Daily Illuminator Archive for May 2006

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May 1, 2006:
You know, when I discussed submissions yesterday, I really should have linked to our submissions information . . . because about half the query letters I get are from people who have NOT looked at those pages, and of the ones I got today, apparently none had. So . . . . . read article

May 2, 2006:
In Bosnia, of all places. A BIG one . . . read article

May 3, 2006:
So Tom Smith, who is a very silly man, wrote a parody of "Rock Me Amadeus." He called it "Rock Me Amidala," and it's about . . . just what it sounds like. It is also, in my humble opinion, better than the original in all ways . . . read article

May 4, 2006:
Well, yesterday's Illuminator struck a chord. Or a nerve . . . read article

May 5, 2006:
This Saturday, May 6th, is Free Comic Book Day. As the name cleverly implies, this is the day that the comic book industry tries to get you hooked . . . either on new series if you're already a comic fan, or the art form in general if you're new to comics . . . read article

May 6, 2006:
Most furniture is in showrooms. This stuff? . . . read article

May 7, 2006:
My apologies to those who might be growing wearied of my happy milestone posts, but I take a childlike delight in seeing the numbers get bigger. All of the Top 20 Sales offerings on the e23 page are now in three figures . . . read article

May 8, 2006:
While I wouldn't trade our new office for a million dollars, seeing a vacant lot in place of the building that I spend a good deal of time for the past 6 years ... it feels weird . . . read article

May 9, 2006:
Oh dear, I have a video. Tom Smith writes: ". . . less than a day after I did the song, Lance Jackson whipped up a music video of it." No kiddin' . . . read article

May 10, 2006:
Sean Punch and Peter Dell'Orto turned in the manuscript not long ago, and last week was my Read Martial Arts week. (Except for the first chapter, which I devoured almost as soon as it came in.) . . . read article

May 11, 2006:
When it came time to reprint Munchkin 4 - The Need for Steed, we decided -- for a wide variety of reasons -- to change the packaging. The larger clamshell packages worked well, but they took up a good deal of shipping space (which, at today's gas prices, was a serious drawback) and didn't pack well . . . read article

May 12, 2006:
If you think we're a country of excesses, you may be right. Our cars are bigger, our budgets are bigger, our feet are bigger . . . read article

May 13, 2006:
Like video games? Then you'd loooooove E3, the Electronic Entertainment Expo . . . read article

May 14, 2006:
Every space campaign needs worlds - maybe hundreds of them! Sometimes a GM has something very specific in mind, and sometimes he's willing to let the dice decide . . . read article

May 15, 2006:
Orc, the Angel of Networks, manages our Online Roleplaying Policy for In Nomine. However, its former host (Chris Anthony) is downgrading from Soldier status after long and faithful service, and can no longer be possessed on a regular basis . . . read article

May 16, 2006:
Two staff members left last week to follow other interests: our Managing Editor, Chris Aylott, and production artist Justin De Witt. Best of luck to both of them . . . read article

May 17, 2006:
Why have we seen no announcement of a King Kong / Titanic crossover? . . . read article

May 18, 2006:
I have wanted a digital camera for a long time, and, for various reasons, never got one. I finally chose one by the simple expedient of going squeeeeeeee! at the shiny little Canon PowerShot SD550 that Kira is using now. 7.1 megapixels, 3x optical zoom . . . spiffy . . . read article

May 19, 2006:
The solution has been staring us in the face all the time. The Lightning Path To Ascension holds that, rather than contest the relative benefits of good vs. evil, we should squish the effects of the two into one power . . . read article

May 20, 2006:
Thanks to everyone who had useful suggestions for creative ways to re-string the flagpole. The mundane answer turned out to be "There are lots of flagpoles around town, creating the economic niche of Flagpole Service Companies." So the folks who sold us two new flags and a new rope also brought out their own cherry-picker and installed everything . . . read article

May 21, 2006:
OK, no, that's NOT what they said. But the Extropy Institute - a "transhumanist think tank" founded in 1990 - has officially closed its doors, though its website will remain as an online resource, and solicitations for support are still visible on the ExI website. "ExI deems its mission as essentially completed," said the announcement received by members . . . read article

May 22, 2006:
Ewout Koldenhof, our MIB cell leader for Benelux, created this Finnish flag out of Munchkin Dice to celebrate his day: Munchkin demos, followed by the monstrous victory of Finland in the Eurovision Song Contest . . . read article

May 23, 2006:
That pretty much says it all, but here's the story on Newsarama. The event in question was the Motor City Comic Con, whose dealer agreement specifically prohibits sale of bootleg materials, but 14 dealers were taken to the police station, four of them in handcuffs . . . read article

May 24, 2006:
Two days until I leave on my trip. And I'm very busy, but at least it's a good busy . . . read article

May 25, 2006:
The boss is out of town for three whole weeks, and we plan to make the most of it. In his absence, Warehouse 23 will run a variety of mini-sales, marking down various Steve Jackson Games merchandise for a very limited time – most sales will last two to three days before the items change . . . read article

May 26, 2006:
As you read this, Monica and I should be on a plane over the Pacific, on our way to New Zealand. First real vacation in don't-know-how-many years . . . read article

May 27, 2006:
For years, SJ Games has attempted to maintain a "Game Aids" program which would review fan-created game aids, both stand-alone software and web pages. The idea was that we would check out submitted programs, make sure that they actually ran and that their documentation was comprehensible, see that trademark and copyright considerations were covered, certify them as worth your while to download, and promote them . . . read article

May 28, 2006:
Just for you, Dear Reader, a first look at a couple of pieces from Munchkin Impossible! Hot off John Kovalic's pen, we have here a British agent and a Bulletproof Attache Case. Disclaimer: these images will likely to be tweaked between now and the final product . . . read article

May 29, 2006:
The voice mail will still take your message, though . . . read article

May 30, 2006:
I don't normally get sucked into video games. I find them too limiting, and my reflexes aren't good enough to master the "twitch" factor . . . read article

May 31, 2006:
SJ Games is looking for a full-time editor. This could definitely be a telecommuting position, but some preference will be given to candidates in Austin or Montreal . . . read article

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