Console Cowboy
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QUOTE (Darthmurph @ Apr 2 2004, 11:48 PM) Oh come on. The National Orgasm Day thread ran for over a year! 
This is nothing!Ah, the pleasure.... and the pain.... and The Raelians.
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Say, can we retired this Thread do you think? Lock it and boot it for bandwidth?
There is a whole package of these I keep stepping over as I prowl for stuff useful for my campaign, and I cannot see any reason for keeping them... I mean, does anyone really need to remember this stuff from three years ago? It does not seem to add any value to the overall forum - just pages of dead space.
What do you think?
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Well, it's kind of funny but when I was first writing this campaign for publication, yonks ago, I was actually writing with Rage For Order as the background. The whole story can be told from the lyrics and, with the Rockerboy role so prominent in the campaign, music relevance was a concern.
Then the project got shelved and life went on. Now that I am back to writing it, the CD came back into my possession last week. And I remember how exact it fits to the story line.
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Poland 2004 AD
Well, where do you think I got my AK-47 from....
Seriously, my passport would sell for 80,000PLN. Conversion Here. This was current information as of late last year, anyway. Some habits die hard as Poles enter the EU and get to claim a nice red passport. It has not dawned on them - or the black marketers- how useless my Canadian Passport will become in a very short time.
I have not actually been to the stadium, Mike. Not as a shopper.
Another interesting thing is the privacy laws in Poland - an extreme swing to the opposite end of Communism I think. I tried to hire a private detective to follow up a personal situation regards a background check on someone. Could not be done, I was told, unless it was involving an official criminal investigation. So, if you are doing due dilligence on a potential business partner, you are SOL (Shit-Out-of-Luck). Mickey Spillane don't work here.
Course, the monthly pay scale sucks in Poland, so there is always a retired cop with connections....
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It's official. It's old. It's the Console Cowboy theme band for the summer 2004 campaign in Warsaw:
Seattle's own QUEEN'S RYCHE.
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Poland 2004 AD
None of these Vietmanese can cook worth shit, though. This is disappointing, to me. The "Local Asian Bar" - think Blade Runner but enclosed in a metal Eskimo fishing hut including a few small tables and chairs along the outer wall closer to the door - serves several dishes but they all taste the same. The sous-chef cooks out of a generic tin.
Pigeon soup is a common joke at the Russian market (read: rushing ahead of the law market). This is an old stadium-like, open air colluseum built to resemble an American football field. It is not used for sports anymore but it is overrun with a few fold-up Asian restaurants and hundreds of sellers, most of whom are Asians selling "Hello Kitty" shirts, electronics, pirate CDs and the list is long. Wanna buy an AK-47? What?! I am sure that was a joke... .But how much did the guy want? (..remember, it's Poland so ask about the firing assembly - the pin is extra.)
Psssst. Hey, buddy... wanna buy a watch?
Time to go!
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Mike,
You're doing a capital job! Just remember that UE (Union of Europe) is really EU (European Union). Keep going. I am reading this with allot of relish and it is a great contribution to the site!
Keep going!
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Now I understand the edge in your campaign games much better. Interesting site. Needless to say the cachet for me is because I cannot join at this moment.
Six degrees of separation later, and you might see me.
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Nothing wrong with bringing back the dead - especially if they were worthwhile alive. I've only just got to 2003 in the postings reading, despite my making 2004 contributions.
I know all about the spud, the locked swearing Thread, and I've even looked at some member profiles who I presume are long gone. Hmmm.. so does this answer how much time I take in preparing a game..
But really.. as a relative newbie here, still, it would be better if I did not have 46 pages (in just one category) to sift through. Why not just have longer Threads?
Yes, I will be bringing up more back issues as I get more into the rules inside the campaign I am creating. At present I am just concerned with the creative elements.
What is "orangegunsite," BTW?
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Rockwolf66,
Nice Idea.
While not what I am hunting for at this time, I want to comment that I do like this organisation. I would run it legit and surprise experienced RPGers with who the members might be. My current fixation is on players with no RPG experience and this would give them a chance to role play (even before they pick a "Role.") It's like a fixer's society full of contacts and mentors - for the true of heart. There might be an interview where noobs can hear stories of EdgeRunners (intro Roles, known "villians," and the world).
And this would lend itself to unifying a Philosophical Concept or shared ideology among Player Characters - again, especially noobs who trust all introductions. This could be the central place "goto" for verity check and what not, if the PC's sponsor is available.
A very good place to role play. And can be friendly to noobs as well. Kudos!
(sigh) Reminds me of an organisation I belong to, but here the compass turns 360 and I've said enough. . . .
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QUOTE (water @ Mar 18 2004, 07:36 PM) Do I win? With your dulcet, velvet voice and smooth innuendo, I bet you win more times than not, water. Listening to you is like bathing my tongue in slippery milk chocolate and buffing my teeth in delicious after thought.
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QUOTE (Strawberry-Cream @ Mar 18 2004, 03:11 AM) Hm,
I live in Berlin.
It's definetely not boring, not even in 2004.Strawberry-Cream,
Please tell us about your culture and city. I would love to read about it from your eyes. As you can see from what Mike and I are doing, we are very loose. We just want to give Game Moderators around the world a chance to role-play characters of different culture and settings of interesting difference to one "every dark city" place.
Everyone, since we start to have more than one place in discussion, and for easy reference by readers, let's now stick to using the labels at the top of our posts here. Use the example of Poland at the beginning of this Thread, please.
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QUOTE (senior officer Mikael van Atta @ Mar 17 2004, 11:16 PM) Well, there are two faces of the truth.
On the one hand, we do everything by the book, 'cause otherway it is improper would make the clerk into trouble (I have worked for a moment as a clerk, I know how it looks on the other side of the desk).
On the other hand, we do mistrust authority (as for too long time authority meant enemy in Poland....), and many people have nothing against buying stolen goods, nor using pirate software and music, to say nothing about the films... Finding holes in the rules seems to be national sport, and as it is said "jeśli nie wolno, to szybko" (hard to translate - "If not slow [the same sound is for word "allowed"] then quick!"
And do you know another country where a bridge can be stolen, in high noon??
I suppose that we have had so many rules (heritage of 19th century partitions I think... see Norman Davis "God's Playground') that only way to live by was to avoid some of them. So we've mad an art of avoiding rules...Poland, 2004 AD
If not by process, then quick!
I would translate the meaning to reflect something like this as the system is the face of the enemy, not its people. It can be daunting to separate the two, and the two have not always been separate. Bribes (gratuities they would be termed in Canada to reflect the different viewpoints between our countries) have been standard operating practice here as I have it to understand.
But there is another way to look at the gratuities - which range from chocolate and booze, to other "things" - as tokens of thanks. As a nod of respect in a culture where bringing a gift is socially expected. I distinguish between "things" (to indicate products as gifts) and cash or promises/favours, though I am sure unsavoury deals of this nature occur as they do in other parts of the world.
In such cases of "tribute," the word bribe would be harsh. Like calling the tip for a server providing excellent service a bribe - regardless of whether the server was a clerk, public servant or waiter/waitress. Or, more poignantly, bringing flowers to a date as a bribe.
Other cases, the term bribe would have to be justified and evidenced through process of law.
Director of Corporations, 2004
Another area relevent to Cyberpunk 2020 is the law concerning directors of companies in Poland, who can be incarcerated due to "acting to the detriment of the company." According to what I have read, it just takes an angry board of directors to initiate this procedure ..
A quote concerning PZU, a successful company with two presidents in jail.
The last I heard of Mr. Grzegorz Wieczerzak, he was still not officially charged though, Mike, please confirm or dis-confirm this information since I am not up-to-date. He was arrested in September 2001. His wife, Anna, has told me that the situation was caused due to Political connections. And I can believe her, as the way the information was passed to me was not a seductive lure in logic but an impassioned defence. The article makes for fascinating reading but the part important to a CP2020 game in Poland involving Polish Coprorate Law is this:
QUOTE (Poland Monthly on 13 October 2003)
"Although his guilt has not yet been proven, he [Jamroży] is now incarcerated for “acting to the detriment” of PZU. [. . . .]
In a sense, Jamroży greatly enhanced PZU’s value by treating the company as his own personal property. In a few short years—and at least partially thanks to Jamroży himself—PZU went from being a badly run company in need of privatization to a powerhouse that soon became one of the most profitable, largest and most coveted state-owned businesses in Poland. The problem was that many of what could only be considered very aggressive investments would not pay off—or they would pay off only for Jamroży and a tight circle of cohorts, many of whom are under investigation and have been for several years for a plethora of crimes, none of which has been proven in court. The money is missing, but so far there has been no smoking gun."In a follow up to this story from personal experience, as a businessman in Poland and an employee of an off-shore company, people view me suspiciously when they learn, because I tell them for example, that I have an off-shore business. I am not a nefarious scoundrel but, in fact, small potatoes as my company's board of directors consists of one man. Given this level of business sophistication and general understanding, I think a foreign director should be worried about his position from more than just a pure business prospective.
Once burnt . . twice shy is the shiboleth in Poland. But the general understanding is full of boogeymen, superstition and catch-phrases (off-shore account) without even cursory knowledge. This translates to: If you know how to use the catch-phrases, it is possible to steal a bridge in Poland. Or how incarcerate a president.
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Just want to add a piece of music playing right now on my favourite station... it is required listening when in the creative mode. But, of course, I do not have the music to listen to. Darn.
Propellerheads - On Her Majesty's Secret Service. The best James Bond story - if not Bond film (based on book) - made.
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Hmm.. mayve I'll fire up the DVD.
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http://www.cbc.ca/arts/features/downloading/
I offer this for your consideration. I have only taken a cursory scan of it. It seems on topic. There might be some cross-over to the Rockerboy topic.
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QUOTE (CBC news @ March 11, 2004) INDEPTH: DOWNLOADING
What will the music of the future sound like?
By Dan Brown, CBC News Online
There's little doubt that the internet has changed the way people consume music. For most of today's young music fans, illegal file-sharing sites like Kazaa (as well as industry-sanctioned sources such as Canada's Puretracks) have replaced the local record store as the primary supplier of the latest hits. What this means is that there is now an entire generation growing up that knows no other means to get music apart from downloading.
At some point in the future – maybe in 15 or 10 years, maybe fewer – some of those young people will become musicians and start producing music of their own. Although there has been plenty of debate about the legalities of downloading, one important question has so far gone unasked: will downloading affect how pop music sounds in the future?
In other words, will the way that people access music have an effect on the content of that music?
The example of blogging provides a useful parallel. Before the internet became commonplace, blogging as a form of literature did not exist. Gradually, however, it has emerged as a distinct way of writing with its own conventions separate from other literary genres. Blogging is a very clear example of technology shaping the manner in which people communicate ideas and emotions to others.
Will the same thing happen with music? The short answer is that no one can say for sure how the evolution of music will be changed by any given technology.
When the electric guitar entered the mainstream, for example, no one predicted the impact it would have – not only did it change the way rock and roll sounds, it brought with it a whole new attitude of musicianship. In the same vein, no one could have predicted that in the year 2004 – years after the demise of the vinyl 45 – the typical single would still be about three minutes long.
The longer answer, however, is more complicated. Music experts do have some rough ideas of how pop songs will evolve in the internet age.
David Menconi is the music critic for the News and Observer newspaper in Raleigh, N.C. He says we don't have to wait to see the effects of downloading; according to him, the future is now.
Menconi points to the much-talked-about Grey Album by DJ Danger Mouse as a perfect example of the sounds to come. The record is a so-called mash-up, meaning that it combines elements from two other recordings already in circulation – in this case, the Beatles' White Album and The Black Album by rapper Jay-Z.
"That's a record that just flat wouldn't exist if not for file sharing," says Menconi.
Although mashing two albums together would have been possible in the pre-internet past for a DJ with the right equipment and lots of patience, the web means everyone in cyberspace has access to the tools to do the same thing in less time with less effort.
Menconi thinks that mash-ups as they exist now are stunts because DJs are trying to shock people by juxtaposing the most unlikely sounds. But he believes that, gradually, the mash-up will become an aesthetic in itself, which will lead to more diverse music.
"If you grow up with this just sort of in the air, there'll be more and more oddball combinations," he says.
Robert Thompson, a pop-culture expert at Syracuse University in Syracuse, N.Y., agrees that this is one possible path the evolution of music could take.
"Music now has the possibility of having a much larger gene pool," he says.
In Thompson's view, people who are interested in music are more likely today to come across influences on the internet that are outside the mainstream. It would not be unusual for an aspiring musician to download a tune from, say, an obscure techno band in Japan. That would have been impossible two or three decades ago; that kind of music could not be found in the bins at the neighbourhood Sam the Record Man.
"There are more mutations out there than before simply because there are more opportunities for something to actually get into the distribution system," Thompson says. This is in part because the power of the record companies, the traditional gatekeepers of taste, is dwindling.
What all this means is that the influence famously attributed to a band like the Velvet Underground by legendary music producer Brian Eno becomes more of a likelihood. Eno once said that even though only a handful of people bought the first Velvet Underground LP, every one of that handful went out and started a band of their own. With the internet, the chances of discovering little-known groups is so much greater.
"[People who are downloading are] dabbling in a fringe that simply didn't exist before. And that kind of fringe has got to ultimately get put into the equation of what that generation then creates," say Thompson.
Thompson likens the downloading situation to the advent of cable television. When cable was originally introduced, it was just another means of delivering the same old television programming. Four decades later, though, cable has had a huge impact on TV content. Because of shows like The Sopranos, cable is now seen as the natural home of the most innovative producers in the business.
"In the long run, I think when you change distribution it's going to have an impact on the music industry," Thompson adds.
"So you would have a series of generations of more and more unusual sounds, more and more diversification," echoes Henry Jenkins, the director of comparative media studies at MIT in Cambridge, Mass.
Jenkins sees the internet having one other major effect on musical content: songs will become more topical. This is due to the fact that an artist can easily bypass the traditional infrastructure – going into the studio, sending singles to radio stations – and make songs available for download almost as soon as they're written.
In this model, musicians are like troubadours of old, commenting on events as they happen in real time. "It would be a blog form of music," Jenkins explains.
All pop music would evolve according to the theory of hip hop espoused by former Public Enemy front man Chuck D., who likened rap to "the black man's CNN." Pop would be a format for instant commentary.
[PHOTO CAPTION]
The "Red Hot Chili Peppers" bassist Flea performs on the final evening of Woodstock '99 Sunday, July 25, 1999, in Rome, N.Y. (AP Photo/Stephen Chernin)
Music critic Menconi says he has already seen this idea at work. When the U.S. invaded Iraq last year, for example, bands like Green Day, the Red Hot Chili Peppers and REM made protest songs – songs that were not sold commercially – available for download on their official sites: "There were scores of protest songs out there … that were very quick and of the moment."
The same sort of thing happened earlier this year when Democratic presidential hopeful Howard Dean gave his now-famous over-the-top campaign speech, the so-called "Dean scream." No sooner had the former Vermont governor spoken than his not-a-victory address was uploaded and mixed with all manner of music.
All of this paints a rosy picture of pop's future. There is another school of thought, however, that says that instead of increasing the range of possible influences and subject matter, downloading will have the opposite effect. According to this view of the future, pop songs will become something like the opinion of life espoused by philosopher Thomas Hobbes: nasty, brutish and short.
In this way of thinking, downloading's relentless emphasis on singles – which are more convenient to download than entire CDs – is helping to speed the death of the traditional album. The net result will be that tomorrow's musicians won't be exposed to album cuts and B-sides, the offbeat sibling of the radio single.
[PHOTO CAPTION]
R.E.M. frontman Michael Stipe throws fruit to the crowd during a free concert for fans at a main downtown Toronto intersection, Thursday May 17, 2001. Thousands of people jammed the streets for the only performance of its kind planned by the band in North America. (CP PHOTO/Aaron Harris)
A young person growing up 30 years ago, for instance, would have been exposed to all the tracks on an album like Pink Floyd's The Dark Side of the Moon. If that same person were growing up today, they would have the option of picking and choosing the tracks they want to listen to.
If you add this fact to today's media environment, which rewards sensation, the prospects for creativity appear grim. "What that would lend itself to is a generation that writes two-minute songs that are just completely over the top," theorizes Menconi.
And not everyone sees virtue in software like Apple's GarageBand, which allows computer users to cobble together pre-recorded loops. Gil Moore – the former member of Triumph who now owns the Metalworks recording studio in Mississauga, Ont. – says this is the equivalent of selling consumers player-piano rolls. "You're not going to teach people to play piano doing that," he says emphatically.
"All they're going to do is add to the clutter of crummy stuff."
But Mark Milne, the co-owner of Sonic Unyon, a small label in Hamilton, Ont., is optimistic. This is because he doesn't think the people who are interested exclusively in Christina Aguilera or Justin Timberlake are likely to become serious musicians later in life anyway: "I think the people who are downloading Top Ten singles aren't really interested in music, and aren't interested in being musicians. They're interested in getting something for free."
Milne believes those who are truly devoted to music will still be able to find obscure influences, they just won't be doing so at their local record store. And the oddball music they download will definitely be a part of the mix in the future.
"It's something that won't play out for a long time. Give those people a chance to hear all that stuff and make something with it." -
QUOTE (Hanns @ Mar 16 2004, 05:27 PM) Here's how to get it to come up on WinAmp without registering or doing anything else. Plug this URL into WinAmp by clicking menu>play>location or using ctrl-L.
http://www.live365.com/play/307957?LID=613...88250&pid=40160
Can't remember exactly how I got it to work originally but it seems to work fine for me now. Let me know if it works for everyone else. Cheers,
HannsHanns,
I am having no joy with this. Did you ever log-in to Live365? It is repeatedly asking me for my member login.
This is what I copied OUT FROM my WinAmp player.
http://www.live365.com/play/307957?LID=613...88250&pid=40160
It's all there. Do you think CyberJunk will make the radio available on WinAmp without the hassle?
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Something tells me, Mike, you're better off without the Eurosource Plus. But we can meet when you travel to Warsaw and I'll let you have a look
Well, law abiding Poles from my foreigner's perspective... everything has to run by the book for many Poles. If it is not in the book, it does not exist. Period. It can be very frustrating for an EdgeRunner. This can create certain problems - which would otherwise be avoided.
From these self-inflicted problems, the Poles have a marvelous desire to circumvent the system. This is in the legal bureaucratic context: business permits, legal status, marriage, etc.
[True Story] An acquaintance here who is Polish and her ex-husband (Polish) get married in a village. They emigrate to Australia and have a child together but the marriage breaks down. The divorce, she wins custody of the child and they return to Poland. The ex-husband marries another woman in Australia during the time between the divorce finalization and the present. At present, the woman meets a nice Polish man to marry and who will help care for the child. Unfortunately, under Polish law, the woman is still married.
In divorce, the two parties must agree and file papers in the same village in which they were married. It does not matter that the woman can prove adultery against the ex-husband, who is having an adulterous affair with his wife.
She can sue for abandonment but this is the first step to a long process of divorce. Answer: Go to another country and get legally married.
These types of answers happen with remarkable frequency. Start a company without a hassle: go to another country. Foreigner needs a work permit: foreigner must return to the foreign country to visit the Polish consulate or Embassy that issues the work permit visa. This will change when Poland becomes an EU member, and the EU makes the changes for Poland.
It is common knowledge that the Polish government is running on pirate copies of Windows software. They were warned and given a period of amnesty to "clean up." I bet it won't happen, but that's me being a cynical foreigner.
It will eventually boil down to money - which ultimately makes sense to me. Why the "waiting for change" instead of acting for change? I figure it comes down to a paranoia with authority that is particularly Polish. It can be very frustrating for an EdgeRunner (dangerous I could imagine) to be stuck in an "in-between" situation in Poland. This inflexible manner of being proper is not followed in Hungary, another former USSR country, where change is sought.
In short, EdgeRunning is an art form in Poland. And while Poland does not wish to break from its past, IMHPOV, it is willing to be dragged into the future.
But, Mike what's your take on this as a native? Your opinion would be of more value than a foreigner on this issue.
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QUOTE (MonSTeR @ Mar 16 2004, 07:43 PM) I've travelled around the world a little bit and I've noticed one thing that's interesting. Most BIG cities tend to be very very similar, from Paris to New York to London to Melbourne to Venice. (with the latter having more canals and less roads)
Granted I've not been everywhere and I've not visited all thedifferent parts of all the cities I've been to, but most of them have some industrial areas, most have suburbs, most have some sort of public transport and most have offices in the CBD.
What I will say is that Architecture can be quite different, (Prague and LA look rather different) but as long as you get a travel guidebook I shouldn't think there's that much difference in any given circle from one place to the next.
Maybe I'm over simplifying this, or maybe things will get more and more simple as the internet and cheaper flights and less trade retrictions between agreable nations even stuff out.
having said that, I've never been to scandinavia, nor the middle east. But I'd just say if you want to know what a certain place is like, watch a film set in that certain place to evoke a certain mood and then extrapolate that.
For my cyberpunk world, LA is like the movie Heat, New York is like an episode of NYPD Blue. Ironically I think "The Matrix" shows a great example of what a cyberpunk city can look like. Very very normal on first glance, with so much more going on underneath.MonSTeR,
I'd agree with you in principle on the oneness of a Metropolis mono-culture. World renown cities develop their own cultures revolving around diverse ideology, fashionable trends, etc. An EdgeRunner is never truly caught out in a situation in cities such as the ones you describe and Warsaw and Mexico (where basic utility is questionable) because these are Meccas of ex-patriots, centres for a class of elevated status and a hotbed for political intrigue all separated from the daily living of locals. Role-play them in the countryside or at the dinner table of an ethnic family and the situation becomes more unexpected.
Like the guide books say, to catch a slice of local colour leave the tour group and stay away from the Hilton to taste local living standards.
That being said, what is the difference between one city and the next in the same foreign land? People in the South of Poland are very different from the people in the North, and I can made a guess as to where someone hails from. Different regions are known for different aspects of the overall culture of a land whether that land is Polish soil or Canadian.
Even more pertainent, in agreement with the tenor of GM 2023's original thought and the reason to create this Thread, is world diversity. I also took my first look at the description of Poland in EuroSource Plus tonight, and it does not give any cultural information. I could explain vast differences in the corruption I see here, labelling it petty-minded from my Western worldview, and the corruption I found in Canada for example – but I am still going to be short changed by the local mafia money changers, rather than gain in an exchange that would be considered money laundering in the West. Irrational from my point of view? Yes. Polish? Yes. My POV is Canadian culture. The money changing mafia is Polish. The same irrationality is apparent in all roles of Polish corruption, IMHPOV.
Ignoring cultural heritage prejudices role-playing, IMHO, boiling all characters down to a static statistic of primary language and unrealistic one-worldliness. How a French (speaking) character is different between Quebec and Acadia, in the one country of Canada, may surprise many. It seems reasonable, too, that a French-Canadian would be different than an Algerian, a Lebanese, a Belgian, or a Swiss character, though all could be French. To condense/condemn these culturally diverse backgrounds as all lovers of Jerry Lewis films would be a shame and a missed opportunity to role-play.
Moreover, a character with cultural ideo-synchronicities and quarks privileges role-playing by being interesting in mundane situations. This information can provide a growth experience for players faced with everyday reactions to common occurrences in foreign cultures situations.
Language is a statistic a player can benefit from in game play by keeping secrets in the open. Culture is role-play.
There are more ways to inflict pain (ie. growth experiences/IP) on players. The concept of a "blood soup," while not in practical use in modern Poland, may be a serious call to attention for someone outside the cultural milieu were it served to them. A Polish character may sit at table and wonder the nature of the problem whereas a non-Polish person may debate whether or not to eat this with a smile, not to embarrass the family. The situation could be further complicated were it to happen in Mozambique or Chicago. The Game Moderator sets the menu to present the characters with the problem, and it can be spiced up if hors d'oeuvres include blood sausage or blood pudding, for example.
I have many examples of personal blunders here in Poland, and I consider myself culturally sensitive.
The point of all of this is simple. In RPG terms, a culture should be more than speaking a language like a native. It should be more than a statistic on a page. But if we, as Game Moderators, treat culture as a statistic then we miss a great opportunity to elevate the game beyond hack and slash statistical values. In fact, we may be sending out the message that our world is not 'real' and players may feel at liberty to dispense with their suspension of disbelief. (noobs especially.)
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Didn't I just see this somewhere before?
Shall we combine the two Threads?
Just a thought from the curent data-miner. Though, really, this was not such a hard match top make seeing as they were on the same page (well, uhm, almost the same page..
) with postings on the same day... CC
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Didn't I just see this some where before?
Shall we combine the two Threads?
Just a thought from the curent data-miner. Though, really, this was not such a hard match to make seeing as they were on the same page with postings on the same day...
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Hmm.. playing with background music on. Unless it is instrumental, I tend not to. Settings change and music can detract and distract, though a remote tied to my PC now might make a difference these days.
Here's one. Anandji Kalyanji. Particularly his stuff like Inspector Jay From Delhi off the album: Bombay the Hard Way: Guns, Cars and Sitars. Another would be Ursula 1000. These cats are fine for my creative mood. I use allot of movie music as well.
Since I don't listen to Polish radio, I listen to the Net..... hold on , incoming orders..yes, master. .. ..
Try this out for size FullAutoSpyRadio. Its WinAmp, of course.
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QUOTE (senior officer Mikael van Atta @ Mar 15 2004, 08:56 AM) Damn, I'm a historian, I can tell about this country and its history for hours... and I don't know what would you like to know...
Thus, awaiting questions...Ladies and Gentleman, the next Norman Davies. ... Thanks for starting us off Mike. (What makes you think I wasn't referring to you
) I'm going to chip-in and reverse history. Yes, expand on Poland 
Caveat Emptor, I am a foreigner here. POLAND, 2004 AD or Common Era
You can carry Poland in your pocket.
Culture Tidbits:
Warsaw, is the capital of Poland (after Kracow lost the title many, many years ago. Poles have a very long collective memory and there is still a debate which location for the capital was/is better.) It is also the geo-centre of Europe, I am told. The second city with the highest concentration of Poles, after the capital, is Chicago.
The name day, popular in other European Countries - Hungary for example. This is a day where one or two names for each gender have been assigned to the day. Many calendars have these names inscribed on the days for easy remembering. A name day acts as a trigger to form a little celebration in honour of the person with the Name Day name. Cakes, usually homemade but also store bought are brought into the office, drinks bought at the pub (not bar!), etc. The Name day happens about twice a year though there are exceptions.
Blood Soup, would make a very interesting dinner role play with the girlfriend's family in Chicago, especially if the PC were recuperating for a couple of weeks. It is soup made from the blood of a goose (I think) and it is served to tell the child's significant other to beat it. But, in typical fashion, it is the Polish demure and modest way to express an opinion.
Expressing disapproval or a dissenting voice, in my experience, is especially a demure and modest affair for a typical Pole.
Visiting Someone, even just dropping over, results in the table laid with lace doily, open face sandwiches, cold cuts and vegetables. Help yourself, the beer's in the fridge is not standard practice, yet. Always bring flowers to your girl. Not just on special occasions. Street sellers are aplenty. And bring wine or drink to an invitation to dinner or party - not just the BYOB keggers. Social signs are important!
Water is something no one in Warsaw trusts. I am told new elements for the periodic table are discovered within tap water on a weekly basis. Bottled water is everywhere including restaurants - no: "I'll have a glass of water, I'm waiting for a friend" trick here for the poor, down on his luck EdgeRunner seeking shelter from a cold Polish winter.
Everything costs. Most things are sold in components, and this can be a very frustrating communication problem. GM's should sell things in components when in Poland. Oh, you wanted the cyberdeck and the jacks?! Likewise, play a Polish NPC as a difficult one to be cheated. And the power-up, too!
Door Keys in your pocket can be interesting weapons and will send you to the seamstress for repairs. The North American standard, universal key, is uncommon. More common is a skeleton key that can be about six inches in length. That's right, everyone is armed.
Speaking of Doors and one speaks of the chalked "K+B+M" on the front top part of some doors, especially in a block of flats. And doors can be double doors, with double locks, and padded doors. There is a variety of doors even in blocks of flats. New flats are sold with cement floors (cf. component selling.) The owner is expected to lay down the floor tiles. Almost everyone is a Do It Yourself'er. The Communist architectural style of pre-fab flat building in the city means a one-room flat can be double the size of a prison cell, almost, including kitchen and toilet.
Toilets can be separate from "bathrooms." One features the bare amenity. The other a shower or bath plus sink. Very European this set up. The American Fixer waiting inside the bathroom for the mark in the toilet may have an interesting surprise.
K+B+M is written at New Year's time and has some connection to Catholicism.
The Christmas Holiday is an interesting celebration. It starts with supper on Christmas Eve. A couple will travel to two suppers: his parents and her's. This reflects the family oriented nature of the people. A Christmas communion wafer is handed out and one breaks a piece off from another's wafer and gives a blessing before putting it into one's mouth. Everyone circles the room in this fashion and none are left out.
And you cannot buy a pizza on Christmas. Better stock food if the Solo waits the Holiday out in a local safe house. Nothing is open for two days.
On 1 November, the family graveyard is visited and a candle (a standard but ornamented glass encased table candle) is placed on tombs and at grave markers. Also, flowers are left. The sight of hundreds of people in a candle lit graveyard is awesome. Halloween is not such a big celebration and Valentines is only just catching on.
Lastly, the dates in Europe are day first, going from the specific to the general 1/11/2020. I wonder if this would confuse a visiting EdgeRunner?
That's all I can think of from a foreigner's perspective.
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QUOTE (Thumper @ Mar 15 2004, 12:55 AM) well you are not going to be able to help the V3 go forward many have tried and Mike does not want help.
That being said we can help ourselves.
But with me being from the US, I don't know how much I can help.You Yanks are always welcome to contribute.
Even though there is a built-in American perceptual bias, I didn't really envision discriminating out American input. My apologies if i sounded anti-American in soliciting for contributions. Not my intention.As for v3... I feel Night City and The Net Guide are dead. IMHO, the death of the Net guide is the end of CP2020 folks. The one review I read of a v.3 game run w/out rulebooks included a history of the death of the Net and some tripe that sounded like a Shadowrun rip-off or CyberAdvanced Dungeons & Dragons.
I don't think I would buy v3, frankly. I was not born to be a consumer.
If the Net is dead, and the Guide book is not to be reprinted, N'uff said. We're on our own. Let's get over it. Let's start making supplements of our own here and now. Then, with enough material contributed and in an orderly fashion (w/out Thread hijacking), I imagine Cj might put together an electronic book here, online.
So, let's start this.
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QUOTE
I suggest that a large size heading in bold be made stating your country and the current year.
Then, if you wish to extrapolate a dark future, I suggest another heading in large size and bold stating the country (has the name changed?) and year for extrapolation. -
QUOTE (covenant @ Mar 12 2004, 08:03 PM) But I must admit. My favourite sci-fi movie is METROPOLIS.
CheersYeah, Brigitte Helm gets me wet. She's a real doll.
I have to admit, the Interface was good. The direction was bad. And Gibson admits that he over-reached with the script. In his words, he didn't think he'd have another chance to do a cyberpunk film so he threw it all in.
Prophetic as always....
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HELP ME PLEASE
in General Chat
Posted
Ok. Can this one go the way of the Dodo?
I think I've seen this one several times, CJ.
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