I seem to recall that a noticeable fraction of the regulars here play GURPS, In Nomine, or both. http://e23.sjgames.com/item.html?id=SJG30-6093]GURPS In Nomine is now available as a legal download from e23.

(I'm advertising this because I'm hoping that people will buy copies of this book, so that SJGames will want to release more In Nomine products. I just bought a copy...)
--
Rob Kelk
"Governments have no right to question the loyalty of those who oppose
them. Adversaries remain citizens of the same state, common subjects of
the same sovereign, servants of the same law."

- Michael Ignatieff, addressing Stanford University in 2012

Seen on animenewsnetwork.com:

http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/news/20 ... -n-america]Yen Press acquires Haruhi Suzumiya manga in North America

http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/news/20 ... in-english]Little Brown gets Haruhi light novels in English
--
Rob Kelk
"Governments have no right to question the loyalty of those who oppose
them. Adversaries remain citizens of the same state, common subjects of
the same sovereign, servants of the same law."

- Michael Ignatieff, addressing Stanford University in 2012

Part of the fun of playing in tournaments is that you get to showcase your forces. Mine happens to be th 101 Schwere SS panzerabelitung. With Micheal Wittman at the helm.


I also thought I'd play this as the theme music

http://beemp3.com/download.php?file=619 ... +05+-+ZAFT

?
__________________
Into terror!,  Into valour!
Charge ahead! No! Never turn
Yes, it's into the fire we fly
And the devil will burn!
- Scarlett Pimpernell

I know there used to be a thread about being a better fanfic writer, but I can't find it now...

Anyway, I thought folks might appreciate sharing some of the web-based writers' tools they've accumulated over the years. I'll start by sharing a few.

First, the generally-useful sites:

http://www.askoxford.com/dictionaries/c ... d/?view=uk]Online Oxford English Dictionary - Yes, I'm a snob that way.

http://www.wordsmyth.net/live/home.php]Wordsmyth - Another online dictionary, this one with a "spelled like" function. (Very handy when I know I'm spelling a word wrong...)

http://www.bartleby.com/]Bartleby.com: Great Books Online - Another dictionary, with a thesarus, four collections of quotations, and an older copy of Strunk's Style guide. A Swiss-army-website for writers; it doesn't do any one thing really well, but it does a large number of things well enough.

http://www.islandnet.com/~egbird/dict/dict.htm]The Grandiloquent Dictionary - For when the OED isn't rarified enough. More seriously, if you have to go here to find the meaning of a word, perhaps you should consider using a different word...

http://www.guardian.co.uk/styleguide]The Guardian's style guide - A newspaper's style guide might not be the best for fiction writing, but at least it's consistent.

Next, the more specialized sites:

http://snopes.com/]Snopes.com: Urban Legends Reference Pages - Always good for a random throwaway reference by the odder sort of character. (Random throwaway references add depth to a story, in my humble opinion...)

http://www.fallacyfiles.org/]The Fallacy Files - If you're going to have a character behave illogically, it's best to be consistent; that adds verisimilitude to the character. This site gives a taxonomy of illogical ways to argue.

http://www.cia.gov/library/publication ... index.html]The CIA World Factbook - Useful when setting a story in a country you don't know that much about - the entries here let you know what you need to research in depth.

http://www.angelfire.com/il/SumieSociety/hanak.html]Hanakotoba - For those who write anime fanfiction, understanding how the Japanese culture differs from ours is important. The Japanese "language of flowers" is different from the European tradition; this page lists some of the Japanese connotations.

Any more?
--
Rob Kelk
"Governments have no right to question the loyalty of those who oppose
them. Adversaries remain citizens of the same state, common subjects of
the same sovereign, servants of the same law."

- Michael Ignatieff, addressing Stanford University in 2012

I've been feeling guilty about how slowly chapter 6 has been going recently, so my conscience (or something...) has been nudging me to post bits and pieces of other projects as a kind of apology.

I guess I'm feeling apologetic again, because here's another enigmatic but suggestive sequence for people.

The new Intel Core 2 Duo Wolfdale-cored 3.0ghz got in stock at Newegg earlier this week, and I couldn't resist. This little beast should be hitting my
front door this evening, and will replace my 2.4ghz Allendale core 2 duo.

I wish there was a compelling video card upgrade past the 8800 GTS, but alas..
"No can brain today. Want cheezeburger."
From NGE: Nobody Dies, by Gregg Landsman
http://www.fanfiction.net/s/5579457/1/NGE_Nobody_Dies

One of the biggest things I was going to miss, I reflected as I swam up through the murky waters of unconsciousness, was Bell's cooking. She'd said
that the breakfast she had prepared for me would 'help with the recovery' after I Gated, and it appeared she was right. I was still drained, but I
didn't feel like Loon Soup, more like a thick chunky stew. I took a deep breath to brace myself, and opened my eyes.

A looming sky was overhead, dark clouds reflecting the sullen light of a city. I did another physical check, and figuring I might as well, sat up. It
didn't hurt nearly as much as I expected.Looking around, I appeared to be on a common rooftop. Air exchangers poked their blunt snouts into the night air,
and a low retaining wall masked the city from me. I rolled over and began to lever myself to my feet, when a menacing roll of a voice froze me in a rather
awkward posture.

"Care to explain what you're doing in my city, stranger?"

I held my position for a moment while my mind raced. The unfamiliar voice was confident, aggressive, and firm. Obviously someone on his own turf, and secure in
his power.

"At the moment, standing up. Then I was planning on checking out my bike. From there, I'm not sure." I replied, inwardly pleased with the
stability I managed to put in my own voice. Bell's cooking helped a lot, but I was still as weak as the proverbial kitten. I resumed my movement, standing
slowly and keeping my hands in plain sight, and looked around me with more focus. As I scanned past a pool of darkness at the corner of a roof entrance, my
peripheral vision caught movement, and I looked straight at it, to see a cowled figure in light body armor step out of the concealing shadow.

"So you're saying that you appeared out of nowhere in a flash of light, in the middle of _my_ city, and you're 'not sure' why you're
here?" The menacing figure in black ground out. My mind had spun back up to full speed surprisingly fast, and I considered his language and body language
for the split second I had before my next move. While aggressive, and intimidating, my rooftop stranger had made no actual threats, unless I counted him
keeping his upper body concealed by his cape - which I thought was a very sound tactical idea. That fairly well dictated my next step.

"I'm afraid that's exactly correct, sir. If you'll permit, I'll right my bike, and get out my ID. It should help explain things. To start
with.. I'm not from around here." I finished my statement facing the man, who I had dubbed 'Mr. Spookypants', due to his predilection for
theatrics. He was starting to remind me of Chris, in fact, and I kept that in mind, given my initial meeting with that Guardian type..

Mr. Spooky nodded, one short chop of his square chin under the half-mask, and I followed through, slowly righting my bike and giving it a once-over, shutting
off the key and verifying that all the bits that were supposed to be on, were on. I turned to face Spooky again, and slowly went for my ID pocket, with the
police-approved two fingers. I opened the ID on my palm, and let it run through it's spiel. Mr. Spooky seemed interested, and I closed my ID with a snap
(that failed to startle him), and opened my face shield.

"My name is Douglas Q. Sangnoir, Sir, and I am not from this world, or even this dimension. Given that you're a 'good guy' here, I'm
pleased to meet you." And I extended my hand on the last beat. Mr. Spooky considered it for a moment, then extended his and shook my hand. His grip
matched the rest of his persona - firm and strong, without the knuckle-crusher that some men needed to prove themselves with. He release my hand and took a
step back.

"Welcome to my City, Mr. Sangnoir. For now, I'll take your word that you are who you say you are, so welcome to Gotham. I'm Batman."
"No can brain today. Want cheezeburger."
From NGE: Nobody Dies, by Gregg Landsman
http://www.fanfiction.net/s/5579457/1/NGE_Nobody_Dies

Movin' Right Along (Kermit and Fozzie)

Kermit

Movin' right along in search of good times and good news,

With good friends, you can't lose,

Fozzie:

This could become a habit.

Kermit:

Opportunity just knocked, let's reach out and grab it,

Together we'll nab it.

Fozzie:

Ya! We'll hitch-hike, bus, or yellow cab it.

Kermit (spoken): Cab it?

Kermit & Fozzie:

Movin' right along

Kermit:

Foot-loose and fancy free.

Gettin' there is half the fun; come share it with me.

Kermit & Fozzie:

Movin' right along!

Kermit:

Doog-a-doon, doog-a-doon

We'll learn to share the load.

Fozzie:

We don't need a map to keep this show on the road.

(Dialogue)

Kermit: (looking at the map) Hey, Fozzie, I want you to turn left when you get to a fork in the road.

Fozzie: Yessir: turn left at the fork in the road.

(A giant fork appears in a fork in the road)

Fozzie: KERMIT!

Kermit: I don't believe that.

Kermit:

Movin' right along we found a life on the highway,

Fozzie:

And your way is my way--

Kermit:

So trust my navigation.

Fozzie:

California here we come, come pie-in-the-sky land.

Kermit:

Palm trees and warm sand--

Fozzie:

Though sadly we just left Rhode Island.

Kermit: (spoken) We did what?

Fozzie: (spoken) Just forget it.

Kermit & Fozzie:

Movin' right along

Kermit:

Hey, L.A., where have you gone?

Fozzie:

Send someone to fetch us, we're in Saskatchewan.

Kermit & Fozzie:

Movin' right along

Kermit:

Doog-a-doon, doog-a-doon)

You take it, you know best.

Fozzie:

Hey, I've never seen the sun come up in the West.

Fozzie: (spoken) A bear in his natural habitat! A studabaker!

(Dialogue)

Kermit: Hey, Fozzie, look up ahead.

(A tall creature is walking on the other side of the quiet empty highway)

Fozzie: What is that?

Kermit: Maybe we should give him a ride.

Fozzie: I dunno. He's pretty big.

(The studabaker pulls alongside the creature)

Fozzie: Hey, there. Wanna lift?

Big Bird (Carroll Spinney) Oh, no, thanks. I'm on my way to New York City to try to break into public television!

Fozzie: Ah...hmmm, good luck.

(The studabaker keeps on moving the other direction)

Kermit & Fozzie:

Movin' right along

Fozzie:

We're truly birds of a feather,

We're in this together--

Kermit:

And we know where we're goin'.

Fozzie:

Movie stars with flashy cars and life with the top down.

Kermit:

We're stormin' the big town.

Fozzie:

Yeah! Storm is right, should it be snowin'?

Kermit: (spoken) No, I don't think so.

(On the Soundtrack but not in the Movie)

Kermit & Fozzie:

Movin' right along

Fozzie:

Do I see signs of men?

Kermit:

Yeah, "welcome" on the same post that says "come back again."



Kermit & Fozzie:

Movin' right along

Kermit:

Foot-loose and fancy free.

Fozzie:

You're ready for the big time--

Kermit:

Is it ready for me?

Kermit & Fozzie:

Movin' right along!

Movin' right along!

(repeat to fade)



-----

This is even more appropriate as a gatesong since (judging by some of Fozzie's lines) they experienced their own drunkard's walk.
___________________________
"I've always wanted to be somebody, but I should have been more specific." - George Carlin

Does anyone have one to spare? My curiousity about it has recently been piqued enough to spur me to try it
_________________________________
Take Your Candle, Go Light Your World.

No kidding.

----------------

Epsilon