Addendum

No, not Final Fantasy VII. That had a single snowboarding segment. I'm talking about snowboard pirates, snowboard demons, enchanted snowboards, a mysterious tower that can only be reached by snowboarding, and an edgy snowboarder who doesn't make friends. No, not Cloud! He has lots of friends.

The Two Most Important Words You'll Read This Month

Snowboard Fantasy

Specific Cultural References

For eons, people have wondered if it's all right to use terms such as "Romanesque" in their fantasy settings. This will continue till we agree to a convention. "Roundy" means Romanesque and "Pointy" means Gothic. Agreed?

Addendum

It will also pass by harmlessly if you don't ignore it. Maybe. Sure you want to risk it?

The Retreating Horizon

We're supposed to be living in the future, but people are still playing Age of Empires 2, Warcraft 3, and Starcraft 1. What's going on here? Is the the time-dilating effect of a black hole? Yes. One happens to be passing by right now. Ignore it and it will leave harmlessly.

How the Spider Got Its Creepy Legs

One day when the animals got together, as they often did formerly, they spoke of the latest invention of men which excited their envy. It was gambling. Snake alone was unimpressed.
"Gambling is too easy if you're smart," Snake declared. "Why, I could bet that the sun will shine forever and never lose!"
The animals praised Snake's wisdom except for Spider. "I don't know about that. My webs fall apart no matter how big and beautiful I make them. Why should the sun be any different just because it's bigger and more beautiful?"
With that, the animals at last had gambling of their own. They faced a problem though.
"Men invented money to go along with their betting. What do we have to lose or gain?" Owl asked.
"Snake has that hissing tongue," Spider observed. "I'll take that!"
"Not my hissing tongue! You can have my limbs instead if I lose, but I'll take yours when I win."
"Done!"
The animals parted happily. In all the days afterward it never occured to Snake that the terms of the bet were chosen poorly. He simply waited for forever to arrive. Then, one day, the sun was hidden by the moon. Snake's legs and arms shriveled up and fell off forthwith for Spider to claim. Snake still slides around in search of winning bets. Gamblers don't learn!
Finis

Likelihood of Grave Worlds

As I see it, here are the main factors when considering the feasibility of planet-wide graveyards:
1. The cost of space travel versus the value of terrestrial real estate
2. Future attitudes toward treatment of the dead, to wit whether dumping stiffs in space will be accepted
3. The probability of discovering the secrets of necromancy
Frankly, it's the third one that bothers me the most.

Addendum

Obviously there would be a "Lens" command always available. The player would have no idea what it would do in any given situation. Just like the author!

Adaptation Corner

What's the best video game genre for Lensman? Probably one of those Japanese adventure games in which you pick from Talk, Look, Think, Call, and Investigate over and over till something happens.

Nintendo Direct: Tragedy?

I dunno fellas, I think Decapolice might be done for.