Jonno

Before I dash off for a spur-of-the-moment decision to go see District 9, I thought I'd break my silence to say a big thank you for all those who made the Yellow Sign event special, down to and including Sinister Horse Wingate.

Despite Peter being generally confused about where to ally himself for most of it, there were plenty of really epic moments to be had, and I can name several people who are absolute joys to roleplay with. Also, he got to strike the first meaningful blow against invasion from an Eeevil alien menace, so that's good enough an ending for me.

Oh, and the Dark Migo were actually really good fun, even when torturing their 'friends'. In a future event sometime I totally want to play one who used the Assume Human Form spell (under Peter's advice, may I add) and is trying to make his way in an uncertain world ina pityful Hoomann body, although I doubt that'd be in the feel of the genre somehow...

A'right you 'orrible lot.

Unless you've done so already (and even if you have), anyone want to go see Inglourious Basterds this Tuesday?
I'm thinking about the 20:10 showing, possibly with a swift drink somewhere first (although the Litten Tree no longer has it's exploitable pre-cinema food offer).

Edit: Although the Litten Tree doesn't do food, it's proximity tu Vu makes it as good a place to meet up as any. I'll be there from 7.15.

For mr_six:

Numbers
A lot of what I have done in my education, work and hobbies can be summed up by putting numbers on things. When designing my own number systems, I like to work in a base of ten or three, as powers of three scale nicely. My favourite number is 27. I wish I had a head for discrete mathematics, as I'm sure that the fact that numbers themselves have unique properties can be used in some fun way.

Dance
So, the last couple of years has shown that I quite like to dance. Quite a lot actually. I would suggest that everyone try it, especially if they want to enjoy a night out at a venue where one can dance. It's really quite simple: shift your weight onto your leading leg (my left knee gets a thrashing at many a Dark Side) on the bass thump, and flick your trailing shoulder back on the treble offbeat. The music will take care of the rest. I will often relate will familial pride that my father was a sword-dancer.

Red
Not a favourite colour, nor one that suits me, aesthetically, but it seems to stick to me a lot. Which is fine by me, as we all know such things go fasta. Associated with Questing, and a nickname from one of the characters in the Game for the discarnate personality (ie. me) she talks to in strange, out-of-narrative space.

Fox
The foxly demeanor and associations play into each other, and I for one have no objections. Foxes are smart, enterprising, and not above taking food out of bins.

Physics
Ah, my first love, from wanting to be the inventor of Fantastic Machines when I was of the "When I grow up, I want to be a..." age. No longer pursued as a career, but I would not be without the knowledge base I've acquired, or the thought processing skillz associated with it.


For bodybag_pilgrim:

Swashbuckle
Combining daring, dexterity and charisma, who wouldn't swashbuckle given the opportunity. I endeavour to buckle swash wherever possible, and encourage others to do the same. Piratecore ftw.

Careful
Although I don't see myself as cautious as such, I'm all for attention to detail. To a fault perhaps, as I sometimes overthink. Mind you, I also wing it a lot, and it's always satisfying when playing things in the moment gives the impression of mad care and attention.

Mechanics
Well, my immediate association with this word is the context of my Mathematical Mechanics A-level course, which was mostly concerned with Newtonian laws of motion. As such, and quite appropriately, the word evokes that Age of Enlightenment feeling of discovering that a given closed system was not a mysterious closed box, or governed by anything more than 'simple'/calculable rules. This is quite a powerful thing, and I'm of the opinion that everything has its own mechanics.

Opera
I feel, it says something about my teenage years that I had a favourite opera (Rigoletto) before I had a favourite band. My first live opera was an open-air production of Tosca at Belsay Castle, which climaxed with a dramatic 'leaping' from the castle's battlements. Oh yeah, sorry: Spoiler Warning, she dies. In fact, consider this a spoiler for all grand opera: She Dies At The End.

Cyclist
Oi-oi!
I'd almost find it odd that my cycling, as a concept, is something that would be a Thing for me. Cycling was always just meant to be practical, affordable, and faster than most alternatives. Nonetheless, I am proud of my bike competance, proud of the leg strength & pulse rate that it's given me and, as of the last Olympics, proud to be part of the country's Cycling Culture, as ridiculously Governmental Initiative as that sounds. Oh, and talking of cultures, assume that I also subscribe to your anti-consumerist, politically radical, blanket animal rights activist, and everything else that sits within your 'Alternative Opinion' cultural package just because I cycle, and find out just how my elevated leg strength and physical fitness allows me to kick you repeatedly without my getting tired.


More to come.

Reply to this meme by yelling "Words!" and I will give you five words that remind me of you. Then post them in your LJ and explain what they mean to you.

Proper update when I have time.

What's that? Spare ten minutes before I put the rice on, you say? very well:

• Birthday weekend epic:
  
  
  • Opera really good, and it fitted the setting the best of those that I've seen (well, Trial by Jury in particular, obviously, but the genteel environment really worked). It's been a week and I've still not dislodged the songs from Pinafore. It's possible I never will.
    
  • The night out at Jilly's was pretty awesome. I am but from a small town, but the all nighter thing still feels very hardcore. Er, especially when you've got a Live to go to the next day... I felt a bit like everyone had too much choice in their precise flavour of dancing, and the floors are in serious need of live feeds telling you what's playing on the others, but a good night was had by all!
    
  • 19ninetynine seriously Rocked Out the Yorkie. As a commented at the time, they could easily have filled a bigger venue.
    
  • ByProxy, the indie night at the Phoenix, was a bit of a letdown. It doesn't help that the Indie Types in attendance only wanted to dance to their more obscure favourites, and the rest of us wanted more commercial, overplayed stuff.
    
  • For anyone needing to entertain parents any time soon, I can recommend the Mill Inn near Conder Green, where I was taken for Sunday Lunch, for rather tasty food. It was a bit uncomfortable at first, as I had my heart set on a Cosy Pub Lunch TM, but being fed Pig always brings me round. :)
    
  
  
• luvlymish and I will be running laceandsteel next week! This is remarkable in that, although it's a long way off completion, it's looking like it could well be a project I actually finish at some point. And by finish I mean in a Version 1.0, of course. There's always room to want to hack around.
  
• Work going very well at the moment, and I'm playing the politics hard to get me the full hours I'd need to do more than just get by. The buttering up of our contract manager (in other words: our employer) continues apace.
  
• Got a couple of days of being sent to the bright lights of Wakefield for a training/complaining conference/meeting thing at the start of this week. Rather contructive, given the role I'm cutting for myself as office data wrangler. Also, free hotel.
  
• In my UA game, my players astrally headbutted James K McGowan IV the other night. If you want to know why this matters, ask one of the players.
  
• Dark Side tomorrow!
  
• Iron Ref one-shots the day after! I've decided not to run, there seems to be a good few good GMs up, and I don't have the brainspace to think of more plot at the moment. I'm rather looking forward to playing in the game of a GM I've got no experience of, I think.
  

Right, now for food and more Lace & Steel work.
I apologise for the number of exclamation marks in this post. It's been one of those weeks.

Happy birthday to me.
Despite spending the best part of the last year convinced that I was 27 already, this birthday seems oddly significant, for reasons I can't quite put my finger on.
It's certainly living up to it so far, starting as it did last night at the game, where I received tasty dinner, caaaaeek, my players being crazy at me, a book combining Pirates and Great Cthulhu, and the classiest motherfucking cigar cutter in the world. This morning brought whisky, tea-making accesories, a rather fine leather and pitch goblet that I'll go out of my way to get use out of, moneys, and a selection of books, the cream of which was a tome called Pooh and the Magicians. To quote the back:

At the very heart of the Ancient Mysteries of the World sits the Great Bear, Winnie-the-Pooh. In astrology, where even a constellation is named after him, in Alchemy, in the deeper secrets of Hermetism, Druidism, the Qabalah and in the interpretation of the Tarot, Winnie-the-Pooh is a master of every branch of magic lore.

I lolled.

Opera stuff

Celebrations continue tonight with Gilbert & Sullivan in the apt setting of the castle court. Now, this is at 7, and I understand that there are actually quite a few folks heading along for kultcha'n'shit. I therefore propose assembling beforehand for an early dinner and drinks. So that people may just arrive when they can, I suggest (top) Wetherspoons. I'll be sitting there from around four 5, but anyone who wishes to join me can do so when they wish. Hell, even if you won't be coming to the opera, I welcome well-wishers!

Spread the word.

Right, I'm off to spend birthday money.

Edit: Decided getting back to town for 4 would be a bit of a rush. Will be in W/S from five.

...there seems to be some interest, not least from me. In fact, I am looking forward to their mix of more... moderate rock and metal with ever growing anticipation. I'm even daring to think that going out dancing can once more be a compliment to going down the pub, rather than a replacement (as often happens with Dark Side - not that I'm complaining, but pubbing pre-Dark Side tends to be quite fleeting).

However, I have some niggling concerns that I've not heard anything official (or even unofficial) on. Concerns re: Cuba. As often happens, I wouldn't be surprised if someone has Heard something regarding the following:

Cuba Enforces A Dress Code, or so it proudly states next to the door. Although they encourage their clientelle to 'dress to impress', I suspect they mean 'dress to impress someone who isn't a dirty metalhead'. The list of clothing you can be turned away for wearing reads, in parts, like a rather accurate description of dress habits of the Dark Place's regular customers...

And, perhaps even more annoyingly:

Admission by recognised student ID only, guests must be signed in and can be refused entry on the doorman's discretion. Ho hum. I had no idea that Cuba was, effectively, a student nightclub, but it doesn't surprise me, per se. This could be workable, but completely inconvenient, particularly as there cannot be many people around who remember the Dark Place's last residence (not counting the Bobbin) who have not graduated (at least once!) by now.

Anyone heard anything about either of these issues? I'm really looking forward to it, like I said, but I don't have the mental energy to deal with a clusterfuck of people trying to buddy up students and non-students, nor to be turned away from a rock night for wearing combats, an offensive t-shirt, and para boots...

Oh yes. I have a job again, don't I?

It's only part-time, and actually temporary instead of more open-ended, and not really in the field I'm looking for, and thus I'm still looking for work so it doesn't feel as newsworthy as it would otherwise be.
I'll be working in the (grounds of the) power plant at Heysham, for a company who's sole purpose in this instance is to put up scafolding on site. Mostly doing data entry, and other light admin tasks, with the occasional opportunity for spreadsheet hacking. It seems like a nice enough setup all told, I still get my afternoons for my own purposes, and it stops my money from decreasing, which is the main thing.
To top it all off, I may be getting a tour of the facility at some point. This week, if I can badger the right people. If anyone wants me to pick them up a Uranium rod, let me know.

So yes, not at all bad, and the Agency will be in touch if they find anyone who wants to throw vast amounts of money at me in exchange for smrts.
Oh, talking of which, if any studenty types still in Lancaster are willing to whore themselves out for Beer Money, there are opportunities to be had fliering queues outside of nightclubs on Thursday nights, apparently. Not my bag, really, so turned the offer down, but should it be yours, get in touch with Adecco (Lancaster) and tell them I sent you. Seriously, they seem to like me there.

Can't assemble anything about the film that is insightful and coherent, nonetheless...

( Cut for those who want to form own opinions )

Long past due an short update, I feel. But first, a disturbing meme about fictional people.

( PC Proclivities )

Very fine weekend just past, with piles of Cool People and good films wot I haven't seen before. I'd particularly like to thank bodybag_pilgrim for introducing Get Shorty, and luvlymish for Run Lola, Run.
(The latter of these, particularly realising "she's a goddamn Entropomancer" has actually inspired me for an Unknown Armies one-shot: a handfull of mages, all for whatever reason bristling with power - I'm thinking a couple of Major Charges each, more or less - who find themselves with something extremely vital but completely impossible to do. In twenty minutes. Go.)

In other news, job hunting goes on apace. It's been going on apace for a while now, but the difference now is that I actually want a job again, and whenever I've actually wanted one in the past they've always been surprisingly forthcoming... This afternoon I'm doing a bit of a runaround putting together examples of the page design I did in the last job for some small web/php design company in Garstang. I thought I had up to date copies of all the stuff I did when I left the last job. I was wrong. Still, soon sort that out.
Other projects that are going at a healthy pace include work on the larp version of Lace & Steel (laceandsteel), which is going very well, and attempts to hablar espanol and climb Big Hills, with good and mixed success respectively.

Right, I better get back at it!

( Game chat - skip if you're not interested )

"Pay It Forward: I will send a handmade gift to the first 5 people who leave a comment here on my LJ.

[Tasty Copypasta was served here
Despite the text about "Bear in mind I am significantly less talented than many of my friends" being pasted in by many people I would regard as being vastly creative, it's worth bearing in mind that I don't really have anything I would regard as a creative fallback like poetry, artwork or songsmithing (although I sometimes have a go at the latter). Nonetheless, I wouldn't have posted unless I had some vague ideas. The Things people may receive may be a little... esoteric in nature, but I'm aiming for things that the recipient might want to keep.]

The only thing you have to do in return is "pay it forward" by making a similar agreement on your blog if you've not done so already."


Further Memetiquette: oh yeah, it don't matter if you've responded to other people posting this meme before so far as I'm concerned - I'll be asking for five Things, and expecting to produce five Things in karmic return.

I'd like to take a moment to thank my Unknown Armies players, particularly Weasel, and by extension Fowler, for taking the Way Out hinted at. In the end, things got tied up rather well, and we managed to salvage a happy (for some) ending out of a bucket of potential sad ones, although I did have to play a trump card to do so.

It also validated my feelings on how the game should be run: if someone says that they're running a game of Unknown Armies, or Kult, or of course Call of Cthulhu or Delta Green, then a question that semi-jokingly gets asked is the titular "So, have you driven them all mad yet?". On the surface that's a reasonable question: we play roleplaying games to explore certain things that we wouldn't have the opportunity to In Real Life, and one goes for horror games to have one's sanity shaken, amongst other things. However, when someone receives so many shocks that their brain just malfunctions, or realises that their actions or Will has actually changed reality, or gets a bullet wound in the gut, for that matter, this is a Big Deal, and should not be glossed over. I (with PvP help) drove my first character actually mad last night (well, last session, consequences last night), and the way it was played by the characters involved made everyone really fucking feel it. It wasn't wacky, or Beer'n'Pretzels material, but it was awesome to watch, and I thank all involved for keeping it Hardcore.

And now my work really begins, as I need to convince my players that it's not the end of the world, and the game can still go on without their twitchy occultist!

I could resolve to update more in the new year, but it probably won't happen...
It's suffice for now to hope that one and all had a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year, with particular thanks to all those who made that holidays special for me.

And a Happy New Year from Steam as well, it seems. I'd never really used the service to the full capacity of browsing their range, making a purchase, downloading and playing without ever having to leave the comfort of my own swivel chair, but I happened to find myself looking at the January Sale page and my eye was caught by BioShock.

For £3.50.

I'll be having some of that, thought I.
It wasn't going to run fabulously on Jet (and it does run quite well, albeit with the graphics options turned down), I still like having Product in my hand after making a purchase, and I still have misgivings about the concept of asking Steam nicely if I can play before I do, but getting a major release for less than I might pay for a drink liberates me from my petty Surface morality.


And yes, hope everyone else's New Years have got off to auspicious starts. There's a feeling going around that it's going to be one of those big years...

Make You Into Dark

There's a ska band on my street,
Someone take these dreams away.
Asleep at the wheel, forty miles left to go,
This where we are today;
Say this is it.

Hallways I see
Devils and Gods -
One last thing before I shuffle off the planet.
My imagination wants to see
Making the possibilties a reality.

Stuck between the do or die I feel emaciated.
O Green world: don't desert me now!
Candy Cane walks down:
Don't give an up an inch, girl.

"Yo, I can't believe they got the PE called before the judge on some non-sense"
(O light the candle, John)
"Liam, someone on the phone for you"
- was it more than attraction and a physical lust?
A self-fulfilling prophesy
If you could see yourself now, baby.


(Put your MP3 player on shuffle, and write down the first line of the first twenty songs. Post the poem that results. The first line of the twenty-first is the title.)

Added punctuation until it looked right. A bit esoteric maybe, but it almost works.
And let's turn it into a quiz as well why not: song titles and possible artists plz! Points mean prizes. Best of luck though: even I don't recognise some of them, and I've just listened to the damn things.

If anyone's been to any events at the Phoenix Club lately (for Dark Side of the Lune, or Rock-it to the Lune) you may have noticed that some parts of it look a bit like a set from Silent Hill. It was in need of a refurb even before an extensive amount of rain damage happened, and now, well, you've seen it. Because the Dark Side crew are a caring, sharing lot who, more significantly, understand the value of not letting such a good venue crumble around them, they've got involved with the undertaking of fixing the place up. By extension, they'd like the help of any regulars, friends and well-wishers who can give it. From the original post in the newsletter:

VOLUNTEERS WANTED

We are hoping to organise a DIY day at the Phoenix one Sunday in November after Rock It To The Lune to help out with some decorating, repairs, refurbishing and some cosmetic improvements. If you are handy with a paint brush, can help with cleaning, tidying, hanging curtains or even taking rubbish to the tip and can give up a day or even a couple of hours your help will be greatly appreciated.

I got in touch with Gavin about this, and he says that volunters will be needed from 12 on Saturday the 13th from noon, and Sunday the 14th from 10am. That's next weekend, for those on Uni time. Things that'll need going at in particular are both sets of upstairs loos, the stairwell bit, and as much shampooing of carpets and seats in the main function room as we can manage.
If anyone fancies lending a hand, myself and lucrecia will be leading a charge from 11am on the Sunday to Do Our Bit, and any support would be most welcome.

Thank you for listening.

First wipeout of the year!

The winner being the lake of black ice that has formed over the road of the industrial estate (very poor drainage...). Knew it would happen, but was momentarily distracted by the prospect of a bacon sandwich. As you do.
The ladies who run the bacon sandwich van must be having a fun morning of it, being treated to the amusing display of car after car not noticing the black ice and ploughing into the verge...

So yes: Fine though. See, if you don't care that You Will Wipe out, you can do so in a cool, relaxed fashion, meaning safe landings and no nasty adrenaline shock.

Seems it's going to be a cold winter. Interesting to see that, as predicted, the Gulf Stream is grinding to a halt. Expect proper winters from here on in, methinks.


In other news, scant days to go at this job (in theory as ever, but it's more definite now than it has been previously) and I'm starting to draw up a list of small, useful bits of work I can get done by Friday so that I leave them with a good impression. Which I better get on with, for that matter.
Before I go though, I'd better mention the one-shots just gone, as they deserve a mention:
Ver' impressive people. I keep on finding cause to say this, but I'm really quite excited about how healthy the lurps membership seems at the moment.
I was also most impressed with the number of first time GMs that declared as their system "Um... random". The culture at the moment is one, clearly, of viewing system as something that's helpful, but complicating, rather than as something that's always necessary, or as a crutch. I approve. :)
Particularly well done wombatchar, for providing an excellent game of Cluedothulhu! (Cluedo and Cthulhu - together at last!). I fealt slightly guilty for joining the gravitation of we oldbies towards it, but it was the clear winner, for the concept if nothing else.

And it was Ms Scarlet who dun it. Who else?

spike369 put out a call for submissions the other day, and there was something that I wanted to raise, but it's big enough to warrant an entry of it's own, and I would welcome thoughts and/or wild ideas from fellow GMs.

For those who didn't know, I'm running a long term game of Unknown Armies, with sessions every week. I'm comfortable with the world setting, with my own setting, and my ruleset, but there's one thing that I find myself unable to manage properly:

Time..

The game is highly player-driven. At the moment, almost exclusively so. Bits of plot occasionally wave to them, but the players are generally happy to get themselves into trouble without my assistance, and I'm all too happy to let them. Problem with this is their days always end up being busy, and there's always someone wanting to do something with any given chunk of day.
Now, I can try to spread things out for any one player by reminding them that what they hope to do takes time, but unless everyone's also engaging in that activity it discriminates against the player, as they aren't going to be able to contribute due to something done in character. For example, one of the PCs (J) started yesterday's session a Long Way Away, having driven all night on the trail of an ally NPC who'd gone on an unexpected road trip. The other PCs were getting busy with stuff that it would be good for the game if the aforementioned J was around for, so I caved and said "Okay, you can get back about... now" a long time before he'd have been back in character. And thus the pace of IC actions increases in a vicious cycle. The players can think back to stuff that happened 'ages ago', and I can check my notes and confirm that nary a fortnight of In Character time has passed since then.

On the other hand, with long term games set in (nominally) the real world, there's the relentless tug of current affairs to take into account. Say a war breaks out in the real world. When do you start taking that into account in the game? Never? What I've been doing is propagating real-world events into the game world in real time. Festivals occur, presidents are elected, the seasons change, and all this stuff affects the players as it affects us.
Also, although Time Out occurs for the characters at the end of every session, the players' minds have a week to rest up, digest events, and make new plans. More 'apparent time' takes place between sessions than it does in them, making more time seem to pass than what's accounted for in game.

However, both of these can be played simultaneously by using a couple of hard rules:
1.Things that require In Character time will take in character time to accomplish.
and:
2.Events from the real world will propagate to the game world as and when they happen.
The effect is that the real world is brought up to In Character speeds, with time moving forward as it should.

And, for many purposes, this works. But...

The main problem is an arithmetic one: i.e. when we talk about things that happen in plus so many days time, or minus so many weeks ago.
It's relevant, some would say critical, when trying to make plans - when someone asks "How long has it been since..?" or "How long is there until..?" I want to be able to give an answer that's practically useful and seems reasonable:
If, when I account for everything properly, a couple of weeks of IC time have taken place, and that will seem way too short as, for the players, it'll have taken place ages ago.
If, when I account for how much actual time has elapsed, the event happened months ago, this time is going to seem much too long, as you can do a lot in a space of a few months, even if you're a real person and not a hyperactive PC.

My solution to this has been to do a 'fuzzy time' approximation, with the two rules I talked about earlier. It's a mean time - as in, a straight average of the time that has passed IC and OOC. I've found this gives estimates that feel right, which is what I'd hope for. However, this is completely, utterly impractical for the players to deal with. "Let's get married!" says one of my PCs (Gratz to Eve and Fowler, by the way). "Let's get married soon, say, before the end of the week". In terms of who it sounds, this is ridiculously soon. However, in Fuzzy Time it'll probably still happen soon just in a couple of weeks instead of a few days, and so it's a reasonable request, it just sounds more rushed than it's meant. In real time, it could well even take a couple of months to get there, depending on IC machinations.

...and it's making my head hurt. I can't seem to balance dramatics with realism in the case of the flow of time, and it's really starting to grate.

Any ideas?

To all those in Lancaster seeking a good bit of Metal, and all those who's spines have returned to being soft and flexible due to lack of a decent rock night:

This Saturday sees the launch of the new sister night to Dark Side of the Lune, known as Rock-it to the Lune. Same setup as Dark Side, including a good sized dancefloor, a bigass soundsystem, and the cheapest drinks in Lancaster, plus the usual freaks and weirdos. So, if the Dark Side's venue, pricing, and clientelle meet with your approval but the usual glowsticks and techno really do not, then make haste (blue_swirl, I'm looking at you) - I'm building my hopes up for a worthy successor to The Alex here.

Like Dark Side, it's upstairs at the Phoenix Club (down the street between The Yorkie and Currys) and admission is 3 squids before 10, and 4 squids after. Or pay using money not sealife if that's more convenient in todays uncertain financial world.



That's my bit done, and I'm off to work to put bits of paper in files, then take them out again, and then put them back. Again and again and again.

Will update when I can be bothered. I keep thinking "but surely you've updated recently" before remembering that what actually happened was that I started writing a big rambly sitrep in which I got bored halfway through and my attention drifted...

Up early, drinking coffee (lots of it), washing dishes (as always), and listening to Radio 4 (with the TV on mute in the living room for key moments)

...when something Changed.

Where were you?