Notes for Evil Overlords, don't explain your great evil plan and then leave the room so the heros can die a devilishly slow death...

Back when the internet was becoming the next great thing, most discussions were done on local bulletin boards (kinda like blog postings I suppose). Anyway, they were mainly frequented by nerds/college students/and anyone else who might pass by. It was a fun time in computers, and tons of brainstorming was done during it.

One such thing was "Peter's Evil Overlord List" (This Evil Overlord List is Copyright 1996-1997 by Peter Anspach.)

The brilliance of this compiled list was how well it encapsulated all the really dumb things supervillains do, such as number 17, "When I employ people as advisors, I will occasionally listen to their advice." How many times have you experienced a story where advisors may as well be paper napkins around the villains neck, since the villain doesn't give them the time of day? Other than spotlighting such things, the list also providers authors with a wealth of instantly recognized clichés to be avoided. Resources like this one are hard to find all in one place, and this is by far my favorite.

I think an industrious individual could make a great living compiling lists of things together in one easy place, then go out and do it again and again. We live in an age were we want stuff--anything really--at the press of a button. Compiling other people's work isn't a new idea, but it sure is helpful. I have dozens of volumes at my desk that are dictionaries of this, encyclopedias of that, and just gathered information at a quick glance. Wikipedia has certainly filled this niche online, but it still isn't the easiest thing to page through (like, say you wanted information about outdoor survival, expanding into medieval survival, and into how does one survive on Pluto?).

Well, anyway, check out "Peter's Evil Overlord List" for laughs and giggles, but also penetrating insight into the amazing plot holes we many times don't even notice.

- M