Sometimes a stack of notes and good ideas goes no where. Yeah, that’s where I am right now. But since there always needs to be Monday post around here. I figured I’d take the easy way out.
Even when your brain refuses to work its magic, it’s a good time to sit back a focus on the things around you. Grab that inspiration and drive back. Take that deep breath and say OK. I’m back.
So just trust me. I’ll make it up to you. So if you’ll excuse me, I seem to be suffering from a mental blue screen of death.
Feb 132012
Feb 092012
Call it crazy mid-life crisis or whatever but in fit of insanity, I decided to try to learn how to play the harmonica.
I did the usual DIY type thing. I bought a couple “Teach Yourself To Play The Harmonica” books and got a couple of really cheap assed harps (A really cheap no name brand with one of my “Teach Yourself” books and a Hohner Blues Band). I found out that I liked it and it was fun. But I also realized that like so many other things, you get what you pay for and a cheap harmonica sounds and plays like a cheap harmonica. So I went on a quest to find a good harp.
I mustered my Google Fu and hit the internets and started reading various harmonica forums. (Yes, it’s the internet. There’s a forum for everything.) It basically boiled down to two harps; a Hohner Special 20 and a Lee Oskar Major. This is a much debated topic. But here’s what was interesting. There were strong opinions about the products but I never saw a single personal attack or the infamous “You’re playing it wrong”.
So what the hell is wrong with gamers? The bitching and trolling doesn’t make a better game. For a game that supposed to social, there’s one hell of a lot of anti-social behavior going on. I ain’t got a solution other than just be the better person and don’t empower the trolls. Don’t play their game. Don’t feed their ego.
And in case anyone is wondering. I decided on the Special 20 for now. But the Lee Oskar is still on my shopping list along with a Seydel Blues Session and a Turbo Harp.
There were big plans for 2011 and life did not cooperate. Things were pretty tough for the last half of the year and there’s still plenty of work to get things back to normal. OK, I’ll be honest. It just fucking sucked. But that won’t stop me from trying to move things full steam ahead for 2012.
The first thing that I hope you notice is that I’ve started up a second blog. This little gem is going to be dedicated to just OSR stuff. Yeah, I know that sounds really crazy but when the voices in my head told me to do it, it just sounded like a good idea. So be prepared to see a bunch of stuff over there. There’s still a few little tweaks those should be done very shortly.
As far as this blog goes well you probably see the same kind of stuff and probably a little more crazy rants and an off beat post with pretty much the same schedule. You’ll still RPG rants but also hopefully more non-RPG stuff.
Practically, every single project that I was going to do last year did not get done. I have no one to blame on that one but myself. So the key words for 2012 are focus, discipline and organization. Thanks to the shit storm that was the last half of 2011, it’s a good time to wipe the slate clean and reboot with a clear vision. So stayed tuned for those little surprises.
The last thing I want to rant about social media. Yeah, I got Facebook, Google+ and Twitter. I plan hitting those more and annoying meeting some new interesting folks and hopefully not sound like stalker or total douche bag while doing it.
That’s it. So everybody let’s have a great year.
I’ve done and “won” Nanowrimo a couple of times but I haven’t really done anything with the stuff I wrote. This year it’s special, different and quite serious.
I’ve had plans, notes and a couple of crazy ideas for various creative projects. It’s time to turn all that stuff into something tangible and starting throwing crap at the virtual wall that is the Internet and see if anything sticks. I’m not expecting to be rich or famous or anything like that. But if I pull in a dollar or two, cool. November is one thing. CREATIVE CONTENT! The goal, of course, is 50,000 words. And I’ll do that. It just may not be all in one project.
Normally, I wouldn’t be that focused on bring in a couple of bucks. But here’s the deal. The day job is in serious jeopardy. With the economy and job market the way it is, I don’t think it really hurts to start throwing some Hail Mary passes before it’s too late and any little bit of financial padding couldn’t hurt.
So what does this mean for this little blog? Well, nut much for November. There should be just about the same amount of posts as usual. December and beyond. Well, that’s when things should start to get interesting. Wish me luck and stay tuned.
My geek passion of choice is RPG’s. Most folks have heard of Dungeons and Dragons but many of them haven’t played it or similar games. Since this week is Speak Out with Your Geek Out, I figured I’d offer some advice for those who just might be curious.
If you’re just a bit curious and want to learn a little more before investing some time and money. Well, there’s plenty of blogs like mine to check out. You can head on over to RPG Bloggers or the RPG Blog Alliance and see a steady stream of posts from around the world and all the various opinions and passions of gamers. If you want to spend a little more time on line you can check out I Hit With My Axe on The Escapist (Warning there’s a little bad language). This was spawned from Zak S’s blog Playing D&D with Porn Stars (It’s not what you think.) If you want a more humorous look at the world of gamers, check out Dead Gentlemen’s Gamers and Gamers: Dorkness Rising or on Youtube. There’s a bunch of in jokes but well worth it.
If you want to head out into the real world, hunt down your friendly local gaming store (or as we say FLGS) chances are they will will host D&D Encounters or some form of organized play. I’m sure that they wouldn’t mind the occasional spectator or they just might drag you in any way.
Now let’s say you want to go ahead and try RPG’s either on your own with a close group of friends or through organized play at your FLGS. The one thing you will need that you probably don’t have around the house is dice. Yes, we use some crazy dice. You can pick them at hobby, game and comic stores or through many Internet retailers (like Amazon). That’s one thing about gamers, we will accumulate huge piles of dice. An optional but highly recommended thing gaming accessory are miniatures. Traditionally, they were metal and you had to paint them your self but now there are variety of sources for pre-painted plastic miniatures.
If you really want to be bold here’s a list of various products and games that I would recommend for beginners.
D&D Starter Set: Everything you need to start playing the latest edition of D&D. Includes very basic rules.
Paizo’s Pathfinder Beginner Box: Another set that has everything you need to start playing. The Pathfinder RPG is based on the 3.5 version of the Dungeons and Dragons rules.
Dungeons & Dragons: Essentials: The cleaned up and stream lined version of the rules for the latest version of D&D.
Savage Worlds: This is just one of my favorite games. Generic RPG rules for any setting. Fairly simple and easy to learn
Castles & Crusades: A simplified version of the Dungeons and Dragons rules combining some of the philosophy of the original game and the modern versions.
Free Games (Yes, there are some free games out there)
Dungeonslayers: A simple but wonderful game for fantasy adventures.
Mircolite 20: This boils down the rules to bare bones but still worth a look.
Old School Clones: Many folks have resurrected various iterations of the original rules for D&D and are worth a look. Here are just a few:
Basic Fantasy
Labyrinth Lord
OSRIC
Swords and Wizardry
Assorted Gamer Bling & Accessories.
Miniature Market: I’ve bought a variety of miniatures from these folks and you can see a variety a great gaming accessories.
Dragon Chow Dice Bags: Gamers love their dice and have all sorts of superstitions surrounding them. The number fashion accessory for gamers is their dice bag. And yes I own one.
Litko Aerosystems: For those who really want to get into gaming. Various useful tokens and the like.
And don’t forget to check out local consignment stores, used books stores, discount stores and garage sales. You just might surprise at what you could find and use with a little imagination.
There it is your how to start your path down to the dungeon. Now kill a dragon and take his stuff.
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