Baby's first battle axe

My wife convinced my to buy a foam battle axe for my grandson's first birthday. Not his only gift, but one that was funny and out of the box. We were not sure how it would be taken by the parents, but they laughed. At least outwardly. Apparently the indoctrination has begun. Toys R US was out of baby's first chainmail. She was right though, he would look cool in the horned viking helmet. There is always his second birthday for that.

FRPG is like a rope

Fantasy Role Playing Games can be many different things to different people. Much like the fabled blind men who each examine a different part of an elephant, each player comes to identify some aspect of the game that they favor and believe that is what defines the game. Much like the blind men, FRPGers often argue their view vociferously and with righteous indignation. If you don't believe me, take a peek at Enworld. The history of the FRPGs are well documented elsewhere. For my purposes here I will just remind that the roots are in war gaming. Most FRPGs retain an element of war gaming in the combat and relative complexity of the rules. FRPGs usually are focused on a particular milieu: swords and sorcery, middle ages, pirates, Victorian horror, modern spy, and martial arts just to name a few. And of course the element of role playing; where you create and play a character in the game. There are dozens of relatively popular games and hundreds of relatively obscure games. Each has its strengths and weaknesses and each caters to a sub group of those vociferously righteous gamers depending on what they favor. There is a broad continuum of games that should be able to meet the desires of the gamers style and milieu. With that out of the way, I can now talk about me. My name is Barad the Gnome and I play fantasy role playing games. If you play, you will likely relate to this -it feels like coming out of the closet. Grown adults do this? Where is the game board? Do you dress up? How do you win? Then the strange looks. Part of the problem is the marketing. Who in their right mind would pick up a game when the back of the box describes it as a table top fantasy role playing game. Oh, right, those greasy haired kids with no social skills who are hanging around in the basement. What style do I like? I certainly like the blend of the war game with role playing and favor certain milieus, but I have a different take on the big picture of the game. You see, I like the story telling, and story building aspect of the game. The dungeon/game master paints the background and gets the story going, and the players act out the parts. The only scripts they have are the personality traits of the character they have created. Immerse yourself in the environment. Solve the problems with muscle or wit. Exalt over your victories, and plot revenge over your defeats. I prefer to think of it as a Story Telling Adventure Game. Is that a better marketing tactic than FRPG? Maybe not, but for me it is the heart of the fun. It is the stage from which the player will roll the die while their character yells, "I smite the demon with my sword". So for the evening, and in our imaginations, we are heroes who have come forth from the great novels to write a new epic. So sit down with your friends around the table and let the tale unfold. There will be tragedy and triumph, danger and delights, humor and horror, all while you and your comrades create legends the great bards of old would lust after for their turn in the telling. Let the blind men waste their time with the elephant, for you see, FRPG is like a great adventure novel.

Coming of age

The more things change, the more they stay the same. I was listening to some Steppenwolf on my ipod while exercising and it really struck me how much of the music was still relevant. Teens and young adults coming of age in the late sixties struggled with how they felt about an unpopular president advocating an unpopular war, friends with drug problems, changing the work culture, equality, relationships and uncertainty about the meaning of life. Ok, so not much has changed. I suppose most of this generation would rather have their music about life's questions be rap/hiphop or country. They could do a lot worse than good old Steppenwolf if they would have a listen. Its easy for me to say because I am a fan of the late sixties early seventies rock sound. Steppenwolf is a classic example of the genre with the distorted electric guitar, hard driving bass and drums, Hammond organ played through Leslie speakers, and John Kay's gravelly growling lead vocals. The musicians were good, the recordings were tight, and John sang like he meant it. Most everyone knows their big two: Born To Be Wild and Magic Carpet Ride. They both became anthems for the time and show up in movie sound tracks numerous times. Some people believe the genre was named Heavy Metal after the lyrics in Born To Be Wild. There is not much I desire to add to the volumes that have been written about those songs already. Instead I will call your attention to songs like:

• Snowblind Friend - lamenting a friends cocaine addiction.
• The Pusher - suggesting casual drug use is harmless but heroin dealers should have total war declared on them. John Kay exclaims, "I'd kill him with my bible with my razor and my gun"
• Monster - strongly questioning our right to bring war upon other countries and beseech the older generation to help them make things right again because "We can't fight alone against the monster"
• Rock Me - wondering about the meaning of life and dealing with it in a decidedly sixties free love way
• Its Never Too Late - proselytizing that you can still change your ways and redeem you life, using some well written phrases in doing so

Listening to the words to Monster I was surprised how remarkably similar many of the sentiments were to the arguments being made about occupying Iraq last year. That was catalyst enough to rediscover other songs. Not that I agree with all their views but I found current relevance, nostalgia and some fine Rock and Roll while I suffered on the exercise machine.

If you used to be a Steppenwolf fan, go back for a treat. If you have never listened beyond the big two, give it a try. If you don't want to be bothered, well, as John Kay growls, "Who needs ya!"

Imperial Russian Stout

I had a milestone birthday not too long ago and many (most?!) of my friends bestowed upon me gifts of fine drink. What does that say about me? Never mind. One such gift was a 1 liter bottle of Pozharnik, Espresso Russian Imperial Stout brewed and bottled by the Pennichuck Brewing Company. http://www.pennichuckbrewing.com/. If I read the label correctly the name of the stout means fireman: a person who works at the fire brigade. I am not sure what the name has to do with the stout. The label indicates it was brewed with coffee & vanilla beans and aged in whiskey barrels. It also proudly proclaims it was a 2007 Great International Beer Festival Silver Medal Winner. The web site says this brew is 10.0% ABV. There is something about the old style flip top that makes me smile. It does not guarantee the brew will be top notch any more than a real cork does for a bottle of wine, but it is nice presentation. I would say that it is a feature that you can break this open and put it away to finish it the next day but... we know better. In my home, an open bottle is an empty bottle. This stout had a nice aroma, generous and long lasting head, and a rich dark color. After admiring it for all of 27 seconds, it was time to drink. There were plenty of subtle flavors with bold chocolate taste leading the way and only a moderate bitter aftertaste. A high alcohol content brew has a different taste than your run of the mill mass produced beer. Done poorly the brew tastes, well, strange and imbalanced. My bottle of Pozharnik was well balanced; a finely executed recipe where the alcohol, the full bodied texture, and the balance of flavors melded quite well. It was not until my second glass of stout that I realized this was a higher alcohol brew. The night I had the stout I was alone and had some time to kill. In retrospect this stout is better saved to share with a friend along with a good food pairing. I did enjoy it, but by the time I had the last glass the taste was a little overwhelming. This is not a brew to have regularly but rather as a special treat. Enjoy this rich brew with a big juicy burger hot off the Weber with a comrade who appreciates a hearty stout. It would also stand up nicely to a ribeye or prime rib. Prepare your palate with a mild pale ale while grilling and then be ready for a nice surprise when you flip the top. The Czar's master brewer had this one right.

If its broke, fix it

One of my favorite euphemisms is 'percussive maintenance'. Go forth and use it today. Break something if you must. I guarrantee it will give you a good feeling.