THE ABYSSINIAN PRINCE #381

March 5, 2017


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


2017 remains a wild ride so far, doesn't it???


E-MAIL/WEB ONLY ISSUE! PDF will be available on the website when diplom.org is back up, almost there. Yes, you are NOT dreaming, the whole site unfortunately presently is unavailable, but we WILL get it back up. We also are being reproduced in Eternal Sunshine which is running down to a fold.


Web Page Address: http://www.diplom.org/Postal/Zines/TAP/index.html (still disabled)


YOU can still join Kendo Nagasaki, hop in!!! But it's ALMOST over... sorry for the delay into the beginning of March, see more at the end of the issue, but I wanted to get everyone's orders and then I had TotalCon, which went great, only two boards each round, but great games.
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, especially when I feel better. 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, second, and third attempts didn't work.
The website address is still: http://diplom.org/. I had a glitch in the webpage update process, but I hope that will be fixed when the site as a whole comes back. I was hoping to provide an update today, but as I write, I STILL don't really have one.
There are currently 77 members of the official TAP subscriber list, which is starting to come back up, I hope. 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. It's really easy, just click on that link or copy and paste it into your browser. 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 the link up again. Apologies for the recent confusions.


THE ABYSSINIAN PRINCE FEATURES SECTION (CONS/LETTERS/MUSIC)
((For upcoming cons around the world: http://www.diplom.org/Face/cons/index.php, which will be back up soon, David Norman is working on it. 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 Nor'Easter sequence of four tournaments will be continuing this year, culminating in North American DipCon this November at Carnage in Vermont! It already is late to book hotel rooms, so if you're going, decide now!
I'm not going to hold this up for TotalCon results, but Brad Blitstein finished SECOND by less than a point last year, and WON this year by less than a point! TotalCon is New England's largest general gaming convention and is one of the places that we as a hobby reach out and make the Diplomacy tournament circuit known to other gamers. We picked up quite a host of brand new players last year, and picked up two more this year. Thanks to the entire TotalCon staff for their hospitality and helpfulness.))


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


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. I would like a few more interested parties, once we get back on the web.


GAME OPENING INFORMATION
I'd love to do another game of Spy Diplomacy, but it requires commitment that seems in short supply. Especially with Doug Kent bowing out, is there some other Variant in which there is interest? Please ask!!!
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... Let's see if there is interest in a new regular game. Signups please?
BREAKING AWAY: Game start now, for next time, a rematch of the last go. Please get your orders in!!!
KENDO NAGASAKI: Send in your guesses!!! We almost have it!!!


THE TERRY TALLMAN MEMORIAL: 2016A, Regular Diplomacy
THE DUE DATE FOR SUMMER 1904 IS MARCH 18TH, 2017
THE DUE DATE FOR FALL 1904 IS APRIL 15TH, 2017
Spring 1904
AUSTRIA (Black): a VIE-gal, a bud-RUM, f tri-ALB, f GRE S a bul,
a gal-ukr (d r:boh,bud,otb), a BUL S a bud-rum.
ENGLAND (Cohen): f wal-ENG, f NTH s f wal-eng, f NWG S f nth.
FRANCE (Rauterberg): f POR-spa (ncs), f BRE-mid, a MAR s f por-spa (ncs), a GAS S a mar.
GERMANY (Polley): a ber-LVN, f BAL C a ber-lvn, a mun-SIL, f HOL-nth, a DEN-swe, a bel-BUR.
ITALY (Ellinger): f nap-TYH, f WES S f spa(sc)-mid, f spa(sc)-MID, a PIE-mar, a VEN h.
RUSSIA (Zarr): a WAR S a ukr-gal, f NWY S f swe, a FIN S f nwy, f SWE s ENGLISH f nth-den (nso),
a SEV s f rum, a ukr-GAL, f rum s a sev (d ann).
TURKEY (Wiedemeyer): f CON-bla, f BLA-sev, a SMY h.


E-Mail Addresses of the Participants
AUSTRIA: Thaddeus Black, thaddeus.h.black of gmail.com
ENGLAND: David Cohen, zendip18 of optonline.net
FRANCE: Paul Rauterberg, paul.rauterberg of att.net
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) Thanks to Paul for taking over, but remember that F Portugal can go to either coast of Spain, and the coast was unspecified, ncs stands for "no coast specified".


Press:
None to be spotted...


THE DON WILLIAMS 57 MEMORIAL: 2014A, Regular Diplomacy
THE DUE DATE FOR SUMMER 1908 IS MARCH 18TH, 2017
THE DUE DATE FOR FALL 1904 IS APRIL 15TH, 2017
Spring 1908
AUSTRIA (Ozog): a BUD h, a tri-SER, a TYO S a ven-pie, f nap-TYH, a ROM h,
f WES s ITALIAN f gol-spa(sc) (nso, cut), a pic-PAR, a ven-PIE, a rum-BUL,
a mun-BUR, f NAF-mid.
FRANCE (Ellinger): f spa(sc) s f mid-wes (d r:por,otb), f eng-mid (d r:bel,otb), f MID-wes.
GERMANY (Abbott): a LVP h, a BRE h.
ITALY (Wilson): f GOL S a mar-spa, a mar-SPA.
RUSSIA (Rauterberg): a war-SIL, f stp(nc)-NWY, a YOR-lvp, f BLA C a con-sev, a boh-MUN,
a nwy-EDI, f IRI S f cly-nao, f edi-CLY, f lon-ENG, f WAL S f lon-eng, a bel-PIC, f cly-NAO,
f NTH C a nwy-edi, f ION S AUSTRIAN f nap-tyh, a RUH S AUSTRIAN a mun-bur, a con-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) All the proposals are rejected.


Press:
None spotted here either...




THE DIPLOMACY GAME II: Breaking Away, Designer's Rules
INTERESTED IN PLAYING THE NEXT GAME: Bate, Reader, Alme, Ellinger, Desper, York, and Whyte


DEADLINE FOR GETTING CARDS AND TEAM/RIDER NAMES IN FOR THIS GAME IS MARCH 18TH, 2017


Press:
(RICK DESPER'S COMMENTS ON JUST GETTING BEATEN OUT BY BRENDAN): Dammit, Alpha cost me the game. I didn't see that he could pass Donatello. And it's my own fault in part for letting that happen: I didn't need to have the other riders playing big cards. One of the riders that Alpha drafted to get that '13' was Leonardo. He had no hope of finishing in the money - I should have just played small cards for him and Alpha's '12' wouldn't have let him catch up to Donatello. And then Donatello would have gotten the '2' the team needed to win.
GRRRR...


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
2) All seven players want to do a rematch, so the plan is to do that, please send me teams and cards for next time! If you want to do the same country as last time you can, but I'll open it up on Teams and Riders, you can choose ones you want.


WHERE IN THE WORLD IS KENDO NAGASAKI
DEADLINE FOR TURN 9 OF THIS GAME IS MARCH 18TH, 2017
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:
Bernie Sanders, on Diego Garcia in the Indian Ocean No Guess Received

Hank Alme: Marc Ellinger:
Hank Alme in Ellicott City, MD Christian De Castries in Caracas, Venezuela

Rick Desper: Doug Kent:
Wavy Gravy in West Hartford, CT Robert E. Lee in Lhasa, Tibet

Andy York: Peter Sullivan:
Jim Burgess in Portland, ME Joan Collins in Dallas, TX

HINT to the Person with the Closest Geographic Guess: You have my gender correct, but I did most of the things I'm famed for a decade or two before your active period.


TURN 2
Brendan Whyte: Tom Howell:
Eleanor Roosevelt in Baton Rouge, LA No Guess Received

Hank Alme: Marc Ellinger:
Boris Johnson in Moscow, Russia F.D.R. in Lagos, Nigeria

Rick Desper: Doug Kent:
Eleanor Roosevelt in Belize City, Belize Eisenhower in Gettysburg, PA

Andy York: Peter Sullivan:
Al Capone in Rio, Brazil Dwight D. Eisenhower in Culzean Castle, Ayrshire, Scotland

Jim Reader:
Nelson Mandela in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso

HINT to the Person with the Closest Geographic Guess: I had a somewhat more formal leadership position than you.


TURN 3
Brendan Whyte: Tom Howell:
Huey Long in Baton Rouge, LA No Guess This Time

Hank Alme: Marc Ellinger:
Eleanor Roosevelt in Los Angeles, CA Herbert Hoover in Santiago, Chile

Rick Desper: Doug Kent:
Simon Bolivar in La Paz, Bolivia Rommel in La Paz, Bolivia

Andy York: Peter Sullivan:
Kenesaw Mountain Landis in Sao Paulo, Brazil Dwight D. Eisenhower in Buenos Aires, Argentina

Jim Reader: Mark Firth:
Donald Trump in the White House Lyndon B. Johnson in Salonika, Greece

HINT to the Person with the Closest Geographic Guess: We knew each other and interacted with each other in our professional lives, but there was a famous meeting I once helped to orchestrate that you were not invited to.






TURN 4
Brendan Whyte: Tom Howell:
No Guess This Time No Guess This Time

Hank Alme: Marc Ellinger:
FDR in Valparaiso, Chile Vyacheslav Mikhailovich Molotov in Ascuncion, Paraguay

Rick Desper: Doug Kent:
Teddy Roosevelt in Brasilia, Brazil. No Guess This Time

Andy York: Peter Sullivan:
George Marshall at Asuncion, Paraguay No Guess This Time

Jim Reader: Mark Firth:
Che Guevara Nazca Desert of Peru looking at lines Winston Churchill in Beverly Hills

HINT to the Person with the Closest Geographic Guess: You were dead before the famous meeting I alluded to last time, but of course I did work with you closely across our careers.


TURN 5
Brendan Whyte: Tom Howell:
Fidel Castro in Santiago, Cuba No Guess This Time

Hank Alme: Marc Ellinger:
Harry Truman in Concepcion, Chile Harry Truman in Cordoba, Argentina

Rick Desper: Doug Kent:
No Guess This Time Winston Churchill in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

Andy York: Peter Sullivan:
Harry Hopkins in Concepcion, Chile FDR in Santiago, Chile

Jim Reader: Mark Firth:
Harry S Truman in Mendoza, Argentina FDR in New York City, US

HINT to the Person with the Closest Geographic Guess: Well, you were at that famous meeting... or maybe you weren't. How could it be both? That is a VERY interesting story, certainly you were instrumental in the örchestration" in multiple ways!


TURN 6
Brendan Whyte: Tom Howell:
Rudolf Hess in Caracas, Venezuela No Guess This Time

Hank Alme: Marc Ellinger:
George Marshall in Los Ángeles, Chile Alger Hiss in Punto Arenas, Chile

Rick Desper: Doug Kent:
No Guess This Time No Guess This Time

Andy York: Peter Sullivan:
Joseph Stalin in Port Darwin Harry S Truman in Brasilia, Brazil

Jim Reader: Mark Firth:
Winston Churchill in Belo Horizonte, Brazil Robert Oppenheimer in Iquique, Chile

HINT to the Person with the Closest Geographic Guess: Your guess of my identity is moving in the wrong direction, but someone else has identified me.


TURN 7
Brendan Whyte: Tom Howell:
Alger Hiss at Goose Green, Falkland Islands No Guess This Time

Hank Alme: Marc Ellinger:
George Marshall in Puerto Williams, Chile Clement Attlee in Port Stanley Falkland Islands

Rick Desper: Doug Kent:
No Guess This Time Joseph Stalin on Easter Island

Andy York: Peter Sullivan:
Joseph Stalin in Tierra del Fuego Harry S Truman in Asunción, Paraguay

Jim Reader: Mark Firth:
Alger Hiss in Antofagasta, Chile Erwin Rommel, in the Galapagos

HINT to the Person with the Closest Geographic Guess: You need to cross the water to find me, and you are not correct in identifying who I am.


TURN 8
Brendan Whyte: Tom Howell:
Robert Oppenheimer in Ushuaia, Argentina No Guess This Time

Hank Alme: Marc Ellinger:
Robert Oppenheimer in Ushuaia, Tierra del Fuego, Argentina Rudolf Hess in Rio Gallegos, Argentina

Rick Desper: Doug Kent:
No Guess This Time Alger Hiss in Punta Arenas

Andy York: Peter Sullivan:
Richard M. Nixon in Hong Kong Harry S Truman in Tierra del Fuego

Jim Reader: Mark Firth:
Alger Hiss in Ushuaia, Argentina Robert Oppenheimer in Colon

HINT to the Person with the Closest Geographic Guess: A number of you have nailed my location, but while my identity has been identified in the past, NO ONE has identified me this turn.


LAST WORD: So TotalCon was great, and I managed to keep my energy up high enough to be Tournament Director, even playing two positions simultaneously in two of the four rounds. We had a bit more trouble getting players this year, so we had a flat two games in each of the four rounds. I think we can do better next year.
But in general, I'm still having troubles maintaining my weight, which is my big side effect. This week I'm diving back into eating cheese, hoping that will bind me up a bit and gain the weight back. Wish me luck before I waste away into nothingness... if anyone says that treatment side effects are anything but an extremely annoying adventure, they are flat out lying. Next time we will get Breaking Away started again, SHOULD get the diplomacy web site back up, and I should be able to be on time. Just the Summer turn with some retreats in the Diplomacy games even though I'm late. Happy March Madness everyone! I'm betting on Villanova making another big run, and Kansas and UCLA look difficult too, but I think Gonzaga is overrated.


File translated from TEX by TTH, version 3.85.
On 05 Mar 2017, 21:41.