The Updated Second Amendment
David Brin weighs in on what the future might look like, and comes up with what is basically Warren Ellis' notion from Global Frequency:
"a highly educated citizenry will be able to adeptly bring to bear countless capabilities and individual pools of knowledge, some of which may not be up to professional standards, but that can find synergy together, perhaps augmenting society's skill set, at a time of need."
Sounds like a promising way to go to me.
And (on this subject) we at last watched the Global Frequency pilot (thanks B) and had pretty much the same reaction to it that I had to the comic: it's an AWESOME idea for a d20 Modern campaign. As a TV show, I'm not sure it works, but then I didn't think the comic was the cat's meow, either. The problem for me is that none of the stories are driven by relationships -- that's less of a problem in the comic, but it was really obvious in the pilot. It all feels a little mechanical. The plot is just the plot, and doesn't really depend on any of the characters being particular people. Sure, they have skills, but their emotions and needs aren't central (or even relevant) to the story, so it doesn't grab. It doesn't move.
But as a d20 Modern campaign it would KICK ASS.
Maybe the Good Guys are Winning
And so Captain Copyright goes in just the direction he deserves: straight into the poop chute.
"We truly hope that there will come a time when the copyright community – including educators, librarians and copyright collectives – can work together to provide a unbiased teaching tool that provides teachers and students with a balanced view of copyright."
Of course, a balanced view of copyright doesn't need to consider, say, artists or audiences. Of course not. Why would their needs matter?
Just Over the Horizon
True20 Chase rules coming -- I'm reviewing a friend's document on this and hopefully will be able to post an early review here. Stay tuned!
And the initial campaign run of Dino-Pirates of Ninja Island went very successfully indeed. Lots of fun was had and details have emerged about this strange and mysterious land. Look for future announcements and suchlike here.