I was listening to a talk radio show where the host, a decidedly left of center thinker, had asked listeners if it was moral to kill animals in the fashion of hunting. Minnesota is a place where deer hunting is a common practice, so the host was certain to receive a response to his question. Well, few wanted to answer on air, as it would require explaining your motives to a person locally famous for his anti-hunting views. Eventually a brave fellow called in, well explained his motives and his reasons, but kept saying ‘it is the ethnical thing to do’. Despite the valid, well considered ideas behind his words, he became a joke to anyone listening, because he did not know the difference between the term ethnic and ethic. The host mocked the caller after allowing the caller to finish his argument and hang up. That is exactly the manner in which America carries out it political debates (and campaigns in general) isn’t it? We may make generally small errors in thought and word and the entirety of our ideas are tossed out for that. Elegant, concise words expressing considered thought are irreplaceable. So, what is the point? Why am I writing this? Because I like saying the word ‘Ethnical’.
(Oh, for those wondering, while I eat meat, I do not hunt. I do not think meat comes from the Supermarket, but I do think that allowing deer herds to grow so large as to make hunting easier is horrible for the environment and gives post modern human culture a false sense of its place in the eco world. If you think hunting is ok then good for you. I am not an activist and recognize that eating meat while disapproving of hunting sniffs of hypocrisy. But that is fine. I can live with that one.)
I have no idea why but my e-mail inbox has been flooded by some people who seem to wish to share their tattoos and piercings with me. I’d post the pics here, but that generally would violate the standards of taste I try to uphold herein. I do not understand the desire to share photos of your privates with someone you’ve never met, but for those inclined to do so, please do not send them to me. I have no intention to comment upon your images beyond this commentary, and since I am married and faithful to my wife there is no reason to send them for any reason whatsoever. But, if you have a need to show your stuff, please send all images to John Byr... nah ... Just kidding.
Hey, before you read the press releases, I wanted to say that reviews return on Monday, and Steve Niles is the feller whose works I am reviewing. Perhaps many of them.
NEWS:
KANDORA PUBLISHING ENTERS COMICS MARKET
First of four titles available for order in January Previews for March on sale
Contact: Ian Feller
813/889-8977
ian@813sands.com
December 1, 2004, Ft. Lee, NJ – Kandora Publishing is set to enter the comics market with four new monthly titles, the first of which will be on sale in March 2005 and available to order in the January issue of Diamond Comic Distributors’ Previews.
This first new series is titled Barbarossa and the Lost Corsairs and is written by industry veteran Brian Augustyn with art by H.S. Park, colors by Transparency Digital and letters by Dave Lanphear. Barbarossa and the Lost Corsairs is a pirate fantasy tale that begins on the high seas of Earth during the Middle Ages but winds up on a strange world in which the waterways are filled with giant, dangerous sea monsters. Barbarossa and his crew must figure out where they are, how they got there and how they can get home. But first, they’ll pillage and plunder as much as they can.
Kandora Publishing is entering the market at a time when genre stories are in demand. The company plans to release three additional monthly titles, each one beginning in subsequent months from the release of Barbarossa and the Lost Corsairs. T
WHITE WOLF TO PUBLISH PARAGON GAMES’ “THE SECRET OF ZIR’AN”
Atlanta, GA, November 30, 2004 — White Wolf Publishing has reached an agreement with San Francisco based Paragon Games to bring Paragon’s roleplaying game The Secret of Zir’An to market. White Wolf will print and solicit the game line while Paragon Games retains creative control.
Paragon’s The Secret of Zir’An is a fully developed fantasy roleplaying game using Paragon’s proprietary Finesse System. “If you were to consider your typical sword-&-sorcery fantasy world as representative of a planet's medieval period, The Secret of Zir'An turns the clock forward to imagine what the same world's post-industrial period would look like,” says Chris Hockabout, Paragon’s Creative Director. “Magic and technology are integrated. They've developed alongside each other and grown together in an organic fashion. After much turmoil, including world wars and divine interventions, Zir’An is a vast place full of secrets ready to be discovered by those in the eye of Fate.”
Paragon’s agreement with White Wolf allows it to concentrate its creative energies while benefiting from the market penetration and savvy of a leading publisher of roleplaying games. “We’re both incredibly lucky and highly excited to be working with White Wolf,” says Paragon Games President Martin Caplan. “We look forward to partnering closely with the best game publisher in the Hobby Gaming industry and making The Secret of Zir’An a long-term, successful game line.”
White Wolf Publishing has had success with independent studios producing material under its Sword & Sorcery Studios banner. Malhavoc Press (Monte Cook’s Arcana Unearthed), Necromancer Games (Tome of Horrors) and Fiery Dragon Press (Counter Collection Digital) have all operated under similar arrangements. Paragon Games is the first partner studio to produce material using a new game mechanic rather than publishing under the d20 game license. Therefore, The Secret of Zir’An will not appear under the Sword & Sorcery Banner.
“We’re very happy to be able to bring such a high-quality product as Zir’An to market,” said Mike Tinney, White Wolf’s President. “We're always interested in being involved with creative settings and groundbreaking systems, and this game has both!”
The Secret of Zir’An will release in the second quarter of 2005 and be supported by trade advertising and retail promotions.
The Secret of Zir’An
PGG0001; ISBN 0-9729052-0-0; 320-page hardcover; MSRP $39.99
Since its entry into the roleplaying game market in 1991, White Wolf Publishing, Inc. has grown, maintaining an average market share of 26%. With collective book sales in excess of 5.5 million copies during this time, White Wolf is one of two undisputed worldwide publishing leaders for pen and paper roleplaying games. White Wolf properties have been licensed for television series, comic books, action figures, console and computer video games, coin-operated arcade games, professional wrestlers, replica props and weapons, interactive media events, and a myriad of merchandise. More information on White Wolf can be found at www.white-wolf.com.
Paragon Games, based in San Francisco, CA, is a game design studio that specializes in intellectual property development for the entertainment industry. Founded in 2003 by Martin Hunter Caplan, Marcus Flores, Aram Gutowski, and Chris Hockabout, Paragon Games brings a formidable creative team with experience in tabletop, computer and video games, film, toys and television to the development of fictional worlds. More information on Paragon Games can be found at www.ParagonGames.us.
Philippe Boulle, Marketing Director
White Wolf Publishing
1554 Litton Drive
Stone Mountain, GA 30083
prboulle@white-wolf.com
404-292-1819 x203
