THE ABYSSINIAN PRINCE #383

May 14, 2017


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


Yes, we're late again, Things are now a bit more serious and I am back in the hospital. Logistically, it meant Charlotte had to bring me my steenkin' maps to hand draw and then take them back home to scan. That also added a bit of time to the process. More of the health details are in the last word. Let me know if you have problems or questions.


E-MAIL/WEB ONLY ISSUE! PDF will be available on the website when I fix the new website index.html at http://www.diplomatic-pouch.com/Postal/Zines/TAP/index.html, almost there. At this point, I'm not wasting time figuring this out. Eventually I will get one of the other new admins to help me. All the back issues are there in http://www.diplomatic-pouch.com/Postal/Zines/TAP/TAPxxx.pdf or .html. My poor html programming is making the move to diplomatic-pouch.com more problematic since I hardcoded links in. Sigh... We also are being reproduced in Eternal Sunshine which is running down to a fold, mostly governed by me, since I'm in the last game...


Web Page Address: http://www.diplomatic-pouch.com/Postal/Zines/TAP/index.html


I think I'll start a new Kendo Nagasaki next time, pretty much everyone got the answer this time! I also am not going to hold this for full final TotalCon results, so that will be in next time with the Winter builds in the 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. Especially since after ES's impending fold, we will be independent again.
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 new upload interfaces. 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 general website address is now: http://www.diplomatic-pouch.com.
There are currently 77 members of the official TAP subscriber list, I hope I also can make it work again, but cannot right now. YOU needed to make sure you're on this list, I'll let you know when I'm using it again. I'll add some of the newer subscribers who aren't there when I do that. When this works, there you can check your subscribing options and whether you're registered. Register if you want to get TAP E-Mailed regularly. 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, we're now using Alex Lebedev's site: http://diplomacy.world/ while we're getting the new DP site working again: http://www.diplomatic-pouch.com/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!))


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. Obviously, my fatigue has gotten in the way here...))


THE ABYSSINIAN PRINCE LETTERS SECTION
No letters this time.


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. Please get your orders in for next turn!!!
KENDO NAGASAKI: Almost everyone got it!!! I'll start a new one next time.


THE TERRY TALLMAN MEMORIAL: 2016A, Regular Diplomacy
THE DUE DATE FOR WINTER 1904 IS MAY 27TH, 2017
Fall 1904
AUSTRIA (Black): a VIE S a bud-gal, a RUM S a bud-gal, f ALB h, f GRE S a bul,
a bud-GAL, a BUL S a rum.
ENGLAND (Cohen): f ENG S f nth-bel, f nth-BEL, f nwg-NTH.
FRANCE (Rauterberg): f POR S a gas-spa, f BRE-mid, a MAR s a gas-spa, a gas-SPA.
GERMANY (Polley): a LVN-stp, f BAL-swe, a SIL-war, f HOL-bel, a DEN S f bal-swe, a BUR-bel.
ITALY (Ellinger): f tyh-GOL, f WES-spa(sc), f MID s f wes-spa(sc), a PIE-mar, a VEN h.
RUSSIA (Zarr): a WAR-mos, f NWY S f swe, a FIN-stp, f SWE s f nwy, a SEV-mos, a gal-BOH.
TURKEY (Wiedemeyer): f CON h, f BLA S a smy-arm, a smy-ARM.


Supply Center Chart
AUSTRIA (Black): TRI,VIE,BUD,ser,gre,bul,rum (has 7, bld 1)
ENGLAND (Cohen): LVP,LON,EDI,bel (has 3, bld 1)
FRANCE (Rauterberg): PAR,BRE,MAR,por,spa (has 4, bld 1)
GERMANY (Polley): KIE,MUN,BER,hol,den (has 5, rem 1)
ITALY (Ellinger): ROM,NAP,VEN,tun (has 5, rem 1)
RUSSIA (Zarr): WAR,STP,MOS,SEV,swe,nwy (has 6, even)
TURKEY (Wiedemeyer): SMY,ANK,CON (has 3, even)
Neutral: none (Total=34)


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) Get orders in quickly.


Press:
None to be spotted...


THE DON WILLIAMS 57 MEMORIAL: 2014A, Regular Diplomacy
THE DUE DATE FOR WINTER 1908 IS MAY 27TH, 2017
Fall 1908
AUSTRIA (Ozog): a bud-RUM, a ser-GRE, a tyo-PIE, f TYH-gol, a ROM-nap,
f WES s ITALIAN a spa (otm), a PAR S RUSSIAN a pic-bre, a pie-MAR,
a bul-CON, a bur-BEL, f NAF S RUSSIAN f nao-mid.
FRANCE (Ellinger): f POR S f mid-spa(sc), f bel-hol (d r:pic,otb), f mid-SPA(SC).
GERMANY (Abbott): a lvp h (d ann), a bre h (d r:gas,pic,otb).
ITALY (Wilson): f GOL-spa, a spa-por (d r:gas,otb).
RUSSIA (Rauterberg): a sil-MUN, f nwy-NWG, a YOR-hol, f BLA-rum, a mun-BUR, a EDI S f cly-lvp,
f IRI S f nao-mid, f cly-LVP, f ENG S a pic-bre, f WAL S f eng, a pic-BRE, f nao-MID,
f NTH C a yor-hol, f ION-nap, a RUH S AUSTRIAN a bur-bel, a SEV-rum.


Supply Center Chart
AUSTRIA (Ozog): TRI,VIE,BUD,ser,smy,tun,mun, (has 11, bld 3 (PLAYS TWO SHORT))
ven,nap,rom,rum,gre,par,mar,con,bel
FRANCE (Ellinger): spa,por (has 2 or 3, even(r:otb) or rem 1)
GERMANY (Abbott): none (has none, OUT!)
ITALY (Wilson): none (has none, OUT!)
RUSSIA (Rauterberg): WAR,STP,MOS,swe,nwy,ank,SEV, (has 16, even)
ber,den,kie,hol,edi,bul,lon,lvp,bre
Neutral: none (Total=34)


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) We have the open "concession" idea still out there, but also a firm Austria/Russia draw proposal for your Winter consideration. If you do not vote, you veto the proposal for the A/R, as well as any proposed concession. Remember concessions always take priority over draws, so if you all support both the AR and a concession, the concession takes place. The vote also takes place AFTER the adjustment, so Germany and Italy are not eligible to vote, just the remaining three players.
2) And thank you very much to Brad and Will for playing out their positions!
3) I am not saying any more here, but Paul has been having a bit of a tough time, keep him in your thoughts!


Press:
(KAISER IN SECURE UNDISCLOSED LOCATION [SUD] to WORLD): I'll support any proposal... As long as it's game related.
(KAISER IN SUD to GM): The Kaiserin forbids me from supporting any marriage or indecent proposals....
(VANILLA ICE to KAISER IN SUD): If there's a proposal, yo, I'll support it.
(KAISER IN SUD to GERMAN TROOPS): Don't just do something, stand there!
(KAISER IN SUD to SUDS): Why aren't you in my bathtub??
(AUSTRIAN MUSIC LOVER): I need to send you a copy of the new Green Pajamas album, To the End of the Sea. It's like a musical storybook rock operetta. Total ear candy! I hope you are well. Best, Eric
(JIM-BOB LISTENS): Well, it is all up on YouTube for free, so over the weekend I did listen to it, and you're right. I thought the way it allowed Green Pajamas to run through the range of their sound painting experience and skills was great, though ear candy throughout, quite varied. I particularly liked "When Juliet Smiles" and then how it transitioned into "A Mouth Full of Honey". Thanks for the nudge to listen to it!!!




THE DIPLOMACY GAME II: Breaking Away, Designer's Rules
NEW GAME START IN THIS ISSUE
Turn 1
DEADLINE FOR TURN 2 IS MAY 27TH, 2017
12 (replenish with a 2) King Rat (Breaking Away!)
11 (no replenishment) Empty
10 (replenish with a 3) TaiPan, Crockett
9 (replenish with a 5) Hitler
8 (replenish with a 6) Travis, Mussolini
7 (replenish with a 8) Cardinal Richelieu
6 (replenish with a 9) Thomas Jefferson, Gai-Jin, Mao
5 (replenish with a 3) Billy Wilder, Lafayette, Rousseau, Houston, Trump (overcrowded)
4 (replenish with a 3) Christian Doppler, Skara Brae, Noble House, Peter Quill, Bowie
(overcrowded)
3 (replenish with a 8) Arnold Schwarzenegger, Daniel Swarovski, Avebury, Drax
2 (replenish with a 12) Sutton Hoo, Rocket Raccoon
1 (replenish with a 14) Lindisfarne, Gamora
5 riders on a square, means they all replenish 3, with follow-on effects.
Addresses of the Participants - Their Teams and Their Cards
TEAM AUSTRIA II (Andy Bate): andydbate of gmail.com (0 points)
A: Arnold Schwarzenegger 3, 9, 15, 8 (3)
B: Billy Wilder 5, 15, 3 (5)
C: Christian Doppler 3, 13, 3 (4)
D: Daniel Swarovski 3, 10, 8 (3)
Total Replenishments: 22 + = 22
TEAM ANCIENT ENGLAND (Jim Reader): jim_reader of hotmail.com (0 points)
A: Skara Brae 15, 11, 3 (4)
B: Avebury 14, 8, 8 (3)
C: Sutton Hoo 13, 5, 12 (2)
D: Lindisfarne 12, 3, 14 (1)
Total Replenishments: 37 + = 37
TEAM FRANCE (Hank Alme): almehj of alumni.rice.edu (0 points)
A: Marquis de Lafayette (Captain): 1, 9, 15, 3 (5)
B: Cardinal Armand Jean du Plessis, Duke of Richelieu and Fronsac: 4, 14, 8 (7)
C: Jean-Jacques Rousseau: 2, 13, 3 (5)
D: Thomas Jefferson: 2, 8, 9 (6)
Total Replenishments: 23 + = 23
TEAM CLAVELL (Marc Ellinger): mellinger of blitzbardgett.com (0 points)
A: TaiPan 15, 5, 3 (10)
B: King Rat 10, 3, 2 (12)
C: Gai-Jin 13, 1, 9 (6)
D: Noble House 10, 2, 3 (4)
Total Replenishments: 17 + = 17
TEAM (Rick Desper): rick_desper of yahoo.com (0 points)
Team Name: Guardians of the Galaxy
A: Peter Quill (Star-Lord) 2, 9, 15, 3 (4)
B: Gamora 9, 15, 14 (1)
C: Rocket Raccoon 5, 13, 12 (2)
D: Drax 1, 12, 8 (3)
Total Replenishments: 37 + = 37
TEAM REPUBLIC OF TEXAS (Andy York): wandrew88 of gmail.com (0 points)
A: Crockett 10, 10, 3 (10)
B: Travis 10, 7, 6 (8)
C: Houston 10, 5, 3 (5)
D: Bowie 8, 4, 3 (4)
Total Replenishments: 15 + = 15
TEAM DICTATORS (Brendan Whyte): BWHYTE of nla.gov.au (0 points)
A: Hitler 11, 10, 5 (9)
B: Mussolini 8,9,6 (8)
C: Mao 7,7,9 (6)
D: Trump 5,6,3 (5)
Total Replenishments: 23 + = 23


Game Notes:
1) The rules are on the TAP website in the Tinamou section. Ask if you have any questions. Rules at:
http://www.diplomatic-pouch.com/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) Note the overcrowding rule for the first turn. First turn only - if at the end of the first turn (only), any square has 5 or more cyclists on it then the square in front is treated as if were blank for card replacement purposes.


Press:
(BABY GROOT): I am Groot.


WHERE IN THE WORLD IS KENDO NAGASAKI
DEADLINE FOR THE FIRST TURN 10 OF THE NEW GAME IS MAY 27TH, 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 for the new game!!!


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, 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.


TURN 9
Brendan Whyte: Tom Howell:
George Marshall in Ushuaia, Argentina No Guess This Time

Hank Alme: Marc Ellinger:
No Guess This Time Winston Churchill at Ushuaia, Argentina

Rick Desper: Doug Kent:
George Marshall in Ushuaia, Argentina No Guess This Time

Andy York: Peter Sullivan:
No Guess This Time George Marshall in Ushuaia, Tierra del Fuego, Argentina

Jim Reader: Mark Firth:
Winston Churchill in Ushuaia, Argentina Harry Hopkins, in Punta Arenas

HINT to the Person with the Closest Geographic Guess: The number of you who have identified my location are ALL wrong on who I am. Logically, I can be only ONE other person, and that is?


TURN 10
Brendan Whyte: Tom Howell:
My uncle Joe Stalin in Ushuaia No Guess This Time

Hank Alme: Marc Ellinger:
Joseph Stalin in Ushuaia, Argentina Iosef Vassarionovich Dzhugashvili (a.k.a. Joseph Stalin) in Ushuaia

Rick Desper: Doug Kent:
George Marshall in Ushuaia, Argentina No Guess This Time

Andy York: Peter Sullivan:
Joseph Stalin in Ushuaia, Tierra del Fuego Happy to be recorded as a technical NMR!

Jim Reader: Mark Firth:
Ioseb Besarionis dze Jughashvil (Stalin) in Ushuaia Harry Hopkins in Ushuaia, Argentina

Joseph Stalin in Ushuaia, Argentina IS correct, as most of you are above. A big TIE on the LAST turn. I have bolded the closest for each of the other turns, but not this one, Andy, Brendan, Hank, Marc, and Jim all get it. Comments on this game, as we start the next one next issue are more than welcome. My take on the game to make it fun is to have some sort of weird connection idea, here being that after WWII, Germans ran away to this part of the world, and Stalin might have chased them...


LAST WORD: So, cancer is great at having the cruelest timing. And it has done it to me again. I need to start with the idea that in many ways I feel wonderful, really energetic, excited about life, charging forward, but I can't walk. The cancer itself is almost gone everywhere and not at all bothering me anyplace, except the regrowth in the middle of my back from where I had the surgery in August. So, backtracking a bit and forgetting how much detail I wrote in TAP then, that time we took as much of the cancer out as we could, put a whole lot of metal in my back, and I was back from not being able to walk to initial walking the day after the surgery. Then, we began a recovery process from end of August right through mid-April, and in mid-April I was really close to 100 percent (adjusted to all the metal, walking totally freely, only minor annoyances of pinched nerves, neuropathies, and numbness). Then, just like in August, within a day enough nerve impingement that I could not walk emerged. Pretty much everything was knocked out. Everyone agreed pretty instantly that we were not going to go back and repeat the August surgery, and after some deliberation, we are on chemotherapy, that is (slowly) taking great effect on the back tumor (and presumably my remaining little nagging liver/lung cancer nodules (which never bother me with any side effects). But, once you start to release the impingement on the nerves SLOWLY via the chemo, the immediate bounceback is really slow. I am better every day, and actually rather a good bump just today, but it could take another 8 months to a year to come back. In the meantime, no, I can't walk. At some point in that recovery, we will make a movement turn around that corner, but I won't know until I get there. That's really pretty frustrating, and the "get all the way back" and then go back to not walking, I cannot say that is anything but frustrating.
Yet, I really feel good, I'm still working full time, and life certainly could be far worse. There are a wide variety of other "little things" much less consequential going on, but those too are improving slowly. So in certain ways I feel BETTER than in early April. As far as the szine and the hobby is concerned, things like input into Thaddeus Black's project when it pops above the parapets again, staying as a Diplomacy World co-editor (I'm honing a great interview with Siobhan Nolen that will be in the Summer issue), but obviously won't be traveling. I really wish I could go to Oxford for the World's in July, but of course I won't. So what will you see, some of my nerve impingement means my already excitingly messy maps are a bit more messy than usual. Oh well. And our second game really is done, maybe next issue, or soon. I'd really like to keep two games in here, easiest being sticking with Regular Diplomacy. If I do a "play the cancer card" and I'm expanding my E-Mail out list for this issue a bit, don't you want to help keep a cancer patient making his mind work to avoid chemo brain by GMing Diplomacy games? Remember, I do all the adjudication of my games in my head, push out all the adjudication, then draw them on the maps as a back check.
So, I'm also starting a new Kendo game with the next issue, so a good time to start "paying more attention", and we've also started the new Breaking Away. I think the other thing I'm going to start is a new version of By Popular Demand that I've been thinking about. Before I actually do it, I thought I'd throw the idea out in this issue, and then maybe get some comments before I write actual rules and solicit entries, and of course in BPD type games it works best if "everyone plays". So, basic FULL By Popular Demand, to most of us gets a bit frustrating since THE most popular thing doesn't take a lot of strategy. To attack that, most of us also have played "By Almost Popular Demand" where so THE most popular answer scores Zero, and the points all come from the second most popular answer. Most people doing this, also play by the JOKER rule, where you choose one of your choices to double your score. But I had a different idea about the Joker that I think increases the fun strategy. Even while EVERYONE is trying to avoid the Most Popular Answer, what if instead of the score multiplier role, the Joker is the ONE Item where you choose and DO score the most Popular answer! Note also I set a two week May 27 deadline, with only Winter due in Diplomacy.


File translated from TEX by TTH, version 3.85.
On 14 May 2017, 20:38.