"A Slice of Blackwoods" is entirely finished now, down to the last detail, except for a playtest and some tweaking that'll come out of that playtest. So I pulled out my "Dance of Pairs" notes and started piecing things together, then expanded a bit on what I had, and was surprised to see how close I am to being finished with that one as well. All I need to do is finish writing two player handouts, make the actual character sheets (I already have the character stats done) and go over everything to make sure all of the characters have enough "bangs" to keep events moving, and that one'll be ready for playtest as well.
Since I'm doing so much of my writing in bits and pieces away from home, and can't do the rest of "Dance of Pairs" anywhere but home, I started thinking ahead to what I wanted to do next. I decided to work on another In Nomine story (probably involving Eli, the missing archangel of creativity), and started looking through my books, but wasn't finding any inspiration. I gave up for the night, feeling a little discouraged.
I woke up uncharacteristically early the next day (Saturday), bursting with ideas that had nothing to do with Eli, and wrote everything down before I could forget it. Before I was done about an hour and a half later, I had notes for two different In Nomine scenarios, a quality short segment for TOON, and a much-improved version of an earlier long-form idea I'd had for TOON. So now I have more than enough to work with for a while.
I guess the archangel of creativity wasn't ready to have his story told yet, and decided that constructively distracting me was the best way to handle it. :-)
Tuesday, March 27, 2007
Wednesday, March 21, 2007
Meditation
I've been meditating twice a day for the last couple of weeks, more or less steadily. I have to admit that something will get in the way every couple of days. I'm certainly more relaxed than I've ever been, and there were a few days when I found myself with this amazing charge of extra energy. I'd like to be able to duplicate that on a regular basis, but I don't know quite how I did it yet.
I'm looking forward to trying some of the more advanced techniques I've been reading about in my books, but I know I'm not ready for them yet. I don't have even the basics down. That said, early results are encouraging, and I'm anxious to see if I can continue to improve.
I'm looking forward to trying some of the more advanced techniques I've been reading about in my books, but I know I'm not ready for them yet. I don't have even the basics down. That said, early results are encouraging, and I'm anxious to see if I can continue to improve.
Saturday, March 17, 2007
Saturday Night at the Movies
I still haven't gotten around to signing up for Netflix, because I keep thinking I don't have enough time to watch the movies. Then we end up going to my father-in-law's place and realize that renting movies is a better option than depending on what's on television, so we stop and pick up something on the way there. The choice gets to be complicated because our tastes are so divergent that we have one heck of a time figuring out what to rent that at least one of us will truly enjoy and the others can at least tolerate.
We've learned that a certain narrow field of martial arts films works for all of us. Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon is a prime example of what works, and Hero worked well enough. We need something with enough action to keep my father-in-law happy, enough plot/character to keep me happy, and enough artistically pleasing shot composition to keep my wife happy.
One of last weekend's rentals, Jet Li's Fearless, was a moderate success. It was no Crouching Tiger, but not much is. It's a good martial arts film if you like that sort of thing, but I wouldn't recommend it to a more general audience.
We also rented the western comedy Bandidas with Penelope Cruz and Salma Hayek. Honestly, I didn't expect much of it, but I knew there'd be a visual element that would appeal to my father-in-law and I, and I hoped that the comedy would be executed well enough to keep my wife happy. She was actually the one who pulled it off the shelf as a suggestion. At the end of the film, she exclaimed "Cute!", so I'd call that a success, and a reasonably accurate one word review. I'd recommend it only to fans of the two lovely ladies starring in it or people who really enjoy watching bits with remarkably intelligent horses, but it's an inoffensive enough PG-13 movie for anyone who has to sit through it for the benefit of someone else who really wants to see it. It's the "buddy film" version of Cat Ballou.
Our third choice was a reach that didn't pay off. Ghost of Mae Nak was a Thai ghost story, also picked by my wife. It felt longer than the 103 minute running time, and I laughed out loud at some of the "scary" parts. Mystery Science Theater would've had a blast with this one. This is a shining example of why I need Netflix, which is so I'm not paying an individual price when we try something off the beaten path and it turns out badly. Highly not recommended.
We've learned that a certain narrow field of martial arts films works for all of us. Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon is a prime example of what works, and Hero worked well enough. We need something with enough action to keep my father-in-law happy, enough plot/character to keep me happy, and enough artistically pleasing shot composition to keep my wife happy.
One of last weekend's rentals, Jet Li's Fearless, was a moderate success. It was no Crouching Tiger, but not much is. It's a good martial arts film if you like that sort of thing, but I wouldn't recommend it to a more general audience.
We also rented the western comedy Bandidas with Penelope Cruz and Salma Hayek. Honestly, I didn't expect much of it, but I knew there'd be a visual element that would appeal to my father-in-law and I, and I hoped that the comedy would be executed well enough to keep my wife happy. She was actually the one who pulled it off the shelf as a suggestion. At the end of the film, she exclaimed "Cute!", so I'd call that a success, and a reasonably accurate one word review. I'd recommend it only to fans of the two lovely ladies starring in it or people who really enjoy watching bits with remarkably intelligent horses, but it's an inoffensive enough PG-13 movie for anyone who has to sit through it for the benefit of someone else who really wants to see it. It's the "buddy film" version of Cat Ballou.
Our third choice was a reach that didn't pay off. Ghost of Mae Nak was a Thai ghost story, also picked by my wife. It felt longer than the 103 minute running time, and I laughed out loud at some of the "scary" parts. Mystery Science Theater would've had a blast with this one. This is a shining example of why I need Netflix, which is so I'm not paying an individual price when we try something off the beaten path and it turns out badly. Highly not recommended.
Tuesday, March 13, 2007
RPG Activity
I've re-started the home GURPS Firefly campaign, and it's going well. I ran the first season last year, and it was essentially about the characters coming together as a crew and getting to know each other. There were some nice elements, but we lacked the dangerous edge that River Tam's situation brought to the source material.
The start of our second season remedied that. In what was originally planned to be the first season finale, we had a player character death (sacrificing himself to save another) and the player crew wreaking havoc on an Alliance military ship in an attempt to rescue two kids who ultimately weren't even on that ship. The two kids had psi potential and had been taken involuntarily by two of the Blue Hands. They were actually on another ship, but the players didn't know that at the time.
The second session of season two completed the rescue after the crew found where the kids had actually been taken. But now they've got a huge target painted on their backs after these two incidents and we now have the edge I'd hoped would develop. The next few sessions should be lively.
On the convention front, this is going to be the leanest year I've had in ages. I had to cancel going to the private convention this month due to personal issues, and was unable to get the time away from work to go to DexCon in its entirety (though I'll still go Saturday/Sunday). I'm only running three games at GenCon. I'm skipping MEPACon in the spring, and probably in the fall as well. PoliCon is going to be the usual single day for me. Maybe next year will be more promising.
I'll be running "A Slice of Blackwoods" for GURPS Banestorm, "Controlling Interest" for GURPS Cabal, and "Rumspringa" for In Nomine at DexCon. I'll be running "A Slice of Blackwoods" for GURPS Banestorm, my old favorite "Lilim Faire" for In Nomine, and "Well Being" for Sorcerer for GenCon. I plan to run "Rumspringa" for In Nomine for PoliCon.
On the positive side, I won't need as much material this year as in years past. "A Slice of Blackwoods" is essentially done, though I'm still finishing some details of the character sheets such as personal equipment. Creatively, I'm working on "A Dance of Pairs" for Sorcerer, which is largely done except for actually statting out the characters, but that's easy to do with Sorcerer and I won't need it this year anyway. I plan to keep writing, because it's what I do, and a little inventory is a Good Thing. After "A Dance of Pairs", I'll most likely write the next installment of the GURPS Cabal series and another In Nomine scenario, but I'm also itching to write more Paranoia and would like to try out Mortal Coil as well. There's just never enough time to write everything I want to do.
The start of our second season remedied that. In what was originally planned to be the first season finale, we had a player character death (sacrificing himself to save another) and the player crew wreaking havoc on an Alliance military ship in an attempt to rescue two kids who ultimately weren't even on that ship. The two kids had psi potential and had been taken involuntarily by two of the Blue Hands. They were actually on another ship, but the players didn't know that at the time.
The second session of season two completed the rescue after the crew found where the kids had actually been taken. But now they've got a huge target painted on their backs after these two incidents and we now have the edge I'd hoped would develop. The next few sessions should be lively.
On the convention front, this is going to be the leanest year I've had in ages. I had to cancel going to the private convention this month due to personal issues, and was unable to get the time away from work to go to DexCon in its entirety (though I'll still go Saturday/Sunday). I'm only running three games at GenCon. I'm skipping MEPACon in the spring, and probably in the fall as well. PoliCon is going to be the usual single day for me. Maybe next year will be more promising.
I'll be running "A Slice of Blackwoods" for GURPS Banestorm, "Controlling Interest" for GURPS Cabal, and "Rumspringa" for In Nomine at DexCon. I'll be running "A Slice of Blackwoods" for GURPS Banestorm, my old favorite "Lilim Faire" for In Nomine, and "Well Being" for Sorcerer for GenCon. I plan to run "Rumspringa" for In Nomine for PoliCon.
On the positive side, I won't need as much material this year as in years past. "A Slice of Blackwoods" is essentially done, though I'm still finishing some details of the character sheets such as personal equipment. Creatively, I'm working on "A Dance of Pairs" for Sorcerer, which is largely done except for actually statting out the characters, but that's easy to do with Sorcerer and I won't need it this year anyway. I plan to keep writing, because it's what I do, and a little inventory is a Good Thing. After "A Dance of Pairs", I'll most likely write the next installment of the GURPS Cabal series and another In Nomine scenario, but I'm also itching to write more Paranoia and would like to try out Mortal Coil as well. There's just never enough time to write everything I want to do.
Saturday, March 10, 2007
When to Pull the Car Keys
This is a problem that most people have to face in some form, sooner or later. Dad (or Mom) is getting older, and you're not so sure it's safe for them to drive anymore. On one hand, you don't want to take away their dignity and independence, and you're certainly not crazy about taking on the task of driving them around wherever they need to go. On the other hand, you wouldn't want them to get injured (or injure somebody else) in a car accident because you didn't want to face the uncomfortable discussion regarding the fact that they can't drive as well as they once could and it's time to give it up. There's just no easy solution here.
My father-in-law is reaching the stage where this is becoming a question. He insists he's okay to drive, and we're not as sure. He's allowed us to do some driving for him here and there, under specific conditions and for specific reasons, but he continues to talk about when he'll be driving again. It's not as though his driving skills have evaporated overnight; it's just the usual slow deterioration we all face in the long run.
In my work as a claims adjuster, I see a disproportionate number of elderly and teen drivers in accidents. It's a fact of life. In some cases, the accident is the wake-up call that some of these elderly needed to show them that it's time to stop driving. In others, the elderly driver will argue with me about how they haven't had an accident in fifty years of driving, so damn it, this accident can't be their fault. One particular case I had recently was an elderly man who insisted that the teenage driver of the other car hadn't had her headlights on, because if she had, he would've seen her car and not pulled out in front of her from the stop sign. There were two independent witnesses and a police officer at the scene all saying that she did have her headlights on, and his response to that was that all of them clearly knew the teen driver and it was all a conspiracy against him. I'm not making this up; he was really in that much of a state of denial. The fact is, he simply didn't see her and made a mistake. You don't have to be elderly to make that mistake, but when your vision and reflexes aren't what they used to be, it's a lot more likely to happen.
I'd like to see mandatory driver's tests for the elderly, past a certain age. It's one thing for a son or daughter to have to explain to Dad or Mom that it's time to put away the car keys, and another thing entirely when the law says it's time. Too often, it takes an accident to decide the issue, and somebody gets hurt or killed. I realize that politicians are unlikely to take this stand, because they'd lose a lot of elderly votes by doing it, but I wish someone would do the right thing. I know it's easy enough for me to say this, as I'm nowhere near that age, and I'm going to be as reluctant as anyone to give up those keys and a measure of independence when the time comes, but I'd prefer it to being responsible for injuring or killing someone (or myself).
My father-in-law is reaching the stage where this is becoming a question. He insists he's okay to drive, and we're not as sure. He's allowed us to do some driving for him here and there, under specific conditions and for specific reasons, but he continues to talk about when he'll be driving again. It's not as though his driving skills have evaporated overnight; it's just the usual slow deterioration we all face in the long run.
In my work as a claims adjuster, I see a disproportionate number of elderly and teen drivers in accidents. It's a fact of life. In some cases, the accident is the wake-up call that some of these elderly needed to show them that it's time to stop driving. In others, the elderly driver will argue with me about how they haven't had an accident in fifty years of driving, so damn it, this accident can't be their fault. One particular case I had recently was an elderly man who insisted that the teenage driver of the other car hadn't had her headlights on, because if she had, he would've seen her car and not pulled out in front of her from the stop sign. There were two independent witnesses and a police officer at the scene all saying that she did have her headlights on, and his response to that was that all of them clearly knew the teen driver and it was all a conspiracy against him. I'm not making this up; he was really in that much of a state of denial. The fact is, he simply didn't see her and made a mistake. You don't have to be elderly to make that mistake, but when your vision and reflexes aren't what they used to be, it's a lot more likely to happen.
I'd like to see mandatory driver's tests for the elderly, past a certain age. It's one thing for a son or daughter to have to explain to Dad or Mom that it's time to put away the car keys, and another thing entirely when the law says it's time. Too often, it takes an accident to decide the issue, and somebody gets hurt or killed. I realize that politicians are unlikely to take this stand, because they'd lose a lot of elderly votes by doing it, but I wish someone would do the right thing. I know it's easy enough for me to say this, as I'm nowhere near that age, and I'm going to be as reluctant as anyone to give up those keys and a measure of independence when the time comes, but I'd prefer it to being responsible for injuring or killing someone (or myself).
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)