Same Old Story, Same Old Song and Dance

I have reached a point of stagnation that I feel is worth discussing, if only to compare this feeling to the lack there of experienced by my fellow gamers.

Through exposure to articles, blogs, Facebook posts, and verbal discussions I have learned that many gamers, perhaps even the majority of us, play the same game year after year. There are GMs who only run some variant of D&D and players who only play Pathfinder. On occasion there are those who play a select set of games and rest assured if they are not partaking in a game of Traveller then they have gone back to D&D, Rolemaster, or any one of a small grouping of titles.

While I can understand this intellectually, the very idea is anathema to me. It goes against the very fabric of my being. It serves only to drain my creativity, harsh my mellow, and give me a case of the melancholy hum-drums. Yes. It's that serious.

At the same time, this is exactly what has been happening to me. 

Over the past year or two I've been jumping back and forth from Traveller to my homebrew D&D setting of Aerth and from there to Star Trek, and so forth. There are perhaps four or five games that I keep bouncing between, occasionally broken up by an experimental one shot here and there. 

At least that's how it feels.

Honestly though, when was the last time I actually ran a Mekton campaign? Space:1889? Paranoia? I've yet to run Tales from the Loop, and I was super stoked to do so not that long ago. 

Oh no...do you realize that means I now...own a game I haven't played or run. Have Mercy! What will become of me?!?

*sob*

I need out of this funk and I need out of it fast, and the way that's going to happen is by running something...something...different. 

But what?

For those of you who always or at least often play the same game(s), how do you do it? How come you don't get bored? How do you keep it fresh?

For those of you in a similar state to my own, how do you do when you're feeling burnt out on the same old song and dance? 

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Barking Alien

Renewed Vitality

The past six weeks have been very difficult for me. I have been feeling down, anxious, and not particularly creative. The blog has suffered a little as a result. 

Simultaneously, I have become really close with my girlfriend, gotten incredible support from family, friends, my students, and I am really beginning to feel like myself again. 

Today I went to Bidewee, an animal welfare organization that, among many other good deeds, rescues dogs and cats and adopts them out to new homes. It is where I adopted my dog Delilah from, and where my family has adopted a number of other pets over the years. 

I have decided the time is right, following Delilah's passing, to consider adopting a new rescue dog. I have done inquiries at New York City's ASPCA, but on my Mom's recommendation I went to Bidewee today to refresh myself on their criteria and process for adopting. 

Two incredible things happened:

I explained my situation and that my dog, whom I adopted from them, had recently passed. They asked if I remembered her original name, the name the Bidawee folks had given her before I got her. I did, and they were able to look her up in their computer.

On the screen was the exact date of her adoption - 10 years, 5 months, and 2 days ago today - her original mislabeling as a Male dog; she had two brothers in her litter and they accidentally listed all three as Males. I'd forgotten that. - and best of all, photos of her at 4 months of age. My heart melted, I smiled, and yes, I cried a little too. Happy tears. 

Moments later a very self-assured female voice said, "I can vouch for this man. He really loves dogs." It was none other than my friend Emi, who volunteers at Bidawee working with cats. Not only was I overwhelmed by her statement, but I had forgotten how much I missed seeing her. She is a wonderful person and her being there was an added bonus on what was becoming a really good day.

The second thing that occurred today was that Tim Knight, aka The Acrobatic Flea, over at the blog HEROPRESS, posted an interview he and I had recently done. In addition, he added a little something nice in his opening introduction that was very kind of him to say. Please give it a look won't you? 

The end result is a sense of renewed vigor, a boost to the spirit, and the ego, which is sometimes just what is needed to get one out of a funk. 

I am looking forward to new ideas and a very productive March. I am excited about a new puppy in my life. I am happy to have such a fantastic girlfriend, great friends, my small yet awesome family, and this blog. 

Onward and Upward!

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Barking Alien

Black Cat Come Visit Me

February is Black History Month and what better way to celebrate than going to see a motion picture that embraces and emblazons the beauty, strength, and nuance of African culture and the heroic spirit of the African people?

I am of course talking about...

All kidding aside, this movie is indeed a triumph. It was an excellent film, being both engaging and entertaining. I have to say that it was really refreshing to see this epic after the dismal experience that was Star Wars: The Last Jedi.

Black Panther did what many other such films fail to do; It built a world, gave it grandeur, and yet it made the central conflict personal. 

Although ostensibly a Superhero movie, it felt much more like a Fantasy film, albeit one that's really more Science Fantasy. Black Panther's overall feel and aesthetic is closer to Lord of the Rings crossed with a James Bond movie than it is an Avengers/Marvel Superhero flick. I liked that. A lot. It gave it its own identity beyond the Afro-futurism look of its costumes, setting, and technology (although that was perfectly done). 

While the film has both a cool hero and an interesting villain, it has as its best feature an excellent supporting cast. Through the secondary, and even tertiary characters, the Black Panther movie creates a sense that the world within it is real and the people know each other. They have personalities, interests, and desires all their own. They are imperfect, they make mistakes, but they try to do the right thing or what they believe to be the right thing. In some ways this even extends to the the villain, which is what makes him one of the best in the Marvel Cinematic Universe so far. 

I can't say enough good things about the movie, so I'd like to change the subject slightly and talk about the films importance. 

Barking Alien, the blog, isn't a place where I normally put forth my personal views on subjects like politics or social issues. Not normally. There have been a number of times over the years where I've bent or broken my own rules and this might be considered one of them by some. So be it. 

For a very long time now we've seen films in which super-powered heroes and the lords of fantastic kingdoms battled the forces of evil to save the world, or even the universe. They have also largely been White. 

Certainly Black Panther isn't the very first Black hero on film. We've seen Blade, Hancock, and Spawn, but none of these have what King T'Challa's movie has. Black Panther has the main character as a rich and powerful individual, surpassing in both wealth and influence such characters as Batman and Iron Man.

T'Challa is a King. He rules a nation. His nation is powerful, beautiful, and more advanced than what we have seen so far on the world of Marvel Cinematic Earth.

T'Challa is not a freak, a wash-out, or man fighting a secret war (well, not exactly). T'Challa is a major part of a much larger universe. He is as big and as important to Marvel films as is Captain America, Iron Man, Thor, and Doctor Strange. 

As such Black Panther, both the character and the film, is of significance to the greater mythos he dwells within and to an audience who finally have an A-List Superhero is looks as they do.

Wakanda Forever!

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Barking Alien

P.S.: Post title is a reference to the song 'Black Cat' by David 'Ziggy' Marley.

Lucky Dog

Happy Lunar New Year and Spring Festival Everyone!

It is the Year of the Dog, which as you can imagine is a favorite year of mine. Heh. 

Woof Woof and Gong Hei Fat Choy!

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Barking Alien

A Little Heart to Heart

Happy Valentines Day Everyone!

I am not a big believer in this particular holiday, but I will never back down from a chance to celebrate love. I love the idea of love, peace, happiness, and togetherness. Whatever else this day stands and whatever else is connected to it, I am personally going to embrace the idea that is stands for love and that's all there is to it. 

Monday was my birthday, and in absolutely perfect fashion, I received lots and lots of well wishes but no one made a big deal about it or got overly sentimental. I appreciated that very much. I often get really down on my birthday and it gets worse when people gush. A nice, quiet day, a good dinner, and a beer were more than enough. 

The one exception was the preceding Saturday, where the teachers and students at the tutoring center I work at game me a little party. That was super sweet (as was the ice cream cake) and it made me feel pretty good. 

So what's on my mind?

Ugh...

I am in a funk still and one of my players is only making it worse. He keeps trying to undo all the stupidity he generated in a previous game by trying to make basically the exact same character again for a new campaign in the same setting. 

What makes it really frustrating is that he still doesn't understand how and why he messed up the first time. He has all these ideas that we're in the game. His memory of the details are all wrong. Since I know him pretty well I know he's trying to adjust things to his advantage and get all the good parts of the old character while trying to make the botched events more palatable. 

It's really annoying and just so draining. It's the kind of thing I don't want to be a part of what I do in any way when I game. It honestly makes me not want to do it. 

In addition, I recently learned some truly double edged news. One of my players and best buds, who's been between jobs, has just recently been picked up for a new stint. He's working again and that's awesome, but there is a dark lining to this silver cloud. His new schedule will prevent him from being in our games for the foreseeable future. 

This sucks. No ifs, ands, or buts. True industrial strength suckage folks. 

With these two situations weighing heavy on my mind right now, I am feeling a little lost as to what I am going to run next long term. 

I am definitely going to be running [my version of ] D&D this weekend, but my enthusiasm for running a long term Traveller game has waned. 

Sigh.

I also have other game ideas in my head - ideas that don't fit my current group, especially if one of my key players isn't there. 

Is February over yet? No? Oh well.

Let's talk about something else...after all, it's Valentines Day and I have a great girlfriend. 

I guess I'm feeling OK after all. 


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Barking Alien