THE ABYSSINIAN PRINCE #372

May 29, 2016


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/Postal/Zines/TAP/index.html


The Kendo Nagasaki game keeps going, I like running them and I also like playing in them... mostly. If you want to join, you need to do so now as they are honing in on the solution.
So, I did get complaints about the lateness of this issue, I'm turning this one around ASAP to see if I can fix that. I almost got it done last weekend, then had a horrendously busy week at work. For the two Diplomacy games, I just need the adjustments, so I didn't think it would be that much of a problem. I do have orders again from everyone.
This issue continues the szine/subszine inversion. As most of you know, this thing began as a "subszine" to Terry Tallman's North Sealth, West George in NSWG #16, then became its own szine with a host of subszines. Since Terry's passing, we lose our thirty year fervent hope that someday NSWG would have been resurrected and I could go back and swear my fealty to the Toadfather. The subszines remaining will appear as sub-subszines to our flipflopped home in Doug Kent's Eternal Sunshine. I'm set on continuing my GMing, and I'm starting to write a bit, hope there might be more. Feel free to communicate with me about how you want to help or what you want to play, or if anyone else wants TAP subszine status.
For production, in addition to the HTML's of each separate product on the web page, I 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. I'm having trouble with the upload interfaces, part of the diplom.org site move consequences. I'll get it fixed as soon as I can. I need to stay within the security of the site (which is very important!!!!) while getting access to change the web site's index and files for the szine. It shouldn't be that hard, but my first attempt didn't work.
The Diplom.org site has moved yet again. Chris Babcock and Mario Huys are still in charge. There were a few glitches and broken links, but things should be fixed now, if you have problems, let us know! But if you find you cannot access the website with the PDFs and HTMLs of all the past issues... well, please let me know and we'll fix it. The address is still: http://diplom.org/. I had a glitch in the webpage update process, but that should be fixed for this issue.
There are currently 75 members of the official TAP subscriber list, but that's down because in the move, there were some addresses dropped. http://lists.asciiking.com/mailman/listinfo/tap is the current list website. YOU need to make sure you're on this list. I'm trying to add some of the newer subscribers who aren't there. If you have questions or problems, PLEASE ask. There you can check your subscribing options and whether you're registered. Register if you want to get TAP E-Mailed regularly. Some people have had trouble with the attachments, so I have switched to sending the link in the announcements, I see that does help. Please let me know about other issues, but it puts priority on getting link up again. Apologies for last issue's confusions.


THE ABYSSINIAN PRINCE FEATURES SECTION (CONS/LETTERS/MUSIC)
((For upcoming cons around the world: http://www.diplom.org/Face/cons/index.php, success, we have badgered all the Con directors to post their Cons, so it is reasonably up to date now. And there remains lots of interest in the FTF community, and linking E-Mail/Web players to FTF. Also, the Facebook page for European Tournament Diplomacy, https://www.facebook.com/groups/1500292310187264/, Diplomacy in Europe, has been really active and the place to be in the hobby these days. If you're on Facebook, hook up there! The next big event you all should have on your radar screen is World DipCon in Chicago, June 24-26. The website with all the details is at: http://windycityweasels.org/wdc2016))


NEW FEATURE: ROCK AND ROLL BANDS AND MOMENTS THAT MATTER
((If anyone from TAP or ES has ideas for more things to talk about here let me know. I do have four or five ideas lined up here already that I just have to write. I have been nudged... comments from any of you also are welcome.))


THE ABYSSINIAN PRINCE LETTERS SECTION
Last time I missed the other Baseball season predictions.... here they are...


Warren Goesle (Monday, March 28, 2016 3:26 PM)
It's that time.
Just as an aside, this is the 50th year that I've consciously cheered for the Cubs as my favorite team.  This may or may not color what I write below.
AL East:  Looks a lot stronger than the past few years.  I'm actually picking 3 teams to make the playoffs out of here.  In honor of the David Ortiz farewell tour brought to you by Advanced Pharmaceuticals, Inc., Toronto, Boston (WC1), New York (WC2), Tampa Bay, Baltimore.  Toronto gets the #2 seed.
Looking forward to the Hanley Ramirez plays 1st base experiment. Can he collect another Lead Glove for his defensive brilliance? 
What do I know about the non-Red Sox teams in this division? Very little, except that the Yankees picked up the guy with the fastest fastball in the bigs, who bizarrely is named after some kind of antacid, at least in an anagrammattical fashion.
AL Central: For those of you wondering if the Adam LaRoche saga looked as silly in Chicagoland as it did elsewhere, the answer is a resounding, "yes".  It also probably took the White Sox from a potential division contender to one with more clubhouse animosity than the late '70s Yankees.  Detroit, Kansas City, Cleveland, White Sox, Minnesota.  The bottom 3 win 74, 72 and 71 games respectively.  Detroit gets the #3 seed.
I saw LaRoche hit a homer for the Nats, live, in the very recent past. Looked good that day. But I have to wonder what kind of life you have where you can walk away from a multi-million dollar salary because your boss doesn't let you treat every single day as "Bring Your Kid to Work Day".
That any other player would be on LaRoche's side is weird to me. 
AL West: I know what you're thinking here: "Goz has lost his mind!"  I know you're thinking that because you've been thinking it for nearly 20 years.  Houston, Texas, Seattle, California, Oakland.  The Astros get the top seed.
Still don't like seeing the Astros in the AL.  Can't we trade them for the Brewers and make everything right again?
NL East:  The second WC in the NL is the toughest pick, but I'm going to say it doesn't come from this division.  New York, Washington, Atlanta, Miami, Philadelphia.  The Phillies lose 4 managers during the season, 3 of which fight extradition when the team tries to bring them back.  The Mets get the #2 seed.
Wondering if Dusty can fix the Nats, who underperformed tremendously last year. Mets have the pitching, but then again, so do the Nats, at least in theory. In Atlanta they watch re-broadcasts of the glory days of Maddux, Glavine, and Smoltz. 
NL Central:  Ok, brace yourselves...  Chicago, Pittsburgh (WC2), St. Louis, Milwaukee, Cincinnati. The whole division actually loses ground to the rest of the league, and the Cubs get the #3 seed.
Cubs should be good.  But wasn't that true last year?  Have to say I'm enjoying seeing the band get back together in the city that practically gave birth to the phrase.  Now if only they can get Jake and Elwood to play with Lester and Lackey, a World Series trip is a guarantee.  Cardinals win a lot of games just out of habit.
NL West: Jim-Bob will point out that it's an even-numbered year.  Despite that...  San Francisco, Los Angeles (WC1), Arizona, San Diego, Colorado.  It looks like the Dodgers start out hurting at pitcher, but will rally late in the year.  The Giants get the #1 seed.
So despite it being an even-numbered year...oh never mind.
AL Playoffs:
Wild Card: Yankees beat the Red Sox when the ghost of Bucky Freakin' Dent hits a home run late.
Many reasons this won't happen, probably the most important of which is that Bucky Dent isn't dead yet.  Should he die sometime this summer, I'll sic the female ghost-busters after his spirit.
((Anyone who thinks the female ghostbusters movie will be worth watching needs to have serious head examination...))
ALDS:  Astros over Yankees in 4. Blue Jays over Tigers in 3.
Could these things be true? You're predicting an ALCS between the Astros and Jays?  (shudder)
And wait - what happened to the Royals?  Aside from having one of their relievers get Tommy John surgery.  He must be coming back.  I say this because Yahoo auto-drafted him for my fantasy team.  (Moral of the story: don't do autodraft.)
ALCS:  With the series tied at 2-2 a large brawl ensues after 2 Blue Jay batters in a row flip their bats while hitting long fly outs, and the Blue Jays are never the same.  Astros win 4-2.
Few things bother me more than "old school" players inventing a new rule about bat flips and acting like they're defending some principle other than their own thin skin.  Reggie Jackson never had a problem gloating over his HRs.  Nobody ever said he was bad for the game.  OK, that part's not true, but he was still the best clutch power hitter of the era.
NL Playoffs:
Wild Card: Dodgers beat the Pirates.
NLDS: Cubs exorcise last year's inability to hit the Mets pitching, and win 3-1.  Dodgers treat the Giants poorly, and beat them 3-0.
NLCS:  Dodgers refuse to be exorcised and beat the Cubs 4-1. Ouch.
World Series:  Despite most of the Eastern media boycotting it, the Astros win the World Series in 7.
BUT WAIT!!!  THERE'S MORE!!! I will now predict what you 3 are going to predict.  That way you guys may get off your lazy asses early last year and start this.
Jim-Bob will predict that the Giants beat the Red Sox in the World Series.  Ok, that's not hard, that's been his prediction since 1919.
((Wrongo, I predicted the Astros too, what is looking like a stupendously bad prediction, and I predicted the Cubs would get farther than you, losing to the Astros in the World Series. You can go look it up two issues ago...))
Dave will want to pick the Red Sox to win the World Series, but won't out of fear of jinxing them.  However, he *will* predict the Cubs to lose the World Series.
Rick will pick a Red Sox - Cubs World Series just because he's intrigued by The Apocalypse.
Rick Desper: Hmm...this part checks out.
I have an excuse to link to this video, the best scene in Silver Linings Playbook.
https://youtu.be/PwwAhX3fwlQ
"She makes a lot of sense, Pop."
Have fun.
Go Cubs!
Goz, warrengoesle of wowway.com


Rick Desper (Monday, March 28, 2016 4:24 PM)
Maybe I'll have an opinion about baseball sometime this week.
Rick, rick_desper of yahoo.com


David Partridge (Mon, 28 Mar 2016 21:29:18)
Maybe I'll have an opinion about baseball sometime this year.
David, rebhuhn of rocketmail.com
((Again, I got these WAY in time, but lost them in the ether. Sorry about that. As noted above, if we look at this point in the season, our predictions are spectacularly bad. The Astros sit as I write at a stellar 22-29, headed toward being the worst team in the American League if it weren't for the Twins.))


THE ABYSSINIAN PRINCE GAMES SECTION
Standby lists: Brad Wilson, Jack McHugh, Drew James, Paul Rauterberg, Doug Kent, Paul Kenny, and Hugh Polley stand by for regular Diplomacy. Just let me know if you want on or off these lists.


GAME OPENING INFORMATION
I'd love to do another game of Spy Diplomacy, but it requires commitment that seems in short supply these days, but let me know if you want me to reprint the rules.
REGULAR DIPLOMACY: Two games continue. Is there something else we want to start? I have some ideas on how to do "By Popular Demand" differently...
BREAKING AWAY: Keeps going with the pack breaking apart in THIS issue.


THE TERRY TALLMAN MEMORIAL: 2016A, Regular Diplomacy
THE DUE DATE FOR SPRING 1902 IS JUNE 18TH, 2016
Winter 1901
AUSTRIA (Black): bld a bud, f tri; has a BUD, f TRI, f GRE, a VIE, a SER.
ENGLAND (Cohen): bld f lon; has f LON, f ENG, f NTH, a NWY.
FRANCE (Begbie): bld f bre, f mar; has f BRE, f MAR, f PIC, a SPA, a POR.
GERMANY (Polley): bld f kie, a mun; has f KIE, a MUN, f BEL, a HOL, a RUH.
ITALY (Ellinger): bld f nap; has f NAP, f TUN, a PIE, a TYO.
RUSSIA (Zarr): bld f stp(nc), a mos; has f STP(NC), a MOS, f SWE, a SEV, a UKR, f RUM.
TURKEY (Wiedemeyer): bld f smy; has f SMY, f BLA, a CON, a BUL.


E-Mail Addresses of the Participants
AUSTRIA: Thaddeus Black, thaddeus.h.black of gmail.com
ENGLAND: David Cohen, zendip18 of optonline.net
FRANCE: Gavin Begbie, gavinbegbie of icloud.com
GERMANY: Hugh Polley, hapolley of yahoo.ca
ITALY: Marc Ellinger, mellinger of blitzbardgett.com
RUSSIA: Harold Zarr, skip1955 of hotmail.com
TURKEY: Fred Wiedemeyer, wiedem of telus.net


Game Notes:
1) Denmark being the center unclaimed is a bit unusual, isn't it? I have the builds from some of you. Note even though I'm late, I'm making the adjustments fast so we can keep going, let me know if that's a problem, but it shouldn't be.


Press:
None detected...


THE DON WILLIAMS 57 MEMORIAL: 2014A, Regular Diplomacy
THE DUE DATE FOR SPRING 1906 IS JUNE 18TH, 2016
Autumn and Winter 1905
AUSTRIA (Ozog): bld f tri; has f TRI, a TYO, f NAF, a BUR, a SER, a SMY, a MUN, f TUN.
FRANCE (Ellinger): has f GOL, f WES, f WAL, a PIC, f LVP, a MAR, a LON.
GERMANY (Abbott): R f den-HEL, f nth-BEL; rem f hel; has f BEL, a EDI, a HOL.
ITALY (Wilson): has f TYH, f NAP, f AEG, a BUL, a PIE.
RUSSIA (Rauterberg): bld f stp(nc), PLAYS ONE SHORT; has f STP(NC), f NTH, f SKA, f SWE, a RUH,
f NWG, f DEN, f CON, a KIE, a SEV.


E-Mail Addresses of the Participants
AUSTRIA: Eric Ozog, elferic of juno.com
ENGLAND: Fred Wiedemeyer, wiedem of telus.net
FRANCE: Marc Ellinger, mellinger of blitzbardgett.com
GERMANY: Will Abbott, wjja9 of yahoo.com
ITALY: Brad Wilson, fullfathomfive675 of gmail.com
RUSSIA: Paul Rauterberg, paul.rauterberg of att.net
TURKEY: David Burgess, burgesscd of roadrunner.com


Game Notes:
1) Thanks, that worked well with the adjustments. Belgium was taken by Germany so France did not get a build.
2) A DIAS draw is proposed. Please vote with your Spring orders, failure to vote vetoes the proposal.


Press:
None detected here either...




THE DIPLOMACY GAME: Breaking Away, Designer's Rules
THE DUE DATE FOR TURN 5 IS JUNE 18, 2016!!
Turn 4
46 (replenish with a 3) Jerusalem (4 points)
45 (replenish with a 4) White Cliffs (2 points)
44 (no replenishment) Empty
43 (replenish with a 3) Hope and Glory (5 points)
42 (replenish with a 4) Donatello (6 points)
41 (replenish with a 5) Leonardo (10 points), Michelangelo (8 points), Charlie (3 points)
-S-P-R-I-N-T- -F-I-N-I-S-H- -L-I-N-E-
40 (replenish with a 8) Raphael
39 (replenish with a 9) Lafayette, Alpha, Angst
38 (replenish with a 12) Alexis de Tocqueville, Constipated
37 (replenish with a 14) Rousseau
36 (replenish with a 15) Alexandra, Baker
35 (replenish with a 17) Nicholas II, Terrorised
34 (replenish with a 19) Smirky
33 (replenish with a 20) Heart of Oak,
32 (no replenishment) Empty
31 (replenish with a 3) Jefferson, Delta
30 (no replenishment) Empty
29 (no replenishment) Empty
28 (no replenishment) Empty
27 (no replenishment) Empty
26 (replenish with a 3) Billy Wilder, Alexei
25 (replenish with a 5) Anastasia
24 (replenish with a 6) Arnold Schwarzenegger, Daniel Swarovski,
23 (replenish with a 8) Christian Doppler


Addresses of the Participants - Their Teams and Their Cards
AUSTRIAN TEAM (Andy Bate): andydbate of gmail.com (0 points)
A: Arnold Schwarzenegger 12, 4, 13, 6 (7)
B: Billy Wilder 12, 3, 3 (8)
C: Christian Doppler 9, 19, 8 (8)
D: Daniel Swarovski 11, 15, 6 (8)
Total Replenishments: 21 + 28 + 55 + 23 = 127
ENGLISH TEAM (Jim Reader): jim_reader of hotmail.com (11 points)
A: Jerusalem 10, 7, 4, 3 (26)
B: Hope and Glory 7, 3, 3 (22)
C: White Cliffs 4, 7, 4 (26)
D: Heart of Oak 3, 15, 20 (17)
Total Replenishments: 16 + 91 + 29 + 30 = 166
FRENCH TEAM (Hank Alme): almehj of alumni.rice.edu (0 points)
A: Marquis de Lafayette (Captain): 4, 10, 4, 9 (15)
B: Alexis de Tocqueville: 3, 6, 12 (15)
C: Jean-Jacques Rousseau: 3, 4, 14 (17)
D: Thomas Jefferson: 8, 17, 3 (15)
Total Replenishments: 22 + 62 = 29 + 38 = 151
GERMAN TEAM (Marc Ellinger): mellinger of blitzbardgett.com (3 points)
A: Player Alpha 6, 6, 4, 9 (15)
B: Player Baker 5, 3, 15 (11)
C: Player Charlie 3, 4, 5 (21)
D: Player Delta 3, 3, 3 (15)
Total Replenishments: 17 + 50 + 26 + 32 = 125
ITALIAN TEAM (Rick Desper): rick_desper of yahoo.com (24 points)
Team Name: Artists in a Half-Shell?
Coach: Master Splinter
Team Leader A: Leonardo di ser Piero da Vinci 15, 8, 3, 5 (10)
Team Mechanic B: Donato di Niccolò di Betto Bardi 8, 3, 4 (14)
Team Navigator C: Raffaello Sanzio da Urbino 5, 3, 8 (12)
Team Sprint Specialist D: Michelangelo di Lodovico Buonarroti Simoni 4, 3, 5 (10)
Referred to by common appellations in the report: Leonardo, Donatello, Raphael, and Michelangelo.
Total Replenishments: 17 + 96 + 12 + 22 = 147
RUSSIAN TEAM (Andy York): wandrew88 of gmail.com (0 points)
Team Royal
A: Anastasia 10, 13, 5 (6)
B: Nicholas II 8, 8, 17 (7)
C: Alexandra 8, 8, 15 (9)
D: Alexei 6, 3, 3 (13)
Total Replenishments: 14 + 30 + 32 + 40 = 116
TURKISH TEAM (Brendan Whyte): BWHYTE of nla.gov.au (0 points)
The Turkeys
A: Angst of Ankara 10,8,9 (11)
B: Constipated of Constantinople 8,8,12 (10)
C: Smirky of Smyrna 8,17,19 (19)
D: Terrorised of Syria 6,3,17 (22)
Total Replenishments: 16 + 49 + 38 + 57 = 160


Press:
(ANONYMOUS PRESS): If you’re going to be blown, you might as well take as many infidels as you can with you. So with a whoosh and a roar, there’s a sudden explosion in the back of the pack, and several bodies come hurtling forwards...


Game Notes:
1) The rules are on the TAP website in the Tinamou section. Ask if you have any questions. Rules at:
http://www.diplom.org/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 and final 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.
2) Some people grabbed points (and the last point in this sprint will go to the rider sitting on line 40), while others hung back a bit, and the pack did spread out a bit. Let's see what happens now...


WHERE IN THE WORLD IS KENDO NAGASAKI
DEADLINE FOR TURN 9 OF THE GAME IS JUNE 18, 2016
GET ORDERS IN OR THINK ABOUT JOINING IN AS WE CLOSE IN!!!
Kendo Nagasaki for me comes from the series in Eternal Sunshine... The full rules for Where in the World is Kendo Nagasaki are in: http://www.whiningkentpigs.com/DW/es58.pdf. Send a guess!!!


TURN 1
Brendan Whyte: Tom Howell:
Henry Mancini on Vostok Island, Pacific Ocean Kim Philby in London

Hank Alme: Marc Ellinger:
Bela Fleck in Oaxaca, Mexico Richard Nixon in Santiago, Chile

Peter Sullivan: Doug Kent:
Lewis Hamilton in Buenos Aires Julia Child in Santiago, Chile

HINT to the Person with the Closest Geographic Guess: You have identified my gender correctly, but I was born many centuries before you.




TURN 2
Brendan Whyte: Tom Howell:
Johann Sebastian Bach on Clipperton Island, Mexico Henry VIII of England in Turkistan, Kazakhstan

Hank Alme: Marc Ellinger:
Anthony Blunt in Cancun, Mexico Louis VII in Paris, France

Peter Sullivan: Doug Kent:
Julian of Norwich in Norwich, Ohio Galileo in Berlin, Germany

Rick Desper: Andy York:
Stan Lee in Seoul, South Korea Richard the Lionhearted in Vienna, Austria


HINT to the Person with the Closest Geographic Guess: One of my most famous quotes refers in both a direct and oblique way to your profession.


TURN 3
Brendan Whyte: Tom Howell:
Jesus in Jerusalem Thomas Cromwell in Helsinki, Finland

Hank Alme: Marc Ellinger:
Guy Burgess in Moscow, Russia William Shakespeare in Poitiers, France

Peter Sullivan: Doug Kent:
King John I of England in Brussels, Belgium Shakespeare in Veracruz, Mexico

Rick Desper: Andy York:
Christopher Marlowe in Belize City, Belize Copernicus in Lodz, Poland


HINT to the Person with the Closest Geographic Guess: We each had serious disputes with our respective Popes and the authority of the Catholic Church. (Yeah, that means Jesus is NOT aligned with the closest guess...)




TURN 4
Brendan Whyte: Tom Howell:
Giordano Bruno saying G’day in G’dansk, Poland Henry VIII in Birmingham, England

Hank Alme: Marc Ellinger:
Guy Fawkes in St. Petersburg, Russia Samuel Beckett in Copenhagen, Denmark

Peter Sullivan: Doug Kent:
Martin Luther in Worms, Germany Elizabeth I of England in The Hague, The Netherlands

Rick Desper: Andy York:
Martin Luther in Luebeck, Germany Machiavelli in Munich, Germany


HINT to the Person with the Closest Geographic Guess: While we both had disputes with the Catholic Church, we also had public disputes with each other within our overlapping lifetimes.




TURN 5
Brendan Whyte: Tom Howell:
Ulrich Zwingli in Munster, Germany John Calvin in Göttingen, Germany

Hank Alme: Marc Ellinger:
Charles V in Wittenburg, Germany Thomas Muntzer in Wittenberg, Germany
***Note that Hank says Wittenburg and Marc says Wittenberg, these are two different places in Germany.

Peter Sullivan: Doug Kent:
King Henry VIII of England in Heidelberg, Germany Henry II in Stochholm, Sweden

Rick Desper: Andy York:
No Guess Received Johannes Agricola in Hannover, Germany


HINT to the Person with the Closest Geographic Guess: We agreed on a great many things, but you were much more of a rabble-rouser to the lesser educated classes, while I was more of an intellectual humanist.


TURN 6
Brendan Whyte: Tom Howell:
No Guess Received Johannes Agricola in Leipzig, Germany

Hank Alme: Marc Ellinger:
Karl von Miltitz in Hanover, Germany Erasmus in Chemnitz, Germany

Peter Sullivan: Doug Kent:
John Calvin in Leipzig, Germany Philip I of Hesse in Essen, Germany

Rick Desper: Andy York:
Philipp Melanchthon in Leipzig, Germany Philipp Melanchthon in Paderborn, Germany


HINT to the Person with the Closest Geographic Guess: You are quite a bit farther away than some of the previous guesses, and someone else has identified me, but not you.


TURN 7
Brendan Whyte: Tom Howell:
Erasmus in Osnabruck, Germany Johannes Agricola in Bad Konigshofen, Germany

Hank Alme: Marc Ellinger:
Karl von Miltitz in Rabenau, Germany John Calvin in Dessau-Roßlau, Germany

Peter Sullivan: Doug Kent:
John Calvin in Bad Schmiedeberg, Germany Erasmus in Stuttgart, Germany

Rick Desper: Andy York:
Philipp Melanchthon in Magdeburg, Germany Karl von Miltitz in Rostock, Germany


HINT to the Person with the Closest Geographic Guess: The person who is closest has now identified me as well, and all the Bad guesses are just bad...


TURN 8
Brendan Whyte: Tom Howell:
John Calvin in Ravensberg, Germany Karl von Miltitz in Bremen, Germany

Hank Alme: Marc Ellinger:
Karl von Miltitz in Hamburg, Germany Karl Von Miltitz in Meißen, Germany

Peter Sullivan: Doug Kent:
John Calvin in Kothen, Germany Erasmus in Ulm, Germany

Rick Desper: Andy York:
John Calvin in Potsdam, Germany John Calvin in Zerbst, Germany


HINT to the Person with the Closest Geographic Guess: I think it is time to say two things, only two of you avoided getting further away from me again this time, and while Germany is a wonderful country, it is NOT the country I'm in.


LAST WORD: I had almost all of this issue done a week earlier, I just needed to finish a few things and go grab the Baseball commentaries that I had forgotten to include. Note the dates on them as a record of when they actually were written. I think I will say a bit on the state of the Baseball season so far. I mostly listen on the radio, so it really hasn't bothered me; however, the rules on challenges and how long they take still needs more work if it isn't going to drive more fans away than it keeps. Goz thought that Hanley Ramirez would be awful at First Base for the Red Sox; however, it was obvious to me that this switch was brilliant. Hanley simply got bored in Left Field, he actually stays in the game at First, and plays it pretty well. So far. No guarantee he doesn't get bored later and things get bad, but I don't think they will. David Ortiz is on a pace to break the record for doubles in a season, has hit a triple (!!) and is on pace to hit more than 40 HRs again. Will he really retire after that? And would people stop (REALLY STOP) doing anything except get excited about it? The unstated issue, which I'm not going to state, also remains a mess in sports. Half the athletes probably should be banned from the Olympics in Rio, and it may save their health... Goz's Cubs are just smokin' hot and my prediction they will get to the World Series looks better and better as you look around the National League. What will Goz and all those Cubs fans do??? Otherwise, it is only in the Diplomacyverse that sanity prevails, the rest of the world just seems nuts and people seem to have no idea how negotiations work, and what they do and DO NOT do for you. Only we understand this. Mark Fassio continues to get sicker and needs more and more of your prayers and good wishes. I will try to say more about that next time. My own chemotherapy remains perched on the end point, with two more treatments scheduled that right now are scheduled to be the end. These last rounds have been tough and apologies on how it has affected the szine. My wife went through cancer before me, and now me going through it makes me realize more and more that the world of cancer treatment is a world almost unto itself. I didn't understand so much, so much, when Charlotte was going through it, that I now understand so well. It is just such an awful disease, even though we've made so much progress. But still, it makes me REALLY, REALLY want to go to World DipCon this year, except that it is being held on the same weekend as my major academic professional conference, where I'm on all sorts of committees and doing all sorts of things. The plan to fly out JUST for the Thursday night festivities was nixed by logic, but really, if you can go, you REALLY should. As I feel better I'm going to turn back into a Diplomacy con traveler. I really want to go back for more tournaments in Europe. David Norman and I had dinner together this past week as he was on his way to DixieCon. Again, very sorry that I couldn't go to that, and the results are just coming in as I finalize this. I think Emily Pollock (who recall I am predicting is setting up for a great career in the Tournament world) tied for Best England with Randy Lawrence-Hurt and finished third, while Randy finished fifth.


File translated from TEX by TTH, version 3.85.
On 29 May 2016, 22:37.