_www.FantasyLibrary.com [Visit Who Is Joseph Teller?] Synthesis & Synchronicity 053

Synthesis & Synchronicity #53

New Hampshire : Ok, the dust has settled and Dean came in a not too close second in the first primary. Why? Well, as I see it, there are a number of reasons, but there is one that the various pundits and political experts have missed entirely. They have missed the Republican factor.

The turnout for the vote was much larger than in past years, and I believe they need to do a look see at how many folks changed their party affiliation from Republcian to Independent. The Republicans fear Dean, they don't want to face off against him next year, and they like Kerry. Kerry is seen as a known and beatable factor, Dean a wild card. So you have a whole lot of Republicans-in-independents-clothing voting enmass to make sure that Dean would lose momentum in the state. Why? Because the media implies that now the race is nearly over, that Kerry now has the 'will of the people' when the people of only two states have voted. Two very easily manipulated states.

It's a simple scenario - Dean's campaign works off of grass roots and internet based push, and the easiest way to hurt these are to make the race appear to be over. Depress them in the press and they'll fold, is the mindset. NH is an easy state to manipulate, and has enough Republicans-in-their-hearts to sway the vote. New Hampshire has always been home to folks who want to have the income one can earn in Massachusetts businesses without the personal taxes that come from having those good jobs. Border drifting CEOs and CFOs are a constant around here. And of course, if things go bad economically and you lose the job, move to Mass and reap the financial protection and help that the state provides.

(Of course this second option has been fading after the past 3 Republican Governors on the throne here in Mass.)

Oh well, I foolishly thought that there was a chance that the world could be better, that there would be a free election and that someone who stirred my faith could somehow become president. I'll still vote, and hopefully be able to vote for Dean, but unless a heck of a lot of people out there get smart fast, it will all be over by mid-march and we'll be able to expect 4 more years of the great evil that rules the land... until his brother is ready to take the throne.

Not Feeling Great Ok, I managed to get thru three bouts with Insomnia this past week and am now sleeping again. Now I'm waiting to see if the general feeling of blah that is my body today is caused by an oncoming cold (which Cindy already apparently has), just my stomache continuing its annoying IBS cycle effects on my energy levels or a side effect of the previous insomnia. With Vericon coming up, I don't really want to be sick, so I'm taking it easy, megadosing on vitamins and staying home today to see what the result is. Maybe I can knock it down before Fri Night.

Lawyers In The Mail Well, I had to take down a collection of PDFs and Etexts from my website fantasylibrary.com because I received a Cease and Desist letter from the lawyers of a major corporation over some 70+ year old stories that we had gathered over the past several years from a number of websites, newsgroups etc. They claim that the materials are not (as had been reported by folks who had made searches at the Library of Congress) in the Public Domain.

Although technically I could fight them on this point on several levels (I won't go into detail here nor will I name names to avoid further legal problems) I just don't have the money to prove my points. I also don't have the time or money to go out to the Library of Congress to do the research personally (only 1977 onward material is listed in the copyright catalog online, a stupid thing since EVERYTHING published and copyrighted from 1977 onward is obviously still under copyright, while what people need is a listing starting with around 1927 onward and its copyright status and ownership). My website, under ALA (American Library Association) definition of a Library, and with the notices I had up for the pages involved, could be claimed exempt under the Fair Use rules associated with such, but this again would require large amounts of legal battles and money.

In the end, copyright law protects and panders to the rich corporations, rather then the interests of the individual or the society as a whole, as was originally intended in the United States. Not being rich, I have no recourse but to do as they ask to avoid legal problems.

It bugs me to say the least. But one must choose one's battlefields carefully in life.

The Three Games Our weekend of three games went well, though it was a bit exhausting as I got caught in dealing with too much houswork on two days and preparation for my game on the third (middle) day. Kiralee is starting to think about us organizing a 2nd weekly gaming get together, say on Fridays or Tuesdays, but this is still very tenative in the concept stage with our current complex schedules. It probably won't happen until after the March Seattle trip, if it happens at all. I would prefer if we could find another nearby venue (it would have to be walking distance for me, with my nightblindness etc.) and one that allowed us to actually hear each other speak etc in a game (so all the local resteraunts etc are pretty much out of the running). Anyone who has ideas, please comment.

Work Continues On my gameworld/system project. I've hit a few snags on the detail level of things, and working out the 'magic' of the setting, but it is slowly coming together. If anyone is interested in giving me feedback on it, design tips, or getting involved in a deeper way please let me know. I've been looking for some local collaborators (writer, editor, layout person, artist) for some time now who are willing to work on a not-for-profit independent game project like this, and with Kiralee and Cindy both overloaded with their jobs and other activities it's not likely they will be able to fill their usual roles of proofreader, logic tester and editor/writer aid.

Links As folks probably have noticed, the Links list is slowly growing (both on Livejournal and on the S&S sidebar). If you have free time, why not try visting a few of the folks and pages on it? I'm finding new and interesting places and people all the time and want to share what I can with folks.

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