Monday, July 15, 2013
Sources that don't inspire confidence
I'm looking at Chronology of 20th Century America by Melinda Corey. And under 1995 it tells me the World Series was cancelled due to a players' strike. Which would be some news to the Atlanta Braves and Cleveland Indians.
Sunday, April 21, 2013
Fun Facts I Can't Use
I'm writing a game on 1772, but of course when you look up something for 1772 in a chronology your eye is often caught by something from an adjacent year.
Case in point: in "The Burlington Story", which covers Burlington, New Jersey, there's an awfully boring fact for 1772, which I nonetheless will turn into a question.
But for 1773, there is a far more interesting fact. On December 4, 1773, a marriage license was issued in Burlington to a couple from Philadelphia: John Ross and Elizabeth Griscomb. Miss Griscomb, though, usually went by a nickname. I think you might be able to figure that out.
Case in point: in "The Burlington Story", which covers Burlington, New Jersey, there's an awfully boring fact for 1772, which I nonetheless will turn into a question.
But for 1773, there is a far more interesting fact. On December 4, 1773, a marriage license was issued in Burlington to a couple from Philadelphia: John Ross and Elizabeth Griscomb. Miss Griscomb, though, usually went by a nickname. I think you might be able to figure that out.
Sunday, January 6, 2013
This is so cool
Marjorie had bought me, some years ago, a book called the Annual Register for some year or other, and it just sort of sat there until last fall, when I hurt my back and I couldn't write games the ordinary way. So I found the book again (as I was doing the shelving that led to me hurting my back; oh irony!) and realized I could write an entire game based on one of these.
Naturally, I went and found a bunch of them online and bought the cheapest ones, particularly with free shipping.
I'm writing a 1988 game for this week and I decided to start with its Annual Register. As I open the book, I see a stamp.
Now, understand, the book is distributed in the USA from the Book Tower in Detroit. It is printed in London. The series was developed originally by Edmund Burke. Yes, that, Edmund Burke.
Here is what the stamp on it says:
Alhaji G.V. Kromah
P.O. Box 4196
Monrovia, Liberia
And inside the book is a receipt I can't make head nor tails or (the handwriting is that really weird French kind and it's in French) from a place in Conakry. Conakry is the capital of Guinea.
Some days, globalization is kind of cute.
Naturally, I went and found a bunch of them online and bought the cheapest ones, particularly with free shipping.
I'm writing a 1988 game for this week and I decided to start with its Annual Register. As I open the book, I see a stamp.
Now, understand, the book is distributed in the USA from the Book Tower in Detroit. It is printed in London. The series was developed originally by Edmund Burke. Yes, that, Edmund Burke.
Here is what the stamp on it says:
Alhaji G.V. Kromah
P.O. Box 4196
Monrovia, Liberia
And inside the book is a receipt I can't make head nor tails or (the handwriting is that really weird French kind and it's in French) from a place in Conakry. Conakry is the capital of Guinea.
Some days, globalization is kind of cute.
Sunday, September 4, 2011
Okay, weird
I have this book called "Decade", which contains iconic photographs from 2000 through 2010 (don't get me started on which is part of what decade.
Anyway, I'm looking at a photograph of Ichiro standing on deck at Safeco Field for his first playoff game, which would be game one of ALDS against Cleveland on October 9 and I realize, I'm in this picture. It's pretty high resolution and you can see individual heads (not faces) all the way up into the stands, and the picture goes up to the height of our seats. So with a good magnifying glass, I could probably figure out which of the four people in our four seats I was.
Anyway, I'm looking at a photograph of Ichiro standing on deck at Safeco Field for his first playoff game, which would be game one of ALDS against Cleveland on October 9 and I realize, I'm in this picture. It's pretty high resolution and you can see individual heads (not faces) all the way up into the stands, and the picture goes up to the height of our seats. So with a good magnifying glass, I could probably figure out which of the four people in our four seats I was.
Sunday, July 24, 2011
1971 in the New Classification System: Here we go!
1 .The first book is "The Book of Presidents," probably the best investment I ever made in a book. It cost $2.98. It covers every President from Washington to Nixon (well, through this very year, 1971), and it does it in good detail, especially but not only during their Presidencies. It would be almost impossible not to find a question on any year from 1789 through 1971. A "1". Will it be the only one in this game? (That's a double entendre, too).
A pause for a moment. Here's the thing about a "1": it really opens the mind. In The Book of Presidents, I saw that in 1971 Richard M. Nixon was proposing or signing into law a lot of things that "socialist" Barack Obama would never even think about asking for, like a 10% increase in Social Security. You see possible question you might get in other sources for the year. Possible themes for the entire game. Good stuff. Start your game with a "1". End it with a "1", too, because where the heck are you going to find a bonus otherwise?
2. 2008 NFL Record & Fact Book. New source, kind of hard to use. There is a short chronology that does go year by year, and then there are bunches of year by year records, playoff records, team-versus-team records. Not user friendly. I give it a "4". Sparse or boring indeed.
3. Republic of China Yearbook. It has a surprisingly comprehensive chronology, even though it's not only a chronology. I give it a "3". Here's why it's not higher: this is the year the U.S. started warming relations with Red China. There is one entry that relates to that, and one about the opening of a new freeway in Taiwan. That's all.
4. Oregon: A Chronology & Documentary History. The goddamned Oceana state series. The 1970 "fact" is the population from the Census. 1971 isn't much better. The very definition of a "6", because this one skips a lot of years.
5. A History of War at Sea. It's the girl with the curl. When it is good it is very, very good, and when it is bad it is horrid. Not really horrid, just not there. There are either naval battles in a year of there aren't. Darn you, Pax Britannica! So, a "5."
6. Art Censorship. A "3". The title conveys what the book is about, there are entries for most years, but sometimes you don't know what they're talking about because the censored artist is forgotten now. Which may be because the censorship was successful or because the artist wasn't very good.
And to prove it's a "3", I had to look something up to make the answer accurate (though in fairness, the book ends in 1971 and the remainder of the story wasn't known at the time of publication).
7. Chronology of Ukrainian-Canadian History. I know, you all have one of these on your bedside tables. Or you want my copy because you've been looking for this for years and years and years. This is your "4". Lord knows who these people are or why anyone would sit still for a trivia question about them.
8. The Kennedys: A Chronological History. A solid "1". I once wrote an entire game from this book.
9. Milwaukee: A Chronological & Documentary History. As bad as the state Oceana series is, the city series is that good. A solid "2", and only not a "1" because there are some sparse or missing years.
10. Billboard Book of No. 2 Singles. A really true "1" in the sense that it educates me in the context of each record; it's not just a list. And what I don't know about music can fill many books. This one included.
11. Flickers. A "2" , because there is literally only one entry per year, but it's in depth. The subtitle will tell you what it is: "An Illustrated Celebration of 100 Years of Cinema."
12. Chronology of Texas History, volume II. This is a solid "3", better than the Ocean series, but for some years there is a simple recital of the creation of ten or more Texas counties and their county seats or the chartering of five railways without context.
13. Atlanta: A Chronological & Documentary History. We've been here before. Another "2".
14. San Francisco Almanac. A nice chronology, a solid "2".
15. Disaster Canada. Another new one. It's got an index that isn't in quite chronological order but easy to follow. Not all years covered, but then a good article on each one that is. So a "5".
16. A Concise History of the Middle East. Yet another new one. Sort of a "4" as a chronology, because the chronology it provides is sparse, but if the text also covers the year (and they don't match), you can find good stuff.
17. The Complete Directory to Prime Time Network & Cable TV Shows. This well-illustrates the difference between "a good reference book" and "a good chronology." This is one of the all-time great reference books, containing the cast and a snarky description of every TV show ever. But the chronology aspect is minimal: a short chronology of TV innovations, a list of Emmy winners, a list of Nielsen top shows and graphically displayed prime time schedules. It's hard to classify. It could be a "2" because the information is all in there; it could be a "4."
18. Books of the Century. A "1". Many entries for each year, all in-depth.
19. Becoming a People: a 4000 year gay and lesbian chronology. A solid "3", particularly in early years when "well, we think this person was gay because we have no evidence she wasn't and she lived with a woman" describes many of the entries. Still, some good stuff and very comprehensive.
20. A Chronology of Noteworthy Events in American Psychology. Damn, this should be a "1", but it's a "3." Why? Because for some years, particularly in the early 20th century, half or more of the entries in a particular year record someone's birth. That wasn't an event in American Psychology.
21. Century Makers. It's articles on inventions in chronological order, but not all years covered. So it's a "5." Have you figured out that a "5" is better than a "4", except it's not reliable to take off the shelf and know you can use it? That's the problem with this book; I've actually had to put it back because it skipped the year I last tried to use it for.
22. American Women in Sport. A solid "3". Lots of names early in the century it covers (starting in 1887) I've never heard of and have to look up somewhere else.
23. 20th Century Hockey Chronicle. A fine source, covering each year in depth with explanation. A clear "1".
24. Almanac of Liberty. Basically a "3". It's a history of the U.S. military, but as histories of the U.S. military go, it's not one of the best.
25. Sixty Years of Hollywood. Also a "3", but a "4" might even be justified for some years. For this year, for instance, it considers the only movies that were of interest were "Carnal Knowledge" and "Summer of '42". Really.
26. Events in Telephone History. Really "events in AT&T history" but still basically a "1".
27. The Sporting Century. I think a "5". It doesn't cover every year, but when it covers a topic, it's two or three pages on the topic. This year's discussion of a rugby test match goes on for three pages before it gets to the test match.
28. National Geographic Eyewitness to the 20th Century. A pure "1". Lots of stuff. I need sources like this to fill in the stuff that people expect for a year.
29. Exploration & Discovery. This is a collection of New York Times front pages on the topic. What's really interesting is that often the exploration or discovery issue isn't the main headline on the page. So sometimes I'll steal something else that just happened on the same day. This was from when the New York Times was seriously the paper of record, so there is real reporting going on; this isn't your mother's USA Today. But every year isn't covered, so it's a "5".
30. Chronology of Canadian Military Aviation. An absolute "4". I mean, how many facts about Canadian military aviation, except during the two world wars, are likely to be of interest to anyone but a member of the Canadian military?
31. Encyclopedia of Horror Movies. A surprising "1". Here's the thing, except for the "7", which I haven't given out yet, these classifications are not meant to be an indication of how much I like the book, just how easy it is to use to write Flashback. A "1" I can pull off the shelf without looking at it and know I'll find a good question, whatever the year. A "7" I sometimes will pull off the shelf five times for five different games before I find a single fact I can use, and sometimes then I have to cheat a little. I am not particularly interested in horror movies, but this book is a total gem. It provides a full paragraph on every single horror movie made from the beginning until the year it was published, which provides not just information about the movie, but puts it in context of the genre. It cost me 50 cents at a library book sale. Compare it to the Oxford Chronology of English Literature, which you can find on sale for $300 some places (I paid considerably less for mine, but a lot more than 50 cents). It is just lists of books published in a year, with no context whatsoever, and sometimes it's clear that they took a broad interpretation of "published", as in "any edition of this book will be shown each time it's published without giving any reason why this edition was different from the last one." It's a sucky chronology, and this one is a great one.
32. U.S. Domestic Postal Rates. I guess this is our "7" except it doesn't really purport to be a chronology. But you have to hunt for facts based on dates among hundreds of tables. And not all years are covered. Is 1971? I'm looking. Yes it is. Hershey bar time? No, I worked out a better question.
33. Australia Through Time. A huge lovely "1". Australia makes good chronologies.
34. 100 Years in Photographs. I suppose this is a "5". This one at least has iconic photographs and is done by decades. I have other, similar, ones where there is maybe sort of topical coverage, and there might be 20 years without a single photograph.
35. Trudeau Albums. Another "5", and what I was talking about in the last entry. Topical, skips years. Also, it comes in a box, so it's pretentious as hell. Sort of like its subject.
36. The Beach Boys. A "1". This is one of those books where I can get lost reading it instead of finding a question and moving on. Which is a good thing unless, say, it's 4:32 and I'm trying to get the damn game written.
37. 100 Years of Federal Forestry. Another "6". As a "6", it's not bad, because it does cover a lot of years, but the stuff isn't in chronological order either.
38. Canada Curls. This is about men and women with brooms, not scissors and curling irons. It's a "5" or a "6". It has a chronology that is pretty comprehensive and interesting, but doesn't cover every year. So sometimes you're stuck with the year-by-year list of winners in competitions. And if you don't know what the Brier is, I can't help you. I have a very similar book on figure skating that has the same limitations. Only Nancy Kerrigan is more famous than Elisabet Gustafson, for some reason.
39. LBJ Chronology. We're starting a series of chronologies copied off the internet. They range all over the map. This one is a "4".
40. Leonard Bernstein Chronology. This one is also a "4."
41. PARC Historical Background. I take sources from anywhere; PARC is the Palestinian American Research Center. This is a "3" up to about 1948 (the year of the Nakhba, meaning "Catastrophe") and a "1" afterward.
42. Potato Then & Now. A "5".
43. Nicotine Wars: A Chronology. Another "5".
44. North Korea: A Chronology of Provocations. A surprising "1". For something put together as a report to Congress, this is damned good.
45. New Orleans & Mardi Gras Historical Timeline. A "4". There are years it just lists the names of Krewes at Mardi Gras. Zzzzzzz.
46. National Park Service Timeline. Definitely a "6". Sometimes it's just the name of a unit of the National Park Service even I have never heard of. And our main staircase in our house is covered in national park maps and posters.
47. The Northern Mariana Islands: A Political-Legal Chronology. The last of the printed chronologies. A "4". A good example of a hybrid, though. For years around the time the trusteeship status of the islands was in play, it becomes a "1".
48. Back to real books. "Crimes of the 20th Century." A lovely "2". I had to choose between Juan Corona and the question I actually asked.
49. Science: A History of Discovery in the 20th Century. A "1".
50. I Was There. This is a chronology of concerts. It's a "2" since there aren't necessarily concerts for every year, but they are covered quite impressively.
51. A Century of Electrical Engineering and Computer Sciences at MIT. An actual "3". A thing about "3"s, they sometimes will function like "1"s, meaning all the facts will be interesting. Sometimes not.
52. Historic Front Pages. These are from the Boston Globe. A "2". Nice print on them, I don't need a magnifying glass.
53. Big Town, Big Time. These are summaries of stories from the New York Daily News. Another "2", though less historical. On the other hand, for 1971 it made a better question.
54. El Al: Star in the Sky. A "3". Sometimes it just lists new equipment or routes. Marseille replaced Nice: nice!
55. Baseball Rookies Encyclopedia. A "1". Gives statistical leaders, a rundown of the important rookies (who sometimes weren't important as rookies) and then a chronology. Hard to miss something good.
56. Year by Year: 75 Years of Boeing History. Basically a "4". One fact per year, done in depth but some of them aren't all that interesting.
A pause for a moment. Here's the thing about a "1": it really opens the mind. In The Book of Presidents, I saw that in 1971 Richard M. Nixon was proposing or signing into law a lot of things that "socialist" Barack Obama would never even think about asking for, like a 10% increase in Social Security. You see possible question you might get in other sources for the year. Possible themes for the entire game. Good stuff. Start your game with a "1". End it with a "1", too, because where the heck are you going to find a bonus otherwise?
2. 2008 NFL Record & Fact Book. New source, kind of hard to use. There is a short chronology that does go year by year, and then there are bunches of year by year records, playoff records, team-versus-team records. Not user friendly. I give it a "4". Sparse or boring indeed.
3. Republic of China Yearbook. It has a surprisingly comprehensive chronology, even though it's not only a chronology. I give it a "3". Here's why it's not higher: this is the year the U.S. started warming relations with Red China. There is one entry that relates to that, and one about the opening of a new freeway in Taiwan. That's all.
4. Oregon: A Chronology & Documentary History. The goddamned Oceana state series. The 1970 "fact" is the population from the Census. 1971 isn't much better. The very definition of a "6", because this one skips a lot of years.
5. A History of War at Sea. It's the girl with the curl. When it is good it is very, very good, and when it is bad it is horrid. Not really horrid, just not there. There are either naval battles in a year of there aren't. Darn you, Pax Britannica! So, a "5."
6. Art Censorship. A "3". The title conveys what the book is about, there are entries for most years, but sometimes you don't know what they're talking about because the censored artist is forgotten now. Which may be because the censorship was successful or because the artist wasn't very good.
And to prove it's a "3", I had to look something up to make the answer accurate (though in fairness, the book ends in 1971 and the remainder of the story wasn't known at the time of publication).
7. Chronology of Ukrainian-Canadian History. I know, you all have one of these on your bedside tables. Or you want my copy because you've been looking for this for years and years and years. This is your "4". Lord knows who these people are or why anyone would sit still for a trivia question about them.
8. The Kennedys: A Chronological History. A solid "1". I once wrote an entire game from this book.
9. Milwaukee: A Chronological & Documentary History. As bad as the state Oceana series is, the city series is that good. A solid "2", and only not a "1" because there are some sparse or missing years.
10. Billboard Book of No. 2 Singles. A really true "1" in the sense that it educates me in the context of each record; it's not just a list. And what I don't know about music can fill many books. This one included.
11. Flickers. A "2" , because there is literally only one entry per year, but it's in depth. The subtitle will tell you what it is: "An Illustrated Celebration of 100 Years of Cinema."
12. Chronology of Texas History, volume II. This is a solid "3", better than the Ocean series, but for some years there is a simple recital of the creation of ten or more Texas counties and their county seats or the chartering of five railways without context.
13. Atlanta: A Chronological & Documentary History. We've been here before. Another "2".
14. San Francisco Almanac. A nice chronology, a solid "2".
15. Disaster Canada. Another new one. It's got an index that isn't in quite chronological order but easy to follow. Not all years covered, but then a good article on each one that is. So a "5".
16. A Concise History of the Middle East. Yet another new one. Sort of a "4" as a chronology, because the chronology it provides is sparse, but if the text also covers the year (and they don't match), you can find good stuff.
17. The Complete Directory to Prime Time Network & Cable TV Shows. This well-illustrates the difference between "a good reference book" and "a good chronology." This is one of the all-time great reference books, containing the cast and a snarky description of every TV show ever. But the chronology aspect is minimal: a short chronology of TV innovations, a list of Emmy winners, a list of Nielsen top shows and graphically displayed prime time schedules. It's hard to classify. It could be a "2" because the information is all in there; it could be a "4."
18. Books of the Century. A "1". Many entries for each year, all in-depth.
19. Becoming a People: a 4000 year gay and lesbian chronology. A solid "3", particularly in early years when "well, we think this person was gay because we have no evidence she wasn't and she lived with a woman" describes many of the entries. Still, some good stuff and very comprehensive.
20. A Chronology of Noteworthy Events in American Psychology. Damn, this should be a "1", but it's a "3." Why? Because for some years, particularly in the early 20th century, half or more of the entries in a particular year record someone's birth. That wasn't an event in American Psychology.
21. Century Makers. It's articles on inventions in chronological order, but not all years covered. So it's a "5." Have you figured out that a "5" is better than a "4", except it's not reliable to take off the shelf and know you can use it? That's the problem with this book; I've actually had to put it back because it skipped the year I last tried to use it for.
22. American Women in Sport. A solid "3". Lots of names early in the century it covers (starting in 1887) I've never heard of and have to look up somewhere else.
23. 20th Century Hockey Chronicle. A fine source, covering each year in depth with explanation. A clear "1".
24. Almanac of Liberty. Basically a "3". It's a history of the U.S. military, but as histories of the U.S. military go, it's not one of the best.
25. Sixty Years of Hollywood. Also a "3", but a "4" might even be justified for some years. For this year, for instance, it considers the only movies that were of interest were "Carnal Knowledge" and "Summer of '42". Really.
26. Events in Telephone History. Really "events in AT&T history" but still basically a "1".
27. The Sporting Century. I think a "5". It doesn't cover every year, but when it covers a topic, it's two or three pages on the topic. This year's discussion of a rugby test match goes on for three pages before it gets to the test match.
28. National Geographic Eyewitness to the 20th Century. A pure "1". Lots of stuff. I need sources like this to fill in the stuff that people expect for a year.
29. Exploration & Discovery. This is a collection of New York Times front pages on the topic. What's really interesting is that often the exploration or discovery issue isn't the main headline on the page. So sometimes I'll steal something else that just happened on the same day. This was from when the New York Times was seriously the paper of record, so there is real reporting going on; this isn't your mother's USA Today. But every year isn't covered, so it's a "5".
30. Chronology of Canadian Military Aviation. An absolute "4". I mean, how many facts about Canadian military aviation, except during the two world wars, are likely to be of interest to anyone but a member of the Canadian military?
31. Encyclopedia of Horror Movies. A surprising "1". Here's the thing, except for the "7", which I haven't given out yet, these classifications are not meant to be an indication of how much I like the book, just how easy it is to use to write Flashback. A "1" I can pull off the shelf without looking at it and know I'll find a good question, whatever the year. A "7" I sometimes will pull off the shelf five times for five different games before I find a single fact I can use, and sometimes then I have to cheat a little. I am not particularly interested in horror movies, but this book is a total gem. It provides a full paragraph on every single horror movie made from the beginning until the year it was published, which provides not just information about the movie, but puts it in context of the genre. It cost me 50 cents at a library book sale. Compare it to the Oxford Chronology of English Literature, which you can find on sale for $300 some places (I paid considerably less for mine, but a lot more than 50 cents). It is just lists of books published in a year, with no context whatsoever, and sometimes it's clear that they took a broad interpretation of "published", as in "any edition of this book will be shown each time it's published without giving any reason why this edition was different from the last one." It's a sucky chronology, and this one is a great one.
32. U.S. Domestic Postal Rates. I guess this is our "7" except it doesn't really purport to be a chronology. But you have to hunt for facts based on dates among hundreds of tables. And not all years are covered. Is 1971? I'm looking. Yes it is. Hershey bar time? No, I worked out a better question.
33. Australia Through Time. A huge lovely "1". Australia makes good chronologies.
34. 100 Years in Photographs. I suppose this is a "5". This one at least has iconic photographs and is done by decades. I have other, similar, ones where there is maybe sort of topical coverage, and there might be 20 years without a single photograph.
35. Trudeau Albums. Another "5", and what I was talking about in the last entry. Topical, skips years. Also, it comes in a box, so it's pretentious as hell. Sort of like its subject.
36. The Beach Boys. A "1". This is one of those books where I can get lost reading it instead of finding a question and moving on. Which is a good thing unless, say, it's 4:32 and I'm trying to get the damn game written.
37. 100 Years of Federal Forestry. Another "6". As a "6", it's not bad, because it does cover a lot of years, but the stuff isn't in chronological order either.
38. Canada Curls. This is about men and women with brooms, not scissors and curling irons. It's a "5" or a "6". It has a chronology that is pretty comprehensive and interesting, but doesn't cover every year. So sometimes you're stuck with the year-by-year list of winners in competitions. And if you don't know what the Brier is, I can't help you. I have a very similar book on figure skating that has the same limitations. Only Nancy Kerrigan is more famous than Elisabet Gustafson, for some reason.
39. LBJ Chronology. We're starting a series of chronologies copied off the internet. They range all over the map. This one is a "4".
40. Leonard Bernstein Chronology. This one is also a "4."
41. PARC Historical Background. I take sources from anywhere; PARC is the Palestinian American Research Center. This is a "3" up to about 1948 (the year of the Nakhba, meaning "Catastrophe") and a "1" afterward.
42. Potato Then & Now. A "5".
43. Nicotine Wars: A Chronology. Another "5".
44. North Korea: A Chronology of Provocations. A surprising "1". For something put together as a report to Congress, this is damned good.
45. New Orleans & Mardi Gras Historical Timeline. A "4". There are years it just lists the names of Krewes at Mardi Gras. Zzzzzzz.
46. National Park Service Timeline. Definitely a "6". Sometimes it's just the name of a unit of the National Park Service even I have never heard of. And our main staircase in our house is covered in national park maps and posters.
47. The Northern Mariana Islands: A Political-Legal Chronology. The last of the printed chronologies. A "4". A good example of a hybrid, though. For years around the time the trusteeship status of the islands was in play, it becomes a "1".
48. Back to real books. "Crimes of the 20th Century." A lovely "2". I had to choose between Juan Corona and the question I actually asked.
49. Science: A History of Discovery in the 20th Century. A "1".
50. I Was There. This is a chronology of concerts. It's a "2" since there aren't necessarily concerts for every year, but they are covered quite impressively.
51. A Century of Electrical Engineering and Computer Sciences at MIT. An actual "3". A thing about "3"s, they sometimes will function like "1"s, meaning all the facts will be interesting. Sometimes not.
52. Historic Front Pages. These are from the Boston Globe. A "2". Nice print on them, I don't need a magnifying glass.
53. Big Town, Big Time. These are summaries of stories from the New York Daily News. Another "2", though less historical. On the other hand, for 1971 it made a better question.
54. El Al: Star in the Sky. A "3". Sometimes it just lists new equipment or routes. Marseille replaced Nice: nice!
55. Baseball Rookies Encyclopedia. A "1". Gives statistical leaders, a rundown of the important rookies (who sometimes weren't important as rookies) and then a chronology. Hard to miss something good.
56. Year by Year: 75 Years of Boeing History. Basically a "4". One fact per year, done in depth but some of them aren't all that interesting.
Tuesday, July 19, 2011
A New Classification System
Just for the fun of it, and because I'd like to use this blog a little more, I thought I'd run through, in the next game, which is for 1971, a new classification system I'm cooking up.
It is purely subjective, based on how good a chronology the book is. Since the last one used letters, this one will use numbers. The lower the better.
1. Multiple good entries for each year covered. Not just "lots of good facts" but background and context about the facts. You could write an entire game from some of these.
2. In depth entries for each year covered, and always something interesting.
3. Many entries for each year, but not in depth. Lots of facts, but sometimes you might have to look something up to provide context.
4. Covers every year, or nearly so, but sparse or boring. I mentioned the Oceana state series; this is where they go. The entry might be "Joe Smith was elected governor and took office the following July 1." Golly gosh, who the hell is Joe Smith and why should I care?
5. Doesn't cover a lot of years, and skips a lot of years, but provides good information where it does do a year.
6. The same, only not such good information.
7. Isn't really a chronology at all. Has the title "chronology" or the subtitle "chronology" but should be taken up with the Consumer Protection Bureau (Elizabeth Warren, where are you when I need you?). Has some facts that are sometimes in chronological order, but often not, and a lot of facts that aren't associated with a particular year. The author needs a dictionary.
It is purely subjective, based on how good a chronology the book is. Since the last one used letters, this one will use numbers. The lower the better.
1. Multiple good entries for each year covered. Not just "lots of good facts" but background and context about the facts. You could write an entire game from some of these.
2. In depth entries for each year covered, and always something interesting.
3. Many entries for each year, but not in depth. Lots of facts, but sometimes you might have to look something up to provide context.
4. Covers every year, or nearly so, but sparse or boring. I mentioned the Oceana state series; this is where they go. The entry might be "Joe Smith was elected governor and took office the following July 1." Golly gosh, who the hell is Joe Smith and why should I care?
5. Doesn't cover a lot of years, and skips a lot of years, but provides good information where it does do a year.
6. The same, only not such good information.
7. Isn't really a chronology at all. Has the title "chronology" or the subtitle "chronology" but should be taken up with the Consumer Protection Bureau (Elizabeth Warren, where are you when I need you?). Has some facts that are sometimes in chronological order, but often not, and a lot of facts that aren't associated with a particular year. The author needs a dictionary.
Tuesday, June 28, 2011
Yes, there are sources I hate
There are three kinds of book that have the label "Chronology":
The first we can dismiss right away, they are "chronologies" only in the title sense. What they really are are discourses on chronology, usually biblical but sometimes archaeological. They are entirely useless for writing Flashback.
The second you know about: they are real books where the data is provided in chronological order by year or some other date (like by day).
The third are books that are called chronologies but are actually encyclopedias of facts, arranged alphabetically with the date data supplied with the alphabetical information. British railway chronologies are almost always done this way. You have to scan the entire list looking for a year. I should just not buy them, right, but usually you're buying something from abroad it would be cheaper to keep than return and anyway, I'm stubborn.
The worst one is the Chronology of Florida Post Offices. 91 pages of two columns alphabetically listing post offices.
I mean, who cares?
But I got a good question out of it for once.
The first we can dismiss right away, they are "chronologies" only in the title sense. What they really are are discourses on chronology, usually biblical but sometimes archaeological. They are entirely useless for writing Flashback.
The second you know about: they are real books where the data is provided in chronological order by year or some other date (like by day).
The third are books that are called chronologies but are actually encyclopedias of facts, arranged alphabetically with the date data supplied with the alphabetical information. British railway chronologies are almost always done this way. You have to scan the entire list looking for a year. I should just not buy them, right, but usually you're buying something from abroad it would be cheaper to keep than return and anyway, I'm stubborn.
The worst one is the Chronology of Florida Post Offices. 91 pages of two columns alphabetically listing post offices.
I mean, who cares?
But I got a good question out of it for once.
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