It’s been a hectic summer.
Kicking off with an enjoyable convention trip in May, my last few months have been wrought with trips, a promotion that increased my weekly hours by about 40%, various assorted weekend obligations, Long drives for short visits, a 48 hour film challenge, and then a two weekend recovery period from all the motion.
And that’s not me complaining. Contrary, actually: I love it. Continue reading
I’m honestly reeling from the amount of news that has come out just this week and am thus having a hard time articulating my thoughts.
What has this country become?
I was raised very patriotic. I believed in America, in the ideals and practices that I had been told it was founded on. Freedom. Open Arms. Understanding. Diversity.
This is not my America. This is a nation built on Fear. Continue reading
I have been playing tabletop RPGs for a while now. I have read through many different systems and have tried even more. Over the years, I have gotten many of my friends involved in this hobby, one which I personally feel is immensely valuable and enriching. Because of my experience, my friends who are joining or even building new campaigns will often ask me for advice on starting up. Of all the advice I can give, there is always one that I consistently make sure to give: Use skill checks whenever possible. Continue reading
Graphic borrowed from the amazing people at Gayborhood.com
Our nation was hit by a terrible tragedy over the weekend. I know I usually post on Friday’s but I found it hard to remain silent. This tragedy is just one more square added to the quilt of crisis that had been blanketing our world for years. It was an awful, sickening act and a terrible loss. My heart goes out to those who suffered and I will do whatever I can to help, having already donated to whatever causes I could find.
One thing I have to discuss though is the priorities of some people during this time. It is great to me how many people have come out on Facebook and other social media platforms to show their support. Whether you share a post, make a quick shout out, or changed your profile picture, the people involved just want to know that there are people out there with them. Crying for justice, providing them aid, giving them hope. A virtual shoulder to lean on. Continue reading
My wife and I own three cats, with only ten legs between them.
For those who are bad at math, that means two of our cats are missing a leg. I suppose it could have also been one cat missing two legs. Or like… one cat with no legs and one cat with six, like some kind of…. cat insect hybrid… which is just absurd. These days we only have insect-human hybrids.
I got a new tattoo about a week ago. This one was a particularly interesting experience because I got tattooed right smack in the middle of MegaCon, a huge Comic and etc. convention held in Orlando. Hundreds of people walking by admiring my wonderful pastiness.
As I’m lying there, on my face, having an awesome piece of art carved into the meat of my out-of-shape back, I’m doing that thing I do where I listen to just about every conversation around me at the same time, something I’ve gotten really good at over years of actively listening.
What stood out to me among the wave of voices in the crowd was the sheer amount of people who would walk through and area marked as “Tattoo Alley” and just be loudly negative about tattoos:
“You see that, son, you are NEVER getting one of those.”
“Why would someone ever mark themselves with something permanently?” Continue reading
Got a busy weekend coming up with various travel and whatnot.
One of the things I will be doing is attending MegaCon in Orlando for a day or so. Now, I don’t really do the cosplay thing. Not because I don’t think cosplay can be fun/cool, just because realistically most costumes I would want to do would require me to wear a wig and honestly wigs freak me out. For those of you who don’t know, I’ve been completely bald for a good portion of my life, almost two decades now, and it’s profoundly shaped the way I look at a lot of things (I highly recommend checking out THIS post I made a few months back). However, that’s not what this post is about. No, this post is about something much more vital.
Here are some cheap and simple costume ideas for bald guys for costume parties and beyond:
Whether you play RPGs or not, you have more than likely heard the standard cliche of how an RPG commences: All the players just happen to be in a Tavern, either at their own accord when something eventful goes down, or summoned there by some benefactor with a very special quest. The heroes then bound together to accomplish goals, slay monsters and loot the bejesus out of any poor sap that gets in their line of sight.
For real, though…. That scenario sucks ass. Continue reading
I think Mr. Rogers gets a bad rap.
In many a discussion, this kind man has been used as scapegoat for people hating on “lazy millenials,” namely pinpointing his constant recitation of his uplifting opinion that we could be anything we want to be. This post admittedly isn’t a rejoinder against the idea that millenials are lazy, which will probably be a later post seeing as how a DESPISE watching so many of my friends grind in creative fields just for people to call us lazy, but then that’s the nature of generational discrimination (I’ve already caught myself and those close to me judging the generation below us for various things). No, this post is focusing directly on that mantra: that you can be anything you want to be.
Growing up, I can vouch that my generation heard this a LOT. I obviously can’t say anything for higher generations, but we heard it on TV and in movies. We heard it from parents, from teachers, from coaches, from counselors. We did exercises in early grades focused on dreaming big and deciding what we want to be in the future. We graduated to a reading from Dr. Seuss’s “Oh the Places You’ll Go.” This was the world we lived in: a world that constantly told us to lock in our dreams and do what it takes to achieve those. Continue reading
For my first personal blog post in over a month (Thanks again to those who covered April for me), I wanted to cover a very important topic.
So, let’s talk about how great food is.
For those who know me, I don’t eat a particularly large amount of food in a sitting. I don’t really snack too much. I’m actually quite picky, getting me to eat vegetables is a friggin’ chore. However, I appreciate well crafted, well cooked food. I appreciate the appreciation of delicious food. Food is very important to me. I love making it, I love eating it, and I love watching it be made. Continue reading
The Everything Kid 