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drcpunk was diagnosed with scabies after Arisia this past weekend. Scabies has something like a 1 month incubation period.

Scabies spreads through skin to skin contact. You know, like hugs.

This means that if you got hugged by me or Lisa at Arisia, or GaFilk, or any of the holiday parties we attended, you probably want to go through the (not painful; yay, but annoyingly thorough) anti-scabbies treatment.

Talk to your doctor, and stay safe (and non-itchy/contagous).

Current Location: Home, bed
Current Mood: concerned
Current Music: beautiful silence
Crossposts: http://mnemex.livejournal.com/76123.html

(The carpet game) Marrakech: Lovely simple area control game. Came in 2nd of 4, had a blast. Rules summary are for my benefit, but have fun trying to decipher: 12 1x2 carpets per player, directional pawn, 8x8 board with loops around the corners and on the edges, and a 1,2,2,3,3,4 die. On your turn, turn the pawn a right angle or don't, then roll the dice and move the pawn that number of squares. If you land on an opponent's carpet, give them money (points) equal to the size of the contiguous group that carpet is part of. Then play a carpet orthoganally adjacent to the pawn--you can cover someone else's carpet, but you can't completely cover an entirely visible carpet. Game ends after everyone is out of carpet, points are visible carpet squares + gold. 3-player you get 16 carpets instead of 12.

Eminent Domain: I taught emenent domain. It was fun. Also, I lost. And yet--so fun to play. This is a cross between Glory to Rome and Dominion, more or less (closer to Glory, really)

Kingdom Builder: Wonderful area control game with different public goals every time.

Crossposts: http://mnemex.livejournal.com/75841.html

I had a brain fart and thought that waltzing was today. It wasn't; the Big Apple Waltz waltz-mazurka and cross-step waltz are tomorrow. Whups! Having cancelled my contrary plans for tomorrow, I'll be there.

So, I checked to see if there was a board game meetup today. And there was. ( more behind the cut... )

Crossposts: http://mnemex.livejournal.com/75542.html

There's this thing that shows up in faerie tales. Some of my favorite faerie tales, really. Actually, you can trace its thread from myths through faerie tales, through modern renditions of same, subversion, and probably plenty of modern stories I'm not looking at because I don't have time (not right now, anyway). It goes something like this:

Two people meet, and get together. Maybe they fall in love. Maybe it's an arranged marriage, maybe it's a promise from a person of power [that's kindof an arranged marriage, though], maybe something else. Maybe it's not even a sexual thing at all -- though that's out of scope enough that I'm going to consider it a related category, but out of scope for this essay. But they're together.

Except that there's something wrong -- something you just can't let rest (no story can, nor most humans) -- one of the lovers (usually the man) has a secret. And naturally, there's a prohibition somehow related to the secret -- if the prohibition gets broken, the relationship is doomed.
( Click here for more Beauty/East/Psyche/Bluebeard/Macha thoughts )

Current Location: Home
Current Mood: accomplished
Current Music: Fan Noises
Crossposts: http://mnemex.livejournal.com/75488.html

An acquaintance recently bought an Android phone and complained that accessing that using Gmail from the browser on the phone, while it worked, interacted badly with multitasking; if he switched applications while composing an email, on his return the email in progress would be gone.

When you get down to it, I think this comes down to a big conceputal difference between the modern ultraportable device (a smartphone or similarly speced out web tablet) and a general use device (a desktop down, to most netbooks (as they usually run laptop/desktop OSes).

( and I go on on this topic for a while )

tl, dr: Use the browser on netbooks and better, but use apps on phones.

Current Location: bed
Current Mood: sleepy
Crossposts: http://mnemex.livejournal.com/74966.html

Keeping with long tradition, I'm not going to writeup Confluence, Gencon, nor Worldcon. (The statue of limitations has probably passed on Origins, Contata, and Dexcon)

But I guess I should say something about them. So...

( These aren't writeups! Really! Ok, mabye a little )

Current Location: home
Current Mood: tired
Current Music: the hugos
Crossposts: http://mnemex.livejournal.com/74656.html

I first heard

talis_kimberley's "Cotton Tail Girls" in a Lady Mondegreen concert or oneshot -- with Batya, Merav, and Seanan kicking it out of the park with a triplicate lead and fantastic multi-part harmony. I'd not hear the original--didn't even know there was an original, but it was great stuff.

But, here's the thing about me and music:

I can't pay attention to everything at once.

So..I love clever lyrics, and rhythms, and harmony and melodies--but the first time I hear a song, I'm going to miss some stuff. So while grooving on Cotton Tail Girls for the first time, the only lines that really stuck were the chorus and demi-chorus, plus the lines about hearing for miles and about how if Hefner hadn't chosen a rabbit for the Playboy theme animal, the "Girls" would have been relegated to working in the cotton mills instead of the Playboy club.

This? Made me at first assume that the girls had some attributes that made them -particularly- well suited to working as Playboy bunnies. Of course, that's not the song Talis wrote. OTOH, it doesn't make a bad song idea...

Bunny Eared Girls
Joshua Kronengold
Heavily borrowed from and inspired by Cotton Tail Girls (Talis Kimberley)
To the tune of Cotton Mill Girls (c) Hedy West
(Note that the first verse has one extra stanza before the chorus)

(Jess)
Well, the silver screen has always made me swoon,
'cause my Pa was a human but my Momma's a 'toon, and it's

Hard times, bunny-eared girls, hard times everywhere.

(Betty)
I was born in a test tube in back in '93
When they tried to make a woman who could leap a tree, and it's

Hard times, bunny-eared girls, hard times everywhere.

(Luna)
I got bit by my boyfriend on a Saturday night,
Then I found he was a a rabbit when the moon was bright, and it's
Hard times, bunny-eared girls, hard times everywhere.

Hard times, bunny-eared girls, x3
hard times everywhere

(Betty)
I serve plenty of drinks, I make plenty of quips,
I give plenty of winks, I make plenty of tips, and it's

Hard times, bunny-eared girls, hard times everywhere.

It may look like you can break me but I kick like a mule,
(So) If you think you can take me, you will end up the fool, and it's

Hard times, bunny-eared girls, hard times everywhere.

Hard times, bunny-eared girls, x3
Hard times everywhere

(Luna)
I have to change my style as the moon grows brighter,
I can hear for miles, but my hair gets whiter, (and it's)

Hard times, bunny-eared girls, hard times everywhere.

My teeth are scary, but I don't eat meat,
My legs are hairy, and I've got big feet, and it's,

Hard times, bunny-eared girls, hard times everywhere.

Hard times, bunny-eared girls, x3
hard times everywhere

(Jess)
The ears are natural, but the tail's brand new,
As for my little black nose, well, I ain't telling you, and it's

Hard times, bunny-eared girls, hard times everywhere.

I work my tail off from five to one,
Then you can find me at the drive-in till I see the sun, (and it's)

Hard times, bunny-eared girls, hard times everywhere.

Hard times, bunny-eared girls, x3
hard times everywhere

(various, as appropriate)
You may think it silly that I (we?) wear these clothes
But we're glad it was a rabbit Mr Heffner chose, and it's

Hard times bunny-eared girls, hard times everywhere.

Cos if he'd had a spider or a lizard as a pet
We'd all be in a freak-show and we couldn't pay the vet, and it's

Hard times bunny-eared girls, hard times everywhere, yeah,

Hard times bunny-eared girls, hard times everywhere.

Hard times, bunny-eared girls, x3
Hard times everywhere

( Older Lyrics behind the cut )

Current Location: home
Current Mood: Accomplished
Current Music: Cotton Mill/Tail Girls
Crossposts: http://mnemex.livejournal.com/73562.html

Ok, so

drcpunk's posted about most of this, but I've been kinda checked out. So...stuff that's happened.

We ran a con! It was awesome! The guests were awesome, the music was awesome, the conversation and attendees were awesome -- and since I was handling money, playing Vice-Chair, and involved in the Rocky Horror Muppet Show production as Porky Horror, I missed a lot, so I'm quite sure there was a lot more awesome. Come to Concertino next year, with the amazing Playing Rapunzel, as well as Partners in Rhyme, Ariel Cinii, Peggi Warner Lalonde, and much of the filking community on the East Coast -- and to whatever we run in three years!

While this was going on, there was a fire in the apartment across from ours (eg, 3R for Rear whereas ours is 3F for Front), resulting in the gas, hot water and some of the power getting shut off, our door getting bashed in and becoming unlockable (because, you know, we weren't home; we were in New Jersey, sleeping), the ceiling in our kitchen getting its ceiling destroyed (so the nice firemen could make sure the fire didn't spread to our apartment), a window getting broken (smoke, probably), and a hole made in the ceiling of the library (who knows? Probably just to check that there wasn't fire there that didn't touch the kitchen. Or something.

We're fine (New Jersey, remember?) and our stuff/apartment is now secured with a padlock. But we've been staying at friends' houses, while the landlord waits to get approval (which it sounds like he -finally- has -- Monday, the 11th of July, only 8 days after the fire!) from the insurance to begin working on the building. We can't move back until the apartment is, well, habitable by humans. The silver lining in all this is that we've found out how much we -don't- need most of our stuff (even if we like it), and how much our friends and family love us; we've been positively buried in unsolicited offers of temporary housing (although we've turned down or delayed most of them in favor of whatever we could come up with that was most convenient -- we spent one night at

maraphile's place in Jersey, then went to Dexcon a day early so I could telecommute for a day and then hit the con straight from the hotel, and are currently staying at

crash_mccormick and his wife's place for a few days.

Finally, we have a crazy idea that it would be fun to go to Gencon. We didn't =plan= Gencon, of course, because it would be totally insane to plan Gencon -and- a 5 day Dexcon -and- Worldcon -and- Origins. (and we did Dexcon and Worldcon, and will do Worldcon). But...it -would- be fun. Anyone planning on doing Gencon (yeah, there's that planning thing again) and have a space in a hotel room with, you know, a bed? Hey, can't hurt, right?

Current Location: work
Current Mood: complicated
Current Music: type. type type. type.
Crossposts: http://mnemex.livejournal.com/73774.html

Has anyone else noticed that some of their best work is in response to someone else trying something similar and missing the mark or abandoning it? No? Probably just me, then.

Anyway, someone posted a not quite coherent version of this on Enworld, so I responded with this. So far, I've enough willpower to avoid filking the entire song...

Slaying Wizard
ttto: Pinball Wizard, by Pete Townshend
lyrics: Joshua Kronengold

Ever since I was a young elf, I've wanted to stand tall,
From Fallcrest down to Nentir, I must have fought them all,
But I ain't seen nothing like him, in any bar or hall,
That deaf, dumb, blind assassin, sure wields a nasty maul.

He stands like a statue, hides himself within plain sight,
Blends into the background, if it's dark or if it's light,
He shrouds his foes in darkness, while he stands back from the fight,
That deaf, dumb, blind assassin, sure wields a nasty maul.

He's a slaying wizard, there's got to be a catch,
A slaying wizard, I've never seen his match.

Current Location: work
Current Mood: artistic
Current Music: what do you think?
Crossposts: http://mnemex.livejournal.com/73262.html

In honor of "we haven't had a housefilk in the NYC area in ever so long" and "Contata's at the beginning of next month, holy *%~@#!", the lovely

drcpunk and I are holding a housefilk at our home ("The Bookery") in Queens this Sunday - June 19th, 2011 (the day after

drcpunk's birthday), noon to 6pm -- those who come early have volunteered to help set up; those who stay late have volunteered to attend the following concom meeting. .

The Bookery
48-38 48th ST APT 3F
Woodside, New York, 11377

Directions:

Take the 7 local train to 46th. Exit at the 47th street exit.
Coming out of the stairs, you will be in the middle of Queens
Boulevard, with street on both sides. Turn right.
Also, if you find that you are facing brown awnings
with the "Sunnyside Grill" or the Starbucks, you're facing the
wrong direction, whereas if you see the "Sunnyside" sign (on
46th) or a cigar shop, (on 47th), you're probably facing the
right way.
Cross Queens Boulevard, and continue along 47th street to 48th Avenue.
Turn left (facing east).
Walk one block east, to 48th street. Turn right.
Go about 2/3 of the way down the block, and ring the top-left buzzer,
which is marked 3F.

If you get lost, call the house phone: 718-937-8919

Do RSVP if you can--and while I'll try to get some snacks before the day, if you want to make sure you can get snacks you like, I reccomend bringing them.

Current Location: The Bookery
Current Mood: anticipatory
Current Music: none yet
Crossposts: http://mnemex.livejournal.com/73107.html

May is here! This means a number of rituals that I usually don't follow, but I'll see what I can remember.

First--Happy Beltaine, and Bright Blessings!

Second--I have no idea. I was going to say something witty here, but I just forget what it was. So I'll instead say that _Grimm Legacy_ is a lovely romp, set in a loaning museum in NYC, with magic and fairy tales, that I've finally played Loyang and find it a very good competitive development game (and much less like Havre and Agricola than those two games are like one another), that I've been playing Desktop Dungeons (mac and PC) and find it quite good--though they should really do an android/iphone port, and that you all should come to Contata in the first weekend in July (Contata).

Third, to honor the spirit of license and openness associated with the month, I bring you a song (basically worksafe):

Fourth, to honor the spirit of growth and sharing also associated with the day of the month, I bring you a different song (worksafe? Are you kidding? No.):

Fifth and finally, happy birthday,

akawil (in 3 days, anyway)!

Crossposts: http://mnemex.livejournal.com/72728.html

This and the following post were originally intended to be a single post; a
spoiler-free micro review with a spoilery review behind the cut.

Then, because I'm not a complete idiot, it occurred to me that that was
tantamount to disabling comments on the outer post, so here we are.

Late Eclipses (Seanan McGuire, 2011, DAW) is an excellent book
and you should read it. However, since it's the fourth book in the Toby
Daye series, you probably should read the other three books in the series,
and I'm not reviewing them today.

Should you read the prior books, however, and go on to read Late Eclipses,
here's what you'll win:

* Nasty, nasty, sidhe politics
* Real and significant movement in the series plot.
* A badass heroine with a brain (who uses it, even).
* Heroic urban fantasy in a De Lint mode, with the mystery-flavor-of-the
book (yep--different this time too) being something I'll label as "killer
thriller".

Crossposts: http://mnemex.livejournal.com/72309.html

If this isn't my highest scoring Dominion game ever--it's damned close. 186 points -- 169 of them vp chips.

Of note: I did not extend the game to try to improve my score--I ended it at the first available opportunity!

And yeah -- every single "highest scoring dominion game ever" includes Goons in the mix -- and probably always will unless they make a card that allows even more ludicrous scores.

http://dominion.isotropic.org/gamelog/201012/05/game-20101205-110841-b515eccc.html.gz

(edit: putting the entire game in, behind a cut, just for archival purposes)

( click for game long. Note: it's long )

Crossposts: http://mnemex.livejournal.com/71624.html

drcpunk's mother passed away this morning, September 5, at 8:10 AM.

Funeral arrangements are still to be made (as Lisa, her brother Eric, and I are all on vacation at the moment), but are likely to be on Wednesday morning.

A bittersweet farewell (as Marylinn had been in the late stages of dementia and entubulated for the last few years of her life; a living death), but it is what it is.

Current Mood: stunned
Crossposts: http://mnemex.livejournal.com/71151.html

Feed -- Mira Grant (aka Seanan McGuire): I waited until I was in the right mood before reading this—and as much as I enjoyed the novel, I'm glad I did. Whatever it is (a political thriller with a blogger protagonist, in a world plagued by the ever-present threat of zombies), it's not all bunnies and kitties.

Instead, we've got a book that combines three themes I'm not particularly into -- zombies, political thrillers, and near future sf (ok, I am somewhat into the latter :) into a single book that totally engrossed me. Were there quibbles? Sure; in particular, I don't buy a techonlogy price curve that would have the same person carry a 10 meg wristwatch recorder and a 5 terabyte handheld (it's just too many orders of magnitude--if the 5TB handheld is plausible, a 16gb or even 32gb wristwatch is close to free; we're close to there now, with .5tb handhelds and $7 1gb cards the size of a fingernail)--but while that pulled me out for a moment, it just wasn't important to the story.

The twists and turns in the story are believable, engrossing, and (usually) unexpected; the zombies are both hugely important and not actually on screen enough to make the book "a zombie book"; the themes of the book are both subtle enough not to overpower the story and present enough to grant it weight, and the characters -- both major and minor -- are nicely differentiated and interesting.

One note on this book vs. the Toby books (Rosemary and Rue, A Local Habitation, with more to come): As much as I like them, the Toby books know what genre they're in (Modern Urban Fantasy with a significant romance subplot) and nail it. But Feed? Feels like listening to/watching the author geek out about one of her favorite topics (i.e., global pandemics), with the added bonus of having all that other stuff (plot, characters, etc) in there too--which is awesome.

The best part of the book though? Is that there's more where that came from.
White Cat -- Holly Black: I'll have a better idea of what I think of this after the next few books came out, but it's certainly well written, and pretty fun to read.

Think of this world as one of those "everyone has a unique hidden magical talent" books gone horribly right. Magic is uncommon, but well known, with some people/families having hidden, powerful magical talents...also, magic is illegal, so most magical "curse workers" are lone criminals or, more frequently, work for the mob. Our hero is the lone person without magical talent in a magical crime family, and...you know how this usually goes.

There are a couple of interesting factors here. First, there's "the con". For reasons that become obvious, our hero is an accomplished con artist--and the use of "the con" pervades the book in a number of interesting ways.

The second is that of likable characters. The protagonist -is- likable, in a fashion, but not exactly a nice person (maybe?). On the other hand, this is one of a small fraction of books about teenagers where the teens do what -my- set did as teens -- play D&D, read sf & fantasy, and geek out -- and while most of that is our hero's friends, a fair amount is him, which is nicely refreshing (far too often, it seems like even SF & F authors, feeling they have to show their protagonist as a "normal" teen, pretend this stuff doesn't even exist, probably bending over backward in an effort to avoid having things get too autobiographical or making everyone in the world look like them). So one can partially identify with the protagonist, certainly identify with his friends, and at least for me, feel that the teens in the book are "our set" however different their world is.
The Dragon Hoard -- Tanith Lee: This is a nicely short book (162 pages; I started it this morning and finished it over lunch!), and quite enjoyable. Very much a YA adventure novel in the "fairy tale" genre, our protagonist's wicked aunt (or is she a cousin?) curses him and his sister in a fit of pique, setting of a chain of adventures that result, eventually, in multiple marriages, evil enchanters defeated, and, generally, people getting what they deserve. Not deep, but fluffy and fun; very much a nice change after the previous two novels!

Current Location: work
Current Mood: pleased
Current Music: click clack

Strike the Rail
Joshua Kronengold
(ttto "Strike the Bell" -- trad)

You're heading for an interview--and starting to run late,
You hope they'll offer you a job, and don't want them to wait.
You swipe right at the turnstyle,
Hear a beep, head forward, when,
The turnstile goes ke-chunk and stops,
it says: "swipe again!"

"Swipe again at this turnstile"
It says repeatedly,
A line forms quick behind you and they murmur angrilly.
You try to calm your heartbeat, raise your card once more and then,
You hope for "Go" but still it says to you: "Swipe again".

You're heading to pick up your date, and due at half past six,
In one pocket's a metro card--the other Broadway tix,
But at the only turnstile, there's a line and you can ken,
That at the front there's someone getting "please, swipe again."

"Swipe again at this turnstile"
It says repeatedly,
A line forms quick behind her and you murmur angrilly.
She tries to calm her heartbeat, raise her card once more and then,
You hope for "Go" but still it says to her: "Swipe again".

You've gotten to a worldcon, and you're paying at the door,
You hope the con will rock, and that your roomate will not snore.
You strike a conversation with a girl whose badge says "Wren",
When the volunteer at reg says "could you please swipe again?"

"Swipe your credit card again--it didn't seem to scan,"
You know the volunteer means well, but this was not your plan,
You don't want to be on line, but join the other fen,
And so you hope, that you won't hear these words: "swipe again!"

"Swipe again at this turnstile"
It says repeatedly,
A line forms quick behind you and they murmur angrilly.
You try to calm your heartbeat, raise your card once more and then,
You hope for "Go" but still it says to you: "Swipe again".

Lisa's getting rid of books! Help here out here.

Spring cleaning season is here -- AKA "time to put the air conditioners in" season.

As such, I've decided it's time to finally get rid of all the stuff that had been moldering in the "time to get rid of this" pile. Anyone want anything? Here's the list:

Z-Man B-Movie card games: Bell Bottomed Badasses, Kung Fu Samurai, Graverobers, and Skippy's Revenge (Grave Robbers II).
Gother than Thou
Basari (a pretty cool gem-trading game marred by my dislike of the "pick one of three actions, you're screwed if you pick the same action someone else did" mechanic)
Lowenherz (a version of Domain with the same mechanic).
The Order of the Stick (Cool chrome, and the game captures it well. But...it takes long after it stops being fun to end. Maybe the expansion (called "the Shortening" for some reason) fixes it? I didn't bother to find out.
Grand Tribunal: Pretty interesting game, except for the lack of components lining up with rules. It's possible that the post-eratta game is good; I don't know, I can't get anyone to try it.
Dungeoneer (Undead): This is actually a really fun pseudo-RPG in a card game. But I've not played it since the Origins I bought it at, so out it goes.
Nanoficitionary (Beta): I've got the regular game, and I'm not much of a collector. So out it goes.

Anyone want anything? Make me an offer -- including "I'll pay shipping" or "bring it to Games Club/Gencon/Conterpoint and I'll take it" as well as cash/trade offers, and we'll talk; anything I can't get rid of quickly goes out, along with many many books.

When in the library, I spied a copy of Rapunzel's Revenge, which I'd seen recommended earlier. And...yeah. Kick-ass Rapunzel, no need for a prince to save -her-, pretty cool worldbuilding, good storytelling, and nice role-reversal. Not to mention, hair used as a lasso. What's not to love?

Current Mood: pleased

drcpunk, in our regular PBEM, managed to typo "Eyes of the Beholder" as "Yes of the Beholder."

Which might, I suppose, explain why I responded with this:

"...I was a Globe of the dungeon yes when I put the gold twixt my eyes like the Draconian tyrants used or shall I wear a red yes and how he gazed at me under the dragon's cave and I thought well as well him as another and then I asked him with my eyes to ask again yes and then he asked me would I yes to say yes my golden grapes and first I sent my rays about him yes and drew him down to me so he could feel my orbs all perfume yes and his central eye was twisting like mad and yes I said yes I will Yes." (From Eyelisses, by Janus Jocular)

(with apologies to Mr. Joyce).

Current Mood: amused

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Joshua Kronengold

January 2012

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1: Health alert, hugs
2: New Filk: Hold On
3: Life. It's what's worth living
4: Marilynn Padol -- June 29, 1943 - September 5, 2010
5: Anyone want some games?
6: A Local Habitation comments (Spoilers)
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8: Yummy Mandarin Duck, tasty ice cream
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Joshua Kronengold

Recent Entries

Health alert, hugs

NerdNYC

Board Games in Whole Foods, review of Ninjato

Essay-let: Myths, Fairie Tales, and the Prohibitionary Relationship

The Application is still king on the phone

Confluence, Gencon, Worlcon, not a writeup (or even three writeups)

New song: Bunny Eared Girls

Life. It's what's worth living

Filk Fragment: Slaying Wizard

Housefilk! Queens, Sunday, June 19, 2011

It's May! It's May!

Late Eclipse

Dominion: Personal Best

Marilynn Padol -- June 29, 1943 - September 5, 2010

Recent Reading

Fresh Philk: Strike the Rail

Lisa, books

Anyone want some games?

Rapunzel's Revenge

Gaming-originating silliness: Yes of the Beholder