deck. A third was that it had always been in gypsy hands and she was only the current keeper. It didn't matter. Nothing in The Threshing Floor happened without her knowledge and forbearance. Most patrons came to the tavern for drink and gossip, both of which flowed freely. Cards, dice, and other games of chance were also a draw. Others came to conduct quiet business of a less than legal nature. I was here for none of these. I'd come for information.
I'd met Lila by chance in Constantinople years ago at the top of the Galatian Tower in the eastern part of the city. We were both pursuing a Fourth Worlder known as the Al'Harradan baq-El, a brutal killer and blackmailer from Syria. My client had been the wealthy family of one of his victims, hers a Romani chief in eastern Turkey. I'd needed him alive and had chased him to the Tower after an extended search through the Levant. Her client wasn't as picky and she'd accomplished her mission when Al'Harridan baq-El met his end at her hands with a fall from the top of the Tower. Defenestration. Messy. Effective. After some tense negotiation she’d allowed me to take the body to my clients after proving to the gypsy lord he'd been neutralized. It was an uncomfortable accommodation. We'd both benefited.


FOR THE MEKONS ET AL.: Breaking Away, Designer's Rules
THE DUE DATE FOR TURN 4 IS APRIL 19, 2014!!
Turn 3: The Pelaton Splits All Apart
34 (replenish with a 3) Larry Csonka, Peeta Mellark
33 (replenish with a 5) Ernie Davis
32 (replenish with a 6) Jim Brown
31 (no replenishment) None
30 (no replenishment) None
29 (no replenishment) None
28 (no replenishment) None
27 (no replenishment) None
26 (no replenishment) None
25 (replenish with a 3) Haymitch Abernathy
24 (no replenishment) None
23 (replenish with a 3) Barszczewski
22 (no replenishment) None
21 (replenish with a 3) Crockett, Arciszewski
20 (replenish with a 5) Sam Vimes, Floyd Little, Bowie, Cwierczakiewiczowa
19 (replenish with a 9) Sylvester Carmouche, Travis
18 (replenish with a 11) Moist von Lipwig, Mustrum Ridcully, Roberto Rojas, Jean Van de
Velde, Ryan Leaf
17 (no replenishment) None
16 (replenish with a 3) CMOT Dibbler, Houston, Dziewulski, Effie Trinket
15 (replenish with a 7) Katniss Everdeen


Addresses of the Participants - Their Team and Their Cards
TEAM 1 (Hank Alme): cobblers of gmail.com (0 points)
Team Name: Vetinari's Terriers; TEAM CAPTAIN: Sam Vimes
A: Moist von Lipwig (3) 9, 13, 11
B: Mustrum Ridcully (3) 10, 10, 11
C: Sam Vimes (7) 15, 11, 5
D: CMOT Dibbler (4) 15, 15, 3
Total Replenishments: 47 + 32 + 30 = 109
TEAM 2 (Andy Bate): andydbate of gmail.com (0 points)
Team Name: Racing Froggy; TEAM CAPTAIN: Jean Van de Velde
A: Jean Van de Velde (3) 14, 5, 11
B: Roberto Rojas (3) 7, 6, 11
C: Sylvester Carmouche (5) 6, 8, 9
D: Ryan Leaf (6) 4, 15, 11
Total Replenishments: 18 + 29 + 42 = 89
TEAM 3 (David Burgess): burgesscd of roadrunner.com or dburgess of glensfallshosp.org (0 points)
Team Name: Syracuse Orangemen
A: Ernie Davis (21) 3, 15, 15, 5
B: Jim Brown (19) 12, 11, 6
C: Floyd Little (6) 15, 8, 5
D: Larry Csonka (24) 6, 21, 3
Total Replenishments: 79 + 55 + 19 = 103
TEAM 4 (Rick Desper): rick_desper of yahoo.com (0 points)
Team Name: District 12
A: Katniss Everdeen (4) 15, 24, 18, 7
B: Haymitch Abernathy (15) 21, 21, 3
C: Peeta Mellark (26) 12, 23, 3
D: Effie Trinket (7) 24, 25, 3
Total Replenishments: 92 + 90 + 16 = 198
TEAM 5 (Brendan Whyte): BWHYTE of nla.gov.au (0 points)
Team Name: The Reverse Polish Notationists (a.k.a. The Unpronounceables)
A: Arciszewski (8) 9, 12, 11, 3
B: Barszczewski (8) 9, 3, 3
C: Cwierczakiewiczowa (7) 12, 11, 5
D: Dziewulski (6) 19, 21, 3
Total Replenishments: 50 + 46 + 14 = 110
TEAM 6 (Andy York): (0 points)
Team Name: Team Alamo
A: Travis (9) 11, 12, 21, 9
B: Crockett (7) 11, 8, 3
C: Bowie (9) 10, 18, 5
D: Houston (5) 15, 18, 3
Total Replenishments: 44 + 65 + 20 = 129


Game Notes:
1) The rules are on the TAP website in the Tinamou section. Ask if you have any questions. Rules at:
http://diplom.org/DipPouch/Postal/Zines/TAP/Tinamou/rules/BreakingAway.htm
Up above in parentheses is the card you played to get to where you are in the field. The replenishment card is the last card in your list. Be careful to note that the card you played (the one in parentheses) is not available for you, for next turn. Just for fun, I keep track of total replenishment, by turn, which is a rough measure of how the teams are doing. Of course, it is lining up to get across the sprint (40/80) and final (120) lines in the right places that really counts. We can calculate an "efficiency score" later, which will be the ratio of scoring points per replenishment. If I'm predicting how the future of this will come out based on doing this before, about half the players will get scores below 5% and getting better than a 10% score will be really tremendous for this measure.
2) Now things get interesting going up to the First Sprint Line!


Press:
(BOOB to RIDERS): But no press...


WHERE IN THE WORLD IS KENDO NAGASAKI
THE DUE DATE FOR TURN 3 IS APRIL 19, 2014!!
Kendo Nagasaki games in Eternal Sunshine continue to multiply like weeds... I'd like to get more people engaged here, not just the usual suspects from Doug's games. This issue, Hank Alme's son Steen joins us. The full rules for Where in the World is Kendo Nagasaki are in: http://www.whiningkentpigs.com/DW/es58.pdf. The player who was closest for Turn 2 has been notified by E-Mail.

TURN 2
Brendan Whyte: Tom Howell:
Diana Rigg in Pyongyang, North Korea Jennifer Jones in New York, New York

Heath Gardner: Doug Kent:
Henry Kissinger in Sao Paulo, Brazil Harrison Ford in Mexico City, Mexico

Rick Desper: Kevin Wilson:
Zsa Zsa Gabor in Beverly Hills, CA Dennis Rodman in La Paz, Bolivia

Hank Alme: Mike Ruttinger
Stephen Ambrose in Seattle, WA Scarlett Johansson in Havana, Cuba

Steen Alme:
Kim Jong-Un in Sevastopol, Ukraine

HINT to the Person with the Closest Geographic Guess: While I also have appeared on television in some form, I have done so for different reasons than you.

TURN 1
Brendan Whyte: Tom Howell:
Diana Rigg in Anchorage, Alaska Rex Roberts in Alexandria, Egypt

Heath Gardner: Doug Kent:
Jimmy "the Greek" in Las Vegas, NV Charlton Heston in Rome, Italy

Rick Desper: Kevin Wilson:
Eddie "the Eagle" Edwards in Sochi, Russia Pierre Trudeau in Montevideo, Uruguay

Hank Alme: Mike Ruttinger
Ian Fleming in Tegucigalpa, Honduras George McArthur in Seoul, South Korea

HINT to the Person with the Closest Geographic Guess: Unfortunately, you are very much dead, while I am very much alive.


LAST WORD: Happy St. Patrick's Day (and also St. Joseph's Day, which is big around here). I've already had a great Guinness Beef Stew and numerous zeppole, which is the St. Joseph's Day Italian dessert treat.

But what I really want to plug, even though I am not going to make it, is World DipCon at DixieCon. You can find the details at http://www.dixiecon.com/id3.html. Memorial Day weekend doesn't work for me. This is especially unfortunate since one of my favorite players, Toby Harris, definitely is coming. The international confirmed attendance list includes: from Australia, Andrew Goff and Stephen Lytton; from Holland, Rene Van Rooijan; from France, Laurent Joly; from the UK, Dave Simpson and Toby Harris; and from Canada, Bill LaFosse. But Dan Lester, Gihan Bandaranaike, and Siobhan Nolen also I think are coming from far, far away. Some of the details include:

DIXIECON 28/World Dipcon 24
Chapel Hill, North Carolina
May 23-25, 2014
Granville Towers - W. Franklin Street
Four Diplomacy Rounds and Open Gaming
Cost: $30 per person, and $30 per night lodging
FREE REGISTRATION AND LODGING FOR INTERNATIONALS!!
Contact: [email protected]

David Hood says: "Dixiecon has been around for a very long time, as Diplomacy tournaments go. What the event is primarily known for is the unlimited style of play. Whereas most tournaments by design or necessity end Diplomacy games after a certain number of hours or game-years, at Dixiecon the games end only when someone wins or every player left on the table votes to end the game in concession or win. The game is, therefore, focused on control of the stalemate line rather than arbitrary totals of centers at a certain point in an interrupted game. The Sunday round is a timed round, however, since we all have to go home sometime!"

DixieCon is well known for long games and hard fought play. I think that will play well for Worlds this year too. There is the downside that you're playing so much Dip and you're so tired that you don't have time to socialize as much as you might like. But I don't think anyone will be seriously complaining about that. And as Toby says, we Americans are sure to hand the championship to one of those foreigners. Dan Lester is the smart money bet, but Toby is a better bet to me. Anyway, think about going to this really seriously if you're even thinking about it a little bit. I'll be wishing I was there.


File translated from TEX by TTH, version 3.85.
On 22 Mar 2014, 12:27.