Humor
- Checked to see if there are any play tests this year (more on that, later)
- Picked up an (additional) copy of Miseries & Misfortunes, to supplement the Kickstarter
- Got the small zine game Catch the Devil
- Most excitedly, I commissioned a toned paper sketch from David Peterson AKA Mouse Guard
- Iâm a fan of the Vampire the Masquerade product line (before problems with 5th edition and their catering to abusers and the alt right, anyway). Iâd been wanting Beckettâs Jyhad Diary for a while, but held off due to cost. IPR had a nice sale, so I got a copy.
- Also on the Vampire front, they had physical copies of the Princeâs Gambit. This is another type of game Iâm always up for: parlor/social-deduction game.
- I also grabbed Companionsâ Tale, because itâs a mapmaking and collaborative storytelling game. I like the idea of examining what version of the stories live, too.
- IPR also had physical decks for the small LARP Winterhorn, which is a game where you play the regime trying to stop peace & justice activists. Understandably, this is an educational LARP which can help to threat-model our own activism efforts, examining how we might be more resilient and effective.
- Torchbearer 2 has a ton of revisions, theyâre very excited about it, and theyâre looking at how they can get some great playtesting and feedback before publishing
- Miseries & Misfortunes is going to start having some setting, scenario, & lifepath expansions because the 5 years in Paris (1648-1652) is concurrent with interesting things happening in many other places in the world (and is apparently called âthe general crisisâ by some historians)
- The âsecret playtestâ we did at #GenCon2018 has had more playtests, and much of the design work is complete, but iâts been a bit on the back burner as other projects have taken front stage (and the challenging parts of component, art, etc. production have come up)
- Anabaptism - Anabatism, Mennonites, and faith from those perspectives (RSS Feed)
- Digital Minimalism - intentionality around use of tech (RSS Feed)
- Games - a broad category for card games, board games, role-playing games, party games, live action games, and video games (RSS Feed)
- Humor - satire, comics, etc. (RSS feed)
- Ideas - food for thought, strategy, politics, philosophy, theology, psychology, etc. (RSS feed)
- Resilience - information/cybersecurity, sustainability, emotional & psychological resilience, posts from my Newsletter/Podcast (RSS feed)
- Review - year-in-review, looks back, but also comments on books, tools, video, music, events, etc. (RSS feed)
- Soccer - maybe I should just make this âsportsâ, but I really only share about Soccer (core teams: Indy Eleven, US Womenâs & Mensâs national teams, Chelsea FC) (RSS feed)
- The âgâ is a little bit of âgâ and âhâ
- The ârâ is hard and has a single roll
- The âhuisâ is a little bit of âhiceâ and âhausâ
- The âsâ is a little bit of âsâ and âshâ
Why does Gidget (our MinPin) sometimes get scared in the backyard?
Who’s surprised these newfound alt-right free speech warriors arenât coming to the defense of meat-alternative producers? âofficials in nearly 30 states have proposed bills to prohibit companies from using words such as meat, burger, sausage, jerky or hot dogâ
#GenCon2019 Day 1
I started GenCon off right by going to the gym before opening ceremonies! I am happy of myself!
When the expo hall opened, I made a straight line to the BWHQ booth, as has become my tradition:
Indie Press Revolution is always a good booth to check out physical RPG products. Bonus: they email you a copy of the digital book when you buy physical. I found some great stuff:
I also swung by Posthuman Studios, and picked up my Kickstarter version of Eclipse Phase 2nd Ed. As usual, these folks were really cool to chat with at the booth.
Our coupon book had a free copy of Dwar7s Duel so I had to grab that, because Dwarves. It looks to be a simpler version of Dwar7s Fall, maybe?
And finally, I couldnât let a GenCon go buy without my customary Timid Monster. These are very cool and I have a little stand for them in my office.
After the expo hall, I enjoyed a hilarious game of Goblin Quest with Miles at Games on Demand, my favorite place to try cool RPGs.
Up next was the update panel from Burning Wheel Headquarters. We heard about whatâs going on with the Burning Wheel universe. In summary:
Tonight, Iâll be joining a big game of Torchbearer that got coordinated via the Burning Wheel forums.
âLife Tip: when deciding whether to keep something, imagine it as a human friend.â from SMBC
Mood right now #USWNT #WorldCup â˝ď¸
Zardoz level 2! đâ˝ď¸ #USMNT #GoldCup
New candidate for worst cold open:
âI noticed you engaged with some of our contentâŚ"
đ¤˘
Bodexpress is the real winner. đ
Accurate: Life Online
Introducing Blog Categories and Specific Feeds!
Good news! Per this announcement, Micro.blog now supports categories, and therefore, so does this blog.
Categories allow you to view or subscribe to a selection of blog posts related to a certain theme. My collections could evolve over time, but you can always see the live list at the top of my archive page. I created the following breakdown, which most of my posts will fit into:
Questions? Comments?
TFW itâs -38 wind chill and you are making your first cup of coffee.
Winner of âBest Headlineâ for the Angela Davis story that is ongoing
How to pronounce âGrotenhuisâ like an Amsterdamian:
It comes out something like âGhrohtenhaiyshâ
note: we heard many different pronounciations. We expect regional differences.
Me: politely nodding to somebody ahead of me as we are disembarking from the Greyhound bus
Him: "You look like somebody's probation officer, big homie"
Me: "what! no", awkwardly laughing
Food for Thought: 2018-01-23
This essay from LeGuin helps explain why her writing is so great: The Carrier Bag Theory of Fiction
  Update: She has passed
Waging Nonviolence interviews the executive director of Life After Hate and and they discuss how we help people leave violent organizations.
“I’m simply tired and bored by a progressive Christianity that doesn’t believe in anything, at least anything beyond Jesus being a model exemplar of liberal humanism.â From Experimental Theology
A good breakdown of USA immigration issues.
Experimental Theology looks at idolatry in the workplace.
Quality essay on Toxic Tech Culture.
Cory Doctorow says thereâs more to the long game in the attention wars.
   Related: Hereâs how to turn your phone greyscale, with a quick shortcut to restore color when you need it.
âThe #Resistance Just Gave Darth Vaderâs NSA Broad Spy Powersâ Less sarcastic article here.
Solid Last Jedi thinkpiece roundup:Â
Not the Droid Youâre Looking For: Subtler Political Points from The Last Jedi from C4SS
Why so many men hate The Last Jedi but canât agree on why from Bitter Gertrude
Lure of Myth from Slate
From the makers of Juicero, we now have âraw waterâ. Yes, people are charging exorbitant amounts for dangerous water.Â
Shellfish, which generally stay in the same area, are good subjects for observing the effects of our waste entering the ocean.