Monday, January 30, 2006

Bush, Would You Like Pie with Your Hamas?

Bush has really put his own balls into a vice grip on this one and time is turning the crank. Hamas is the new ruling political party of Palestine. Democratically elected by the people and sworn in.

The only victory that Bush has ever been able to use is bringing "Democracy" to the Middle East. And now its being thrown right back into his face as a true failure.

As it is, Bush now has three options.. and they all suck.

1. Bush can stick to his "democratic" guns and applaud the new Palestine government and keep sending aid to them even though they were the LAST people the US, or anyone else, wanted in power and they will most likely use that aid to terrorize and to attack Israel.

2. Bush can stop funding Palestine causing them to look elsewhere for money and partnerships.. say from other large, more renown political organizations in the region.. like Al Qaeda and the insurgency in Iraq. I'm sure as long as there is money to be exchanged in the Middle East, Bush's buddies from Saudi Arabia will be there with kneepads on.

3. Bush can invade Palestine and show the rest of the world just what "bringing Democracy to the Middle East" really means to him.

Bush has backed himself into a corner on this one and not even Karl Rove can save his dumb ass this time.

Thursday, January 26, 2006

Gotta Love Being a Member of a Fight Club

I larp.. or rather I used to. Larp stands for Live-action role-playing. In a nutshell, you run around the woods, dressed up in medieval period clothing and beat the hell out of each other with foam weapons as according to the personal political belief of whatever character you are portraying.

I used to larp. Now I am involved in a fight club. The difference? This particular "larp" has no characters in it. Sure you can choose a goofy name for yourself - mine happens to be Barakas - but without any kind of role playing, its just people beating up on each other... and its a hell of a workout.

And right now, I am very, very sore.

I do miss the role-playing aspect of it and if I can ever get any support, I will be creating a new larp in whatever area I end up in. As usual, I have lots of ideas for one. As my friends and I did before, we would be basing it off a group on the east coast called Darkon. However, unlike them, I would be removing certain rules while expanding others. For example, the three basic aspects of a person that transfer the best into a larping character are: Strength (ability to fight), Intelligence (ability to prepare) and Wit (ability to think on one's feet). These are the abilities that determine which class a player is best suited for. In the current Darkon rules there are only 9 classes, each with their own special abilities and skills to aid the player in their role and in battle. These 9 classes fall within the three main aspects as follows:

Strength: Fighter, Monk
Strength & Intelligence: Cleric, Cavalier
Intelligence: Druid, Mage
Wit: Thief, Assassin
Wit, Strength & Intelligence: Ranger

Its not a bad selection, but its not a great one either. For example, there are neither classes available for those with Intelligence and Wit nor are there classes for those with Strength and Wit. Therefore, one of the main things I intend to do is extend this selection to a total of 19 classes. This new series breaks down as follows:

Strength: Fighter, Monk, and Berserker
Strength & Intelligence: Cleric, Cavalier, and Alchemist
Intelligence: Druid, Mage, and Necromancer
Intelligence & Wit: Astrologer, Artificer, and Bard
Wit: Thief, Assassin, and Jester
Wit & Strength: Scout, Pirate and Hunter
Wit, Strength & Intelligence: Ranger

Within each aspect, there are three classes that are devoted purely to that aspect, six classes that are shared with the other two aspects (three each), and one that is shared with both of the other aspects (Ranger). This means that for every aspect, there are now a total of 10 classes to choose from.

Also, one of the problems I noticed from my previous larp was a lack of participation in getting other people to bring in new members. So in order to change that, I also want to create a recruitment reward plan so that a player can earn up to 3 bonus credits for every new player they bring in, depending on what class they ultimately choose for themselves. For example, if the group is running short on Mages or Jesters but heavy on Fighters or Clerics, a player could earn 3 credits for bringing in someone who decides to play a Jester, but only 1 credit for bringing in another Fighter. A player regularly earns one credit per event and it takes 5 credits to advance a player's character one skill level. So if a player brings in 2-3 more players, then that player can advance that much faster.

These are just some of the ideas that I have for a great larp. Hopefully, I should be able to get something going within the next year or so. But first I still need to find a job.

Tuesday, January 10, 2006

When the Hatchet Fell, I Got the Axe

I'm out of a job again. The company I worked for was bought out two weeks ago by an organization from Ohio called Domin-8. Apparently they needed our sales and customer support staff because they were having problems getting people to trust them... go figure.

Anyways, yesterday the hatchet came down and I was one of about ten that got the axe. Chances are more will follow as not many want to trade in their weekly Happy Hour and relaxed dress code just so they can move to Ohio and talk to people on the phone. Yesterday, four of the people from Domin-8 flew in to Madison and called a staff meeting. Then a few of us were called out of the room. They led us back upstairs and sat us down and then told us we were casualties of war and that we were being locked out fo the system as we were speaking. One guy had just lost his father last week so I already felt bad for him. When we got the news together, his reaction was "Well, Happy New Year!" and that pretty much summed it up for the rest of us too.

When those four return to Ohio, may their plane crash into the ground in a fiery ball of twisted metal.

Sunday, January 08, 2006

TEN MILLION BOUNTY!!!

Attention to all demons, devils, angels and gods:

I am placing a Ten Million Soul Bounty on the head of each and every person who uses the bible to justify their hatred of gays, blacks, abortionists, other religious people, and scientists.

Payment will be made upon proof of the destruction of the individual and the "act of god/devil" was done entirely by the entity claiming the reward.

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