Big Cavity, Doctor Who, dying RPG store, Discordians are often buttheads
So, from what I hear, liking Love and Monsters may make me the object of disdain on the part of other Whovians. So... I quite liked it. Actually my favorite one of the second season thus far. The fact that it starred Shirley Henderson, who is, like, some kind of minor Nerd Love Goddess, did not hurt in the least.
Also, the Impossible Planet and The Satan Pit, while riffing off a number of pretty worn out SF tropes, addressed the one huge problem I've had with the new series thus far - pacing.
***
I took a "Personal Day" today, in order to go to the dentist and bank. Aside from a huge cavity that is millimetres away from exposing hapless tooth pulp to the elements, it's been a swell day. Absolutely top drawer, despite the -20 C weather. One particular highlight - my parents took us out for fish and chips at a very cozy and warm restaurant.
***
I visited J&F Hobbies today, the more desolate and fly-blown of the RPG outlets in Hamilton. The owner has moved to yet another location - just a few doors down from the previous one. There was no heat on in the place, or if there was it was insufficient. The owner John was wearing "Scrooge" gloves and a scarf, and was huddled in front of a space heater. It was positively Dickensian, which is appropriate since he featured prominently as the "poor but honest" gamestore owner in my Night of the Living Ed riff on A Christmas Carol.
We chatted for a bit, and I realized I've been going there for nine years. His selection has hardly changed in that time - he still has copies of Realms magazine out for sale. We swapped stories from our respective D&D games, and then I asked him what prompted the move. He admitted to a financial crunch.
I discovered that he'd not had a paying customer in nearly a month. Almost all his income is derived from wargamers who pay him to build models and paint miniatures. Now, the store had been closed for ten days for the move, plus a few days for the holidays, but a month without someone buying something...?
That information, combined with his generally unhealthy and hardscrabble appearance, prompted me to look a but harder at his selection than I otherwise would. I'd gone in planning to buy a couple of used SF paperbacks, and walked out with a couple of hardcover RPG books - Star Wars D20 2nd edition (the newest book in the place) and the Book of Chaos for the original Warhammer FRPG. I also asked him to dig up some Traveller 4th edition stuff for me.
Was I soft-hearted? Was he exaggerating for the sake of a sale? I doubt it, given the look of the store. I know he counts me as something approaching a friend. Just before my current D&D group started, he invited me to join his weekly D&D group. I used to spend a few hours every few weeks in his original store when I was living on my own. His first store was cluttered, but in a good way. There were cases of painted mini scenes, and model airplanes, and a suit of handmade samurai armor for a LARP hanging on the wall. The owner (John is his name) would sit in a ratty armchair behind the counter and greet customers by name, and talk animatedly (if not informatively) about "the industry" and their shared hobbies. His store was the HQ for MIGS, the local mini wargaming society. It was a place to feel comfortable with yourself.
As I wrote in the story:
Ah! The old game shop on Dundurn! Though it was closed, and the shutters down, through the gaps I caught glimpses of the silent stock on the shelves. Rows of old Dungeon, Shadis, and Pyramid magazines. Stacks of used Star Frontiers books. Newer hard covers on proud display. Glass cases filled with lead painted armies. And, at the back of the store, a dim yellow light.
In that light, I espied three portly men, all in middle age, gathered around a table in the back room. They leaned intently over a table that was strewn with the bodies of dead military figurines - a game of Warhammer was in progress. I knew them at once, though not by name. It was the owner of the game store, the president of the local military gaming society, and the crazy old Judge’s Guild map-maker who shows up to every game sale. The three men were full of glee, laughing heartily as they quoted long passages from Monty Python, or chortling when a die roll showed an especially positive result. And even if one was defeated, they all laughed and kept good spirit. For, as they said, it would be a shame to quarrel over a game. And so it is. Gygax love it, so it is.
And yet, an outsider might have thought there was no just cause for their good spirits. They were not a handsome; they were not well dressed; their shoes were far from being water-proof. But, they were happy, grateful, pleased with one another, and contented with the time and the clatter of the dice..."
***
What's up with people being Discordian and yet also being unfamiliar with the Illuminatus Trilogy AND the Sub-Genius? Is that like calling yourself Christian based on watching a few epsides of Seventh Heaven? And, also, my apologies to any Discordians I've met who weren't buttheads.... but most of the Discordians I've met were buttheads.
AND the Libertarians!
Also, the Impossible Planet and The Satan Pit, while riffing off a number of pretty worn out SF tropes, addressed the one huge problem I've had with the new series thus far - pacing.
***
I took a "Personal Day" today, in order to go to the dentist and bank. Aside from a huge cavity that is millimetres away from exposing hapless tooth pulp to the elements, it's been a swell day. Absolutely top drawer, despite the -20 C weather. One particular highlight - my parents took us out for fish and chips at a very cozy and warm restaurant.
***
I visited J&F Hobbies today, the more desolate and fly-blown of the RPG outlets in Hamilton. The owner has moved to yet another location - just a few doors down from the previous one. There was no heat on in the place, or if there was it was insufficient. The owner John was wearing "Scrooge" gloves and a scarf, and was huddled in front of a space heater. It was positively Dickensian, which is appropriate since he featured prominently as the "poor but honest" gamestore owner in my Night of the Living Ed riff on A Christmas Carol.
We chatted for a bit, and I realized I've been going there for nine years. His selection has hardly changed in that time - he still has copies of Realms magazine out for sale. We swapped stories from our respective D&D games, and then I asked him what prompted the move. He admitted to a financial crunch.
I discovered that he'd not had a paying customer in nearly a month. Almost all his income is derived from wargamers who pay him to build models and paint miniatures. Now, the store had been closed for ten days for the move, plus a few days for the holidays, but a month without someone buying something...?
That information, combined with his generally unhealthy and hardscrabble appearance, prompted me to look a but harder at his selection than I otherwise would. I'd gone in planning to buy a couple of used SF paperbacks, and walked out with a couple of hardcover RPG books - Star Wars D20 2nd edition (the newest book in the place) and the Book of Chaos for the original Warhammer FRPG. I also asked him to dig up some Traveller 4th edition stuff for me.
Was I soft-hearted? Was he exaggerating for the sake of a sale? I doubt it, given the look of the store. I know he counts me as something approaching a friend. Just before my current D&D group started, he invited me to join his weekly D&D group. I used to spend a few hours every few weeks in his original store when I was living on my own. His first store was cluttered, but in a good way. There were cases of painted mini scenes, and model airplanes, and a suit of handmade samurai armor for a LARP hanging on the wall. The owner (John is his name) would sit in a ratty armchair behind the counter and greet customers by name, and talk animatedly (if not informatively) about "the industry" and their shared hobbies. His store was the HQ for MIGS, the local mini wargaming society. It was a place to feel comfortable with yourself.
As I wrote in the story:
Ah! The old game shop on Dundurn! Though it was closed, and the shutters down, through the gaps I caught glimpses of the silent stock on the shelves. Rows of old Dungeon, Shadis, and Pyramid magazines. Stacks of used Star Frontiers books. Newer hard covers on proud display. Glass cases filled with lead painted armies. And, at the back of the store, a dim yellow light.
In that light, I espied three portly men, all in middle age, gathered around a table in the back room. They leaned intently over a table that was strewn with the bodies of dead military figurines - a game of Warhammer was in progress. I knew them at once, though not by name. It was the owner of the game store, the president of the local military gaming society, and the crazy old Judge’s Guild map-maker who shows up to every game sale. The three men were full of glee, laughing heartily as they quoted long passages from Monty Python, or chortling when a die roll showed an especially positive result. And even if one was defeated, they all laughed and kept good spirit. For, as they said, it would be a shame to quarrel over a game. And so it is. Gygax love it, so it is.
And yet, an outsider might have thought there was no just cause for their good spirits. They were not a handsome; they were not well dressed; their shoes were far from being water-proof. But, they were happy, grateful, pleased with one another, and contented with the time and the clatter of the dice..."
***
What's up with people being Discordian and yet also being unfamiliar with the Illuminatus Trilogy AND the Sub-Genius? Is that like calling yourself Christian based on watching a few epsides of Seventh Heaven? And, also, my apologies to any Discordians I've met who weren't buttheads.... but most of the Discordians I've met were buttheads.
AND the Libertarians!