The RoundTable!

[peter grimes]

Yeah, that could be a touchy one, G_W. After all, we'd only be bringing it up as a way of showing the duplicity of the hypocrites Babes

We could certainly run a story about the confusing naval maneuvers the Babes have been doing lately.

 

[AutomatedTeller]

I could see one of the other teams bringing a coastal block being funny. But, given how vocal we as a group have been about Babe, I think it runs a serious risk of upsetting people.

 

[peter grimes]

Upsetting them so much that they quit the game?

 

[General_W]

@ Peter - - BURN!

But of course, AT is right. No need to just inflame the BABEs. Doesn't surve any purpose.

Maybe once they've quit totally, we can sneak some sly jokes into other stories.

 

[AutomatedTeller]

I'm not so much worried about upsetting the BABEs so they quit the game.

I'm a little worried about
A) Further causing bad blood between the people on the teams.
B) Looking like we are bad sports to the other teams in the game.

 

[peter grimes]

I agree with you completely, AT

 

[General_W]

2 Proposed stories for the next edition of The Round Table…

Window on the Heavens
The Chamber
Crowds of people have flocked to the top of Councilors Hill, just outside of the capital city, for the grand opening of the Council Grand Observatory – administered by councilor emeritus, Niklas Copernicus.

The state-of-the-art structure is already producing breathtaking images of the Heavens and advancing our knowledge of the beyond. At the dedication ceremony, First Council Paul, the 42nd of his name, said, "This monument is really for the children. It will inspire little councilors all across the empire to study hard in school, always eat their vegetables, and never cheat on their taxes." Critics charge that the First Council is over-reaching in his attempt to distract the public from the alarming budget shortfalls that have plagued his tenure.


It's a Sign!
The Institute
With star-gazing suddenly a fashionable pursuit, the Committee for Regular Astronomy Pursuit is passing out free educational brochures to help "regular people" locate the major constellations of the southern sky. Or is that the Northern sky? It's very hard to tell in this world. At any rate…

The brochures highlight the 12 major constellations –the water diety, Riqarius – the twin fish of major and minor continents - the invading Goat woman, Babries – the 4 signs of diplomacy: Bull, Allini, Crabby, and Lyin - the 4 signs of the world militaries – Gong and Free: Virgino, Saber: Numoros, Babe: Attackus, and The Council: the conquering warrior Councilarious.

* To fully appreciate this last story, you'll have to see the great artwork that goes with it. Here it is:

Any last minute input before I finish this paper? (Hopefully sometime tomorrow)
There will only be 2 stories this time, due to the Constellation Brochure artwork needing to be big enough to read.

 

[Niklas]

Bull, Allini, Crabby and Lyin!

But you haven't said anything about Eaxtras.

 

[AutomatedTeller]

awesome, General_W!!! You have much fun with this!!

 

[General_W]

Thanks guys. I do get a kick out of this.

@Nilklas, I left out Eaxtras on purpose... I couldn't really come up with anything good at the time, so I decided he was "extra" ... maybe that's a little too subtle?

I hope you all caught the committee name that’s passing out the brochures…
We Councilors seem to have a knack with committees that have bad names when abbreviated

 

[peter grimes]

Tho' I find this to be an exceptional example of G_W's skills, and tho' I consider myself to be moderately educated, I have to admit a shortcoming on my part. I don't get the joke / allusion behind "Allini" Though it will spoil the joke for many, could someone spell it out for me, please?

One small note: I think there is a little confusion generated by the speeling of "Council". Technically, The Council is a group of Councillors - individuals who offer their services, serving as counsel for the administrative body that executes for the greater good. In the proposed article, I think there are instances where counsel is the intended word, instead of council. Get it?

Great Job, especially with the art work

 

[General_W]

Thanks Peter

I think you’re a bit better than “moderately educated” – if I had to guess, I’d wager you’re over-thinking it.

I’m replacing the constellation Gemini (The Twins), with a sign for Alliance. I just blended the words.
Same thing I did with Aries the Ram – blending it with BABE... and Aquarius blended with Rik, etc.

I actually developed some slightly more complicated versions… but I worried that I’d be the only one chuckling… so I stuck with the blending.

Does anyone else think I need to make the Allini sign more obvious? Maybe drop the “n” ?

One small note: I think there is a little confusion generated by the speeling of "Council".

You are, of course, correct.
I think the only two errors in my story are where I refer to First “Council” Paul.
This is actually a case of me being too clever by half

I’m a big fan of Roman history, and during the days of the Republic, the highest office in Rome was that of “Consul.”
In this game, our term “First Councilor” always makes me think of that… and I got a little carried away. I don’t imagine anyone besides me will find that funny or even get the joke in the first place!
I’ll change it back to the correct spelling in final version.

 

[Paul#42]

Great.
I'm sure I did not yet understand everything, but from what I got, that's really nice!

And for the sake of timeliness I say: go print it!

 

[zyxy]

Funny!

Off to the press!

 

[Niklas]

I actually do think Eaxtras being extra is a bit too subtle to be a joke. Don't know what to replace it with though.

For Allini, maybe Alliani? Or Allyni? Though the latter looks a bit crappy IMO.

As for CRAP, I totally missed that one.

 

[peter grimes]

Allini may come across as All + ini, rather than the intended. Niklas' suggested Alliani is better (my $.02)

I have no problem with Eaxtras - but would Miscellanicorn (miscellaneous + capricorn) get the same point across?

Even though it's not a currently recognized office among The Council, I think there would be good reason to refer to Paul as Consul: after all, we are a Republic

 

[donsig]

I figured Allini had to do with allies - I think it's ok. When I first saw it I wondered if you had four diplomacy signs in reference to our Diplomacy game. Paul and Niklas are obviously Allini but I'd didn't want to try to figure out which of us remaining players was Lyin, Crabby and Bull. Then when I saw the artwork and realized you were doing the zodiac and so gave up on the idea of any specific inside joke. Like our world it's sometimes difficult to comprehend all the dimensions of The Roundtable. With that in mind I say it's also ok to keep Eaxtras and keep everyone guessing.

 

[General_W]

Thanks all! I appreciate all the great feedback and helpful ideas.

I've made the changes (Glad you liked my Roman humor Peter, but I suspect we'd be the only two – so I went with "First Councilor" )

I LOVED the Miscellanicorn, so I went with that. I'm still going to leave it unexplained. As Donsig says, we can't reveal ALL our mysteries.

I also agree that Alliani is much more obvious, and therefore better. Thanks Niklas (Or should I say, Mr. Copernicus? )

Now posting it in the UN!

 

[Niklas]

Thanks Niklas (Or should I say, Mr. Copernicus? )

My grandpa has been calling me Nicholaus Copernicus since I was a wee lad, so I saw it as rather natural . But thanks for the recognition.

 

[Paul#42]

Ladies and Gentlemen,

this is the final countdown to a new age. I can imagine how people felt when they had the impression that a new age was about to begin - like those who witnessed the first steam train about 200 years ago. The Council's members will be witnessing it very soon!

It's a pleasure and honor for me to be the First Councilor in these days of pioneer spirit and I'm looking forward to see our Nation enjoying great relief in the new era after those Dark Middle Age days of threat and siege.

I wonder if the General will have spare time to prepare a newspaper - I know he's currently coping with real life issues but he's been around here lately and sometimes it's good to get some distraction from the real world problems...

Just in case the General is not available, does anybody else feel to do something? I know it's tough to meet the standards set by our foreign minister, but don't be shy - try!

In great Excitement,
Your First Councilor