The Watchtower of Destruction: The Ferrett's Journal - Quick Notes From Origins
[Recent Entries][Archive][Friends][User Info]
|
11:52 pm
[Link] |
Quick Notes From Origins
Gini and I have been playing in several roleplaying games. I've now made a habit of saying to her, "I bet our GM is a pudgy balding guy with glasses, a black T-shirt, and a goatee." I'm two for four, and only off on one because he lacked a goatee. I didn't sign up for an official uniform, which makes this even weirder. I just like wearing black T-shirts, I need glasses, and I like my goatee... but Gini's begun to follow "me" at least five times, only to discover it's just another one of the mob. The creepy thing about it, though, is that it's not like we're dressing to impress each other. We're nerds, for Chrissakes. You could wear a muu-muu that said "SUCK JESUS BALLS" on the front and a Carmen Miranda merkin strapped to your thighs and we'd all just shrug. None of us care what we look like, and yet we all wear the same thing. Either it's the world's most comfortable outfit, or there's some weird sort of Jungian archetype-magic going on. Either way, I'm thinking of switching to a Nehru suit.
It's frightening how fast your curve slips. On the outside, you know what a hot girl looks like, but in this sea of pudgy Ferrett-lookalikes pretty soon any woman gets plus two points on the ten-scale. Your head spins around to do a double-take at a woman who you'd pass by at the mall without comment, just because shit! A woman! It's not like there aren't cute babes here, but the average scale on the curve is bumped up about twenty-five pounds. Anorexic women become skinny, skinny women are average, and the average woman is pretty chunky. Thank God I like 'em that way, but then I wandered out to watch the fireworks display and my God the thin, hot chicks in tube tops taught me a thing about what really hot women looked like, and all without the need for chainmail bikinis. (I like heavier women, but I also like curvy women and women with smooth skin, and there's a lot of blotchy round women walking around in outfits that aren't designed for their body type. And yes, that works both ways; you don't want to see me in a Speedo, either.) Then I wandered into the con center again, and after ten minutes I was gawping at thoroughly average chicks, just because they were wearing White Wolf shirts and possessed boobs. I mean, women boobs. Without being propped up by big hairy bellies and scruffy beards. There is one advantage, though; in this sea of fat, my only slightly-overweight body is a Herculean physique. I am a God amongst nerdtals.
Holy fuck, there are a lot of comments. I'm tired. Just skimming a lot. I'll get to ya, even though I know I'm not going to change anyone's mind. And yet, weirdly enough, I feel this urge to try. I also like banging my head against brick walls. It leaves fun patterns on my forehead.
This Origins feels totally mined out. One of the bad things about being an older nerd (and did I mention I'll be older in two days? Birthday!) is that you've pretty much mowed through all of the interesting stuff. You've had the time to find all the series you think you're going to like, and you've read every last book in them, and the series are either cancelled or you're waiting for the next fix. And until then, it's all dry spells. Hey, new Terry Pratchett book! Buy it! Slurp! You have nothing to read. Hey, a new episode of Lost! Watch it! Slurp! You have nothing to watch. Having had twenty years to burn through the fandoms of your choice, you either turn to the methadone madness that is fanfic in a desperate attempt for new goods, or you watch endless reruns of Buffy and re-read old series getting geared up for the next Harry Potter, knowing you'll gulp it down in a weekend and then have nothing you're really excited about for two years. Origins? None of the new games look good to anyone I've talked to. The good shit seems to be supplements to existing games - there's a New York Call of Cthulhu book, and a shitload of Paranoia modules, and a great Demon book for Champions. But all of those systems are twenty years old. I went looking for all the arty roleplaying systems that people recommended to me, and there's nothin' here. Word on the street is that the roleplaying industry's in a slump, and the new products seem to be just more D20 shit - D20 isn't inspiring anyone right now. We don't know what to do. We want someone to come up to us and sweep us off our feet, but they're more like that idiot hitting on you at the bar.
My birthday is on Sunday. Anyone wanna get together for dinner on Saturday? Let me know!
Tags: among the ugly the semi-ugly is king, birthday, origins, people are fucked up, popular culture, social commentary
|
|
| | I reread Men at Arms last night and I'm rereading The Fifth Elephant tonight. (Yes, I'm a Watch fanboy...)
Three months to the day! till Thud! One of the great things about Pratchett is how he can pump out books with alarming frequency, and yet they're still good. The only book of his I wasn't enthused about was Monstrous Regiment (rather annoyingly predictable, in my opinion), but he was right back on the ball with Going Postal, I feel.
About once a year I reread all of them at a go, because a big ol' dose of Pratchett once in awhile is conducive to a Happy Amanda. Also, as a voracious reader, there are times when I've read everything in sight and I need something to keep me busy for awhile. Hmm... Maybe I should actually go to a con one of these days. I don't think I'd be very entertained, but getting an automatic +2 on the appearance scale would do my ego some good.
From the photos I'd seen of cons, I'd always assumed that there were way more women. From the pictures of jungles, you'd think they were full of nothing but monkeys and parrots.
People take pictures of the interesting stuff. I know exactly what you mean, on the Standard Geek Prototype, and it scares the hell outta me.
I was a nerd in elementary school, a geek in jr. high/early high school, and then the It Girl, by senior year. But It Girl or no, I was still a geek. As in Huge and Flaming. The only thing that had changed, was my level of Presence (har-har).
Over the next several years, I kept that Chic-Geek tag, and honestly didn't think about it much.
Until, at the urging of a fellow Geek (who's now my husband), I joined the Camarilla.
My God.
What few girls there were, hurt the eyes. Not bad-looking girls, just girls shoved into too-small bustiers and buried under makeup that stopped being "edgy" in the 80s. The guys weren't bad, either, but you CANNOT tell me an entire World of Darkness eludes discovery while all wearing the same black t-shirts and dusters.
No one seemed to understand why I was there. No one believed I was *really* dating my future husband. No one expected me to rp, which turned out to be an advantage, heh. In our local Cam/Anarch LARP, the prince of the city never even met my character, although he did have repeated awkward, mumbling conversations with her breasts.
And on a less-superficial note, the sheer viciousness of this New Geek World, was shocking - I saw more infighting and social terrorism at a Cam event than I'd ever seen in the most elite of "A-groups." Guys who'd been pushed around in high school tried to reinvent themselves as tough delinquents (via black t-shirt and duster, of course) and girls who'd never gotten a date years ago, squeezed themselves into vinyl and lace, while ripping each other apart for their imagined (and real) sluttiness.
I used to look around, at games, and realize "This is probably a sampling of the very smartest, most creative, most talented society has to offer...and they're still acting out the same stereotypes this sort of thing is supposed to provide escape from."
Yeah, we quit the Cam. Eventually, all that "different" starts to look the same. Yeah, we quit the Cam. Eventually, all that "different" starts to look the same.
hear hear. same reason i quit larp. i thought, hey, this is great, actual role playing (i played an assamite, go figure, and there were four of us). but all people seemed to do was stand around and, well, be the same that they were for real, except in, as you put it, too-small bustiers and passe makeup and standard black.
it got boring very quickly.
i'll stick with my quietly geeky and squeezable friends, comfortable clothes, and enjoy teaching my kids the d&d i grew up with. Nothing but d20 really? I know Kenzer is putting out their Western "Aces&Eights" this con season, along with several new board and card games...
Lets look around. Well Steve Jackson is nothing but GURPS and Munchkin for awhile. No shocks there...
Palladium's just adding onto their RIFTs series...
White Wolf's non-d20 stuff seems to be more of their World of Darkness revamp and relaunch...
I know theirs a 4th Edition for Shadowrun coming out from SOMEONE...
But I can understand why most companies aren't willing to risk a non-d20 system/setting. They don't sell. I've got SHELVES of great non-d20 games. And I'm often the only person in a city of a million plus people who picked them up... Dinner, would if we could but Indy's a little far away from you.
I love reading you, you make me smile.
As to the bald chubby guys in wearing glasses in black t-shirts, I remember two years ago at my first GenCon, waiting for my Event tickets the evening before at Will Call, there was a guy in line who I think ws probably a local, judging by the accent (or lack of, to me) He was on the cell phone and he said:
"Yeah, I'm here, Just look for a fat middle aged man in a black t-shirt."
*pause as he suddenly looks around him*
"Uh... scratch that!" That Onion article about the woman who gets an inflated sense of her looks after attending a convention? Totally true for me.
I can't tell you how many times I've been at a con and followed a short-ish guy with a ponytail, only to discover he wasn't Jim at all.
Miss you folks! Wish I could have been there today instead of sitting in the Dallas airport for fourteen hours.
And god bless you for ambush-hugging Jim. :)
Happy Early Birthday,
Shan Fuck do you know how many times I've re read Eyes of The Overworld and Cugel's Saga ? How many times I've re read my Grimjacks ? Hell I got the new issue Thurs. and I'm saving it. that is how sad it gets. About the only new thing that I've really gotten into is George R.R. Martins A song of Ice and Fire. I call that +2 bump the "target of opportunity" illusion. It's not limited to cons - I've had that situation come up at work, at the library, basically anywhere. You stop comparing to a standard and just start comparing to each other.
A friend of mine likes running con games in a clevage-revealing dress, short skirt and fishnets. A female friend. I should probably make that clear...
Anyway, perhaps it's time to re-investigate some older systems. I'm still hoping for a revival of Teenagers From Outer Space. I've always wanted to go to a con, but I think I missed my chance. Nonsense. You're never too old or young to attend a con. And there's always a con near you. I still want to do dinner! Even if half my friends list totally hates you now for being an EVOL MYSOGYNIST. We'll call later today. But be careful! I'm a rapist, you know. ![[User Picture]](http://l-userpic.livejournal.com/40607406/3121015) | | From: |  kidsis |
|---|
| Date: | July 2nd, 2005 06:33 am (UTC) |
|---|
| | | (Link) |
|
Oh, so that like makes me a 0 when I was @ Trek Expo?
SWEET!!!
I always knew I liked going for some reason other than also potentally adding another name to my celebrity hug list.
I tend to cringe when I see the guys @ the con, some are cute in a nerdy sort of way, but the rest are kinda creepy. My friend was being hit on by the creepy guy last weekend. I never get hit on @ all at the con. I guess I'm intimidating or something. Heh, luckily I fall under Geek Guy Stereotype #2: Tall skinny pale guy! With the requisite long hair, goatee, and black t-shirts, of course.
The new Mage from White Wolf is getting premiered at Origins, though I doubt the book is for sale yet. The City of Heroes RPG is also getting released there. I don't really keep up on most RPG news anymore, so I don't have much else to add. Yes, I would like to get together for teh Birf-day dinner on Saturday. UNFORTUNATELY, I think my 7th Sea GM would not care for the idea. Since the game is in Kent. And I'd have to leave, roughly, when the game started to get to Columbus in time. And would be back, roughly, when it was over. And we didn't play last week because I'm a dumb hoser.
So... have a fun B-day dinner without me, lad. "Either it's the world's most comfortable outfit, or there's some weird sort of Jungian archetype-magic going on."
Why not both? It's not worth Godwalking if you can't do it in comfort. My jealousy runs deep and I haven't even had a chance to read the whole thing you.
Damn you. Damn you all to hell. I can't be arsed shaving very often, so I tend to do so about once/twice a week - which tends to produce a goatee as the happy medium.
I wear black because it's _blank_ mostly - it doesn't leap out at me, it's the closest there is to a neutral colour to me.
And I suspect I wear glasses because I was staring at books a lot as a kid.
So, the same as most geeks then :-> | From: | barryr |
|---|
| Date: | July 2nd, 2005 09:20 am (UTC) |
|---|
| | Thoughts on gaming | (Link) |
|
I might go to Origins next year, I'll try to let you know if that's the case?
Conventions do tend to be like that. You get a few thousand geeks in the same place at once and a few things are bound to happen. That t-shirt you found from this webcomic isn't as unique as you thought. Crowded rooms' heat overwhelm the air conditioning's ability to keep up. You see the same exact character cosplay seven times an hour, all from different people. I said "hi" to an artist who was completely different from the one I thought I was talking to, and it took 5 minutes to establish that- Oops.
But it's fun, so whoever actually cares.
I will mention, though, that Anime cons have a significantly higher female-to-male ratio, with many thanks to the bishounen character type among other things.
As far as roleplaying goes, I noted you didn't mention a couple of my personal favorites- GURPs and Godlike. I know the former has been around for a while, and Godlike is surprisingly fun to play.
Barring those, a friend of mine has been hard at work creating his own RPG, and we've had several very successful one-shots and a semester-long weekly game that practically begs for a continuation someday. One of the more interesting aspects is that there's a way to essentially 'borrow' things from other roleplaying games. We ended one session accidentally having summoned a Tarrasque, reversing its weaknesses, and evolving it to the point of it being able to plane shift. It disappeared from our plane and the various GM's in our club are still pondering ways to make it reappear (cameo appearance, anyone?) in their own games.
I'll happily let you know if he ever gets around to completing the guidebook for it. It's an incredibly versatile system. ![[User Picture]](http://l-userpic.livejournal.com/91913587/291983) | | From: | perich |
|---|
| Date: | July 2nd, 2005 11:18 am (UTC) |
|---|
| | | (Link) |
|
you either turn to the methadone madness that is fanfic
Now that was very nice. ![[User Picture]](http://l-userpic.livejournal.com/47169062/521302) | | From: | jfs |
|---|
| Date: | July 2nd, 2005 12:44 pm (UTC) |
|---|
| | | (Link) |
|
Black t-shirts don't show pizza stains.
Not always true. And the problem with the ubergeeks is that they do believe it's always true.
May possibly be there later today, probably not, though.
My ride to Columbus is bringing his S.O., who is the non-gaming type.
And I agree that there's a darth of new RP materials coming out... Nothing in that genre has really grabbed me, and the "Now using D20" flood has got me buggered too.
And I've only been roleplaying for 7 years. o.O ![[User Picture]](http://l-userpic.livejournal.com/6623132/322499) | | From: | eslington |
|---|
| Date: | July 2nd, 2005 01:20 pm (UTC) |
|---|
| | I, however, am a beautiful and unique snowflake. | (Link) |
|
Having recently moved from the exciting and diverse City of London back to the crummy old hometown of Newcastle, I stopped in to a gaming night at the local geekstuff store.
Everyguy there (No females except the store cashier) was pretty much someone I'd met before at a London gaming venue chopped up and mixed with the other geeks to produce new geeks.
At least in terms of appearance. I haven't got to know any of them that well, but I'm pretty sure I recognise more than one personality type there. As a bigger "fluffy" or "curvy" gal .. I find it sad that so many women with my physique at cons do not know how to dress for their body shape. There are some things that just don't look good unless you are "little". Please, ladies, don't wear them if you are "big". (and the reverse is true as well..) There are plenty of sexy things out there that are designed with the "curvy" and "fluffy" girls shape in mind that will make your curves stand out a whole lot better!
Yes, I enjoy wearing the occasional corset or bustier .. but I invest in good quality ones that don't make me look more pudgy than I already am. Bulging out of your "sexy" clothing is a whole lot of NOT sexy in my opinion. It makes me want to tell some of them that just because you *can* squeeze yourself into that little latex top, and the skirt that doubles as a wide belt when worn with jeans, doesn't necessarily mean you should .. get it a size bigger, wear a skirt that is a little longer, and you will look a whole lot better.
And don't even get me started on the "LARP Uniform" .. I finally quit LARPing several years ago after getting into a debate with a group of people that were all wearing black .. jeans, shirts, motorcycle jackets, trench coats, with pancake make-up .. about how they were dressing to be "individuals" to not "conform" to standards ... They totally missed the point that they were trying to be unique by shunning one "uniform" only to adopt another. Look around - you are all dressed the same .. is shopping at Hot Topic and making fun of people who shop at the Gap any better or worse than shopping at the Gap and making fun of people who shop at Hot Topic?
And on that note - here I am in my "con uniform" from GenCon last year ... *laugh* Black shirt, blue jeans .. and, of course, kitten ears - because everyone loves kittens, and I'm an attention whore. *smirk*
GOD BLESS YOU!
Few things make me twitch like seeing grown women dressed to a pre-teen girl's idea of "hawt." Especially when they're extra-grown women - I see "fluffy" women on a regular basis who are dressed to kill; everything from casual to sexy, and they know what their bodies can and cannot wear.
Then you turn to the average Geeky RPing Chick, and she's wearing clothes I can't pull off, at half her size, more often than not.
I'd really like to see a "Queer Eye for the Straight Guy/Girl" Emergency Special, where they just lock an entire Con in - nobody leaves, 'til everybody's "saved." ![[User Picture]](http://l-userpic.livejournal.com/107452305/5062143) | | From: | pleepleus |
|---|
| Date: | July 2nd, 2005 01:43 pm (UTC) |
|---|
| | on squeezing into vinyl and spandex... | (Link) |
|
A few words of wisdom about clothing... Just because you can zip it or button it, it doesn't mean it fits. or this one Just because they make it in your size it doesn't mean you should wear it. And, that all I can offer to this conversation. ;p I pretty much gave up my geek side in high school. My brother, freeimprov now carries the torch for me. :) ahhh Happy Birthday one day early!!! Doubt I will get up to Cleveland as I never do make it there any mroe. But my thoughts are with you Can I get a hell yeah on the lack of content available? I'm only 25, but man can I read...and read and read. When I discovered A Song of Ice and Fire I read the whole book in a single 24 hour period. Now I've spent the last couple years waiting for the next book rereading all my sci-fi / fantasy stuff. I've only found one new series I actually liked during this time, a historical fiction on ancient Rome.
You may be seeing me from time to time now heh. One of my friends linked to the women and wierd notions about sex appeal post, and I had to read more :P | | From: | jfs |
|---|
| Date: | July 2nd, 2005 02:48 pm (UTC) |
|---|
| | | (Link) |
|
Was the historical fiction one of the Falco series by Lindsey Davies? If not, I can highly recommend them - they concern the adventures of a private investigator in Rome in the 1st C. AD. Very funny, well written and (most important) there's about 20 of them in the series so far. Start with The Silver Pigs and see if you like them. |
|
