Thank you for the picture (seen for the first time today). It's not often that I visit this site now. (Maybe something to do with realising that I dislike Mr Ligotti's writings a great deal.) I'm afraid that pinball has never been my thing, it calls for quick reactions which I simply don't possess.

Greetings Odalisque, Don't know if you like pinball games, if so then I highly recommend trying your hand at the free pinball simulator Future Pinball (www.futurepinball.com). There are over a hundred tables available for download, covering a broad range of subjects. Here's a picture of a well-executed table called Li II based on Giger's painting of the same name:


Li II download link: Pinball Originals :: Download It is necessary to register at the site to download tables but there are no obligations or email spamming hazards involved.

Cheers, and Happy Halloween!

Never mind. I don't think that perfection is possible in anything made by people.

Thanks for asking about my epic series.

Volumes 1, 2 and 5 are published on Lulu, and should be available elsewhere in June (barring further problems).

Volume 8 is published on Lulu, but is unlikely to be available elsewhere before late July.

Volume 11 is the one I'm currently writing.

Volumes 3, 4, 6, 7, 9, 10 and 12 exist only in the form of nebulous plans. After volume 11, I plan to tackle volume 4 next. That may not be until next year.

Pay no heed if I get overly profuse or pompous in my writing from time to time. I am an obsessive perfectionist (although I never get anywhere close to achieving it! ). You should not read extra meaning into my blatherings due to their length; if my writings are overly long it is merely because I lacked the skill to express my thoughts more concisely.

About the meanings of the word sport: Not a big deal, I can respect your viewpoint. btw, how is vol. 1 of your epic series progressing?

I feel partly flattered and partly dismayed that you should go to such trouble to answer my comment. My source for what "sport" means comprises merely the way I've heard it used. (Largely on television and by games teachers.) I am far from being a fan of sport, so denying something that status should not be taken as an speaking ill of the activity. Indeed, I tend to use the word "sport" in a pejorative way.

(cont. from prev. post below...)
So then, are you now reconciled with my usage of "sport" in reference to the game of poker? If not, pray tell, why not?

(cont. from prev. post below...)
Chess I have heard referenced as a sport many times in common usage (I used to play every day for several years). In fact, chess is explicitly recognized as a sport by the International Olympic Committee. Although I have never personally heard the game of Scrabble called a sport, I speculate it too is considered such amongst those who are serious about the game.
Despite the dictionary technically allowing music to be named a sport, I would say (continuing to maundering in the dimly-lit and ill-defined realm of subjective speculation here...) this would be poor usage. Why? Without getting into the finer points of semantics (in the interests of brevity , and with the expectation that you will get what I am saying without further elaboration), simply put, because music, to my way of thinking, is an art, not a sport.

(cont. from prev. post below...)
Now, the issue of whether or not my use of "sport" entailed an extension of meaning aside, is "sport" the *best* word one might use in describing the activities you listed? This is a different question entirely. Although, ultimately, it is a subjective matter, I can agree I have never heard monopoly called a sport, and that although classifying it as a sport would be accurate according to the 5 dictionaries I consulted, if one chose to do so, imo this usage would be undesirable. In contrast, there is significant precedent for poker being referred to as a sport. Witness the colloquialism, "Poker is a gentleman's sport.". As further justification, consider that in the Wikipedia article on poker it is called a spectator sport. Granted, it is more usual to hear poker spoken of as a game, but it is certainly not unknown to hear it called a sport either.

(cont. from previous post below...)
You said, "If "sport" includes poker, why not chess, monopoly, scrabble? Why not musical competitions (which share significant qualities with sports)? If that, might the word be extended to include all music?". Indeed, given the existence of the above definition, "sport" could accurately be applied to any of the activities you mentioned with no extension of meaning whatsoever beyond that already sanctioned by a number of widely used (and one now long defunct) dictionaries. N.B.: The above referrenced definition does not say, "An active physical pastime...", it says, "An active pastime...".