The MONTHS TOURNAMENT: "modern reform" play-in round

[theMoMA]

Inspired by the Mayan calendar and New Age philosophy, the spiritualists José and Lloydine Burris Argüelles devised the Dreamspell calendar in 1987. The Dreamspell has since become likely the only esoteric calendar that is the basis for a board game, specifically Telektonon: The Game of Prophecy. The calendar is divided into 13 "moons" of 28 days each, corresponding to months.

Unfortunately, the MONTHS TOURNAMENT organizers have determined that there is only room for three (3) Dreamspell months/moons in the "modern reform" bracket field of 64. Which three? That is for the voters to decide. Please select up to three Dreamspell months for inclusion in the final field of 256. The poll will be open for two (2) days.

[OctagonJoe]

I think it's important to consider what months we're including in the MONTHS TOURNAMENT. And that starts here, with which galactic tones make it into the final field. As an expert on the Dreamspell calendar based on the Googling I've done in the last five minutes, I would like to make two requests:

-Please do not vote for Lunar. Lunar is the galactic tone of polarity. This MONTHS TOURNAMENT is a tournament of unity. It would serve no purpose to vote for Lunar.

-Please consider voting for Magnetic (the galactic tone of Oneness), Galactic (the galactic tone of Wholeness), and Crystal (the galactic tone of Synergy). In these trying times, I think we really need to come together in this MONTHS TOURNAMENT, and these three choices will help us do that.

[1.82]

I voted for Self-Existing (which speaks for itself as the most popular option), Magnetic (in honor of Insane Clown Posse), and Spectral (in honor of ghosts).

[Good Goblin Housekeeping]

In spite of their redundancy I voted overtone and resonance (as well as magnetic) because I associated them the most with science words

[The Stately Rhododendron]

I was born in White Overtone WorldBridger
Green Central Castle of Enchantment
Earth family- Cardinal Clan- Blood

I empower in order to equalize
Commanding opportunity
I seal the store of death
With the overtone tone of radiance
I am guided by the power of timelessness

I started seeing my girlfriend during "White Crystal Wind" and I believe that our world is haunted by an infinity of spectral traces... therefore I VOTE for

• Overtone
  • Crystal
    • Spectral

[The Sawing-Off of Manhattan Island]

I voted for what the first post in the thread told me to

[Stained Diviner]

I would have given all three of my votes to Cosmic if that was an option. My reasoning is that it's Cosmic.

[jonpin]

This is like voting for new region names on LearnedLeague but even more inscrutable.

[theMoMA]

Just a few more hours to vote! It's still up in the air who will advance, so you might want to lobby your friends to vote for your favorites "on the bubble."

[theMoMA]

With the passing of 8:45 eastern time, the first play-in round of the MONTHS TOURNAMENT concludes. And what a ride it was! The Dreamspell calendar offers esoteric month names that tantalize voters with their spiritual and sometimes vaguely scientific feel.

It was a hard go for solar system-related months. Solar never got any traction, failing to pick up a single vote until well into the first day of ballot-casting. Planetary also failed to find favor with the voters. And Lunar could not overcome its toxic associations with disunity and factionalism at a time in history when, more than ever, we feel the need to come together. All of these months ended up at the bottom of the heap.

Things weren't much better for Electric, Rhythmic, Magnetic, and Crystal. Despite piquing the interest of science-minded voters, these months languished in the middle of the pack and had little hope of advancement.

It looked for a while like Overtone and Resonant might break the trend of science-related terms faring poorly with the voters, but despite remaining within striking distance until late, it appears that their association with acoustics was too much to overcome.

It's hard to know what to make of the fate of Spectral, which barely missed the cut despite earning the key endorsement of Isaac Kirk-Davidoff. IKD's belief "that our world is haunted by an infinity of spectral traces" may have proven unfortunately prescient, as Spectral now becomes no more than a haunting presence over the remainder of the MONTHS TOURNAMENT.

That leaves but three (3) Dreamspell months to make the final cut. The voters weren't afraid to "think big," as two (2) of the months to make the cut were Cosmic and Galactic. Although both may have benefited from positive associations with stages on the "galaxy brain" meme, it remains to be seen whether voters' consciousnesses will be expansive enough to propel either to further heights in the MONTHS TOURNAMENT. And the winner of this play-in, by a commanding margin, was Self-Existing. Over 50% of the voters were unable to escape the alluring metaphysical tautology captured by this month. "Define, measure, form" are the characteristic actions of Self-Existing, and we shall see if those qualities can keep it rolling through the bracket.

These three months advance to claim the 62nd, 63rd, and 64th seeds in the "modern reform" field, where they will face an uphill battle against some of the most compelling and best-seeded months on this side of the bracket. But the story of the underdog is why we post, and why we vote.