Archived from groups: alt.games.whitewolf (More info?)
James Cadwell is an uncertain man. He's also very popular with the
children who frequent Boston Common.
One afternoon a week, James tapes an episode of "Doctor Wisebottom's
Science Lesson," a ten minute bumper program that airs on WGBH, the
local PBS affiliate. He leads his audience -- five to eight year olds,
drawing off the audience built up by "Zoom" -- through a fairly
elementary experiment, always one easily replicated in the kitchen. It's
not unlike other science programs geared towards children, but James
does his best to inject some of the basics of Etherite thinking into his
dialogue, particularly the concept that the things people do not believe
exist may still yet. His lesson on the coelacanth is a case in point.
James would never admit it out loud, but sometimes, when he tapes an
episode, he secretly hopes the experiment will go wildly right. He's not
sure what he means when he thinks this.
Saturdays, when it's warm out, James goes down to the Common. Dressed
the part of the dapper stage magician, he enthralls the enthrallable (a
group which seems to growing smaller as time passes, James notes sadly)
with sleight of hand and mentalist feats. Then, he enthralls them even
further by teaching them how to perform the illusion for others, showing
that anything is ultimately explicable, and appreciated all the more for
it. James is actually unsure about the former, but he's decided to err
on the side of optimism.
Neither of his audiences have made the link between Doctor Wisebottom
and the Wizard of Boston Common, thanks largely to the bushy white
eyebrows, wig, and old man voice that James dons to play the good
doctor. He feels silly, but enjoys both roles all the same. He enjoys
the balancing act between deceptor and illuminator, never staying on one
side or the other for long.
The rest of the week, James spends either at his job as an assistant
librarian at Boston College, or pursuing some project or other in his
own time. Lately, the topic of choice has been consciousness, whether it
depends on inhabitating a body, and whether consciousness is
fundamentally unalterable. Can we become other people? James wonders.
--
Tyler
tfdion at syr dot edu
James Cadwell is an uncertain man. He's also very popular with the
children who frequent Boston Common.
One afternoon a week, James tapes an episode of "Doctor Wisebottom's
Science Lesson," a ten minute bumper program that airs on WGBH, the
local PBS affiliate. He leads his audience -- five to eight year olds,
drawing off the audience built up by "Zoom" -- through a fairly
elementary experiment, always one easily replicated in the kitchen. It's
not unlike other science programs geared towards children, but James
does his best to inject some of the basics of Etherite thinking into his
dialogue, particularly the concept that the things people do not believe
exist may still yet. His lesson on the coelacanth is a case in point.
James would never admit it out loud, but sometimes, when he tapes an
episode, he secretly hopes the experiment will go wildly right. He's not
sure what he means when he thinks this.
Saturdays, when it's warm out, James goes down to the Common. Dressed
the part of the dapper stage magician, he enthralls the enthrallable (a
group which seems to growing smaller as time passes, James notes sadly)
with sleight of hand and mentalist feats. Then, he enthralls them even
further by teaching them how to perform the illusion for others, showing
that anything is ultimately explicable, and appreciated all the more for
it. James is actually unsure about the former, but he's decided to err
on the side of optimism.
Neither of his audiences have made the link between Doctor Wisebottom
and the Wizard of Boston Common, thanks largely to the bushy white
eyebrows, wig, and old man voice that James dons to play the good
doctor. He feels silly, but enjoys both roles all the same. He enjoys
the balancing act between deceptor and illuminator, never staying on one
side or the other for long.
The rest of the week, James spends either at his job as an assistant
librarian at Boston College, or pursuing some project or other in his
own time. Lately, the topic of choice has been consciousness, whether it
depends on inhabitating a body, and whether consciousness is
fundamentally unalterable. Can we become other people? James wonders.
--
Tyler
tfdion at syr dot edu
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