2018 June Update

…and just like that I had not updated in forever. Aside from keeping up with the blog, I have been going slow and steady with the rest of it.

March/April/May Final Tallies:

Weight Loss Struggle: And it truly is a struggle. I’m living one of the definitions of insanity as I keep doing the same things and getting limited results. Three more months down and once again, could be better, could be worse.

March:17/27 

April: 21/26

May: 17/27

2018 Overall: 81/131

This gives me a 62% average. That’s passing at any school and .620 batting average is an All*Star, Hall of Famer, but for me the stomach is still about the same. My strength level doesn’t seem to go up very much either. The alternative is stopping, which I won’t do. For June I’m going to focus on diet and trying to hit that 100%. For those following my schedule, the rules I made up are to schedule myself only one day a week off. The remaining days make up the possible or expected workouts that I should get through in the month. I must do at least 30 minutes, but obviously the more I can do the better. I can do light exercise on my scheduled day off and actually the amount of weight that I work with is so low that it wouldn’t hurt no matter what routine I go with

RPG Update: The Ryuutama campaign finally went belly up. I say it’s on hiatus, but I doubt I’ll want to take up running it again. It’s a good system and I highly recommend it. I meant to give weekly recaps of the ongoing campaign as that is where I get the most views, but I couldn’t think of anything interesting to say. The group itself has joined me for my new “ish” at this point, Cyberpunk 2020 campaign. Currently only three players and myself. I’m missing three from the Ryuutama group, but one seems to have at least made a character, so that’s a good sign. I’ve always liked the Cyberpunk 2020 game system and the recent—5 years in development is recent?—announcement of Cyberpunk 2077 for the video game market and an accompanying new version of the tabletop game has given me more than enough inspiration to spend some time in Night City. The entire Cyberpunk genre is having a renaissance nowadays what with the recent Bladerunner sequel and Ghost in the Shell live action movies. Not to mention Mr.Robot heading into its 4^th season—and it’s got all the corporates, netrunners, drug abuse and gangs you’d ever want, even if it is light on actual robots and cyborgs.  

The D&D live table has really suffered. This past Sunday was the first time since Spring break that we all managed to get together. We’re planning on running an eight week campaign with multiple sessions each week until the end of the school year. After that we’ll be in the off season. We’ve been running for quite some time out here in the middle of the desert, but I’ll soon find myself as the last man standing of the original group, once our current DM heads out to the big city in Abu Dhabi. We will still have enough for a four player + DM for next year, so hopefully, we won’t need to go into recruit mode.

Bible Reading Update: Currently in the books of: Jeremiah, 1 Chronicles, Joshua, and Romans. Since the last update I’ve made it through: Deuteronomy, Ezra, Nehemiah, Ester, and Acts. The rules for this project which actually started in October of 2017 was to follow a reading plan that included Chapters from one book of the Old Testament, one book from the New Testament, and a short reading from Psalms and Proverbs. I have a hard time sticking to something if it feels like a slog, so I read more of Psalms and Proverbs than was scheduled resulting in my getting ahead. Instead of shortening my overall reading schedule, I decided to continue reading different Old Testament books to replace the P&P readings, so now I’m very much ahead. I think at long last my 44^th year will be the year wherein I finally finish the Bible.

So, my books of the Bible reviews? I always preface this by saying every book in the Bible is good. As others have said, it’s all written for us, but not necessarily to us…at least not specifically. A lot of the Old Testament readings have to do with law and sacrifices, which Jesus has now fulfilled. We’re all lucky to be living in the “Church Age” period of grace, that’s for sure—especially if you are an animal lover.  Deuteronomy: Sorry to report that it is a slog. Moses had a lot of good things to say that I did enjoy reading, but much of it was recapping what was already said. Also, even though I am reading through the “whole” Bible for the first time, I’ve either heard these stories preached or in Sunday School before. Ezra: about a group of exiles rebuilding the temple and some of the efforts to bring about a restoration in terms of following the rules of God. Particularly interesting was the end of the book wherein many of the Israelites having improper marriages with pagan wives, and having to put them away. There isn’t specific detail given as to what that entails. Hopefully, the men sent them, and the children they had together, back to their homelands and provided restitution for them, but ‘put away’ could mean a lot worse in the old days. It’s important that we don’t make 2018 judgement calls on ancient society. God wanted the worship pure and he wanted the people pure. We’d probably be better off now had we stuck to those rules. Nehemiah: The famous one about rebuilding the walls of Jericho. In many ways it was similar to Ezra, but I liked this one better. Ester: The famous book wherein in Ester marries the King and God uses her to save the Jewish people from destruction. One of the best parts here is where Modecai tells Ester that God would save the Jewish people one way or another, but that she may have been destined for “a time such as this” Acts: the only New Testament reading started off slow but got a lot better. The biggest thing here is the conversion of Paul (Saul) who went on to write many important parts of the Bible.  

 There are only so many projects that one can do with the time he has. My blogging suffers, I haven’t gotten back into drawing or writing like I want to, but overall half-way through the year, and I’m still going strong on the important things. 2018 so far so good.

Talking About Kickstarter

https://www.polygon.com/2018/3/2/17071612/robotech-rpg-tactics-kickstarter-disaster-palladium-books

I don't know if the link will show up or not as I'm not too savvy about such things, but if it does show up you'll be able to read about a huge disaster with this Robotech based minis game. I didn't back this one, but I remember having been somewhat interested in the license back when I was a kid. I think I was more of a Voltron or Tranzor Z kind of guy, but I remember that I watched at least from time to time. Long-story-short, apparently the project released a somewhat sub-standard wave one, and have now shut everything down before making promised improvements to that wave or releasing subsequent promised waves in the line. The project was fully backed and this shouldn't have happened. Many backers are rightfully pissed right now and they want refunds. The company is trying to placate them by offering additional wave one products, but most of the backers are screaming bloody murder and want their money back. There may well be a class-action lawsuit or other legal remedies being discussed right now. The company that promised the line did so in conjunction with a well-respected company in RPG and table-top gaming,  Palladium Books. I remember them from RIFTs and Heroes Unlimited. They also had the license for Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles for a time. This debacle has a real chance of shutting them down. That's sad as they've been around for a while.

I've backed more than I should over the years, and if you don't believe me, ask the wife. She will have the rolling pin at the ready to bash me in the head if I back another one this year. I haven't been "burned" yet, but I did have one situation where MonkeyFun Studios took an extra $50.00 from my PayPal account, but I let it slide. Had I pressed it, I think theywould have taken care of me, but I was dealing with Backerkit and them at the same time and it was too confusing to be worth it. One I backed from Mantic Games took so long to get to me--combo of their delays and my sporadic appearances in the States--that by the time I did get it, I had lost all interest. I'll never back anything from them again. I have four games/source books that I've backed that are in the wind right now, but they are coming along nicely. 

My conclusions: Book, DVD, non-mini based game projects are safe to back, but may be slightly delayed. Most of the time you'll get a PDF or MP3 to hold you over while waiting for the physical products. Minis--and the games that include them, handmade projects and video games are a terrible risk. They are almost always delayed by a year or more, and the product that you end up with will almost always result in buyers remorse. I have fortunately never been on the hook for any of these projects, but they are interesting to read about. 

Backing the projects and waiting for them to arrive is part of the fun. My wife is wise to reign me in on them though. A friend of mine that I know from around here is about to launch one, and I'll have to beg the wife to let me back it. Need to support local artists and all that. Once his is done, it'll be better for me to stay off of the site because I want everything that I see.

My Reviews: I'm rating my overall experience and enjoyment. If you back anything, there is a chance you won't actually like what you get, but that's the given risk, just like going to a movie.  

Strongholds and Streaming: TBD It's active. Go check it out. Only eight days left as I'm writing. It's the most funded traditional tabletop project to date. https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/255133215/strongholds-and-streaming?ref=user_menu

7th Sea: Khitai:TBD In the wind...not due until August 2018. A continuation of 7th Sea 2nd edition this time in that world's version of the Far East. John Wick productions have always delivered...and then some. Available for preorder. 

Journey to Ragnarok: A Norse Mythology Adventure for 5E:TBD In the wind...should have been delivered in February by guesstimate. First project for these guys, but it's looking good. Available for pre-order though the KS is over. They have given us updates, samples and a mead recipe. They aren't running off with the money yet. 

Mutant Crawl Classics RPG: TBD In the wind. Should have been delivered August 2017 by guesstimate. This is where perception is reality. This project is very late, but nobody is complaining. They are sharing all the behind the scenes stuff. A few copies will be visiting Garycon this month, and the rest are on the way to the States on a slow boat from China...I wish they would stop my book in the UAE first, but that's the way it goes. 

Hoard:**** Delivered on time and nice. This one is a cute, card game from a NZ company called Cheeky Parrot. I bought in for the artwork. I haven't even played it yet, but I wouldn't be afraid to support them if they did any other interesting projects. 

DnD 5E Condition Cards:**** Arrived on time and in good condition. This one was by Crit Games. As it says, these cards give you conditions and combat situations in an easy to access way. I thought I would get more use out of them, but they are nice. 

Bedlam Hall:*** A game set in Victorian times by MonkeyFun Studios. It was a good project with a decent amount of swag for backers. There was confusion with my credit card, so I used PayPal...but then the credit card was charged anyway. A mess all around. I like the company though and to save me a headache I let it go. In retrospect I should have just waited for the preorder. 

7th Sea 2nd Edition:***** The project that keeps on giving. I got all first edition books in PDF form, a hard-cover of the core rule book, two PDF novels,MP3 soundtrack and PDFs of all 2nd edition releases--which they are still coming out with to this day. It's to the point where I haven't read half of them and they keep on coming. I almost didn't back Khitai because I don't know when I'll have time to read it. This was at the $60 level...there was even more for people who wanted to spend more. I measure all KS projects by this one. BTW among traditional tabletop RPGs this is the project that was just surpassed by Strongholds and Streaming as the most funded. 

Bring Back Mystery Science Theater 3000:***** Speaking of most funded projects. This one is the most funded of all time in all categories. I was glad to be a part of it. Even when swag showed up broken or otherwise in error, the team took care of everybody. We got more MST3k and even another season on the way. 

Dungeon Saga: The Dwarf King's Quest:** The first project I ever backed, and unfortunately the one to leave a bad taste in my mouth. They ultimately made good, but it was literal years before I got what I backed...and then I kind of had buyer's remorse about the whole thing. 

Lastly, a couple of words about former kickstarter projects that I bought after the fact:

Mighty Number Nine:*** An infamous video game project that should have been like the Mega-man games. Backers hated it. I picked it up on XBox Live for $20 and I think it's a good little game. Had I invested more money and waited years to play it, I would have felt differently I'm sure. As it stands, I like it and have lots of fun with it. 

Oh, You're So Cool Brewster--The Making of Fright Night: ** We can subtitle this one, the joys of living abroad. I'd love to see this DVD...but I haven't seen it figuratively and literally. I contacted the company and they said sending to Dubai was a problem...seeing as how I live in the outskirts of Abu Dhabi and not actually Dubai..well, you know. I did get the coffee table book companion, but my local mail man, knowing that I would rather have a severely damaged book jammed into my P.O. Box rather than come inside the post office, jammed that shit into said P.O. Box damaging the spine of the book to the point of ruin. Fortunately, the pages are not damaged, but man, what a waste. I still want to see that DVD...my pirates aren't into Fright Night though apparently.

Fragged Empire: *** The system wasn't my cup of tea. I bought it for the artwork, but the problem is that the text is so small that I would need a jeweler's glass to read it. What I can make out of the rules are too convoluted to describe to players who don't have the book, so it seems this one will never be played or even fully read. They did deliver it to me on time and in good condition. 

Ryuutama: ***** This one is my cup of tea and then some. I've shared my love for this system early and often, so I won't say much more about it. If I'd heard about it on KS, I would have surely backed it. Glad it was funded and that I was able to get a copy. 

At the end of the day, I for one have to say that Kickstarter has brought about a golden age for RPGs. I wish I had the money and time to explore them all.

2018 March Update

I promised to keep up with the blog this year...among other resolutions. And two months in--sitting at the computer on the 1st of March--It's reflection time.

February Final Tally:

Weight Loss Struggle: Once again, could be better, could be worse. I'm still motivated for sure and February ended on a very good run. In the end I went 13/24--this assumes taking one scheduled recovery day a week--I improved from 48% to 54%. Proof positive on how the stats can "lie". February is a short month, so it was bound to look better--or worse than Jan. March on the other hand is a long one, and may be the month that defines this latest run at fitness. I stopped doing the military diet, but I think it did what it was supposed to...which was to get me pointed in the right direction. My portion sizes are still too large, but not as big as I'm accustomed to. I'm doing a fairly decent job of avoiding trigger foods. I can't remember if I had any fast-food this month at all. Not that all my home-cooked meals are healthy, but at least my wife can control the ingredients list. When I update next month, I'll need to really access the situation thoughtfully. Everyone wants fast results. In the past I've been too inconsistent to see if I'm really changing or not. If anybody could work out 26 times and turn around years of bad habits then everyone would do it. Still frustrating that you put so much work in for so little results. I have to focus on this being a long-term, permanent part of my life...and I don't know that I ever will.  

RPG Update: On to bigger and brighter things. This week I'm modifying some 7th Sea mass combat rules and letting the Ryuutama group give it a go. Scheduling issues are popping up again with the group. I have a lot of fun running for them, but sometimes I'd like to just pull the plug. In this system characters work their way up to level ten before going on a Legendary Journey which should end the campaign. My highest level players are at seven now. I'm torn between speeding up the process or letting them grown naturally. I really want to end the campaign as if I'm ending a story for once rather than the traditional way where everyone slowly gets scattered to the four winds. A very fun system this Ryuutama.

Bible Reading Update:Currently in the books of Leviticus, Job, Isaiah, and John. Leviticus has been a slog if there ever was one, but I'm likely to finish it up today. Unfortunately, as far as the Old Testament is concerned, I've read a lot from Numbers on different attempts at reading the Bible through and I'm afraid it isn't going to get much better for a little while. I finished off the Psalms and Luke in February. It's kind of like my working out, if I can see progress, I feel better about the whole project.





My other resolutions then have fallen to the wayside. I finally got my drawing figures which turned out to be about the same size and level of articulation as the Sailor Mercury figure that already had. I still haven't gotten around to taking up any of my drawing lessons though. If I can pull off good results from these three projects--plus the fourth which is keeping the blog updated--then I'll be doing alright.

There are 31 days in March...let's see what we can do with them.

My Ryuutama Campaign Stories entry 1

Wow! Nearly one hundred people read my last entry about my RPG playing history—I don’t know if it will get anymore looks and I didn’t get a single +1 from anybody, but I appreciate the views. That’s like 10x the amount of almost anything else I’ve written. I read the thing over again myself, and it was very rough in spots, so I don’t blame anyone for snubbing me. That’ll teach me to write without proofreading. Today, I’ve decided to write a little bit about RPGs again, starting with my current Roll*20 Ryuutama campaign and plug a Kickstarter that I’ve recently backed. Hopefully, this one will be shorter yet better than the last one. 

Roll*20 Stuff: 

 

First of all, I talked about Roll*20 in the last entry. For those who aren’t in the know—and I’m very surprised at the number of people who don’t know, even among my FB groups—Roll*20 is one of the virtual tabletops available online that allows groups to play many different game systems using, in this case, a free suite of tools for both DMs and Players. Maps, tokens, music/Sound f/x, voice/video/text chat and just about anything else you imagine needing have been built and continue to be refined. Like always the DM will have to put in a bit more work, but there are ways to share the load. It takes a bit of learning, but even folks with rudimentary computer skills should be able to pull it off in no time. I started as a player which was no problem at all, but I soon decided to try my hand at running a campaign. Although I won’t be winning any prizes for implementing all the bells and whistles, what I do use is straightforward enough and I’m learning new things all the time. I can’t recommend it enough for people who are separated from their friends or otherwise can’t find a live table to play at. It’s the next best thing. BTW, these virtual table tops, and there are more, such as Fantasy Grounds to name one, are not video games or MMPRPGs. They are basically a delivery system for the game that you would play at the live table if you could. 

Downsides:

1.       Flakiness due to the online environment—you never know who you’re going to meet, their ages or maturity levels, or what their schedules are like, and I find they’ll ditch you for someone or something else at the drop of a hat.

2.       Fickleness of the technology—The Roll*20 built-in voice and video chat are infamously bad. Most people will use Hangouts, Skype or Discord as an alternative. Personally, I prefer to run text only simply because if one person gets a bad connection, it kills it for everybody, and I’m usually the one with the bad connection.

3.       Finding a game to join as a player—A DM can write his own ticket and are in high demand. Did you know some people are charging players to be in their games? I guess there’s nothing wrong with that, especially with “name” guys that you see on YouTube, but there are a lot of regular Joes charging people to play in their games. I don’t know if I’d ever go that route. Most the time I’m just happy to find people who want to play. 

      Ryuutama Campaign Intro: 

 

I’m currently running a Ryuutama campaign. Ryuutama is a really cute RPG system out of Japan that has been called “Hayao Miyazaki’ Oregon Trail”. It was translated into English and a part of a successful Kickstarter campaign a couple of years back. I hear it’s been translated in different languages all around the world. It may not be a household name, but it should be. I missed backing it, but upon seeing the book, I immediately ordered it. You could buy the PDF alone and one comes as a package deal with the physical copy, but for me it’s that physical copy that you want. Such a beautiful book. It’s also a deceptively complex, but fun and easy to homebrew system that focuses on travel more than combat. Although, I’ve been running the Hell out of the combat and the players have really loved it. I’ll put a link at the end because I want more people to play the game. I promised to keep it short this entry so I’m opting not to write about our latest sessions just yet. Next time I’ll tell you because something very interesting happened from my end of things. Long story short—the throwaway Halloween themed sessions that I launched in October as what was meant to be a one-or-two shot is still going on now. Next time details…

Recommended  Kickstarter: 

Before I wrap up this entry I wanted to tell you all about the new Kickstarter that I backed. If you are an RPG fan clicking on my long-winded blog, you probably have already heard, but if not, do please consider backing Matt Colville’s Strongholds & Streaming . It is primarily a D&D 5E supplement detailing Stronghold options for the players—but he funded so quickly the book promises to also contain rules for Gem Dragons, New Items, and an Adventure. There’s a stretch goal in the wind that would bring a Pirate Ship stronghold—it’s sure to be forthcoming there’s too much money raised already to falter on the stretch goal. In addition, you can back Gem Dragon minis—although they were too rich for my blood—and actual streaming of the games. If you haven’t checked out his YouTube channel you should even if you don’t decide to back the project. Colville is one of the most entertaining YouTubers out there. 

Links:

For Ryuutama look here:

www.kotohi.com/ryuutama

To check out Matt’s Kickstarter…and be tempted to spend tons of money on others look here:

 https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/255133215/strongholds-and-streaming?ref=nav_search&result=project&term=strongholds

My RPG Life

I'm a part of a few Facebook groups, YouTube channels and other forums about roleplaying games. Because Dungeons and Dragons or D&D is considered the granddaddy of all RPGs those terms are often used interchangeably. Thus, when you come across posts speaking in hushed, reverent tones about playing the "Game" they may or may not mean D&D specifically. Nowadays, some younger players might not know why a lot of us older guys continue to use "hushed, reverent tones" or are otherwise secretive when referring to RPGs. They're just games after all is said and done. I wouldn't say the hipsters are completely wrong. There are some pretentious, old grognards that are so full of hot air that they could probably use a good kick in the pants, but the younger sect doesn't always understand how people reacted to the hobby back in its infancy. The "Satanic Panic" of the 1980's is well documented and I would direct anyone with an interest to search for information at their leisure. As kid growing up in Georgia in the southern part of the U.S. it's a wonder that I got into RPGs at all. I was and do remain a Christian, but I've never seen anything wrong with the hobby--and fortunately, for me neither did my parents. It's too bad for the game that this stuff still comes up from time to time. Beyond being allegedly fueled by demons, there were even more issues. Today all things geek are in--for how long who knows?--but back in the old days, you were considered an outcast if people knew that you had geeky hobbies, and the older you got, the worse "normal" people's perceptions of you became. Stereotypes become stereotypes for a reason. It is true that a lot of us figuratively were living in our parents' basements and for the most part that we were shy, introverted males. I know it was true for me. Young guys today have it easier, what with real, live girls wanting to play and all that. I even hear tales that some of these girls aren't being dragged to the table by their boyfriends or husbands and may even be available--imagine that. In my day you rarely saw a girl and even if you did she probably didn't want to be there and/or the guys would run her off in short order. Even today if there is one real danger in RPGs it is that you can spend a lot of time and money in enjoying it. If you are a single guy and there aren't any girls at your table...you might need to go on a hiatus from playing for a bit...don't let us old, marrieds make you complacent in pursuits of the heart. So, with these kinds of stereotypes and sometimes outright hostility toward hobbyists in mind, it's easier to see why people aren't or weren't as open about discussing their past time with others. It also helps to explain why some older DMs will be more 'protective' of their games and less likely, in some cases, to give the amount of 'player agency' that has come to be expected in modern games.

As for my own history with the game, I was introduced to RPGs in the early 80's around when the D&D cartoon and toy-line came out. I "ran" games for my younger brother and his friend for a few years--mostly the old Marvel Superheroes game--before getting into a semi-regular D&D game with friends my age in the 90's. I learned later that we were mostly playing Advanced Dungeons and Dragons 2nd edition, but we played all sorts of systems including original World of Darkness, original Deadlands, Warhammer Fantasy RPG and many Palladium games among others. I had a slight hiatus in the 00's because I couldn't find anyone to play with and the wife wasn't and isn't into it. I more or less missed all of 3 and 3.5. In the 10's with the advent of Roll 20 and sheer luck of finding a group out here--I work in the UAE--, I'm currently playing more often and with more varied systems than I ever have before. I have every intention of getting my daughter involved as soon as she is old enough, so hopefully I'll keep playing for years to come.

Is there a point to all that exposition? Not much, but to say in all those years, across different editions and games, with different formats and even while living in different nations, I've been lucky enough to avoid much of the drama that I read about in the Facebook forums or see on YouTube . Here I want to give what I think have been my "rules" for success:

1. Be understanding of each other and remember you are playing because it's fun. If there's a lot of diversity in age/sex/background/game experience among the players around the table, look at it as a good thing. Use your RP skills to try to have empathy with others around the table. Most of the time we're playing with people who are already our friends, but if you are meeting and playing with new people cut them some slack.

2. Let the DM/GM have his way because it's his job. You may run differently when you are in the chair. It may even turn out that you are actually incompatible with this DM's style and need to find a new group, but when the game is on, I find it best to let it go. Does this mean being railroaded? Not necessarily. A good DM won't buffalo you, and players should be collaborating with each other and the DM to create a fun session. What you don't want to do is to get hung up on one ruling or another and derail the whole night. Also keep experience in mind--both the DM's and the other players around the table. It may seem the DM is favoring one player over another--be sure that player isn't a rookie getting extra help before you complain. Maybe it's a spotlight for that character this week and others will get the same opportunity in coming weeks. Maybe the player getting all the attention is interacting heavily while the rest of the players are sitting around and saying anything. Maybe the DM really isn't any good and he's trying to hit on a girl who managed to appear at his table by favoring her character. It may be an undigested bit of beef, a blot of mustard, a crumb of cheese, a fragment of underdone potato or any other reason that is keeping him from doing what you consider right--but for the sake of expediency and for the people around the table that night, you try to be the adult and let it go.

3. Session Zero. This is the "boring" session where players and DM should decide what kind of campaign is going to be run and you work together to create a character. I find that it's imperative to have this session and almost any other problems that may come up with the campaign can be avoided by taking the time to up front to let the players and the DM know what they are getting into. There are a lot of good videos on YouTube about session zero. Look them up. If new people come in mid-campaign there's no need for a second zero session, but it wouldn't be a bad idea for the whole group to help work the new character in. At the very least the DM should make sure that the new character is compatible with the rest of the players before the introduction.

4. Real World. Try not to commit to running or playing in a game unless you are going to have the time to make the commitment. You have to let the real world have its place. Don't lose your job, marriage or quality time with the kids over our silly hobby. As I'm typing this I'm missing a session because my toddler is sick. Now, I'm not doing much more for her than mother could by herself, but my being here means if something pops up I can lend a helping hand. If your players or DM have to layout once in a while, cut them some slack. Try not to be a flake though if you can help it--this is where I'd be giving the Forest Whitaker eye to most the folks I play with on Roll 20--although I have met some good players there too.

5.Watch your time and your money. Pretty much same as 4, but ya gotta have a top 5. The real danger of RPGs is enjoying them too much. Nowadays depending on how crooked you are, you can get most stuff for free. Even if you are Lawful Good, most companies will offer you enough free material that is completely legal to get you playing. Yet, if you aren't careful you can spend a small fortune trying to collect everything or just getting overly involved in the newest products to come out. I should practice what I preach, but Kickstarter has ushered in a golden age of niche products and almost everyone of them is something that I want to buy. Also, keep in mind that time is something you have to be mindful of. If you are a young single male, I must reiterate, beware. Not all gamer geeks grow up to be Vin Diesel. You might wake up in the parents' basement one day trying to run the game for a bunch of stray cats. Go out and make friends with varied interests and recruit them to the game. Don't skip out on exercise and taking care of yourself. Enjoy the game and make it work for you.

Anyhow, that was one long rant. I like getting it out of my system though.

About a Dragon...but not Dungeons and Dragons.

As a part of my 2018 initiative to write more, I'm presenting this mini-rant/dissertation or reading of the song Puff the Magic Dragon. Why? Well, about a year ago one of my older teaching friends mentioned the song on a Facebook post. To this day people still think it has something to do with pot smoking or 'puffing the magic dragon' if you will, but they would be wrong. It's easy to see why people think this way as the song comes from that hippy-dippy  60's era--according the Wikipedia entry it was written in '59, recorded in '62 and the popular release by folk group Peter, Paul and Mary was in '63--when the drug culture was coming around, but it was never about that. A stronger argument could be made about one HR PuffnStuf, but we'll save that for another entry. Puff is actually a song about growing up and how we sometimes lose our imagination and childhood wonder...and on an even deeper level, how we lose people that we care about as we get older. It's pretty deep for what is looked at as a kid's song--is it still a kid's song BTW? The most popular kids songs I hear to day are godawful covers of pop music. Was the world waiting the Kidz Bop version of Ke$ha's latest hit? Again, that's for another day, but let's get on with my personal take on Puff.

As I mentioned before the song was written and originally released many years ago. It's much older than I thought. However, by the time I came around in 1974, the song had become a standard for kids. It may be hard for some people to remember such things today, but back then compilation albums would be advertised on TV. Among the Freedom Rocks and Hey Love compilations--No, my brother, you have to buy your own--you would also find lots of kids songs and nursery rhymes. These inevitably made the elementary school circuit, and I remember hearing Puff the Magic Dragon, among others, very often. This resurgence in popularity eventually led to a cartoon of some acclaim back then with the same kind of annual showing you expected from Charlie Brown and the Grinch, but sadly, as far as I can tell, it only exists as YouTube nostalgia today. As a kid, I never caught on to anything particularly sad about the song...maybe a little in the way it was performed, but I liked hearing about the dragon and all the adventures. Little did I know how sad the song was and how sad it would yet be.

When I had a little age on me--actually didn't start to hit me until mid-20's/early 30's though I believe this epiphany could come around to anyone at any time after graduating from high school--I started to realize that I was Jackie Paper in the song. I was getting older, and yes, even I was moving on. I had held on to my youthful joys for so long--and I still try to in as much as I can--but what was "cute"in  my early 20's with excessive rapidness started to become more and more pathetic the closer I got to 30. Dragons live forever, but we humans do not--at least not while we're on this Earth. It took a good long while, but I got married. It wasn't long after that the new wife and I left my parents' home never to be their boarders again. It was a big thing. I'd left home a couple of times before to live with male friends as roommates, but those situations were never going to be permanent. I'd never even gone away for college like a lot of people do, but there at last at the ripe old age of 29 I'd taken my 23 year-old bride and began to seek my fame and fortune. The wife straightened me out. I really did start growing up--at least in as much as an anime lover with a weekly game of D&D can be said to have grow up. I eventually went back to university to become an English teacher. When I was about a year from earning my degree, my Mom and Dad moved in with us. Under the same roof again but more as roommates than anything. I graduated and ultimately decided to work as a teacher overseas, and once again I had to leave my parents--and for the first year, my wife--behind. That year as a single man--for all intents and purposes, except I didn't cheat--was about as much independence as I'd ever faced. It was a year in Taiwan as a rookie teacher. My childhood and even young adulthood finished up then. I went home after the first year out there, found my current placement in the UAE, collected my wife and the pair of us were off again. I lost my Dad before the year was out. He was only 65. All my new friends and colleagues agreed that it was an untimely passing nowadays. I don't know about all that. There aren't many ball teams looking for 65 year-old center-fielders. He had lived a fairly long and at least somewhat fulfilled life. He never ran off or abandoned his family until the day he died, but it would be a lie to say it wasn't a financial struggle for him throughout, and his own childhood was far from ideal. I love that rascal and still miss him. I hope he knows it. Seven years have rapidly passed since then. My mom's still out there living in the house my wife and I are still paying for--one which I only lived in for one year--as best as she can. She too is a lot like Puff in his cave because the nest is very much empty. My dad has now long passed, my brother and his wife have moved far away, and of course we're half a world away and don't get to visit nearly as much as we should. It really is a sad song to hear when you're Jackie Paper...

...But wait there's more...It's even sadder when you realize you aren't Jackie Paper anymore. You're Puff! Could it be any more depressing? At least I caught on quick. I have a daughter who is now three years old...She's Jackie...she really does bring me bits of strings and other 'fancy stuff', but there's going to be a time when she won't do that anymore. We're not sure if we will try to have any more kids, but even if we do, that day will come for them too. So, I make it a point to pay close attention to her. I try my best to limit the time I spend on doing things that aren't fun. In as much as I can, I spoil her hoping not to turn her into a brat. I want her to keep visiting Kings and Queens with me as long as she can...and of course her mother feels the same way. But, is there any hope in the song? One that actually can make me tear up even thinking about it like I am now.

Yes, with a but...according to Wikipedia there was one more verse in the poem where Puff finds a new friend to play with. It's been lost to time, but it's good to know that it was there. In most of the later performances by Peter, Paul and Mary the song remains as written, but for the last chorus. Instead of saying Puff lived by the sea and frolicked in the Autumn mist...it is changed to lives and frolics. That makes a big difference. Sure he was sad for a while, but he was able to move on. I like that version better. It works that way for me too. Although we don't get to visit nearly as much as we would like, my daughter is always glad to see her Nana and talk to her on the phone or with Skype. It would have been a better story if PopPop would have lived long enough to have met his granddaughter, but one of these days we'll all be living by the sea and frolicking in Autumn mist. 

2018: February Update

I promised to keep up with the blog this year...among other resolutions. And one month in--sitting at the computer technically just going into the 2nd of Feb--I'm trying to motivate myself to take in a late night/early morning workout. Probably won't happen this time, but at least I'm thinking about it.

January Final Tally:

Weight Loss Struggle: Could be worse. At turns I'm showing signs of improvement and being my lazy self. Always shocking how fast a week of not working out can add up while a week of actually working out properly drags. Anyhow for the month I ended up with a 13/27--this assumes taking one scheduled recovery day a week--for 48%. Hope to do better this month, but that's not too bad. I'm currently taking a modified "military diet" which is just calorie reduction based. I don't drink sodas and try to stay away from sweets in general. This one is three days on four days off, but these aren't four cheat days.

RPG Update: The group wound up getting back together on Roll 20 and we went 3/4 for an even better avg. than my workouts. I've managed to return to my live table group as well. Nothing of significance or humor to report though. I'm just glad to be back. Holidays are the bane of RPG groups so I'm glad we weathered that storm.

Bible Reading Update: Currently in the books of Leviticus, Psalms, Isaiah, and Luke. I've finished Genesis, Exodus, Proverbs, Song of Solomon, Ecclesiastes, Matthew, and Mark. I've tried many times to read through over the years, but this time I just might make it. Started this back in October technically, but I'm very far ahead of the plan because of it. Not going to lie, Exodus and Leviticus are slogs. The saying is true that every book of the Bible has been written for you, but not written to you. These books about the priests and the temple duties aren't all that exciting for me. Isaiah is pretty good and Luke is going okay, but he really did put a lot of detail into getting the facts down.

There's not much to say on my other topics. I haven't watched too many movies or done much with my other hobbies aside from the role playing. I started a WIX website, but I haven't finished it, and as to the deplorable things...it's been a relatively quiet month. There's some memo thing and a state of the union thing, but really I haven't been all that interested in it lately.

There's one monthly update down. I hope I have something more interesting to write about next month, but I'll just be glad if I can stay the course.