This year is notable for many anniversaries, including Dungeons & Dragons turning 50, The Terminator turning 40, and The Crow 30. However, another significant milestone for me is the 40th anniversary of TSR Inc. introducing Dragonlance with the publication of its first product: Dragons of Despair, by Tracy Hickman. Additionally, Dragon magazine published the first Dragonlance fiction, “Test of the Twins” by Hickman & Weis. Both works would become major hits for the company, attracting fans worldwide.
My journey with Dragonlance didn’t begin until seven years later, in 1991, when I fully delved into D&D. The default setting for my friend Todd’s D&D games was Dragonlance, as he was a big fan of the novels at the time.
My first character was a 4th level Red Robed Minotaur Mage, who had just passed his Test of High Sorcery and had joined a wild bunch of adventurers seeking to explore Dargaard Keep. Until writing this, I only remembered it as the home of Lord Soth and that my Minotaur character jumped off a bridge due to the actions of an annoying character played by another friend.
My exposure to Dragonlance was limited until a few years later when I picked up Autumn Twilight while living in Texas. As an avid book reader, devouring everything from Faerûn novels to Elric of Melniboné, Dragons of Autumn Twilight captivated me. I spent a whole month reading nothing but Dragonlance, immediately buying the next book in the series as soon as I finished one.
This continued until late 1996 when I read Dragons of Summer Flame and picked up the Dragonlance SAGA rules. *This memory may be somewhat fuzzy due to the passage of time.
I was devastated by the changes to the setting and the rules, which left a bitter taste that lingered until Weis Productions released the War of the Lance 3.5 book. Suddenly, I was an enthusiastic Dragonlance fan again, actively participating in Dragonlance forums, devouring the latest lore books, and reading the newest Weis & Hickman novels until the license was lost in 2008. When Wizards of the Coast pulled the license, my passion was reduced to a mere ember of its former flame.
My interest in Dragonlance has remained subdued. Only recently did I attempt to reengage with the setting through the latest Dragonlance novel, but too much time has passed. I’m older now, and time is in shorter supply. Nonetheless, it brings me joy to know that, after 40 years, new generations are still discovering Dragonlance for the first time.
Hey everyone! Guess what? Dungeons & Dragons is hitting the big 5-0, and that’s got me all nostalgic. Let’s take a trip down memory lane and see how this epic game weaved into my life’s tapestry, starting way back when I was just a kid in ’88.
Picture this: a ten-year-old me, totally geeking out over the latest D&D books I snagged from my uh stepnephew (Long story!!!). It wasn’t just another game for me, it was the gateway to a universe where I could be anyone, and do anything. And man, did I dive headfirst into those adventures. From battling skeletons to figuring out THAC0, I was hooked.
Fast forward a few years, and there I was, hanging out at a comic shop near my dad’s place in Cali. Those shelves were like dragon treasure vaults, packed with everything from Silver Surfer comics to the latest D&D box sets. My favorite was Ravenloft! That place was my tavern, where I’d spend hours plotting campaigns and building worlds.
Eventually, we moved back to Podunk. Thankfully I found a group of friends who already knew how to play so when not at school, I was rambling around looking for a table to join. There were six of us back then. I can still see all their faces and hear their voices as they hollered when one of us would crit or fail. My friend Todd was mostly the DM but that would change as I took over. My style has always been gonzo and the others seemed to enjoy my games. To me, the rule of cool was the #1 Rule. Who cared if there was a ruling that disagreed?
As with Life, there were Family Disasters, and then High school hit, and suddenly, I was all about the usual angsty teen stuff you know, partying, figuring out life, and just trying to not get my face smashed in. D&D took a backseat as I tackled the whole growing-up gig in Podunk, USA.
It wasn’t until around 2011 that I dusted off my dicebag and jumped back into rping. This time, I was DMing my party through the Pathfinder Jade Regent Adventure Path, and the rest is history. I have now DM’d mostly nonstop since then.
D&D has this amazing way of grabbing you and not letting go. Sort of like a rabid goblin. Whether you’re slaying dragons or unraveling mysteries, it’s always a wild ride. And the best part? The friends you make along the way. It’s crazy to think about all the people I’ve met because of this game. Though some are no longer with us. RIP Todd
So here’s to D&D on its golden anniversary! It’s more than just a game, it’s a part of who we are. It’s brought us together, sparked our creativity, and given us a million stories to tell. Cheers to that, and may our dice always land a critical!
Happy 50th, D&D. Let’s keep the adventures rolling.
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.
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.
Autumn arrives on our street.
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.
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:
Sam Shepard Motel Chronicles. We lost Sam this year. Out of all the celebrity deaths this year, his passing struck a chord. I’ve always enjoyed his movies but never knew he was a writer or playwright. My loss because Motel Chronicles is one of the best road books out there.
Consider Phlebas by Ian Banks. Elon Musk got me into Ian Banks but this book was so depressing that I have held off on reading any more Culture books. That said, READ THIS BOOK! It’s an amazing story and Banks was a master of his craft.
Desert Oracle. By far my favorite find of the year is the “Voice of the Desert” edited by Ken Layne. A survival guide for Desert Rats and Non-Rats alike. There is even an awesome podcast to go with it. Check it out!
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:
Red Dead Redemption by Rockstar. Holy Shit this is gooood! Go out and play it now if you haven’t. And The sequel is hitting next year and it looks equally good!
LA Noir. Another Rockstar game but this one is set in LA in the early 50’s. It’s Chinatown as a videogame and you know what, it works. I love it!
Music of the Spheres: The Music for Destiny. No, this isn’t a game but the music written for the Game that Destiny should have been. It’s pure bliss. Here, listen if you don’t believe me! LISTEN
Movies!
The Last Jedi: Bantha Poodoo! Do yourself a favor and watch something else.
Bright: This was a fun Will Smith movie. Ignore the bad reviews! Unlike the Last Jedi, this movie is fun! Magic, Elves, Modern, Urban! Think Two NPC Townguards dealing with D&D Player Bullshit Plot.
Thor Ragnarok: The comic movie I have always wanted and I was so happy it happened with Thor. The third time is the charm!
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.
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.
Angry Luke Mad at Disney for shitting on his legacy.
Disney and JJ better step up for the final is all I’m saying!
Some of my most standout memories from my childhood are of TV. Like a lot of kids who grew up in the 80s the earliest shows I can remember watching were cartoons and my favorites to watch were Transformers, Go-Bots and He-Man. These memories are especially clear from when we moved to California in 1984-85. I was 5 years old or so. My friends and I would run around the neighborhood singing the Transformers theme song pretending to be Autobots or Decepticons. One of my friends even had the GoBot Command Center, which I’m still jealous about. Ah, to be that young again.
Grainy Photo of the GoBot Command Center. As faded as my memory.
There were other shows I recall from the 80s too. Silver Spoons being one and Saturday Morning Kung Fu another. But the one that I keep coming back to was the Wonder Years. It depicted the life of a boy growing up in Everywhere, America in the 60’s and early 70s, covering the ages of 12-17. Each year it was on took place 20 years from when it was airing. The funny thing being is that I never watched it and yet it wormed itself into my memory. Maybe it was the theme song.
One day soon after my dad passed, I found myself thinking about the show. When would have been my Wonder Years era? After some quick math I realized it had me passed by years ago. It would have had to kickoff in 2010 when I was 32 and cover the years 1990 thru 1995 which were tumultuous years for me. Like Kevin, I went through many changes and saw some crazy events. Not as monumental as the ones Kevin experienced but still up there. Waco, Ruby Ridge, Desert Storm. All things that would come back around in 2017.
Thinking on that moment, I began reminiscing about how different my kid’s childhoods have been. Even among themselves they have had contrasting experiences. The oldest grew up as I did with TV. Yet, the youngest has so many options, from Netflix to Amazon Video to Apple TV, it’s a miracle he has any favorite shows. The thing I notice most about him though is his patience. Whereas I and even his older siblings had to wait or scrounge virus-laden Torrent sites (Remember LimeWire??) for missing episodes of a show, he just has to find the right streaming service and he is on his way to consuming episode after episode. I’m not too concerned yet or worried an A.I. will replace his brain. I do have to wonder how it will all play out for him and his siblings later in life.
On this day 7 years ago, Mass Effect 2 was released with critical acclaim and commercial success. Today is also the day I finally completed ME2. I know a lot of you will shake your head in disgust. If you think that’s bad, I can only imagine your reaction if I said this month I also finished ME1. Here is my nerd card. Let me get my hat and I will see myself out. There is a reason for this slack in gaming achievement but damned if I don’t fault you if you think it’s inexcusable. In my defense, I’ll say that time often gets away from me. A shame since we have so little of it.
Anyway, back to Mass Effect. I remember when I first heard about the game. Everyone was singing its praises from the epic storytelling to cool graphics. Even better it was an RPG set in space. Not since I was a kid swinging a stick and pretending it was a lightsaber had I been that stoked to try something out.
As soon as I could, I went to the local GameStop and asked for a copy of the game. The clerks face lit up when I told him what I wanted. Words poured out of his mouth as he went on and on about how great the game was. I could only smile and twirl my finger hoping he would notice to hurry up. Grabbing the game from him, I muttered a thanks and ran out the door. He was still talking when I drove away.
I wasted no time popping the disc into the X-Box when I got home. As soon as the homescreen loaded, I knew I was about to take a ride to Nirvana. Grinning from ear to ear, I pressed start, sitting back, letting the awesomeness that was Mass Effect sweep me off my feet and take me on a tour of the galaxy. After a night of playing, I saved the game and headed to bed. It would be a longtime before I played it again.
Life at the time was insane. I had recently been promoted at work and my marriage had hit a rough patch. My mother-in-law was also sick with cancer. Did I mention insane? Yes, so I never made it back to the Normandy and its badass crew. Sure, I was still a loyal fan. I bought an N7 hoodie, supported all the hype by posting on the Bioware forums and sung with the praise choir. But never fired up the game. Then came along Dragon Age: Origins.
Me in my N7 Hoodie
Dragon Age was everything I love about fantasy games. It had an amazing setting, a robust and at the time, unheard of character creation process and lore that was both interesting and relevant to the game. I was hooked. I recall thinking I should finish Mass Effect but Dragon Age snatched me in its jaws and dragged me away until Mass Effect was lost to the dreams of the Fade.
Flash forward to January 19th, 2010. Mass Effect 2 Day. Like its predecessor, I was set to pick it up from Gamestop. Then something happened. I can’t remember. Too much time has passed. What I do recall is that I was still deep in the Fields of Ferelden, slaying Darkspawn and trying not to die at work. This was also the same year that my marriage was in a tailspin and I was doing everything I could not to recover.
At the same time, I was losing interest with work. I wasn’t being challenged and I didn’t have passion for anything. I spent the days looking forward to the night so I could run home, take a shower, kiss my kids and head to the bar. This would begin my slow decline at my job that would end with me giving everything away to move to the Northwest. Then Halo Reach launched. The love letter to Halo fans by Bungie. I went to Wal-Mart, grabbed a copy, took the day off and didn’t stop playing until I beat the game. I never even thought about Mass Effect.
A couple of years went by with me limping along with work, my marriage had somehow pulled itself out of the nose dive and was on the mend. Work was not. I noted the passing of Mass Effect 3 like a wistful cheater who thought about the one that got away because he was too stupid to change his ways. Then the news that the ending was shit. I remember thinking how great it would be to play again. To see what had happened to the beloved crew of the Normandy and help them save the galaxy. It was not to be.
Like in 2010, another Halo game arrived. This was Halo 4 and the return of the Master Chief. People got hype. I was there on day one to buy my copy, to spend another weekend playing until I beat the campaign. Which is odd. In the past this wouldn’t have happened as I was only a casual fan of the series. Well that’s not true. I played Halo 1 all the time with my kid brother but I wasn’t hardcore. Still Reach had hooked me and that’s been the case to this day. Things would change.
It was 2013 and before I knew it, I picked ME back up. I played and played, falling in love again with the misfits of the Normandy. Only for it to all come to a crashing stop as I left my job. The Normandy never made it to Ilos. My dad moved in, we packed our things and moved to Portland OR. And there the save would languish until January 2017, tenth year of ME1 and 7th year of ME2.
My friend Jon has been harassing me for years now about how I would never finish the game and I would argue that it wasn’t my fault, offering up various excuses to ignore the crew of my beloved Normandy. I have no idea why we neglect the things we love but there it is.
I am not sure want finally galvanized me to fire up my dusty 360 and join Shepard and the crew one last time to try to save the galaxy. Perhaps It’s my addiction with time as I was in my 20’s when this started and I am now in my 30’s. Regardless of the reason I am now firing up a brand new copy of ME3 to save the galaxy or die trying. Whatever the outcome, thank you Shepard for bringing me joy whenever I see you in action and for putting up with my neglect. FOREVER NORMANDY!!
Today is Coming of Age Day in Japan for those who turned 20 years old in the previous year. The occasion has put me in a nostalgic mood as lots of my life’s first milestones are also turning 20. There was the passing of my mother due to cancer who died before I could have an adult conversation with her. My first New Years in Florida, which would go on to be my home for 16 years. It would also be the year I got my driver’s license and first car. Along with the license I became friends with some amazing people who remain friends to this day. My choice of music that year was Metallica’s Load/Reload double album. The song, “Mama Said”, being a standout with my mom’s death still fresh in my mind. All taking place in 1997.
Yes, a year of changes. I almost said reckoning but that would come further down the road. No, 1997 even with all its up and downs, was a happy year. I can only hope that 2017 will be the same.
I just found out about Thunderbolt Fantasy and I can’t figure out why I’m only watching it now. The creator, Gen Urobuchi, is a phenomenal Japanese writer for all kinds of media, who in my opinion, is one of the most twisted creators out there. I first came across his work with the light novel Saya no Uta, a Lovecraftian Horror Story that frankly is nothing more than a Gordian knot of terror and tragedy. I highly recommend it.
Speaking of horror, I have been reading I Am Hero by Kengo Hanazawa. On the surface it appears to be just another Zombie Apocalypse story but in actuality, I think, is a clever exploration of the psychological issues and social pressures facing Japan’s people these days and Hanazawa does this masterfully with visceral illustrations that he plays out from the perspective of the “Hero” of the story, Hideo Suzuki, a 35 year-old Manga Creator who is both mentally ill and suffering 17 year-old disease. Any fan of psychological horror and zombies should love this book.
I would end this by mentioning the horror that is USA politics but that’s depressing. Stay strong people!
Saying hello to you from a frigid winter morning here in Washington. This is the first post of the New Year but I really don’t have anything to talk about. I mean I can make a fake news post. That’s a thing now, right?
Sad news. I found out that Black Crowes Keyboardist Eddie Harsch died back in November. Tragic. Too many greats swallowed up by the 2016 Reaper. The Black Crowes have a special place in my heart. I first heard them when I was a teen in southeast Oklahoma. Their southern rock sound getting inside my head in a different way than a lot of acts happening at the time. Maybe it had to do with my massive crush going on at the time. She was a hot mess and whenever I hear She Talks to Angels, I think of her. RIP Eddie. Your music helped me to fly away.
