Hey There Cthulhu

The Artist's Way

This Sunday, I will be officially starting a 12 week spiritual journey to higher creativity as outlined in Julia Cameron's Book, The Artist Way.

Ever since a friend of mine told me about the book I wanted to do it. I picked the book up for my birthday. Happy Birthday Me! I've started reading through it and started feeling scared, a little intimidated by it. But excited too. I told all my artist friends about it and even some non-artist friends too. But it wasn't until a couple weeks ago a friend of mine, Thank You! (you know who you are.) Pinned me down, and made pick a date. July 12, 2009. Encouraged me to "Leap" and realize "the net would appear."

I have my Notebook ready for my morning writings. Which I know will be a challenge for me. I am so not a morning person. I figure I will go through 3 notebooks during the 12 week journey. I have signed the contract and I'm ready. I will return to posting regular Wednesday Quotes. They will be using quotes The Artist's Way.

My bags are pack. I love you all. I'll see you when I get back. I'll remember to take lots of pictures and sent a post card or two.

Later,

Luther

I'm on a Boat

Happy Birthday Me

134,727 People
34 years ago I entered the world and 134,727 people said "Ahh shit there goes the planet, I'm out of here." Including Runner Steve Prefontaine.

Oh and my Birthday celebrates the anniversary of Joan Arc being burned at the stake. That was 578 years today. I wonder if anyone brought marshmallows?

Lacuna Part 1. The Creation of the Mystery & the Girl from Blue City (2nd attempt)

Last Friday I did not have a Houses Cabal game because we were playing Lacuna. One of the Houses player wanted to run a one shot of this game and we all thought it would be fun.

If you don't know what Lacuna is, and you probably don't, it is a role-playing designed by Jared Sorenson. The setting is Blue City, a bizarre ever changing world set in the minds of the collective sub-conscious of over 6 billion people. A dream world where nothing is what is seems to be.

You play Agents awaken and trained by the company to be inserted into Blue City to hunt down and do away with rogue elements casing harm within Blue City. You have no memory prior to being waken up. So this means no backstory, no past drama in your life. You aren't even allowed to pick your own name. One is randomly decided for you. As well as your age and sex (determined by the sex of the player). At first I found this annoying. I like elements of backstory and angst ridden pasts. It's what makes the characters more real, more believable and frankly fun to play. To me this is the most important aspect of the character, any character. It creates depth, motivations, emotions, and it was all taken away from me. But then I told myself, You are playing Agent Smith, not Neo. Agents don't have emotions, they don't have motivations. They have the mission and that is all.

The next element of the game is your HP (Hit Points). There is no HP in Lacuna. That's no big deal, a lot of RPG's don't have HP. But they have sort of damage system. Lacuna doesn't have damage per se, because have you even taken damage in a dream? I know I haven't. I've hit my head while sleep waking as I dreamed. But it wasn't the dream that hurt me. Here's the catch, and I LOVE this, Heart rate. Your heart rate is your HP. The longer you stay within Blue City, the more you do in there, the higher your heart rate goes. If you reach your Max Heart rate, well, bad stuff happens to you. I love this because it creates the mood of being up against the clock. That if you don't hurry, you will fail your mission and you may even die. But the act of hurrying up causes your heart rate to increase faster. Thus amplifying the urgency. To me this was the coolest element of the game.

Next is the setting. We didn't get to explore the setting a whole lot, because we were too preoccupied with trying to complete are mission. At first I found the setting a little annoying. Any time you tried to do something, something that interacted with Blue City. Something as simple as trying to get into a car. You have to roll. The act of rolling causes your Heart Rate to increase. The number you got on your dice roll caused your HR to go up that much. So if I roll a 7 to try to get in that car over there. My HR goes up by 7. Oh and failed to get into the car. You need a 11 for all rolls to be successful. But lets say you are successful in that roll. That means your HR still increases. Instead of 7 lets say I rolled a 12. My HR would go up by 12. If by doing nothing in that hopes that the plot finds you, nothing happens. You have to do something to drive the plot. Now I said I love the HR system, and I do. What I found annoying is the simple stuff, the stuff that we normally take for granted in other games are not simple and requirer rolls. We quickly found out that there are no simple actions. But there are no complex actions either. There is only actions. And the physics that rule our world don't exist either. I coined the phrase, "Dream Logic", at the game. Dream logic is the logic is being able to do what you normally can't do in the real world. I could open a door enter a room and then exit the room from the same door and that door doesn't necessarily lead me back to the previous room I was in. I could state that I enter the room in completely different part of town. And I would be there, provided I succeeded my roll. In the real world this is not logical, but in Blue City this is completely logical, hence, Dream Logic. Once I figured this out, the game became a lot more fun.

There are few more elements to the game, but I won't go over them. They are more crunch bits to the setting. All in All I really liked the game. I don't know if I would like for a campaign, but as a one short it was a lot of fun and would play it again if given the chance.

Food for Gamers 2

Last Friday for the Houses of the Blooded Cabal game, I thought I'd forgo the chips, cookies, or other sugary snacks that I normally bring for something a little more Ven. So I'm walking around the grocery store, racking my brain for something simple yet tasty and hors d’œuvre like to get. When I walk past the deli section and see some sliced pepperoni. Then I think of a n old favorite of mine. Salami and cream cream.

Ingredients
• A package of Philadelphia Cream Cheese
• Sliced Salami

Directions
1. Spread some cream cheese on a slice of Salami.
2. Roll Salami
3. Eat

Another tasty, yet simple treat. You can do all the work, or you can just put everything out on a plate and let everyone spread their own. Which is what I did. If I was hosting a special Gaming session or a LARP, I might prepare the snack ahead of time. But the way I did it lets the player decide how much cream cheese they want, and tastes may vary.

So at the game, I was the only eating them at first. Which is fine, I love them so I didn't care. But then at a break the other players asked what I was eating. At first they all thought I was crazy, and they maybe right, just not about what I was eating. Everyone had to try it and they were surprised at how good it was. They all said something to the fact that, "I would never have guessed that salami and cream cheese would go together." So if your looking for something different, give it a try if you haven't already. You might be surprised.

Food for Gamers

A couple of weeks ago for the Houses of the Blooded Cabal game, I brought 2 loafs of Beer Bread, (Guinness Bread), to the game. (I'll post the recipe later.) But now I want to try other simple breads. Here's the next one.

7-Up Bread
Ingredients
• 3 cups self rising flour
• 3 tablespoons sugar
• 7 ounces soda pop (7-up brand, at room temperature)

Directions
1. Mix ingredients together and form into a loaf.
2. Place in greased bread pan.
3. Bake at 350 for 25 minutes.

Ya, it's that simple.
I actually want to try this with Strawberry soda or other fruit-type sodas.
It's very similar to the Guinness Beer Bread I made, which I also want to try with Sam Adam's Cherry Wheat Ale and a Raspberry Ale, I heard about.

Once I'm finished, I'll post the results.

Wōden's Wisdom Wednesday

"If the American people ever allow private banks to control the issue of their money, first by inflation and then by deflation, the banks and corporations that will grow up around them (around the banks), will deprive the people of their property until their children will wake up homeless on the continent their fathers conquered."

~Thomas Jefferson

I know I haven't posted in awhile, I'll explain in my next post.

Wōden's Wisdom Wednesday

"The sky above the port was the color of television, tuned to a dead channel."

~Narrator
William Gibson's book "Neuromancer"

Ok, so not really a quote that inspires wisdom, but I really loved the way this book starts out.

Wōden's Wisdom Wednesday

Happy New Year Everyone!

"I am always doing that which I can not do, in order that I may learn how to do it."

~Pablo Picasso (1881 - 1973)

This quote was inspired, because this year, not only am I continuing taking whistle lessons, but I am also taking bagpipes lesson.

Wōden's Wisdom Wednesday

"Not that I condone fascism, or any -ism for that matter. -Ism's in my opinion are not good. A person should not believe in an -ism, he should believe in himself. I quote John Lennon, 'I don't believe in The Beatles, I just believe in me.' Good point there. After all, he was the walrus. I could be the walrus. I'd still have to bum rides off people."

~ Ferris Bueller,
played by Matthew Broderick
"Ferris Bueller's Day Off"

Apples to Apples, The Drinking Game

Apples to Apples (Traditional version)
In the game Apples to Apples, everyone draws 7 Noun cards. They are red cards. Then one person acts as the Judge and lays down a green card. The green card has an adjective on it. Then everyone lays face down one of their red cards. The Judge then reads all the cards and picks the one that bests describes the green card. Or the Judge can pick the worst one, funniest one, stupidest one, etc. Either way a good time is had by all. The new round starts with a new judge. Usually you go around the table clock-wise. Play until some collects 7 cards (I think, when we play it we go around the table until we are tired and whoever has the most cards win).

A couple of weeks ago I was down in Tucson for my Cousin’s graduation party from U of A. We turns this fun party game into a drinking game.

Apples to Apples (The Drinking Game)
The game is played as described above. Except the Judge picks a drink before laying down the adjective card (Green). Maybe it's a shot, or a drink from whatever your drinking, or chugs a beer for X amount of seconds, etc. What ever the judge wants. After the Judge lays down the green card, players lay down a noun card (Red) and if the Judge picks your card, then you have to drink whatever drink the judge announced a the start of the round.

This adds a new element of the game, mostly you want your card to get picked, but if it means have to take a shot of something you don't like, maybe you'll want to throw away a card you don't think will get picked and hope that the next round has more favorable drink.

Also, always remember to drink responsibly.

Wōden's Wisdom Wednesday

Odin, Norse god of wisdom, war, battle, and death. Also magic, poetry, prophecy, victory, and the hunt. Also know as Wōden and Wodan. It is also were we get the word Wednesday. From the old Norse Oðinsdagr or "Odin's day".

Since Odin or Wōden is associated with wisdom, and because I like alliteration, I've come up Wōden's Wisdom Wednesdays. Basically a quote I really like that imparts a bit of wisdom.

Today's quote will be a repeat of yesterdays quote. Because I think it bears repeating.

"Of all tyrannies, a tyranny sincerely exercised for the good of its victims may be the most oppressive. It would be better to live under robber barons than under omnipotent moral busybodies. The robber baron's cruelty may sometimes sleep, his cupidity may at some point be satiated; but those who torment us for our own good will torment us without end for they do so with the approval of their own conscience."

~ C. S. Lewis

Feeling very cynical right now...

but here's a quote I found and I really like it.

"Of all tyrannies, a tyranny sincerely exercised for the good of its victims may be the most oppressive. It would be better to live under robber barons than under omnipotent moral busybodies. The robber baron's cruelty may sometimes sleep, his cupidity may at some point be satiated; but those who torment us for our own good will torment us without end for they do so with the approval of their own conscience."

~ C. S. Lewis

Pissed Off Right Now

Watch this video and try to tell me there are no innocent victims in the war on drugs and that the system works.



Aren't the police to protect and serve?
Who are they trying to protect and serve, not you or me.
Oh, but this can't happen to you or me, right?
I'm sure Yolanda thought that too.

Political Corruption, the Game

It seemed like this year there was more political corruption stories then normal. Maybe it's because it was an election year, or politicians think they can get away with anything and are doing more and more corrupt things. Either way, I will be following the political corruption stories a little more closely in the up coming new year. Here's how...

(Announcer voice)
Are you ready for America's favorite pastime next to baseball? That's right kiddies, it's time for the...

The Political Corruption Game (Working Title)

(Applause and cue game show music)

Here's how it works. When a politician gets caught with his or her pants down, that politician's party gets points. The number of points depend on how high of a position that person holds.

If it's just an accusation it's worth 5 points. Like Sarah Palin's Troopergate. There was an accusation and an investigation, but that was all. No charges brought against her. The Republicans would have gotten 5 points.

If the person resigns, is charged, impeached or otherwise removed from office, it's worth more points.

50 points if it's the President.
40 points if it's a member of Congress, both House and Senate.
30 points if it's a presidential cabinet member, executive departments, or federal agencies.
20 points for State officials.
10 points for Local officials.

The Eliot Spizter prostitution scandal would have been worth 20 points because he resigned, he was the Governor of New York. So the Democrats would have gotten 20 points.

Bonus points may be awarded if the politician is particularly annoying, arrogant or says stupid stuff. 1-5 points can be earned in this way depending on how arrogant, stupid or annoy they are.

Let's meet the teams. First we have the,

Democratic Blue Donkeys
The Democrats are no stranger to corruption. Dating back to when the Democrats were the Democratic-Republician party with Thomas Jefferson and the Sally Hemings controversy. To present day heavy hitter Bill Clinton. Who racked up an impressive 125 points during his 8 years in the White house.

Republican Red Elephants
The Republicans are also no strangers to corruption. But they don't have as impressive of a history. But that's because there party didn't get it's official start until 1853, but quickly rose in the ranks. No doubt with the help of unethical conduct. The Republicans too have their stars. Most notably Richard Nixon with the Watergate scandal followed by his resignation. But a new breed of Republicans like Senator Larry Craig from Idaho and Senator Ted Steven from Alaska are making them a team not to be taken lightly.

So without further ado...
Let the games begin, and may the best... errr, worst party win.

Game will officially start on January 20 2009.

Games I'm currently playing

I was thinking about it last night, I go through these hills and valleys of games. Lates of games, then one or two. Back to lots, then back a couple. So where do I stand right now?

• 7th Sea - Game Master (Wednesdays, semimonthly or so)
• Houses of the Blooded - Narrator (whenever we can)
• Legend of the Five Rings (or L5R) - Player, Kitsuki Norio (Wednesdays semimonthly or so)
• D&D 4th Ed. - Player, TBD (Sundays, whenever we can) note: it looks like this one maybe dead. Not ready to call it.
• Houses of the Blooded - Player, Vadim Mwrr (Fridays, Cabal game for Living Shanri) Note: Have not officially started, but really excited about it.
• Hunter: The Vigil - Player, Comic book Horror writer & Folklore, early Lit teacher. Note: game has not started yet. It may only be a one shot too.
  

So it looks like I'm on a hill. Loving life. Game on.

Rainbows

Last Wednesday it rained and when it rains sometimes you get rainbows.
Here are some pictures I snagged while driving to meet a friend.

Don't try this at home. Professional driver on a closed course.
(ok, maybe not, but still don't try this.)

Halloween

Halloween is kind of a big deal at work. I've been with the company for over 8 years and each year it gets bigger and bigger and this year was no exception. It started with everyone dressing up as usual. Then people would decorate their desk to go along with their costume. To each department coming up with a theme and decorating the department and the people of the department dressing accordingly to the theme. Usually they try to keep the theme a secret for as long as they can. It's been like that for at least the last 3-4 years. This years the Art Department's theme was Alice in Wonderland. For maximum effect we decided to us the Walt Disney version and not the original version by Lewis Carroll's. Kind of a bummer, because the book version was way more creepy and fitting for Halloween. But our goal was to win the Best Decorated Department Award and we wanted to make sure everyone was blown away by our theme. Since everyone has probably seen Alice in Wonderland at some point in their life, we decided to use that as our outline. The idea was as you walked through the department, we would tell the story of Alice in Wonderland. Starting with the Rabbit hole. One of things I wanted to do with the telling of the story was incorporating all the senses. Taste, Touch, Sight, Smell, Hearing.
Sight is easy, The decorations will do that. All of the graphics we printed. All of the stuff we made. The dry ice in tea pots to make it look like steam.
Hearing was the next thing. I took sound clips from the movie and had them playing. As you walked into the rabbit hole you would hear the strange sounds Alice heard as she fell. Next room was the Flower Forest with the Flowers singing Golden Afternoon. And finally the Tea party with Unbirthday music.
Taste was next. Since Alice eats and drinks stuff in the movie and she either grows or shrinks depending on what she is eating or drinking. We had like cruppets made and little cups of Kool-Aid for people to eat and drink. I would have like to had tea to drink at the Tea party but that would probably had not been safe with the dry ice. I would have hated to see someone get burned on the ice.
Touch was a little harder. But I guess all the props could be touched.
Smell all I could come up with was brewing tea and coffee.

Since we were on a limited budget and limited space some of the story had to be cut. So we focused on the high points. Entering the Rabbit Hole. Alice's journey in what I called the Flower forest. Of course the Mad Hatter's Tea Party. The hedge maze ending at the Queen of Heart's Castle.

Here are the photo's, finally, of the Art Department's Alice in Wonderland.
(Keep in mind I had to use the flash, otherwise you would not see much.)

So with out further ado...














With Flash


Without Flash
































































































































...and the fruits of our labor pays off. This year we finally won the Prize of Best Decorated Department.

Clouds

Since it's a rainy day today, I thought I'd post some pictures of Clouds I took.

Enjoy,







The next 3 where taken on November 9th when I was helping the Phoenix Orienteering Club run their event out at Lake Pleasant. It rained later that day, only a little bit, but this was the development of that storm.