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Hansel & Gretel: Witch Hunters
Fifteen years after Hansel (Jeremy Renner) and Gretel (Gemma Arterton) defeated the wicked witch who planned to have them for her dinner, the siblings have come of age as skilled bounty hunters. Hell-bent on retribution, they have dedicated their lives to hunting down and destroying every witch still lurking in the dark forests of their homeland. As the notorious blood moon approaches, the siblings face a great evil -- one that could hold the secret to their terrifying past.
Jeremy Renner, Gemma Arterton, Famke Janssen
Tommy Wirkola

subset: commoncrawl


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There are times when you may want to capture what is currently being shown on your iPad's screen. That's easy to do on an iPad.
Simply press the Home button and then the Sleep/Wake button simultaneously. When you hear a click, the screenshot has been taken. You can then go to the photos gallery to see all of your captured screenshots.
Published with permission from TechAdvisory.org. Source.


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For the new mom coming home with the baby:
Of course, when you're actually trying for something a little risque, you can count on a Wreckerator to botch that up, too:
Megan N., Alana Q., & Anony M., in the spirit of this post I'm sending you a wholly inappropriate (but mercifully virtual) butt-slap each right now. Great job!
- Related Wreckage: Inappropriate, Much?
UPDATE: I'm told that the last cake was from a hubby to his wife, and that she was an accidental pregnancy. So yes, it was an inside joke gone wrong, but I think she still found it funny. That's all I know! Promise!


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The Inauguration Ceremony of the 24th president of Marquette University, Dr. Michael R. Lovell, was held September 19.
View the Inauguration Ceremony webcast
Go for a run with Dr. Lovell, meet the family, get inspired.
Search #muprez for Inauguration day recaps and follow @PresLovell.
Marquette University | Milwaukee, Wis.
Campus visitor informationInauguration visitors' packet


text: NNDB has added thousands of bibliographies for people, organizations, schools, and general topics, listing more than 50,000 books and 120,000 other kinds of references. They may be accessed by the "Bibliography" tab at the top of most pages, or via the "Related Topics" box in the sidebar. Please feel free to suggest books that might be critical omissions.


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18 U.S.C. Section 2257 Compliance Notice
All models, actors, actresses and other persons that appear in any visual depiction of actual sexually
explicit conduct appearing or otherwise contained in this Website were over the age of eighteen
years at the time of the creation of such depictions. |


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Are you 18 years old or older?
Sorry, the content of this store can't be seen by a younger audience. Come back when you're older.
Second Hand H&M Women Straight-Legged Jeans - Material: 62% Cotton, 31% Polyester, 3% Viscose, 3% Other, 1% Elastane - Size: 2 - Color: Blue - Fit: Regular fit - Length: Ankle Length - Condition: This item is in excellent condition with only light signs of wear, if any.
For orders in the US and in Canada, shipping and returns are free on all orders over $75! For orders below $75, a flat fee of $12 will be applied to every order for shipping and returns.


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Venerable and
Holy Fathers,
listening to the profound spiritual message conveyed by your closing addresses,
and appreciating the happy outcome of your sustained efforts, Our heart has
been touched by profound gladness. It should therefore be clear to the whole
world from the result of your work that Your Holinesses have been guided and
inspired by the Holy Spirit to accomplish your task in love and unity.
great common tasks accomplished by this conference in unison bestow on the true
faith and true order of the Oriental Orthodox Church the admiration of the
whole world.
Solomon says, physical distance cannot be a barrier to love. Likewise, the
distances among your respective countries have been abolished by the proximity
of your hearts. You have thus been able to speak a single tongue and think with
a single mind. We thank Almighty God for enabling Us to witness the realization
of Our dream in the successful outcome of this historic Conference.
are therefore happy to express to you Our readiness, fortified by the results
of this Conference, to invite you and the Eastern Orthodox Churches, and also
other churches at a later date. We ardently hope that we shall meet once again
in the not too distant future.
We stated at the inauguration of this Conference, to meet together, to take
council with one another, and to act in mutual co-operation, has proved a most
fruitful method both in the secular and spiritual fields. Henceforth the way is
open for you to follow this fruitful path, and to this end Our help and
assistance will always be forthcoming, since We support your efforts and ideas
out of an unshakable conviction that it is our spiritual duty to do so.
are gratified in particular to note that the work of this Conference has been
concerned purely with religious spiritual matters free from extraneous
political considerations. This is only fitting and proper, for the church, as a
symbol of peace, must follow the path of peace in all parts of the world. In
this connection We are glad to note that your evangelistic mission in the world
has received due emphasis in your deliberations, together with the recognition
of the Christian duty to pray for the rights of man and the peace of the world.
For world peace can only be made abiding by the Grace of God, through the
prayers of the Holy Fathers. The truth of this cardinal fact is evident to all
ardently hope that Almighty God shall bless the implementation of your
important resolutions and decisions, just as He has made possible the
successful convening and conclusion of this historic Conference.
Fathers, We have welcomed the title you have given Us, Defender of the Faith,
with great honour. May Almighty God grace your name. May God welcome your work.
We have received this title given Us by you Holy Fathers, with religious
reverence. May your prayers help Us in Our effort to fulfil the task entrusted
to Us.
Jan. 21, 1965.
Selected Speeches of His Imperial Majesty Haile Selassie
– page 639 –
The Oriental Orthodox Churches Addis Ababa Conference January, 1965- documents PART-III - Several replies


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[All content and prices updated July 2013]
Why you should add Chile to your Indie/RTW trip
One look at a map tells you that Chile is a unique country. It stretches over 4,630 kilometers (2,880 miles) north to south, but it is only 430 kilometers (265 miles) at its widest point east to west.
- The geography in this long, stretched out country is as varied as you will find on this planet.
- The northern Atacama Desert contains some of the driest land in the world.
- The southern coast is a labyrinth of fjords, inlets, canals, twisting peninsulas, and islands.
- In between there is rich grazing land, volcanoes, lakes and other splendors. Just about every time you go around a turn you will see something new.
- For the traveler, Chile offers a friendly, easy to navigate experience.
- It is one of the most developed countries in South America and also one of the most European in feel.
- The country's advanced infrastructure and experience with tourism makes it easy to get around, especially if you take the time to brush up on your Spanish before you visit.
Indie travel tips for Chile
- Stick around Santiago for some amazing cuisine in a bustling metropolis.
- Head to Pucon and stand atop an active volcano.
- Torres del Paine, in Chilean Patagonia, is one of the top trekking meccas in the entire world.
- You should be forewarned, that unlike many of its South American neighbors Chile is not a super cheap place to travel. There are bargains to be found, but you might want to make sure you have a little extra cash on hand just in case. Plan on spending about $40-50USD per day in Chile.
One way to get to Chile is to ride a bicycle. If your legs don't want to carry you through South America, you can always go the safe route and book a flight. There are cheap flights to Chile from time to time.
Once in Chile, getting around by bus is your best bet. The buses are much nicer than most of the rest of the continent (Argentina aside).
If you're traveling on a budget, then there are plenty of hostels in Chile. Book now and save some hassles later when you are road weary.
If there was ever a country made for adventure travel it is Chile. It is an adventure traveler's wet dream. Just take a look at a few of these adventure trips and tours and you will start salivating.


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White Butterfly Couple Devonian Gardens Alberta 12x24
Regular price
Our pillow cases are available in velveteen, a fabric soft to touch but also durable, or canvas, to give a modern look to your artwork. The pillows have a YKK zipper closure, and can withstand heavy use. Ships as pillow case only.


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Violet Macarons With Violet And Vanilla Bean Buttercream
I know, in my last post I asked you what my mom should make as an upcoming guest blogger, ratatouille or apple tart and here I am giving you macarons! Remember discombobulated? We did make the ratatouille, … and ate it so it will have to wait for a redo.
There is actual logic behind posting these delicious, Spring colored macarons filled with violet and vanilla bean buttercream and topped with crushed violet pearl sugar. I thought about using my cherry blossom extract but could not locate the bottle on time (I guess that's why they call it Spring cleaning, ugh?!).
Today is the official first day of Spring. Yeah! Aren't you just loving this lighter feeling in the air? Blooms are everywhere to be seen and I keep bokmarking a ton on my Flickr favorites. I am addicted! People seem to slowly shred their winter attitude. Smiles and random acts of kindness are more frequent. I am trying to savor each day this Spring. It won't be long before we melt under the scorching heat and humidity as Summer seems to start way too soon around our parts.
It is also Macaron Day in France. Yeah! Four years ago renowned pastry chef Pierre Herme collaborated with other pastry chefs in Paris to create Le Jour Du Macaron to raise money for charity. All you have to do is hop into one of the participating locations in France and other European countries to receive 4 free macarons and leave a donation in a charity designated box.
I say that chosing the first day of Spring and its blooming promises was a brilliant idea. If you have access to free macarons and do a good deed at the same time, I say "Run to it!".
And it is my brother's birthday. Yeah! Ok, I knew this last one would not move you as much as the other two but I have to tell him outloud "Joyeux Aniversaire Arnaud!". Last year I virtually gave him fun Swirly Macarons.
This year, I went for a more subtle and Springy feel thinking about his adorable daughters and their love for all things pink or purple. Because he lives in the violet city of Toulouse, I found it fitting to use the violet pearl sugar they sent me both outside and inside the macarons.
I admit that anything strong with the scent of violet leaves me a little lightheaded or with that brain freeze feeling right between the eyes. However the crushed violet sugar was just enough to boost up the flavor of the shells which I had left plain, except for the natural almond flavor.
For the violet buttercream, I melted some of the sugar in a tablespoon of water, let it cool and added it to half the buttercream (with a touch of violet coloring) and added vanilla bean seeds to the other half. For once, that was the extent of my kitchen experimenting madness! One reader kindly left a comment with this link if you are interested in getting candied violet petals.
Violet Macarons With Violet And Vanilla Bean Buttercream Recipe:
Makes between 30 to 40 macarons
For the macarons shells:
90 gr egg whites (about 3)
30 gr granulated sugar
200 gr powdered sugar
110 gr almonds
2 tablespoons crushed violet sugar or candied violet petals
For the whites: the day before (24hrs), separate your eggs and store the whites at room temperature in a covered container. If you want to use 48hrs (or more) egg whites, you can store them in the fridge.
In a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, whip the egg whites to a foam, gradually add the sugar until you obtain a glossy meringue.
Do not overbeat your meringue or it will be too dry. Combine the almonds and powdered sugar in a food processor and give them a good pulse until the nuts are finely ground. Add them to the meringue, give it a quick fold to break some of the air and then fold the mass carefully until you obtain a batter that flows like lava or a thick ribbon.
Give quick strokes at first to break the mass and slow down. The whole process should not take more than 50 strokes. Test a small amount on a plate: if the tops flattens on its own you are good to go. If there is a small beak, give the batter a couple of turns.
Fill a pastry bag fitted with a plain tip (Ateco #807 or #809) with the batter and pipe small rounds (1.5 inches in diameter) onto parchment paper or silicone mats lined baking sheets. Sprinkle with the crushed sugar or violet petals. Preheat the oven to 280F. Let the macarons sit out for 30 minutes to an hour to harden their shells a bit and bake for 15 to 20 minutes, depending on their size.
Let cool. If you have trouble removing the shells, pour a couple of drops of water under the parchment paper while the sheet is still a bit warm and the macarons will lift up more easily do to the moisture. Don't let them sit there in it too long or they will become soggy. Once baked and if you are not using them right away, store them in an airtight container out of the fridge for a couple of days or in the freezer. To fill: pipe or spoon about 1 big tablespoon of butterceam in the center of one shell and top with another one.
Violet and Vanilla Buttercream:
1/2 cup (100gr) sugar
2 large egg whites
1 1/2 sticks (6 ounces) unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 tablespoon violet sugar +1 tablespoon water (or 2 tablespoons violet liqueur)
1 vanilla bean, split open and seeded
Put the sugar and egg whites in a large heatproof bowl over a saucepan of simmering water and whisk constantly, keeping the mixture over the heat, until it feels hot to the touch, about 3 minutes. The sugar should be dissolved, and the mixture will look like marshmallow cream. Pour the mixture into the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment and beat the meringue on medium speed until it cools and forms a thick shiny meringue, about 5 minutes.
Switch to the paddle attachment and add the butter, one tablespoon at a time, beating until smooth. Once all the butter is in, beat in the buttercream on medium-high speed until it is thick and very smooth, 6-10 minutes. Divided the buttercream in two portions.
For the violet buttercream: microwave the violet sugar and water for 30 to 45 seconds. Let cool completely before folding it into the buttercream. If using liqueur, just fold it in the buttercream.
For the vanilla buttercream: add the seeds from the vanilla bean to the buttercream and fold with a spatula until fully incorporated. If not using right away, refrigerate for up to a week or freeze for up to 1 month.


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NEW YORK (AP) -- The nor'easter that stymied recovery efforts from Superstorm Sandy pulled away from New York and New Jersey Thursday, leaving a blanket of thick, wet snow that snapped storm-weakened trees and downed power lines, but didn't appear to add much more to the devastation.
Households from Brooklyn to storm-battered sections of the Jersey shore and Connecticut that had waited for days without power because of Sandy were plunged back into darkness in temperatures near freezing.
"For a home without power, it's great," said Iliay Bardash, 61, a computer programmer on Staten Island without electricity since last week. "But things are not worse, and for that I am thankful."
In New Jersey, utilities reported 400,000 power outages early Thursday; 20,000 of those were new. In New York City and Westchester, more than 70,000 customers were without power after the storm knocked out an additional 55,000 customers.
There were 60,000 new outages on Long Island, where more than 300,000 customers were without power.
"It's just colder now," said Anthony Gragnano, who lives in Lindenhurst, N.Y. on Long Island in a hard-hit area. "We still don't have heat or power, but aside from a little snow, we're good."
Gragnano's basement was flooded and the family has been living off a generator, and he has no idea when to expect power.
Roads in New Jersey and New York City were clear for the morning commute, and rail lines into New York were running smoothly so far, despite snow still coming down heavily in some areas.
The nor'easter, as promised, brought gusting winds, rain and snow, but not the flooding that was anticipated.
"The good news, thank goodness, is except for maybe 2 inches of snow, there were no other problems," said Randi Savron, 51, a schoolteacher who lives in the Rockaways, one of the areas that flooded badly last week. The idyllic beachfront boardwalk was loosed from pilings and ended up outside her apartment building door.
She said it seemed like work would continue.
For Consolidated Edison, the extra outages were dealt with swiftly, so there were only about 3,000 customers added to the total of 67,000 who were still out Wednesday.
"I think we're going to be able to power through. Our objective was to get power restored to everyone by the weekend and we're still working with that goal," said Alfonso Quiroz, a spokesman for the utility.
Under ordinary circumstances, a storm of this sort wouldn't be a big deal. But large swaths of the landscape were still an open wound, with the electrical system highly fragile and many of Sandy's victims still mucking out their homes and cars and shivering in the deepening cold. As the storm picked up in intensity Wednesday evening, lights started flickering off again.
Residents from Connecticut to Rhode Island saw 3 to 6 inches of snow on Wednesday. Worcester, Mass., had 8 inches of snow, and Freehold, N.J., had just over a foot overnight.
There was good weather news: temperatures over the next few days will be in the 50s in southern New England, said meteorologist Frank Nocera, and on Sunday it could edge into the 60s.
In New York and New Jersey, rain and 60 mph wind gusts swept through Wednesday evening.
"I am waiting for the locusts and pestilence next," New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie said.
Ahead of the storm, public works crews in New Jersey built up dunes to protect the stripped and battered coast, and new evacuations were ordered in a number of communities already emptied by Sandy. New shelters opened.
All construction in New York City was halted - a precaution that needed no explanation after a crane collapsed last week in Sandy's high winds and dangled menacingly over the streets of Manhattan. Parks were closed because of the danger of falling trees.
Airlines canceled at least 1,300 U.S. flights in and out of the New York metropolitan area, causing a new round of disruptions that rippled across the country.
Sandy killed more than 100 people in 10 states, with most of the victims in New York and New Jersey. Long lines persisted at gas stations but were shorter than they were days ago. By early Thursday, more than 292,700 homes and business in New York state were without power, and another 403,000 in New Jersey lacked electricity.
Elena McDonnell lived through Sandy last week and remained without power in her Staten Island home, she didn't fear the storm and said it was just a blip in the cleanup efforts.
"We're going to go back in a little while and start packing more stuff," she said. "There's so much more to do."
Contributing to this report were Associated Press writers Kiley Armstrong, Jonathan Fahey, Tom Hays, David B. Caruso, Meghan Barr, Jennifer Peltz and Deepti Hajela in New York; Jim Fitzgerald in White Plains, N.Y.; and Angela Delli Santi in Harvey Cedars, N.J. Eltman reported from Garden City, N.Y.


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If you've got 99 security problems, odds are Microsoft's not one—or at least it's just a minority of them. In its annual review of software vulnerabilities, security software firm Secunia found that 86 percent of vulnerabilities discovered on systems scanned by its software in the 50 most popular Windows software packages in 2012 were attributable to third-party developers and not to Microsoft's Windows operating system or applications. And for most of these vulnerabilities, a patch was already available at the time they were discovered.
Of the top 50 most used Windows packages—including the Windows 7 operating system itself, 18 were found to have end-point security vulnerabilities, a 98 percent increase over five years ago. Of those 18 packages, Google's Chrome and the Mozilla Firefox browser were the biggest culprits, with 291 and 257 detected vulnerabilities respectively. Apple iTunes came in third, with 243 detected vulnerabilities. The remainder of the top ten offenders were:
- Adobe Flash Player: 67
- Oracle Java JRE SE: 66
- Adobe AIR: 56
- Microsoft Windows 7: 50
- Adobe Reader: 43
- Microsoft Internet Explorer: 41
- Apple Quicktime: 29
Of the vulnerabilities documented in Secunia's database, 84 percent had already been patched by vendors when they were discovered on systems. "This means that it is possible to remediate the majority of vulnerabilities," said Secunia Director of Product Management Morten R. Stengaard. "There is no excuse for not patching."


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For many companies, the jury is out on whether attending a tradeshow will have a positive return on a usually substantial investment. It's because companies struggle with how to maximize the investment. Here are a few ways to ensure your next tradeshow is a success.
The show starts now.
You've decided to go to the show, so get started now by letting people know you're going to be there. You have three seconds to get people's attention at a tradeshow, so you'll need to give them a reason to stop. Oftentimes shows will give you a list of planned attendees. Use this list to send a direct mail piece that entices prospects to stop by. There's also a trend to utilize social media to create buzz around your booth.
While you're making connections, don't forget to let current customers know you'll be there. It's great customer service to have them see you in person if they normally work with you over the phone.
People see with their hands.
You can stand there and talk about how great your product is, or you can let prospects see for themselves why your product is awesome. That's the biggest advantage of attending a tradeshow. Remember that nearly everyone is caring an iPad or smartphone, so you may want to incorporate that technology into your tradeshow plan. QR codes are a great way for your prospects to interact with you after they've left the booth.
Send your best to the bigs.
Baseball players have spring training to prepare for their season and you should do the same for your tradeshow. People don't do business with companies they do business with people. Your personnel at the show are the face of your company. Those that you send better know your company, products and the goals you have for the tradeshow.
Give it away.
At tradeshows, it's still all about the giveaway. Recent trends recommend that you consider a promotional item indicative of the region where the show is held for greater impact. Regardless of what you decide, make sure that your giveaway is something people will want to use so your brand stays with them for as long as possible. Also, consider an item that reflects the personality of your company.
The show's over. Go home—and follow up.
Most companies exhale a sigh of relief after the show and go home to business as usual. That's the biggest mistake you can make. Before you go to the show, make a follow up plan to contact all of the hot leads you will meet. This will give you the greatest advantage over 80% of the other exhibitors.


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Ethan's fiddling combines expressive subtlety, playfulness, and compelling rhythmic power born out of more than two decades of experience as a dance musician. A versatile and inspiring performer, Ethan is equally at home digging into an Irish, Quebecois, or New England fiddle tune, improvising on a classic blues, swing, or honky-tonk song, or interpreting a lyrical waltz or English Country Dance melody.
Based in Brattleboro, Vermont, Ethan tours extensively throughout the U.S. and abroad, playing for dances, festivals, camps, concerts, weddings, and other events with his bands Elixir and The Figments. He performs closer to home with honky-tonk band The Rear Defrosters. Ethan is also an avid composer of tunes in traditional styles, and his compositions and arrangements have been played and recorded widely.
Jun 15, 2024at 8:00 pm | Rear Defrosters @ Mole HillMole Hill Theatre 789 Gilsum Mine Rd, Alstead, NH 03602, United Stateswith Elixir |
To order Elixir CDs please visit the Elixir store.
Selected traditional and original material arranged to highlight the diverse musical ideas that grow out of the New England contra dance tradition. Ethan's solo CD moves gracefully between high energy jigs and reels, contemplative airs, and lovely waltzes, flirting with musical ideas drawn from a wide range of styles. Recorded and Mixed by Bob Mills in Guilford, VT.
Anna Patton (clarinet), Bob Mills (guitar & bouzouki), Chuck Corman (bass), Erica Morse (cello & bass) Elvie Miller (piano & accordion), Jesse Hazzard-Watkins (trumpet), lydia ievins (fiddle), Marko Packard (guitar & sax), Naomi Morse (fiddle & viola), Peter Siegel (guitar, mandolin, banjo, & feet), Roger Kahle (guitar), Seth Houston (piano).
Ethan's collection of original tunes, published in 2007, is no longer available in print. You can download a complete PDF of the book or find some individual highlights and more recent compositions below.


text:
End of support notification for products using the Windows Vista operating system
Dear valued Customers,
Microsoft® Corporation has announced that they will end their support of Windows® Vista operating system on 11 April 2017. After the end of support, Microsoft will no longer provide security updates, fixes and technical support.
Accordingly, Sony will not be able to assist with any new technical, quality or security issues with our products if they relate to Windows Vista, and we will not be able to provide security updates or implement modifications and validations on our products running on Windows Vista. Please be advised that these products may not work properly or securely if you continue operating them on Windows Vista.
To continue using your hardware and software products on newer versions of Windows, please visit our support website for your products to check compatibility.
Note: Sony cannot support new technical, quality or security issues with our products operating on earlier versions of Windows operating system, such as Windows® 95, Windows® 98, Windows® Me, Windows® 2000, Windows® XP, etc., for which Microsoft has already ended its support.


text:
Friday, September 11, 2009
Thoughts on D&D/AD&D Chronology (Part II)
Though my fondest memory of this year is the release of Monster Manual II, for which I still have an inordinate love, the main event was the publication of the Frank Mentzer-edited Basic and Expert sets. My love for these is not great, as I've noted before, but I'm apparently in the minority among gamers, since, by most accounts, these were the best-selling versions of D&D ever. I personally find them too slick and soulless, compared even to Moldvay's rules and there's no question that the esthetics of the Mentzer edition are rooted in the Silver not Golden Age. 1983 also sees the release of a large number of modules, including the conclusions to the "Desert of Desolation" series and Ravenloft, forerunners all to what awaits the hobby in the following year.
With the exception of the D&D Companion Rules, which I actually enjoyed, the majority of this years releases were modules -- a lot of modules, most of them quite forgettable. Among them are the first five Dragonlance modules, about which I've written before. I also notice two other things. First, there are a couple of licensed modules (the Conan ones), but also a great many geared toward supporting the Basic, Expert, and Companion rules sets. That's almost as big a story as Dragonlance in some ways, since it suggests that TSR sees adventure modules as the pre-eminent support product for these lines and, by extension, the primary means by which the game is meant to be played.
Not a good year in my opinion, although many products made their debut, among them Oriental Adventures and Unearthed Arcana, two flawed "classics." I call them classics because I have fond memories of both, as I think many gamers from that era do, even though now, in retrospect, I can what they presaged for the game and the hobby. The Master Rules are thin gruel intended to fill out a schematized business plan rather than any compelling need within the game. There's yet more licensed properties (Lankhmar) and even more modules than 1984. Of these, only Gary's The Isle of the Ape is a stand-out and even it is marred somewhat by its heavy use -- and dependence on -- material from Unearthed Arcana. However generous one is willing to be to 1983 and 1984, I don't think one can easily argue that the Old Ways were all but dead by 1985.
Not one but two hardcover books released this year, both of them largely worthless (though I loved them as a young man). Clearly, TSR had come to the conclusion that more hardcovers equals more cash and ran with that idea, laying the groundwork for what was to come. The Immortal Rules are even less useful than the Master Rules, being effectively a different game entirely and not a particularly interesting or well-designed one at that. If I'm going to play a wacky immortal in training, I'd rather play Tom Moldvay's Lords of Creation any day of the week. Tons of modules, most of them forgettable, appear this year as well. The only standouts in my opinion are B10, which is unexpectedly good, and the Blackmoor modules.
Yet more hardcovers and not very good ones at that. It's also the dawn of the Pre-Fab Campaign Age, with the release of not just the Forgotten Realms Campaign Setting (which is better than its reputation among old schoolers would suggest), but also Kara-Tur and the GAZ line for D&D (which is more of a mixed bag in my opinion). Lots more modules -- including the Official RPGA Tourney Handbook -- but, once again, only the Blackmoor modules hold much interest.
One more sub-par hardcover, Greyhawk Adventures, and tons of campaign setting accessories, both for the Realms and the Known World. Indeed, the number of actual adventure published this year is negligible, as they give way to setting information as the new cash cow of TSR, something that would reach its fullest flower in a few years. This is also when Castle Greyhawk appears, a module whose origins and purpose remain subjects of much debate more than 20 years later. Regardless of the true intentions behind it, I think it's a fitting capstone to the end of the post-Gygax AD&D.
52 comments:
Hi James,
Interesting take on the chronology of d&d/Ad&d items. I like hearing other peoples views on the older products TSR released during its heyday, I have to disagree with you on some points though, such as the Mentzer basic and expert set, I somewhat see what you mean by polished look, but this was the version that first introduced me to d&d and even to this day, I find it clear and easy to understand. I remember fondly how it help me when I designed those early dungeons, giving me innumerable hints and ideas for dungeon traps and designs. (I'm thinking of you skeleton with magic missile fingers). Beyond the nostalgia affect though, when I re-read the expert set recently, I felt as if it still had new advice to offer on how to open up my world to adventure beyond the dungeon crawl.
So although I love some of Mr Otus' artwork from the earlier version, I must say that for me Its the Mentzer books that are king.
We're just going to have to agree to disagree on this one.Looking at this chronology (and your comments) makes me realize how memory telescopes the past. I think of myself as having played D&D throughout my childhood and adolescence, but the last book I owned was published in 1983 (MMII) when I was 11, and the last I was even aware of in 1985. Though to be fair it seems like I didn't miss much...
ReplyDeleteIt's funny how nostalgia tinges our perceptions of quality. I disconnected from most things TSR between the foundation laid by the first AD&D big-three books, and then the release of the GAZ modules topped by the Cyclopedia. I have no romantic fondness for any of the 80s production other than those two book-ends, and while my collection now has no "original AD&D" hardbacks, it does include a copy of the Cyclopedia, all the GAZ modules, and several other D&D items from the same "Mystara" generation (all the Hollow World items, the annuals, the four interesting "foes" items).
I'm not sure I'd ever want to really seriously go back to any of these old school TSR books; as a moderator, I rather like what I find in the D20 Pathfinder RPG, and 4ed (for different reasons). I don't discount the appeal of "old school" though; it's just that my notions of "old school" have more to do with playing Classic Traveller, BRP, and the Charette/Hume series of games... 8/Very interesting take on things, but I must admit, my main takeaway was wanting to know your thoughts on Forgotten Realms, James. Have you written about it before and I've simply missed it? And am I wrong for thinking of Forgotten Realms being inextricably linked to 2e? Thanks again for the thought provocation.
ReplyDeleteI remember 1987 as a very strong year. The release of the FR boxed set (1st edition) started up many a new gaming groups in my area, as the World of Greyhawk had been undersupported and shoved off to the side the years before by the Powers That Be. FR box set originally was a helluva nice sandbox, too bad it got examined and codified and extrapolated to death by more and more supplements; in it's purest (1E) form it's quite a spectacular achievement. BTW, the reason why it's reputation among "old schoolers" isn't great is because old schoolers had stopped purchasing TSR products in 1984, and most have never read it. It falls under the same category as any TSR product post-EGG, and thus was ignored by them.
This plus the release of the GAZ series for basic make it one of my most memorable years of D&D.LCM, Forgotten Realms was firmly 1E from it's release up until the roll out of 2e, and then became firmly linked to the new system (the face of 2E, so to speak). The original boxed set, plus the first few 1E supplements (FR1-FR6) are all quite well written and if TSR had stopped there I think the Forgotten Realms would be fondly remembered. Instead of a cool sandbox with a few more in depth digressions where you could set a campaign (Waterdeep, Moonshaes, Empires of the Sands, Savage North, Thay/Rashemen) it became TSR's goal to have every nook and cranny of Ed's world done up in spectacularly unexciting detail. Compare the spare yet very useful FR1 Waterdeep and the North (1988) with the bloated and over the top boxed set of Waterdeep (City of Splendors, 1994) years later to chart the trajectory of TSR into the crapper. (sorry for the hijack there James)
ReplyDelete[i]Badmike said: "BTW, the reason why it's reputation among "old schoolers" isn't great is because old schoolers had stopped purchasing TSR products in 1984, and most have never read it. It falls under the same category as any TSR product post-EGG, and thus was ignored by them." [/i]
Also, I think some probably see it as a betrayal of Gygax. I'm pretty sure one of the main reasons TSR pushed FR so hard was to break away from Greyhawk, since that was Gary's creation.I think that Oriental Adventures got short changed. I mean the whole book made the D&D world look like a Chinese painting! And the character classes were awesome! The magic and spells were just a tad different, so much so, that I use the OA Wu Jen spells as a separate "school" that is used by the earth walking demons and their minions who are the campaign antagonists.
ReplyDeleteLCM, Forgotten Realms was firmly 1E from it's release up until the roll out of 2e, and then became firmly linked to the new system (the face of 2E, so to speak). The original boxed set, plus the first few 1E supplements (FR1-FR6) are all quite well written and if TSR had stopped there I think the Forgotten Realms would be fondly remembered.
Presumably you haven't heard that thousands and thousands of people play Forgotten Realms campaigns, read the bestselling novels, obsess about the 'betrayal' that is the 4e revision, etc., etc., etc.
You might not like the later stuff, maybe no 'OSR' types do, but lots and lots of people do (or in any case did). The Realms stayed a TSR centerpiece for a reason. Those with no vested interest in Gygax-boosterism tend to have no opinion about these 'betrayals,' and treat the Realms just like every other sub-Tolkien collection of minutiae."Also, I think some probably see it as a betrayal of Gygax. I'm pretty sure one of the main reasons TSR pushed FR so hard was to break away from Greyhawk, since that was Gary's creation."
Bingo. Plus it didn't help when Greyhawk material post-EGG was pretty lame recycled tournament adventures (on purpose?) and the excreable WG7. FR was definitely seen as a "break" from the past. Even I, in my insulated Texas gaming existance (I had no clue until years later, and the internet, why EGG had left TSR) could see the very definitive pre- and post- FR mindset at TSR. The emphasis on supplements rather than modules (with the new Dungeon magazine taking over module publishing duties; all good 2E adventures are in Dungeon magazine) was one of the most easy to follow signposts. Gone were the years from 1983-1986 when a whopping 88 adventures were published; with Dungeon mag taking up the slack, post-1987 module publishing was a fraction of it's heydey.Greyhawk was so much darker. I have the original World of Greyhawk supplements, love the post-apocalyptic feel of it. Forgotten realms are fluffier. More like Al Qadim, Kara Tur and a bunch of other geography kaleidoscoped and rolled into one. Greyhawk is a bit more accurate in its reproduction of the European continent drained and impoverished by centuries of war, something that U.S. Grant alluded to, after he toured the world.
ReplyDeleteBrooze, the FR started out dark also. Read the original boxed set and the first few supplements, you feel that the bad guys are all right around the corner...they spent an entire supplement detailing the Red Wizards of Thay, for instance. Plus there was an evil god roaming the Moonshaes, an entire city ruled by demons in the Savage North, the country of Tethyr was involved in a civil war, Zhentil Keep and the Zhentarim were in danger of taking over the Dalelands, etc. The "fluffiness" didn't come until later. I dare anyone to read the original FR box and come up many many examples of "Fluffy" (even the Dalelands themselves were just coming out of a nasty civil war in the timeline of the 1st FR boxed set). Unfortunately the opinion of the FR has suffered from the bulk of the post-2E publications, which were explicitly geared to making the setting less of a sandbox and more "adventurer friendly".
Remember also a lot of players/DMs (myself included) were never entirely onboard with the "European continent" thing...Runequest, for example, has a more explicit "fantasy world" setting than WOG. I think FR was a step in that direction.It must have made sense, from a business perspective, to move away from DM-centric publishing model, and towards Player-centric model. I suppose the thinking was you could sell more stuff to players, rather than catering to a smaller subset, the DMs.
I have to wonder, though, if the glut of player (and substandard) material, and the propulsion towards more complexity and detail, isn't the cause of TSR's spectacular failure, and the decline of the D&D player-base.
The ones "who left" D&D were the casual gamers, the ones that benefited from the DM-centric model. Those casual gamers are still gaming, but they are playing MMORPGs. Those games assign all the heavy lifting to the programming, just like OD&D assigned the heavy lifting to the DM.I'm a big fan of the GAZ series, though I'll admit there were a few clunkers in the line. But there were some real gems, too, such as Karameikos, Ethengar, and the Shadow Elves. I've long had the impression that, because this was a secondary line for TSR, the writers were allowed to be more creative.
security word: "Wormyish." Kind of fitting, when you think about it. :)We're just going to have to agree to disagree on this one.
I suspect lots of people to disagree with me about this one. The Mentzer boxed sets sold very well and probably introduced many more people into the hobby than did the Holmes or Moldvay sets. They're definitely clearer from a pedagogical perspective, but, for me, that clarity comes at the cost of flavor, which I think is a quality that's often overlooked.I don't discount the appeal of "old school" though; it's just that my notions of "old school" have more to do with playing Classic Traveller, BRP, and the Charette/Hume series of games... 8/
Old school games all, just not the ones that I tend to focus on here, although Traveller remains a great love of mine.Have you written about it before and I've simply missed it? And am I wrong for thinking of Forgotten Realms being inextricably linked to 2e?
I've written about the Realms in a few places, most notably in a post entitled "In Praise of Ed Greenwood." Contrary to many old schoolers, I love the Realms, at least in its original form. The "old gray box" is a terrific 1e product that's very much a sandbox setting. It has a different feel than does, say, Greyhawk, but that's not a bad thing in and of itself. In my experience, most of the complaints about the Realms stem either from caricatures of the setting -- of which there are many -- or from too little exposure to its best products and too much to the hackwork that was placed under the brand name.BTW, the reason why it's reputation among "old schoolers" isn't great is because old schoolers had stopped purchasing TSR products in 1984, and most have never read it. It falls under the same category as any TSR product post-EGG, and thus was ignored by them.
That may be true for some old schoolers, but many have other valid objections to the Realms -- or at least the way TSR developed the Realms during the 2e era. For myself, I still very much like the Realms and consider it an old school setting equal to Greyhawk and Blackmoor in its creativity and open-endedness. It's certainly a different kind of fantasy setting than either of those, but that's hardly a crime.Also, I think some probably see it as a betrayal of Gygax. I'm pretty sure one of the main reasons TSR pushed FR so hard was to break away from Greyhawk, since that was Gary's creation.
While I agree that some of the more paranoiac old schoolers do see it as a "betrayal" of Gygax, I suspect the simple fact of the matter is that, at the time, TSR was looking for a new setting it could more readily support in accordance with its new product line paradigm and the Realms seemed ready made for that.There is something special about that period 78-82 where the company was just bursting with creativity and great products. A time that has yet to be matched in terms of sales, market penetration, and that unique gene se que
My mom bought Deities and Demigods for me at K-Mart of all places!I guess I'm the only one, but I think 1985 was one of the best years AD&D ever had.
Temple of Elemental Evil, Unearthed Arcana, Isle of the Ape, the bulk of the DL Dragonlance modules (yeah, I like those), Swords of the Undercity, and Red Arrow, Black Shield, one of the finest BD&D modules ever.
A really good year.Badmike, awhile back I tried to figure out thr cocneptual differences between the Greyhawk and Forgotten Realms. What I finally came up with was that Greyhawk was essentially Western Europe after a magical Nukewar. Forgotten Realms is based on Central Europe and the Balkans in all their civil war gory. This only makes sense, Greyhwk was published and released at the height of Cold War, and Forgotten Realms were written at the time when Balkans were just entering in the news and to most people it was just a place on the map, same as Vietnam and Iraq once were, but to anyone who bothered to look deeper, the bloody history of the region became apparent.
I shall definitely look for the original Forgotten Realms Grey box based on what you have told me. Thanks!Brooze,
I think you are over-reading into events. Publication dates don't have anything to do with when the campaigns were invented. In fact, Greenwood says he started creating his world in 1968 as a fiction exercise, then D&D solidified his direction for his personal use. In fact, I suspect Greenwood's campaign is a bit older than Gary's.
Yeah, I agree that some "right winger" D&D purists think Greenwood's campaign was "the devil", but the way things were going--if the Blume/Gygax war didn't happen, I suspect Ed would have ended up doing major freelance work for TSR and we might have still gotten his FR campaign no matter what. Greenwood shaped a lot of things in early D&D, even though he was mostly contributing via Dragon.The problem with FR isn't the original boxed set, its all that stuff that came after.
That world was smothered in supplements (and novels) that left no part of it untouched or left to be explored.
And those supplements tainted the world even if you didn't use them yourself.
As a DM, I ran into many players who knew FR way better than I did, and that made it far less appealing to me as a campaign setting.John, you got me there...
I forgot that I read Greenwood's recollections how one day eh drew a map fo the world and put Moonsea (was it?) in the middle.
Still, there is soemthing to my comparison there, fantasy writers are influenced by the current events of the times they are creating in. Still, one of the negatives of the FR setting is that it leaves nothing to the DMs imagination, and I dodn't think that I ever met a DM who wasn't a world builder at heart.After 1985 the D&D line was much stronger than the AD&D line, in my view. The Gazetteers were, for the most part, excellent (there were a couple of duds, e.g., "Irendi", but for the most part they were great IMO), as was the Hollow Earth box set and the Dawn of Emperors box set. The DA modules were also quite good (despite the annoying and unnecessary 'time travel' connection to Mystara).
In contrast, most post-1985 AD&D material, both modules and hardbacks, strikes me as rather poor in quality. I don't own any of that stuff now, and don't feel like I'm missing anything. "Island of the Ape" is the last AD&D TSR module I purchased and still own.
I suspect that the main reason why the D&D line maintained a high level of quality can be attributed primarily to Bruce Heard, who seemed to have a genuine love both for the game and the Mystara setting. Most of the D&D material was produced by freelancers (including Aaron Allston), and Heard apparently was quite careful about what was accepted. In contrast, most AD&D material was produced 'in house'.Brooze: Interesting concepts on the European War theory of fantasy world influencing. It's why I love discussing this stuff, concepts I never imagined come up all the time...
"Still, one of the negatives of the FR setting is that it leaves nothing to the DMs imagination, and I don't think that I ever met a DM who wasn't a world builder at heart."
I really think that's a function of later writers and edicts; the original boxed set leaves entire chunks of the world untouched, as well as giving very short shrift (2-3 pages most) to such essential areas as the Dalelands, Moonsea area, Cormyr and anything south and east of FR3 Empires of the Sand. Even the first few supplements only detail Waterdeep, the Moonshaes, the North, and a few scattered empires (again leaving essential areas alone), and in most cases very general outlines are given rather than specific details. I almost wish I had the time, I bet I could run a helluva sandbox using just the 1E stuff and filling in the holes myself.
When we first started using the FR, all we had was the boxed set, FR1 and FR2. We filled in all the blanks ourselves and think in many cases "our" FR did a better job!
But no argument that later events led to far, far too much minute examination of every corner of the FR world.Akrasia: After 1985 the D&D line was much stronger than the AD&D line, in my view.
Yes! Absolutely. Though as is usually the case, its a "follow the author" situation.
Aaron Allston wrote a lot of those GAZ products (as well as the Rules Cyclopedia) and he's one of the best RPG writers of all time.
Hell, Aaron Allston did a couple of Kit books for 2e and they were good too. It's almost like the guy had talent or something."I dare anyone to read the original FR box and come up many many examples of "Fluffy" (even the Dalelands themselves were just coming out of a nasty civil war in the timeline of the 1st FR boxed set)."
I recall the section on Aglarond to be pretty lame. Ditto Silverymoon, when Ed got around to detailing that."In fact, Greenwood says he started creating his world in 1968 as a fiction exercise, then D&D solidified his direction for his personal use."
Somehow, I doubt that bore too much resemblence to what was published for D&D. Unless he also claims to have used Vancian magic, drow, beholders, and all the many, many D&D tropes in the original set back in the 60s.
Probably by 1987, all that was left over was a handful of proper nouns and maybe, maybe a map or two.
"In fact, I suspect Greenwood's campaign is a bit older than Gary's."
This is just ridiculous on its face. Do you have any evidence whatsoever that Greenwood invented the RPG as we know it prior to Gygax, Arneson and their "midwest crew?" Has Greenwood himself ever claimed any such thing? Frankly, I doubt it, since I've never seen any indications that the man is a venal liar."I recall the section on Aglarond to be pretty lame. Ditto Silverymoon, when Ed got around to detailing that."
I don't see a lot of fluff in the description of Aglarond; Silverymoon isn't even detailed in the original boxed set. Later publications, as in most cases, are where the "fluff" enters the picture. The below description of Aglarond from the original FR box set sounds pretty..well...grim.... It wasn't until way later that the Seven Sisters became far too powerful and thus uninteresting.
"Aglarond cannot boast a field army of any size, nor a navy, but within its woods The Simbul's foresters are expert and deadly troops, adept at firefighting and at using "coastboats" (long, canoe-like open boats handled with lateen sails, oars, and
poles) to raid by night. These foresters are equally well-trained for traveling in the treetops and fighting amongst the foliage. The foresters are alert and grim; the menacing might of Thay is uncomfortably near, and Aglarond's blades are all too few. At the battles of Singing Sands (1194 DR) and Brokenheads (1197 DR), Aglarond's forces turned back invading hosts from Thay, but the cost was great. Skirmishes with raiders hoping to win glory for Thay, or mercenaries hired by
Thay, are common."Will,
I'm not arguing the existence of Greenwood's setting as being a "campaign", if you define it as a group of gamers around a table. And clearly he got other influences involved. Not just D&D, some of his original gods were from existing fiction such as Aslan. And he was very inspired by EGG's writings.
What I am saying is that Greenwood created a world back in the late 60s and kept developing it, even to this day.
I'm not trying to get into a pissing match of "who did what first". What I am saying is that from what I've read about Greenwood, he has been working on this for a long time as a hobby, with the same diligence Tolkien had for his world.
From what I know of Gary having worked with him, Gygax doesn't get that detailed unless he needs to. Gary has engaged in a lot of world building, but he's started from scratch several times. He's also economically savvy enough to stop developing when he lost rights or it wasn't financially viable. I know for a fact when he lost control of GH in 1986 he stopped using it personally, same with Aerth in 1994. (He would still use "the castle", but not as a detailed campaign).I don't want to jump on a FR bashing bandwagon; because I do feel those referring to the quality of the original boxed set have a point. However I have to say that a couple of the things that always bothered me the most about FR were:
1) It ended the era of general modules being released, it seemed to me every new module (particularly by 2ed) was for the realms, and really took some work to remove it from that local.
2)More annoying though was the plethora of powerful heroic NPC's, it made me feel that as 1st level characters, our presence in this world as heroic people, would have been redundant; especially when Eliminster, to name one, could just pop in at anytime and save the day. Maybe I didn't know enough about Forgotten Realms, but it came across as a world were the "good guys" were more powerful than the villians. Even many of the novels (which lets face it, most of which were not well written) felt this way to me. I don't mind a world were there were heroes in the past that the pc's can emulate or try to surpass in fame, but I believe that the campaign world needs some sense that the good guys (if your going for heroics anyway) are the underdogs with some sense of urgency or desperation (maybe not the best words but I hope you get my drift). I think a could comparison could be made to the DC/Marvel rpgs of the past. They had great game mechanics, but if we had played in the same world as Superman or the Avengers, why would there be any need for our lowly new heroes."Maybe I didn't know enough about Forgotten Realms"
I think this is a valid complaint about FR bashers, except replace "Enough" with "Anything" and you are a bit more accurate.
Dungeon magazine was releasing 4-6 adventures bi-monthly from 1986 onwards, the majority NOT set in the FR, and many as good or better than "offical module" material (Kingdom of the Ghouls, Mud Sorceror's Tomb, etc). Plus, I'm unaware of any extensive contortions it takes to convert a FR adventure to any general D&D locale, anymore than it takes extensive work to convert L1, T1 or N1 (all, btw, which I've run many times in my own campaign world without much problem).
The "Heroic" characters complaint doesn't fly either, because unless someone was holding a gun to the DM's head the decision to use any, all or none of the NPCs was entirely his or her decision. I played in the WOG for over a decade and can't recall a single campaign Mordenkainen, Bigby, Robilar, Iuz or any name character put in a personal experience. If your DM had guys like Elminster or Tenser popping in his D&D games as deus ex machina he probably should have been running a nice game of Stratego instead. In the parlance of sports (in honor of the first full football Sunday of 2009 season), don't hate the playah, hate the game.....!"played in the WOG for over a decade and can't recall a single campaign Mordenkainen, Bigby, Robilar, Iuz or any name character put in a personal experience."
If I'm not mistaken, none of these characters are:
a) Detailed in the GH folio or boxed set.
b) "Heroic" in the sense of being of good alignment.Edit:
Iuz is detailed in the boxed set, of course. As a potential antagonist, and not a "hero", however.
Badmike, did it occur to you that you might be a little too aggressive in your defense of the FR set? It seems like you're insisting that there's no valid reason whatsoever for anyone to dislike anything about it. That's silly.They are, however, given a full write up treatment in the 1980 "Rogue's Gallery" supplement (which, BITD, everyone including myself loved because it gave us a more detailed glimpse of characters we had only heard tidbits about). In terms of "name" characters, Tenser and Serten (In Rogue's Gallery) are designated as LG, while Mord and Bigby are "N" (not good, but neither are they evil). Mordy even takes the active role of recruiting the characters in Isle of the Ape to hunt down a magic artifact...his motives may ultimately be selfish but in the short run they serve the cause of good. But alignments and motivations aside, the point being, none of the above NPCs (nor any detailed in any product) can make an appearance in a campaign if the DM doesn't make it so. So whatever "powers" that are given them in a published work are immaterial as any DM is ultimately MORE powerful than the character on paper. A roundabout way of saying that if you are pissed Elminster (or Mordenkainen, or Blackstaff, or Robilar) popped into your campaign and saved your character with a snap of the fingers, your DM is probably an unimaginative tool...why blame the material? It's only there to inspire and set the stage, anyway. I guess to me the appearance of heroic NPCs doesn't tip me one direction or another in my enjoyment of the material (YMMV of course).
ReplyDeleteAs for being a FR apologist....my aggressiveness is a result of actually having the material, and having read it, I am constantly puzzled by the conclusions of others that are not backed up by empirical evidence. Over the years I've concluded that many of the detractors are simply repeating ad hominen arguments and most of their contact with the FR is second hand...they played in a campaign back in 1989 and their DM had Elminster appear every adventure and save their ass. In most cases I'm surprised as simply reading the original material would clear up a lot of misconceptions. For example, to this day I run into many old schoolers (some who have been gaming longer than I have) who are 1E junkies that are surprised to learn the Forgotten Realms was originally a 1E publication (ditto with much derided lines such as Dragonlance). In fact I think only Dragonlance (which is continually referred to as a 2E line) gets blamed for more poverty, war, famine and disease than the FR line, yet some of the most ardent detractors have never read a single supplement (of either FR or DL). That's just lazy.
Like Dragonlance, which comes into more than it's share of condemnation from old schoolers, there is a lot of legitimate criticism you can level at the FR line, especially post 2E/1990. Badly written product, product bloat, unneeded expansion diluting the mystery and wonder of the setting, formerly passive descriptions and storylines becoming far too agressive, tacit approval of munchkinism, hell, bad writing in general drags the entire line down in the 90s. However, rarely are these reasons pointed to...it's always "Elminster sucks" or "I hate anything 2E anyway" or "Gary would never have approved". Please. For instance, I disagree with a lot of what James writes in his blog, but I'm always impressed by his willingness to become familiar with the material before criticizing it, or admit he doesn't have anything but a very general knowledge of the subject in question and will have to do more research before commenting further (or soliciting that research through the posts). I guess I just find the intellectual laziness involved in a lot of the FR criticism upsetting because it comes from generally intelligent people that would be appalled should the same type of arguments be used against 1E, WOG, or EGG.
Since this has wandered far afield from the original subject I apologize to James for taking this in odd directions...I'll continue any futher discussion on my blog...What Badmike said, totally agree.
In the end the quality of a game falls onto the individual DM.
I think it's funny that people despise the Realms and say it's not sand boxy, I ran a campaign set in the Moonsea area, off the contents of the original FR box set and the Pool Radiance - Adventurer's Journal from the C64 game. And that ran for quite a few years.
Just because there's official supplements doesn't mean that the game police are going to kick down your door and take your dice for not using them.
Seriously what's with the ......
SWEET MOTHER OF GOD THE GAME POLICE HAVE FOUND ME AGAIN! (GHRRRK)(Snik)(THUD!)"They are, however, given a full write up treatment in the 1980 "Rogue's Gallery" supplement (which, BITD, everyone including myself loved because it gave us a more detailed glimpse of characters we had only heard tidbits about)."
But are we not comparing apples and apples here? If you're going to discuss the original FR set as a self-contained entity, I don't feel it's fair to bring up published GH lore other that what was in the introductory folio/boxed set for that world."Just because there's official supplements doesn't mean that the game police are going to kick down your door and take your dice for not using them."
This is an argument I really hate. Nothing but a transparent excuse to derail discussion of a published work.
"I hated Supplement X. It added tons of raw detail to the setting, but it was all tangential trivia, IMHO. Not worth publishing or using."
"Well, YOU DON'T HAVE TO USE IT."
"Yes, but IT STILL SUCKS."
"Well, YOU DON'T HAVE TO USE IT."
"Yes, but IT STILL SUCKS."
"Well, YOU DON'T HAVE TO USE IT."
"Yes, but IT STILL SUCKS."
Times infinity.I was in heaven with the plethora of modules coming out for a while there. There were some I didn't think were so great, but there were a huge number I did. Dragonlance, Ravenloft, Desert of Desolation, I loved those. I was also a fan of Unearthed Arcana and Oriental Adventures, and still use them. I thought the Kara-tur set was great for OA, and I picked up subsequent Mongol and Arabian sets. Just never got around to using them. I didn't have much interest in FR, but I adore the GAZ series. Glantri was throroughly enjoyable, Orcs of Thar was tons of fun. I didn't get nearly enough chance to use the GAZ series.
ReplyDelete'"Just because there's official supplements doesn't mean that the game police are going to kick down your door and take your dice for not using them."
This is an argument I really hate. Nothing but a transparent excuse to derail discussion of a published work.'
But it's ok to derail a discusion by dragging in every other published FR work, when the discusion is about the original FR boxed set?- AnonymousSeptember 17, 2009 at 5:47 PM
Yes, there was a decline in the old thinking but the old school was very much alive in the pages of Dragon Magazine. You will remember before the launch of AD&D 2e that Dragon was alive with discussions, essays and treatises on a wide variety of minutia and sh*t(here I am using it in a positive light - that being the fertilizer in which new ideas were growing).
For when they introduced DL, clearly, the executives were already thinking of product viability rather than the game or hobby. Gary, I am sure, was also interested in keeping the brand alive and saw DL not as the bane that you protray but just as a way of continuing the brand.
For his own Greyhawk was very different than what was published as Greyhawk and he reportedly was happy with both (at least when I spoke with him just before his death). It was starting indeed with Ward's retrofit that Gary's worlds began to fall apart till they were unrecognizable to old school gamers and even the young Turks who one can associate with the Hickmanian Revolution/FR fans.


text:
For Immediate Release
Contact: Veronica O'Hearn
(865) 574-9102
Oak Ridge, Tenn., April 3, 2013 – The deadline is approaching to submit proposals for
Excellence in Teaching Mini-Grants from URS | CH2M Oak Ridge LLC (UCOR).
UCOR is accepting proposals from area schools for educational grants with a specific goal of
enabling new instructional methods in science, technology, engineering and math (STEM).
UCOR's mini-grants will be awarded directly to teachers and schools for specific projects. All
teachers are welcome to apply, but proposals should focus on science, technology, engineering
and math (STEM) projects. For instance, a music teacher might apply for a grant for a mathrelated
project within the field of music.
Schools in Roane, Anderson, Loudon and Knox counties are eligible to submit proposals.
Interested teachers should contact their school principals for more information. Applications
must be received by April 12, 2013.
"Funding excellence in education is a major commitment for UCOR," said Leo Sain, UCOR
President and Project Manager. "As a technology-based company, we are especially committed
to funding math, science, and technology-related educational endeavors. This is our second year
offering these annual mini-grants with some impressive projects being undertaken by our teacher
awardees. We feel strongly that our mini-grants program gives students opportunities they may
not otherwise have."
Proposal packages will be sent to school principals. More than one teacher in a school may
submit proposals, but each proposal must be approved by the principal. Applications may be
made for $500 (for a single classroom), $750 (for a grade or several classes) or $1,000 (for an
entire school, and must include an implementation plan).
Proposals will be judged on three criteria:
• A project summary, which describes the project and expected results.
• The top three learning objectives/curriculum concepts that will be enhanced by the grant, and
how results will be measured.
• An explanation as to why the project is deserving of the grant.
Grant winners will be recognized at a reception in May.
For more information about the UCOR Excellence in Teaching Mini-Grants program, contact
Veronica O'Hearn, UCOR Communications, (865) 574-9102.


text:
Tiger Mother Amy Chua, the superstrict Chinese-American disciplinarian, became an overnight sensation in the U.S. this year when she wrote about her tough parenting style. But she looks like a pussy cat next to her mainland Chinese equivalent, "Wolf Dad" Xiao Baiyou.
Xiao is the latest media sensation in China — a father who not only beat his son and three daughters, but boasts about how he did it.
He's become part of a wider debate in China about the politics of family life, which has also been fueled by a homemade pamplet produced by two Tiger Cubs that turned.
Wolf Dad, as he's been nicknamed, wrote a book that was originally titled Beat Them Into Peking University. It was later changed to the not-quite-as-catchy So, Brothers and Sisters of Peking University.
He's been doing the chat shows lately, laying out his system for getting three of his four kids into China's top school, Peking University.
Xiao, 47, describes himself as the emperor of his family. As such, he's laid down an extraordinary system of rules for his children.
"I have more than a thousand rules: specific detailed rules about how to hold your chopsticks and your bowl, how to pick up food, how to hold a cup, how to sleep, how to cover yourself with a quilt," Xiao says. "If you don't follow the rules, then I must beat you."
In China, beating kids is part of their upbringing. It's not violence. It's not against the law.
For each violation of the rules, such as sleeping in the wrong position, the penalty is to be hit with a feather duster on the legs or the palm of the hand. If it doesn't leave a mark, then it won't make an impact, Xiao says.
Never mind sleepovers, his kids weren't even allowed friends. He started beating them when they were 3 years old, and stopped at age 12.
"From 3 to 12, kids are mainly animals," he says. "Their humanity and social nature still aren't complete. So you have to use Pavlovian methods to educate them."
Xiao's method involved all of the children watching each punishment. Any transgression of the rules by a younger sibling would also earn a beating for the older siblings, for failing to be a good model. Despite the sometimes daily beatings, Xiao sees himself as the best dad in the world and repeatedly claims his unorthodox methods "have no shortcomings."
Xiao's oldest child, 22-year-old Xiao Yao, has his doubts about his father's methods. "Though Dad likes using traditional educational methods, he may not fully understand the exact forms and he chose his own way," he told a TV program. "There may be some distance from the best results."
He's quoted as saying that he doubts he even had a childhood, and that he loves and hates his father at the same time.
"I thought that maybe he was a bit too strict, that sometimes it could have been more relaxed," Xiao's wife, Huang Tianshu, told NPR. "Maybe they didn't need to be beaten quite so often."
Huang is from Hong Kong, and therefore the couple was not subject to China's strict one-child policy. She insists her kids do not have any psychological scars from their childhood beatings.
"I thought we were quite happy, but maybe after the kids grow up they only remember the unhappy things," she says. "I think the education they received was right."
In many countries, Wolf Dad's behavior would be seen as child abuse, but Xiao denies that.
"In China, beating kids is part of their upbringing. It's not violence. It's not against the law," he says. "If this kind of beating is legal, scientific and in the interests of the kids, then fine. I'm all for beating, since it's effective."
Wolf Dad has his share of critics, but his book has been flying off the shelves — so far, 120,000 have been printed, and he says most have been sold.
The Cubs Can Fight Back
A contrasting book has sharpened the debate in China. It's a small, scrappy exercise book filled with primitive line drawings. The Complete Book of Combat With Mum contains 20 strategies to deflect a scolding from your mother — and was written by two Beijing 10-year olds.
"Move No. 4 is useful. You run to Mom and throw yourself on her," says Chen Leshui, who wrote the book. "Lots of kids say they use this because it makes Mom's heart go soft, and it makes her cry."
Leshui says she wrote the book with her friend Deng Xinyi after a particularly humiliating incident.
"Once, when I didn't do so well in an exam, a friend came over to play, and my mom picked up my exam paper and said, 'Your friends will all laugh at you,' " Leshui says. "My friend and I went to hide in my room and drew these pictures on pieces of paper."
The moves are divided into hard and soft tactics, though Leshui warns that hard tactics should be used sparingly, or you might get a beating. Her mother, who gives her name as Mrs. Li, says Leshui has tried literally every trick in the book.
"There was one move she used to make when she was young: She'd pull down her pants, then present me with her naked butt and say, 'Spank me, mom!' " Li says. "Later, if I scolded her, she'd hug my legs and not let go. And when she got even older, she'd lock herself into her room and write notes to me on slips of paper."
Xiao, the Wolf Dad, praises Leshui's talent, but says her parents are leading her astray. Online, there are those who call her "a bad influence," and say that posting the book online was "a sin." But the book went viral after her dad — who gives his name as Mr. Chen — posted it on the Chinese version of Twitter. He admits he's not a traditional Chinese dad.
"Mostly we respect her decisions and treat her as an equal. Chinese parents like one adjective: 'good' or 'obedient,' " Chen says. "I don't want her to be an obedient child. It just means you're in the system, you can only follow orders. It's only when you think outside the box that you can become creative."
As for the stories of Tiger Mother forcing her kids to practice piano without bathroom breaks or dinner until they get it right, well that doesn't happen in Leshui's house. She plays the guzheng — a kind of Chinese harp — and practices about 40 minutes a night by herself.
As for her mom's input, Leshui says dismissively: "She couldn't tell anyway, she's totally tone deaf."
It's pretty clear Leshui is a good kid. Despite her guide to getting around her mom, neither she nor her mother can even remember the last time she was scolded, let alone beaten.
Copyright 2020 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org.


text:
The Smart Array 5300 series of high performance Ultra3 array controllers provides improved flexibility and data protection thanks to an innovative modular design and new Advanced Data Guarding - RAID ADG technology. In addition, it again raises the bar to higher performance levels, with several enhancements that include a new memory architecture and new RAID engine.
Key Features:
Advanced Data Guarding (RAID ADG) offers breakthrough level of fault protection of RAID volumes up to 2TB and a total of 56 disk drive in a RAID volume. RAID ADG provides fault protection greater than RAID 1 or RAID 5 and only consume the capacity of 2 disk drives for distributed parity data. RAID ADG protects against any 2 disk drive failures. This higher level of protection is ideal to protect large logical volumes and with high capacity disk drives where a failed drive rebuild time may be significant.


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