I have edged my way into the time of life when I start to lose people. The simple fact is that people get older and eventually they die. The longer you go, the more it happens. It doesn’t mean I have to like it.
I found out this past Friday that another of my friends had died. He was 50. Same age that I am as I write this. He attended the same high school my wife did. I can’t say we were super close, but we were friends and I had known him for years. We hung out. We went to lunches, we played games. I’m not adding specifics about things because I believe sharing those things are the family’s choice, and they didn’t share any of those details in his obituary.
One way people can go on is if we remember them. I’m going to share this very short story because it is my favorite.
Many years ago, Bryan was in the navy. He was a diver and he was training to use underwater demolitions. One of the explosives he was working with detonated too early. Among other injuries this seriously damaged his hearing. He medically retired from the service. He wore hearing aids from that point forward.
While we were at lunch at a busy restaurant one day he expressed his difficulties in hearing immediate conversations when there was so much background noise around him. I know others with hearing aids and understood. Then I remembered this cartoon:
Funny because it’s true…
I leaned in and said to him, “You’re at the doctor’s office and the doc said ‘Yes sir, that was very loud! Now I need to hear your heart!’”
He was laughing so hard he had tears in his eyes. “You have no idea how true stuff like that is!” was all he could muster between laughing bouts. This is how I will remember him. I will miss him. Rest well Bryan.
I once heard a very famous author state that he wanted nothing to do with the internet. He based this (I vaguely recall) on the idea that people would then be able to go back, digging into past comments or opinions he had posted from years ago, dragging them out and trying to judge them by some current standard. It was a prescient commentary from a science fiction author. We are now seeing what can happen when people go digging into the past, looking for any scrap of conversation made by (fill in person of choice) in years gone by. Once on the internet, out in public forever… I try to be mindful of this. Part of this past author’s comments were based around the idea that a person can learn, change and grow. The things that once were a passionate position may have been challenged and defeated. Education can happen. Changes in how a person lives, works, acts or presents themselves are common. This is true of anyone.
It’s also true that technology, truly successful technology, will find it’s way into your life. What was once edgy and new will move into the realm of the commonplace. Exceptional will become expected. Delivery methods of said technology will become streamlined and efficient. I place e-reader (Kindle specifically) in this category.
This amused me
I saw that cartoon and it made me wonder how my opinions on certain things have aged. So I went digging (I am in no way known or popular enough to have people trying to dig things up on me). I was fearful that when I went to look at my posted blog comments they would contain the sort of statements that seem outlandish or desperately funny (or worse).
I was most shocked to discover that it has been 10 years since I first wrote about the Kindle. I got my first e-reader back at the end of 2010. It was a stand alone device. I remember my own hesitance toward the device. I occasionally argued against them. I didn’t like certain aspects, but the convenience very quickly won out. In the decade since the stand alone device has merged into phones and tablet tech. The e-book is ubiquitous and somehow the paperback survives. If you have a deep seeded need for nostalgia, you can check out my original post HERE and then check out the follow up a few months later HERE. The second one would definitely be a different vibe today. I don’t think most people would have any issues letting somebody peruse their book collection, but I don’t know anyone that would unlock their device and just hand it over to a coworker to check out… but that’s a topic for another day I suspect.
What’s on your bookshelf right now? Is it virtual?
We cruised into a second episode for our Beyond The Supernatural role playing game. It was a fun week, even if I struggled with move forward with my character. I made one spectacularly bad roll and earned a new nickname behind the scenes. I am now Mr. 114, however briefly.
If you’re into checking out the game, we’re live on Twitch when we play and then the videos get posted up to the YouTube channel. You can check out the latest episode here:
I’m still sitting clearly in the amateur section when it comes to my miniatures and crafting hobbies. It has taken me longer than it really should to make any sort of tangible progress, but I am in fact making progress. I’m also learning and enjoying finally digging into my giant pile of shame (all those unpainted minis that have been sitting around for sooooo long).
This fine fellow will likely be raging out of the earth during some Dungeons & Dragons campaign in the near future:
Given the amount I focus on table top gaming, book reviews, writing and art here on The Pretend Blog you might believe that I don’t stray outside my chosen genre. While it’s true that I tend to spend my available time on the things I enjoy the most, I do in fact stretch and get outside the genre from time to time. This particular out of genre experience was brought on when my wife… emphasized to me a non-zero amount of times… that I, in fact, needed to see a movie called Moxie.
For those interested in the visual rather than having me stumble over trying to describe the film in short hand without giving anything away, check out the trailer.
Last night I plopped myself onto the couch with my wife and we flipped the movie on. She had seen it before and insisted that it was worthy of a second viewing. I shrugged and we got on with it.
I didn’t have high expectations going into the film. I had not seen the trailer before the movie. I knew that Clark Gregg was in the movie as he’s a favorite of my wife’s, but beyond that I was unaware of any other things about this movie. I tend not to like ‘slice of life’ films and I didn’t really believe I was somehow going to connect with a teenage girl as a protagonist. I’m also not a fan of punk rock and the movie leans into that musical style. It didn’t add up to a warm, fuzzy feeling for me.
As is often the case, going in not expecting a lot seems to have worked to this films advantage. It had sharp dialog, characters that were real and felt like high school kids that my daughter would hang around with, and moved at a pace that didn’t ever lag. Vivian gets fed up with the toxic nature of things in her school. She digs up a bunch of things from her mother’s box of memories that inspire her to push for changes… and she does. She pushes and spurs others to do the same.
We watched it. No, I still don’t relate to a teenage girl… but my daughter IS one and she really enjoyed this movie too. There was good stuff in there. The circle of friends around Vivian is a diverse bunch. They relate the problems in the system and lay out so many of the reasons that change is needed. The supporting cast is really excellent. Clark Gregg plays a smaller role than I initially thought he might. The shining light deserving of attention is the boyfriend, Seth, played by Nico Hiraga (nope, I never heard of him before this). He digs into the role of ally and makes it work. He’s supportive without being dramatic about anything. He’s sensitive, but not overly so. He’s also not a pushover, standing up for himself when he feels he needs to. One of the best examples of an ally I’ve seen portrayed.
I really enjoyed this movie. Normally I would take something like this and write it up for the “you should be watching” column over at Watch The Skies, but as the subject of this post might have given away, it’s not even distantly related to science fiction. It’s still a great film. If you get the chance, you should check it out too.
I was super happy to be part of another Attack Of Opportunity! It was a great time taking a movie apart and turning it into an adventure for a D&D game. I had a number of things to say about it, and you can check out the video here:
When I was getting ready for this video I (maybe) went a little overboard with things. I had this feeling that we were telling people to be inspired by movies, but what precisely does that mean? I’m inspired, what do I do with that? So I sat down and really dove into doing what we were suggesting. I mean, we’re talking about a fantasy classic here – but can I actually use it?
Most of the time I wouldn’t lift whole plots, characters or concepts. I like having complete control over my creations and the ability to use them across multiple media formats. Stuff I’ve snatched from other people does NOT fit into that category. I will however be inspired by many and varied things, lifting bits and pieces out for my use. Even the things that get lifted are mashed, molded and ultimately adjusted to be a good fit with the story and the rules of the world I am working with.
If you’re grabbing parts from a movie be sure to tweak things just enough that the players don’t immediately recognize it. It can be a total bummer when one of the players recognizes exactly where you got something from. It’s a bummer, that is, IF you haven’t prepared. If you’ve prepared then you rejoice. Seriously. The player thinks they know and that’s a fantastic tool to use against them. If the player “just knows” that the lead villain keeps his pet monster in the pit and therefore they don’t climb down there, move the pet. It’s a super easy fix that will have them second guess choices like that. The can overhear the guards say something like, “Oh, it’s Reggie’s day out again…” or “I’m really glad I’m not on cleaning detail now that they’ve moved Reggie…”. Take that sort of knowledge and use it to your favor.
For folks that really wanted to dig in, here’s a short list of some of the things I thought needed some prep ahead of time.
NPCs: King (Osric), Doom, high level warrior/priests, witch/oracle
Political groups: religious cult, rival kingdom, slave market / pit fighters
Treasures: Atlantian Sword, cult gem (eye of the serpent), jade medallion, father’s sword, assassin’s dagger, snake arrows, random bowl of gems
Maps: City w/ cult location, cult tower interior, battleground near stone monuments, temple w/ great stair and fountain, and of course – cultist HQ with orgy room, kitchen and secret cave entrance.
The map part has always been something that has driven me in the past. I’m a very visual person. I really went after trying to create what I would need to make this an adventure. We didn’t have much of a chance to see these on screen during the video (and some weren’t really there at the time) so I wanted to post a few of them here. YOUR game does NOT need to have all this stuff. You should make the game your own and use your own talents to create the amazing world your party will adventure in.
Here are a few of the things I put together for maps / visualization.
Started with good old graph paper and just sketched stuff.
After the sketch I made the map “fancy”
Past what you see in the film, you’ll have to make some of the spaces up for the party
This is where I started to go off the rails. I modeled the whole tower in 3D
How’s the view from the top or YOUR cult’s tower?
Whatever level of detail you’re willing to dive into, make it yours. In the end your passion and joy for the story will make the game great. What other movies would you break down like this? What are the best concepts you’ve used in a game (or had used against you) before?
A few days ago I posted about how great it felt to be gearing up to be a player in a Dungeons and Dragons game again. It was a really cool feeling I haven’t had for quite some time.
About that game… turns out that less than half of us really *know* 5th Edition rules. I was digging into the PHB and working hard at catching up when there was a choice made. That choice was to switch to a different game that others had a level of comfort with. We were assured this was not a bait and switch, but a temporary move to avoid losing the momentum our game had picked up.
Suddenly I spun about and landed in a supernatural horror game set in the modern day, albeit and alternate (darker if you can believe that) version of today’s world. The twist on this game for me? We live streamed the game while we were playing. We’re on a Twitch channel. When the games are finished, they live on Twitch for a while and then are moved over to a YouTube channel. It was a new and fun thing. IF you’re at all interested, hop on over and check out the video:
I don’t think 3 stars is quite right. It might be closer to 3.5. The book gives me a very “Umbrella Academy” feel. The story of an adopted family of children who all gain some kind of special abilities. A minor difference / quibble there being that the children don’t naturally have any of their abilities, they study to gain them.
The world building here was interesting. I say interesting because normally the “real world” as a basis for your story allows for a great many short cuts, but the author managed to give the feeling of things being ever so slightly ‘off’ with the descriptions of time. I had a thorn stuck in my head by this story via the use of a military character. The total time in service for the stated rank and exit from service for Erwin just did NOT ring true. It was really my biggest complaint about the world building – if you’re using the real world army, talk to somebody about it and pick up the details.
The characters were interesting. Some grew to be irritating more than anything by the later stages of the book, but the main ones kept things fresh as the story progressed. I knew the person behind the plot fairly early on, but did not see nor expect what the author did with the ending.
In all it kept me reading to the end. I look forward to our book group’s discussion on this one.
As this week winds down we’re closing in on the end of the nomination period for the Hugo awards. For the past 20 years Watch The Skies has been publishing a fanzine that is eligible for the award. For each of those fanzines, cover art is needed. I’ve done a bunch of them.
Lately I’ve started to move back toward creating art that is NOT strictly digital. The cover art for this month’s edition actually started as an acrylic painting. Yes, I needed to get a picture of it and add some digital things like a border and title, but the base is still a painting.
When I say in my bio that I’m a fan, author and artist… it’s not always in that order. I know I’ll never win any awards, but it’s still important to create. Here’s the painting with out the border or text (high res photos do my no favors – this actually looks better in person).
Yeah, yeah, yeah… patience. How long does that take?
That’s one of my favorite quotes. It comes from a comedy sketch by a group called the Frantics (Boot to the Head). It has become something of a constant call back in this house. Having and expectation of being immediately good at something and the reality of how good you actually are at something are two circles of a Venn diagram that don’t always cross.
I’ve had some longer posts recently about things that are depressing, particularly those related to fandom. I was not actively seeking out “feel good” posts, but found one anyway. I watch a number of different YouTube channels that involve painting, miniatures, crafting and table top gaming. I have some favorites and some that I only glance at from time to time. All of the ones I watch have a level of professionalism that I admire, right along with the actual skill connected to what they’re showing.
Here’s the feel good part: this artist saw a fellow gamer that was being forced to sell the miniature collection related to his hobby. His heart went out to his fellow gamer. He decided to recreate this army of minis, paint them and give them away. It was a cool video if you want to watch the whole thing, but that’s the short version of it.
Check it out here:
That’s a LOT of miniatures!
Back to the patience thing (see how waiting can pay off?). I took note of what the creator said in this video. He’s a pro, meaning this is how he pays the bills. I did a rough estimate based on a typical work week here in the US. I figure 8 hours per day would be considered a “work day”. The paint job being done in the video above took about 16 days. After the 5th day, an assistant joined in. I have no idea how long the helper worked, but let’s say it was 4 hours each day for 10 days (because I like easy math). Adding it up: 16 (8) hour days = 128 hours + 40 hours of helper time. That’s (checks calculator) 168 hours of prep and painting time.
How does this related to patience I hear you asking. Well, sometimes I get frustrated that my miniatures don’t look quite as good as some of the pieces I see online, as painted by the pros. Shocking nobody but myself – mine don’t look as good. I don’t have the hours in the chair that they do. Sure, maybe over the years I might come close to a reasonable total, but painting and crafting is an active skill. It’s something to be maintained and worked at. If I get, let’s be generous and say 4 hours each week where I can sit and really dig into my hobby, it would take me (goes back to the calculator) about 42 weeks to accomplish what they did for the video. So a couple months short of an entire year. Even a year from now I’m betting I won’t have that many minis painted.
Decidedly NOT like the pros.
I need to learn patience and practice. IF you’re creating something, don’t get down on yourself. Keep doing what you love. It will come around. Even if you never “go pro”, you’re still doing and creating something you love. If you get really lucky, you’ll find a way to share that with the people you care about.
