West of Leng

My plane is scheduled for Saturday afternoon.  It looks like my group will be on military transport for the short trip.  It should be interesting.  Manas is interesting and the food has a distinct taste to it.  It seems about the same but the taste is just a little different.  Anyway, I will write more later.

I am in Manas now.  You get to look it up.  I will fly to Bagram in Afghanistan on Saturday.  Take care!

The plane for the group that I am with is delayed.  So, we will be leaving the airport on Tuesday in the afternoon, now.  They have put us up in a nice hotel so we will relax today.  Due to the flight schedules where we are going, this happens often. 

I am heading to the airport.  I should be in place by Wednesday depending on the weather.  I will report back in then.  Have a nice day!

I have gotten my orders and I will depart on 28 Dec at around 10 Eastern.  From there, I shoud be at my stop by sometime on Tuesday the 30th depending on the weather.  I have my three bags packed and will pick up another two bags in route.  That will be fun.    :-)

So seven days and counting.

I will have some internet capability while I will be there so I plan on writing more since I may actually have something interesting to write about.  See you later!

Remember that the map is not the territory.

On Saturday, we went down to Louisville, KY and had a great dinner at a downtown restaurant before seeing Jolie Holland in concert.  She was fantastic and hit all her notes.  :-)  Jolie Holland sang many of her songs and even told a great whale joke.  Unfortunately, it is definitely an audio joke so if you want to hear it, you need to ask me when I am at Gencon next year.  :-)  I first heard her music flying to San Francisco years ago while I was reading a copy of Kerouac's On the Road.  The concert was great and we even got a chance to talk with her for a few minutes. If you have not had a chance to hear her any of her works, please check out her web sites.

http://www.jolieholland.com/ and http://www.anti.com/artists/view/2


49 Days and counting!!!!

I noticed the other day that Google now has the walking option for the maps and directions.  So, now I know how to walk from Key West, FL to Fairbanks, AK.  I would have walked to Barrow, AK but it said that it was not possible.  I guess the vampires are too active again. (See 30 Days of Night. for that pop culture refernce)  According to Google, it only takes 66 days and 12 hours.  I believe that is walking without sleeping although.  :-)

http://maps.google.com/maps?q=maps&rls=com.microsoft:en-us&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&startIndex=&startPage=1&um=1&sa=N&tab=wl

Have fun!

A world of dew,
and within every dewdrop
a world of struggle
Issa

I have been on a Jack Kerouac kick recently with rereading "On The Road" and "Dharma Bums".  While I was in San Francisco, I picked up a book on his works and one on the lives of the main Beat authors (Ginsberg, Burroughs and Kerouac).  Their works are interesting and will definitely take you to a different place than where you were.

 

However, I am not the first to notice this.  In the comic series, League of Extraordinary Gentlemen, Balck Dossier by Alan Moore, there is one section that deals with Kerouacian characters, Sal Paradise and Dean Moriaty working for the greater good.  Also, there is a book entitled, Move Under Ground by Nick Mamatas which recounts the encounter that Kerouac, Burroughs and Neal Cassidy have with the forces of the Cthulhu Mythos. 

 

The novel takes place early in the 1960s, where Jack Kerouac is fighting the after-effects of a nervous breakdown.  While on the coast of California, he looks out into the Pacific and witnesses the rising of R'lyeh from the waters, in turn heralding the return of dead/dreaming Cthulhu. Kerouac goes off again "on the road," in search of his friend Neal Cassady, who may have some kind of secret knowledge of the horror that is about to unfold across the nation.  Kerouac is joined by William S. Burroughs, and the three set out to confront Cthulhu.  It is a good book although I would suggest reading On The Road first to get an appreciation of the flavor and ambiance.  Having a group of Jazz musicians playing songs that have the power to take out lesser Mythos creatures is an intriguing idea.  I believe that a free PDF of the book can still be found at http://www.moveunderground.org/ .

I forgot to mention a story that Larry Niven told about writing when I was at Pulpcon during the summer. He was speaking about writing and the SF community.  Later, a friend of mine found this text from one of Niven's works that summarizes what occured so I paste it here.

“I record here an account of the writing of _The Mote in God's Eye_, arguably one of the best sf novels ever written (text is from _N-Space_, by Larry Niven, p. 436):

 

"Jerry [Pournelle, Niven's coauthor] sent our 'finished' manuscript to a friend: Robert Heinlein. Robert told us that he could put one terrific blurb on the cover _if_ we made some changes. The first hundred pages had to go...

 

"And we did that, and re-introduced characters and moved background data [...]

 

"And we sent it back to Robert, _who did a complete line-editing job_.

 

"I know of a man who offered Robert Heinlein a reading fee! The results were quite horrid. But in the case of MOTE, Robert hadn't expected us to take his advice. Nobody ever had before (he told us).   But if 'Possibly the finest science fiction novel I have ever read'  were to appear on the cover above Robert Heinlein's name, then the book had to _be_ that.

 

"It took us forever to write. We won the LASFS's 'Sticky' Award for 'Best Unpublished Novel' two years running. It was worth every minute."

I believe that if you are going to have someone proof your work, then authors of Heinlein caliber would be a great choice.  :-)  Have fun!

It has been weeks since Gencon.  I guess I have been busy.  I just got back from a  trip to San Francisco for a conference and I should post about that since Gencon is dated.  :-)

Pulpcon was interesting and fun but different than Origins and Gencon Indy. It is a lot smaller with only around 200 attendees but that gives it a more relaxed atmosphere, too. I definitely did not miss fighting the crowds in the dealers rooms at the larger cons. The con itself revolves around the dealers room which for the number of attendees was very well represented. There were a number of dealers from around the country although there is concern over declining attendance.

There was a discussion/slide show on Jack Williamson who had a long and successful career as a SF and pulp writer. Also, there was a nice presentation on the different SF covers of Astounding magazine and its history. The capstone of the event was a presentation on Larry Niven who was this year's Guest of Honor. He has been writing fantastic SF stories and novels for many years, too. He gave an interesting retrospective on his career and the people he has worked with.
 

I got the chance to talk with Larry Niven at length and he signed a number of his books that I own like Footfall, Ringworld and Mote in God's Eye. It was interesting talking with him and hearing stories about events like Worldcon and having dinner with Robert Heinlein.  Overall, it was great getting the chance to meet him.

Also, I was also successful in adding to my collection of novels from the Doc Savage series along with ones for the Shadow, Spider and the Avenger. As of yet, I have not tried to buy any of the original pulps from the '30s and '40s because I cannot spend that much money yet for an item that I need to keep protected and not read. I was fortunate and found a number of books that contained literary essays on the old pulp

magazines with some interesting insights. Like most fans of any genre, I enjoy finding out more info on the stories I read.

The con had a business meeting where they discussed a number of ideas on increasing the number of attendees ranging from getting more flyers out to cons, bookstores and other places where collectors might come. It was a good chance to bounce ideas off one another to improve their web-site and make next year even better.

Gencon Indy will be here next week and it should be great. I actually ended up with more LARPS than face-to-face games which is a first. However, I am ready to be a Viking, pirate and a cowboy. However, I did not have the chance to be a ninja for some reason.

Well, today is the first day of this convention.  It should be fun.  I will write later!

We went to the Dayton Celtic Festival yesterday and had a great time.  There were a number of amazing bands, some new and some old.  I picked up a few CDs, along with a belt and bag for a medieval/viking/pirate outfit.  There was not much there for ninjas although.  We enjoyed the food and the music.  The Festival has a little bit of everything and does a good job of showing the impact and diversity of celtic music.  It is also a good excuse to eat and be merry.

In regards to Tom Smith, he is a very entertaining Filk singer who has recently had an accident while at a friends concert that made him cancel a number of other dates.  Some friends of his did this: "My good friend Rob Balder (of Erfworld and Partially Clips fame, not to mention "Rich Fantasy Lives") got together a fundraising CD of covers of a lof of my songs. He did this in, like, a week and a half. And it's beyond cool, especially the tracks by Possible Oscar, Sudden Death, The Great Luke Ski, Bill Sutton, Michelle Dockery & Tony Fabris, Worm Quartet, and about forty other people. If you're interested, you can get it for any donation size at all at http://www.partiallyclips.com/tomsmith/ ."  There are some briliant artists and this is a worthwhile cause.

Also, over at the Wandering Geek podcast, Curt was talking about the Ennie Awards that opens up for voting on 28 Aug.  Their site is http://www.ennieawards.com/voting.html .  His podcast has been nominated but there are a myriad of categories so you may see some of your other favorites there.  The awards are announced at Gencon each year.

If you are interested in Filk music, you may want to check out the Ohio Valley Filk Festival in Columbus, OH.  It is from 24-26 October and is in a suburb of Columbus called Dublin.  Here is the web-site:  http://www.ovff.org/  I have not gone to one of these types of cons before but I think it will be a good way to not go cold turkey until Origins.

Anyway, until next time, have fun!



 

 

This week-end in Dayton is their annual Celtic Festival.  Each year there is a three day festival celebrating the region's Irish, Scottish, English and Welsh roots with a few other things thrown in for good measure.  My wife and I have been able to attend almost every year that we have been here in Ohio.

 

They have a great selection of music ranging from traditional Irish groups and cloggers to modern rock with a Celtic flavor.  Gaelic Storm and Homeland are two of the regulars.  Two other Celtic groups that I like are Flogging Mollys and the Drop Kick Murphys.  These groups don't get a lot of air time on the Clear Channel controlled airways but that is what CDs and MP3 players are for.  There is always a great selection of food along with other events like a 5K run and a Gaelic Mass.  A re-enactment group also attends each year.

There are a number or dealers of a variety of products.  There are a lot of interesting items for sell including ones that would make good props for a LARP.

Have fun!

Since I wrote about the web-comics that I like, I thought I would place some advertising for podcasts out on my blog as well.  I started listening to podcasts after the Mad Three of Gamer the Podcasting did an interview with PST Productions about their Cthulhu Live games at Origins.  After downloading the cast, I listened to it and then discovered a whole new world.  Since then, I have started listening to a number of podcasts on a variety of subjects.

 

Also, I like to listen to something while I work-out, I found that listening to casts about gaming, LARPs, and other science fiction subjects to be entertaining and helped me to have a more productive work-out.  Of course, it has to be on a subject that I am interested in, otherwise, it does not help much.  :-)  Hearing a discussion on games or a new novel just makes the time go by faster.

 

Gamer the Podcasting:  This podcast is in retirement status at the moment because the people behind it have become involved in other projects.  However, I have enjoyed listening to their discussions on LARPing and games in general.  Even though, they discuss LARPs more than other subjects, the concepts and ideas are easily useable in a table-top setting as well.  Caroline (One of the Mad Three) has started a new podcast and said that she is working on her second episode.  http://www.somniturne.com/gtp/

 

Wandering Geek:  This cast is produced by a professional truck-driver and has some great subject areas.  He discusses game reviews with an emphasis on the portability of games as well as how to find games stores, conventions and gaming groups in your travels.  Basically, his mission statement is to help others "get their Geek on" while on the road.  Another segment that he produces which is a good source is a monthly cast on Filk music.  He does a hour show illuminating various artists.  Also, he provides notes on his web-page so if you hear anything that you like, you can check the artist out further.
http://wanderinggeek.podbean.com/

 

All Games Considered: This cast emphasizes boards games and RPGs although it does cover a little bit of everything like most podcasts.  They provide good reviews that help you see if you would like a game or not.  It also has created a spin-off called Secret Lives of Girl Gamers which although is focused on just one aspect of gaming culture has had segments that should be mandatory listening for any guys attending their first convention.    http://www.agcpodcast.info/

 

Yog-Sothoth Radio:  This is a fantastic cast out of England which deals with the Call of Cthulhu and other related Mythos items.  They had produced a number of shows dealing with a more philosophical look at H. P. Lovecraft and his works as well as segments on conventions in the UK.  
http://www.yog-sothoth.com/modules.php?name=Content&pa=showpage&pid=60

 

All in all, I enjoy listening to discussions on different gaming and SF/Fantasy issues especially because I cannot always be at a convention or game store.  I have become aware however that since these productions are being done for free, that a great podcast may end as the producers lives and goals change.  That however, is just part of life.

I just wanted to add an entry to show that I read something besides horror novels filled with zombies besieging mankind as the stars fade out one by one.  The Guardians of the Flame is a series of fantasy books started in the 1980s by Joel Rosenberg.  He is an excellent SF/Fantasy writer with a number of other works to his credit.  I first came across his work when I started reading the Guardians series.  Overall, I enjoyed the adventures that were in those books.

 

The main premise is that a group of college students who play a D&D-like game which is GMed by one of their college professors, find themselves magically transported from their 20th century world of college, computers and science to a rich fantasy world where wizards and dragons stride.  The interesting part is that once they arrive there, they become their characters from the game.  So, the 15th level fighter has all the skills and techniques that a powerful fighter would have in that world.  The same can be said for the mage, thief and the dwarf berserker.

 

They soon discover why they are there and they set forth on the quest.  The first novels deal with the results of that adventure and the greater quest that it brings to them.  It seems that in this world, slavery still exists and in order for them to get a needed blessing, they take an oath to lead the fight against the slaver guilds.  Rosenberg does a great job of showing how the characters learn to deal with living in a pre-industrial era that has magic. 

 

I do not want to give any spoilers away but the war against the salvers is well-done and shows a nice balance of science versus magic, as well.  There are no F-16 dogfights against red dragons but that is for the best.  The author tries to be realistic in his use of magic and a fantasy world.  If you have not had a chance to pick this series up, you should.  I believe that you may have to hit the used book stores to find some of the series but it will be efficacious for you.  I think one of the key features of the series is that the characters are fighting for more than just the standard kill the dark lord and save the princess scenario.

Like most people out there, I have a variety of interests which the internet has allowed me enjoy to a greater level.  For instance, I have always enjoyed comic books and comic strips.  With the advent of the Web, the webcomic was created and I thought I would give some "air time"  to a few of my favorites.

Irregular Webcomic:  It is a fun site that uses legos and has a number of themes from super-heroes to take-offs of various films like Indiana Jones, Harry Potter, Star Wars and even Steve Irwin.  It is getting close to hitting its 2000th strip and I hope it continues for many more.  http://www.irregularwebcomic.net/1987.html

XKCD: It is titled a webcomic of romance, sarcasm, math, and language.  You do not need to be a math major to read it and even my fortune teller reads it.  She referenced the same strip that I did at Origins.   http://xkcd.com/

Darths and Droids:  This is an "RPG screencap comic".   They took the fourth Star Wars movie (4th made*) and used it as a basis for a gaming session.  The author did an earlier version of one for the Lord of the Rings.  http://www.darthsanddroids.net/

Casey and Andy:  This is another veteran webcomic that is actually reaching its end.  It is fun and the author is doing a great job. 
http://www.galactanet.com/comic/index.php

* I am one of the older generation that was in the theater when Star Wars first came out in the '70s.  That will always be the first Star Wars film for me but I believe in being a heretic.  :-)

I moved to Ohio back in 2003 and that was my first year for Gencon Indy.

After that, I have attended Origins and Gencon Indy every year except

for the '05 Gencon when my oldest son got married on the same week-end

as Gencon.  For family harmony, I felt it best to attend the wedding

instead of Gencon.  :-)

 

However, I also have attended a small convention called the Pulpcon in

Dayton, OH that is held for fans of the old pulp magazines from the 30s

and 40s like the Shadow, Doc Savage, Avenger and the Spider.  However,

the pulp magazines were more than action heroes because they covered a

broad spectrum of subjects such as mysteries, horror, westerns and

crime. The stories are exciting and great reminders of a by-gone era.

It is also a good decade for CoC settings and the stories provide

excellent background.

 

One interesting facet of the Pulpcon is that it is a lot smaller than

the average convention.  I think there are usually less than 100 people

that attend.  Also, the group reminds me of walking through the

historical miniatures gaming area at Origins.  It is one of the few

places at a convention where I am under the average age.  That is not

bad but it is sad to see the aging of certain aspects of the hobby.

Fortunately this may be changing as I noticed that there were a number

of younger people playing miniatures this year at Origins.  I guess some

people are moving over from other games into the world of miniature

warfare which is good.

 

Overall, Pulpcon is a relaxing time where I don't need to worry about

running from one game event to another.  This year, they will do a

re-enactment of a radio mystery, have a dinner at a local Italian

restaurant, an auction, a couple of panels on collecting and the guest

of honors are Larry Niven and Jerry Pournelle.  Those two are excellent

SF authors and I have read a number of their books over the years.  So,

while I am there, I can increase the size of the my library once again

and maybe, even find a new DVD or two.