Correctly predicted that America would have another second-place presidency soon.
"A must read for those truly interested in our democracy.”
-- Bill Bradley, former New Jersey senator
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21st Century Tune-Ups for Our 18th C. Govt.
Listen to Mark's interview on the Electoral College . . .
"You can also watch this talk on your TV by voice searching, "YouTube Mark 21st Century REPAIRS"
About
Mark Weston grew up in Armonk, New York and worked as a lawyer for ABC Television and as a journalist for ABC News before writing six books, including Prophets and Princes: Saudi Arabia from Muhammad to the Present, and Giants of Japan: The Lives of Japan’s Greatest Men and Women. His latest book, The Runner-Up President takes a timely look at America's Electoral College.
Weston has written articles for The New York Times, The Washington Post and TIME, and has appeared on CNN, MSBNC, and PBS. He has also written a play, Meet George Orwell, and just published a children's book, Finding the Speed of Light - The 1676 Discovery that Dazzled the World.
A graduate of Brown University and the University of Texas Law School, he lives in Sarasota, Florida, with his wife, painter Linda Richichi.
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My Books
Click on any cover above for more details
TALKS
Appearances & PRESentations
PAST TALKS
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"Restoring Our Democracy in 2021 and Beyond"
90 Minute Talk at Rice University, Political Science Department
Houston, Texas
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"Electoral Votes - From the Founders, to Trump, to the Future"
90-Minute Talk at Rice University, Political Science Department
Houston, TX
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"Meet George Orwell" (AKA "The Last Man in Europe")
British actor Dudley Stone plays George Orwell in a reading of the one-man play by Mark Weston
The Triangle Theatre at the Church of the Holy Trinity,
New York, NY
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"Prophets and Princes: Saudi Arabia"
World Affairs Council of Greater Richmond
Click here to view.
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"Electoral Votes from the Founders, to Trump, to the Future"
United Methodist Church
Sarasota, FL
Sponsored by the Sarasota Institute of Lifelong Learning
At Book Culture, NYC
(L to R): Cody Madsen, Carol Weston, Mark Weston, Rob Ackerman.
Photo Credit: William P. Steele
SCOOP!
Around the world in 80 spaces
​SCOOP! - Around the World in 80 spaces
BECAME A NINTENDO WiiU GAME ON JUNE 13, 2019
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People have dreamed of world conquest since the time of Alexander, but today military aggression is boorish and passé. A new game, SCOOP!, fulfills the desire for territory, but players are TV news networks, not armies — SOX News, ZNN and MXMBC — covering the world, not conquering it. You take territories by answering questions about movies, events, food, sports and geography.
SCOOP!’s colorful game screen is an exaggerated map of the world, with 79 territories and a satellite. Answer a question about chocolate or Tarzan to cover West Africa. Answer a question about Arnold Schwarzenegger or The Sound of Music to take Austria. All 2500 of the questions are multiple choice, True/False or Yes/No, and there is a tiny and silent 24-second countdown at the top of the screen.
Here is what is great: You decide where a question will come from. London, Egypt, Hawaii — it is up to you. No specific territory or region is required to win.
The object of SCOOP! is to open bureaus by taking every territory in a region. Once you have opened a bureau, the region is locked so your opponent cannot enter. You need 3 bureaus to win, but you must also link your bureaus with the Satellite by answering a science, communications or science fiction question.
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Strategy is up to you. You can try to open a new bureau, or instead block an opponent instead from opening a bureau by stealing one of his or her spaces.
To start, choose one of ten TV news networks (ZNN, SOX News, MXMBC, ZBS, BBZ, Paris 24, Telemucho, Ciao, Fly News or All-Jazzy-Era).
Copyright MMXIX Mark Weston
Play alone, or invite a friend or stranger to play. In a 2-player game, the one who initiates the game starts by touching one of the game screen’s 80 spaces. You can try for any space you do not already have, unless it is part of a bureau that your opponent has already won and locked.
SCOOP!’s multi-colored screen has 16 regions and 79 spaces, and you can enlarge any part of the screen to make it easier to choose a territory. When you touch a territory, a question will appear with 3 or 4 possible answers if it is a multiple choice question, or 2 answers if it is a True/False or Yes/No question. If there are 2 players, turns go back and forth, question by question. Sometimes funny “Breaking News” headlines appear.
Answer a question correctly and a circle will appear on the territory you’ve won with a color that matches your TV network’s logo. When you have correctly answered questions from all 4, 5 or 6 spaces in a particular region, you have opened a bureau there, and no one else can enter your region. Open 3 bureaus -- and link them with the Satellite -- and you win! (Players share the Satellite, a communal space.)
To steal an opponent’s territory, answer a question from the space as fast as you can, because your opponent will keep the territory if he or she answers the same question more quickly than you did.
SCOOP! - Around the World in 80 Spaces is competitive, territorial and fun!
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COMING SOON as a Ninentdo-Wii game, playable on TV screens!