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The Hobbit in General
Off With Their Heads
Member # 4045
Profile Homepage #102
quote:
Originally written by Evnissyen:

It surprises me that Tolkien should've said that he "distrusted allegory in all its forms", since my understanding has been that the trilogy was largely an allegorical response to WW2? I could be mistaken. No scholar, I am!
As Slarty notes, Tolkien specifically says that this is not true in the introduction to the books. Also, he began writing the LotR in the 1930's, before the war ever occurred.

If I may quote a bit: "The real war does not resemble the legendary war in its process or its conclusion. If it had inspired or directed the development of the legend, then certainly the Ring would have been seized and used against Sauron; he would not have been annihilated but enslaved, and Barad-dûr would not have been destroyed but occupied. Saruman, failing to get possession of the Ring, would in the confusion and treacheries of the time have found in Mordor the missing links in his own researches into Ring-lore, and before long he would have made a Great Ring of his own with which to challenge the self-styled Ruler of Middle-Earth. In that conflict both sides would have held hobbits in hatred and contempt: they would not long have survived even as slaves."

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Arancaytar: Every time you ask people to compare TM and Kel, you endanger the poor, fluffy kittens.
Smoo: Get ready to face the walls!
Ephesos: In conclusion, yarr.

Kelandon's Pink and Pretty Page!!: the authorized location for all things by me
The Archive of all released BoE scenarios ever
Posts: 7968 | Registered: Saturday, February 28 2004 08:00
The Hobbit in General
Off With Their Heads
Member # 4045
Profile Homepage #93
quote:
Originally written by Clavicle:

And before anyone raises the virtues of Entertainment, which I accept: I'll point out that I've yet to meet anybody who's read the Lord of the Rings trilogy and has come to the conclusion that it is, and was meant as, mere entertainment and nothing more.
Tolkien himself wrote that he wanted it to serve the purposes that mythology served in the past, and that he distrusted allegory in all its forms. I imagine that glamorizing and emotionalizing all of the movie scenes made the movies rather more glorious in overall effect, which makes them resemble old-fashioned mythology more.

If you argue that the soundtrack to Star Wars didn't contribute anything to it, then I argue that you're nuts.

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Arancaytar: Every time you ask people to compare TM and Kel, you endanger the poor, fluffy kittens.
Smoo: Get ready to face the walls!
Ephesos: In conclusion, yarr.

Kelandon's Pink and Pretty Page!!: the authorized location for all things by me
The Archive of all released BoE scenarios ever
Posts: 7968 | Registered: Saturday, February 28 2004 08:00
Whats BoA about in Blades of Avernum
Off With Their Heads
Member # 4045
Profile Homepage #7
My (somewhat dated) advice is at the Designer FAQ. Various resources are available through my (also somewhat dated) links list. TM wrote a scenario that's designed to show how scenarios can be made, which is worth a look.

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Arancaytar: Every time you ask people to compare TM and Kel, you endanger the poor, fluffy kittens.
Smoo: Get ready to face the walls!
Ephesos: In conclusion, yarr.

Kelandon's Pink and Pretty Page!!: the authorized location for all things by me
The Archive of all released BoE scenarios ever
Posts: 7968 | Registered: Saturday, February 28 2004 08:00
What will scare the heck out of McCain in General
Off With Their Heads
Member # 4045
Profile Homepage #68
Moderates are consistently in the middle. Inconsistent people are on one side and then the other, back and forth. Being moderate isn't necessarily good, and being inconsistent isn't necessarily bad, but they aren't the same thing.

--------------------
Arancaytar: Every time you ask people to compare TM and Kel, you endanger the poor, fluffy kittens.
Smoo: Get ready to face the walls!
Ephesos: In conclusion, yarr.

Kelandon's Pink and Pretty Page!!: the authorized location for all things by me
The Archive of all released BoE scenarios ever
Posts: 7968 | Registered: Saturday, February 28 2004 08:00
What will scare the heck out of McCain in General
Off With Their Heads
Member # 4045
Profile Homepage #53
quote:
Originally written by Emperor Tullegolar:

And Kelandon, for someone who doesn't care, you sure do whine a lot.
This is exactly the sort of comment that has you on the brink of banning. Keep it up, sport; then I won't have to listen to you anymore.

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Arancaytar: Every time you ask people to compare TM and Kel, you endanger the poor, fluffy kittens.
Smoo: Get ready to face the walls!
Ephesos: In conclusion, yarr.

Kelandon's Pink and Pretty Page!!: the authorized location for all things by me
The Archive of all released BoE scenarios ever
Posts: 7968 | Registered: Saturday, February 28 2004 08:00
What will scare the heck out of McCain in General
Off With Their Heads
Member # 4045
Profile Homepage #34
quote:
Originally written by Emperor Tullegolar:

No, none of the citations in the introduction link to political scientists, just free dictionaries.
My point, yet again, is simply that it is defined this way regularly. I could cite my Poli Sci 2 professor four and a half years ago and dig up the materials which did this, but quite frankly, I don't care enough.

quote:
Originally written by madrigan:

Simply stating that someone is "factually wrong," or that "political scientists disagree with you," does not constitute an argument.
I'm not arguing with you; I'm correcting you.

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Arancaytar: Every time you ask people to compare TM and Kel, you endanger the poor, fluffy kittens.
Smoo: Get ready to face the walls!
Ephesos: In conclusion, yarr.

Kelandon's Pink and Pretty Page!!: the authorized location for all things by me
The Archive of all released BoE scenarios ever
Posts: 7968 | Registered: Saturday, February 28 2004 08:00
What will scare the heck out of McCain in General
Off With Their Heads
Member # 4045
Profile Homepage #28
quote:
Originally written by madrigan:

The term in question is not "political system." It is "politics."
That, too, is defined broadly.

quote:
A definition of either of these terms which erases the differences between Microsoft and the United States is not broad, it is vague. It is not standard practice among political scientists to use vague definitions. It is standard practice among political scientists to define terms in ways that enhance understanding. A definition of "politics" or "political system" that does not allow us to distinguish between a corporation, an office, a country, and a group of friends at the movies would never be utilized by any political scientist.
You're just factually wrong, but your reasoning is also flawed, which is more interesting. "Politics" is defined so broadly by political scientists in order that other terms can then be differentiated from it. Within that broad class, "governmental politics" can be defined as a particular category.

There are useful reasons for broad definitions. (And they're broad, not vague, because they are inclusive, not unclear.)
quote:
Originally written by Emperor Tullegolar:

Despite it being against my better judgement, I went to wikipedia as you requested. The first thing I noticed in the introduction was a big, glaring [citation needed]. Well done.
Continue reading and notice the multiple citations that follow. The point here is that many (cited) political scientists do define "politics" this broadly (as evidenced by the later citations), not that the Wikipedia article is right or perfect.

[ Wednesday, May 07, 2008 11:56: Message edited by: Kelandon ]

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Arancaytar: Every time you ask people to compare TM and Kel, you endanger the poor, fluffy kittens.
Smoo: Get ready to face the walls!
Ephesos: In conclusion, yarr.

Kelandon's Pink and Pretty Page!!: the authorized location for all things by me
The Archive of all released BoE scenarios ever
Posts: 7968 | Registered: Saturday, February 28 2004 08:00
What will scare the heck out of McCain in General
Off With Their Heads
Member # 4045
Profile Homepage #20
quote:
Originally written by madrigan:

But a definition of the term that cannot make a distinction between the power relations at a corporation and the power relations in a country is useless. I also do not think that it is useful to insist on a definition of a term that so contradicts the common, social understanding of the term that it makes understanding more difficult.
You may not think it's useful, but you're in disagreement with standard practice among political scientists. The phrase "Political system" is intentionally defined to be broad in political science.

--------------------
Arancaytar: Every time you ask people to compare TM and Kel, you endanger the poor, fluffy kittens.
Smoo: Get ready to face the walls!
Ephesos: In conclusion, yarr.

Kelandon's Pink and Pretty Page!!: the authorized location for all things by me
The Archive of all released BoE scenarios ever
Posts: 7968 | Registered: Saturday, February 28 2004 08:00
What will scare the heck out of McCain in General
Off With Their Heads
Member # 4045
Profile Homepage #16
quote:
Originally written by Lt. Sullust:

I suspect this will become even more visible once the democratic nominee is chosen. The supporters of the other candidate will feel cheated, and may not vote in November as a result...
I'm not sure that another democratic nominee will be chosen. A Democratic one, yes. A democratic one, maybe.

quote:
Originally written by Emperor Tullegolar:

And how hard did you have to look to find a definition of the word politics without the word 'government' in it? Or would you consider a group of friends a kind of government as well, Mr. Broad-Definitions?
It's actually not uncommon to see definitions of political systems that are intentionally so broad that they apply to families, corporations, etc. Check the intro to the Wikipedia article on "Politics" to see how standard this is.

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Arancaytar: Every time you ask people to compare TM and Kel, you endanger the poor, fluffy kittens.
Smoo: Get ready to face the walls!
Ephesos: In conclusion, yarr.

Kelandon's Pink and Pretty Page!!: the authorized location for all things by me
The Archive of all released BoE scenarios ever
Posts: 7968 | Registered: Saturday, February 28 2004 08:00
The Hobbit in General
Off With Their Heads
Member # 4045
Profile Homepage #61
quote:
Originally written by Slarty:

And having read Titus and half of the rest, I fail to see any way in which it doesn't live up to his usual standard.
Really? Because it's definitely his worst tragedy. Everything he wrote later was better. The kind of complexity and emotional subtlety that he gives, say, Othello is completely absent from Aaron. He didn't drop onstage brutality (cf. King Lear), but he made it tremendously more effective later on. Basically everything that he did in that play got re-worked and improved in later plays.

That said, compared to other Elizabethan plays of the time and earlier, Titus was head and shoulders above most of them.

--------------------
Arancaytar: Every time you ask people to compare TM and Kel, you endanger the poor, fluffy kittens.
Smoo: Get ready to face the walls!
Ephesos: In conclusion, yarr.

Kelandon's Pink and Pretty Page!!: the authorized location for all things by me
The Archive of all released BoE scenarios ever
Posts: 7968 | Registered: Saturday, February 28 2004 08:00
Gender and RPGs in General
Off With Their Heads
Member # 4045
Profile Homepage #52
quote:
Originally written by Slarty:

In our current society, getting drunk is celebrated and being a prostitute is considered abhorrently shameful.
It's statements like this that make me wonder if I'm living in the same society as others.

--------------------
Arancaytar: Every time you ask people to compare TM and Kel, you endanger the poor, fluffy kittens.
Smoo: Get ready to face the walls!
Ephesos: In conclusion, yarr.

Kelandon's Pink and Pretty Page!!: the authorized location for all things by me
The Archive of all released BoE scenarios ever
Posts: 7968 | Registered: Saturday, February 28 2004 08:00
Gender and RPGs in General
Off With Their Heads
Member # 4045
Profile Homepage #24
My Avernum parties are usually half and half, two females and two males, or one female and one male. In games in which I play a single character, I typically play a male, because it's easier to identify with that character. Even if the character is a slith or something, it's easier to think of that character as the slith equivalent to me if the character is male than if the character is female.

Gender is not the only trait that I match from myself. By default, my characters somewhat match my ethics, personality, etc. Sometimes I role-play a little more and have a character that doesn't match me.

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Arancaytar: Every time you ask people to compare TM and Kel, you endanger the poor, fluffy kittens.
Smoo: Get ready to face the walls!
Ephesos: In conclusion, yarr.

Kelandon's Pink and Pretty Page!!: the authorized location for all things by me
The Archive of all released BoE scenarios ever
Posts: 7968 | Registered: Saturday, February 28 2004 08:00
While We Wait for the Next Chapter in General
Off With Their Heads
Member # 4045
Profile Homepage #152
RiB was Drakey's epic follow-up to, uh, War on Bigail, if I'm not mistaken. Anyway, it was promised for one of the early BoE contests (Third, I think) and not delivered. Then it was promised for the next one. Then for the next one. Several hard drive crashes and wipes later, Drakey suggested that it might be made for BoA. After however many years (five?), Drakey finally gave up and admitted that he was never going to finish it.

It became the running stand-in for unfinished epics, though (of which there are many, though few so publicly declared).

[ Tuesday, April 29, 2008 21:07: Message edited by: Kelandon ]

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Arancaytar: Every time you ask people to compare TM and Kel, you endanger the poor, fluffy kittens.
Smoo: Get ready to face the walls!
Ephesos: In conclusion, yarr.

Kelandon's Pink and Pretty Page!!: the authorized location for all things by me
The Archive of all released BoE scenarios ever
Posts: 7968 | Registered: Saturday, February 28 2004 08:00
Game Wallpapers? in General
Off With Their Heads
Member # 4045
Profile Homepage #3
quote:
Originally written by TobyLinn:

I guess I could always do a print screen of a cool moment in the game and use that for my desktop...
That's probably your best bet.

--------------------
Arancaytar: Every time you ask people to compare TM and Kel, you endanger the poor, fluffy kittens.
Smoo: Get ready to face the walls!
Ephesos: In conclusion, yarr.

Kelandon's Pink and Pretty Page!!: the authorized location for all things by me
The Archive of all released BoE scenarios ever
Posts: 7968 | Registered: Saturday, February 28 2004 08:00
Spidweb Keygens in General
Off With Their Heads
Member # 4045
Profile Homepage #6
quote:
Originally written by Verdegris and Amber:

That said, I'd bet that most players of his games don't register them at all.
That's a safe bet. At some point in an interview, Jeff cited the ratio of people who download demos to people who actually register, and IIRC his registering percentage was something like 2% or 3% (which, as far as these things go, is pretty good — many game-designers do worse).

That said, why is this topic not locked?

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Arancaytar: Every time you ask people to compare TM and Kel, you endanger the poor, fluffy kittens.
Smoo: Get ready to face the walls!
Ephesos: In conclusion, yarr.

Kelandon's Pink and Pretty Page!!: the authorized location for all things by me
The Archive of all released BoE scenarios ever
Posts: 7968 | Registered: Saturday, February 28 2004 08:00
Spidweb Keygens in General
Off With Their Heads
Member # 4045
Profile Homepage #1
Jeff makes computer games as his full-time occupation. What he thinks of those things is that they're bad enough that talking about them here is a bannable offense, so don't.

--------------------
Arancaytar: Every time you ask people to compare TM and Kel, you endanger the poor, fluffy kittens.
Smoo: Get ready to face the walls!
Ephesos: In conclusion, yarr.

Kelandon's Pink and Pretty Page!!: the authorized location for all things by me
The Archive of all released BoE scenarios ever
Posts: 7968 | Registered: Saturday, February 28 2004 08:00
Sdf errors in Blades of Avernum Editor
Off With Their Heads
Member # 4045
Profile Homepage #1
There are script errors, and then there are bugs in your code. Script errors involve formatting problems and the like (and that's what BoA and Alint check for). Bugs in your code involve you telling the computer to do something that's not what you want it to do.

Post the problematic script and I can tell you the problem.

[ Sunday, April 27, 2008 13:48: Message edited by: Kelandon ]

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Arancaytar: Every time you ask people to compare TM and Kel, you endanger the poor, fluffy kittens.
Smoo: Get ready to face the walls!
Ephesos: In conclusion, yarr.

Kelandon's Pink and Pretty Page!!: the authorized location for all things by me
The Archive of all released BoE scenarios ever
Posts: 7968 | Registered: Saturday, February 28 2004 08:00
MicroSoft XP SP3 Is out! in General
Off With Their Heads
Member # 4045
Profile Homepage #27
quote:
Originally written by Nikki.:

Edit: P.S. Truth does not equal beauty.
Not a Keats fan!

--------------------
Arancaytar: Every time you ask people to compare TM and Kel, you endanger the poor, fluffy kittens.
Smoo: Get ready to face the walls!
Ephesos: In conclusion, yarr.

Kelandon's Pink and Pretty Page!!: the authorized location for all things by me
The Archive of all released BoE scenarios ever
Posts: 7968 | Registered: Saturday, February 28 2004 08:00
MicroSoft XP SP3 Is out! in General
Off With Their Heads
Member # 4045
Profile Homepage #24
quote:
Originally written by Bob.:

Quoted for beauty and for truth.
A Keats fan!
quote:
Originally written by ezAndy:

Weird. Someone still uses AltaVista.
My thoughts exactly.

No, I have nothing worthwhile to contribute to this discussion.

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Arancaytar: Every time you ask people to compare TM and Kel, you endanger the poor, fluffy kittens.
Smoo: Get ready to face the walls!
Ephesos: In conclusion, yarr.

Kelandon's Pink and Pretty Page!!: the authorized location for all things by me
The Archive of all released BoE scenarios ever
Posts: 7968 | Registered: Saturday, February 28 2004 08:00

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