Will we ever know the 9/11 truth? (ny911truth.org)

Could be mere conspiracy stuff, but these protestors impressed me when I was in NYC. I snapped these pics in March 06.

Click the pics for larger images

Was the WTC
collapsed?



Why are the stories about
the 9/11 terrorists so bizarre?



Different Bin Ladens?



What's OPERATION
NORTHWOODS?



Protestors at the WTC


I think there's too much weirdness around the whole 9/11 affair, like G.Bush sitting for 7 min's while the USA's getting attacked, flying the Bin Laden's home while all planes were grounded, immediately saying that now the USA has to go after Iraq, or the lack of evidence of the plane hitting the Pentagon.
I mean, I don't trust Bush at all. Why should I?
A highschool acquaintance said, "Do you REALLY think G.Bush was complicit in the attacks?"
My response: While Bush is clearly incompetent and hijacked 2 US elections to achieve the office of the Presidency, I have no direct evidence that he was complicit -- however, I think he KNEW they were going to happen and he was on vacation. Or perhaps he deliberately allowed it to happen, since he knew he would have far more influence as a 'war president'. A guy who clearly breaks the laws often (Florida election, AWOL, no-bid contracts to Haliburton, etc) seems more likely to do it more often -- especially if he gets away with it so often.

What G.Bush is for me (and much of the USA) is a humiliation, a sign of the collapse of the USA, and a strike against freedom and truth across the Earth. And those are his aspects w/o considering any conspiracy theories.
Impeach Bush .org!!!

ZombieTech 2000+ = iZombie, eZombie, and cZombie

Everyone's so frightened by zombies... OH NO! They've come to eat your flesh, drink your blood! Eek! Aaagh!
But all that was just a bad trip by someone from 100+ years ago whacked out on Lye, right? We don't have to worrie about Zombies today, right?

Actually ... They are REAL!!

iZombies have been spotted all around San Francisco!!
Instead of eating you alive, they just look at you right in the eye and completely ignore you.
Unless you interrupt the machinery so they can go on their way.


And there's the eZombie, who without a keyboard is a tvZombie or a cableZombie or satelliteZombie depending on their setup.
They are harmless, but are so entrenched in their infotainment that they may forget to eat, drink, go to the bathroom, sleep, or move. Some eZombies can no longer have sex, but at the sound of a sporting event they are aroused...


Lastly, and perhaps the most annoying, is the cZombie. Also known as a pZombie, mZombie, or however they abbreviate their cellphone.

You know 'em, the folks that talk in your face to someone else, speak out loudly in public all the things you never wanted to hear, and so on.
Worse than the other zombies b/c they inflict radiation damage to all around, besides the atrocious sonic pollution.



With ZombieTech 2000+, Zombies are cured when their batteries die. I see this as a positive, although with modern battery capacities and quick rechargers we are seeing less down-time.
The one horrific truth about modern Zombies is you probably are one of them SOMETIME during your day, EVERY day!!
AaaaaaaaAAAaaaagghghgghgh!!

Ode to RPG's

I love RPGs (see Wikipedia if you dunno what I'm saying).

I'm always looking for gamer groups. When I get in a good one, I move away soon after by some chance of fate. Unfortunate.
Shared fantasy is an excellent high, as those who've tried it know. Comparing TV or movies to RPG'ing, I'd say the fun ratio would be something like 100 vs 1, perhaps more. And why?
On TV: viewers watch someone's conception of a character do something and sit passively and observe. Even AMAZING TV consists of this.
In RPG: players listen to an description of a time-space and a scenario. Often plot points are hinted at by a GM, but not fully revealed. Players co-create the game with the GM by pursuing what interests them or their characters. Generally all parties are surprised by the results, and can laugh later about an adventure which they took part in -- together AND in their minds. And ultimately, what is life but what we remember in our minds anyway?
The worst of role-play gaming, for me is very close to miniature war-gaming. I'm a peace-loving person, completely anti-violence. When I roleplay, I want conflict and tension for excitement, not for body count or gore. And the main focus is ACTING and PRETEND, not killing and destruction.
I feel the game tension is often in my character's survival, and often just them being true to themselves in uncomfortable situations. The focus is not in the massive destruction of my character's enemies.

Now a tribute to my favorite RPGs:

ShadowRun - Tolkien fastforwarded to the future, but this time multi-racial people count. The corporate takeover is complete, and a non-euro race successfully breaks out of the empire. Plus magic + matrix + cyberware, and some great slang that includes some actual Japanese.
Cyberpunk - Grit and tech.
Mekton - a classic where you basically do future stuff all for a chance to hop in a giant robot and fight. I always liked all the other stuff, but 90% of Mekton players just want to get in the Mech!
Traveller - non-humanoids have a chance in this space exploration classic. You don't HAVE TO kill everyone, interact, or fight. You can explore, trade, and solve mysteries while seeing amazing places.
Star Wars - Jedi vs Empire, or play rebels, pirates, or new Empire recruits, or even bounty hunters. A bit force-heavy, but a few good game sessions can be more exciting than the last 3 movies! Lucas hit the nail on the head for awhile, then blew it.
d20 Modern/Future - keep the new D&D system (3.0 or 3.5), play in the modern world, and remove most of the Tolkien stuff (unless you add in the Urban Arcana book, which takes you closer to ShadowRun or X-Files type of world). Tries to work with regular modern people, but heroes will be overpowered. Overly complex, but great art and can work ** if you don't use miniatures! ** Run the game like a storytelling game with minimal props and it works great.
Paranoia - the classic game of constant senseless conflict in a future where logic is broken and nobody knows it. The only RPG I've played repeatedly where the goal is not necessarily to survive but to have your glory moments and then die, as everyone tends to at least once.
Mage: the Ascension - I like the darkness and the flexibility of it. I wish the Vampires and Werewolves (and other misc) from the other White Wolf games would go away. The new Mage: the Awakening, doesn't impress me at all.

'alternate worlds'
Dragonstar - a good attempt at magic scifi. A feuding galaxy ruled by warring dragon empires. Yeah, that's the bad part. Pretty good attempt at magic and tech mixing, deadly firefights, and 'soul-mech' characters allow droids with personality.
Red Star - amazing art, but I'm not sure about the world or the game. Based on the amazing comic of the same name, Red Star has some neat ideas, but seems like the backdrop is constant war. Could be like a Robotech style setting, except an Eastern totalitarian regime instead of vaguely Japanese military one. Sounds pretty good!
Fading Suns - great idea, but the game is dry. Religious scifi future, everyone is somehow related to some deity. Bogs down.
Polyhedron (Dungeon Mag) supplements with Dark Sun & Iron Lords of Jupiter
ShadowRun - I love these issues.
Dark Sun is D&D set on a desert planet, most action taking place in evil city-states controlled by a corrupt leader. Battle for survival, and survival ain't that great.
Iron Lords of Jupiter is more of a 'John Carter on Mars' type of tale, with a super example of humanity travelling to another planet to adventure.

Genres/settings I DON'T love include:
Dungeons & Dragons & Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay. Mostly I don't love these b/c there's a lot of implied racism in Tolkien-esque stuff, everything's Euro-centric, and for me as a Jew it rubs me the wrong way. But I've played many hours in both game worlds and similar ones, and gotta give props to the core genre of them all.

There's also a new creative/collaborative style of RPGs where the rules and space are formed as part of the games, in a team. I haven't played yet, but they sound great and I can list some names:
Universalis - a free form game designed to work in all genres.
Prime Time Adventures

I am excited how the 'in-person' RPG world will evolve. Computer RPG'ing will never stop growing, particularly since it's addictive, profitable, and can be done anywhere there's a computer ... but the face-to-face has it's own unique rewards.