The Friday Grab Bag - Geeks & Nerds

Over on wikipedia, they describe a "Geek" here.

Also, on wikipedia, they describe a "Nerd" here.

Finally, on bigthink.com, they ask, "Are You a Geek or a Nerd? The Difference Really Is in the Data" here.

The Friday Grab Bag on CreativeMountainGames.com 

Essentially, a clearinghouse for topics not covered

elsewhere or needing a particular focus.

Please Like, Share, Plus, Tweet, Follow, and Comment!

The Friday Grab Bag - Gaming, Old & New

Over on qz.com, they recently told us "Old-fashioned board games, not tech, are attracting the most money on Kickstarter" here.

Also, on gygaxmagazine.com, they shared an article penned by Cory Doctorow from issue #1 titled "DMing for your toddler" here.

Finally, on the Vsauce YouTube channel, they examine "Why Do We Play Games?"  Enjoy!

The Friday Grab Bag on CreativeMountainGames.com 

Essentially, a clearinghouse for topics not covered

elsewhere or needing a particular focus.

Please Like, Share, Plus, Tweet, Follow, and Comment!

The Friday Grab Bag - Self-Publishing

Over on writeaboutdragons.com, we're given "5 Sites You Need to See If You Want to Self Publish" here.

Also, on molly-greene.com, she discusses "6 Self-Publishing Missteps You Should Avoid" here.

Finally, on theartorder.com, they explain "How to Commission Art" here.

The Friday Grab Bag on CreativeMountainGames.com 

Essentially, a clearinghouse for topics not covered

elsewhere or needing a particular focus.

Please Like, Share, Plus, Tweet, Follow, and Comment!

The Friday Grab Bag - Family, Retail, & Employment

Over on theatlantic.com, they educate us on "How Family Game Night Makes Kids Into Better Students" here.

Also, on icv2.com, Marcus King tells us "How Changes in 'Magic' Sales Have Changed How I Stock CCGs" here.

Finally, on thechive.com, check out the pictorial of someone's resume as they attempt to impress the folks at Wizards of the Coast here.

The Friday Grab Bag on CreativeMountainGames.com 

Essentially, a clearinghouse for topics not covered
elsewhere or needing a particular focus.

Please Like, Share, Plus, Tweet, Follow, and Comment!

Sunday Funnies - Lucas World, Unsafe Design, & One Day More

Over on swnut77.com, they ask the question "New Star Wars Lucas World Theme Park Map – Fake or Leaked?"  It's not real but it's here.

Also, on theonion.com, "Aerospace Engineers Warn First-Grader’s Design For Spaceship Completely Unsafe" here.

Finally, on the Greg Hudson YouTube channel, watch a teachers' meeting the day before school is set to start back up for the fall.  Enjoy!

Sunday Funnies on CreativeMountainGames.com

Humor, often gaming-related,
to start the week with a chuckle.

Please Like, Share, Plus, Tweet, Follow, and Comment!

The Friday Grab Bag - Free RPG Day, Snacking, & Sitting

Did you get the word that tomorrow is FREE RPG Day?  Well, it is and you need to go to their website and use the locator to find out who is participating near you.  Do that here.

Also, from a few years ago, the gang at Gnome Stew filled us in on "Better GMing With Better Snacks" here.

Finally, here's a useful Ted ED video on "Why sitting is bad for you."  Watch and learn!

The Friday Grab Bag on CreativeMountainGames.com 

Essentially, a clearinghouse for topics not covered
elsewhere or needing a particular focus.

Please Like, Share, Plus, Tweet, Follow, and Comment!

Media News Monday - Big Bang Bucks, Rick Baker Retiring, & Metadict Cumbermorphosis

According to hellogiggles.com, "‘The Big Bang Theory' just did what no TV show has ever done before."  Find out more here.

Also, comicbookresources.com reports that "Legendary Effects Artist Rick Baker is Retiring" here.

Finally, it's a treat to listen to Benedict Cumberbatch read Franz Kafka's Metamorphosis on the BBC Radio online website here.

Media News Monday on CreativeMountainGames.com 

News for Movies, Television, and more
of gamer-relevant Media.

Please Like, Share, Plus, Tweet, Follow, and Comment!

The Friday Grab Bag - Grognarok Podcast, Free Education, & Awesome Library

Over on orcsamongus.com, the excellent Dan Cisek has announced the first guests for the first episode of The Grognarok Podcast here.

Also, on iheartintelligence.com, "Beat The System With This List Of 40 Free Educational Websites" here.

Finally, on bookriot.com, "Is This the Most Awesome Library in the World?" here.

The Friday Grab Bag on CreativeMountainGames.com 

Essentially, a clearinghouse for topics not covered
elsewhere or needing a particular focus.

Please Like, Share, Plus, Tweet, Follow, and Comment!

The Friday Grab Bag - The Genre Debate, Educational Gaming, & OSR Designing

Over on The New Yorker website, Joshua Rothman wrote an interesting literary piece on "A Better Way to Think About the Genre Debate" here.

Also, the orlandosentinel.com website describes an "After-school Game Changer[, a] program [that] combines education, dragon-slaying" here.

Finally, Mystic Bull Games wrote a position piece last August urging publishers, game designers, writers, etc. to "Stop Telling Stories or How to Design for the OSR."  This, however, strikes me as misleading from the jump off as he says that "TLDR: Make a world. Put interesting stuff in it. Some stuff is really bad. Some stuff is really good. It’s hard to tell the difference until characters start messing with them. The DM and players tell the stories, not you."  In truth, not only should the designers not try to be telling a particular story, but also the GM and players simply play the game, and a story (good, bad, somewhere in between) emerges as a byproduct of that gameplay.  Paul Wolfe makes this idea more clear when he explains, "All that’s going to be left is the story that the players and the DM tell years later."  He also makes the mistake of calling the referees and facilitators of these games "DM" rather than "GM" which is problematic for Traveller enthusiasts, Gamma World fans, Boot Hill owners, and players of all sorts of OSR Roleplaying Games that do NOT have "dungeons."  Of course, I am not necessarily assuming he is using the R in OSR as Roleplaying rather than Revival or Renaissance which would make it problematic even more so for Old School wargamers and boardgamers, but that's not really the focus here.

Where Paul missteps is by writing as if this is exclusively an OSR situation.  This isn't just in regard to the OSR, this is a tenet of all roleplay gaming (though less so regarding RPGs with Storytelling Elements and not necessarily at all regarding full-fledged Storytelling Games, but we'll leave those aside).  In Roleplaying Games, the GM creates (or buys) a setting, complete with fleshed out nouns (people, places, things).  Players create characters that exist in that setting, therefore requiring the approval of the GM for whatever they create (usually some guidance from the system being used or some assistance from the GM is all that is needed).  Finally, the players, through their characters, interact with the setting and as they describe their actions, the GM adjudicates (often using dice for random outcomes) and describes the consequences.  The GM can give the players information with an overall view or from the perspective of their individual characters and the players can ask questions about what their characters know and sense (see, hear, etc.).  This process is repeated through the lives of the characters, and those characters develop even as the players become more experienced with the game.  However, it is a common mistake for folks to see RPGs as a way to write stories rather than a way to play a game from which a story might emerge, and I think the way in which Paul states his position leaves open that misinterpretation.  For the most part, I think Paul is on the right track but stops just short of giving the bigger picture.

The Friday Grab Bag on CreativeMountainGames.com 

Essentially, a clearinghouse for topics not covered
elsewhere or needing a particular focus.

Please Like, Share, Plus, Tweet, Follow, and Comment!

Tech Tuesday - LEGO, Creatures, & Robotics

Some of the fascinating uses of LEGO (so-called) toy products have come in areas of robotics, particularly when interfacing with living creatures.  On the simple side, Design Boom informed us of how a tortoise pet owner helped their little loved on regain his mobility with use of a LEGO wheelchair here.

Also, on Science Alert, "Scientists have put a worm’s brain into a Lego robot’s body - and it works" here.  I hope it doesn't use its new powers for evil.

Finally, if you are predisposed to do so, oregonstate.edu has a PDF on the "Steps to starting a LEGO robotics program" here.

Tech Tuesday on CreativeMountainGames.com 

News focused on Technology
as it might interest gamers.

Please Like, Share, Plus, Tweet, Follow, and Comment!

Media News Monday - Hobbit Happenings

As most of you are probably aware, The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies (2014) opens this week in theaters  and I am personally psyched to see it.  Let me clarify, that I am psyched to see it on the big screen, not simply just to see it.  I've waited a long time to see live action versions of the books I read back in the early 70s and I am quite fine that Peter Jackson put his own spin on some portions LotR and The Hobbit, even going so far as to add characters and sequences, and cut some things out that others might have kept.

Oh, and allow me to mention right up front that I am not inviting debate over whether PJ should have made the films frame for frame as Tolkien wrote the stories nor about Hollywood's hand in helping Tolkien get exercise by making him roll over in his grave.  This argument has been flogged since The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring (2001) and it doesn't sway anyone nor will it keep Jackson from coveting the Silmarils and planning a movie for each of the three.  As far as I am concerned, the-movies-ruined-my-blah-blah-blah argument never works, not with Jackson's Tolkien films nor Marvel's comic book movies nor Franco's Faulkner.  Unless J.R.R. tucked you in at night in the early 20th Century after reading his latest scribblings about tiny people living in the Shire, you won't have anything new that hasn't been beaten to death around Internet town, so please save your keystrokes so you can also avoid being offended when I summarily delete any such comments.  If I had a ring, I'd just avoid them the Bilbo way, despite the risk of drawing Sauron, his minions, and damnation on Middle-earth.

Getting back to the opening, I'm of a mind that this is in one way much like any other movie coming out that has sweeping action and epic cinematography, and it needs to be seen on the big screen.  But with films I have waited thirty to forty years to realize, I think this needs something more.  As such, it is my intention to see these on the largest IMAX screen in striking distance in 70 mm with 3D.  I've even looked into the Hobbit Marathons that are happening and seriously considered spending a full day enjoying all three movies back-to-back-to-back in that most glorious medium.  It is a once in a lifetime opportunity, after all.


In semi-related news, "Sir Ian McKellen gives Oxford students 'LOTR'-style lesson in work ethics" here.  Martin Freeman answered questions from Facebook users here.  And Stephen Colbert interviewed Smaug as part of his remaining shows.  Brilliant!

So, enjoy the movie if you can in as large a way as possible.  If you already know it is something you cannot enjoy, please don't spend your precious time trying to ruin it for other people.  Life is too short for such efforts and there is certainly something else you do enjoy that it can benefit you to pursue instead.  All the best, everyone.  All the best.

Media News Monday on CreativeMountainGames.com 

News for Movies, Television, and more
of gamer-relevant Media.

Please Like, Share, Plus, Tweet, Follow, and Comment!

Sunday Funnies - McClean Comics, Python Shirt, & Fake Science

Over on ArtoftheGenre,com, Scott Taylor, who has a Kickstarter relaunched for his Folio project here, takes a look back at a "number of images in the initial release of the 1st edition D&D Dungeon Master’s Guide to the art and one liners of Will McLean" here.

Also, for one final week, you can pick up a Monty Python Holy Grail inspired t-shirt from Teespring here.

Finally, FakeScience.org takes a hilarious look at the way we used to learn about everything in these re-imaginings of old science texts here.

Sunday Funnies on CreativeMountainGames.com

Humor, often gaming-related,
to start the week with a chuckle.

Please Like, Share, Plus, Tweet, Follow, and Comment!

Throwback Thursday - Gaming Benefits with Creighton Broadhurst

Over on Creighton Broadhurst's wonderful blog, he has a recent entry as he prepares to share his hobby with his boys about the benefits he has derived from gaming.  Read more here.

Throwback Thursday on CreativeMountainGames.com 

A look back at early tabletop hobby gaming

 or gaming-adjacent topics of the past.

Please Like, Share, Plus, Tweet, Follow, and Comment!

Throwback Thursday - Fact-Checking Fight Books

There is a very neat article over on tameshigiri.ca showing some of the research on a study that is "Fact-checking fight-books: comparing historic injury patterns to strikes in modern European sword arts."  See more here.

Polearm Strike Locations

Throwback Thursday on CreativeMountainGames.com 

A look back at early tabletop hobby gaming

 or gaming-adjacent topics of the past.

Please Like, Share, Plus, Tweet, Follow, and Comment!

Tech Tuesday - Mug, Fridge, & Lynda's Notes

First up, on Tech Tuesday, is a low-tech device with Old School charm to warm you on a chilly morning.  You can explore new possibilities in warm beverages with a "Dungeon Crawl Mug."

But perhaps you have other beverage needs and have need of a place to store them and keep them cold.  Looks no further than the "Borg Cube Mini-Fridge."

But on a more serious note, or maybe not since this last one is all about the notes, Lynda.com has added a new way to take notes while watching their tutorial videos for their online courses that look most convenient.  Read more here.

Tech Tuesday on CreativeMountainGames.com 

News focused on Technology
as it might interest gamers.

Please Like, Share, Plus, Tweet, Follow, and Comment!

School Mimicking RPGs

Over on the Inquisitr.com website, a recent article was titled "Schools In 25 Countries Are Run Like A Role-Playing Game, Students Level Up By Studying."  Read more here!

Reading Rainbow Kickstarter

So, the Reading Rainbow Kickstarter is doing quite well but there's no reason it cannot do better.  See more here!

Kickstarter Roundup - Cthulhu ABCs, Calamityware, More Fantasy Coins, Evolution, and Tabletop Towns Containers

With over three weeks to go, you might want to get in on Kennon James very-nearly-funded Kickstater project called "Cthulhu ABCs." Check out this hoot here!

If you haven't seen them already, you need to have a look a the Kickstarter for Calamityware, a line of commemorative plates featuring flying monkeys, giant robots, voracious sea monsters, pirates in the neighborhood, UFO invasions, and more.  Read this one carefully when you see more here!

After already having one successful "Rare Elements RPG Fantasy Currency & Coins" Kickstarter, there is now another in the works. See more here!

North Star Games has their Evolution Kickstarter already well-funded with tons of time left ot get in on it.  See more here!

Finally, from the good folks at Tabletop Towns comes a new Kickstarter for fold-slat containers.  See more here!

Net Neutrality

Leaving aside the politics, for the sake of economics, I think it behooves me to share some information on an issue that is currently reaching a tipping point regarding Net Neutrality.  This is an issue that is sometimes misunderstood but well-defined by Ray Lin, a student at the University of California, Berkeley.  If you are becoming curious regarding this or would like some straightforward information on the subject, please do follow the links provided to help educate yourself more fully.  Thanks for allowing me to depart from my typical gaming-centric blog postings today.  If you wish to get involved, feel free to follow this link to SavetheInternet.com and keep informed.

Newsweek Fights the Power

There is an interesting article on the Newsweek website that I never would have seen if not for the Internet titled "Why the Web Won't Be Nirvana."  I often find it humorous when someone, often a large, print media entity, derides the Internet as some wasteland or soul-sucking fad rather than the exquisite tool it happens to be.  When I think of the numerous online friendships I have, many of which have led to meat-space friendships, the countless face-to-face gaming opportunities it has afforded me, and the sheer amount of knowledge I have perpetually at my fingertips (and often absorbed), I cannot help but wonder at the sanity or disingenuousness of someone who takes the position touted in this article.  Anyway, it is presented here, editing mistakes included, for your edification.  Also, it's posting date is "Filed: 2/26/95 at 7:00 PM | Updated: 12/10/13 at 4:04 PM."  Enjoy!