Answering Questions: Guiseppe Antonelli

Why your wife should answer our questions? -- Guiseppe Antonelli

I figured that I would just take an opportunity to give her a little bit of fun. She's got a good sense of humor and any chance to make her use it delights me.

Why in Italy the RPG is less prevalent than in America? -- Guiseppe Antonelli

I honestly don't know, but my guess is that you've got too many beautiful women and too much great wine for role-playing games to get a toe hold.

:-p -- Guiseppe Antonelli

:]

:)

:D

Disapproving face disapproves of both of us.

Answering Questions: Nick Salai (5 of 5)

Why have we put so much power and reliance in our government? -- Nick Salai

Mostly tradition. We've done so since the Civil War and it's only gotten more so since World War II.

Answering Questions: Nick Salai (3 of 5)

[Are lawsuits] a product of our advancement or degeneration as a society?-- Nick Salai

I think that by and large they are a product of our advancement. In the old days if a corporation decided to come in and poison the town's water supply there wasn't much you could do - and if things keep going the way they are today you won't be able to do much now either. While copyright trolls, ambulance chasers, and the like are a problem there are lots of legitimate lawsuits out there that deserve to be won by their plaintiffs and it's far better that we have that option than if it's taken away from us. 

There are some real assholes out there in this world and it's no longer acceptable to just shoot them in the face because they needed killing. Now we have to hit them in the wallet, for better or worse.

Answering Questions: Nick Salai (2 of 5)

How did we allow ourselves to become such a litigious society? -- Nick Salai 

I think that it was invariable outcome of the 1980s when juries and judges began to award ever higher levies against companies and individuals for legitimate lawsuits. Once the door was open there was only so long before the scum suckers decided that they'd be able get rich doing the same. Soon every lazy, ignorant jack-weasel made an effort to fall in stores and public buildings so they could claim they'd been harmed and sue the owners. 

Unfortunately it worked for a long time - those days appear to be changing though. I'm worried that it may swing too far in the other direction where people who are legitimately harmed through the negligence or malfeasance of others are ignored and unduly rejected. Time will tell on that one. 

Answering Questions: Nick Salai (1 of 5)

What the fuck is a Thark? -- Nick Salai

A Thark is the four armed green martians that John Carter encounters on Mars in the Edgar Rice Burrows novels. They're a warrior race of nomads kicking the ass of everyone who gets within range. 

Think of them as Martian Apache with four arms and you wouldn't be far off.

Answering Questions: JDJarvis

How would you best resolve a combat between 20 french knights in full armor and 10 crossbowmen vs a band of 5 Tharks using rules published by TSR? -- JDJarvis

If I were going to choose a rule set I would go with an amalgam of Chainmail and Warriors of Mars. Then I'd let the players run with it and watch the Tharks destroy the knights with ease. 

God I love Tharks.

Gods of Mars and Warlord of Mars Cover by Frank Frazetta (the Thark is wearing the cape)

Answering Questions: Mike Monaco

How many pits in a peck? - Mike Monaco

I think that you mean pints, and the answer is just a little over 18.

What's the difference between a camel and a lion? - Mike Monaco

Well, a camel is a handy herbivore that can be used for labor, food, clothing and riding. They smell terrible and have a kick that could break a lesser man in half without so much as a flick of their tail for the trouble. They are incredible survivors who love environments that many of us find inhospitable. The lion, on the other hand, is carnivore of the highest order that eats man and beast with equal measures pleasure. The males are by and large useless walking sacks of sperm while the females are deadly killing machines that suffer under the company of their wayward companions.

Answering Questions: Jim Haltom (2 of 2)

Are you currently working on a novel, short stories, etc.?

If not, why the fuck not? -- Jim Haltom

I'm working on two short stories right now and one longer piece. I'll be publishing the short stories here and the longer one I'm going to try and submit to a few publishers to see if they'd be interested in going forward with it.

I'm totally prepared for rejection on that last one but nothing ventured nothing gained.

Thank you for the praise by the way. It made my night!

Answering Questions: Jim Haltom (1 of 2) "Detective Stories"

Your narrative reminds me of some of the tough guy detective fiction that I shamefully love to read. Have you read a lot of modern day detective fiction, and if so, what authors are your favorites? -- Jim Haltom

Sadly I haven't read many modern detective novels. I do read J.D. Robb's In Death series though. Most of the detective novels I enjoy are were written by Rex Stout, Agatha Christie, and Dashiell Hammett. 

My favorite authors, in no particular order, are: M John Harrison, Dan Abnett (the Eisenhorn novels are amazing), Rex Stout, William King, Henry Miller, Phillip K. Dick, Hunter S. Thompson, Allen Ginsberg, William S. Burroughs, Charles Bukowski, W. Somerset Maugham, Lester Dent, Irving Stone, Audie Murphy, and David Ferring. I hope this helps give you an idea of who's influenced my writing style. 

Oh, and just in case you were wondering my four favorite novels of all time are: Thus Spake Zarathustra by Friedrich Nietzsche (Walter Kaufmann translation); the Razor's Edge by W. Somerset Maugham; Viriconium by M. John Harrison; and To Hell and Back by Audie Murphy.

 

Answering Questions: Dan Head (3 of 3) "The Great Divide"

A bunch of my friends are increasingly concerned about America's civil/military divide. I agree it's a problem. We fought two wars with something like 1% of the population on active duty, and we put the whole thing on credit, so no one has yet felt economic pain as a result. Military members think that a more informed, more personally committed populace will be a more responsible governing body. That, bottom line, if more people have skin in the game, then we're far less apt to find ourselves in inexplicable overseas boondoggles. What do you think? Can we close the civil/military divide, and will it lead to a more responsible foreign policy if we do? -- Dan Head

The Iraq/Afghanistan wars were handled in an unprecedented fashion. Unlike every previous war they seemed to disappear off the news and be forgotten which allowed our political leaders to do some really heinous shit in the name of America. It's damaged us in a lot of ways that I don't think we'll fully grasp for another generation. 

That said the biggest problem in how we act is the political bubbles people are cocooning themselves in these days. When we were growing up the news was news. There wasn't a decidedly liberal news agency (MSNBC) or a conservative news agency (Fox News). We didn't run to the internet and only read the news and opinions of people who agreed with us; instead we had to deal with reality as it was, not as we wanted it to be. But right now that's not the case and it has produced situations where we have Congressmen trying to incite us into nuclear war with Russia and repeatedly asking for a birth certificate (and being given it) for the President of the United States.

What we need is for our politicians to be literate, intelligent people who think critically about what they're doing and how they're acting; and right now that isn't the case. I pray that it gets sorted out as we appear to be moving away from extremism on either side and back toward moderation.

I don't know if I've answered you question so far, so let me say this: the only way that we can close the gap between the consequence for our actions (the military) and just doing whatever we think sounds good (civilian) is for our populace to stop vacillating between extremes and to approach the world as it is, not as we would like it to be. When that happens, and I believe that it is coming, things will vastly improve.