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I'm writing. Because that's what one does with a journal, when one isn't me for the past few months.
But I won't be writing anything in particular. I'll just be writing a lot of it, until I stop.
The Vatican is reviewing American seminaries, the schools that train priests, for "evidence of homosexuality":
The new issue of The Gamer's Quarter is available, and it features a crossword by me. Unfortunately, it didn't come out as well as I'd hoped. There appear to have been some editing mishaps. My punny title was removed, and two answers have been inadvertently revealed. It's embarrassing, but I blame hurricane Katrina. No, seriously, I do. The editor with whom I'd been communicating lived in New Orleans. Obviously, he isn't living there at the moment. So I'm not too upset about my 15x15 not being a top priority.
(I should add that the organization of clues, which looks awkward in the PDF, is deliberate. The two pages are meant to be opposite in a bound, printed copy.)
The issue is uneven, and I don't think it's as strong as the previous one. I haven't read through everything, but I do recommend "Speed Runs and You", "at how many komas do jou get gogeta?", "Life, Non-Warp: DX", and the "Innovation in Game Design" feature.
Speaking of video games, how 'bout that Nintendo Revolution? I think it's nifty. If it's cheap enough, I might actually buy it when it launches.
I need to write to![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
foggyb. It occurs to me now that this entry is yet another thing postponing that e-mail. Sorry. I do have notes. I think. Somewhere.
tmcay's John Ratite game at The Grey Labyrinth is in its penultimate round, and things just got bizarre. I don't mean the game itself, which has been consistently brilliant and well written. There's been some player bizarreness. See, only seven teams could make it to this next-to-last round. Six teams has already secured their spots (Cram and I were sixth). And there were only two teams that were able to proceed. Team A had everything it needed, but couldn't move forward. Team B had used a game-given weapon to keep Team A from moving for one turn. This bought Team B the time it needed to get one last correct answer. If Team B was successful, it would be a race to post to see who would move first and get the final slot. Sounds exciting, right?
But something else happened. Team C didn't have any chance of getting into the next round, but technically hadn't been eliminated yet. They took the initiative to deliberately scuttle Team B's chance at the final question, and barely succeeded. The question was posted at 7:52, the incorrect answer was posted at 7:53, and acorrect close but incorrect[1] answer was posted at 7:54. Since only the first answer is accepted, Team B is out of the running. So, in a way, this was also exciting, except that it happened so fast that it took a while for me to understand what was going on. There have been some hurt feelings, which is understandable, but what fascinates me is the way the ethical discussion has played out. There are basically two schools of thought. The first school says that you should live and let live, and only attack and sabotage when necessary. The other school says that anything that's not illegal is fair. This shouldn't be surprising. What is surprising is that apparently both Team B (the sabotaged) and Team C (the sabotagers) belong to the first school.
See, back in the previous round Team A and Team C were squared off head to head. The same only-the-first-answer-counts rule was in effect, but this time, two different sides had two different questions, and only one answer could be given. Team A gave a correct answer first. Team C tried using the weapon mentioned above to prevent Team A from answering. Unfortunately, that's not how the weapon worked. Team A got the answer correct, but was stranded for a turn. Team C apparently felt guilty for that throughout the rest of the game, even though it did arguably help their standing. Moreover, it gave Team A a chance to try to sabotage some other teams, though they failed by seconds. (I should note that, at that time, Team B said the sabotage was both "messed up" and "a great idea".) But Team C felt that they owed something to Team A, and they whacked Team B. So they were working under the "code of honor" ethic in deliberately sabotaging another team.
Frankly, it's all baffling to me. It's probably baffling to you, even though I tried my darnedest to simplify things. I know that I wouldn't have felt guilty if I was Team C. I was kind of hoping that this would clear up what was going on for me, but it hasn't. And I haven't even gotten into the "Lex v. Rob in Survivor All-Stars" debate (which I don't feel like explaining right now if you don't know the reference). In fact, I don't have high hopes for getting into the final round. I just hope that the folks at triviagameswithoutpity.com don't consider Cram and I repulsive.
Games World of Puzzles has puzzles from the most recent Microsoft Puzzle Hunt. They're pretty nifty. I'm curious to know where and to what extent they've been made easier to satisfy a wider puzzling audience.
I haven't looked at The Enigma since July. It kind of makes me sad.
God of War is a fun game to play while watching television. I have found it especially fun to play while watching the DVDs of Babylon 5 that Cram leant me. As I've said before, I enjoy Babylon 5 most when I'm not paying to close attention to it.
The new TV shows have been mostly lackluster. I've enjoyed Prison Break. It's wildly improbable, but it's still holding itself together with sheer bravado. Head Cases has some promise, in its cast but the writing was uneven. Supernatural and Reunion were both painful to watch. Reunion was actually so painful to watch that I'd consider watching it, if it weren't running against shows that have something, anything, decent about them. Bones and Threshold were both aggressively lackluster. It seems like they were following the formula of people who want to make people think they're breaking out of a formula. I'm still looking forward to Night Stalker and Invasion
Also, here are some more reasons you should be watching Veronica Mars in two weeks. Please note item number four.
And my girlfriend is in Massachusetts again. I miss her. I feel compelled to make a mix cd, but I will be strong, and the urge may yet pass.
But I won't be writing anything in particular. I'll just be writing a lot of it, until I stop.
The Vatican is reviewing American seminaries, the schools that train priests, for "evidence of homosexuality":
In a possible indication of the ruling's contents, the American archbishop who is supervising the seminary review said last week that "anyone who has engaged in homosexual activity or has strong homosexual inclinations," should not be admitted to a seminary. Edwin O'Brien, archbishop for the United States military, told The National Catholic Register that the restriction should apply even to those who have not been sexually active for a decade or more. —The New York TimesSo, having denied gay people a lifestyle with any expression of sexuality, this commission is going to start taking away their options for celibate lifestyles too.
The new issue of The Gamer's Quarter is available, and it features a crossword by me. Unfortunately, it didn't come out as well as I'd hoped. There appear to have been some editing mishaps. My punny title was removed, and two answers have been inadvertently revealed. It's embarrassing, but I blame hurricane Katrina. No, seriously, I do. The editor with whom I'd been communicating lived in New Orleans. Obviously, he isn't living there at the moment. So I'm not too upset about my 15x15 not being a top priority.
(I should add that the organization of clues, which looks awkward in the PDF, is deliberate. The two pages are meant to be opposite in a bound, printed copy.)
The issue is uneven, and I don't think it's as strong as the previous one. I haven't read through everything, but I do recommend "Speed Runs and You", "at how many komas do jou get gogeta?", "Life, Non-Warp: DX", and the "Innovation in Game Design" feature.
Speaking of video games, how 'bout that Nintendo Revolution? I think it's nifty. If it's cheap enough, I might actually buy it when it launches.
I need to write to
foggyb. It occurs to me now that this entry is yet another thing postponing that e-mail. Sorry. I do have notes. I think. Somewhere.tmcay's John Ratite game at The Grey Labyrinth is in its penultimate round, and things just got bizarre. I don't mean the game itself, which has been consistently brilliant and well written. There's been some player bizarreness. See, only seven teams could make it to this next-to-last round. Six teams has already secured their spots (Cram and I were sixth). And there were only two teams that were able to proceed. Team A had everything it needed, but couldn't move forward. Team B had used a game-given weapon to keep Team A from moving for one turn. This bought Team B the time it needed to get one last correct answer. If Team B was successful, it would be a race to post to see who would move first and get the final slot. Sounds exciting, right?But something else happened. Team C didn't have any chance of getting into the next round, but technically hadn't been eliminated yet. They took the initiative to deliberately scuttle Team B's chance at the final question, and barely succeeded. The question was posted at 7:52, the incorrect answer was posted at 7:53, and a
See, back in the previous round Team A and Team C were squared off head to head. The same only-the-first-answer-counts rule was in effect, but this time, two different sides had two different questions, and only one answer could be given. Team A gave a correct answer first. Team C tried using the weapon mentioned above to prevent Team A from answering. Unfortunately, that's not how the weapon worked. Team A got the answer correct, but was stranded for a turn. Team C apparently felt guilty for that throughout the rest of the game, even though it did arguably help their standing. Moreover, it gave Team A a chance to try to sabotage some other teams, though they failed by seconds. (I should note that, at that time, Team B said the sabotage was both "messed up" and "a great idea".) But Team C felt that they owed something to Team A, and they whacked Team B. So they were working under the "code of honor" ethic in deliberately sabotaging another team.
Frankly, it's all baffling to me. It's probably baffling to you, even though I tried my darnedest to simplify things. I know that I wouldn't have felt guilty if I was Team C. I was kind of hoping that this would clear up what was going on for me, but it hasn't. And I haven't even gotten into the "Lex v. Rob in Survivor All-Stars" debate (which I don't feel like explaining right now if you don't know the reference). In fact, I don't have high hopes for getting into the final round. I just hope that the folks at triviagameswithoutpity.com don't consider Cram and I repulsive.
Games World of Puzzles has puzzles from the most recent Microsoft Puzzle Hunt. They're pretty nifty. I'm curious to know where and to what extent they've been made easier to satisfy a wider puzzling audience.
I haven't looked at The Enigma since July. It kind of makes me sad.
God of War is a fun game to play while watching television. I have found it especially fun to play while watching the DVDs of Babylon 5 that Cram leant me. As I've said before, I enjoy Babylon 5 most when I'm not paying to close attention to it.
The new TV shows have been mostly lackluster. I've enjoyed Prison Break. It's wildly improbable, but it's still holding itself together with sheer bravado. Head Cases has some promise, in its cast but the writing was uneven. Supernatural and Reunion were both painful to watch. Reunion was actually so painful to watch that I'd consider watching it, if it weren't running against shows that have something, anything, decent about them. Bones and Threshold were both aggressively lackluster. It seems like they were following the formula of people who want to make people think they're breaking out of a formula. I'm still looking forward to Night Stalker and Invasion
Also, here are some more reasons you should be watching Veronica Mars in two weeks. Please note item number four.
And my girlfriend is in Massachusetts again. I miss her. I feel compelled to make a mix cd, but I will be strong, and the urge may yet pass.