Nov 05
Those words are music to my ears.
Thanks to everyone out there who got out and voted, no matter which way your vote was cast. Democracy works best when we all pay attention and pitch in.
Nov 04
I woke up, got the kids to school, then drove out to my friendly polling place in the Town of Turtle to vote. (I live on a split lot that’s part in Beloit and part in Turtle, but my bedroom in in Turtle, so that’s where I vote.) The line was short, and I got through in under five minutes.
Afterward, I hustled down to the Democratic HQ in downtown Beloit and signed up to knock on doors to help get out the vote. I polished off one bit of turf, then went to our one and only Starbucks in the area for my free cup of “I Voted!” coffee. I’m drinking that right now as my Robomower takes care of my lawn and my Roomba and Scooba charge up for their inaugural voyages tonight. (I love the future!)
Once I pick up the kids from their half-day of school today and feed them lunch, I’ll wait for my wife to finish her slightly longer half-day at work. Then I’ll hand off the kids and head back out to help.
With luck, I’ll be at the Democratic event at Denali’s in downtown Beloit tonight, watching the results come in. (Or I’ll be home putting my kids to bed.) Either way, here’s hoping it’s a victory party.
Nov 03
Tomorrow’s the big day. If you can vote, please get out there and not only exercise your right but do your duty and enjoy your privilege. The last two presidential elections in the US have shown us that even a small number of votes can make a historical difference.
I’m taking the day off tomorrow to volunteer at the Democratic Party HQ in downtown Beloit. Before I do that, though, I’ll hit my local polling place and cast my ballot. Whether you’re trying to cancel me out or back me up, I encourage you to do the same.
Vote.
Oct 30
On a lighter note, my friend Allen Varney points me to a new site that he and some of his former compatriots in the development of the latest edition of Paranoia concocted: Ninjalistics.com. If you’re looking for an amoral way to get ahead in your Dilbertesque office environment, Ninjalistics has the solution for you.
It’s dark, funny, and—given the recent turmoil on Wall Street—makes for an understandable flavor of vicarious wish fulfillment. But it drips with acidic humor. Check it out.
Oct 29
On Monday, my friend Greg Joos died. Greg was married to Brooke (Henderson) Joos, a childhood friend I’ve known since I was two years old, and he left behind her and four children: two now-adults from a previous marriage and two sweethearts that play and go to school with my own kids.
Oct 29
Since I posted my note yesterday about the monster I wrote up for FlamesRising.com’s month-long Halloween celebration, the fine folks there have added a creepy illustration to the article too. My pal Aaron Acevedo breathes some terrifying (un)life into the little critter with his spooky work. (Thanks, Aaron!)
Oct 28
As part of the Halloween celebration over at FlamesRising.com, they’re posting a statless series of monsters suitable for use in any roleplaying game. Contributors include such luminaries as Bill Bodden, Malcolm Craig, Chuck Wendig, Matt McElroy, Monica Valentinelli, Brad McDevitt, Jeff Preston, John Wick, Monte Cook, Jared Sorensen, Eddy Webb, Alana Abbot, Jeff LaSala, Rich Dansky, Jason Blair, Gregor Hutton, Jason Morningstar, Jess Hartley, E. E. Knight, and more.
Mine—the Hollow Wee ‘Un—showed up today. Be sure to check it out.
Oct 25
Stephen Twining sometimes comments around these parts, and he often shows up at conventions with wonderful things to hand out to friends, like a gravestone rubbing from H.P. Lovecraft marker. He also teaches Freshman English (among other things) at Cumberland High School in Rhode Island. Every autumn, he focuses on Lovecraft’s works, and claims that the students learn the material better when they hear it read aloud.
Rather than destroy his voice reading “The Call of Cthulhu” over and over again, he did it once and recorded it. You can find his excellent articulations on the CHS website in (three) (different) (parts). He was kind enough to share this with me, and now I’m passing his favor on to you.
Listener’s Tip: Wear headphones and hear Stephen’s voice swim straight through your head.
Oct 23
In comments on a recent post about the Citizens of Virtue ARG, my friend Teeuwynn Woodruff points out that the game is meant to support Jesus Wants to Save Christians, a new book by Rob Bell and Don Golden. She also directed me to a fresh blog post that explains it all.
Ironically, on the same day, the über-political-polling site FiveThirtyEight.com posts an article that mentions the other Rob Bell, a friend from the days I worked a lot with ICE. (Rob edited Western Hero, the very first roleplaying game book I wrote entirely on my own, all the way back in 1991.)
In it, the chair of the Republican Party in Albemarle County (home of Charlottesville, Virginia, where ICE still is),”credits Virginia Delegate Rob Bell with an incredibly disciplined and thorough approach to voter database maintenance.” He also says, “Delegate Bell wrote the precinct captain manual that is now used all over Virginia.”
It doesn’t surprise me at all that the Rob I know went from editing a rigorous game system like Champions to figuring out how to win at politics—and then to writing a book about it. Some people joke about what could happen if gamers used their skills in the real world. People like Rob (and my pal John Nephew of Atlas Games—who gave me an Al Franken button at Gen Con!) are actually doing it.
Oct 23
The folks over at Major Spoilers have posted a preview of first chunk of Blood Bowl: Killer Contract #5. Read it for free, then go hunt down the rest of it at your local comic shop!
Oct 23
Like a thief in the night, Blood Bowl: Killer Contract #5 slipped into comic book stores yesterday without my notice. In this final issue in the miniseries, Lads Helloven and I wrap up with a bang the tale of the Bad Bay Hackers’ quest to defend their title as the Blood Bowl champs against their (very, very) old rivals, the Champions of Death. Meanwhile, undercover assassin Kalter Mörder has one last chance to kill the Hacker’s star player Dunk Hoffnung or be forced to refund the blood money with his own blood.
Again, I had a fantastic time working on this project, which serves as a direct sequel to Rumble in the Jungle, the fourth (and currently last) of my Blood Bowl novels. Seeing Lads’s hilarious interpretation of the characters who have been bashing about in my head for the last few years made it all that much better. I hope you enjoy it too. Be sure to ask for it at your friendly neighborhood comic-book store.
Oct 22
Will Hindmarch’s second article for The Lord of the Rings Online, which I edited, is now up. Check out the details about “Warden Mastery,” a new snazzy class for the upcoming Mines of Moria expansion.
Oct 21
I was scheduled for an online chat tonight on RPGLife.com, but I’m going to have to reschedule that so I can attend my local congressional debate between Congresswoman Tammy Baldwin and challenger Peter Theron. It’s being held at the Beloit College campus at 8 PM tonight, right when I would be signing on for the chat.
My mother runs Tammy’s office here in Beloit, and I’ve been a supporter of Tammy since before that, so there’s little doubt who will get my vote. Still, it’s important to be involved and to support the excellent work both Tammy and my mother have done for my hometown, so I plan to be there. I plan to reschedule the chat with RPGLife.com if I can. I’ll let you know the new time when that happens.
In the meantime, if you live in or near Beloit, be sure to catch the debate if you can!
Oct 21
My latest post is up on Storytellers Unplugged. Since it’s October, it’s time for some short fiction again. Last year, I wrote six-word stories. This time around, I cracked my knuckles and went all the way for 100 words (on the nose) instead.
Be sure to check it out. It won’t take long.
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