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Josh Brolin has had one of the strangest rises to leading man status imaginable. Though he kicked off his career in The Goonies, he spent the next twenty years of his career in supporting parts, and on television with little success. Then came 2007, where he was not only in four big movies, he was great in all of them and the lead in No Country for Old Men. Now he's a star and he's one of the three leads of Gangster Squad. We had a chance to talk with Josh Brolin on set about the movie and his career, and that interview follows after the jump.
Question: Can you talk about the fascination and the glamor of the gangster life, and what you know about it?
Josh Brolin: Well it's hit kind of a mythological place for me in that I have no knowledge of it whatsoever other than what I've read and what I've watched… there's been these movies recently like Public Enemies that have copied this old school cadence in their language… and I like the idea of it being as normal as possible and as modern as possible even though it's not modern. I doubt that they knew they were speaking in that cadence back then. So when you hear something in that cadence, it takes you out of it for me. That's why I like the version that we're doing.
But to answer your question my father wrote me an email recently, because he came on the set about a week ago… about when he was a kid and he used to drive up Sunset Blvd watching these places, Kiss Kiss Club and stuff. So I have more of a personal connection to it through him. And you know, all research and all that but for me it's a different mythological experience, it's all make believe.
It seems like all these films either mythologize like The Untouchables or de-mythologize the truth of it… where do you see this more as?
Brolin: Well for me I'm not really looking at the common. I just did Men In Black and it didn't really feel like the 60s, well it did feel like the 60s in the way we dressed and all that, this is cool being able to dress up in these clothes, but to me it's about the passion of this guy. It's cops and robbers, it's good and evil, it's Shakespearian, it's mythological, it's classical, and it's Greek… So that's the fun of it to me, the relationship with this guy and his wife. When I met with my character's daughter and she would tell me about the relationship between the Mom and the Dad and what she remembers, it had a huge impact on me. My wife will be mad at me for saying this but I will anyway. When we first got to together we wrote these emails to each other even though we spent almost zero time apart. I would go into the bathroom and while I was in the bathroom I wrote another email to her…. that first extremely romantic year. Anyway I put together a book of emails that we had after the first year, which I thought was about 60 or 70 emails, and it turned out to be 470 pages of emails. And I started going back recently and reading those emails, it was a nice way to feed what Mireille and I are doing in this, because he was, he was a total romantic, a total idealist, and really believed in what he was doing here. And it was fun to be able to play that kind of passion.
How much do you take from the real character, in terms of research?
Brolin: With this, it all depends, honestly it's what I find most interesting, the more I looked into this character and who he was and what he loved. There's specific traits that I'll meld into a composite character. But it's not all him, and it's not supposed to be him, it's loosely based on him. Because if it was about him, from what I read, there's a lot of great traits about him, but… you're trying to make the most interesting movie, otherwise it should be a documentary.
A lot of it's fiction, but it's like Apocalypse Now is fiction, that's all based on that novel, all based on what happened over there, but you're trying to make the most interesting story, and that's really all that matters to me because we're not making a documentary, we're not making a non-fiction, we're not pretending to.
Can you give us an overview of who your character is and what his journey is in the film?
Brolin: Well basically he's a guy who's like me, he's in love with California. You know, I grew up, especially as an actor thinking that I had to move to New York to be a good actor. But after a while you start to live the world a little bit and you start to appreciate where you're from. I love California man, I love Los Angeles, I love the whole of California, I have places… my whole thing is with all the money I make, I just want to buy as many places in California as I can because I love it. We have everything here, we have the ocean, we have the mountains, we have the desert, we have everything. I could really connect to that, and that's what that guy is.
He has the innocence of the 40's and 30's, and yet they came back from the war and things had changed, there was a ton of corruption happening. And when Mickey Cohen moved in and just wanted to poison and monopolize on Los Angeles, he really took offense to it, and he was the Serpico of his time. He refused to be bought, he wanted to get it done, he was getting reassigned because nobody trusted him, because he wasn't on the take. And he did what he could, and finally he did it illegally. I mean, not totally illegally, he did it within the boundaries of the law, but the law back then was a different thing then it is now. It wasn't so paranoid.
Can you talk about working with Ryan and Sean?
Brolin: Yeah, working with Ryan is a new thing for me, he's a very young actor and it's fun to watch him navigate…
Does he remind you of yourself at all?
Brolin: No, no no, not at all. Ryan has a lot of fame right now that he's dealing with, so psychologically it has to affect you. I think he's doing a really great job with it, I didn't have to worry about that. Sean wrote me an email I read a couple of years ago, he said "I'm watching you in Bed of Roses right now and I can't believe it didn't make you a huge star…" that was a joke obviously. I was very fortunate that I got to be in this business a long time before anyone took any kind of notice. And then working with Sean is always the greatest. Sean and I are always looking for things to do together because we enjoy each other. We're veterans in our own right.
How far do you go back?
Brolin: Sean and I? Kids. But really close the last 5 or 6 years.
Is there anything about living in 1940's LA that you think would be fun or preferable to today?
Brolin: It's all a perception now. Listening to my Dad, when he had car clubs, there was an innocence to it that we don't have today. Even my kids, I have two 18 year olds and a 23 year old, and the crap that my kids were listening to at 10 years old I was like 'what is going on? What's happening?' And yet I was listening to punk rock in the 80's and my Dad would come into my room again and again and again and turn it off, I think my Mom even broke a record once, a Black Flag one. And then they had, back then, they had Elvis and they thought Elvis was so risqué. So everyone has their perception to what innocence is. But listening to my Dad speak about this time, and watching his face, is enough to believe there was something special going on in this time.
Ruben said he was very inspired by the Coen brothers… do you see any elements of the Coens in this movie?
Brolin: Anything that is absurd I see as a Coen brothers' influence! The Coen brothers are my favorite people period. Favorite filmmakers, yes, but also favorite people, period. I just love who they are. They continue to do whatever they feel like doing. They're just getting ready to do this film in New York about… well I shouldn't say… but it's going to be a great movie, and yet it's not what you would think. After the success of No Country and True Grit, they could basically do whatever they want, and yet they choose this. And it's not in rebellion; it's just what they feel like doing. They don't understand, they don't get it, they don't get the whole ladder thing which I love.
It seems like your character is the most grounded of the squad, is that about right?
Brolin: No, it's not. I think that he gets so obsessed and so myopic about nailing Mickey Cohen that he starts to lose his center, and he'll do it at any cost. So no, he's… no, to answer your question. There's definitely a trajectory to his arc, because of not being able to get Mickey Cohen as quickly as he would like.
How much of a balance are you trying to locate in terms of being authentic to the time, and on the other hand, it seems clear from Ruben and producers that they want it to be more contemporized, they don't want it to be…
Brolin: I don't even know what any of that stuff means. You want it to be more contemporary, what does that mean? Sherlock Holmes is more contemporary because the shots, because it's Guy Ritchie? I don't know. It's how to choose to shoot the movie. Are the Coen brothers contemporary in the way they shoot a movie, well they are because they're the Coen brothers and they exist in contemporary times, but every time they shoot a movie it's different and it has a different feel to it. This, I don't think, tries to copy what they did in the 40s… so I guess it's contemporary… I don't even know how to comment on that, you'll see. This may feel more period than any other movie you've seen about this period, because we didn't try to make it feel period. It just is.
I guess, do you have to be careful in terms of improv, dialogue, behavior…
Brolin: No, I want to believe that people were just as visceral as they are now. And the fact that there weren't so many laws they had to adhere to gave them the ability to do certain things that would be considered extreme now. I mean I know one thing they used to do a long time ago when I believe it was Kennard and O'Mara got together, and when people came back from the war they'd have a layover of a day and these sailors would go to the theatre, and fall asleep in the theatre, and these pick-pocketers used to come and slash they're pockets and get their money, the only money they had to take home with them. So these guys used to sit in the booths, find out where the pick-pocketers were, take them outside, put guns to their heads, scare the shit out of them, make them run down the alley and turn left and said 'get out of here, run as fast as you fucking can'. And they had a chain tightened on the other side of the alley. So they'd run as fast as they could thinking they were being shot at, and they'd go around and get clotheslined, I mean I love all that shit, I think that's great. You know, you learn these stories and there's a mentality that you hope to inherit from it. When we think about the 40s you think about the innocence and all that. I think there were a lot of things that were more underworld and a little more debaucherous than that.
Must be nice to shoot a lot here in LA?
Brolin: Oh my god I can't even tell you! I've been all over the place recently and shooting a lot of movies in a lot of places other than LA. You know, movies used to be shot in LA and it was nice, so it's nice to be home.
And not on soundstages for a lot of it?
Brolin: Yeah yeah, I mean look at this, that's incredible. I just saw it driving up, I got off the freeway and was like 'Holy shit! So cool!' It's pretty great.
Is there a decade you feel close to/partial to?
Brolin: No my wife and I always laugh about me walking in with the armor and the turkey thing… you don't want to know about it.
Yes we do!
Brolin: No you don't. Look at me I'm blushing now! No… you know… That's why I do this, man. That's why I do this because I love exploring different psyches, different eras. I'm really lucky to being doing this. Doing Men in Black and being in the 60s, and even though it was this unreal alien thing, it was really fun to be in the 60s, with the clothes and the hair and the style. So doing this afterwards, it was a natural trajectory to go to. I was doing that movie when I got the call that this was a possibility, and I said I would love to do it. So yeah it's a lot of fun.
Gangster Squad opens January 11.
For more on our Gangster Squad Set Visit:
- 15 Things to Know from Our GANGSTER SQUAD Set Visit
- Director Ruben Fleischer Talks GANGSTER SQUAD, Classic Gangster Movies, the Incredible Cast and the Level of Action During Our Set Visit
- Producers Dan Lin and Kevin McCormick Talk Story Origin and the Vibe They Were Going for on the Set of GANGSTER SQUAD
- Giovanni Ribisi Talks Gangster Fascination, 1940s Technology, and His Character Moustache on the Set of GANGSTER SQUAD
- Anthony Mackie Talks the Appeal of the Gangster Genre, African-Americans in Film Noir, and More on the Set of GANGSTER SQUAD
- Robert Patrick Talks Gun Tricks, Ensemble Chemistry, and Losing 30 Pounds on the Set of GANGSTER SQUAD


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[S&W] Keep on Borderlands- Oldschool experiment
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Topic: [S&W] Keep on Borderlands- Oldschool experiment (Read 8995 times)
Posts: 44
[S&W] Keep on Borderlands- Oldschool experiment
January 04, 2010, 02:52:34 AM »
Swords and Wizardry is a "retro clone" RPG, of 0d&d. Tonight I ran my first game using those rules- I used the famous Keep on Borderlands as a test module. It's rated #7 (by TSR) as best adventures of all time, so I'd like to use it as a reference point for 'what an adventure should be,' -at least according to Gygax and the "old schoolers."
"Olde school gaming" is something I've been curious about for a while, and being a 4e DM...
I'm planning on recording what this experiment is like on these forums, with reference to the theory here. I'm looking forward to some great insights ;D
SPOILER ALERT: there will be lots.
First Game and Predictions
Get their attention
After 2 hours of character building, and the group being seriously distracted, I failed to get anyone to listen to the 'background' info at the start of the module, a blurb I thought was really cool- if wordy- that I read when alone. So:
I declared that they were all suddenly attacked by bandits from another section of the module, a completely random occurance. The fight, with 6 players and 10 opponents, lasted probably a half hour. Afterwards they listened quite attentively, though I skimmed at times cause I realize it was wordy. In short, I've found that a quick tough fight engages a group and puts their heads in the game.
In the Keep- location based locales, game-integrated setting
The keep is location based, with huge amounts of seemingly unnecessary detail about every building in the place, but a lot is still left to the DM. There are unnamed NPCs at various locations, stores, tons of vagueness that left a ton of opportunity for me to improvise and develop as I saw fit. Best of all, nothing forced the group to do one thing or the other. I felt an incredible amount of freedom running this part, and I think the players felt the same amount of freedom playing in it. If they comb every corner, I think they'd still miss things, it had a feeling of 'ripeness.'
Opening the adventure with an exploration of the keep was awesome. It really set the stage, without using scripted events, or forcing direction on the players. I'll suggest that this is because it developed setting in an utterly game-related way, and not in a 'cut-scene,' scripted event, narration kind of way- they experienced the game as an expression of the setting, and it was really coherently done. I think I may be being unclear, but if that's the case, let me know, it's 3am.
They loitered until some players got bored by the other's roleplaying, so I 'cut the thread,' an idea I think I heard about in Sorcerer somewhere. It's not just a useful technique, it's utterly necessary to keep the fun in the game! They were sort of getting to the repetitive phase of their RP and investigating, which sort of signaled it was time to move on.
6 players, 1 DM
The only drawback: with 6 players, 2-3 were always inactive, and 3 got bored while the others role played. This isn't a problem of the adventure design, but a problem with the group size and role playing situations.
Now, since the combat rules are simple, as far as adventuring goes, 6 players actually turned out to be really entertaining. I've gotten fairly competent at keeping big fights running quickly from trying to have huge fights in 4e [ugh], and I think everyone was happy with the fights, though we used miniatures and I was a little hesitant about that. I think that without the miniatures the fights would be faster and more imaginative. Thoughts? I'm very unsure about where I stand here. For exploring and fighting though, 6 players didn't hurt the pace much at all, I think it helped it in ways.
For example, in small groups, the party can wander off on tangents, lots of sub quests, and split up a lot; they can spend a lot of time arguing, and each has a lot of 'power' within the group, so to speak, to have their way because they're up to 25% of the group.
In larger groups, 5+, tangents are less common because of peer pressure and boredom (though thankfully I have bull headed players who will indulge a little anyways), the party doesn't split up due to danger and logistics, and they can't argue too much cause nothing will get done, and ppl will get bored- so it drives a pace, and in a direction very compatible with the 'goal' of d&d- kill stuff, explore, and bring back booty.
I think in the dungeons in the future, having such large groups will be most interesting.
However, it really kicks role playing in the ass, so to speak, roleplaying that i really want in the game.
Death in the River
They crossed a river- one player didn't tie himself to the horse, and was swept downstream with his man at arms in plate armor. He went far enough that he started to drown... the unarmored PCs never went after him, and after 4 failed saving throws, I decided he drowned.
Funny thing was that everyone thought this was awesome, if cruel, but mostly hilarious. He rolled up a new character, this time a magician due to a 4 strength. In the future, I might be more careful with descriptions or rulings, but since I primed the group for a death-intensive campaign, it actually was memorable and everyone cheered when they looted his corpse and gave his plate armor to the group's tank [high hp fighting man].
Dual weilding 2 shields
S&W is so versatile and rules lite that when a player decided he wanted to be the group's tank, he wanted to use 2 shields and no weapon. After thinking about it for a while, I said, sure, why not. He shield slams opponents for 1d2 damage, 1d4 since he had spikes added, and has a 19 AC, effectively making him invulnerable. It's horridly retarded, but it's so funny it's going to be a real highlight of this game. Rules-lite is so great.
Lots of Fire
The lack of a DM drawn map, since I'm making them do their own mapping, caused them to get quite lost and mislocate the raiders... they reacted by insisting the raiders were in the trees ahead, and started a forest fire to smoke them out. This brought lizardmen- after the fight they tracked them to their cave, which they made note of, and returned to town for... 300litres, or 6 kegs, of lamp oil, to smoke them out with- or, more likely- explode the entire lizard mound. This was surprisingly affordable, as they also bought a wagon to transport it, and several lackeys to help them ford the river. This could go many ways when it transpires, but I feel good about this. In 4e this situation is almost impossible, but in S&W it's a pretty rational way to approach a den of lizardfolk, and the rules make it really easy to do. Again, rules light is amazing.
Low hp
I houseruled that a player reduced to 0 hp is treated like a player in Resident Evil 5, with a movement speed of 1, and unable to act, until they die in 2d6 rounds unless healed or stabilized by another player. Still, in one round, 3 players were incapacitated in this manner, but the fight went on. Having low hp is far more interesting, everybody prefers it so far, especially as it speeds combat up, though they complain about missing a lot. It's true: missing sucks, but I think it takes a huge load off of the hp tracking system, and actually speeds combat along- also adds suspense in various situations. I may alter my house rule, since every character would have died by now without it, but the low hp is here to stay.
I recall I read that old D&D is an incoherent Sim/Gamist system. I'd like to hear people's thoughts on this, since I'm interpreting the intermingling of system and setting in a positive way- I'm running the game in a pretty heavily gamist mode, I think, while using a lot of supportive role playing and simulationism thrown in, but only in support.
I'd love to post more details, or discuss ideas, or hear comments. It was a long post, thanks for reading!
Posts: 44
Re: [S&W] Keep on Borderlands- Oldschool experiment
Reply #1 on:
January 06, 2010, 11:52:32 PM »
This is what I was waiting for: the 3 core players came by today and we spent 3 hours talking about taking the best from 4e and the best from S&W, and making "our own dnd," as quoted by one of the players.
What they want is fast, fun combat:
they felt that S&W is just a long series of misses followed by instant death, and wasn't varied or interesting enough. This is a common complaint with fighter classes in every D&D up to 4e, it's why I always play mages in Baldurs gate, neverwinter nights, and temple of elemental evil (unless I want to actually beat the game...). I would argue that the misses and instant death lead to situations where the players want to avoid direct confrontations and kill/avoid their enemies by different means, but there's little within the rules to support it except for improvisation or inventing items.
That being said, trading blows is boring and for the toe-to-toe fights that are inevitable, there needs to be more options- interesting weapon choices, armor choices, interesting support items or abilities, and situations where the terrain makes more of a difference. Ex, polearm formations, initiative modifiers based on weight carried, higher hit probabilities (major consistent complaint), smoke bombs, caltrops, better rules for called shots (called shots don't work well with AC), maybe fighting styles in a rock paper scissors mode? These additional choices have to be simple enough to not slow things down though.
I think Rifts offers these choices with items and robotics. I need to review this.
Another alternative is for everyone to play clerics and mages, and use hirelings for the meat shields.
The loved the rations and carrying weight tracking/restrictions:
They were impressed how it affected their decision making during the adventure, as Sid Meyer would say, it "created interesting choices for the players." In this case, deciding between heavy or light armor, what to carry, how many supplies to bring, how to ration when it got tough, and how best to increase carrying capacity- they bought horses and a wagon!
Mixed feelings about no skills:
the players want to have to think about what they're doing and role play it, but they also want a skill system to reflect the difference between what their character can do and what they know how to do.
They want highly specialized classes/player roles:
The 3 S&W classes are generalists- the lack of skills augments this, 2 of the classes can fight toe to toe, with only a bit of role differential. They felt that characters weren't really differentiated from one another except by personality, and since death was so common their characters mattered very little. I would argue that in S&W they DO matter very little, in some senses: it's a game about dungeon crawling and getting deeper, not about the stories of individual people or their quests.
low importance on abilities/random dice rolling during creation:
combined, they think it's good, but each prefers to create their own characters using point buy systems where stats matter a lot. This is similar to the point above where they want very character oriented sessions, and not dungeon/exploring oriented sessions. They want heroes.
They liked slow healing and low hp- at first:
in S&W you may start with 1hp (3 players did), and you only heal one per night's rest. The enemies are also very low hp. Combat is pretty suspenseful as you trade ineffective blows, the first successful one meaning death. They also didn't fully heal after every fight. However, as talks went on they wanted higher hit probabilities and higher hp to counterbalance it, on both sides; they also decided they did want to fully heal after every fight, BUT that they wanted healing to 'cost something,' or be limited. All players agreed that dying in 1 hit from a kobold sucks... it reflects a very different playing mentality than the designers of the game, i think: I think the designers acknowledge that it sucks to die in 1 hit, so they expect the player to... not fight toe to toe. 4e players do the opposite, and expect to solve everything toe to toe using tactics and power usage choices.
They don't like getting xp for gold, but they like quest xp:
getting gold for xp is arbitrary, but since the goal of the game is dungeon crawling and adventuring, the designers of the game decided to use it as a measure of player success. Thus, 70% of your xp comes from treasure. They don't agree with it, but they are open to getting 75% xp from quests, and a bunch more from roleplaying. The difference though is that with quests, they have to get told to do something. With gold, they just do whatever they want, and it's more sandbox-y.
I'm considering taking a Legend of Zelda approach:
using things like 'heart containers' that will actually be xp containers and placing them in dungeons and using them as quest rewards if needed, or in weird exploration spots. I think they'll resist it, but it's a really great system, as you probably are familiar with from PLAYING zelda. It encourages exploring and problem solving.
The level creep in 4e will go:
no more +1/2 levels to skills, defenses and to-hit, or skills. I may add a toned down version to to-hit and skills, but that's it. Once again, if we play 4e, goblins will be able to hit the party members and hurt them ^^
GNS incoherency:
Almost every rule is gamist in S&W, but the module is simulationist enough that the players seem to be playing a slightly different game than the game, a character-role-playing game, instead of a dungeon crawling game. In retrospect, this is interesting and suggests that the Keep on Borderlands, to new players, could be really confusing and misleading in how it begins, which is in fact in role-playing mode.
I think there's more, but I have to work in the morn', and I'm away for the night. They want to take 4E and modify it to include aspects from 1e, but I think 4e is 'too tight' to modify easily, and I don't like it, it's a completely different game. We'll see. I wonder what 4e classic will be like at Necromancer Games when it's done.
Posts: 228
Re: [S&W] Keep on Borderlands- Oldschool experiment
Reply #2 on:
January 07, 2010, 02:37:45 PM »
Quote from: AzaLiN on January 04, 2010, 02:52:34 AM
After 2 hours of character building
I'm sort of stunned that it's even possible to spend this much time on character creation in Swords and Wizardry.
Could you talk a bit about why it took this long? Thanks.
Callan S.
Posts: 4268
Re: [S&W] Keep on Borderlands- Oldschool experiment
Reply #3 on:
January 07, 2010, 04:58:31 PM »
Why do they want to raise to hit probability, but then raise hitpoints as well? What's the point of that except to get the same on average result, but take longer in RL to get it? I've got this vague sense of gamist players amatuer game designing/painting themselves into a simulationist corner.
Do they consider whether any of these things they want might end up being sucky? Or do they just think 'Yes, this would be the right way to play this game, no doubt about it!', which is basically the slogan of creative denial.
Philosopher Gamer
My WIP browser game: Driftwurld
Posts: 44
Re: [S&W] Keep on Borderlands- Oldschool experiment
Reply #4 on:
January 07, 2010, 07:10:31 PM »
I'm sort of stunned that it's even possible to spend this much time on character creation in Swords and Wizardry.
Could you talk a bit about why it took this long? Thanks.
That's easy: there were 7 players, and each arrived a half hour after the last, so just as we got ready to begin somebody new would arrive and need to get his character put together- the longest part is dice rolling and gear selection, but it really shouldn't have taken more than 5-10 minutes per player. They had to do it semi-sequentially too since we only have a pdf copy of the rulebook.
Why do they want to raise to hit probability, but then raise hitpoints as well? What's the point of that except to get the same on average result, but take longer in RL to get it? I've got this vague sense of gamist players amatuer game designing/painting themselves into a simulationist corner.
They hate waiting 5 minutes for their turn, rolling once, and missing. They'd rather hit 5 turns in a row to do 30 dmg to kill something than miss 4 times and kill it for 6 dmg on the 5th blow. I've thought about it, and I'm not sure the S&W combat is lacking, I just need to be deadlier to force them to be clever instead of fighting toe to toe... that ought to bring out the system's strengths. I just don't know if I'll have the chance, they're pretty caught up with their rules mods at the moment.
Do they consider whether any of these things they want might end up being sucky? Or do they just think 'Yes, this would be the right way to play this game, no doubt about it!', which is basically the slogan of creative denial.
It's slightly frustrating since I have a lot of experience and theory to draw upon for game design/modification issues, and they don't see a lot of obvious pitfalls. Not that I'm even close to perfect, but, for example, none of the 3 players has been able to get a campaign going for more than a few sessions, which suggests they have some things to learn- though each would be great afterwards! Wow! I wish they'd listen to me more, their design is looking more and more "incoherent" every day, but we'll have to see when we're done.
The mods have come a long ways... Can I detail them another time, when more's done with them?
Short list:
Take D&D 4e, and...
1) Eliminate the +1/2 levels bonus to defenses, attacks, and skills.
2) Eliminate knowledge skills, replace them with 'survival,' used to tell direction and feed oneself in the wild.
3) Rules about healing surges, serious injuries, called shots, regaining only half your surges on extended rests (forcing you to go to town to regen more than 1/2 of them), and limiting the # of surges you can spend per short rest.
4) Changing xp to come from quests (75%), with the last 25% coming from DM discretion- ie, roleplaying bonus with combat xp, skill use xp, combat avoidance bonuses...
5) change which attributes provide bonuses to each skills, using average scores of multiple attributes sometimes.
6) weight and ration tracking. I need a good way to do this when the item lists are so huge. I found this:
but they don't like it I don't think. We'll see tomorrow.
7) stop using minis for combat, as an experiment.
Callan S.
Posts: 4268
Re: [S&W] Keep on Borderlands- Oldschool experiment
Reply #5 on:
January 07, 2010, 08:07:24 PM »
Well, this is just me but when I see that much focus on mods/houserules, to me it seems like that IS the gameplay at the table. Modding has become or always was the gameplay itself. All the stuff like having little PC's moving around the game world (as figures or fiction) is just an opportunity to see where a new mod is 'needed'.
To me it never seems very fun because it's never actually tries to settle down and enjoy a set of rules, like one might enjoy the rules of chess or connect four. It's always pursuing something that isn't currently there to be had. To me, perhaps unaware of pertinent details, it seems like constant grass is greener activity. I might be way off, but I'd ask them to describe in concrete terms what they actually enjoy - and they wont be able to tell you. It'll always slip out of the concrete and into broad generalisations.
Indeed I guess I'd put it this way - if they're certain they're working out some really good mods, what is their track history? How long have they been modding things to get it 'just right' and what have they made in that time that they can point at and say they enjoy? If it's years and nothing, then that's a fair bit of evidence this constant modding of stuff is going absolutely nowhere.
Philosopher Gamer
My WIP browser game: Driftwurld
Posts: 228
Re: [S&W] Keep on Borderlands- Oldschool experiment
Reply #6 on:
January 08, 2010, 08:49:41 AM »
Quote from: AzaLiN on January 06, 2010, 11:52:32 PM
they felt that S&W is just a long series of misses followed by instant death
What monsters were they up against? The characters' bonuses to attack rolls was almost certainly +0 or maybe +1 if they were lucky enough to have a high Strength.
Lots of monsters are AC6: ghouls,kobolds, orcs.
Some are AC7: goblins, human bandits and soldiers, giant rats, skeletons and zombies (if they have shields).
AC6 is hit on a roll of 13 or better; AC7 on a roll of 12 or better.
So they should have been hitting at least a third of the time, and maybe as often as almost half the time. Of course, every party has been known to hit a streak of really bad rolls on occasion.
Posts: 95
Re: [S&W] Keep on Borderlands- Oldschool experiment
Reply #7 on:
January 08, 2010, 10:24:46 AM »
1. Might I suggest a different change on the to-hit percentages? A house rule I used once was "For every turn you stay attacking on the same monster, you get a +1 to hit." I did not apply this rule to the monsters. It turned the game a little "softer" - Players won the combats more often, but often the bonus applied to a roll that would have hit anyways. But players FELT safer, and so they attacked more.
2. I also would suggest a change to how you might handle failed rolls. Instead of just saying "You need a 13 -> you rolled a 12. You miss." Have each player describe in-fiction HOW they missed: "At the last moment, the goblin ducks under my sword." -> This might get them more invested with the failed rolls. Changing hitpoints usually means a lot of math.
3. The fact that you take for granted that with six players, there's only going to be three of them involved at any given moment is worrysome to me. What is keeping the other three away from the game?
4. It seems like you took a mix of D&D1e and D&D4e, and are combining them into something closer to AD&D 1e.
Whenever I start messing with a simple system in as much detail as you seem to be planning, I tend to spend more time on the SYSTEM, and less on the actual playing of the game. Be careful to not end up like me :)
Posts: 2984
Re: [S&W] Keep on Borderlands- Oldschool experiment
Reply #8 on:
January 08, 2010, 10:33:24 AM »
Quote from: AzaLiN on January 04, 2010, 02:52:34 AM
Now, since the combat rules are simple, as far as adventuring goes, 6 players actually turned out to be really entertaining. I've gotten fairly competent at keeping big fights running quickly from trying to have huge fights in 4e [ugh], and I think everyone was happy with the fights, though we used miniatures and I was a little hesitant about that. I think that without the miniatures the fights would be faster and more imaginative. Thoughts? I'm very unsure about where I stand here. For exploring and fighting though, 6 players didn't hurt the pace much at all, I think it helped it in ways.
It's certainly my experience that platying with mini's entails a sort of sewitch-out from RPG mode into boardgame mode, which I dislike. Therefore I certainly agree that this sort of action will become more "imaginative"; mini's and maps absolve you of the need to keep an imaginary situation imagined. They can have a role as tokens, on a map that is not cleanly measured and where moving them is representational rather than governed by rules, just to keep order.
"He who loves practice without theory is like the sailor who boards ship without a rudder and compass and never knows where he may cast."
- Leonardo da Vinci
Posts: 44
Re: [S&W] Keep on Borderlands- Oldschool experiment
Reply #9 on:
January 10, 2010, 12:09:47 AM »
Well, this is just me but when I see that much focus on mods/houserules, to me it seems like that IS the gameplay at the table.
Currently. I'm going to try to wrap it up soon and get some actual gaming started.
What monsters were they up against?
bandits and lizardmen- two players missed every roll but 1 or 2 each all night. I think that's fine, but combat wasn't moving fast enough to make up for it, which is another reason I want no minis when we fight.
It's certainly my experience that platying with mini's entails a sort of sewitch-out from RPG mode into boardgame mode, which I dislike.
agreed. That's why I think of 4e as a sort of board game. By the way, have you heard of the houserule where you don't let the players know their PC's hp? you just tell them 'bloodied,' staggered, near-death, or unconscious/dead. More bookkeeping, but I want to try it out- it undoes some of the gamism/board game mode thinking, and forces the players into a more imaginative situation.
Posts: 44
Re: [S&W] Keep on Borderlands- Oldschool experiment
Reply #10 on:
January 10, 2010, 08:06:50 PM »
This sucks. Could anyone offer some input to get these stupid mods over with? I want to play again, this is going nowhere.
4e base
Food: proposed:
no food for the day -->start combat dazed, save ends. This seems extreme for the first 3 days, but okish afterwards.
no food for (days=constitution) --> dazed, weakened, and slowed until you eat. imo this sounds like no fun to me.
no food for (days=conx1.5) -->die. This seems weird as 10con--> die in 15 days w/o food, but you are adventuring after all.
remove daze/weaken/slow: eat for days equal to days past (days=con). ex, 10con, 13 days, means eat 3 days to recover completely.
Weight: if carrying (strx5-strx10) weight, you have -2 to run speed, and must roll endurance in order to run. other rules as in DMG. imo this sounds sort of... weird too.
resting: recover (total surges/2) per night's rest, up to a max of (total surges/2); if you had more before you slept, you don't lose any though, you just don't gain any either. I dislike this too.
that's as far as we got tonight... comments? If anyone has a preexisting system, I can probably implement it in an overarching way to just skip these mods.
Posts: 2984
Re: [S&W] Keep on Borderlands- Oldschool experiment
Reply #11 on:
January 11, 2010, 12:23:48 AM »
Quote from: AzaLiN on January 10, 2010, 12:09:47 AM
agreed. That's why I think of 4e as a sort of board game. By the way, have you heard of the houserule where you don't let the players know their PC's hp? you just tell them 'bloodied,' staggered, near-death, or unconscious/dead. More bookkeeping, but I want to try it out- it undoes some of the gamism/board game mode thinking, and forces the players into a more imaginative situation.
I did try that for a while, but found it rather unsatisfactory. It makes players quite uncertain, and with a resource as vital as their HP that's not necessareily a good thing. In the end I was happy for them to have their own HP and therefore make informed judgements rather than rely on on extra layer of guesswork. Also it encouraged me to be more interpretive and less literal with diced outcomes; plus play tended to be me scribbling frantically and them sitting around twiddling their thumbs, which had the effect of moving play as a whole out of their hands and into mine.
Try it out and see how it works for you, if they have lots of other powers and whatnot to monitor and track that effect might not be significant.
"He who loves practice without theory is like the sailor who boards ship without a rudder and compass and never knows where he may cast."
- Leonardo da Vinci
Callan S.
Posts: 4268
Re: [S&W] Keep on Borderlands- Oldschool experiment
Reply #12 on:
January 11, 2010, 12:28:20 AM »
Quote from: AzaLiN on January 10, 2010, 08:06:50 PM
This sucks. Could anyone offer some input to get these stupid mods over with?
How did mods come up before? Did you allow this to start happening, or did it just happen? Have you given some impression you've agreed with it for as long as the campaign goes (which if it's traditional, is forever), or can you just say 'What I'm offering to run now has no room for discussion about mods unless I feel like starting it'?
Philosopher Gamer
My WIP browser game: Driftwurld
Posts: 44
Re: [S&W] Keep on Borderlands- Oldschool experiment
Reply #13 on:
January 11, 2010, 01:34:36 AM »
Ok, this thread was about one thing and now its about another, so I'm going to say it's dead unless we resume an actual old school campaign. Thanks for the replies everyone, but it looks like the result of the experiment is to assimilate some aspects of old school play into 4e without playtesting s&w as much as we could have first.
If however anyone wants to discuss S&W topics or old school d&d topics, I'm still down, I just can't link it to an actual campaign I'm running unless things change!
Posts: 133
Re: [S&W] Keep on Borderlands- Oldschool experiment
Reply #14 on:
January 17, 2010, 09:02:21 AM »
AzaLiN, if you are interested in more discussion of how 4E can blend with S&W and/or OD&D you might check out my OD&D discussion board (in my signature). I know that some 4E players hang out there and maybe they have a different perspective on some of your issues.
Too bad that it took hours to generate characters. This might have left a bad impression in your mind, as well as those of your players. In general I find that S&W characters can be generated quite quickly, with spellcasters taking a bit longer because they have to ponder spell selection. Otherwise, with familaritiy it should go faster.
I agree that old-school combat is often "roll once and wait" but if players are ready to go it should move along quickly. You might let the players have copies of the combat tables and let them know the AC of the creatures they are fighting. That way, they can look up the to-hit number in advance and when it's their turn they can quickly roll and announce the result. Another poster mentioned that players can "ham it up" a little and describe their action and result in a narrative manner rather than just "rolled a 3" kind of language, and I encourage that as well.
In general, OD&D/S&W/AD&D/C&C and other games of this style tend to play a lot faster once you get the hang of it. Hopefully your players will get fired up and you can continue with your experiment in play style! :-)
Marv (Finarvyn)
Sorcerer * Dresden Files RPG * Amber Diceless
Forge Member since 2004
Player since 1975
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The Sci2 Tool is an 'empty shell' filled with plugins. Some plugins run on the core architecture, OSGi and CIShell (see Section 7. Extending the Sci2 Tool). Others convert loaded data into in-memory objects, formatted for different algorithms to read it. The algorithm plugins themselves can be divided into different menus, in this case data preparation, preprocessing, analysis, modeling and visualization. Users are not limited to using pre-packaged plugins; instead, they can create, download, share, and import their own.
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It is possible to extend Sci2 Tool, by adding plugins related to database functionalities and Cytoscape tool (open source software platform for visualizing networks).
To add Database and Cytoscape plugins to Sci2
- Download these files that contain additional plugins to add Database and Cytoscape plugins to Sci2:
- DatabasePlugins.zip (unzip to obtain the jar files that will be inside a folder named DatabasePlugins)
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- Copy these jar files to the directory /plugins of Sci2directory
- Download the file default_menu.xml and copy it to the directory configuration/ under Sci2 directory, replacing the older version for this version.\


text:
Last Price
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CGX is a Canadian oil and gas exploration company that holds three licenses in the Guyana-Suriname Basin, a frontier Basin in South America with a proven hydrocarbon system and highly prospective deep water plays that can be drilled in shallow water. In 2000, the United States Geological Survey (USGS) identified the Guyana-Suriname Basin as having the second highest resource potential among unexplored oil basins in the world and currently estimates mean recoverable oil reserves of over 13.6 billion bbls and gas reserves of 32 trillion cubic ft. The Company is pursuing the Equatorial Atlantic Margin Play, analogous to West Africa and Brazil. CGX is surrounded by major oil companies including Anadarko, Apache, Exxon, Inpex, Kosmos, Murphy, Repsol, Shell, Statoil, Total, and Tullow. With numerous prospects and leads and an independent P50 resource estimate of 2.9 billion boe of potential resources, CGX is positioned for success in this frontier Basin.
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text: Job Discussion Forums :: View topic - English teaching jobs in Piura? Get TEFL Certified & Start Your Adventure Today! Job Discussion Forums"The Internet's Meeting Place for ESL/EFL Students and Teachers from Around the World!" FAQ Search Memberlist Usergroups Register Profile Log in to check your private messages Log in English teaching jobs in Piura? Job Discussion Forums Forum Index -> Peru View previous topic :: View next topic Author Message S-AJoined: 04 Jan 2014Posts: 3 Posted: Wed Apr 09, 2014 10:26 pm Post subject: English teaching jobs in Piura? Hi all. I lived in Arequipa for a month in March and received my TEFL certification. I decided to travel around a little to see which city would be the best fit. I am currently in Cusco and plan to go to Piura next. I am aware of the general job situations and schools in Arequipa and Cusco. However, I do not frequently hear about Piura - it's obviously a smaller city so it makes sense but any insight would be appreciated. Besides public schools, I know there are Universidad de Piura and Instituto Cultural Peruano Norteamericano. Thank you. Back to top naturegirl321Joined: 04 May 2003Posts: 9041Location: home sweet home Posted: Sun Apr 13, 2014 10:44 am Post subject: UDEP would be the best. They'll get you a one year visa. I'd contact them. Back to top Display posts from previous: All Posts1 Day7 Days2 Weeks1 Month3 Months6 Months1 Year Oldest FirstNewest First Job Discussion Forums Forum Index -> Peru All times are GMT Page 1 of 1 Jump to: Select a forum Where to Begin----------------General DiscussionNewbie ForumCurrent Events ForumTechnology ForumOnline Teaching Forum Africa Forums----------------General Africa Forum Asia Forums----------------CambodiaChina (Job-related Posts Only)China (Off-Topic)Hong KongIndiaIndonesiaJapanMalaysiaPhilippinesSingaporeTaiwanThailandGeneral Asia ForumVietnam Caribbean Forums----------------General Caribbean Forum Europe Forums----------------Czech RepublicFranceGermanyGreeceItalyMacedonia and the BalkansPolandRomaniaRussia & C.I.S.SpainTurkeyUkraineUnited KingdomGeneral Europe Forum Latin America Forums----------------ArgentinaBrazilChileColombiaCosta RicaMexicoMexico (off-topic)PeruGeneral Latin America Forum The Middle East Forums----------------BahrainEgyptIsraelKuwaitOmanQatarSaudi ArabiaUnited Arab EmiratesGeneral Middle East Forum North America Forums----------------General North America Forum Oceania----------------Australia/New Zealand You cannot post new topics in this forumYou cannot reply to topics in this forumYou cannot edit your posts in this forumYou cannot delete your posts in this forumYou cannot vote in polls in this forum This page is maintained by the one and only Dave Sperling. Contact Dave's ESL Cafe Copyright © 2018 Dave Sperling. All Rights Reserved. Powered by phpBB © 2001, 2002 phpBB Group Teaching Jobs in China


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CFP: [Science] Disability and Mothering––Edited Collection
Call for Papers
Demeter Press
is seeking submissions for an edited collection on
Disability and Mothering
Publication Date: Spring 2010
Editors: Cynthia Lewiecki-Wilson and Jen Cellio
We are excited to be editing an interdisciplinary book on disability and
mothering. We seek papers that explore the histories, practices, theories
and lived realities of mothering and disability as they run parallel to,
intersect with, complicate, and inform one another. Both disability and
mothering are liminal experiences, placing one at a threshold or doorway,
a boundary, verge, or margin that marks a potential interval of difference
offering an opening to new perspectives. Doorways and thresholds represent
spaces for transition and transformation, the possibility for sharing
experiences and the fluidity of identity, in the crossing back and forth
from one perspective to another. As a liminal experience, "mothering†can
be thought of as an attitude or orientation, a set of practices arising
out of relationality, rather than a stable identity. New reproductive
technologies also expand definitions of "mothering,†but also raise
questions about the future of the fetus marked "disabled†as well as the
lives of people living with disability in an age of genetic screening. A
key goal of this volume will be to examine the productive tensions brought
to view by pairing mothering and disability.
We welcome varied approaches from across the humanities and social
sciences including, but not limited to:
• personal and reflective essays;
• theoretical, historical, cultural, feminist, maternal, transgender
and queer studies;
• ethnographies;
• material cultural studies of such topics asâ€"
Activism; bioethics, feminist ethics; constructions of identity, changes
in identity, hybridity theories of identity; corporate workplace policies,
insurance, day care, institutional care; disability/mothering in global
and transnational contextsâ€"e.g. immigration, diaspora, citizenship,
national identity, homelessness; embodiment theories; feminist
philosophies of care, dependency, or interdependency; film and media
representations; ideological and social debates and tensions within
discussions of "good†mothering/disability; issues of mothering/disability
as they intersect with race, class, gender, nation; legal or scientific
histories; medical critiques; navigation of space, movement, access and
design of spaces; "normalcy†as a construct that impacts
mothering/disability; politics and public polices; poverty; queer and/or
transgender theories; reproduction/ reproductive rights; the role of web
communities; the spiritual, emotional or social impact; support services,
self-sponsored communities and institutions.
Abstracts/Proposals (300-500 words) due: June 1, 2008
Acceptances made by June 30, 2008
Accepted and completed papers (15 pp. double-spaced, MLA format) due:
September 30, 2008
Authors with disabilities, or who have family members with disabilities,
are especially encouraged to contribute. Please send inquiries and
abstracts, along with a brief CV, to: Editors, Cynthia Lewiecki-Wilson at
lewiecc_at_muohio.edu and/or Jen Cellio at celliojl_at_muohio.edu
About the editors:
Cynthia Lewiecki-Wilson, the mother of an adult son, born with a
disability, is a professor of English and Affiliate of the Women's Studies
Program at Miami University. Her research and teaching focus on
composition and rhetoric, disability studies, and feminism. She is the
author or co-editor of articles, book chapters, and several books, among
them, Disability and the Teaching of Writing: A Critical Sourcebook
(Bedford/St. Martin's, 2008); and Embodied Rhetorics: Disability in
Language and Culture (Southern Illinois UP, 2001). She is a founder, with
five other faculty, of the Disability Studies minor at Miami.
Jen Cellio is a Ph.D. candidate at Miami University where she studies
rhetorical theory, rhetorics of science, women's rhetorics, and
composition theory. Her dissertation, entitled 'More children from the
fit, less from the unfit': Discourses of Hereditary 'Fitness' and
Reproductive Rhetorics, post Darwin to the 21st Century, examines
arguments used during the eugenics movement to curb or encourage the
reproductive practices of particular groups of women.
From the Literary Calls for Papers Mailing List
more information at
Received on Mon Feb 25 2008 - 11:23:36 EST


text:
E ating pork is strictly forbidden in Islam, but were you aware that the Bible also advises against eating "the other white meat?" The Jewish faith's dietary laws also ban the consumption of pork. Heck, even Confucius recommended avoiding pork. Muslims adhere stringently to this command, however, many Christians do not. What's amazing when you stop to think about it is that these religious commands came centuries ago, long before science could actually substantiate the logical reasons behind such a command.
There are two Biblical passages that basically say the same thing about not consuming pork...
Leviticus 11:7-8
"And the swine, though he divided the hoof, and be clovenfooted, yet he cheweth not the cud; he is unclean to you.
"Of their flesh shall ye not eat, and their carcass shall ye not touch; they are unclean to you."
Deuteronomy 14:8
"And the swine, because it divideth the hoof, yet cheweth not the cud, it is unclean unto you: ye shall not eat of their flesh, nor touch their dead carcass."
Joel Osteen, the famous inspirational Christian preacher with a very large flock of followers, explains the scientific logic for why people should abstain from eating pork in a simple way that is very easy to understand in this interesting video:
If pork is this unhealthy for humans, then why hasn't the US government taken steps to ban it from the marketplace, like it has with many other products which were proven to cause cancer or other health problems? The answer is simple: Because the pork industry is a BIG business and the US government very often sides with big business over the welfare of the people, especially when the BIG bucks are involved.
Certainly the writers of the Bible, the Torah, and the Quran had no idea what science could prove thousands of years later about why it is so unhealthy for people to consume pork. Do YOU eat pork? After watching this video, will you STILL eat pork?
UPDATE: 5SEP09 - I know that people, including myself, have eaten pork for centuries. I personally think it's the best tasting meat of all as far as flavor goes. Eating pork is so strictly adhered to here in KSA that many people actually believe they will die if they eat it. When I saw the video, I thought it would make an interesting post. I am not a fan of Joel Osteen, but I know he is quite famous and has a large following. I am not trying to spread misinformation about how bad eating pork is for you and I do not have an agenda. I thought this would provoke an interesting discussion, and indeed it did. I really like what a couple of commenters said about how it's not really that important what we put INTO our mouths - it's more important what comes OUT of it.


text:
Acton boy, 10, struck by boat propeller
Boy undergoes surgery on leg
A 10-year-old Acton boy was struck by a propeller after a boating accident on New Hampshire's Lake Winnipesaukee on Saturday.
New Hampshire Marine Patrol received an emergency call at 4:02 p.m. after the boy fell out of a boat between Bear and Mark Islands.
Officers said large waves rocked the boat, causing the boy, who was seated on the transom cushion, to lose his balance and fall over backwards. His legs were then struck by the propeller.
Authorities said he suffered lacerations below the left knee and had noticeable blood loss.
One adult passenger jumped into the water to get the boy back into the boat until emergency crews arrived.
The boy was taken to Lakes Region General Hospital were he underwent surgery. He is listed in stable condition.
Officers said alcohol and drugs do not appear to be a factor in the accident.
Marine Patrol recommends that everyone is seated properly when a boat is underway.
"These accidents are preventable and are unfortunately very unforgiving," said Marine Patrol Officer David Jones.


text:
Provided by: librt-client-rest-perl_0.4-1_all
RT::Client::REST::Attachment -- this object represents an attachment.
my $attachments = $ticket->attachments; my $count = $attachments->count; print "There are $count attachments.\n"; my $iterator = $attachments->get_iterator; while (my $att = &$iterator) { print "Id: ", $att->id, "; Subject: ", $att->subject, "\n"; }
An attachment is a second-class citizen, as it does not exist (at least from the current REST protocol implementation) by itself. At the moment, it is always associated with a ticket (see parent_id attribute). Thus, you will rarely retrieve an attachment by itself; instead, you should use "attachments()" method of RT::Client::REST::Ticket object to get an iterator for all attachments for that ticket.
id Numeric ID of the attachment. creator_id Numeric ID of the user who created the attachment. parent_id Numeric ID of the object the attachment is associated with. This is not a proper attribute of the attachment as specified by REST -- it is simply to store the ID of the RT::Client::REST::Ticket object this attachment belongs to. subject Subject of the attachment. content_type Content type. file_name File name (if any). transaction_id Numeric ID of the RT::Client::REST::Transaction object this attachment is associated with. message_id Message ID. created Time when the attachment was created content Actual content of the attachment. headers Headers (not parsed), if any. parent Parent (not sure what this is yet). content_encoding Content encoding, if any.
RT::Client::REST::Attachment is a read-only object, so you cannot "store()" it. Also, because it is a second-class citizen, you cannot "search()" or "count()" it -- use "attachments()" method provided by RT::Client::REST::Ticket. retrieve To retrieve an attachment, attributes id and parent_id must be set.
rt_type Returns 'attachment'.
RT::Client::REST::Ticket, RT::Client::REST::SearchResult.
Dmitri Tikhonov <firstname.lastname@example.com>
Perl license with the exception of RT::Client::REST, which is GPLed.


text:
You have to watch this: Apple's 1984 Ghostbusters parody [Video]
Over twenty years ago, Apple started collating all of its old documents, books, software, videotapes and marketing materials with the intention of opening an Apple museum.
However, in 1997 — a time when Steve Jobs reprised his role as CEO at the company — plans were shelved and Apple officials contacted curators at Stanford University, offering to donate the collection to the school's Silicon Valley Archives. After a couple of days, Stanford curators were at Apple HQ loading two moving trucks full of Apple's old materials.
The collection now stands as the largest collection of Apple historical materials.
Whilst the Associated Press reports on the collection, which is hosted at a non-disclosed location, some of the materials stored at the warehouse have already been shared on the Web, but haven't been found by many.
That includes a parody video recorded by Apple for its 1984 International Sales Meeting which spoofs the popular film Ghostbusters, with an Apple twist.
"Blue Busters" as the video is entitled, is a company advert which targeted its major rival at the time, IBM, which has always been referred to as "Big Blue". The AP reports that Jobs is present in the video but all we can make out is Steve Wozniak near the end — take a look:
YouTube user MajorKahuna comments that he was at the event:
I was there in Oct. 1984. This was not an internal ad. I was a 1984 state of the art multimedia slide show with audio by Ray Parker Jr. who sang the original. There were also live dancers on the stage.
This was the opening presentation of the International Sales Meeting that introduced the Lightwriter later renamed Laserwriter.
Apple always used a current movie as a them for the sales meetings. in 1985 it was Back to the Future.
We knew that Steve Jobs' Apple was fiercely competitive with IBM, as noted in Walter Isaacson's biography, but this video shows just how much.
Apple also released an album of music in the 80s, The Apple Boogie.
Read next: How to: Take Control of Your Health in 2012


text:
Pence Land Materials operates a large fleet of dump trucks delivering fill dirt, topsoil, sand, and rock to job sites throughout Brevard County, Florida. We have a full range of equipment to provide landclearing and house pads.
Our Office
Septic Tanks & Service | Aerobic Tanks | Pump Outs | Links of Interest | Land Materials | Customer Testimonials | Contact Us


text:
By Lisa Larson-Kelley October 19, 2016
Adobe Spark
Adobe Spark Video is an elegant, easy-to-use tool for creating animated videos that tell a story. It's available as a browser-based cloud app or as an iOS app. You can get it as a single app or install the 3-in-1 tool to access the Spark Post and Spark Page companion apps too.
What's great about Spark Video is that it's quick. You can create a compelling animated video story in just minutes without any design experience, and work on your project from anywhere. As a cloud-based tool, your progress is saved and synced automatically, so you can work on it on mobile or desktop whenever creative inspiration strikes.
Now let's look at a tool that's similar to Adobe Spark, but gives you more flexibility over your content. Animoto is an affordable, cloud-based tool that offers an assortment of choices and customizations to create a one-of-a-kind video to tell your brand's story.
This tool gives you a little more control than Adobe Spark Video. You can start with a blank canvas (choosing your own colors, styles, and frames to more closely match your brand) or adapt one of the tool's wide variety of templates.
YouTube Director
YouTube Director is a revolutionary tool to create video ads for business. Geared toward small local businesses, it's a foolproof way to tell a compelling story in a short format.
As you follow the prompts, you're guided to capture images, video, and voiceovers. Then you can post the video and run a video ad campaign on YouTube.


text:
New Group
Volume 4 (better known as V4) is an electric and edgy four piece American girl band who has quickly taken the Southern Region by surprise. The group's originator, Timothy "KrazyFigz" Walls, formed the original girl group back in the spring of 2014. Walls, whose production credits include artists such as Akon, Mindless Behavior, and Snootie Wild "Yayo", had a vision of using his unique sound to create an all-female group that had the potential of becoming a World Wide sensation. The group transformed to a final lineup that include Brittany "Janelle Gee" Garcia, Tamia "Frenchiee" Corpening, Karissa "K.Riss" Hayden, and Diera "DK" Taylor. Hailing from different parts of the east coast, this multi-talent bunch takes pride in their natural abilities as singers, dancers, and songwriters. They are known for their knack for remixing chart topping songs while also coming up with trendy originals. With the fusion of TLC's Energy, En Vogue's Soul, and Destiny's Child Sass, Volume 4 describes their sound as R&B with an Urban|Pop influence. Their mission is to enlighten women everywhere by using life experience as a torch. "In a time where our generation is driven by reality TV, highlighting drama and the competitive flair in women, we dedicate our gifts toward being a catalyst of unity amongst the female gender. Collectively the group want to promote that women can fuse their talents together for a purpose greater than themselves and be successful for doing so. We wish to encourage the young women of today by comprising our four stories into one core message. These four women of different ages, from different locations, and with different life experiences come together with one mission, to be a power influence to women everywhere. #V4inthebuilding


text:
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Reservation must be made at least 7 days in advance.
- Valid from
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Thursday, March 31, 2011
The Remedy Was Fire
In six weeks I will be speaking at a retreat on the topic of prayer.
I don't mind telling you that I feel a little-bit overwhelmed by this topic, and A LOT-a-bit under-qualified.
Its not that I don't pray. I do.
Its just... well... prayer is such a huge topic and it often involves pain. Of course, pain is a problem I like to avoid.
And yet, I know that prayer is one of the ways I can communicate with my Creator. Its foundational in a dynamic relationship with God. I know that not all of my prayers will be answered the way I would like them to unfold - often providing hope and help from places I didn't even know existed. I know that my prayers have been unequivocally answered "Yes!", and some, "No!". But with 20/20 vision I can look back and see that God used all things for His glory and my good.
I know these things.
My problem is in the practical application. In convincing my heart of a Holy practice that my mind can't fully comprehend.
I find that I waiver between two courses when I pray: I pray that God would spare me (or others) from pain, or, in my pain I ask Him to take it away...and please, make the process as painless as possible.
I've been through just enough discomfort in this life to know it isn't all bad, and that pain is also purposeful - if we choose not to waste it. Still, as most people do, I often dance around it. It reminds me about a situation I was in about 8 years ago....
My daughter was about three-years old and woke up one bright Texas morning with a flat, light-brown spot on the left side of her face. I thought she was getting a freckle but a couple weeks later that little spot got bigger... and had babies.
Within a month that little spot was about the size of a grain of rice, and the other spots ranged from the size of a pin-point to large freckles.
I was concerned.
So I took her to the doctor who said it wasn't contagious, but she didn't know what it was.
I took her to a dermatologist who said he had never seen anything like it and perhaps it was a wart (although they didn't look like warts). He said removing it would cause scarring so to try some over-the-counter wart remover. He then sort of flippantly told us that there was an old wives-tale regarding warts: if you cut a potato and rub it on the wart, then bury the potato in you back yard, your warts would go away.
I tried it.
It didn't work.
I took her to a dear friend who is a medical professional but also knowledgeable in natural medicine. She told me to try Tea-tree oil. So I plunked down some hard cash and put nasty smelling oil on my baby's cheek for a couple of months.
Nothing. And it was getting worse.
As a last ditch effort, I took her to a family friend and well-known plastic surgeon in my hometown. He also wasn't sure what it was (he didn't think it was warts) and told me to wait it out. He asked me if it was causing her pain or if it bothered her in any way.
The answer was no.
He said that he could take it off, but that the in-office procedure would be tough on a three-year old. Not to mention the difficulties of keeping the post-surgery wound on a pre-schooler's face clean. He said to leave it alone and if, when she was 12 or 13, she didn't like the way it looked, he would take care of it.
All these appointments and ointments (and sadly, potatoes) took place over the course of a year. I'm not sure when it occurred to me that I should pray about these marks on her face, it was certainly after I had tried everything I knew to do...but then I prayed.
And then I asked my mom's group to pray.
And then I asked my small group at church to pray.
And then I asked the women's ministry team to pray.
And I prayed some more.
And then, The Girl got very sick.
She had a ridiculously high fever. She complained of nothing else. There were no ear infections, throat issues...nothing. For two days she was poorly. It wasn't easy for her.
Life went on and she got better. About a week later, as we all sat around the table and I looked at her with unbelief. I don't know when it happened but, her spots were gone.
I'm talkin', completely, totally, absolutely, not there. There wasn't a scar or spot or any sort of sign. Just a pink, healthy looking face.
I spent over a year trying to get rid of a blemish that the Lord removed nearly overnight.
As The Mister and I talked about it we think The Girl did in fact have some sort of virus. A virus that only a fever could cure.
We prayed for restoration, the remedy was fire.
There is mercy in fire.
There is purpose in pain.
If we can hang on, until we can see the goodness that comes from the heat of life, we receive the privilege to see the hand of God in our lives and in the lives of those we love.
As Christians we practice prayer because its communion with our God and Father. It helps us to remember that He is in control. Prayer is a gift - sometimes a gift that is pleasurable, and yes, sometimes painful...but all for our good.
Posted by Unknown at 9:34 AM 7 comments Links to this post
Labels: prayer
Tuesday, March 29, 2011
Plans Change
Posted by Unknown at 3:22 PM 2 comments Links to this post
Labels: poetry, Silly Things I Do
Monday, March 28, 2011
It's Over
I don't want to sound dramatic, but it's over.
Here I am, on this cold, dark, dreary (possibly snowy) morning and I can't believe that Spring Break 2011 has come and gone.
It feels like I blinked my eyes, and it all went by. I let my guard down and it passed without a moments notice.
And yet...
So may things happened. I traveled. A baby was born. I made dinners and desserts. I planted seeds and crocheted, and finished projects that need to mailed. I've watched more basketball this week than I have since 1997. I hung out with good friends and watched movies with The Girl.
I slept in, I slept in, I slept in.
Six o'clock came early this morning.
There are a few things I managed to avoid this week that are first on my agenda today...folding piles of clean laundry (to empty baskets for laundry currently being washed), getting to the gym, and cleaning out the refrigerator (a chore that I do often but always seems to "grow".)
Its not a glamorous life, but its steady work. What more could I ask for?
Well, maybe longer vacations.
Happy Monday!
Posted by Unknown at 8:02 AM 2 comments Links to this post
Labels: Silly Things I Do, spring
Thursday, March 24, 2011
This Good Day - A Gift
I had every intention of getting out today and running all over town.
But with a text and phone call my plans changed, and I sighed with great relief. It feels good to have a day to just be at home without a full agenda.
So I've crafted and sewed and made homemade bread. I folded laundry and went for a run, while the kids rode their bikes.
And since I started this blog post, I've had two different friends stop-by for a quick chat.
All day long my windows have been open and the cool breeze has mingled through each room. I love it when the curtains blow gently in soft little waves.
This good day. It is a gift. One filled with friends, and work, and leisure and beautiful things to see....
And that this good day should happen in my favorite time of year... when the browns of winter give way to greens; and the promise of blossom is hanging on the vine.
It fills me with excitement for today and hope for tomorrow, when cool mornings will soon be warm and we'll eat popsicles at night while we watch the fireflies glow - when we have to wash the dirt off our bare-feet before bed.
Even if those warm-ish days are still far away, I'm content.
I am thankful for this good day.
Posted by Unknown at 5:15 PM 3 comments Links to this post
Wednesday, March 23, 2011
Snapshots of the Week
I want with all my heart to sit down and tell you all about the events of the last several days but there are so many fun things to do today...and not much time to do it! So here are a few snapshots....
Last Friday I embarked on a trip to NYC. There were car rides, train rides, ferry rides, and
Those things added to the pleasure of touring lower Manhattan and fostering my ever-growing L-O-V-E for N-Y-C.
I love New York. I really do. I even bought the T-shirt so every one would know it.
And then I came home and had a baby.
Well, I didn't have a baby. But I was just as excited for this little one as I was my own (and I didn't have to go through labor.)
I was THRILLED that little Calvin didn't come while I was in NYC. He patiently waited and came right on time yesterday afternoon. Mom and babe are doing well.
When I left on Friday afternoon there were only a few small sign of spring. When I got home, it felt like all the world had exploded into blossom, ready and waiting for me.
Remember my little Amaryllis Bulb I planted 5 weeks ago?
Here she is in all her glory!
I managed to play a little in the garden this morning, but its time to clean up and go hug a baby. So I'll leave you with a few pictures and hope tomorrow finds me blogging properly!
Posted by Unknown at 11:38 AM 3 comments Links to this post
Labels: little of this- little of that
Friday, March 18, 2011
Emmaus Eight
|Becky (an Emmaus alum) and Courtney came for breakfast.
We are trying to keep her from remembering that she is 6 days overdue.
Posted by Unknown at 9:46 AM 9 comments Links to this post
Labels: everyday life
Tuesday, March 15, 2011
The Best Time To Play is With Time You Don't Have
I should not be typing at you.
In between washing towels and sheets and preparing for a slumber party with six choir gals from Iowa, I'm running to orthodontists, Girls Scouts, the grocery store and trying to educate my children.
Oh yeah, and I should probably clean out my mini-van...because something has died in there.
Since time is of the essence, when I unfolded and filled five air mattresses with air we had plenty-o-time to set up for a photo-op.
Who can possibly have that many air mattresses and not take ten minutes to set up a scene from the Princess and the Pea?
|Do you see the pea down there?
Very often I get emails and comments that say you love seeing snippets of everyday life, and this is it.
I would show you the interior of the mini-van, but pride gets in the way.
And that, my friends is as real as it gets.
(The Boy, not wanting to be left out gave you his best thirteen-year old "peace" sign. I told him to smile...so he gave me the cheesy grin.)
PS: If you are a blogger, and I used to read your blog....I swear there will be a day when I actually READ blogs again! I have been peeking in from time to time but not commenting....which is so sad! Soon summer will be here and I will be able to respond properly...until then please know that I AM thinking about you!
Posted by Unknown at 11:30 AM 5 comments Links to this post
Labels: Silly Things I Do
Monday, March 14, 2011
Brown Paper Packages... delivered by the FedEx Man
Go ahead and sing through My Favorite Things.
That's pretty much my list of favorite things. Except I'm fairly certain I've never had Schnitzel with noodles. But I like noodles, so I'm sure it wouldn't be a problem.
On Friday I received a package. From someone I didn't expect.
|I was actually talking to my mom when the package arrived.
|I cropped this photo in preservation of my no-make-up-just-home-from-the-gym self.
He not only sent the gift, but wrote the nicest note too....
Honestly, the sweatshirt is nice (really nice!), but those words - some endearing, most meant for laughs - mean the world to me.
I've been wanting to write this post for some time...the one that talks about the two men in my life who happen to be my "little" brothers...but they aren't sappy people who like flowery words.
|Fil, Kellie, Daniel
(photo by Silver E Photography)
I guess you could say they are two of my favorite things.
So, Fil, thank you for the sweatshirt and the kind words... When I get back home I will give you a proper thank-you punch in the arm with my sharp knuckles.
Posted by Unknown at 9:03 AM 1 comments Links to this post
Labels: brothers, favorite things, gifts
Friday, March 11, 2011
Seventh Grade Math is Not for Wimps
This was a long week. Thank goodness there are Daffodils growing right out side my window.
Seventh grade math nearly took me out this week, but I refuse to give in.
Although I nearly did.
It's very difficult to work outside of boxes I'm used to playing in, (math is a "box" I do my best to avoid) and this week I was tempted to despair (and revert back to old thoughts and feelings)
Anyway, there was math this week.
And after-math.
I did manage to get a few other things done around here though....Here are the highlights:
We are horse sitting until Sunday.
Just heading out to the barn for 15 minutes each afternoon has given me (and the kids) a respite in the middle of our day.
We feed and water and play.
And give them treats.
I started (and finished) another Ruffly scarf.
Then I started a new afghan I have wanted to do for a really long time. Fear had put me off for awhile...for some reason blankets feel scary to me...as in long-term relationship scary.
Oh! but the truth is, I'm in love....
Here was the beginning on Tuesday.
Each night I have tried to add a row or two.
I am certain this afghan is going to give me a good attitude for the rest of my teaching career. I will wrap myself in it when I
I have a thousand-and-one things I want to write this afternoon, but the words aren't coming out right when I type them, so I'm just going to say this: Happy Friday! May your weekend be sunny!
Posted by Unknown at 3:12 PM 4 comments Links to this post
Labels: little of this- little of that
Tuesday, March 08, 2011
Signs of Spring
I know that spring is nearly here when I see these things...
|Kona sticks her tongue out to the camera.
Posted by Unknown at 9:01 AM 5 comments Links to this post
Labels: pets, Silly Things I Do, spring
Monday, March 07, 2011
For the Love of Calvin
I have had a great excuse for the lack of posting.
I was arms length in glitter.
I had the privilege to throw a baby shower this weekend.
Oh! it was fun.
When it ended and I had put away the last of the dishes I said to The Mister, "I love parties."
To which he calmly replied, "I know you do."
He's an introvert. He likes parties (he really does) but he likes them in small doses.
I could have a party every day.
I told him I felt so sorry for him; for all introverted people, really.
He told me not to. They like being by themselves.
Anyway, there was a little food,
a little cake,
a little glitter,
a little rain,
...and a lotta love for a good friend.
It was a great day.
Posted by Unknown at 7:43 AM 7 comments Links to this post
Thursday, March 03, 2011
Crunchitized Capitulation
If I have any advice for a young mom it's this: Never say never.
Case in point...
I never buy sugary cereal.
My kids learned early on that if they wanted sugar-in-a-bowl they better go see their Granny (who will have the Coco Puffs and Lucky Charms ready and waiting upon our visits.)
I have been known to occasionally buy Cinnamon Toast Crunch for road trips, but thats about it.
Last weekend, The Boy celebrated the birthday of a friend at a sleep-over.
He came home singing the praises of Captain Crunch.
I spent the next 72 hours flashing back to the good-ole-days growing up in Southern Arizona.
I'm talkin' way back... when I had to walk to and from school, in the scorching desert, without any shoes, up-hill both ways, through a cactus field. This was in the time when dinosaurs roamed the earth and we had to actually get up from the couch to turn the channel-knob on the TV, and had feathered/permed hair held together with purple cans of AquaNet.
But I digress.....
You see, when I was a kid I had a cereal secret. Occasionally my mom would buy the sugary boxed goodness, but I didn't care for them. Well, I didn't care for parts of them.
For instance, I loved the marshmallows in Lucky Charms, and I loved the berries in Captain Crunch Berries, so I ate them. Yes, I shook the box all around and reached my mitts into that box until every last crunchy marshmallow and berry was found.
To make matters worse, when someone else opened the box to find it void of the better parts, I blamed my two younger brothers.
I know you cannot believe that I would stoop to such deception. It's true that I was a perfect child, with exception of that whole cereal-liar part.
Cereal liar....I crack myself up.
Anyway, when The Boy came home asking if I would buy Captain Crunch, I told him no.
However...upon further thought, this simple inquiry flooded me with nostalgia. I wouldn't buy Captain Crunch, but Captain Crunch Berries? Well, that's a different story.
We got ourselves a box.
|His first bowl of Captain Crunch Berries
Back in the day, the only berries were the red ones, and the berry-to-crunch ratio was a lot lower. Now there are multiple colored berrries, and much more of them. At first I wasn't sure I liked it.
But for the record, I do.
Posted by Unknown at 10:21 AM 10 comments Links to this post
Labels: parenting a teenager, Silly Things I Do, The Boy
Tuesday, March 01, 2011
You're Gonna Make It After All
Three weeks ago, I had an idea: Throw an Egg/Nest Themed Baby shower, and make these <--- (to see link, click the word in green) for decorations and party favors.
I have always wanted to try decoupage eggs with real shells, but the "real shells" part always frightened me. So I was waffling...should I make them? Or would it be too hard?
Turns out:
{If you didn't grow up watching Mary Tyler Moore, that last quote (with bloggers' license) didn't make any sense.}
Decoupage egg making is a satisfying endeavor. One that involves glitter and the smell of Modge Podge hanging in the air. What more could a girl want?
I didn't want to go crazy with supplies if I wasn't going to follow through, so I used two eggs for practice, with some tissue paper I had on hand.
The project is a go...
I've hollowed out 17 eggs. I washed and dried them and gave them a layer of Modge Podge.
Today I hope to make a trip to the "fancy" store to get some decorative napkins that might match the theme of the party. And then I have to figure out how to attach a ribbon on the top for hanging purposes. I'm thinking it will involve using the hot glue gun...Its like the trifecta of craft projects - pretty paper, glitter and glue. Seriously people, the only thing that would make it perfection is if it somehow involved yarn. And chocolate.
So that's the project for this week. Actually, there are others, but my blogging time is over. I must go teach about Predicate Nominatives and how to figure out a Simple Interest Rate using the formula: I = P x R x T. Simple? Sure it is.
Happy Tuesday to you!
Posted by Unknown at 8:45 AM 7 comments Links to this post


text:
American International Group Inc.'s (AIG) remaining debt to the U.S. government is about $45 billion after paying an additional $1.5 billion to the U.S. Treasury Department, the company says.
AIG says it used about $161 billion of the $182 billion made available in a government bailout to prevent the company's collapse in 2008.
After this latest repayment—made one year ahead of schedule, says AIG—the Treasury's ownership of the insurance conglomerate has been reduced to 70 percent.
The Treasury now owns $36.7 billion in AIG stock. It sold $6 billion in common stock it holds in AIG earlier this month.
The Federal Reserve Bank of New York (FRBNY) is still owed another $9 billion in a loan to Maiden Lane III, which holds collateralized debt obligations purchased by AIG Financial Products.
The $1.5 billion repayment retires the Treasury's preferred interests in a special purpose vehicle (SPV) called AIA Aurora, created to hold ordinary shares of American International Assurance Co. Collateral against the AIA SPV—including an escrow account holding proceeds from its sale of ALICO to MetLife Inc.—has been released, says AIG.
To date AIG has also retired debts to the FRBNY Credit Facility and preferred interest in another SPV for American Life Insurance Co. (ALICO).
"We promised the taxpayers they would be paid back at a profit, and so far we have met that goal," says Robert H. Benmosche, AIG's president and chief executive officer, in a statement.
In February the FRBY sold the last remaining securities held in the Maiden Lane II facility for a net gain of approximately $2.8 billion, including $580 million in accrued interest on the loan.
This article was originally reported on our sister publication, Property Casualty 360