bookofjoe

Ernest Gary Gygax, Co-Creator of Dungeons & Dragons, is Dead

Gygax — or rather, his wetware avatar — died yesterday at age 69 at his home in Lake Geneva, Wisconsin.

Because in the minds of millions of people who fell in love with his game — along with those of the not yet born who will fall under its spell — he will live forever.

Here is Patricia Sullivan's obituary, from today's Washington Post, of the man whose dream inspired the multi-billion dollar fantasy game industry.

E. Gary Gygax; Co-Creator Of Dungeons & Dragons

E. Gary Gygax, 69, who co-created the fantasy game Dungeons & Dragons and inspired the $1.5 billion fantasy game industry, died of an abdominal aneurysm March 4 at his home in Lake Geneva, Wis.

Mr. Gygax, a high school dropout who was fascinated by the Dark Ages, and Dave Aronson created the heroic quest game with $1,000 in capital in 1974. Their game invited players to invent imaginary characters, such as dwarfs, elves, knights and wizards, and set off on adventures with a roll of the polyhedral dice. The game's multiple rule books and character studies gave its obsessed fans thousands of pages of instructions to consider.

"I don't think I've really grokked it yet," Mike Mearls, the lead developer of the upcoming fourth edition of Dungeons & Dragons, told Wired blogger Lore Sjoberg, referring to Mr. Gygax's death. "He was like the cool uncle that every gamer had. He shaped an entire generation of gamers."

It took 11 months for Dungeons & Dragons to sell its first 1,000 copies, but the game took off and became a cultural phenomenon among college and high school males in the 1970s and 1980s. No publisher would touch the game when Mr. Gygax and Aronson were ready for market, so they assembled copies themselves. Sales were $8.5 million by 1980 and more than $14 million by 1981.

Other game designers began creating copycat versions; D&D eventually inspired a whole genre of computer games, influencing everything from immersive computer CD-ROMs to Magic: The Gathering.

"People said, 'What kind of game is this?' You don't play against anybody. Nobody wins. It doesn't end. This is craziness!'' Mr. Gygax told the New York Times in 1983.

He told Gamespy.com that games are "an interesting diversion from everyday life."

"Games give you a chance to excel, and if you're playing in good company you don't even mind if you lose because you had the enjoyment of the company during the course of the game," Mr. Gygax said.

Some parents and religious fundamentalists objected to the dark, magical nature of Dungeons & Dragons, and after two youngsters committed suicide while reportedly under its influence, Mr. Gygax found himself defending the game and the whole industry on "60 Minutes." The controversy passed, however. Within a few years, a D&D cartoon was created and broadcast on Saturday mornings.

Mr. Gygax lost control of the game in 1985, and his former company, TSR, sued him over his subsequent game, Dangerous Journeys. TSR eventually sold D&D to Wizards of the Coast, publisher of Magic: The Gathering. That company in turn sold it to Hasbro.

Mr. Gygax turned to writing fantasy novels, most of them based on game scenarios, including the Greyhawk series and, in collaboration with Flint Dille, the Sagard the Barbarian series. Mr. Gygax returned to writing role-play games in 1999 with Lejendary Adventure.

Mr. Gygax also founded the world's largest annual gaming convention, Gen Con, which started in 1968.

Ernest Gary Gygax was born in Chicago and moved to Lake Geneva at the age of 8. His father, a Swiss immigrant who played violin in the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, read fantasy books to his only son and hooked him on the genre.

Although he dropped out of high school, Mr. Gygax took anthropology classes at the University of Chicago. He was working as an insurance underwriter in the 1960s when he began playing war-themed board games.

When the games got boring for him and his friends, Mr. Gygax added fantasy characters. That was such a hit that he published the innovations as the game Chainmail. To free up time to work on a game with more fantasy, he left the insurance business and became a shoe repairman.

His first marriage ended in divorce.

Survivors include his wife of 20 years, Gail Carpenter Gygax of Lake Geneva; two sons from his first marriage; and four children from his second marriage.

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R.I.P.

Lips Bracelet — Episode 2: To the limit

Episode 1 two weeks ago was decorative enough but if you're serious, you'll prefer this iteration in white gold with diamonds (above) or yellow gold with rubies.

From Bulgari Enigma.

Origin of the Gob — Episode 2: In Performance

Yesterday Jo Novelli, commenting on Episode 1 back in 2006, informed me that the Gob has broken through its restraints and emerged into the performance and pictorial arts spaces.

This is the news we here at bookofjoe have been awaiting anxiously for over two years now and thus we don't hesitate to preempt a breaking news report of a UFO sighting — with pictorial evidence and artifacts that could only have come from a highly advanced civilization — in favor of the latest Gob sweetness.

Her comment follows.

Hi joe,

i have done a performance with gobs check it out on my website (www.jonovelli.com/gobs.htm). i also have a picture there of a painting i made of the wrapper [below].



you can contact the bakery at (814) 266-3191 and they will mail order the gobs to you. and, btw, the baker's name is TIM YOST, not COST. just fyi.

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But wait, there's more!

From Ms. Novelli's website:

Home is Where the Gob is… (1996–)

This performance and video project explores the subtleties of comfort food in relation to body image and geography. A Gob is a chocolate snack cake with crème filling that is wrapped in cellophane with a sailor printed on the front. Gobs are made exclusively in my hometown [Johnstown, Pennsylvania] at Dutch Maid Bakery [below]



which is located on a corner, across from St. Anthony's cemetery.

I’ve been eating Gobs all my life and, recently, I’ve been asking other people, friends and strangers alike, to indulge my nostalgia and eat a Gob while I video tape them doing it. As they eat, we talk about the cake’s name, its flavor, the pleasures of hometown tastes and the shelf life of snack foods. Some participants reflected on childhood experiences while others revealed extensive details about their eating habits and health.

If you would like to eat a Gob for my project, that can be arranged.

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Who knows?

Maybe she'll resume the project just for bookofjoe readers — wouldn't that be a kick?

Inquiries: jonovelli@gmail.com

Make sure to tell her joe sent you to receive the red carpet treatment (Bizarro World style).

That's where they toss you out the door onto a ratty red carpet lying on sidewalk.

Oh, yeah, one more thing: The painting of the Gobs wrapper pictured above measures 24" x 36" and may — or may not — be available for purchase from the artist.

You know what to do.

Nintendo Wii Gum Case

From the website:

Wii Gum Case

Here's a great way to impress your friends when offering gum, or a cool way to carry game cartridges or memory sticks.

If you feel like making your own "Star Wars Kid" video, be aware that this replica lacks a safety strap.

The buttons are slightly raised to heighten the controller replica factor.

Metal tin size: 5.75" X 1.5" X 0.75."

Weight: 1.2 oz (34g).

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I'm gonna keep my tank wrench in mine.

$3.50.

[via Hoyun Kim and Popgadget]

Flight of the Godwits

My New Zealand correspondent Robert Elliot wrote, "You may find the attached article about the flight of the godwits from our shores to their Alaskan breeding grounds of interest. In particular the welcome & farewell provided by the Christchurch City Council in recognition of their epic flight."

Darn right it's of interest.

Here's the article, from yesterday's infonews.co.nz.

Farewell to the godwits

Christchurch will hold a send-off on Sunday evening for the champions
of bird migration, the bar-tailed godwits, wishing them the best on
their hazardous journey back to Alaska.

Residents, birdwatchers and wildlife enthusiasts will gather at the
Southshore Spit to farewell some 2000 godwits on the first leg of
their two-stage journey home. It will be a quiet send-off, says Paul
Kean of the Council's Event team, adding that thoughts of the danger
the wee birds face will underpin the send-off event.

"We take care not to disturb the birds as they need to conserve all
their strength. The godwits feed, rest and conserve their energy
during their stay with us, so it is important to leave them
undisturbed and unstressed," says Mr Kean.

There will also be an element of celebration — this is the first time
in several years that Christchurch has hosted so many godwits.
Currently, about 2465 godwits are preparing for departure on local
estuaries. Some 2006 godwits were counted on the Avon-Heathcote
Estuary in Christchurch, with another 85 at Brooklands Lagoon and 374
at the top end of Lyttelton Harbour.

"These are the highest numbers recorded locally for several years and
it is hoped that the recent downward trend in numbers might
stabilise," says Council ranger and bird expert, Andrew Crossland. The
higher numbers offer hope for the godwits which have been steadily
losing habitats in the Korean and Chinese coasts

The bar-tailed godwit (Limosa lapponica baueri) — or kuaka in the
Maori language — stops off in Asia to rebuild strength before tackling
the last leg to Alaska. Each of the mature fliers would have stored up
to 500 grams of fat to fuel the non-stop, 10,000 km journey which is
completed within eight days. The direct flights are some of the
longest migratory bird flights ever recorded — and some of the
toughest.

The scientific community deems the dwindling population of godwits as
a Species of High Concern and Christchurch has made the godwits its
own by designating them the harbingers of spring, and ensuring a safe
environment for them at the Avon-Heathcote Estuary.
The Christ Church Cathedral bells peal for 30 minutes to announce the
arrival of the visitors in September after a 11,000 km non-stop flight
and the Christchurch City Council rangers and the Avon-Heathcote
Estuary Ihutai Trust puts together a farewell event in March.
The godwits farewell will be on site at the Southshore Spit from 6pm
on Sunday 9th March (at the end of Rocking Horse Road — you can catch a
Route 5 bus). Please no dogs.

Maps available at
alaska.usgs.gov/science/biology/shorebirds/barg_updates.html


Additional information

This year, some 2006 godwits have been counted on the Avon-Heathcote
Estuary in Christchurch, with another 85 at Brooklands Lagoon and 374
at the top end of Lyttelton Harbour. These are the highest numbers
recorded locally for several years and it is hoped that the recent
downward trend in numbers might stabilise, although this is probably
unlikely given the huge amount of habitat that godwits and other
migratory wading birds have lost on the Korean and Chinese coasts.

Once back in the Arctic the godwits will quickly find a mate and begin
breeding. Because the Arctic has almost 24 hours of daylight for much
of the breeding season, the godwits are able to pack a lot of living
into a short window of time. Their preferred breeding habitat is
marshy tundra, particularly within open bogs and in swamps with
scattered, stunted trees. To claim a territory and attract a mate,
the male godwit performs an aerial "sky dance" , which involves
intricate aerobatic display flights and a short song. Parts of this
display are sometimes seen on New Zealand estuaries just prior to
migration.

The nest is constructed on the ground and consists of a shallow bowl
lined with a few pieces of dry vegetation and sticks. Three to four
eggs are laid and are incubated by both parents until hatching at
three weeks. The chicks can walk about, swim and feed themselves from
birth but they stay close to the adults until they can fly at four
weeks of age. Adults depart the breeding grounds earlier than the
young and often use separate staging areas on the Alaskan coast prior
to migration back to New Zealand. It seems that the adults and
juvenile godwits largely migrate separately so it seems it is instinct
alone that brings the young godwits to NZ on their first migration.

New Zealand hosts 70,000 godwits each summer, but it used to be
wintering home to 100,000. It is the same throughout the East Asian
and Australasian flyways, where up to 85% of the shorebird populations
are declining.

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Remember — "Please no dogs."

What is it?

Answer here this time tomorrow.

BlindSpotTest.com — 'Exploring the eye/brain relationship'

If you ever need proof that things are not only seldom what they seem, but instead never so, this website will furnish it.

Peek-A-Bye Credit Card Security Sleeve

Dunno about that name but I like the concept.

From the website:

Peek-A-Bye™ Credit Card Security Sleeve

Ingenious plastic sleeve slips over your credit card to protect valuable information while allowing verification of required data.

Transparent rear panel shows cardholder's signature.

Works in all standard card readers.

Package of three.

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More than three credit cards?

There's your problem.

$8.99.