In memory of John Entwhistle of The Who, who died yesterday aged 57, I'm playing "Live at Leeds" on the stereo as I type this.

While I've never been a huge Who fan, I still believe that John Entwhistle wasn't just the bass player of a great band, he was a truly great bass player, perhaps the best of his generation. Just listen to "The Real Me" off "Quadrophenia". While Pete Townshend is bashing out chords, basically playing rhythm guitar, John is effectively playing the lead line on the bass.

He will be missed.

Also in the news

In this Guardian article, Polly Toynbee wonders if it's time for America to stop lecturing to the rest of the world, especially us Europeans, how we should run our economies. After Enron, Worldcom and Xerox, is their deregulated wild west capitalism really the One True Way?
:: Tim Hall 9:18 PM ::  

This page on The Phoenyx lists one of the things a GM isn't supposed to do is give people and places unpronounceable names, like, say, "Kaaneth d'n Ekyr".

I've created a whole series of fictional languages for Kalyr, which I have used to name people, places and organisations. Hopefully they're not too unpronounceable.

Unfortunately, for organisations and types of weapons I've tended to mix names in these invented languages and names in English rather randomly, rather than using either one or other consistently. Why is traditional type of sword called a narvork, while crude missile weapon is called a flamelance? And why is guild of technology referred by it's Filgan name, the Karazthan, while psionic guild is referred to as "Academy of Mind". And I really wish I hadn't started calling these Psionic adepts "Wizards"

If I ever publish "Kalyr, the RPG" (which I won't, because it might sell perhaps 12 copies if I'm lucky), these issues will have to be addressed. I meantime, how do you change naming conventions mid-stream in a game that's been running for six years?

Kaaneth d'n Ekyr came to a sticky end, psionically tortured by a player character, presumably in response to his unpronounceable name....

Meanwhile, in the news

Gary Hart has been refused leave to appeal. Gary Hart, poster boy for the most sociopathic elements of the motoring lobby, is the idiot who fell asleep at the wheel after spending all night on the phone to his new internet girlfriend. His land-rover ended up on a railway line, derailed an express and killed ten people. The arrogant twit still claims he's been made a scapegoat. I still think his five-year sentence is ridiculously lenient. His pig-headed refusal to admit responsibility makes it clear he hasn't 'suffered enough'.
:: Tim Hall 1:13 PM ::  

Jack Chick, noted purveyor of badly-drawn and theologically dubious fundamentalist tracts has excelled himself with this one.

I don't know whether to laugh or cry at these.

I think it's probably best to laugh; his classic Dark Dungeons is so ridiculous that it has a cult following amongst RPGers. The crude anti-Catholic tone of some of his tracts, such as The Death Cookie have made some people wonder if he's really funded by the Vatican, in order to make extreme protestants look completely stupid. It's one explaination, at least...
:: Tim Hall 11:42 PM ::  

One question remains - how did the photographer avoid setting off the automatic camera detector? Inquiring minds want to know.
:: Tim Hall 11:27 AM ::  

On a completely different subject, what did this poor locomotive do to get painted in such a horrendous livery? (Photo from www.gbrail.org.uk/) Worse than that, it's named "Lady Penelope" - it's job is to rescue other Virgin Trains that have broken down. Why is it not painted pink and fitted with a machine gun in the nose? And just watch out for No 50031, "Hood".

Meanwhile, the bulbous-nosed king of the wah-wah pedal, Mick Box, has a brand new website, celebrating his 30+ years as guitarist and sole remaining founder member of Uriah Heep. (He's the one in the middle on the picture on the top of this page) Just thought I'd mention it....
:: Tim Hall 6:06 PM ::  

Nuclear train crashes in Kent! Thousands not hurt! Don't panic, Mr Mainwaring!

This Guardian report has the full story, along with some hysterical quotes from the Usual Suspects, such as the local Green MP

Turns out the damage was severe, the locomotive had a broken light, and the lorry it ran into got a buffer-shaped dent. Can you guess who's fault it was? Railtrack? Stephen Byers? The lorry driver?

Would people really prefer irradiated fuel rods (or any other hazardous material) to go be road instead? And be trusted to the tender mercies of White Van Man? If something needs to be transported at all, surely rail is the safest transport mode there is.
:: Tim Hall 3:22 PM ::  

First, "Star One", the latest project by Dutch prog-metal artist Arjen Lucassen of Ayreon. Like Ayreon's music, it includes an ensemble of guest singers whose names will be familiar to those who follow the European prog-metal scene and totally unknown to those of you that don't. No sign of Fish or Bruce Dickenson this time, sadly. It's heavier and more guitar-based than much of Ayreon's recent work, although widdly synth solos are still much in evidence.

Lyric-wise, all the songs are based on well-known science-fiction films, and are excessively corny. It's not hard to guess which film each song is based on, whether it be Dark Lords and Princesses, or alien spaceships trying to communicate with whales, or even Blake's 7! We're spared any Dr Who or Gerry Anderson references, to which I refer you to Geezer Butler's "Black Science" album.

Second, the live album "The Voice of the Wretched", by British doom-metallers My Dying Bride, very �ml��tesque. I miss the violin, though, which was a distinctive feature of early MBD albums.
:: Tim Hall 6:19 PM ::  

My GURPS scenario, involving some bad guys spiking the food at an official banquet with a hallucinogenic drug, probably needs some more work, especially the ending.
:: Tim Hall 12:06 AM ::