Heavy Metal Sunday says "no, not *that* Jayne..."

From Wikipedia:

L.A. Guns is a name used by two American glam metal bands whose music is frequently associated with the L.A. glam metal scene which grew up around the Sunset Strip in the 1980s, in particular the sleaze rock subgenre. Three members of the first L.A. Guns lineup, including founder Tracii Guns, were involved in the formation of the first incarnation of Guns N' Roses. L.A. Guns merged with fellow L.A. group Hollywood Rose, but they soon all left the group.

L.A. Guns were then reformed by singer Paul Black initially under a different moniker until Tracii joined the band. The lineup changed to what is now known as the classic lineup with Phil Lewis on vocals, Tracii Guns on lead guitar, Mick Cripps on rhythm guitar, Kelly Nickels on bass and Steve Riley on drums releasing three moderately successful albums. During the early 90's the group were dropped from their label and several members left the group with the band going through numerous lineup changes afterwards. In 1999 the classic lineup reunited for a reunion tour and later began recording new material.

In 2002 Tracii left the group forming Brides of Destruction with Mötley Crüe bassist Nikki Sixx. The remaining members decided to continue on without Tracii, adding guitarist Stacey Blades and releasing new material on the album Tales from the Strip. After Tracii put the Brides on hiatus he formed a solo band he eventually renamed L.A. Guns. Both bands continue to tour under the L.A. Guns moniker.

So remember, check to see which version of L.A. Guns you're getting! Today you're getting the classic line-up performing The Ballad of Jayne off 1989's Cocked & Loaded.

Let's make sausage!

Or something even messier, reduce the Federal Debt. Here's an interesting simulator that allows you to pick different options to reduce the debt as a percentage of the GDP. The goal is to get the debt down to 60% by 2018. I did it through austerity measures and enhanced revenues.

Very interesting and thought provoking.

More musings on Earthdawn.

Note these posts now have their own tag. Collect the whole set!

One common feature in most fantasy games is deities of varying strength and morality who actively intervene in mortal affairs. Usually this is through their clerics by way of granted powers. Once I started reading history, I was greatly amused by D&D's attempt to graft a polytheistic set of competing pantheons onto a medieval society. Lose a central, all powerful Church and you lose a lot of good plots and opponents.

But what about in Earthdawn? How would the residents of the kaers handle religion? I see a couple of options here.

• Prior to the coming of the Horrors, religion was much like it was on Earth. A collection of tales and legends to explain natural phenomena and provide a moral framework. People worshiped, but didn't expect daily deus ex machina interventions. The Horrors pretty much ended organized religion as there were other concerns (like survival). After the opening, religion might be on very shaky ground with kaer-folk. This would be a religion-free game, for the most part.


• The gods were real, intervened in the classical Greek way, and granted insights and gifts to their followers. It was the gods who warned about the coming of the Horrors, taught how to defend a kaer against them, and then rode out to buy time in one final Götterdämmerung. In this option, everyone knows the Old Gods are dead, but perhaps there were vague prophecies about a new race of gods rising from the ruins. This could lead to a really epic game as time goes on and great heroes begin finding the roads to the vacant deityships.


• The gods were real, but either ran off or were shut out as the Horrors advanced. After the bulk of the Horrors are exiled back to their dimension, the gods return. They demand immediate worship. What would the reaction be among the populations that just spent the last 400 years fighting unspeakable nightmares without divine help? This could set up some very interesting scenarios as presumably weakened deities work to rebuild their position. Even more interesting if they face competition from ascending mortals.


• The gods were the Horrors. Just like Dionysus' mother, who died when she demanded that Zeus reveal himself in his full glory, when the barriers between the mortal and divine realms became to week we suffered the full power of the gods. The gods themselves might not have even noticed fully what was going on, it was just another eon for them. But when the full power of the God of War is brought to Earth, there will be war. Think about the classical Greek pantheon and imagine each aspect turned up to 11 with no off switch. This might be fun because the gods might actually wonder why no one worships them anymore. "You destroyed our entire culture! Millions died!" "I didn't mean to, so why don't you get with the burnt offerings and we'll call it even."

Comments welcome on these ideas, and if you have another one, feel free to add it.