The Tao of Zen Nihilism
“NEW YORK” – The National Security Agency has eavesdropped, without warrants, on as many 500 people inside the United States at any given time since 2002, it was reported Friday.
That year, following the Sept. 11 attacks, President Bush authorized the NSA to monitor the international phone calls and international e-mails of hundreds — perhaps thousands — of people inside the United States, the New York Times reported.
(thanks to xianvox)
MIAMI–A 14-year-old Haitian girl underwent a rare operation Wednesday to remove much of a 16-pound tumor-like growth on her face that all but obliterated her features. Doctors at Holtz Children’s Hospital finished operating on Marlie Casseus about 11:40 p.m., nearly 16 hours after the procedure began. The surgery is the first of many she will have to undergo.
Prayer did not save her.
Sacrifice did not save her.
Ritual did not save her.
Science saved her.
Science is cool.
And it saves lives.
(latentblue is gonna love this)
“Where do you get your ideas from?”
I get this a lot–more than is comfortable. Writers don’t get ideas from anywhere. Stories bash down your door, take you by the throat and say, “WRITE ME GODDAMMIT!!!”
But there is one story I always wish I had written. In fact, I did write it… sort of. It’s a story of true love, and I stole a lot of it for another romantic pair I’m often assoicated with.
This is my favorite story in the whole world. Percival comes a close second, but this one… this one makes me weep every time I tell it.
And now, it’s coming soon to a movie theater near you.
I don’t know whether to cheer or cry.
Anybody know where I can buy little chocolate Jesus?
And, anybody know where I can buy a bullhorn?
WHEN HE SAW THAT the one called Harbin was wearing a wire, Parker said, “Deal me out a hand,” and got to his feet. They’d all come to this late-night meeting in suits and ties, traveling businessmen taking a break with a little seven-card stud. Harbin, a nervous man unused to the dress shirt, kept twitching and moving around, bending forward to squint at his cards, and finally Parker, a quarter around the table to Harbin’s left, saw in the gap between shirt buttons that flash of clear tape holding the wire down.
As he walked around the table, Parker stripped off his own tie—dark blue with thin gold stripes—slid it into a double thickness, and arched it over Harbin’s head. He drew the two ends through the loop and yanked back hard with his right hand as his body pressed both Harbin and the chair he was in against the table, and his left hand reached over to rip open Harbin’s shirt. The other five at the table, about to speak or move or react to what Parker was doing, stopped when they saw the wire taped to Harbin’s pale chest, the edge of the black metal box taped to his side.
Parker bore down, holding Harbin against the table, pulling back now with both hands on the tie, twisting the tie. Harbin’s hands, imprisoned in his lap, beat a drumroll on the bottom of the table. The other players held the table in place, palms down, and looked at McWhitney, red-bearded and red-faced, who’d brought Harbin here. McWhitney, expression solemn, looked around at each face and shook his head; he hadn’t known.
“My deal, I think,” Dalesia said, as calm as before, and shuffled the cards a while, as the others watched Harbin and Parker. Dalesia dealt out hands in front of himself, all the cards facedown, and said, “Bet the king.”
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The Master ST has just announced that nobody can buy anything from the Invictus book unless the character is Invictus. No approvals, no nothing.
This is an anomaly from his previous ruling: all non-Invictus approvals are High Approval.
This is an anomaly from his previous ruling on the other Covenant books.
This is keeping with a philosophy of “protecting” a player’s favorite Covenant.
Three guesses what the MST’s primary character is.
First two don’t count.
___
Here are the steps.
1) Voice a reasonable objection to the decision.
When that fails, we move to step two.
2) Petition.
We get a whole hunkin’ heap of signitures to voice our objection to the decision. When that fails, we move to step three.
3) Kill all the Invictus.
Every single last one of them. Declare the Invictus–in character–are a danger to the Masquerade. And kill them on sight.
Those are my solutions. Anybody else?
___
Addendum to the Addendum
I did a search at the Addendum. I searched for “not available.” The phrase only occurs in the Invictus paragraph and the line “Bloodlines from covenant books are not available for non-true members of that covenant; otherwise the Approval levels above apply.”*
*It also appears in the Mage addendum, but that’s for characters above 150 years old and not applicable.
I got this from
them together into a single paragraph: there is your year in miniature.
You get the quick version. I’m supposed
to be working on THIRTY. American
captured by Iraqi forces. Every
intentional act is a magical act. I want you to do something for
me. Go to the Sin City website.
Just when you think you’ve outrun the past, you find out it took side
route and cut you off at the pass. Church officials in London have
barred the producers of The
Da Vinci Code from shooting scenes in Westminster Abbey after
denouncing the book, which the film will be based on, as
“theologically unsound.” I found her website recently and
lost it because I failed to bookmark it. Right now, my grandfather is
doing something in his grave. I’m not quite sure if it’s spinning
or doing a jig. When you can’t do much, do what you can. One of them
is very American and the other, very British. While petitioning for
Masonry, I got asked this question a lot. You can hear the Wicked
Dead On Fire Game Design Seminar on the Sons
of Kryos internet radio show.
I went to the dinner tonight. Dressed up and everything. I’ve been working on the EA Obligation (I’m gonna do the long form), and I was reciting it all the way there.
When I arrived, there were five young faces I didn’t recognize. They were from UCLA, all asking questions. I sat at the same table with the WM and tried to answer some questions so he could eat.
Afterward, when we got up, one of my brothers–one of the older ones–told me, “I’ve never met someone so young who knew so much about Masonry and as has much passion as you do.” He touched my shoulder. “You are an important asset to this Lodge, young man.”
I choked up. “Thank you,” I told him. “That really means a lot to me.”
Then, we went up and showed them the Temple. I think all five will come back.
