muskrat_john ([info]muskrat_john) wrote,
@ 2007-04-13 10:03:00
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Current location:Safe at home
Current music:"I can't Gte it Out of My Head" - Fountains of wayne

Ziggurat Con
A very special convention is happening this summer.

Ziggurat Con, being held June 9 from 1200 to 2100 hours at Camp Adder/Tallil Airbase, in Iraq, is open to all allied military personnel and civilian contractors in Iraq.

This is the first gaming convention EVER to be held in a War Zone.

Full details and a picture of some of the organizers a can be found here.

I'm making damn sure everyone at the con gets a comic book or two. I'm also sending a ton of trade paperbacks for door prizes, as well as Out of the Box games, Munchkin, Chez Geek, Mag*Blast and, of course, Chez Grunt.

Folks know my opinions on the war, but no matter what yours is, there are people over there on all sides who need our help.

This is just one way of helping fellow gamers who find themselves in an ugly, awful situation. They're doing something I couldn't do and I, for one, want to send stuff along to give them a break, for at least a few hours.

For more information, contact SPC David Amberson (a really cool guy I've had the honor and pleasure of e-mailing) at the following address: david.amberson (at) iraq.centcom.mil

Donations can also be sent to SPC Amberson directly at the following address:

SPC David Amberson
A Co 86th Sig Bn
APO, AE 09331

Spread the word!


(33 comments) - (Post a new comment)


[info]karpouzian
2007-04-13 03:08 pm UTC (link)
Very cool... Support the troops! :)

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[info]kimberlogic
2007-04-13 03:09 pm UTC (link)
Thanks for sharing this info. I do some side-work helping out at my local comic book shop - I'll pull together a big box of stuff to send there too.

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[info]vahlkyree
2007-04-13 03:20 pm UTC (link)
That's very cool! I think I'll put together a package of dice and books to send. I know my military friend really appreciated the books I sent him a couple years ago while he was doing a tour in "the big sandbox."

Thanks for the info!

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[info]kshandra
2007-04-13 03:52 pm UTC (link)
Regarding books: if you can afford the extra time and expense, I'd recommend taking gaming rulebooks to your local Kinko's, having the binding cut off, putting the individual pages in sheet protectors and enclosing the works in a 3-ring binder. One of my local fannish friends has done two tours in the Sandbox and warned us that paperback bindings tend to MELT in the summer months....

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[info]fenmere
2007-04-13 03:32 pm UTC (link)
Thanks! That's a great thing to do!

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[info]doccross
2007-04-13 04:21 pm UTC (link)
How very cool! Ya know, if they can figure out a way to fly guest GMs over there to run games, I'll volunteer.

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[info]al_kenobi
2007-04-14 01:57 am UTC (link)
Shoot! So would I!!

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[info]muskrat_john
2007-04-14 04:18 am UTC (link)
Um...best not to say "shoot" in this situation. :-)

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[info]al_kenobi
2007-04-14 04:19 am UTC (link)
Oh, right.

Mea culpa...

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[info]arian1
2007-04-13 04:27 pm UTC (link)
Geeze. These guys are stuck in Chez Grunt...the real version. Did they say what sort of donations they are looking for?

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[info]muskrat_john
2007-04-13 04:33 pm UTC (link)
Pretty much everything!

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[info]dragonbane
2007-04-13 04:52 pm UTC (link)
I recommend having Kinkos print up a bunch of fake Monopoly Chance "Get Out of Iraq Free" cards to send. I'm sure they'd be a big hit! :)

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[info]arian1
2007-04-13 05:05 pm UTC (link)
Now see, that would be cool. If only I could draw...

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[info]dragonbane
2007-04-13 05:08 pm UTC (link)
I'm just the idea guy. Sadly, my artist wife refuses to do anything cartooney. :)

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[info]ffutures
2007-04-13 04:44 pm UTC (link)
Any way to send them something via the British BFPO postal system? Otherwise it's going to be pretty expensive (and slow) for me to send anything.

Annoyingly I have a friend in the RAF who got back from there a month or so ago, and would have probably enjoyed the con...

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[info]muskrat_john
2007-04-13 04:47 pm UTC (link)
Any way to send them something via the British BFPO postal system? Otherwise it's going to be pretty expensive (and slow) for me to send anything.

Not that I know of...

Annoyingly I have a friend in the RAF who got back from there a month or so ago, and would have probably enjoyed the con...

I hope he prefers being home. :-)

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[info]ffutures
2007-04-13 04:58 pm UTC (link)
Oh yeah.

I'd better ask him about this, he may know a way (or want to start a competing British con, of course...

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[info]muskrat_john
2007-04-13 05:05 pm UTC (link)
If there's a competing British con, I bet there'll be beer. :-)

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[info]quaryn_dk
2007-04-13 05:11 pm UTC (link)
Perhaps you could order something online from an American retailer? That's what I'm contemplating doing, since I'm an American in Denmark, where the post is also egregiously expensive.

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[info]ffutures
2007-04-13 05:17 pm UTC (link)
The stuff I want to send is out of print.

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[info]jaegamer
2007-04-13 04:50 pm UTC (link)
Thank you, thank you a thousand times for getting this info out to your vast readership (and for all the cool stuff you're sending them). Dave Amberson has promised me photos, which I'll put up on my LJ when I get them.

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[info]daemionfox
2007-04-13 05:21 pm UTC (link)
Thanks for posting this John,

My Fiancee and I are going to ship them out a box of our comics for their swagbags. Won't be able to get enough for all 300, but I dropped the link on the ka-blam site as well, maybe some of those geeks will be inspired to do the same.

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Pretty Pollys
[info]goth_bunnyy
2007-04-13 06:29 pm UTC (link)
Anyone know where I can get/buy cammo dice?

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[info]nolly
2007-04-13 06:35 pm UTC (link)
You rock.

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[info]bob_san
2007-04-13 08:11 pm UTC (link)
My folks handle a Troop Support group where I currently reside.

I wonder if I can get any donations from them for some gaming materials to send.

I'll also see if anyone in my anime club is interested in getting in on this.

thanks John

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[info]bob_san
2007-04-13 08:17 pm UTC (link)
I'll even see if Misty Mt is willing to put some sort of Gamer Donation box up so we can get money to get gaming supplies for these guys.

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[info]spkelley
2007-04-13 11:29 pm UTC (link)
Maybe I can have people bring something to this month's meet greet and game event. Too bad paper, in mass quantity, can weigh so much. :-/ Hmm...my extra prepainted D&D minis could be donated!

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Local Larp Troup
[info]the_shima
2007-04-13 11:48 pm UTC (link)
I have talked it over with my local larp troup and we are going to try to get something together. I have also sent emails to the national organizers. Hopefully I hearsomething back soon!

Luv to the troops from OK

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[info]thespian
2007-04-14 04:54 pm UTC (link)
Pandemonium Books is going to ship anything donated in the next couple of weeks. Please check here for more details (rather than me posting it all over John's journal):

http://community.livejournal.com/pandemonium_bks/94371.html

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[info]kotofeii
2007-04-15 06:34 am UTC (link)
That's awesome. I was joking with one of my friends back home about trying to find a game here at the Victory Base complex, and he pointed me to this. Wish I had a ride to Tallil now...

Send dice and GM screens. I'm sure they'll get saturated with books pretty quickly, but you can never have enough dice, as we all know. (and GM screens are often a cheap and lightweight substitute for rule books) I wish I'd brought mine with me. :(

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[info]jaegamer
2007-04-16 03:28 am UTC (link)
I'm getting new information all of the time, so I've set up a web site (http://www.toys4troops.org) to use as an information clearinghouse. There's just a 5-minute page up right now (finishing up my taxes), but I intend to put up a forum and such. Dave Amberson has promised me pictures, and I plan to put them up as well.

Thank you again, John. You utterly rock. And... it means a lot to this Wheaton-fangirl that he blogged about it based on seeing it in your blog.

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..
[info]jellynuttz
2007-04-20 04:33 am UTC (link)
this is the best thing I have heard from iraq...period..




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Operation Dice Drop would like yer support
[info]clackablog
2007-05-04 05:09 am UTC (link)
If you're in/near Portland OR, consider emptying out your Old Skool D&D books and sending them to Ziggurat Con in Iraq... see http://operationdicedrop.blogspot.com for details on participating Dice Drop Depots in the metro area. Bring out your dice!

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(33 comments) - (Post a new comment)

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