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Post by Dusk Fox on Jul 14, 2005 19:18:08 GMT
Of course, this is starting to sound like an anti-US rant, of which I want no part of, because I truely believe that the US is a force for good in the world. I just believe in truth in all matters, both pretty and ugly, should be revealed, and I think that Artichu overlooks these facts. What do you mean, "starting to sound"? I mean, you can say whatever you like, but that was a rant, without a doubt. And I don’t think Artichu is overlooking anything--he’s just sticking to the chosen topic of the moment, that being “the United States of America is a dumb name for a country.”
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Post by North Star on Jul 14, 2005 19:24:01 GMT
Well, I'm not entirely sure about the force for good. The gun laws, capital punishment, President Arsehole, and the atrocities at Guantanamo Bay... Back on plot, wasn't the Chaos Master hard? NS.
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Post by artichu on Jul 14, 2005 19:31:21 GMT
I don't disagree, dude, but the USA surely counts as a nation-state at least by the time after the signing of the Constitution. As mad at each other as the Thirteen Colonies got the Constitution wouldn't have been ratified at all if there weren't a sense of a common "American" national identity. That's the only point I was making -- that the USA had a good reason to name itself the "United States of America", because the rest of the continent was still loyal to an overseas monarch of one kind or another. That doesn't mean the empires were necessarily all that bad (I don't think the British Empire was, anyway) or that the United States was all that good, though most of the Manifest Destiny and imperialist stuff you describe happened several decades after Independence, and a lot of people were surprised and angry when it did, because imperialism was out of character for the USA. (Rudyard Kipling, on the other hand, was pleased and wrote a poem, "White Man's Burden", about how the USA was finally acting like a proper country.) (And despite all the history stuff I'm not being all that terribly serious anyway. So.) ...My favorite (untrue) explanation of where the name "Canada" comes from is that early Portugese mapmakers who hadn't explored there wrote "Aca, nada" on that part of the map (that is, "Nothing here"). And the real definition is just as funny -- the world's second-biggest country is named "village". ...And surfing Wikipedia, I find a nice quote -- apparently they were trying to think up a new name for the country at confederation in 1867, rather than just naming the country after its biggest province (the Province of Canada, now Ontario and Quebec) like most people wanted to. (Which is in its own way as unfair to the people living on Prince Edward Island as the whole America thing was to Canadians. It'd be like if we decided to make all of Lower New England one state, called "Massachusetts".) One guy said, "Now I would ask any honourable member of the House how he would feel if he woke up some fine morning and found himself, instead of a Canadian, a Tuponian or a Hochelagander?" I imagine most of the Americans in Virginia or New York would've been similarly upset to wake up and find themselves "Columbians". (Columbia was just a fancy-pants word that meant the same thing as "America" back then anyway.)
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Post by Black Cat on Jul 14, 2005 19:59:06 GMT
And the real definition is just as funny -- the world's second-biggest country is named "village". Hey, isn't it a Canadian (Marshall McLuhan) that talked about a Global Village with the new communication technologies? The guys that decided to name the country Canada were looking into the future. ;D One of my favourite quote from him: "The story of modern America begins with the discovery of the white man by the Indians"
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Post by Dusk Fox on Jul 14, 2005 19:59:20 GMT
Back on plot, wasn't the Chaos Master hard? NS. Yeah, he sure was. I was surprised at how hard Demonlord Tagazin was in Book 9, though--I had no idea that fight would be so brutal.
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Post by outspaced on Jul 14, 2005 21:29:07 GMT
Well, I'm not entirely sure about the force for good. The gun laws, capital punishment, President Arsehole, and the atrocities at Guantanamo Bay... Except for the gun culture, I don't have a problem with any of those things. We in this country have to put up with Prime Minister "I'm too interested in pretentious Liberal and African problems to protect people in my own country from being blown up" Blair. However, it probably is a good idea to get back on topic. And remember--friendly banter is acceptable; intolerance of nationality etc. isn't. Play nice in the sandbox.
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Post by Runeheart on Jul 15, 2005 11:32:51 GMT
Just to throw my nationistic slant, at least you don't have a Prime Minister called ' Little Johnny' Howard who's industrial reforms threaten to put wages and jobs somewhere back into the Dark Ages... Anyway, Dusk Fox, I can't find Tagazin in Book 9, or are you getting this thread back on track...he is a tough challenge in Book 10 though ( with Roark, who is definately not tough, in fact I don't think LW even gets an opportunity to stick a good two feet of steel into him, except the face off in Book 6 )
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Post by outspaced on Jul 15, 2005 11:59:34 GMT
Just to throw my nationistic slant, at least you don't have a Prime Minister called ' Little Johnny' Howard who's industrial reforms threaten to put wages and jobs somewhere back into the Dark Ages... Absolutely! "Nosferatu" wouldn't be of much help. Nor would "Alkie" Kennedy. I'm non-politically equal in my contempt for them all! ;D Re: Tagazin, I'm guessing that was a typo. He doesn't appear in Book 9, only in Books 10 and SPOILER 17. Have you ever read the GM series past those Project Aon has released, RH? I don't want to add too many spoilers if you're likely just to avoid them.
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Post by Runeheart on Jul 15, 2005 12:15:13 GMT
I have a copy of all the gamebooks from One to Twenty Seven (except Book 4, I loaned it to someone and never got it back -bugger-), there is nothing you're spoiling on me ( I know where else you meet him and who sends you there, also Captain Lanza ...) Could someone tell me if Australian publishers produced unabridged copies, cause I would like to help with the PA project but my technical ability is badly lacking, in fact Moondancer is going to help me with a number of computer-internet-things over this weekend, so as genuine as my offer is, I fear the drawbacks may outweigh the benefits, I can't even type a post with going back and editing my mistakes (twice)... but soon my services may be yours to command.. also I have copies of the Emerald Sorcerer and White Wizard ( where you fly in spaceships -Top Gun style- ) and one of the Black Baron ( but not the opposing book).
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Post by Dusk Fox on Jul 15, 2005 15:03:55 GMT
Oh. Right. 10. My mistake. I'm rather discalculatic, so remembering numbers (any numbers) is extremely difficult for me. I should have just specified "the Dungeons of Torgar." At any rate, he totally kicked my butt. Twice.
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Post by outspaced on Jul 15, 2005 15:49:17 GMT
Of course, LW does get a chance to fight Roark in Book 18, well, his Ghost, anyway. As for Australian editions, AFAIK they're full-on unabridged editions. Bear in mind that the New Order books were never even released in the US, so if you have Books 21-27, I'd almost guarantee you have unabridged copies of the GM books. Quick litmus test--if it has 350 section (apart from Book 28), it's unabridged. And by all means, please join PA and help us out. Technical ability varies from person to person, but a keen pair of eyes needs no technical ability to use. (And I do loads of editing and re-editing posts afterwards; don't worry about that!) With regards to the Combat Heroes, what we really need at the moment are scanners, but if you don't have a scanner or can't scan/OCR, volunteers with copies of the books will still be required to check through the PDF files before they are finally released. Anyone who would like to volunteer to help out with Project Aon should probably join the PA mailing list. The Deathlord of Ixia will be actively worked-over soon, since it's been in a state of editing for several months while other little projects were finished and finalised. That will be entering a final week-long comment period in a few weeks' time, so you could help us out by looking over the online pre-release of that book. Do you own a copy of Freeway Warrior 1: Highway Holocaust? That's the book we're working on after The Deathlord of Ixia. If not, it's still possible to help out with the editing, since it's a case of playing through a pre-release of the online book (not yet available) looking for errors, spelling mistakes, things that don't make sense, etc. (Final aside: I remember lending someone my copy of Asterix and the Chieftain's Shield many years ago when I was at school, and I never saw it again. *sigh*) RH: I just realised something--when talking about Prime Minister Howard, were you referring to the Australian PM? Thing is, the "Leader of the Opposition" in the Uk is currently a chap called Howard, so I think I might have gotten a touch confused there. Apologies!
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Post by Runeheart on Jul 16, 2005 2:58:09 GMT
I understand that you can unspook Amory, but he must be the only character in the books that you meet and don't kill. LW can end up with a long list of named enemies that he personally vanquished, let alone the Transfuzor bit, and the vast hordes of nameless baddies that get between LW and his destination. Does anyone know of any other 'evil dude' that LW meets and doesn't get an opportunity to stick two steel of cold steel into? SPOILER (At one stage I thought a certain Arch Druid might miss out, but you've just got to be a bit more patient- four books patient-)LW doesn't leave much behind, especially during suicidal, genecidal, threshing ramages
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Post by Black Cat on Jul 16, 2005 3:39:18 GMT
Does anyone know of any other 'evil dude' that LW meets and doesn't get an opportunity to stick two steel of cold steel into? In book 20, he gets the opportunity to do so many times, but he just can't because (SPOILERS) it will get him killed.
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Post by Runeheart on Jul 16, 2005 4:16:50 GMT
Sorry I'm thinking of a named character, as opposed to the un-named hordes...
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Post by Black Cat on Jul 16, 2005 5:00:43 GMT
Sorry I'm thinking of a named character, as opposed to the un-named hordes... Here you go(SPOILER): N'za-Pok, the Kunae brothers, Shamath
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