"Immortality, or a state without death, would be meaningless, I shall suggest; so, in a sense, death gives meaning to life." - from Bernard Williams' "The Makropoulos Case: reflections on the tedium of immortality." That sentence is the little simplified bit of what is a lead-dense essay otherwise, but one little thing that clicked in my head as I read the counter/arguments was that the White Wolf Publishing people who redesigned their vampire line seem to have (at least to me) developed much of their setting based around if not this essay, then one that is very, very similar. So, kudos to the writers for making a point of bringing in higher-end philosophy, if that's the case. Basically it helps the reader/writer/game player or whoever is using the resources they make to not just discuss the philisophical questions involved, but to really engage them in it by providing a forum and parameters (the setting and rules).

I think I just might be able to get a VHS of White Dwarf. I saw it a long time ago on television, but unfortunately I think I was too young to really understand it. In any case, a nice plot summary is in the link, but the actual production of it was definitely a nice mix of SF and fantasy. At least in my memory at any rate.

How many I's and you's in Japanese? (because I'm a linguaphile)

Missile Command - one of the original bestest games ever

Something seems vaguely unsettling about using a computer to predict this; also, Kevin's questions: If all songs will be as good as Stairway to Heaven, will Stairway to Heaven be any good anymore?

And do you think that machine is just calibrated to Western music or do you think it's universal? I can't imagine Arabic, Chinese or Indian music would have the same asthetic variables as Western music. Then again if Linkin Park and Norah Jones are in the same statistical group then maybe it applies to all music. I wonder how that Tunak Tunak Tur song would score on that damnable machine. Or Splashdown for that matter. (via Kevin)