It has been a cool spring this year in Eastern Washington. We’ve had snow, rain, gloomy days, and the trees have bloomed later than usual. Today was no exception. It was raining last night and still raining this morning when I woke up. But by lunch, the wind had blown the storm out, leaving behind blue skies and gorgeous clouds.
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Thirty-Five Years: Stranger Things
Note: This was initially meant to go out in July 2019. Life, eh?
When Stranger Things first dropped, I ran to watch. From D&D to synth music, I loved every bit of it. Hell, if you loved the Goonies, you should love Stranger Things. It’s Cthulhu Edition Goonies. How can you not love that?
Another aspect I love of the show is the 80s love, something we as a society have been vibing on since 2002. Flash forward to now we have Retrowave, New She-Ra, even Thundercat’s came back for a bit. And guess what? Kevin Smith is bringing back He-Man. Again.
But getting back to Hawkins, the show’s first season kicked off in 1983, and D&D is all the rage for Nerdy Kids. Does anyone remember D&D Club? Not me. I read about it in 1989, but in 1983, I was five years old. It wasn’t until I was almost 7 in 1984 (Second Season) that I had clear memories of all things the ’80s. Break dancing and Silver Spoons were my favorites. Later it becomes Mario Bros.
No, it was the end of the ’80s that are the fondest for me. 87 onwards. In 1988 I discovered D&D, but everyone had moved on and so had a much of America by then. As the 80s wound down, Yuppies became the norm, and people began to hate the gluttony that the decade represented. This angst would come to a head in 1993 when Bill Clinton would become the President.
For me, the show represents everything it means to be from the Oregon Trail Generation. I miss those days. Everything was bright, poppy, big hair, and energetic.
The music is what I miss the most. For me, technically, I’m a 90s Teenager as opposed to an 80’s Teenager. But that memory is distorted. In the ’90s, music began to change— Nirvana, Dr. Dre, Spin Doctors, Michael Jackson, Culture Club, and Duran Duran. Oddly though, I would fall in love with Duran Duran’s 90s comeback (Check out Come Undone).
It wasn’t until around 2013 that I got back into 80’s music—partly driven by nostalgia, partly driven by that seed of synth love that was planted in my friend Nichole’s bedroom when we would sit around all day playing Nintendo.
That’s something else that has a comeback. The original NES and SNES. Along with the Genesis and TurboGrafx-16. Which I always wanted to play Slaughterhouse on. Since I didn’t get a chance, I hope to with this retro release. Talk about nostalgia.
Hmm, that’s what this post is about—nostalgia and how it seems that we are now eating ourselves instead of trying new things. Everything is coming back or on the way. One Day At A Time has come back, got famous, and been canceled. Now there is talk of the Princess Bride. See? Eating ourselves until nothing is left.
Thought’s About Kurt Cobain
Today is the 25th anniversary of Kurt Cobain’s death, and the question on everyone’s mind: Is where were you the day the music died? For me, that would be California. I was 16 and had recently moved in with my dad because Podunk, Oklahoma, wasn’t cutting it anymore. But me being a fan of Nirvana was no weird thing. They were one of the biggest bands, hitting the majors in 1991. Until Kurt’s death, Nirvana set the tone of music for the ’90s and even beyond.
Nirvana wasn’t the top band for me. That honor was for Alice in Chains, but they were a close second. None of their more popular songs (Smells Like Teen Spirit) did it for me. Songs such as Verse Chorus Verse or Sliver appealed to the disorganized mess in my mind back then. That probably explains why their Unplugged album is my favorite, as that performance-focused on what made Kurt and Nirvana special.
It would be much later that I learned how creative Kurt had been. He was more than the lead singer of the band. He wrote the songs, played the lead guitar, designed the covers, story-boarded the videos, etc. And with his death, that creativity went with him.
Reflecting on that loss, I see now why his death affected so many lives. One of the most notable instances was the copycat suicides: https://www.eonline.com/news/34540/two-cobain-fans-kill-themselves It even made its way into comic books. See Garth Ennis character Arseface.
Beyond the suicides were the murder conspiracies. Many have tried to prove that Kurt’s wife, Courtney Love, had him killed or at least involved in his death. Of course, it seems ridiculous that is what happened once you factor in how far down in the hole Kurt was with his addiction to heroin. If not for suicide, his fate could have been the same as Layne Staley’s. Death from overdose and complications of heroin addiction.
The suicide, the conspiracy, the drugs, all that aside, my final thought on this day is that 25 years on we are still talking about Kurt Cobain and Nirvana. That The suicide, the conspiracy, the drugs, all that aside, my final thought on this day is that 25 years on, we are still talking about Kurt Cobain and Nirvana. That, more than anything, probably would bring a shake of the head to Kurt, but he would smile too, I think.
These Crimson Days of Destiny
I’ve been playing a lot of Destiny 2 recently. I dropped it when RDR2 came out back in October and left it sitting, even skipping Black Armory when it was released. It took Bungie bringing back the Last Word to pull me (and Kyle) back in.
This not always a fun thing to do, jumping into a loot shooter after a long absence. Usually you’re far behind in power and that is the case with us right now. I’m at 615 Light and the cap is 650. Still with the return of Crimson Days, I’ve been making headway. It’s not my favorite PvP event but it does give me and Kyle an excuse to hangout. Which is a good thing because most of the time both of us are working. Anyway, playing has got us hooked again and we’re now chasing the Last Word. We did score our Crimson Days Hoodies. Woot!
Update: 3/24/2019
And we’ve been playing every since! Even Anthem didn’t stop us! Since Crimson Days, we’ve nailed some Black Armory items as well as THORN! We’ve also did a few other quests that were on our low-hanging fruit tree. We had no luck with Shattered Throne or Wish-Ender. Though to be fair Wish-Ender bugged out on us. Pissed is an understatement. Still, Dredgen Yor’s Gun in our hands, I think it is time for us to pick up Division 2! The game looks to be a lot of fun, with a different sort of gunplay that makes Destiny a blast to play. That is what killed us with Anthem. The combat is just not engaging and the overheating of the Javelins (Suits that you wear) is overly time consuming. Pretty game though!
After Division, I think we’ll dive into Seiko or Devil may Cry! Until then!
This Autumn Twilight
Since a child I have always loved autumn. The Fall Harvest commences, and the food gives way to things such as acorn squash. The long, hot days of Summer fade into the longer, cooler nights of Fall. High in the sky, geese squawk as they head south.
However, for some when the fruit falls from the tree and the green fades to reds and browns, it’s a time of melancholy. Not me. The glorious yellows and oranges of the fall leaves seem to awaken something in me. A stirring that this time of year we best make haste to make merry for before the deep snows of winter arrive. Or perhaps the Fall holidays are responsible. Halloween and Thanksgiving were happy times in my childhood. Spooky decorations, delicious food, and fun times with family were what it was about. Even one of my favorite books is set during the autumn. The Dragons of Autumn Twilight.
This is also a time of balance. Autumn in the north, Spring in the south. The sun enters Libra, the sign of balance. On September 29th, people celebrate the Feast of Saint Michael. Michael holds the scales of divine justice. Everything is in harmony. The time of evenlength, ȝevelengðhe in Old English. Thanks to the Clerk of Oxford for that tidbit.
I’ll leave off here with a poem from Walter de la Mare (1873-1956), English writer, most famous for his ghost stories and children’s poetry.
The LAST ROSE OF SUMMER
The passing of no other season evokes such melancholy.
NOW
The longed-for summer goes;
Dwindles away
To its last rose,
Its narrowest day.
No heaven-sweet air but must die;
Softlier float
Breathe lingeringly
Its final note.
Oh, what dull truths to tell!
Now is the all-sufficing all
Wherein to love the lovely well,
Whate’er befall.
Summer 2018 Tempus Fugit, Indeed!
It seems forever since my last blog and even longer since a gaming related post. Tempus Fugit or time flies, indeed!
Lots of wonderful gaming has taken place since Winter 2017. Sadly, most of those games exploded. It happens in this adult thing we call life. Some of us learned that smaller, more episodic sessions were more their speed than long-form campaigns. But not me. While I enjoy the occasional one-shot, give me a weekly campaign any day.
Speaking of gaming, I got a chance to run the Starfinder system, a spacefaring role-playing game by Paizo. For my campaign I decided to use the Dead Suns Adventure Path with a few twists of my own. After several hiccups, we managed to get through most of the first book. Overall, I enjoy the system and find the setting compelling.
In-between Starfinder sessions there has been playtesting Paizo’s new second edition of their Pathfinder gaming system. PF2 is their attempt to distill the D&D 3.5 system down into something more streamlined and at the same the time, a new start. As usual with these types of things, fans are split on whether this is a good thing to happen but regardless on which side you pick, it’s a smart business move as D&D 5e is killing Paizo right now.
To keep myself from burning out on Pathfinder-esque gaming, I’m also working on a Wraith mini-campaign. The 20th (25th now) Anniversary book has arrived. Finally. Honestly, I must hate myself because everyone knows that Wraith is the game that ruins friendships. Still, I think the cost will be worth it. On the book side, it is lovely and everything I’ve been waiting for. I’ll write a proper review once done consuming the book. Maybe. We shall see.
Until next season, happy gaming y’all!
The Odyssey of Gilthanas: A Review
The Odyssey of Gilthanas is an older Dragonlance novel. My book was a gift from a friend and now cannot recall the occasion for it. Written by Douglas Niles, Steve Miller, and Stan, the Odyssey of Gilthanas attempts to please both readers and game fans of the setting by combining a collection of stories and a large appendix with gaming information.
The Odyssey is about Prince Gilthanas Kanan, brother to Laurana and Porthios of Qualinost. Based on the main character of the story, I was hesitant to read the book. Here was a character I barely recalled reading about in the Chronicles. All that I could remember of Gilthanas was the beef he had with Tanis over Laurana. I had forgotten his involvement with Silvara, Icewall, and the Draconians. The Legend of Huma changed that. After reading about Huma’s Sacrifice, I needed a fix. I looked at my stack of unread novels and the Odyssey was on top. “What the hell,” I thought; I would try it regardless of what I had read in reviews. I was hooked after the first page.
The Odyssey is a “What is Eating Gilthanas?” type tale. A story of a bizarre life, the opening pages set the tone for me. Here was a noble elf, stripped of everything, his freedom, and his possessions but not broken. When Gilthanas began to recount his tale, he drew me into his story. The author(s) did their job here by pulling back the layers of Gilthanas life and taking the reader to a moment that was both interesting and a great starting point: Prison, again, but by elves. Very cool indeed.
The story unfolds with Gilthanas a prisoner of Konnal, Military Governor of Silvanesti. Before long, he escapes his captors, rescued by griffons. This is a start of an epic journey for Gilthanas, one that will take him from one of Ansalon to another. Along the way, the reader encounters numerous creatures, beings, and places, both mundane and exotic.
In places like Ruined Purstal, Gilthanas befriends the cockroaches of Dragonlance, Gully Dwarves and leaves gifted with more than filth, actual treasures.
From there, Gilthanas struggles with his soul and mind as he tries to reconcile duty and love. These two forces tear at our elven prince and it is not until he reaches a place of firm beauty and fairy tale weather that he makes up his mind to chase after his True Heart: Silvara, The Silver Dragon. It is here that the tone of the story changes from a simple mans’ story to one of an epic journey that encompasses all emotions. Love and hate.
The book fails on some parts for me though. While I liked the Appendix, it could have used stats for all the characters Gilthanas encounters throughout his Odyssey. Peak of Clouds was another issue for me. Here was a place supposedly steeped in magical energies and yet we get nothing. Only fluff. Do the magical energies provide bonuses; enhance spells of certain schools or what?
As for the novel side of things, I disliked the Linsha story. It was not very interesting and still to this day I have problems with a clandestine Solamnic knight. Perhaps my feelings are coloring my perspective on this story.
Over all the authors did an amazing job relating to the reader what Gilthanas is going through and what he was up to until his appearance in Dragons of New Age. While the book has its faults, it does not deserve the stigma it has received. I give it a 4 out of 5.
2017 in the Rearview
To say 2017 has been a rough year for a lot of people would be an understatement. I could cast about for something to blame but it’s life. It will happen regardless if we are here or not. Best to not dwell for man may delay but time does not.
The hardest challenge of the year was my Dad’s passing. It was sudden. I thought I would have him for another 15 years. That he would live to 100 like his father did. That didn’t happen. You could argue that it was denial and you wouldn’t be wrong. In April, we learned that he had bladder cancer and in the middle of May he was gone. One day I will write a blog about how it made me feel but suffice to say it sucks and not only for me. It sucks for his grandkids too.
On top of my father’s passing, we had to move because the rental we lived in was being sold. The Landlord was going through a divorce and part of that procedure was selling the house. Obviously, we don’t have the market cornered on hardships this year. We weren’t too concerned about the move as we had been planning on moving anyway. The hard part was that we had to show the house while Dad was in hospice care in the house. We decided the best way to handle it was to put up signs on his room door saying SICK PERSON INSIDE. DO NOT ENTER. Or something to that effect. Weird isn’t the word for it. I can’t imagine what people thought when they ignored the sign and walked in on my dad struggling in his sickbed.
All has not been bad though. We managed to move into a nicer house and neighborhood. It’s like a nature preserve with a river, deer, moose and lots of children. Yes, children are animals! I should know. I have four of them! The kids seem to enjoy the area too. This spring they’re hoping to explore the river and the local parks.
Besides the move the other big news of the year was my daughter entering college. She seems to love it. Her favorite classes are the equitation class and outdoor adventures program. She’s made some decent friends and is out there doing things that make her happy. Seeing her grow into a wonderful human being is all a parent could ask for.
Books!
I managed to surpass Goodreads 2017 Challenge. This is my 6th year of beating it. Though I don’t read nearly as much as I should. Here are the best books I read this year:
Videogames!
This is the year I finally managed to catch up on all the Xbox 360 Games that I missed will working at LSSC. Here is the best of the lot:
Movies!
And with that, I’m off to the Desert Southwest! Well, I will be off to Joshua Tree Park in January but by time I write my next blog entry I will be there.
See you in 2018!
Winter 2017 Gaming and Last Jedi Thoughts!
This Fall I setup a Discord guild for my gaming group. Initially it was for the members of the group but I decided that I wanted to try to setup a gaming community and so far it seems to be growing. Right now we have several active games, ranging from D&D to Vampire the Masquerade. We’ve done away with the shared gamemaster method I mentioned in this post. Currently I am running a Vampire 20 game as well as planning a Star Wars game.
On the story side of things, there has been a bit of writing. Not as much as I would like though. The problem is procrastination and distractions. The places that are available to write are not conductive to writing in peace and quiet. Maybe I can drive to the coffee shop and write two cups worth of story? Since this story is tied to the vampire game, there hasn’t been any lull in creativity. It’s even prompted me to buy a bunch of werewolf and vampire novels. One of the vampire books, Enter, Night is rather dark. A bit too dark for a winter read. Instead I picked up Thrawn by Timothy Zahn. So far I am enjoying it. I wish Disney had went with Thrawn as the returning villain instead of Snoke. A waste of an opportunity.
Speaking of Star Wars, the wife and I went to see the Last Jedi a week after its premier. Hate to say it but I didn’t care for it. It seems to have divided fandom and I find myself agreeing with a lot of the criticisms. The biggest problem I have with the film is Luke’s legacy. I agree with Marl Hamill. This isn’t Luke. It’s someone else. The below gif sums up my feelings.
Disney and JJ better step up for the final is all I’m saying!
Blame!: A Review of Tsutomu Nihei Cyberpunk Masterpiece
Blame! by Tsutomu Nihei, first hitting the scene 20 years ago is getting a lot of attention these days with a new Master edition release from Vertical comics and a Netflix movie.
On the surface Blame! appears to be your stock-level dystopian, cyberpunk action-adventure, complete with hero that goes by the name Killy and his sidekick, Chiba. Looking closer though, you can see this is a story about a man and woman trying to overcome the oppression of the culture they were born into. Nihei chronicles this journey though beautiful illustrations of architecture and mechanical scenery, swaddled in transhumanism horror.
Killy, a Cyberpunk version of Blondie from The Good, Bad and The Ugly, fits as an avatar of what a Japanese male finds himself facing after college. In the real world it’s called shuukatsu, which is the hellish job-hunting process of newly minted college graduates. Instead of a job, Killy is hunting for something called the Net Terminal Gene. If he, and later Chiba when she joins him, can find it then they will have found a way to succeed in The City.
The City is an endless megastructure, separated by seemingly impenetrable barriers with leviathan sized levels in-between. One could argue this is Nihei’s way to illustrate the monolithic culture of Japanese corporations. To overcome these barriers, Killy uses the Graviton Beam Emitter, a crazy powerful gun about the size of a pistol. Think the Noisy Cricket from the MIB movies.
The Graviton Beam Emitter may even be an incarnation of Nihei’s talent for art. Like his creator, Killy uses this to climb or ascend to the next step in the endless ladder that is the City. Along the way the hero encounters obstacles to impede his quest. These take the form of everything from regular humans to horrific technorganic beings that may or may not be transhumans. These so-called “Silicon Life” bear the name Safeguards and operate in the same manner as real-world Japanese corporate bureaucrats. Like the bureaucrats, the Safeguards try to keep Killy in his place. However, he dispatches these creatures with his gun just as easily as he does with the barriers. Most of the time, anyway.
If there is a weakness to Blame! it is Nihei’s vague explanations of what is going on. There should be some sign posts, clearer info dumps when the pair get to a new level. There are little to no hints to what is going on except a mute badass blowing holes in roofs so he can climb upwards. At least that seems to be the case for most of the first volume of the series. Towards the end, things began to clear up a bit.
Nihei makes it all work – warts and all- though with his achingly detailed and surreal art. His architecture background shows through in the way he designs structures. The Silicone Life are Giger-esque and would fit in with a sci-fi Lovecraftian tale. Again, he doesn’t do as well with dialogue but his body language designs shore that up. Besides, Killy does a superb job of blowing things up in amazing fashion so no big loss. Chiba does this equally well but uses cyberspace and hacking in place of a gun.
Blame! hits all the right notes for a Cyberpunk/Transhumanism action story and if that is your jam, then you can’t go wrong by picking this up. If not, you still can’t beat it what with the gorgeous art and design. It’s a worthy addition to the likes of Blade Runner, Ghost in the Shell and Neuromancer.