In reply to Travis Sunday (msg # 56):

PCs are free to meet at a gathering place the morning of 2/1/1877 as desired. Assume that any arrangements were made before leaving the Beehive.  Even so, the Judge asks for explicit actions from the heroes.

In reply to Judge Messalen (msg # 57):

Saw this and thought about you guys:
http://www.foxnews.com/us/2014...mid/?intcmp=features

I'll be traveling on business the coming week. I expect to log in and post as usual, just a heads-up.

For the record, the paraphrase of Twain is quite likely anachronism. Based on known sources, it is probable that Twain's famous quote happened after 1877.

In reply to Judge Messalen (msg # 60):

Then Twain quoted Travis.

In reply to Travis Sunday (msg # 61):

RIP Gabriel Garcia Marquez

In reply to Judge Messalen (msg # 62):

Never read him.

In reply to Travis Sunday (msg # 63):

"One Hundred Years of Solitude" is the work for which I remember him, although I'm sure that he wrote others.

Thursday through Sunday I'll be heading out of town for a funeral.  I may post but likely will be offline.

In reply to Travis Sunday (msg # 65):

Thanks for the heads-up.

In reply to Jake Richardson (msg # 64):

I have read his major works (in translation). My favorites are:

One Hundred Years of Solitude
Love in the Time of Cholera
The General in His Labyrinth

still chatting with Rojas

In reply to Travis Sunday (msg # 68):

Travis has indicated RL business has hindered posting . . . we'll wait a little . . .

In reply to Judge Messalen (msg # 69):

. . . and a little more . . . .

The Judge is traveling on business this week. I expect login and post daily, but giving this heads-up because travel can sometimes interrupt or delay things.

On a different topic, I watched two western films recently on netflix that I enjoyed and would recommend.

Dead Man - a 1995 film with Johnny Depp (and other names you would know). A "psychedelic western," for which Neil Young did the soundtrack. Strange and fascinating tale. Some of you might have seen this since it's been around for a while. I had it on my list for a while and when I finally watched it, I wasn't disappointed.

Sweetwater -  a 2013 film with  Ed Harris, January Jones and Jason Isaacs. A standard vengeance theme, but well-done I thought. I have been a fan of Ed Harris ever since his role as King Billy in Knightriders (Romero, 1981) and he plays an awesome character in this film.

In reply to Judge Messalen (msg # 71):

"Dead Man" has been on my list for over a year. I guess I'll step it up and actually watch it.

Not long ago, I watched the first two seasons of Hell on Wheels on Netflix. It's a series that airs on AMC. In the tradition of The Walking Dead, Breaking Bad, and Mad Men, HoW is not short on character drama within the world of locomotion expansion.

Since I don't receive anything but terrestrial signal--by choice--I have to catch shows like that on other services. HoW will return in this Summer with season four. I won't be able to see season three until just before the new one begins. It's worth the effort for you if you have Netflix and AMC.

In reply to Randy Oldman (msg # 72):

I have watched both seasons of Hell on Wheels. outstanding show.
This message had punctuation tweaked by the GM at 14:47, Sun 11 May 2014.

Back in the home saddle again.

From the Judge's perspective, all advancement is in the hands of the PCs for right now. There is some PMing going on, but that is also in the hands of the PCs right now.

I'm having a funked up time with my computer these days. It's caught on an update that won't take. It's annoying and troublesome when I want to log in on my free moments. I'm hope to find the fix in my elusive free time.

My daughter is wrapping up fifth-grade. My volunteering at the school seems at an all-time high. My father is moving from senior housing to assisted living. My brother is in Israel, so I'm tending his house. My mother has a mother's emergency semi-weekly. And ... my wife is wonderful.

So, forgive my 36 hours response sometimes, but know I've gotcha on my mind.

In reply to Randy Oldman (msg # 75):

Thanks for the heads-up.

We've been pretty liberal with the 24 hour rule in the last couple of months, it seems to me. I, for one, am not in a rush. I just like to make progress.

It is nearing noon in game-time and things are still in the hands of the PCs. PMing continues and generally the PCs doing PM activities are ahead in time of others (or in Cole's case, unable to do anything but react to other stimuli).

The Judge has made efforts to allow PCs to advance, but I am now considering moving forward with plot. Before making any significant move ahead, I will give PCs who are active and have stated intended use of game-time to complete what they want to do (ENS and JEB for example).

I will monitor posting activity over the weekend and then likely move forward unless any PC is actively engaged in his own initiated actions.

In reply to Judge Messalen (msg # 77):

Randy contacted me OOC. He is in the midst of an RL crisis -- not life-threatening -- that is demanding his attention. I can't say when he will rejoin the game but it sounds like he won't be participating regularly, as evidenced by this recent week of non-posting.

At the moment, it doesn't affect our game-play; Randy is simply not doing anything proactively IC. After Travis left, the Judge is ruling that Randy went to the Frontier House for rehearsal. Randy will be able to rejoin the IC play whenever the player is avaialable. If the game situation requires it the Judge will play the character temporarily.

Meanwhile, the PMing continues, now among three PCs who are actively engaged in proactive IC play. The Judge will let that play-out and advance appropriately whenever those PCs have completed their intended actions.

In reply to Judge Messalen (msg # 78):

As the PCs reconvene, the Judge will allow free play without advancing the plot, as there have been PC-driven developments since my previous posting when I said I was considering advancing.

The Judge still has events scheduled to happen and they will happen as planned unless PC actions change that course of events; however, I will not advance to those events until the PCs declare they are ready, or the time comes regardless of PC readiness.

In reply to Judge Messalen (msg # 79):

Really?  We couldn't arrange for a private conversation in one post.

In reply to Travis Sunday (msg # 80):

The Judge apologizes for his attempts to maintain internal logic in the game. Obviously, hand-waving was in order.

Assuming anyone wishes to continue playing even though the Judge makes things too difficult, the PCs may now speak freely in any location in town without concern about being overheard. And Hatfield's restaurant will be open at any hour of the day for a hero looking for a meal. Even at lunch time.