Jeremy Jones, who sometimes posts comments around these parts, recently had an article on Gary Gygax’s influence published in the Spartanburg Herald-Journal. It’s a nice bit of writing, and it features quotes from several industry folks, including Lisa Smedman, Doug Niles, Jared Sorenson, Harley Stroh, and myself.

A group of locals here in Beloit got together and made a music video for the Barack Obama campaign called “It’s Our Time Now.” Rob Tomaro—music director of the Beloit-Janesville Symphony Orchestra—wrote the song, and Nicole Waters of the cover band the Orphans performs it.

The song was originally created for a documentary, but when Obama spoke here at Beloit College before the Wisconsin primary, the song was performed as part of his introduction. Tomaro called his friend Annie Potts to show it to her over his phone, and she encouraged him to make a video for the song. They wrangled her husband Jim Hayman into directing it.

They shot all the live scenes on location here in Beloit. If you’re a local, you might recognize some of the faces. If not, it’s still lots of fun—no matter your personal politics.

Last week, my pal Mike Stackpole revealed that he’s had an asteroid named after him. It’s known as 165612 Stackpole (2001 FP86).

How very cool is that? Here’s hoping it orbits forever.