The Wonderland Game Company -- Lubbock, Texas

		Tabletop and Live-Action Roleplaying Games
		Family and Party Games
		Board and Card Games
		Miniatures, Paints, and Terrain
		T-Shirts, Prints, and Gamer Accessories
		Weekly Tournaments and Leagues
		Useless Advice and Random Conversations

WonderWebLog for 19 Apr 2004

It's late on a Monday night, and I've had a pretty good day. I joined Gus, Kristi and a new friend, Jeff, for an evening of Mah-Jongg and Oolong tea. Very nice. I even managed to win a couple of hands, which for those who know my miserable talents at Mah-Jongg, is an accomplishment. I love the game, but just don't often have the luck necessary. Looks like I may have a weekly Mah-Jongg game again!

This last weekend wasn't too bad, either. The shop was packed with gamers from Friday until late Saturday. There was also an "Appreciation Cake" for Kandy for all that she does with the kids' tournaments. I'll admit, I had nothing to do with it. A group of them coordinated it all and got it running from start to finish. There's a really good crowd of bright kids and young adults hanging out here on Saturdays, I've seen them grow as people together, and now they stand together. This is really what a game shop is about: bringing disparate groups of people together that probably never would have met otherwise. Wow.

Only one thing got me mad today. Somebody from Texaco called up and asked if I'd be interested in investing in oil drilling. I thanked her but politely declined, saying that I don't invest my money in industries or companies that directly result in the abuse or loss of human life to generate profit. She replied saying that Texaco only drills in the US (which is bollocks). I retorted with "Oh, Indian land, then," upon which she hung up.

And speaking of the world of wild finance, it looks like Lloyd Goldman and Joseph Cayre, two members of the group that held the lease on the World Trade Center at the time of the attacks are now buying the Sears Tower in Chicago. At first glance, you think they'd realize that skyscrapers aren't the wisest of investments. Still, considering how much they cleaned up on the insurance money after September 11, perhaps they're hoping for another disaster? Or am I being cynical?

It's a slow week, and that's got me a bit nervous as rent is coming up next Saturday. Hopefully it'll all speed up and we can get some bills taken care of. I'll be in and out all week doing stuff but I'll be around Friday and Saturday night, so if you want to play, come by!

Be well,

"I had to share this find. I recently purchased a high-quality computer sleeve from a small boutique manufacturer. I was checking if it could be washed. The photo is the attached tag with the washing instructions in both English and French. The English is exactly what you would expect and so is the French, for the first 6 lines. The last three lines of French are most interesting. 'We are sorry that our President is an idiot. We didn't vote for him.' Given recent strained relations between our two countries, it's good to see that not all Americans agree with the current administration."
-- cbrown, "A Special Sense of Humor"

"He said that the Iraqi scientists believe their lives would be in danger if they decline to cooperate with the occupation forces, especially when they recall that senior U.S. officer Michael Peterson once said, 'Iraqi scientists are at any case a threat to the U.S. administration, whether they talk or not.' A source close to the Iraqi Governing Council said, 'In the meantime, many suspect containers disguised as fuel supplies have been moved about by some units of the U.S. special forces. The move has been carried out under heavy security measures. Also, there are unofficial reports that the containers held biological and bacteriological toxins in liquid form. It is possible that the news about the discovery of the WMDs would be announced later.'"
-- "New Reports on U.S. Planting WMDs in Iraq"

"The focus of the Time Dollar program was not on what this community lacked, but what it had. Kids were not empty vessels to fill, cracked vessels to repair, or defective merchandise to relegate to the scrap heap. They were producers, earners, learners, mentors. And they had proof. In fact, they had three kinds of proof: A Time Dollar bank statement recording their hours; a computer—a symbol of approval so important and so valid that even their parents had been willing to earn some Time Dollars to get it; and one or more new buddies—a tutor they could look up to, or a tutee they had helped and would protect. In short, Time Dollars helped unleash the wealth that was already there by reclaiming people (and computers) society was prepared to throw away."
-- Edgar Cahn, "Unleashing Our Hidden Wealth"

"What makes the story so appealing to Christian fundamentalists is that before the big battle begins, all 'true believers' (ie those who believe what they believe) will be lifted out of their clothes and wafted up to heaven during an event called the Rapture. Not only do the worthy get to sit at the right hand of God, but they will be able to watch, from the best seats, their political and religious opponents being devoured by boils, sores, locusts and frogs, during the seven years of Tribulation which follow. The true believers are now seeking to bring all this about. This means staging confrontations at the old temple site (in 2000, three US Christians were deported for trying to blow up the mosques there), sponsoring Jewish settlements in the occupied territories, demanding ever more US support for Israel, and seeking to provoke a final battle with the Muslim world/Axis of Evil/United Nations/ European Union/France or whoever the legions of the antichrist turn out to be."
-- George Monbiot, "Their Beliefs are Bonkers, but They are at the Heart of Power"

Smile, and welcome to The Wonderland Game Company's official website! This is where we hang out and put our various doings online for your enjoyment.

In addition to the site, we also run The Mad Hatter's House of Games, Lubbock's only game store. We're located right across the street from Texas Tech University in the middle of the student entertainment district.

We have free play space, big gaming tables, weekly sanctioned tournaments, giveaways, odd events, Mexican import sodas, nearly all of Mike Oldfield's albums on shuffle play, plus four pubs and the best pizza in the world all within a few steps of the front door. What more could you ask for?

Our Policy: We love our customers. We keep no databases of customer or client information. We do not sell our customer information, nor keep detailed records of who buys what, so don't even ask. Customers, rejoice in your privacy, and we ask all law enforcement agencies, governments, and financial groups interested in grilling us or our customers to respect our decision. Welcome to the free market, and to hell with the Patriot Act.