Blogrolling!

Okay, I've got a blogroll. Be sure to check out the FOX.

The United Nations

The United Nations seems to cop a lot of flak for no real reason, especially now. You know what? The UN has worked for the past 60 years, with no third world war and no mass destruction. It works, and now people want to destroy it. The UN is incredibly important to the world. It is the reason for the existence of UNICEF, the World Health Organization, and a myriad other groups that significantly increase the world's living standards. The UN provides a 24-hour discussion forum for all nations to voice their opinions. It provides a mediator for negotiation, a shouting box, a place where diplomats can work out solutions. The UN is not a tool of the USA or the French or the Chinese or the Indians. The UN is a forum and a protector of human rights and dignities.

Before saying the UN must go, think about what it has done for the world. Think about reform, not destruction.

Random Rant: Bill Could Criminalize Fast-Forwarding DVD Ads, Trailers

What the hell?

Come on, people. What exactly is this meant to accomplish?

Suspicious Sites: Pentagon Strike

An interesting movie about the 11/9 attack on the Pentagon

I'm not a big fan of conspiracies. I don't believe George Bush or whoever had knowledge of 11/9.

But this movie raises some questions. Did Flight 77 really hit the Pentagon? If not, what did? Why all the secrecy? Why confiscate footage of the attack?

At the moment, it's just suspicious. I haven't formed any conclusions. Perhaps you will. Watch the movie and give me your spin.

Random Rant: Space Travel

Saw an article in the paper about how space travel is a waste of money and how it could be spent on problems here on Earth. Let me explain why my point of view is different:

1. We spend much more money on crap like DVD players or atomic weapons down here than we spend up there. Let's face it, if they cancel the space program, the money won't be going to starving kids in Africa: it'll be going to subsidies or the military.
2. What happens when Earth runs out of resources? There's a finite amount of (iron/copper/whatever) down here on Earth, and that won't last forever. Better we have a space presence now than wish for one when we run out of resources.
3. Finite amount of space on Earth too. If the population continues to increase, people will want to move offplanet.
4. Velcro, computers, some medical technique that I can't remember: the invention of all is due to the space program.

Okay, a short and concise post for a long and complex topic. Oh well.

Viva La Orbitale!

-The Lone Amigo

D&D: Arcane Training Feats

Where did your wizard learn their style? Is he a hedge wizard from a town way out in the back of nowhere, or is she an graduate of the Arcane War College in Rikkansburg? Give them a unique style with one of these feats.

Hedge Wizard [Backround]
Your magical training also taught you about nature and life.
Prerequisites: Wis 13, wizard, 1st level only
Benefit: You may prepare one druid spell per day of up to 3rd level in place of a wizard spell of one level higher, and gain a +2 bonus on all Knowledge (nature) checks.

War Wizard [Backround]
Your magical training also included basics in the skills of war.
Prerequisites: Str 13, wizard, 1st level only
Benefit: You gain proficiency with a single martial weapon and a +1 bonus to attack with that weapon.

Craft Wizard [Backround]
Your magical training was the basis for a career in crafting magical items.
Prerequisites: 4 ranks in any Craft skill, wizard, 1st level only
Benefit: You gain a +1 bonus to all Craft skills, and are treated as one caster level higher for the purpose of item creation.

Academic Wizard [Backround]
Your magical training was from an arcane academy.
Prerequisites: 4 ranks in any Knowledge skill, wizard, 1st level only
Benefit: You gain a +1 bonus to all Knowledge skills, and are treated as one caster level higher for the purpose of interaction with other magic (counterspelling, dispelling, etc.).

Eberron: The Last War

Does anyone else think that Eberron and the Total War series are brilliant fits? It all fits quite well. Mobile fortresses would be just that: fortresses that are mobile. You could have regiments of Warforged, Karrnathi Undead, Valenar, etc.

Dragonmarked houses and other power groups would be represented by neutral agents. Thrane could have inquisitors. You could change the entire course of the last war.

Only one problem: the Mourning. Why would anyone play Cyre if you know you're gonna get wiped out? Perhaps a random system, perhaps some factors behind the scenes, but something has to control the Mourning.

Session Log 1: "Eberron: Trail of the Warforged"

I started the first in my Trail of the Warforged adventures today, and it worked brilliantly.

The Party:

Professor Winch: Warforged wizard and scholar of Warforged Studies & Archaeology at Morgrave University. He is recently returned from Xen'drik on a study of ancient giant cities and the possibilities of ancient warforged. He has arranged to head another expedition to Xen'drik with the backing of Charn d'Tharashk and Delmar d'Cannith.
Aether Dagan: A shifter monk trained in a monastery in the Eldeen Reaches. He befriended Winch when he fought for the Breland Expeditionary Force in the Eldeen Reaches. A devout protector of nature, he hopes to convert Winch and others to the path of the Wardens.
Delmar d'Cannith: A human artificer and a member of Cannith, he represents the intrests of House Cannith in the expedition. He was the artificer for Ironfist's squad in the Last War.
Ironfist: A gleaming, polished adamantine warforged fighter, Ironfist is a warforged warrior who fought for Breland in the Last War. Now, he acts as a protector of the warforged students and schoolars at Morgrave University.
Alamis "Cat" Roland: A human bard and ex-spy, the Cat now acts as a information broker for those interested in Xen'drik. His part in the expedition is to further his contacts in Xen'drik and increase his knowledge. He also has contacts with the Library of Korranberg, who want to know more about the possibility of ancient warforged.

The Action:

The party met with Charn d'Tharashk at the Lava Pig, a famous Cogs restaurant situated on the edge of huge forge powered by molten lava. The heavy and hot atmosphere is somewhat but not totally mitigated by the chilled air provided by a Lyrandar device.

Charn d'Tharashk told the party of a ancient map found in the Demon Wastes by a Tharashk mining expedition, and asked them to add it to their expedition in Xen'drik. After the meal, he told them to meet him at the Grey Court Inn in Upper Dura.

The party made their way back to their lodging at the University, their journey interrupted by a political speech in the Morgrave Exchange going awry. A magic carpet sped past the half-elf candidate, throwing him off balance and into a stall of Eldeen apples. The night passed uneventfully.

In the morning, the party breakfasted at the House Ghallandra eatery in the University, then set off to the Grey Court. On arrival, they were greeted by a brutal scene: Charn d'Tharashk lying dead on the floor in a pool of blood.

A short examination of the scene revealed three things: a torn-up journal, a bronze medallion with a House Tharashk insignia, and some silvery warforged fluid. The investigation was interrupted by the Sharn Watch, who burst into the room and attempted to apprehend the party.

But the Cat had no truck with this, and decided to flee the scene by the quickest method possible: out the window and onto a passing skycoach. The rest of the party soon followed. Unfortunately, the unpiloted vehicle was headed straight for a skybridge, and only quick thinking by Delmar kept the party alive. Delmar then had to work out how to turn the craft to avoid crashing into the end of the tower ahead. But the heroes' ordeal was only just beginning.

One of the watchmen, a warforged, decided to chase the carriage, and as it came within inches of a tower, he lept onto the roof of the skycoach. A Watch-manned skycoach also put chase to the heroes at a nearby intersection.

Aether and the Cat lept up onto the roof to combat the 'forged watchman, as the coach hurtled threw a breakneck series of turns. The professor fired off two spells at the driver of the watch carriage, which then swerved off down a wide canyon of towers. The 'forged watchman then slammed his armblade through the roof, temporarily disabling Delmar and forcing Winch to take the controls. But Ironfist retaliated back through the roof at the watchman, just before Winch set the coach on a rapid upward swing to avoid a wall.

Only the warforged and the Cat were able to keep standing, as Delmar was thrown to the back of the coach and Aether held on to a strap at the back of the carriage. However, he was able to use the momentum as the coach returned to vertical to swing himself up and knock out the warforged.

The party rested for a second, then headed into a busy expressway, and examined the bronze medallion. Touching the insignia caused a voice to emerge from the medallion: the voice of Charn d'Tharashk.

"If you are hearing this, I am dead. Probably slain by those who also seek the map. They won't find it though: it's hidden somewhere in the Tharashk enclave in Rhukaan Draal. You're also unlikely to find it, unless you seek the advice of my friend Ithim d'Tharashk in Wroat. He will help you locate the map and direct you to Xen'drik. Be quick: those who seek the map are powerful and unlikely to be slowed. Farewell, my friends."

A flash, and the medallion dissolved into thin air.

Next Week: The party attempts a daring rescue and tries to escape Sharn without attracting the eyes of the Watch.

And So It Begins....

Jennifer Government comes true

Watch Out, Republicans! The Nanny States are a-Coming

Let's Go, Liberal Sissies!

Random Rant: The Purges Begin

Does anyone else find this more than slightly disturbing?

Perhaps the next tune we hear at a march will be Sieg Heil to the Chief?

We could be in for a rough ride....

Dollar expected to fall

China's dumping its reserves of US currency, along with India, Russia, and the Middle East. This isn't good. If the US dollar falls, the world economy is affected. A whole lot of bad stuff could happen. We may not be in for a full-fledged depression, but we are going to be living in interesting times, as the ancient Chinese curse goes.

The article says that Bush's re-election may have something to do with this, and that seems distressingly likely. He can't blame this on Clinton. If crap happens, send your thanks to G. W. Bush, c/o of 1600 Pennsylvania Ave.

Reivew: "Souls in the Great Machine" by Sean McMullen

"Souls in the Great Machine" by Sean McMullen is the first book in the Greatwinter series, some of the best Australian SF I've read (which, unfortunately, is not much: Aussie SF is extremely hard to get a hold of. Only the very top authors can be found in bookshops and libraries) It's an incredibly inventive tale of Australia two millenia years after the destruction of civilization by a strange and mysterious force known as the Call that robs people of their minds and pulls them towards the sea.

Fortunately for humanity, this only occurs once every week or so, in great Callsweeps that cross the land. But other barriers exist to the resurgance of modern civilization. All the major Australian religons, Christianity, Gentheism and Islam, now prohibit the use of engines powered by fuel, and some force melts electric devices wherever they are activated. Still, humans are ingenious people. Clockwork Call anchors hold people from the Call, trains powered by wind or pedals cross ancient railways and a system of lighthouses functions as a telegraph in a world where electricity fails. The imagination Sean McMullen has put into this world makes it leap of the page and into your mind.

Most central to the story, however, is a human-powered computing engine known as the Calculor, built by the brilliant Highliber Zarvora Cybeline. Zarvora has decided to shake up centuries of tradition in Libris, the library that preserves ancient knowledge and serves a similar purpose to that of the Church in Europe's Dark Ages. From then on, the story progresses, pulling in several other viewpoint characters and progressing over several years.

The story is infused with a streak of humour that lightens the tone of the book considerably, and never at inappropriate moments. The only problem in this area is one character seems totally defined by the size of her breasts. Not funny, and not right either. The character only plays a relatively small part, though, and does not destroy the book.

A major weakness in this book is that midway through the book, half the characters have a massive shift in characterization. One turns into a villain, Zarvora stops being an iron-fisted tyrant and another becomer a romantic. I understand that the book was originally two novellas and a short story, which would explain the problem, but perhaps a little more attention needed to be directed to this 180-degree change in the characters in the editing.

That said, it's still a good book. Go and read it in a library, and if you like it, go and read the next one.

Score: 8/10

A Tribute: Sir David Attenborough

No, he's no dead, but I just saw a documentary on him. Sir David Attenborough is definitely the best nature presenter ever. His style is perfect and makes everything seem extraordinary and interesting, from the tiniest speck of amber to the largest tree. All other nature presenters owe a huge debt to Sir David, and it will never be repaid.

Ummm.... yeah. The Secret Life of Plants is good. Go and watch it.

So Stupid It's Not Even Funny

No, I'm not talking about the US Presidential Election, or the Howard government. I'm talking about the latest show to hit Southern California TV: Dungeon Majesty. You can take a look here, but I'm not sure that you'd want to. It's about D&D, but not really.
Who watches this crap, anyway? More importantly, who makes it?

Random Rant: How Reassuring

Bush Declares Solid Anti-Slavery Position

Brilliant. I sure hope he doesn't defend this position the same way he's defended his position on government spending.

Back from NZ

Well, I'm back from NZ. You'll get a more detailed report on my trip once I get the photos and stop sulking about the US election.

Well, Blow That For A Game Of Soldiers

So Kerry's conceded the election, despite the fact that there have been serious breaches of democracy during this election. It seems so stupid. Bush won the election because the Republicans were better at lying, had more single-issue voters on their side (they could start a war with China or destroy the economy, as long as they remained anti-choice), and not least, were the stupidest.
One of the essential states in this election was Nevada. Well, some strange stuff has been going on there.

I have serious doubts as to the legitimacy of this election, but it seems it's going to be four more years of the same bloody stuff.

What can I say? Start panicking. Now.