Monday Inspiration: Elmore's Out of the Darkness

This reminds me of Monday, rearing it's ugly head once more. Blech. I'm working on slaying this most horrible of days once again. The fight is almost over for another week...

P.S. Saw the recent Conan movie this weekend. You know, the one starring Jason Momoa as everyone's favorite barbarian? Holy crap, did it stink (IMHO). And I'm not just saying that because I really like the source material (but indeed, the movie was an affront to Howard's stories). It was really a boring entry in the fantasy film genre. Another missed opportunity...

Checking in from the depths of a long weekend...

Hail, one and all! I hope all my fellow Americans are enjoying a long weekend, such as I am enjoying. I am having a great time with family, and also loving that I have time to do some casual reading.

I'm assuming that most of you know about the Chronicles of Prydain. I for one find it superior to the Chronicles of Narnia, but both have their merits. It's a matter of personal taste, of course. At any rate, I've decided to reread the Prydain Chronicles, and I'm really enjoying The Book of Three. I'm almost done, and can't wait to move on to The Black Cauldron. I can't wait until my kids are old enough to appreciate Prydain, Narnia, and Middle Earth, so I can read these wonderful tales with them.

I am also working my way through The New Death and Others by James Hutchings. I'll be writing a review of Jame's work soon (and perhaps a deeper discussion of Prydain).

Anyway, time to run off and do some more holiday relaxing, etc. Hope one and all are well out there!

P.S. One of the Encore channels on cable is showing all three Lord of the Rings movies all day long. I love the holidays! You can tune in at random times to such marathons and just drift away...

On Bein' Thankful for Roleplaying!

Nothing profound about this post, everyone (and I think that my posting has been a bit more on the fluff side of late). I just wanted to wish everyone a Happy Thanksgiving. I also wanted to say that I'm definitely counting my blessings and giving thanks for the roleplaying I have going on in my life.

I sometimes have to sit back and remind myself how long I was "away from the table" before this past year or so. I'm very fortunate to have a great group to game with, and a great place to game. In reading other blogs, I see some lamenting their lack of ability to actually roleplay, rather than just blog about it. So I am fortunate indeed!

Thanks for reading, thanks for the community, and (as always) happy gaming!

Idle Musings: Elf Ear Length

I for one can't stand those long, World of Warcraft elf ears. Is WoW to blame for the popularity of extra-large elf ears? Blech.

Gimme slightly pointed elf ears any day.

Of course, if the elf is being portrayed by Felicia Day, that's when I stop caring about the ears.

So, what are your preferred elf ears?

Oh, and for those who are hardcore about their elfish-ness, there's always body mod (of course this would also work for those Trekkers who wish to be more Vulcan).

Favorite OSR Products

Brace yourself, bandwagon, 'cause I'm jumping on! This is my list for James at Underdark Gazette.

He asked, and I obey!

In no particular order:

• Stonehell Dungeon
• Swords & Wizardry Monster Compendium
• Points of Light
• Blackmarsh
• Death Frost Doom
• Encounter Magazine
• Knockspell Magazine
• Expeditious Retreat Press (all old school modules) 
• Goodman Games (all old school modules)
• The Majestic Wilderlands

The Ultimate Non-Stick in the Mud is...

Alexis Smolensk. Thanks for this. It was great to see the real person behind the huge volume of words written on that blog. For me, this proves that Alexis is more than just the curmudgeon he makes himself out to be on the blog. It was a bold stroke on his part, if you ask me. He came across as pretty down-to-earth, and that was refreshing. Changed my whole perspective on the guy, I have to say. It was conversational in tone and I think that's what stood out most for me.

Kudos to you, sir. You're definitely a braver soul than I. Major props, and happy gaming!

Just another messed-up Monday...

I've written here at least once (over a year ago) about how much I hate Mondays. And that hasn't changed. In fact, it's gotten worse, that hatred. When last I posted about my disdain for the first workday of the week, I was actually in a comfy and familiar (albeit lower paying) job that I had been at for years. If only my then-self knew how much more Mondays would come to suck.

If you've been following this here blog, you know that I was downsized in February of 2011. In a flurry of job-hunting activity, I found my current position in record time (was only out of work for three weeks or so). Well, I'm about seven months into the new gig, and I'm still struggling to get the hang of the gig. I've never worked for a firm the size of my current employer (thousands of employees versus the less-than three hundred that I used to work with). And the position comes with much more stress, speed, and responsibility than my last job.

I know, cry me a river, right? I try to be thankful that I have a job, when so many don't. I try to get ahead of the game at the new gig but haven't yet been able to get my head above water. Part of it might be a bit of a crisis within. I'm questioning if I want to keep on with the stress of my type of work (proposal writing) and am also asking myself if an entirely new vocation shouldn't be in my plans for the future.

To add insult to Monday injury, this morning I discovered that something horrible has happened to the Axe and Hammer blog that once belonged to fellow blogger Grendelwulf (who, ironically, commented on my "Me versus Monday" post that I linked to above). He was one of the first bloggers I interacted with when I got into the RPG blogging game. GW, I hope you are still out there and fighting to get your blog back, whatever happened to it.

Depressed? You could say so. I'm feeling an eerie sensation that my current real-life pressures are going to have a deep impact on my gaming life. And perhaps sooner rather than later. You know how you can just feel these things?

And this thought is making me really, really angry. I'm getting squeezed from all sides with regard to my work, and I'm just feeling like there's no way out at the moment. But there is a way out. It will just take work. And the time for that work needs to come from somewhere. And unfortunately, the time will most likely be stripped away from my gaming life.

Sorry for being a downer. I figured I'd share with the group and see how much misery loves company, etc. For now, I'm NOT giving up on my Wednesday night gaming goodness. I just might be missing more Wednesdays in the near to mid-future, unfortunately. But then again, who knows? Tomorrow is another day.

If anyone can give me any intel on what happened to Grendelwulf, I'd appreciate it. In the meantime, I'll be searching for some inspiration...