old news but cool

[Mad Dr Jeffe]

SJG Donates Games to the Military
Steve Jackson Games has donated a 5,000 game care package to United States troops stationed in Iraq and Kuwait that contained 20 of their most popular titles, including Car Wars, Chez Greek, X-Bugs, the new Chez Grunt.  Here's the word from Steve himself:

We at SJG have always had a lot of fans in the armed forces, and we hope that when they get a little downtime from their mission, this will help them relax and feel a bit closer to home. These are all board and card games, each one complete in itself; we're thinking that will be more practical than RPGs.
The games were donated through the U.S. Army Community and Family Support Center (CFSC) in Kuwait. The CFSC provides oversight for Army Morale, Welfare, and Recreation (MWR) operations worldwide. Loren Wiseman gets our thanks for rounding up the information and making the contact.
The person we worked with is Ms. Sherry Murphy, at [email protected]. If you're a game publisher . . . or, for that matter, a book publisher . . . think about sending something to our folks. They'll be there for a while; they're there for us; show them some support.

[Mad Dr Jeffe]

Player's Handbook Featured in GE Ad
General Electric has begun running a television ad entitled "Beauty and Brains" that features a copy of a Dungeons & Dragons rulebook.  In it, an attractive woman and a geeky man collide while walking on the sidewalk and instantly fall in love.  Later, both are shown exchanging presents, and his gift from her is a brand new copy of the Third Edition Player's Handbook.

You can find out more about the ad, and even view it through streaming video, at the following link:
http://www.ge.com/stories/en/13085.html

I'm sure some will see this as more mockery of the hobby.  I would disagree.  Sure, it may reinforce the stereotype that gamers are geeky Bill Gates lookalikes, but it's not exactly doing it in a negative manner.  And the name and sight recognition of the Player's Handbook is helping to push gaming a little further into the mainstream and make role-playing a more recognized and respected hobby.