Ron Paul and Factcheck.org

I haven’t put up any links to Factcheck.org in a while. But here’s a bit of trivia.

Who is the only candidate who has no corrections, clarifications, or errors on Factcheck?

You get three guesses, and the first two don’t count.

The Trick They Didn’t Do

I was slightly disappointed P&T didn’t do this particular trick. But not too much. I’d seen it, but I was hoping mnight would get a chance to see it. After the American flag trick, this is my favorite.

Orks & Alignment

(reposted from my buddy

‘s livejournal.)

When designing your 4E homebrew, in relation to “alignment,” I ask you these questions:

Are all elves good? 
Are all humans neutral? 
Are all dwarves lawful? 
Are all halflings chaotic?

The answer is usually, “No.”

Then, I ask:

Are all orks evil?

And I expect the same answer.  I’m usually disappointed.

And yeah, I can anticipate an answer.

“Orks were made by the Gods of Evil to be Evil, therefore they are Evil.”

Yeah, yeah. More elvin propaganda.

But what if there were some orks who broke free of that conditioning? Who somehow acquired freewill? Who chose to rebel against the ork Gods and are trying to liberate their brothers?

Yeah. That would be hawt. And who doesn’t want to play that? 😀 

(I sense a new game coming on…)

Google Band Meme

Go to the Wikipedia home page and click random article. That is your band’s name.
Click random article again; that is your album name.
Click random article 15 more times; those are the tracks on your album.

Band Name: Burhanpur
Album Name: Harold Wood Hospital

Track 1: Heli USA
Track 2: Now That’s What I Call Christmas! 3
Track 3: Lochlann, Lord of Galloway
Track 4: Sunoh
Track 5: Rookie
Track 6: Sidehill Gouger
Track 7: Beechwood Park
Track 8: Sam Jones (mayor)
Track 9: Lemon Tarts
Track 10: Melles
Track 11: Ernest Edward Austen
Track 12: Word Order
Track 13: Farmer (gaming)
Track 14: 1724
Track 15: Nail (anatomy)

The Oprah Effect

WASHINGTON—Demand for tickets to see Oprah Winfrey appear with White House hopeful Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.) in South Carolina on Sunday is so high that the campaign moved the event to an 80,250-seat football stadium

I told you. I’m telling you. I’ve seen it. I’ve felt it. My mother is in the throng of it.

The Oprah says, “DO!”
The Oprah-philes say, “YES!”

Barack Obama is the next President of the United States.

 

Back Cover Text

Houses of the Blooded

In their language,
 the words for “love” and “revenge”
are one and the same.

 

Treachery, honor, and passion.

These are the things that drive “the ven.” A people who ruled our world long before Atlantis rose from the depths. Ruled a world of golden midnight and black rain. A people driven by the fires of emotion, not by reason. Where the ritual of the Blooding makes you powerful and cunning, beautiful and treacherous. Elevated from the common peasantry, the nobility practice the most noble of arts: Love and Revenge.

High politics, high sorcery, high adventure.

Where nobles play the Invisible Game. Subtle and deadly maneuvers. As the great Houses move against each other, dancing through the delicate traps they set for each other. And outside their own walls, the world awaits. Full of ruins, unspeakable horrors and ancient secrets. Forbidden secrets that could give the advantage you seek against your enemies. If you are willing to pay the price.

This is love and betrayal. This is politics and revenge.

This is Houses of the Blooded.

___

An equal parts mixture of Lord of the Rings, Machiavelli, Dune and Robert E. Howard, Houses of the Blooded is a world of swords and sorcery, high politics, treason and passion. The players take the roles of young Barons struggling to survive in a world ruled by treachery and deception. It is a wilderness of mirrors and shadows, where every ally you make creates three enemies.

Using every weapon at their disposal—including those forbidden by Law—nobles not only must find a way to survive, but thrive. For the ven do not coddle the weak. In ven Law, if you do not hold it, it is not yours.

That includes your sword, your lands, and even your own life.

Houses of the Blooded: Deadline

I asked him, “When do you know it is done?”
“When they take it from me,” he said.

“Better is the enemy of done.”

I could write this book forever. And every time I think those words, I’m reminded of That Guy at the game design seminar who begins his question with, “I’ve been designing a game for fifteen years.”

Yeah. That Guy.

These are the last few hours I’ve given myself for writing. After this weekend, it’s all editing. I still have a few playtest groups going, and if they find things, I’ll add ’em, but after Sunday, the pen goes down.

Then, I start translating my first ven pillowbook. The Great and Tragic Life of Shara Yvarai. All four volumes of it.