Month: March 2004

If you want to read the post by Monte Cook that inspired this blog entry, go here http://www.montecook.com/lineos.html

Monte, I feel your pain about the social inertia, but over the years I have learned something interesting.

In the past, I’ve spent a lot of time not being involved in conversation that’s going on around me because I, like you, thought that nothing I might have to add would be of any value – that I would be boring. But I discovered that diving into a conversation with a seemingly inane or random comment can have surprising results. Something that sounds as dumb as “I like your shoes” can in fact lead to bigger and better things: shopping habits, viewpoints on consumer culture or corporate crimes, or at least a tip on where to get good, cheap shoes. Occasionally it won’t pan out. Occasionally it will backfire. But I have found that more often than not, a person that I might dismiss as not being worth the effort to start a conversation with (and I think you’ll agree that making conversation can at times be an effort) might surprise me with insights, entertaining anecdotes, and common interests, and all that it required was just the slightest impetus on my part to break the silence or, Yog forbid, interrupt. Rewarding!

Just a bit of news…from Edward Martin III
This is a movie I did the main character’s voice for.

“The Dream-Quest of Unknown Kadath”
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0384057/ http://www.petting-zoo.org/Movies_Dreamquest.html
This is still selling, and we have news. Diamond Comics has accepted “The Dream-Quest of Unknown Kadath” to appear in their April issue of solicitations. It’ll be noted as a Spotlight Item, which will bring it a little more attention. This is very exciting for us because it’s entirely possible that this single order could wipe out our stock of the autograph edition. This would be v-e-r-y good! So, if you or someone over whom you have financial influence is a comic book fan, be sure to tell your shop you want to nab a copy when the solicitation comes out in April.

More email that annoys as it entertains.

From: “jerry nanni”
To: “lelah bennet” Subject: someone would like to meet you online
Date: Wed, 10 Mar 2004 09:17:06 -0800
Hey Confidant,
did you forget about me, That personalsite kicked me off for beingexplicit can you believe it? So I got someone else to put something up for me, tell me what you think and leave me a message.
I really want to get together with you.
leave me a message here I’ll reply asap
ciao
hispanicgirl
To indicate that you would rather not be contacted by statement:
Please print out a copy of this announcement and include it with your mail.
Suite #186
4-1150 N. Terminal Ave.
Nanaimo, British Columbia
V9S 5L6
Canada
Follow this link and it will direct you to your communication Preference page
where you will be able to manage and control future announcement.

I am going to use that address for something.

7-11 vs. Mac’s: The Hot Chocolate Wars continue

Mac’s has six types of free syrups. 7-11 has only four.
7-11 has four types of hot chocolate. Mac’s has only one.
7-11 has cans of tiny marshmallows you can sprinkle into your hotty choco.
7-11 is closer to me.
Assuming the prices are the same (I didn’t check), I’m going to have to declare 7-11 the winner this time.

I don’t remember swearing to secrecy…

I was stupid when I was younger. Sorry, rephrase: I was more stupid when I was younger. Stupider, even. If my mother had truly known anything about my friends, she would have told me that Garett, Fred, Ken & all the rest were a bad influence. And she would have been right, god bless them. Amongst the frat boy antics we enjoyed, we decided that holding watergun skirmishes in the mall parking lot in the middle of the night dressed in dark clothing would be a really good idea. I recall spending most of the time hiding in those lonely islands of foliage (dude, you could park two more cars there, it’s not like saving these three bushes makes up for bulldozing & paving over the 500 others. I say go the distance. Really all you’ve accomplished is provided me, perverts, or all of the above with a hiding space. It’s not like the high-school dropout consumer whores [and how!] of Chilliwack are coming back from their hour and forty-five minute shopping therapy with two-four and beaded seat cover in hand declaring “Whoo! It’s so nice to get back to nature, you know?” and then shouting Ricola!!! before they get in their filthy 1978 Honda Accords.) waiting in ambush for somebody to come by so I could get the “jump” on them. When the cops showed up, most of us chose to remain out of sight, but for whatever reason Ken was caught out in the open, and (right or wrong, my memory chooses to tell me) walk towards the police car with realistic (this was in the day before toy guns only came in flourescent orange) water-uzi in hand. As you can imagine, the cops came out of their car with arms over the car door, guns drawn and pointed at Ken. Though nobody was shot or arrested, our little party was clearly over.

Item Not Won – Similar Items Found

Dear torenmcborenmacbin,
Unfortunately, your bid did not win the following item from evrosidds:

PREDATOR SOUNDTRACK SCORE CD LIMITED EDITION – Item #2520008656
Final price: $105.00
Your maximum bid: $0.06
End date: Mar-09-04 15:10 PST

HOLY CRAP! I finally got my archives working (more or less). Take advantage of them while you can! None of the images will work as they’ve been long deleted from my server space, though.

Marlo custom-made me a CD to play during D&D combat. It’s great! The best songs are from the Predator movies. Predator has a really bitchin’ soundtrack, I gotta say. And I just did! And copies are going for $100 US on ebay so it’s out of my price range. I finished running “Cradle of Madness” – a D&D scenario from Dungeon Magazine #87 for James, Norm et al tonight, and it very nearly killed them all. If I had run it as written, they would probably all be dead. It said the room would collapse in 3 rounds for 20d6 damage (that’s a lot, kids!) and I decided that was a bit excessive, since it pretty much would take 2-3 rounds just to get out of the room. So I fudged the rules and the party survived. When the new adventure book Black Sails Over Freeport comes into my hands I am going to run it next month; The characters are exactly the levels they need to be for it.

Blacklisted!!!

James didn’t call me back about tennis so he’s on the blacklist. Marlo’s on the blacklist too because I’m 93% sure she’s the reason I didn’t get a callback. Ed’s on the whitelist because he said he’d play tennis with me on Thursday. Ang was on the blacklist because she had to cancel donuts & movies on Sunday but then she got on the whitelist listening to me whine, so now she’s on the greylist. I guess actually Ang’s mom is the one who should be on the blacklist and not Ang because she’s the reason…oh I’m too tired to figure out the best way to structure this confusing sentence.

The Lost Art of Hanging Out

I was whining to Ang about social burnout. Or rather – host burnout. After the cartoon party and the miniature painting potluck and roleplaying sessions twice a week I need a bit of a break. I always get self-conscious about guests, worrying about whether or not they’re comfortable. Can they smell the cat box? Is it too cold? Is it too hot? Are they quietly judging me for not having the dishes washed or the floors swept? Are they comfortable on the chairs? Is the music/TV too loud or annoying? Is Kodos going to steal muffins from their bags, or otherwise pester them? Would they rather be doing something other than what they are? Am I providing enough snacks and beverages (if any)? Vanity, in a sense, is what it boils down to, I reckon.

So, apart from D&D, I may take a break for a while from planning events. I think the art of hanging out has slipped out of my grasp over the years – at least when it’s in my domain. I always feel I have to be responsible and accountable for entertainment on my home ground, and even though I inevitably feel more relaxed and at ease in the comfort of my own home than, say, at a restaurant where there are strangers all around me, I feel that I can’t quite chill, for all those reasons that I list above. Also I am not the best conversationalist, either, which leaves a situation open for lingering gaps in coversation, which in turn leaves me feeling like I should organize some activity to occupy said gaps. Maybe I should take up knitting. Then I could knit up a nice Tudor outfit for Kodos.

I think seeing a picture of a three-headed and six-legged frog had something to do with me dreaming that I fused a couple (man & woman) of bodies together into a sexual position.

Since last I typed:

On Friday I met with two Vancouver Film School students who want to do a documentary on D&D.

On Saturday I drew and was forced to watch Tomb Raider 2 which was fantastically awful.

On Sunday I helped Chrishold & Sarah Fogerty move and held a miniature painting potluck party

This just in: new Teen Girl Squad!

I have a plan so cunning you can pin a tail on it and call it a weasel.

Or that is – I had a plan. And it worked. Usually, I get a calendar for Christmas. Often, Edward Gorey related from Sid Swoorch. Last year, a fantastic old sci-fi/horror movie poster calendar from Sheri. This year I didn’t get one (and I’m not pointing fingers here or anything) so I came up with an idea. I got in the mail from Greenpeace (I throw $40 in the mail for them now and again though I haven’t lately) a shitty little 2004 calendar (in which the last of the week is “Satuday”) that I’ve been using to keep track of my schedule, but I have been planning to wait for Oscars to have 75% off their calendars, as they always do some time after January. At worst, they wouldn’t have any good themes and I’d be left with only tigers or WWF wrestler calendars. But I went down there today and they actually had two calendars that I had a hard time choosing betwixt: a Brian Froud goblin calendar and a Barry Moser gothic art calendar. I decided the goblin calendar was a bit more to my liking and took it to the desk, but it was $22 normally. I only had $4.37 in my pocket and I knew it, so when I went up to the counter I said “I’m not sure if I have enough money for this” longingly and tried to gauge the guy’s reaction and I put my pathetic collection of coins onto the counter. Would he be adamant about the price? He rang it up and it came to just over six dollars…let’s say $6.42 and he told me that. I gave him a split second to add…”but this is fine.” He didn’t, so I grabbed the gothic calendar which was $17.95 and I plopped it down with a “how about this one then?” Yeah, I can wear this guy down.

Now, normally, I don’t do this. I don’t haggle. I could never make it in an Indian bazaar because everyone would mark me for a stupid tourist and I would be heard to say “30,000 rupis for this blanket? Sure that’s fine.” I don’t like to haggle, or even the idea of haggling. Vendors, set your price. Include everything in that price. If I don’t like the price, I won’t buy the damn thing, and life will continue. Easy. This is why tipping irks me sometimes as well – especially in the states where you’re expected to tip everyone. I still tip but I refuse to waste my time worrying about how much is the “correct” amount etcetera etcetera. Anyway, people should just figure out how much they need to sell a product to cover their costs and make a decent living and that should be the set price for everyone. Not that I’m a fascist or anything.

And of course there are always exceptions. Today I reason that I only have $4.37 on me and if I can get a calendar then great, and if not then I may or may not come back later. I mean, they got tons of calendars here and it’s March, I figure I’m doing them a favour by taking one off their hands.. He rings up the gothic calendar and it’s just over five bucks. Again I make a sighing noise as if I’m thinking what to do, when in reality I’m just waiting for him to give me a deal. It pans out. He says “I think this will do. I’ll ring it up as $4.11 and it will come to $4.27 total.”
“Great!” I say.
So he takes the coins I’ve laid out but pushes back the last dime towards me in a very magnanimous gesture. Hey I could buy two marshmallow banana candies with that, but that’s not right. I slide the dime right back at him with my finger with my thanks.

Then a meteor hit the shop and killed us both.