You see I get involved in a group or organization, then get over-involved, then burned out. It’s me, not the organization. It’s been repeated so many times. I become indispensable and then need to run for the hills. I decided yesterday to put that to an end. I don’t like to quit things. I’m an “obliger” according the Gretchen Rubin. I put others needs ahead of my own even when it causes me stress. I decided after taking the entire day to focus on a project for someone else I would just stop and say something I rarely say- “No.”

Since returning from a bonspiel in Las Vegas a few of us had talked about “Curly,” the CurlVegas mascot. Designed by Frank McCourt (Canada’s Curling Cartoonist). We’d talked about how it would be cool to have a character for our club. Something cute and silly. Curly is a desert tortoise something that lives in Nevada, so we started to brainstorm ideas for what animal could work for Indiana. Opossum, raccoon, pig all came to mind. I started working out ideas, but nothing seriously. We got back and the idea was thrown into the miasma that is a club board, and deemed not a high priority (which I can understand).

Helping Out…

I’m not saying boards are bad, or individuals are bad. I’ve been on a club board before, here you have people who are passionate about the club, and what it’s about, sometimes they are also stuck in their ways. The hardest thing to tackle is “but we’ve always done it this way.” The other thing you have are those people (and I was one of them, once upon a time) who are very serious about how things should be and how the club looks to others. There are those who want change for the better but get hit with the roadblock of the ones who don’t want things to change.

The basic membership doesn’t worry about these things, they want to go to events, play the game, or whatever. When I dealt with school robotics, you had the people who saw it as a sport equal to any other sport and should have the same respect as basketball or football. In a car club you had the people who wanted more technical events, challenging drives, or track time. Then you had the people who said these were just clubs and to get over it. I’m not quite sure where this club board stands, but it seems like a lot of egos and politics like most boards. Most members will never see it and just go along with whatever is presented. It’s kinda nice to be in the dark.

The club I’m currently a part of is celebrating its 20th anniversary. I was asked to join the planning committee in hopes that I could help design things for the event. The first meeting did not go well. In our first meeting I griped (OK- I blew up) about AI and also using race cars as a cliché representation of Indianapolis. I offered to try some things out, but got the feeling that whatever I created would probably be rejected. It seemed like the majority were all on board with AI and that race cars are synonymous with Indiana. The board seemed to love AI and saw it as looking very professional and easy for anyone to use. I tried to counter, with many not aware that I can draw. This meeting came up while I was in the middle of traveling, so thinking time was available, but serious drawing time wasn’t. Any creative person knows how long it takes to come up with a workable idea. I had time in hotels and planes to think things through. I kept thinking about Curly, fromCurlVegas. Not as a cornerstone, but something to add a little whimsy and make us not seem so serious. He could also be infused into things instead of the AI curling stone currently on most of our event flyers.

The morning of the next meeting arrived and I was asked to contact the chair which, in my experience, is never a good thing. All I heard in the discussion was that one member of the committee was really pushing race cars, and since they were on the board, I again figured anything I came up with that wasn’t race car related would be shot down. This person even suggested doing a Cars character as a mascot… Oh my. Just waiting for the Disney lawyers to knock on the door. I said I would try to come up with something (but not a Cars character), I had some ideas, but I went back to the AI slop that had been shown to me at the first meeting. Ugh. It was awful, but it was also what they wanted, or at least something similar. I suggested to the chair that if they wanted to go for race cars go whole hog throughout the club. Where are the racing flags? Why isn’t the hog line a row of bricks or a checkered flag? Why isn’t the club championship trophy a knock off of the Borg-Warner cup? Use racing wheels and tires as tables… Don’t go halfway - embrace it.

Then I put my nose to the grindstone and tried to create what it seemed the group wanted. Hours passed and I had nothing I felt was decent enough to show. Most artists have self-esteem issues. Cartoonists especially since while people are supposed to laugh at their work, they also get the serious arts people maligning it. “Are you still drawing those silly pictures?” If given ample time I’m sure I could come up with something that works, but I keep falling back on whatever I turn in will be rejected, so why even try. I fell back on some of my original ideas and re examined the “beautiful, very professional looking” AI slop and just gave up. My heart wasn’t in it to fight. I felt I was being set up for failure. I texted the committee chair and quit. My style of art would not meet their needs. I’m old enough to choose my battles, and this was one I decided would just make me miserable and alienate me even more. I also have other projects and ideas this was keeping me from. I said something I almost never say “No.”

As for the club I’m still feeling like the “new guy” after three years. I’m trying to figure out why some people started referring to me as “Crazy Bruce” after just hiding in the shadows and only playing in a couple of leagues & events for a couple of years. What did I do to be labeled insane? I laugh with them, but still wonder. Once again feeling like an outsider, Senior year of high school all over again.

Just Here to Play

After scratching my head for years and trying to figure out why some people join a group but then do nothing but pay their dues and attend events I decided that maybe they actually are enjoying the experience more than I ever have. Be it a professional organization, car club, or sports thing. After so many years I realize that I don’t need to be part of the sausage making process to enjoy a yummy brat. I decided at that point- all I wanted to do was just play. Not focus on making the club the best in the midwest, or internationally known, just a nice place to hang out and play. By playing and enjoying the time I have there I am making the club a better place for those who are there. Funny thing is, I still haven’t signed up to play in a league yet. You see I’ve been holding off to figure things out.

I learned yesterday that I I am now a full member in the National Cartoonist Society, something I am still in shock over. I am thinking about getting ribbons made for the next NCS Conference in San Diego that say “mistakes were made” or maybe “I still can’t believe they accepted my application.” But in honor of this I’m posting the last comic I submitted to PinPoint and will now try to prove my worth by drawing more comics… I even reduced my hours at the comic shop to give me more time.

Which brings me to the World Science Fiction Convention in the guise of LAcon V.  First of all I only attended three of the five days.  Why?  I really don’t know.  I think at the time I felt it was cost prohibitive.  I actually did a lot of this trip on “points” trying to cut costs as much as possible. I finally pulled the trigger on the trip due to a cheap airfare email and an excuse to visit my dad.

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Is This My Tribe?

It’s interesting being a “multifaceted geek” I think I have many tribes, but as I start to settle I’m realizing a few things about myself what I’m not.  I’m not a LEGO geek anymore. I’m not much of a board game geek. I’m not as diehard a MINI Cooper geek. I’m moving away from being the comic book geek or at least being more selective. I enjoy curling, but am still just starting out. I like to draw and want to spend more time at a drawing table, and most importantly,I still enjoy reading, especially science/speculative fiction and fantasy. Also, I’m a cat person (Crazy? Probably - but “my mother had me tested.”)

WorldCon or The World Science Fiction Convention had been a late addition to my bucket list, but I’m very happy I attended even for just a few days. After attending San Diego Comic Con, New York Comic Con, C2E2, Gen Con, blah, blah, blah… the list goes on. Those conventions tend to be flashy and chaotic. Navigating through crowds is a skill I have honed over the years.  My brothers even commented on it this year at Gen Con how I could move through the aisles. I was pleasantly surprised that this was a smaller convention which made it a nice change. Unlike so many of those conventions the attendees seemed interested in more than the typical con crowd.  In fact this seemed to be a mix of the pop culture/comic book and the educational conventions I used to attend as a teacher.  The exhibit hall wasn’t crowded with dealers which was a nice surprise.  Not saying I didn’t buy stuff, but it was nice to not have row upon row of 3D printed junk or “.  Most exhibitors were actually exhibiting and not just hawking stuff.

The art show embraced from the amateur to professional artist along with people just wanting to see things in their collections.  Many items were for sale and I definitely picked up cards from so many artists. I wish I had the money to buy some things, but I had decided to hold off after last year and consider what I really wanted and (being old) what would happen to this stuff in the future.

Another interesting bit was that the celebrities were authors not stars talking about their latest TV show or film so a very different vibe. I found it interesting that George R.R. Martin showed up at, I guess, the last minute.  They rushed to create an autograph time for him.  But I think he did this to avoid the throngs of non-literary fans who would descend and take over. Yes, LAcon would have gotten a massive boost in attendance numbers, but I think everyone would have had a way different experience.  Then again, what do I know?Also I didn’t see anyone charging for an autograph or photo. At the autograph tables there were tickets given to those in line for some people, but mostly it was people with a few treasured volumes.  Yes, some authors had limits, but mostly it was civilized and respectful of everyone.

Tie a Yellow Ribbon?

Like Gen Con, ribbons seem to be a trade item. There were a number of unique cool ribbons that I figured out you had to find the individual person.  Ribbons were an ice breaker. Besides the “normal” ribbons. Some interesting ribbons:

• Spaceballs the Ribbon

• 1.6 gHz

• I Like Moss

• Restore Roe

• No Kings

• Chaos Gremlin

• Elbows Up! (Montreal WorldCon)

• TANSTAAFL

• I Grok Heinlein

There were many more, some I got, some I didn’t. I still haven’t found an “imposter” ribbon - guess I know what I need to create.

The Sessions (or as I like to call it- Level 2)

The sessions seemed to be more intellectual and while I did not attend all the sessions I had planned either because of time or just being exhausted (mentally & physically) there were other options that made it more unique.

I can’t say I had a favorite session, each was unique and good.  Some I could listen and multitask.  I found it interesting the number of sessions did not have graphics or slides. I think mostly because I attended a number of panels.

One thing that was awesome was voice to text.  I’ve mentioned it before, but it was a nice added benefit even for those in the audience who weren’t deaf.

Sign Up Events

A number of events had a limit on how many people could attend.  Unlike many cons these were not a line up the night before if you want in. Instead you signed up digitally the day before and received an  email if you got picked in the lottery.  A waitlist was also created at the same time. The also posted if there were seats available after the lottery.

One other piece I did not try for (talking with people I admire makes my brain go blibity blobity) were Table Talks.  These were small groups who would spend time chatting with an author.  Pretty much about… anything. Something to try for next time.

The Big Events & Parties

Years and years ago I read Sharyn McCrumb’s Bimbos of the Death Sun and having been to a few comic book conventions I found it hard to see the convention in the book similar to any one I had attended.  I figured I just wasn’t one of the “cool kids” or maybe wasn’t geeky enough to have been granted access behind the curtain. Now I realize that she was actually writing about a con like this.  There are signature events - the masquerade, and the award ceremony. There are also other events and get togethers.  Groups bidding for a future WorldCon throwing a party, authors DJing. Heck the Hilton had a floor with suites that I guess was party central.  I say “I guess” because I didn’t attend any.

Sue got me to at least stop by Scalzi’s Discotheque, but introversion, social anxiety, and exhaustion made me turn into a pumpkin way before midnight.

Peoples is Peoples

As I look for my tribe it’s not the events or the vendors, or the things that make up a convention that creates tribe. It’s the people. WorldCon had an eclectic mix of people, but they were all welcoming and friendly and here’s the crazy part- many more of them “got me” than at most cons I’ve attended.  How do I know this? My jacket.  My “extrovert cosplay” battle jacket.  People remember the jacket long before they remember me.  At WorldCon most people who commented that they liked my jacket went a step further.  They actually pointed out a specific patch they liked, usually an obscure one. One person commented at how they had to smile at the Science Fiction Double Feature patch and how sad it was to lose Tim Curry.  Another commented and relayed the story of “The Winslow” -Phil Foglio was in attendance, but he didn’t have that patch at his table.  More than a few passed the geek test - by naming the IP from each of the patches on my right arm… this doesn’t happen to me, ever. I get “love your jacket” or just weird looks never have I had people actually understand the significance of what in on that jacket what it says about me and in turn, them. To paraphrase CE3K “I am not alone” - knowing that makes me happy. Maybe I have actually found my tribe.

What’s Next?

I see myself probably limiting my attendance at comic book conventions (the exception is CXC) unless I’m promoting something or looking for something specific. I still love HeroesCon and Baltimore Comic Con.  I liked the National Cartoonist Society’s conference and the people in it, however I’m conscious that I’m not at this point a member, a cartoonist. Therefore I only see myself attending if it is close due to cost, because if I were to go, I want to do everything. I still consider Gen Con fun for the gaming aspect, and it is local.

WorldCon? I can see myself doing this again and using it as a convenient excuse to travel someplace new and put more pins in the map. 2027 Montréal, that’s an easy drive unless politics get in the way.  2028 Brisbane? Darn! I’d have to visit Australia which leaves only Antarctica to check off visiting all the continents.

I kind of came in blind, not knowing what to expect or how things worked. Things I’d do differently:

• Stay at the host hotel.  I think being closer to the action, even by just a few yards would be nice. I think this is something to consider for most Cons.

• Attend a table talk

• Submit something to the art show

• Make a unique ribbon

• Vote for the Hugo Awards.  I read all the novels and bunch of other categories, but I didn’t vote 🙄

• Go to a party or is that crash a party?

• Attend the entire convention, not just three days

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Thank you to the organizers and volunteers, you did an amazingly amazing job. As a first timer- it was great and I really have nothing to complain about - especially since you’ve probably heard enough from “experts” online who have mentioned anything and everything under the Sun. 🙄😱

Reading: Steven Barnes

Saturday started off with a Steven Barnes Reading something I didn’t know was a thing.

Steven started with just a quick update as to how things are going now.  He talked about how the challenges help you determine your path and how you embrace them is important. Wow! What a positive outlook!

Steven decided to read from a book he is working on, not something already published or ready for publication. We were the first audience The Dead Lands a paranormal story bouncing around the in time, sounds interesting and after the reading one I will want to read.

He also spoke about Warrior-walk.com which is his program he used to rehabilitate after being in the hospital (he’d died from a blood clot).

Steven mentioned how he likes having AI read things back to him… yes, that is a good use of AI in the creative process. For those keeping score that’s 1 for AI, a bajillion against. He thought the voice to text interface used through the con for deaf interpretation was awesome.

As for the state of the world-

We’re doing the best we can. This is just the shit that happens.

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Autographing: Steven Barnes

I rushed from his author talk to make sure I had a place in line. Steven commented over the condition of Dream Park (yes, it isn’t pristine and the pages are brown with age) and asked me why it was my favorite, what I really liked about it… fanboy stutter and trying to come up with an answer.  I’m not sure he was impressed.

The Comic Book Sommelier

From the Program: “Even with sales numbers dropping and the distribution channel scattered and shredded, it’s a great time to be a comics fan. Marvel and DC are doing some of the best work they’ve done in years, and there are strong stories from “second-rank” companies and a surge of independent publishers. We will look at how things are going, then become an audience-led “comic book sommelier,” where we match an individual with a perfect comic title or two.”

Some discussion as to the validity of the program description. Sales aren’t down.

Absolute Batman changed things

Manga/anime people post on Insta and followers hunt for those artists works.

There has been a societal shift towards comics. Reading comics isn’t as taboo as it once was (unless you have one of those teachers 🙄).

Many people are learning via Digital storytelling and the WEBTOON infinite scroll which can be difficult to turn the comic into a printed book.

Unfortunately for many creators there is a belief that “If it’s on the Internet it should be free” while things are changing to more of a subscription service model, it is still a bit of a challenge to get people to pay for your work.

After that some members of the audience volunteered to have the panel pick comics for them due to their likes and interests. This was interesting as the recommendations were almost entirely Indy publishers or stuff I had never heard of. I did make a list and will research some of them. Not knowing the group I chose not to contribute anything…

Life Drawing Workshop

From the Program: “A lightly instructed life drawing workshop. Participants will draw a costumed figure beginning with quick gesture drawings and gradually progressing into longer poses using traditional techniques. Participants are also welcome to work with other drawing materials if desired.”

This was a nice break, the instructors didn’t realize it was two hours, they thought it was only one.  Having taken life drawing classes it was nice. The materials used were newsprint and charcoal. The models were in costume, but the set up wasn’t as conducive as it could be. Rows of tables blocking the view of the models.  There were three models which was awesome, one dressed as Odin, one in a Star Trek uniform, and one in Steampunk attire.  All various shapes and sizes. One of the participants also joined in as she was in an Amazonian armor and helm. I switched to my sketching pencil after a time.  My conclusion- I need to be doing this more.

The Makerspace - making a blinkie

Next to where life drawing occurred was the Makerspace, costume repair, and a place to learn how to solder and make a flashing badge.  I figured I would give it a go.  I picked the LAcon V logo and headed in.

When my former school was going through its renovation the powers that be decided to put in a Makerspace.  When I left, the area was being used for test prep and remediation, but it’s the thought that counts. 🙄 one thing that the “experts” kept saying we needed was soldering irons. I recall vetoing that idea for multiple reasons including safety and teacher comfort in using the tool.

Doing this badge I realized that I am smarter than the average bear. It was a lot of fun and I ended up with a great blinking badge.  In a classroom setting, it would have been chaos, and kids would have burned tables, clothes and themselves.  Here in a controlled setting with people helping clueless (yes, that would be me) adults it works. I highly recommend doing this if you have a chance.

Caring for Your Collection(s)

From the Program: “Many fans love collecting items. It may be books, art, trading cards, fanzines, textiles, or other fun stuff! Yet just obtaining the item may not be enough. Time may take its toll on the collection. Collections may be damaged by water, light, pests, and even dust. In this presentation we will show what we can do at home to improve the safety of our collection(s).”

Two topics were covered:

Protection - keeping disaster away

Preservation - longevity

Up, up and away! Keep things away from walls and off the floor.

Protection - if water damage happens - dry it as quick as possible - freeze it

High value? Talk to insurance company

Pests- bugs, rodents, mold

• Keep the space clean

• Check regularly

• Cool and dry area

Vocab: Frass- bug poop that looks like sawdust

Mishaps most bad things happen because we aren’t careful when handling things.

Current thoughts in the profession- those cotton gloves aren’t needed except in rare cases just have clean hands and use common sense.

Preservation

Vocab: Inherent Vice- everything is falling apart (entropy)

Accelerating Factors- light, temp & humidity (big fluctuations ), and other materials in contact with your stuff.

Pencil lasts longer than Sharpie - who knew?!?

Light-

• direct sunlight bright rooms old fluorescent bulbs

   +    LED lights kept low & UV filtered glass

Keep your stuff where you live, not in the attic or basement (up, up & away)

While your mileage may differ- Statistically speaking the attic, basement, or garage aren’t good places.

Housing- how you store your stuff

Most office copy paper is acid free now.

Plastic tubs- better than cardboard

Post it notes, pvc sleeves, scotch tape are bad

1. Up, up and away.

2. Declutter remove things touching items.

3. Out of the attic & basement.

Inspect your stuff at least twice yearly

He is not a fan of slabbing comics - out gassing things need to breathe.

If you are concerned about new item being contaminated - Bag and freeze for 6 months… to destroy pests (bugs & molds)

Enjoy the stuff you have while you have it.

Comics - Acid free bag & board should be fine. No mention on when to swap out.

The WorldCon Masquerade

From the Program: “The Masquerade is one of the prime events at a Worldcon - an onstage presentation extravaganza where genre costumers of all levels and abilities show off their skills and compete for awards. The event also includes a half-time show featuring Rogue Shimmy performing Star Trek themed belly dancing and Tadao Tomomatsu's comic musings to take place while the judges are conferring. Please join us for a night of excitement and wonder!”

Having been to a few costume contests at conventions this one seemed to be a lot more low key.  These didn’t seem to be professionals and that made it fun.  The work was amazing, but more driven by a love of the source material or genre than trying to make a duplicate of some character from a film or game. I’m reminded of Adam Savage’s TED Talk.

I was tired so I did leave before the judges returned with their decision.

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I do apologize for not posting this earlier, I took Sunday to visit my father and am catching up now at the airport as I wait to hoard my circuitous route home.

Today was all about LAcon V aka WorldCon.  I took the entire day to attend sessions to immerse myself in whatever.

Draw a Dragon with Tim Kirk: Adults’ Workshop

From the Program: “Ready to bring a dragon to life? Join Guest of Honor and Disney artist Tim Kirk to learn how. Learn tips, techniques, and creative secrets from a master illustrator as you create your own legendary creature. (This workshop is for adults.)”

So… drawing a dragon🤔 I tend to go to some sessions to see how other people do things, especially professionals. This was a session that had limited space so the day before you had to sign up online to be put into a lottery. An hour or so after the sign up closed they alerted people of their status via email. Being paranoid/anxious I made sure I had done this early in the day.  After getting confirmation I arrived early and got to watch people who hadn’t read the description or instructions find out that there was a waiting list.  I felt bad, but after the non compliant rule benders at the Freebie Table the previous day I decided to stay quiet.  If allowed, these people would camp out taking spots from people who had read and done what they were supposed to. Yes, I’m lawful good(ish).

Autographing: John Scalzi

I began reading Scalzi with Redshirts and stuck with his more humorous works until I had run out.  I then delved into Old Man’s War and found, while different, a series I really enjoyed. I follow Scalzi in social media and was fanboy shy when I met him, but look forward to his next book.

1966 Time Capsule: What Made Star Trek Ahead of its Time?

From the Program: “Travel back to 1966 to explore why Star Trek felt boldly futuristic from day one. How did its optimism, diverse cast, and social questions challenge television norms of the time? Which creative and cultural choices helped it speak not only to its moment, but to decades beyond it?”

With this being the 60th anniversary of Star Trek and Star Trek being the grandfather of all big fandoms in the U.S. I wanted to hear what the panelist had to say.  Due to the book signing I came in late.

By the time I arrived they were talking about the social and cultural changes.  One was the mini skirt.  While in our current society we think of it as sexist in the 60’s it was actually rebellious.  One audience member recalled how school dress codes made girls get on their knees to prove their skirts were the proper length. The morals of the time that Star Trek tried to get around that nowadays we chuckle over.  Star Trek was “woke” at the time and still tries to push those boundaries.

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Barbara Hambly: A Life in Fantasy, Mystery, and History

From the Program: “Join Christine Valada for a special conversation with her friend and colleague of more than 30 years: our wonderful Guest of Honor, Barbara Hambly. A master of fantasy, mystery, horror, and historical fiction, Hambly has delighted readers for decades with her richly imagined worlds and unforgettable characters. Together, they’ll explore her writing journey, creative inspirations, publishing experiences, and memories from a remarkable career in speculative fiction.”

I think I started reading Barbara Hambly when I picked up Those Who Hunt the Night.  A detective story with vampires. As I am finding in my advanced (but not too advanced) age - I don’t know everything and was pleased to learn about all of the other series she had written along with her personal history.  As the description suggests this was just two friends sitting on stage reminiscing, with a hundred or so people listening in. I highly recommend reading her stuff and will be checking my library for titles to fill the Dungeon Crawler Carl void.

Autographing: Larry Niven

Second run at autographing I had brought an old copy of Niven & Barnes seminal work - Dream Park the story of solving a murder mystery in the middle of a LARP.  This book is a fall back for me.  If I need to escape- this is one of a handful of books I pick up. I can start reading it from anywhere and will usually read it to the end in one sitting. Like many series, I feel this first book is the best- your mileage may differ. Like many of my favorites I loaned my hardcover copy to someone and never saw it again.

Can We Still Build Star Trek’s Utopian Society?

From the Program: “Though advances in technology have brought us closer than ever to the kind of future envisioned in the Star Trek franchise, soaring economic inequality, climate change, illegal wars, ideological extremism and polarization makes that future feel further and further away every day. Panelists will discuss how we might still be able to get to a society like Star Trek’s from here.”

Lots of optimism in the panel.  Should we plan for changes in 2045? Maybe 2050?

Do our elected officials have the political will? (Duh, no) Can everyone’s needs be met? I found it interesting that the hedge fund expert on the panel felt taxing the wealthy wasn’t a good solution.  That said, most panelists seem to believe we have the solutions, it just means making some politically difficult decisions. Star Trek comes from a united Earth- heck, Europe can’t even stay together.  It takes one political snake oil salesman to trash decades of work.  Fortunately it will take a decade or so to clean up the current mess, longer, if you consider how many things keep happening.

We need to “Plant the seeds for a tree that we will never enjoy the shade.” I think many in society are too Ferengi to even consider this.

Can we do it before a hard reset? In Trek it was a decimating war or two that finally led to utopia.

One suggestion was to create a single united government in the western hemisphere-US, Canada, Mexico… drop the names and national identities. Patriotism, xenophobia, and the current isolationist policies are a roadblock. Think the EU and Brexit. If we did, would it last?

There was a brief mention of how we were able to unite (kinda) during COVID do we have the resiliency to do it again? I have to remind myself I’m in California and many of these people didn’t get the societal pushback from living in a deeply red state.

The end was a call to action to vote to become politically active.  To dream the big dream… personally, I’d like to think it’s possible, but then I read the headlines.🙄

D&D Actual Play at LAcon V!

From the Program: “Do you like Critical Role or Dimension 20? Are you into D&D? Are you interested in tabletop roleplaying games? Join us for a live D&D adventure with author and long-time Dungeon Master Gregory A. Wilson. He will lead a band of intrepid explorers into the depths of a thrilling and dangerous adventure, interacting with the audience as they go!”

I decided to attend this for two reasons- first I had said in my Gen Con post I wanted to see a live play through of an adventure. Now I have.  I wanted to compare my running a game with someone who does it in a more professional setting.  You see many people listen or watch people playing an RPG and figure that all games are like that.  They don’t take into account the players all have acting or improv experience.  Then they complain when things aren’t like what they expected.  The problem is not always that your DM doesn’t do voices. It might have something to do with the players.

Secondly it ended the same time that an event Sue had mentioned started.

In tonight’s game I found it interesting the number of players saying they were fairly new at playing D&D “proper.” Teenagers from Outer Space sounds interesting, something I may have to research.

I do apologize to everyone, the person who came up and started a conversation with me?  I didn’t know them.  I tried to politely ignore them so I could actually keep following what was going on with the game. I was just trying to be nice by not saying “Leave.”  Nice guy, just took a while to take the hint.  Any other time? Sure, let’s chat. In the middle of a session? Not cool.

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DJ Scalzi Discotheque

I’m a socially awkward introvert who avoids events like this (no matter how awesome the DJ is) like the plague.  My wife tells me about it with a hint I should attend? “As you wish” is my reply. Cecil had a good time, I cosplayed a wallflower in an extroverts jean jacket.

A bit of history- the last time I had set foot at Disneyland my mother went into the hospital and soon passed away. I had actually spent that time with my niece/god daughter and the power was out in the park so there wasn’t much we could do. We tried to enjoy ourselves while protecting my brother and his kids from the news. They’d find out soon enough and l didn’t want them to worry about something they had no control over.

So I arrived at the park about an hour before it opened walked around the shuttered Downtown Disney (except for Starbucks) and figured I’d ride a ride or two, maybe find a virtual geocache and just be. I’ve realized that I am too old for Disney. I figured this out at Disneyland Paris. While it is the “Happiest Place on Earth” not having kids and not having a reason to drop a lot of money on stuff makes it an interesting bit of people watching, but that’s about it. Once they let us past Main Street I decided to head to Star Wars Land since it didn’t exist the last time I had been there. I wandered through seeing pretty much a duplicate of what was in Florida and looked at my watch. I had never had a chance to ride “Rise of the Resistance” since it seemed to be perpetually broken at Disney World so I took a chance and joined the 25 minute line. It was about 25 minutes of twisting line before we joined the story (already in progress). Being set in the latest film incarnation of the series it was OK. I could enjoy the reactions of the families around me and chuckle at the people taking selfies. One we had stopped the advance of the First Order I continued exploring the space popping into shops- yes they are now selling Ewoks into servitude right next to the Droid Workshop.

I continued my wandering and decided it was time to head back to the hotel to rest a bit and then head to the convention.

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The Sessions:

In Conversation - Colleen Doran, Tim Kirk, and Stan Sakai

From the Program: “Join Tim, Colleen, and Stan as they sit down together for an engaging, free-flowing conversation, sharing stories, influences, and creative journeys.” Moderator: Joe Siclari

I always find it great to listen to artists and designers talk about their craft. This was great and as with most of these sessions I found I was listening a not taking notes. That and going to multiple sessions with the same presenters makes it challenging to determine who said what, when. After this session i need to do more research on other artists (including Carl Barks) and I need to move visiting Tokyo DisneySea up on my bucket list even after just saying how I was getting too old for Disney Parks.

“If the art doesn’t come first, nothing else follows.” -Colleen Doran

Doctor Who at the Crossroads

From the Program: “One of the most popular British imports into the U.S. for over half a century, Doctor Who enjoyed a renaissance beginning in the mid 2000’s. However, with the collapse of its American partnership with Disney, the future of the show hasn’t been as bleak as this in decades. Or has it? This panel will discuss the status of the series, its prospects, and its promise for a new generation of fans.”

Yes, I have been a Whovian. Heck, I even created a multi state geocaching series based on (at that point) the eleven incarnations of “the Doctor.” My interest waned and as we curated our subscriptions it had ended up on the chopping block. I had heard Disney had left and the BBC was taking the show on hiatus so I was curious about what was going to happen next.

The general consensus was that it will be at least a few years before the show returns. The hope is that there will be a fresh start without trying to explain anything, like they had done in 2005. Only time will tell.

Current Landscape of Speculative Fiction Comics and Graphic Novels

From the Program: “As the boundaries of speculative fiction are pushed every year in novels, similar growth is experienced in comics. This panel will discuss where we, as fans and creators of comics and graphic novels, find ourselves in the SFF landscape.”

A wide variety of comic book writers and artists talked about the state of the genre in comic books (comics are a medium, not a genre). Most participants felt that things weren’t horrible, but that Superheroes were what most comic shops focused on. The discussion on the process each person went through was fascinating.

The Ziegler Effect was brought up which gets me thinking. It’s where you leave a drawing unfinished before you go to bed so that you can look at it with fresh eyes in the morning. It also makes it so you aren’t confronted with a blank page so that you can actually hit the ground running. This session also named dropped so many artists and comics I couldn’t get all of them in my notes.

Sherlock Holmes Through Time and Space

From the Program: “It's elementary, dear Watson, that Sherlock Holmes is one of the greatest, and certainly best known, detectives of all time. Portrayals of Holmes have included gender bending, alternate timelines, and more. Our panelists will discuss the various depictions of Conan Doyle's detective through the years, and using their powers of deduction, may even decide upon which ones worked best!”

I read my first Sherlock Holmes story in high school. It was sophomore English and I then turned around and read more. This session made me feeL like the Scarlet Pimpernel session I went to at Gen Con. I thought I knew a lot, but I discovered I know a lot among the people I surround myself with, but I know nothing around Holmes fans. Like most of the sessions book TV show, and film titles were dropped in rapid fire succession.

Everything Else

The exhibit hall opened at two o’clock the same time as the Freebie Table did. The freebie table was actually a series of tables with donated books on it. Many of the titles were pre-release copies from publishers. I walked by saw a few things that that looked interesting. Having spent time a more than a few silent auctions I knew the drill. Stand by what you want and then when the time comes - pounce. Unfortunately, it seemed the way this worked was make a pole of the books you want either find an open space on the table to put your stack or even sit down with your stack in front of you. I decided to play the game, but only did that with two titles that looked interesting, I would take my chances on anything else. The clock struck two and locusts, vultures, whatever descended and the tables were pretty much picked clean.

Two o’clock also marked the opening of the exhibit hall. I popped down and did my round of shopping. The hall is an eclectic mix. There is even a silent auction of art pieces from a wide variety of talent. Some pieces in the show were just for display. I did see a few things I liked, but I also don’t need them, or have a way to transport them home.

Today ended with me watching the stream of the closing ceremony. It’s been a long day and I really should go to sleep. Tomorrow - more sessions and stuff. Maybe even some drawing.

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I look at how my retirement goals have morphed since this I’m now no longer dealing with the abstract thought of retirement and now have hit the grim reality head-on. Yes, my goals have evolved and are still evolving. Recently after seeing my Local Comic Shop (where I work) embrace AI for so many things I decided to stop providing graphic design work for them. Someone had actually scrubbed my character design I had made for the shop… Mongo, Cecil, and I were appalled!

Last week I was asked to update some artwork for the shop because they had decided to take a step back from AI slop. I didn’t rejoice, I didn’t say “I told you so” I just said “Give me a week.” I said this because I have been working on some other things that have been volunteered for and I was sure how long that project would take.

So what am I doing (besides not producing a comic strip for people to scratch their heads at and say things like “He thought this was funny?”)? It seems - Fighting the good fight against AI.

Brown County Backroads Geotour Coin and Pathtags.

I was volunteered for this when Sue joined the committee and saw that most of the materials being produced were AI generated. Most of the folks involved were overjoyed at the “professional nature” and how “easy” it was to make things. You need to understand, Brown County is an artist community south of Indianapolis and East of Bloomington. You throw something in any direction and you’re bound to hit three or four artists! So when Sue complained (as she should) I was asked to design some of the materials which included a Geocoin and a series of pathtags for the geotour and sponsors. If you don’t know what those are, basically they are trackable items coveted by many geocachers. Think limited edition collectibles. So far we are in the blueprint stages for the geocoin, and for four of the pathtags.

Most of these are simple formatting pieces, taking a company’s logo and fitting into a template. So far only a few have required me 😱 to actually draw something.

The big piece so far has been the Geocoin. Think of this as a challenge coin. This will be given to those geocachers who complete the geotour. Since this is an official geotour (one of around 90 in the entire world) We had to get permission to use the official geocaching mascot and logo in the coin. For me it was the first time I’d used someone else’s trademarked stuff or had to jump through certain hoops to get things approved, beyond just the person who asked.

The design came from the marketing materials they had created using AI and for me, LEGO Creator Expert set 10290. Like most designs I drew this out countless times until I had it in my toolbox and could produce one quickly that I liked. That helped when creating the pathtag with the truck on it since I could now envision it from almost any angle.

Cirque du Comics

With these off my drawing table it was time to move on to my LCS. Since they converted over to a new management system and website, AI slop has been the norm. I said my peace the this first happened and then moved on. Sadly, for me, every week I was welcomed via email by a weird AI version of the character I had designed. last week I was asked to replace the AI image with something human created.

When I was a child I recall watching a 60 Minutes piece on Charles Schulz and knew there and then I wanted to draw like that. I watched as Sparky put pen to paper and before you could say “Linus” had him drawn. At the time I wasn’t aware of the work it took to have that ability. The hours and years of drawing the same characters so that with a mere thought they could appear. Since then I have a few characters where I am close to achieving that magic. The monkey I created for my Local Comic Shop was based off of Cecil and his MINIons so it isn’t that difficult. I figure I probably created the initial drawing in the same time it took for someone to type the prompt needed for them to make it.

I had spent days designing the character with little bits that AI and the “artist”using it never caught. I was just sad that I was never even asked to contribute. I showed up one day and there was a website created by a “designer” who had just used AI, when confronted, the initial characters became these weird bastardized versions of what I had envisioned. I just ignored it, and don’t even consider visiting the shop website. Yes, I’ve had my fun, (OK maybe I am passive aggressive) I wear my “AI is for Hacks and Fascists” shirt from Dad Soup Comics to work every once in a while. When doing some photoshop work on the staff photo I added in a few things including a picture on one of the shelves-

Next Up Curling

Now that I’m waiting for new sponsors for the Geotour so I can work on their pathtags, I’ve been asked to help remove AI from some of my curling clubs materials and posts. I think fighting AI is going to be a never ending fight

“Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic.” - Arthur C. Clarke. I think about the Disney/Pixar Film Onward in which magic was replaced by technology making world “easier” for most people but also not as wondrous, mysterious, fantastic.

Now as people use AI for everything. What are they losing? The bigger question is- Which is more important, the product or the process? For many the product, they don’t want to deal with learning how to draw, or write, or think - Or even to find someone who can draw, write, or think. They just want the finished bit and to say “Look what I did! with little or no effort.” Like most artists I have spent decades learning, and failing. In the minds of many what I can do is magic… Anyone can do it, it just takes time. Time I spent in my bedroom with paper and pencil. Time I spent in class drawing when I should have been listening to a lecture on economics, instead of drawing a cartoon of the teacher. If I had the self confidence, maybe I would have done more with my doodles when I was younger, now I guess I’m a Knight fighting against the monster that is AI. A member of the Holy Order of the Non-Photo Blue Pencil. Great… Now I’ve got some heraldry to draw. or I could just proudly wear the pin I picked up at Gen Con from Harebrained they are currently doing a second run and preorders are being accepted.

I just went to Gen Con and hung around with a bunch of people who make me feel “normal.” I learned when I first started My Geek Odyssey that everyone is a geek about something. The problem arises when you are constantly around people who have no interest in what makes you a geek you end up feeling weird. The internet has, in some ways helped create safe places for people to let their geek flag fly. Of course there are gatekeepers and those who strictly adhere to whatever canon is. Those who don’t understand the difference between fact and opinion. Someone once said “Nobody hates Star Wars as much as a Star Wars fan.” 🙄

I (as usual) digress…

Last week I attended the National Cartoonist Society’s Annual Conference in Columbus, Ohio as a lurker, but maybe, just maybe, I found the lost tribe I’ve been looking for. This isn’t a con for fans… these are the people that draw to make us laugh, escape, and think. These are dangerous people. “With great power there must also be great responsibility” and I learned a lot.

Imposter Syndrome

Yup- that’s me. Among my friends I’m the weird guy who draws silly pictures. I’m the one who gets laughed at but then is asked every once in a while to draw something for them. My friend Mike Altman used to call this “giving away the golden egg.” Those of us who took the time to hone our skills with a pencil are wizards to those who didn’t. “How did you get so good?” Look at my grades throughout school. I could have been top of my class, but instead I drew silly pictures. I draw not for fame or fortune (although either would be nice) I draw to keep myself out of the asylum. I draw because, for a brief moment, people like me through my drawings. When surrounded by other cartoonists I feel like I’m an imposter. Funny thing I learned this weekend was we all dealt with the ridicule, the teachers complaining, the art professors saying we could be good if we’d just get these silly creatures out of our heads (true story). For the record I never complained about my students drawing. I learned about sketchnoting (something I had naturally done for as long as I can remember) and embraced it- trying to get colleagues to understand how drawing creates a connection to the material like nothing else can. Again, I digress.

The sessions were amazing! I’m wanting to read more and learn more and maybe even create more. Which was the whole purpose of attending. Being ‘Sessions Only” kept me from some of the social events, social anxiety kept me from the rest. I was overjoyed to meet and informally chat with some of the nominees for the Reuben award along with some fantastic cartoonists, too many people I admire. Listening to Jim Davis, and Cathy Guisewite talk about their experiences was awesome. I’m now catching up on the Comics Lab podcast. I’m basically trying to do everything and instead doing this, along with petting my cats.

How did this end up? Being a comics geek you only realize how much you don’t know when you are in a room with your tribe. You are no longer the font of all comics knowledge and you realize there is so much more you need to learn. Yesterday before heading off to the comic shop I submitted my application for membership… Now we wait and learn if I really can call myself a cartoonist. Of course I probably should draw something… Like Kyle Baker said in How to Draw Stupid - “To be a cartoonist, you must actually make cartoons.” Unfortunately, the minute I got home, we went to a geocaching event, then I had work, and a bunch of other projects that I was volunteered for so the Obliger in me puts off what I want to do for myself, in order to do what others have asked. So I’m off to draw a red truck for a pathtag! Woo Hoo! At least it’s drawing.

This year I had a bunch of people join me at the Con. My brothers, some friends from the east coast, and the usual suspects from around the Midwest. The thing is so many events are going on and there are so many people that unless you plan for it you may never see anyone. This year I was able to play a game or attend an event with almost everyone. Which can be wonderfully exhausting.

Day 1:

Thursday I started off at GM 101 to learn to be a better Game Master. I learned the mistakes I made in my first campaign and in the presenter’s eyes - the role of the GM in a game. It was a great session that I may take again and/or move up to the more advanced 201.

From there I branched out to a craft session. This one was basic block printing. I remember doing this in middle school or maybe high school. We were given the choice to create our own or use a premade design. In the end we could print out as many as we had time. It was fun, and a nice break from the chaos that can be Gen Con.

After block printing I learned “Bagged & Boarded” a game I had Kickstarted which dealt with comic book collecting. I was about as successful at the game as I have been in real life. 🙄 That said, I enjoyed myself and the whimsical take on comic titles and characters in the game. A great game for the comic book geek.

The next session I attended was on the first superhero: The Scarlet Pimpernel. The presentation covered a lot I was clueless about, having only read the initial book and seen a couple of the film adaptations. I now have things to do when the time comes to expand my knowledge.

Thursday ended at the D&D Tower- which was the Indiana Repertory Theatre (IRT). This was the D&D Keynote covering the “Future of Dungeons & Dragons.” It seems that a lot of IPs are going to have D&D versions - similar to what the Magic Collectible Card Game is doing. Many of the worlds from past versions are coming back, along with partnerships with other companies. Basically in the hope that old players will return and new players will jump into it through a familiar IP. The partnership everyone had heard about was World of Warcraft. The one that was a surprise - Star Wars. I’m looking at how much it’s going to cost to have all the sourcebooks for every new world/era. 😳

Day 2:

This started off taking me way out of my comfort zone with the Orc Stomp 5k. Those who know me, know I’m not athletic and except for maybe curling don’t deal with sports. I survived, was not last and even won a game in the bib number raffle! I was 4th in my age group (out of 5) and “ran” it in under 50 minutes. So maybe I should run more.

Next came a DCC (not Dungeon Crawler Carl - Dungeon Crawl Classics) Funnel. This one was not only run by a good friend, but I had used it as my first adventure as a GM. I just wanted to see it from the other side and determine how badly I had done. It was fun seeing the other adventurers figure things out and discovering that while I wasn’t perfect, I hadn’t done that badly. Though next time I think I’ll try something I haven’t played.

After that it was the D&D Carnival at the Roof. The Roof is the ballroom at the IRT. The Roof usually has a Disney vibe looking like you are surrounded by a small European town. The story was this magical carnival only shows up once every eight years and your magic wrist band gave you two hours to safely visit - I thought back to “Finian’s Rainbow.” While at the carnival you were handed a card which gave your character class and quest, along with side quests. It was basically a series of carnival games to test your aptitude in Strength, Dexterity, Intelligence, Wisdom, Constitution, and Charisma. I ended up a Bard, so my main quest was the Charisma game so I started there and failed. Some quests were easier than others. I only completely failed at Dexterity. That was a ring toss… stupid purple unibunnies.

From there I headed to play Munchkin! I have played once or twice before, but they have updated the rules so it was a “Learn to Play” session. Munchkin can be cutthroat. Our game was amazingly fun with everyone having a good time learning the power of friendship. You see we stopped a number of winning attempts by using a friendship potion to make the monster disappear. Cutthroat - but fun.

Following Munchkin I met up with some friends at the 25th Anniversary of Munchkin party. Like the Carnival earlier we had quests we had to accomplish before gaining a prize. These weren’t as bad as the stupid purple unibunnies. All in all it was a great time and I see Munchkin coming out for game night once the update makes it to my door.

Day 3:

Saturday is usually a zoo. I started off with Kobolds Ate My Baby. A silly Role Playing Game in which you assume the role of a cute fuzzy orange kobold with lots of sharp teeth. You are given a quest from King Torg “All hail King Torg!” Basically the sillier you are the more fun it is. This is not a game for someone who takes their gaming seriously or cares a lot about their character- you will die multiple times in this game.

From there I headed to the Vendor Hall to get Dungeon Crawler Carl stuff. After the great Lorcana debacle, vendors have tried to come up with fair ways to make sure people can buy stuff without ruining the con for everyone. So Renegade gave out tickets between 10:00 & 11:00 which allowed you to line up to get Dungeon Crawler Carl stuff. This ended up being dice, a pin, and a Mordecai on Level 10 miniature. You were limited as to how many you could buy of each. I had a 2:00 ticket and an event at 2:30 so time was a bit crunched.

I headed to secure a table for my geocaching event - the one with 😱 stickers. Met some great people gave away random dice and a few books to those in attendance. That was until it started to rain and then there was that tornado warning thingie. So I sent out an announcement asking everyone to stay safe and we were ending the event early.

“Auntie Em it’s a twister!” While Gen Con does give off the “We’re not in Kansas anymore” vibe things did get a bit tense. As the waterfall erupted from the roof into a few of the exhibit halls and the Cascadia kept telling us to move to the safety of the center of the building I understand that many people in the Vendor Hall just kept shopping. By the time the all clear was sounded it was time for my first game of AerodromeACE. Pacific Theater World War 2 edition. I took the role of a Japanese pilot of a Mitsubishi A6M2 Zero. Flying against a squadron of American Grumman F4F “Wildcats” flown by my brothers and a few other fine folks. We had a great time and being a peaceful spirit did not shoot anyone down… wait, Was supposed to shoot the other planes down?

Day 4:

Pretty easy going today. Only one game in the queue. A return to the AerodromeACE tables and this time a galaxy far, far away. I decided to embrace the evil nature Cecil brings to these things and fly a TIE fighter. My brothers joined in this time. The interesting thing about space (besides no one hearing you scream) is that you can fly backwards! So in hopes of becoming a Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Balloon pilot I embraced going backwards and actually got my first kill earning my space wings! Besides that I died a horrible death with lots of fiery (but silent) explosions. After that Gen Con was over except for a last trip through the Vendor Hall and purchasing the Dragon Luau pizza to take home for dinner.

Hindsight is 20/20

I had a great time and did enjoy Gen Con, but there are a few things I might do differently. I will probably forget this advice when it comes time to register for next year, but here goes nothing!

1. Pay for parking in advance. My older brother did this and while he had a bit of a walk he saved some money and stress by not having to deal with the daily rate charged by many of the Garages.

2. Keep myself busy with games, or things that will keep me out of the chaos that is the vendor hall. While I like buying some stuff, I don’t need to wander the hall, and I really don’t need the stuff, no matter what the dice goblin in my head says. I picked up some very cool pins, but have some buyers remorse on a few things I spent money on and it’s only been a day.

3. Try to take in a show- I need to sit back and watch one of the live play sessions.

4. I enjoyed taking a moment to do some crafting, so always consider that as a viable option.

5. Play more with people I know and like. No bad experiences with anyone, but I think some events are better shared. I did more events with friends and family this time around, and it was nice. Being able to talk to someone about your shared experience vs. just telling someone what you did.

6. Run the 5k but give myself enough time afterward to take a breath, and maybe stretching would be good. I heard stretching and maybe actually preparing for things like this help.

What does that mean? If I can, I’ll return to Gen Con next year. Then again, because of Gen Con, I’m going to run a second campaign (Ravenloft) this year and help organize a Mystic Curling Club bonspiel. There is some interest from members of my family to do Historicon in Pennsylvania so they can play more AerodromeACE.

Your first time at a Con no matter what the size will determine your future expectations. You will learn if these folks are your “tribe” or just a bunch of weirdos. Each Con has a different vibe and like I have said about geocaching events they have their followers. I bring this up after some guy I’d never heard of posted a rant about how horrible Gen Con (the big gaming convention next week in Indianapolis) was for him. This, of course, got all the fans of Gen Con up in arms and defensive. It also, most likely, got this guy a lot of online traffic which will in the end help him and his brand. Hmmm… maybe I should say something really bad about San Diego Comic Con so I can get a lot of traffic… wait did I just say that aloud?

SDCC is what everyone imagines a Comic Con is - They are very disappointed when they attend a local con and it isn’t at all like San Diego. I enjoyed San Diego Comic Con the three times I attended. It is a great Con and a bucket list item for anyone who loves pop culture. If you like comics, it’s a nice place to go and see comic artists, because they usually don’t have crowds around them. If you like crowds it is an amazingly awesome con, if you don’t like crowds… ummm… I learned after a fluke my first time to avoid Hall H and Ballroom 20. I also learned to ignore texts from people asking if I had seen whichever celebrity that was just on the news. “Yes, I am at the con. No I have not seen any stars, I know it seems weird from what you saw on TV. I’ve seen at sessions dealing with comics and artists.” I tend to avoid a lot of social media the weeks prior to SDCC so I don’t have to hear about the “exclusives” that will only be available to attendees. At least LEGO stopped offering exclusives, then again I’m on hiatus from LEGO right now.

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However, I prefer HeroesCon, CXC, and Baltimore Comic Con to SDCC, C2E2, and New York Comic Con. If I could afford it I’d do the Lake Como Comic Arts Festival every year… but I’m still paying for last year’s trip. No Con is for everyone- Indy Pop Con tried that they first started out and now… again, some people love it, other people- not so much.

Next week Gen Con starts -the best four days of gaming. Tens of thousands of gamers descend on Indianapolis, confusing most locals. It takes over the entire downtown and they keep expanding the convention center to accommodate it. Yes, it will be crowded. People with ginormous backpacks will wander the halls turning rapidly and hitting everyone around them. Why do they have this backpacks? it’s a mystery, I think it’s to make sure they have enough personal space. Maybe they just hate people and want to hit as many people as possible “by accident.” Yes, there are evil people in the world who don’t get elected to high offices in the government.

Each year I try new things, and each year I realize that while I like games, I’m not as into them as much as I could be. Because of Gen Con I am running a D&D campaign so I’m going to try to improve my Dungeon Master skills. The thing that makes Gen Con different than most of the Cons I attend has to do with tickets. I mentioned before in a post that the event program comes out and then attendees create a wish list. One certain date everyone gets into the queue and submits that wishlist. You may not get everything you want- I didn’t get into any Neon Odyssey (a Space Opera version of D&D) or Dungeon Crawler Carl games. Oh well. If you are new to Gen Con this can be confusing and frustrating. You learn after your first year, but it can be a steep learning curve. Most people seem to think that you show up and play games… having survived the great Lorcana stampede I know having a system in place is a good thing.

I’m signed up for a bunch of different things and look at it as a chance to just have some fun and learn. Cecil is even hosting a geocaching event on Saturday when I have some open time.

What I’m doing at Gen Con:

• GM 101: Introduction to Gamemastering - Learning what I’ve been doing wrong as a fledgling GM

• Intro to Block Printing - there is a whole section of craft classes so I decided to try out block printing, something I haven’t done since maybe middle school.

• Bagged & Boarded - a game about comic book collecting that I kickstarted. Maybe it will show up on my doorstep before or soon after I learn how to play.

• The First Superhero: A History of the Scarlet Pimpernel - I’m going to be intellectual and learn about The Scarlet Pimpernel! Actually I’ve read the book, seen both film adaptations and find the whole concept fascinating. A rich guy, acting like a buffoon and fighting evil… the concept will never work.

• D&D Vision Keynote 2027 - They’re taking an entire building and turning it into D&D central. I’m going to see how they will attempt to get my money this year as I work on being a better GM.

• Orc Stomp XVI 5k Fun Run - yes, I’m going to attempt to “run.” not really, but I do need to exercise and late July in Indiana is the perfect time.

• Portal under the Stars - A Dungeon Crawl Classics Funnel. Something I try to do every year now. I start off with four level zero characters and try to get one to survive and adventure to become an actual character. A friend of mine is running this one, so I have a chance to catch up.

• The D&D Carnival - Basically an indoor fair for D&D players, I’m not sure what to expect, but figured I’d try it out.

• Learn to Play Munchkin Second Edition - I love Munchkin, even though I never get a chance to play it. The second edition is coming out and I did buy it, so I figure I should try it out. I know one friend of mine will be joining me.

• Munchkin 25th Anniversary Party - Years ago Steve Jackson Games set up a hQ at a local restaurant. they abandoned the idea after a couple years, but I do miss it. They have decided to come back for a night to celebrate the 25th anniversary of Munchkin.

• Little Orange and Dangerous - I saw this game (Kobolds Ate My Baby) and figured I should try it out. I’ll let you know what a learn about the secret life of Kobolds.

• AerodromeACE WW2 Pacific Theater - Like the DCC Funnel I really enjoy playing this Dogfight game. My older brother played it with me last year (it was the only game he played) and we talked about doing it again. I usually stick with the WWI era but this year I’m going to WWII and also Star Wars. In the past I have played (and enjoyed the Battlestar Galactica version.

• AerodromeACE Star Wars - use the Force and see above.

After Gen Con

I’m not going alone, I have two of my three brothers coming out, along with a few other friends who are trying it out for the first time. I’ll be taking a few days after the Con to do some other things before heading to the next big event.

I’ve already talked about the National Cartoonist Society’s Conference which starts the Thursday after Gen Con. I’m attending to see if these are my tribe also. I’m a published cartoonist (Thank you FTF Geocacher & PinPoint for giving me that honor) but just how awkward will I feel surrounded by what I consider actual artists. Oh the joys of being lead to believe that whatever I do isn’t really “art.” I will be on the look out for an “Imposter” ribbon while at Gen Con. While I’m not attending the Reuben Awards I have volunteered to help set things up. Then on Saturday Cecil will be hosting another geocaching event before the “Showcase” begins. I’m looking forward to the sessions which will be awesome, and being able to wander through the Billy Ireland Cartoon Library and Museum now that the renovations are complete.

I get a little time off to catch up and then it’s off to Los Angeles to see my dad and attend (at least part of) LA Con V aka the World Science Fiction Convention. I’m still waiting patiently for them to release the program so I can start planning things out (maybe even have Cecil plan a geocaching event) and see what I might need to RSVP for. Then again I do have passes to visit Disneyland and I’m walking distance from the Park. I’ve read all the novels up for the Hugo and some of the graphic novels. I’ve been too busy trying to keep up with my library loans of the Dungeon Crawler Carl books (only two more to go and nine weeks until a copy is available) to get anything else done, but I still have time. This is one of those bucket list items ever since Mr. Calkins and Science Fiction class at PVHS. While I won’t be there for the entire event, I hope to get the enough of the flavor to decide if I should try to make this an annual or semi-annual thing.

Our usual roadtrip planning involves making sure we have someplace to sleep, but besides that, it’s mostly just seeing what’s around. Atlas Obscura, along with geocaching helps. we also look on Yelp to see what local places there are to eat. Sometimes we return to a place we like, but mostly we are just exploring.

We started off day one making it to Asheville, North Carolina one of our favorite stopping places. We’ve been stopping here since Sue’s parents retired to Charleston. Asheville is a bit on the weird side, which is why we like it. Although it has become more touristy and therefore expensive. After dinner at White Labs Brewing we rested for the night. we got up had a hotel breakfast and then roamed downtown stopping in at a few favorite places, Mast General Store, Tops for Shoes, and Malaprop’s Bookstore. We also did some window shopping for interesting items as we walked around before heading to up to Raleigh and a troll hunt.

We decided to take two days in Raleigh to see the Thomas Dambo Trolls there. It’s always fun to see new trolls. Each one is unique, and we always seem to run into happy friendly people while in their presence, this time was no different. It’s also kind of nice to stay in one location more than a day, you can unpack a bit and settle in, even if it’s only two nights.

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We explored Raleigh and the trolls, it was hot so that slowed us down a bit. Unfortunately the Grandmother Tree, the secret Dambo addition to the Raleigh area trolls, had been vandalized (this is why we can’t have nice things). While it was still there I would have liked to have seen it in all its glory. We were trying to figure out if it was just kids being destructive, or maybe local homeowners who realized that most AI navigation apps had people walking through their yards to see it. We know many people, sadly, don’t use common sense and will march right through someone’s azaleas without a second thought. We found the actual parking for the nature preserve and walked the trails… yes, it was hot.

After troll hunting we headed to Charleston to see Sue’s parents. We stopped at the infamous “South of the Border” because there were a couple caches there and we figured, it was just the kind of place Whimventuring is all about. Cecil got a hat.

As for seeing Sue’s parents, it was a nice visit and something we look forward to. Sue’s family is not one for long drawn out visits, we used to see them when they would stop for a night on their way to or from Chicago. While you may like to week long family reunion kind of event- the short stops are always low stress and a nice time.

We then headed south to Savannah for CacheFest. We haven’t been to Savannah in years (decades?). We had heard about this event when meeting another cacher after heading home from Huntsville, Alabama and thought we’d check it out. We’ve been to a bunch of events since we started geocaching in 2006 each has their own following and vibe. Geocaching events are ways to bring like minded people together - no we don’t talk politics m- that would ruin the camaraderie.

As I said each event has its own vibe. We’ve been to some that have evolved into something you almost need a manual to follow, and others that are simply show up. Events like Midwest GeoBash and GeoWoodstock seem to be all about the numbers. Yes, there are social events, but a lot the planning an effort seems to go into putting out a large number of caches and Adventure Labs so people can increase the number of finds they have. You can tell when an event has a large piece of GeoArt, or Adventure Lab Art or when new caches are announced throughout the event. People aren’t necessarily there to chat, they are there to cache. the actual event is a “sign the log, be in the picture, and then head off to find a cache.” These might be in locations that are out of the way, so most people have never been there.

Other events have multiple things going on, and if you aren’t aware, you will be lost. Going Caching and MOGA come to mind. Going Caching had a play, and teams, and a puzzle incorporated. If you were a new cacher and just showed up, you’d probably be wondering why everyone is in cosplay and are looking for clues instead of caching. We showed up to MOGA and found the event location empty… We didn’t understand that it was a competition with teams going out to find caches and that the actual event location wasn’t really that important.

As I may have mentioned, we don’t always read the instructions before heading out, so we probably have missed a few things and may not have understood the purpose of each event (not all events are the same). I think of this year’s GeoWoodstock that we forgot to register until after the deadline had passed, same thing happened with CacheFest. Sue was a bit more on it than I was. The lure for CacheFest for me was it seemed to be more focused on the education aspect of an event. While many events do have panels and sessions, Cachefest seemed to really be about becoming a better cacher. The first session dealt with puzzle caching. If you registered you received a packet with ten puzzles. The puzzles were actually part of an Adventure Lab. You had to solve each puzzle to get a stage of the Adventure Lab. They also had prizes for meeting certain challenges… you had to use challenge checker to determine how many points you earned, that determined what prize you would receive. The other session was dealing with creating a gadget cache. You were given the materials, instructions and then had someone walking around to answer questions. When you were finished you ended up with an ammo box that you could put a combination lock on and have LEDs tell the cacher what the combination was. You were given everything except the lock. Yes, we had to pay for the supplies, but I now have a cache almost ready to be put out - I’m considering calling it “Chain of Command” because there are four lights (IYKYK).

I would definitely attend Cachefest again and now I know a bit more - like if you register you are given a key card that will get you prizes at the associated events. They also hid actual keys around and gave clues online as to where to find them. this was for another prize. Finally if you stayed at the post hotel there was another chance to win a prize. What I liked was a lot of people participated in the main event. it wasn't a sign the log and run. Maybe it was the heat, but since it took place in downtown Savannah, Georgia there aren’t that many places to dump a boatload of caches. The event also finished in the early afternoon. This gave people the opportunity to go caching without ignoring the event. Cachefest 2027 will be closer (St. Louis, Missouri) the actual dates are still being worked out, but it will be in July (so hot). We are already filling out 2027 calendar, so hopefully we’ll be able to go and this time actually register!

Sue and I hope to return to Savannah again when it’s a bit cooler. I was overjoyed to be able to stop in the bookstore for the Savannah College of Art and Design (SCAD). I was able to pick up a few supplies and a book. I discovered why SCAD had not been on the RADAR when looking at colleges… It had only been around 6 years and hadn’t built the reputation it currently has. I looked a a couple of art schools, but had really set my sights on education as a career. Smudge ended the trip with 12670 miles.

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In school I had an art teacher whose catch phrase was “Great! I love it!” No matter how bad your work was. This teacher had learned at some point that honest constructive feedback upset students (and therefore parents) and turned kids off to art, so she did the opposite. Everything was amazing… even when the student knew it wasn’t. Throughout my schooling I was looking for feedback on how I could improve, and all I usually got was “Wow! That’s really good.”

I had to keep this in mind at Webcomics Bootcamp. My Geek Odyssey was early on in the panel and I was nervous. I had raised my hand when they asked whose work this was, I then sat and listened. The first few comments dealt with my website and how it wasn’t set up to be profitable. The layout wasn’t conducive for advertising. (This was a pre-patreon and paid subscription world) I wasn’t worried about this since that wasn’t why I was drawing the comic. I had a job and I was doing this to keep myself sane, so those comments were easy to take in and file away for later.

Next came the comment that, at the time hurt, and in front of a crowd was a bit embarrassing. “Lettering is an Art” and it was something I either needed to work on or I should just download a decent font and move on. I was flabbergasted. I taught handwriting! Of course I look back at those strips and agree that the lettering was awful. While this was just the kind of advice I wanted, it hurt when I first heard it. There were other comments, many positive, but also constructive on panel layout and dealing with how characters were interacting in each panel. I learned a lot, but it also was a bit painful. Being early on in the critiques usually means your work is the example for a multitude of sins and while other pieces may have similar issues the critic doesn’t want to keep repeating themselves. I understand that, but it also makes those initial people feel like their work is the worst of the bunch since so much was said about it. I shutdown at first, especially since I had to sit through the rest of the panel seeing other webcomics and not hearing much else except replaying how “bad” my strip was.

Once I calmed down and thought about how this was exactly the advice I had wanted. I then came up with a plan of action. The first thing I did was find a few fonts to try out and figure out which one I felt worked best. Comicraft became a good friend and their New Year’s Sale made it so I didn’t break the bank.

In August I push myself and get to dive into imposter syndrome pretending I am a “professional” cartoonist in a room full of professional cartoonists. Yes, I draw a comic strip, published in two countries. Yes, I’ve been at this off and on for 17 years. What do I hope to get out of it all? I’d say “networking” but I’m probably going to play wallflower, run away from people I admire, or fold up into a fetal position in the corner of the room. Like with many conventions I attend I guess I’m going to see if this is my tribe. I am not a NCS member (If you can’t tell, I’m not that confident in my work). I’m actually attending on a “Sessions Only” badge so that means I’m avoiding most of the social activities like the Reuben Awards Banquet and meals (introvert superpower activated). I hope to learn something and push myself out of my comfort zone. Maybe gain some confidence and hopefully get inspired to actually draw more and maybe feel worthy enough to actually apply to become a NCS member. Then again, maybe I’ll just get home and pet my cats after a good cry.

The other day I woke up after a line of thunderstorms had been predicted to devastate our area (they went south so no damage here) with a sinus headache (barometric pressure changes, ugh.) and drove to the comic shop to work. Along the way I was deep in thought about a friend who had talked to me about his idea for a Lilly Teacher Creativity Fellowship. For those who might not know, as a teacher I was fortunate enough to have received two of these during my career. I like to call them the best and maybe only good thing about teaching in the state of Indiana. You see the Lilly Endowment learned a while ago that teachers need to be rewarded, treated like important parts of the community and set up a way to do that. Teachers are given a chance for renewal, to spend the off season not working on curriculum or going to meetings but an opportunity to do something they’ve always dreamed of. With how Indiana funds public schools and compensates teachers, the Fellowship gives teachers a chance to do something they may never have a chance to do. I tried three times before being able to get my idea, and my passion for it on paper. It is not a “Gee I want to go to Disneyworld and have someone else pay for it” kind of thing. You need to demonstrate that it will be something that will impact you personally, professionally and even spiritually. When asked I always say to people - think about something you’ve always loved, an opportunity missed, a regret you can fix. That kind of thing. My first fellowship was spent ironically at Disneyworld. You see I’ve always loved animation and I figured out a way to spend time at Disneyworld through the 3rd Annual Disney Institute Animation Event and learn about traditional animation. They closed the Disney Institute soon afterwards (actually they started closing things down during our event). This was before computer animation and AI were a thing. so everything was hand drawn. As part of the $7500 I received I set up a basic animation studio at home and after everything was done had created a stop motion clay animated short. I then brought it all to my classroom and used it with kids. The video from the event below was found online and isn’t the best quality… My group’s segment is at the very end.

I waited nine years before submitting again. My second attempt, since the folks at Disney hadn’t offer me a job, was to try making a comic strip. Webcomics were just becoming a thing. The comic idea combined with a trip to England and immersing myself in the history of the Mini Cooper. Which brings us to My Geek Odyssey and Math.

So tired, hungry, and my head hurting while on my way to the comic shop for work I started to figure out how long ago this all happened. I was shocked to realize that 25 years ago I had started on this journey! I was thinking through what I should be doing to celebrate. My mind was going at light speed with the possibilities. As I drove home after a day of dreaming (and sorting comics, and dealing with comic shop goblins) I checked my math and… yup, I was wrong. 26 years since my first fellowship and My Geek Odyssey was “only” 17 years old. Yes, my comic strip could drive, but it can’t vote or buy a round at the bar for everyone.

Still, 17 years, off and on, is still an accomplishment of sorts. I still do the comic strip but mostly just for FTF Geocacher and PinPoint. My website has turned more into a blog just because even retired I don’t have as much time to invest as I would like. So as I’ve said in previous posts, I want to get back at it. So instead of drawing, I’m writing about how I want to draw more. 🙄 I guess this does give me a few years to plan for an appropriate 25th anniversary and maybe even have things back on track to have something to actually celebrate. I have lots of ideas, but things seem to get in the way.

With the shift from a WordPress site to SubStack I do need to start posting the stuff I have done (secretly) giving me time to catch up and produce new strips. So today I start a series of “classic” meaning cringe worthy old strips from when I started. I’m going to skip over the time I spent in the UK for my fellowship. Like Hergé I want to redo many of them since I was still working out silly things like character design, timing, and just what the heck I was doing. The earliest you’ll see is that first strip.

As a retired educator I had years of experience on some of the needed skills- specially, blowing a whistle and walking backwards. There is more to it than just that and I definitely have some work to do before I can earn my Aeronaut wings. Things I need to work on:

• Giving directions clearly and allowing wait time for those instructions to be heard and processed before moving on.

• Being far enough ahead of the balloon to make sure it is following the correct path.

• Giving positive feedback to everyone involved throughout the experience, I’m there to cheer everyone on not yell out orders… Which I wasn’t yelling, but I know I need to be say “good job!” more especially when things get tough.

After my rotation and debriefing I spent some time on another balloon as a handler and was able to see how windy it was. Ugh. The next day my arms were sore from trying to keep the balloon under control. My fault, with a number of people trying to give helpful advice, but giving contradictory directions it was a bit of a challenge.

Next (if I’m asked to) I head back for classroom training and more practice. So “Smudge” the new MINI will be getting more miles (over so far 9,000 in almost three months) as we drive back and forth from Indiana to New Jersey. I’m looking forward to the challenge and will be spending a bunch of time walking backwards. I’m even thinking about doing the Orc Stomp 5k at Gen Con backwards.

Sorry I don’t have any photos of the event (we were asked not to and I’m Lawful Good) but here are a few that should be OK for publication.

My first year I decided to try it out since it was close, I have fond memories of building model airplanes with my Dad growing up, and there was a presentation on the building of the Rocketeer’s jet pack. I was amazed at the wonderful things on display, but leery about diving into another hobby. Especially when I figured out how much model kits and the tools to build and paint them well cost.

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I did decide to at least give it a try with a model building challenge they had. The challenge was to kitbash (modify using parts from other kits) the DeLorean from Back to the Future. A specific kit had been chosen and I had an idea and part way through realized I was way over my head. I could envision it, but actually putting it together well… not possible. I ended up just giving up and trashing it.

I did introduce a friend, who is an excellent model maker, to the convention and drove down for a day last year to chat and ogle the stuff people had built. As I talked with other friends who like painting miniatures I bring up WonderFest as something they might consider attending. This year I drove down with another friend who paints miniatures and thought it might be a good fit for him. It’s the 60th anniversary of Star Trek so I was curious to see how model makers might celebrate it.

The convention is held at the Crowne Plaza in Louisville and is in that awkward stage where it’s grown too big for that facility, but isn’t big enough for a larger venue. That and it seems to have been there enough years that people are comfortable with the layout.

The convention has two exhibit halls, one for model vendors and one for guests and overflow. They also use a ballroom for the displays brought in by participants for judging and awards. Other spaces are used for presentations, classes, and other displays. This year they created a reproduction of the original model making workshop used for Star Wars in the 1970’s. Another area housed someone’s collection of Star Trek memorabilia. The hall with guests also contained a collection of items from Lost in Space.

My third year attending I was still amazed at some of the items people had created, but also swear there was a lot more in previous years. (Maybe the economy & gas prices impacted attendance? Maybe it was showing up on Sunday.) Also while this tends to focus on building and painting, the amount of 3D printed things made it less of an “oh wow! How did they do that?” To more of a “great painting”, but just more and more 3D AI stuff. Having done work in CAD I know how difficult it can be, but also how many files are just out there in the web, so I’m not as impressed with some of the builds.

I was asked by my friend how this compared to LEGO shows with repeated displays. I don’t recall seeing too many modelers bringing the same thing each year which is pretty common at LEGO shows. Each model even when it’s the same kit, is unique. While many LEGO builders just bring the same set up each year with only slight modifications. I used to take hundreds of photos at LEGO shows, I think I only took a handful the last show I attended. I did drop the number of photos at WonderFest this year, but I think that was more about quantity of things I was interested in.

Over all for the ticket price, I think I need to either dive into model making or say it’s a nice convention, but not my thing. I like looking at the models, but I’d rather draw than build and paint someone else’s creation. Compared to most conventions I attend or choose not to attend WonderFest isn’t that expensive ($75 for two days $40 for one), but if I’m not interested in building or painting models…

Again, if you are a model builder, I highly recommend attending WonderFest at least once, for me, who knows what the future holds?

Woodstock moves from place to place each year put on by local volunteers. Each year is different and in many cases tries to improve upon the previous year’s effort. The location is usually not in a major metropolis, the highlights are local but also for many it’s a chance to cache in a completely new locale.

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As I have said before geocaching used to be a numbers game. You pretty much could tell the caliber of the cacher you were talking to by the number of finds they had. This was back in days when you needed a GPS unit and getting 100 finds in a day was a massive awe inspiring accomplishment. Now? Not so much, and it shows. Adventure Labs offer hundred of finds by just sitting in your car guessing at multiple choice questions. No longer do people cache to discover unique places, they just want to be higher on the mythical leaderboard. There is a leaderboard… I just haven’t paid attention to it in years. Cecil is somewhere around 8,781st in the U.S. of course the validity may be off since it says he’s from West Virginia, not Indiana (ranking as of May 22, 2026).

Like many things when they first appeared they were unique, now they’re perverted into something else. GeoArt (arranging caches into letters or a design on the map) was an endeavor to produce and took time and effort… now it’s a race. Adventure Labs for a short time were fun ways to learn about a town and walk around seeing the sites. Now it’s a multiple guess test that just determines how fast you can tap your phone. 🙄 ugh - Without guardrails or gatekeepers these have become the AI slop of geocaching- which for many (like AI Slop), it seems is OK because they are not that challenging except for having to go and sign the log.

GeoWoodstock

Monkey Brad (not his real name) could go into the history of the event better than I ever could. This was the 22nd GeoWoodstock the event is put together by local geocachers who submit an application to the committee of past hosts. They decide where it will be each year and announce it at the closing ceremony. Very early on in geocaching Joe GPS (not his real name) decided to hold a gathering so people could put faces with their made up names. When I first started caching you only knew someone by their caching name. The idea was if we got to know each other in real life it might make things better all around. Bring a chair, we’ll sit around and talk about this thing we like to do. Yes, there were internet trolls even back then. Over the years each host tried new things, sometimes they stuck… or became an expectation.

Now you can pretty much expect:

• Giant letters spelling out “GEOWOODSTOCK” used as the event log

• Multiple paid levels of registration which includes special trackables only at certain levels and lunch

• Multiple pre-events to pick up your registration

• GeoArt and Adventure Lab art

• Caches and Adventure Labs posted the day of the event

• An “Ask the Reviewers Panel” in which cachers can ask the folks who approve caches questions and learn a bit of the sausage making process which does differ from state to state

• New this year - a drone show which people are already looking forward to next year’s show and how awesome it is going to be 🙄 I pity the folks running GeoWoodstock XXIII

Usually at events this size there will be vendors selling all sorts of geocaching items. Trackable coins, tags, and pins are common. The advent of 3D printing lots and lots of 3D printed stuff. One trend has also been organizations with geo-tours or trails are there trying to get you to visit. Remember how I said the next location is a secret? If you are clever you might notice that an area’s visitor’s bureau is in attendance. This is becoming a pretty easy clue as to where the next event will be. You ask yourself why would the tourism folks from Kansas show up in West Virginia? This year it was Louisiana and… Yes, GeoWoodstock 2027 will be in Baton Rouge.

It’s Not About the Numbers (for me)

While many people were trying to boost their find count, I decided to just go with the flow. Sue is into coloring the map. With 49 of the 50 states colored in its time to get more detailed- yes, find a cache in every county. This can be tedious, fortunately, for me, this trip was quality over quantity. While we did get a few caches that were just there we also saw some really cool places and some cool caches. GeoWoodstock provides us with events to attend and pop up caches and Adventure Labs. We try to avoid those as they are crowd caching. Basically opportunities to wait in a queue to sign a log.

My numbers if you care-

• 52 caches 6 different cache types including the elusive Webcam cache

• 6 events 3 different event types (Event, Mega Event and GPS Adventure Maze)

• 45 Adventure Labs stages - including 20 multiple guess GeoArt stages because I was bored waiting to get into the Salt Mine. The GPS Adventure Maze Adventure Lab because getting a unique icon isn’t enough I really needed 10 finds on top of that. 🙄

103 total smileys, if I did the Math right.

The Future of Geocaching

Someone asked in this year’s Reviewers Panel about geocaching’s future. Sue and I discussed this also looking around at the crowd at the event. I even decided to buy a shirt that says “It’s weird being the same age as old people” sadly that’s reality. We started geocaching around the same time we bought our first MINI, so over 20 years ago. Generational differences cause things to go out of favor unless they can evolve. The expectation of my forgotten generation isn’t the same as younger people. As more and more people leave the sport/hobby who is there to replace them? Unfortunately, many die hard cachers who have children have made that generation hate caching because after the initial excitement it became something that their parents were more committed to than them. So many kids have moved on. What can the geocaching community do to bring them back and add more? A lot of groups are confronting this dilemma, I wish there was an easy answer. Geocaching is trying to gamify things souvenirs, and treasures virtual achievements. Adventure Labs were created to avoid actually having to touch or dig through things, but should they just be multiple choice questions in a rest area? Are they dumbing down the hobby? What do future cachers want? What are the needs of OG cachers? Can they work together? GeoWoodstock demonstrated to me that the hobby is at a crossroads, like many things. To survive it needs to evolve.

As For the Rest of the Trip…

Smudge is closing in on 8,000 miles. Gas in Illinois is expensive- It’s expensive everywhere (remember though we are “winning”) but outlandish in Illinois. We found some great places, met some nice people. Took some detours that were and weren’t planned.

Yes, I’m still reading Dungeon Crawler Carl…

Gen Con is “the largest and longest-running annual celebration of tabletop gaming culture.” Originally held in Geneva, Wisconsin, considered the birthplace of Dungeons and Dragons. Since those humble beginnings it has moved and grown. Now Gen Con takes up most of downtown Indianapolis for the first weekend in August. At the beginning of May, Gen Con released their event catalog for people to start creating wish lists of what they wanted to do. This is a “dare to dream” moment for attendees. It is also the time that people who have not gotten badges need to consider what level of con attendee are they going to be.

Leveling Up as a Con Attendee:

Level Zero: You know about the Convention and think about attending but decide not to because of whatever excuse you can come up with.

Level One: You get a badge and spend the entire time in the Exhibit Hall/Dealer Room looking at the “stuff” that people have on sale. You basically treat the Convention as a flea market with a pretty high admission fee.

Level Two: You actually interact with people and attend things. This would include talking with “special guests” or paying for photo ops and autographs. I almost consider that a level 1.5 activity. Level two would be more of the attending a panel.

Level Three: You spend more time in panels and activities than in the Exhibit Hall.

Level Four: You volunteer to help out in some area of the Convention.

For Gen Con Indy a lot of the attendees are Level One or Level Two. Level Two would include playing demo games but still not understanding how to sign up for actual events being held.

For Gen Con you can’t just walk into a game (for the most part) you have to sign up to play and for most games pay a fee. The cost is determined by the game, some are free, others are pretty pricey. The event catalog gives you all the information about the game and what you should expect. A lot of the games are designed for beginners, but some are for those folks who are experts.

What kind of games are we talking about? If it is a game, you will most likely find it at Gen Con. Board games, card games, war games, role playing games… are all available. Game companies release new games or beta test games. Now many Kickstarter projects are introduced here. Last year I helped out (Level Four) demoing Mystic Curling Club. Neat game that Kickstarted in the Fall and should be arriving at my doorstep sometime around Gen Con (a year later).

Entering the Second Level

Today at noon eastern time, event registration went live. People have spent the last two weeks looking at the catalog and putting together their wish list of what they wanted to do. Today they submitted that list and joined the queue to see what they might get to play. My wish list was mighty and included games I wanted to play with people I knew were attending. I had added them to my Friends list and then we talked about some games and added each other to our wishlists so we could buy tickets for each other. This can backfire, but fortunately it didn’t. Of the 13 (Yes, I pushed my luck) events I ended up getting 10 of them. Mostly due to the fact my brother got higher in the queue than I did and was able to get tickets to those events we both wanted to do. The ones I missed out on were Saturday events, which makes sense since most people attend Gen Con on Saturday and therefore everything fills up fast. Combine that with choosing a Dungeon Crawler Carl RPG (Role Playing Game) adventure and a currently kickstarting Space Opera version of the latest incarnation of Dungeons and Dragons. I had also signed up for signing with Matt Dinniman, the creator of Dungeon Crawler Carl. I figured those were all going to be impossible unless the Fates smiled on me and I received a low number in the queue. I didn’t receive a low number, but I also didn’t receive a high number. I was 7,235th in line. The luckiest of my group was 123rd, the unluckiest was 14,821st and then somehow refreshed his screen to get put back in line when he was 2,000th 😱 so he went from 2,000 something to 7,000 something… ugh. Fortunately for all of us, we didn’t miss out on everything, but also we aren’t doing everything we wanted (except for Larry). I’ll keep checking back and seeing if things open up for the times I now have open, but It also gives me a bit more down time which can be nice.

So What Am I Actually Doing?

I am not attending the Puppetry Program or the Writer’s Symposium even though I’m sure those reading this wish I would do something to improve my puppetry skills… I mean my writing skills. These are great programs for those with an interest, I’m just focused mostly on games. I have attended puppetry sessions, and even did a session on saber dueling. There is a lot going at Gen Con beyond just slaying orcs.

Thursday is a bit of a school day for me. I’m starting it off with a presentation about being a Gamesmaster.

Since I’m now leading a group through an adventure, I want to improve my ability and the experience of my players. This hopefully will help me understand what I need to improve upon and maybe what I’m doing well (although from the facial expressions from the only other GM in my group I’m thinking “not much.”)

Then I’m jumping over to my creative side and doing a workshop on Block Printing. Yes, I know it has little to do with games, but it Gen Con has some amazing sessions on crafts and other things related to games. Cecil has a chainmail vest I made him years ago from a Gen Con session. This time, I’m going to see what I can do with block printing, something I haven’t played with since High School.

Time to play a game. I’m going to try out “Bagged & Boarded” a game that was introduced last year, and Kickstarted. I haven’t gotten my copy yet, but figured if a game about collecting comics wasn’t close to my real life, I don’t know what is.

I’ll end the day with another presentation this time about “The First Superhero” one of my favorite characters from literature the Scarlet Pimpernel. I’ve seen the film adaptations and read the book. I’m curious to learn more. May not be your cup of tea, but I’m looking forward to it.

Friday currently starts with something completely out of character for me… a 5k. The annual Orc Stomp Fun Run. I may be knocking on the door to my brother’s hotel room to use his shower afterwards, but I figure, I need to work on getting in shape so why not? Currently with the way my 60 year old back is feeling, I may not actually participate, but, then again, I should feel better by then.

I’ve always talked about how much I enjoy the Dungeon Crawl Classics funnel. I even used one as a way to start character creation in my campaign. For three and half hours I will be taking four zero level characters through an adventure lead by a dear friend from college.

I’m ending Friday by playing Munchkin. I love Munchkin even though I rarely play it. I want to play it more, but can’t find the people or the time. They just updated the rules to Munchkin 2.0 and I have purchased a set so… I hopefully will have a chance to have some fun and backstab a few people (even one or two I know) on my way to fame and fortune.

Saturday was originally full of things, but due to my queue position I took some hard hits… Oh well. At noon I will be playing Kobolds Ate My Baby! A game system I figured sounded as irreverent as most of the characters I play. I’ve never played it, so I figured I should try something new that sounded like fun. I’ll be joined by my little brother in this one so it should be interesting.

I close out Saturday with a game I always try to play at Gen Con- Aerodrome Ace this time around it will be WWII Pacific Theater. My preference would be WWI, but that’s OK, I’ll be playing with friends and family. If you don’t know about this game it is a dogfight game with squadrons going against each other. I’ll be playing it twice, once Saturday and again on Sunday where we will be playing the Star Wars version, I am curious how it differs from the Battlestar Galactica version. Each player has a wooden cockpit which they use to plot out their moves. everything happens at once. It’s a lot of fun and one of the first games to pique my interest the first time I attended Gen Con. I have tried to fit in one game and usually it ends up being the last thing I play on Sunday.

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Thursday is my really heavy day with lots of stuff going on, the rest of the Convention seems to be holding to my one or two scheduled things rule. I’m hoping to demo some of the games I didn’t get into, or at least see them up close and decide if they are worth investing time (and money) into. It will be nice to have some time to wander and hit up the food trucks. I may even see about setting up a Geocaching event sometime during the Con for those visiting from out of town and would like a smiley, only time and my motivation will tell.

So, if you went through the queue, how’d you fair? Are you happy with your results or upset because you didn’t get into the one game you wanted on Saturday that was only offered once and only had 4 spots since you were 15,349th in line. Rub some dirt on your wound and move on (Yes, I’m Gen X). There is so much to see and do at Gen Con even without a badge. Yes, you need a badge to get into the exhibit hall or game rooms, but there is so much to see just at the Convention Center, I highly recommend dropping by and checking it out (move up to Level 1/2 instead of Zero).

There were two teams heading to Vegas and I was part of the group. Fortunately curling doesn’t require a lot of equipment the most unwieldy piece would be the broom.  I decided to invest in a “travel broom” which breaks into four parts and can fit in a carry on.  Not cheap, but since I’m ending my second full season and am looking forward to continuing, it wasn’t a bad investment.  I saw a more experienced curler wield one at the end of the year event. She complained a bit about the weight, I could barely feel a difference between my own broom. Of course, add in my new shoes and this was the first time I’d use any of this stuff on the ice and my first time on the ice at another club!

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Curl Vegas is the host and the theme was fairy tales.  I was tagged as the creative one (Crazy Bruce) so I started bouncing around fairy tale based team names. I started with most esoteric things based on the Brothers Grimm and Charles Perrault, but after blank stares as a reward for my cleverness I tried out “Bibbidi Bobbidi Boo” which was altered to “Bibbidi Bobbidi Broom” to add some curling to it.  I then drew up a Fantasia Sorcerer’s Apprentice style broom carrying stones instead of buckets.  Those days studying at Disney during my first Lilly Fellowship paid off, I had contributed to the team in the only way I really know how - graphic design.

We got our draw schedule (guaranteed 3 draws/matches) for both our teams we would start at 1:00 on Friday.  If Bibbidi won we’d turn around and have another match at 3:30.  Back to back… having never done this I was happily oblivious. If we lost we’d head back for a 7:30 draw.  Definitely Not a Mimic the other Circle City team, win or lose, would go again at 7:30. After that I’d have to consult a crystal ball or magic mirror on the wall to know what would happen next.

As John Cullen said in Curling Rocks! most of the best curling memories happen off the ice. Where else could we end up with tales to amuse and delight than in Las Vegas?

I will not go into details about our first night- we were all tired trying to acclimate to the time zone.  A bit of drama with the Airbnb, dinner, and a near death experience on the way back from dinner. You know “fun”memories off the ice.

Our first day of curling went well… *spoilers* we lost both draws. That said we met some awesome curlers from around the U.S. and, while we were not victorious, both games were close at some point, so we didn’t necessarily embarrass ourselves too much. I started to think I should change my role from “Assistant Animator” to “The Huntsman” since my role seemed to be taking out a stone in some (for me at least) challenging locations.

Not Your Home Ice

Besides new people, a different facility does make things a bit more interesting.  Shots that would do one thing at home acted completely differently here.  The Curl Vegas venue was great, four sheets with lots of sponsors prominently displayed on the ice.  A few interesting things to note.  We have the “T-line” drawn through each of the houses on each sheet. Curl Vegas, didn’t which made things a bit more difficult for some. Another thing was, at home, we have monitors showing a bird’s eye view of the house from the hack.  I’ve gotten used to seeing how the stones are around the house before throwing a stone.  I didn’t realize how much of a crutch this has been for me until I didn’t have it today. Finally the ice itself was different.  We found out later the dehumidifier had gone out.  You would think with all the talk of “dry heat” humidity wouldn’t be an issue.  You would be wrong.  Our presence on the ice created frost which would cause the stone to slow down or almost stop at inopportune moments.  It was a problem for everyone so just a bit we had to work around when calling shots and sweeping.

The Bonspiel also had decided on some  interesting rule changes.

• The “Frog Line” - if you burn a stone or it doesn’t make it past the hog line you need to pay the frog.  $1 goes into a frog cookie jar along with a ticket with your name on it. At the end of the days festivities a name would be drawn from the frog and they would win the entire pot! The issue with the dehumidifier caused a lot of people to “Frog” shots. The first day’s pot was $60.

• The Double Take Out Dragon - if a team gets a double take out (removes two opposing stones with one stone) they gain possession of the dragon. Whichever team is in possession of the dragon at the end of the round gets a round of drinks on the house!

• The Ogre Round - Ogres have layers, like an onion. During this round some rules are different. First if you win the double take out dragon - it goes to the other team.  Finally in an epic reversal- the losing team buys the drinks! Also, the “no tick” rule is in play.

They also asked us to used glass markers to decorate the windows where people watched the sheets from the warm room.  Ummm… I like to draw, some say I’m not too bad at it.  I had some fun which lead to my friends informing me the awe others had for the silly doodles I had done.  This magical ability of mine included writing team names backwards so they could be seen from the sheet side of the window. 🙄 yup, it’s a silly skill I happen to have. I was told at the end of the first day that it awed and amazed many teams. Sadly, I may have intimated people. I even heard hushed whispers about how “some guy was an animator.” 🙄

The Results

• Draw 1 lost to Four Foot Farquaads

• Draw 2 lost to A Draw is a Wish Your Heart Makes

• Draw 3 lost to Ogre the Hog Line

So that’s three losses for my team.  Some close ends, some great shots (some of them even mine) but such is curling.

As for the other Circle City Curling Club team - Definitely Not a Mimic

• Draw 1 win over Ogre the Hog Line

• Draw 2 lost to Game of Stones

• Draw 3 lost to Four Foot Farquaads

This meant that both teams did not advance to play on Sunday. Which since we were all pretty tired was kind of a silver lining.  Not that we didn’t want to win, but…

Take Aways

I learned a lot this first Bonspiel away from home.  Most importantly John Cullen was right about playing with people you like. It was fun.  Frustrating at times, but fun.

I thought I had figured this out after my very first attempt at a bonspiel, obviously I didn’t- don’t try new things out in a competitive environment.  Go with what you are comfortable with.  For this event I had new shoes and a new broom.  While in the end (pun not intended) I did like using both, there were some subtle differences in how each tool worked.  With the shoes - the slider (Teflon) is positioned just a bit differently so it felt funny when I started my delivery.  As for my new travel broom? I really liked it.  It served the purpose by collapsing into an easy to manage size for travel.  The issue I had was the head was a lot looser so being Vice giving my skip a good target (the broom head) was a bit of a challenge. Just something I need to figure out and during a bonspiel wasn’t the time or place. I did not try to use my new broom as a stabilizer.

Not only play with people you like, but also play with people you know.  I actually complained on our club survey about this. I said that if the purpose of a league is to get to meet new people then teams for each session should be randomly assigned, including breaking up family members. A group of four people should not be allowed to play an entire season (for us that’s three sessions) together, it takes away from a valuable social aspect and has the possibility to create cliques or making people feel left out (you know like in elementary school dodgeball and being the last one picked). However, after this weekend I also see a benefit to playing with the same people. Our first loss came to a team that most of the people had curled together for three years.  You learn everyone’s strengths and weaknesses.  So for a bonspiel or more competitive situation - having an established team is a benefit. For a learning situation or 5U (under five years experience) league, (IMHO) not so much.

I was also reminded of something learned this when attending conferences throughout my teaching career- learning how other groups operate really can help improve things back home.  This may be why our district administrators stopped sending teachers to conferences.  As a new-ish curler hearing about how other clubs do things gives me ideas on how to improve the stuff we do locally.  Seeing other facilities also makes me realize how good I’ve got it in some ways.  They didn’t have monitors over the house so I had no idea the exact location my skip wanted the stone or where the other stones were in relationship! I later learned we are one of a few clubs that have that. Yes, I’m spoiled. It was good to travel with people who have some idea and influence on the direction the club is heading.  No organization is perfect, but we can learn so much if we are willing to try new things.  Sometimes the only thing holding a group back is the old guard who have the “we’ve always done it this way” mindset.

Personally, I do want to figure out how to use my new broom as a stabilizer so I can be like the cool kids. In the same vein I also feel I should learn about using a stopwatch. I think this might help with my weight (the speed of the stone).  It would also help me to look like one of the cool kids and have a stopwatch either on my broom or hanging from my belt.🙄

So will I do this again? Sure! If invited by the right people and available I think it would be great.  Will I try to put together a team?  I’m an introvert so probably not, but “Crazy Bruce” may have other ideas.

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I have tried what many educators and parents might call “real reading”🙄 and have been using my local library app to catch up on some titles/series. The problem seems to be just when the book on my reading list becomes available, I’m in the middle of something and don’t feel it’s right to have multiple books going at once, since there are other people in line for that book.

When I was a teacher, many parents were concerned about ADHD or whatever trendy diagnosis was currently in the news. Please, understand I agree that ADD, ADHD, Autism Spectrum Disorder, etc. are real, and exist in many people including myself. I am not making light of those people who are on the spectrum for whatever issue that make a lot of things challenging. In some cases a lot more challenging than others. During these parent/teacher conferences would look at these parents, many with bright kids and say “I’m not a doctor, I grew up in a family where my siblings were all diagnosed, I never was… do you really think it skipped me? I developed a number of strategies to succeed. Start by talking to your physician, we can make accommodations here in the classroom as needed.” Sometimes the kids would be put on medication, other times not. It was a personal choice, not always as successful as they would like. I bring this up because while those strategies I figured out growing up have started to fail me in later life, I still use them. One is I read in a quiet (silent) room. The other is I focus on one book at a time. I used to remember everything I read, now… not so much. Then again I also have thousands of names and faces stuck in my head and anxiety that someone will come up to me and say “I was in your class! Remember me?”

So What Have I Been Reading?

You’ll notice many of these are from series so if I were you, I would start with the first book. Another one of those strategies I developed. You might also notice I tend to read Fantasy/Speculative Fiction stories, although I bounce into other genres, sometimes even 😱 non-fiction! Last month up until a few days ago here’s what I was reading (outside of the medium of comics- which many of these would make amazing graphic novels, some already have).

• Brigands & Breadknives by Travis Baldree #2 in the Legends & Lattes series - a wonderful fantasy series usually about an orc who quit adventuring to open a coffee shop. This time around the bookseller who inspired her arrives in town then vanishes on her own quest to do a bit of adventuring and soul searching. What happens when you realize your entire life has been just doing what you were expected to do? It really hit home as I settle into retirement and try to figure out what I want to do when I grow up. Don’t worry I won’t follow a legendary warrior on an adventure, but I might have a few Whimventures of my own.

• Did You Hear What Eddie Gein Done? by Harold Schechter & Eric Powell - It’s a medium, not a genre. Yes this is a graphic novel, but that’s just the way it has been presented. After reading Dr. Werthless the tale of Frederic Wertham the man who wrote the book in the 50’s on how horrible comic books were (think video games, TikTok or whatever adults blame for kids behavior), I decided to read their first endeavor about the serial killer who inspired Psycho.

• A Drop of Corruption by Robert Jackson Bennett #2 in the Ana and Din Mystery series- I read the first book in the series, a murder mystery in a world where Kaiju (Leviathans) attack each year and people are physically and mentally modified to best serve the state. Din has been altered to remember everything and this helps him and Ana, his superior, solve crimes. Ana’s brain can take those clues and determine what happened in a Sherlock Holmesian manner. It’s a fantasy world, so while the science of modifying humans using Leviathan bits and bobs is great, no flying cars or robots, more Middle Ages era. This time another murder and time to figure out everything in a town where Leviathan corpses are harvested, but that’s not the only thing going on. All the hierarchy and details of the empire and this world have been put together in such a way that it helps to really understand how this fantasy world works.

• American Elsewhere by Robert Jackson Bennett - after reading the most recent Ana & Din book I decided to see what else the author had written and came upon a story of an unknown town and pan dimensional beings. Basically a down on their luck former police officer with lots of baggage inherits a home in Wink, New Mexico. She was unaware of the home, the town, or her mother’s place in it all. Wink is a perfect Stepford Wives like place, with weird rules and secrets. She arrives as a town leader has died unexpectedly (it was murder). Unexpectedly because town leaders are pretty much immortal… yup, another fantasy story. Her only goal was to learn more about her mother and in the process uncovers some weird stuff going on in the past at the now abandoned research facility. By the end we’re dealing with the apocalypse.

• The Golden Enclaves by Naomi Novik #3 in the Schoolmance Series - I recall picking up the first book years ago on a trip. I had read some of her earlier works and figure I’d try it out the premise seemed interesting. As a teacher the idea of a school that’s trying to kill its students was an amusing concept. Definitely not Hogwarts. It seems that those inclined to use magic set up a school in another dimension (the void) inhabited by weird creatures who were dangerous. Over the years as result of funding cuts, negligence, or whatever the school fell into disrepair and the students had to fend for themselves to survive. Graduation was a race to the exit facing a gauntlet of all sorts of horrible beasts including two “maw mouths”that devour you, but don’t kill you. Ugh. Survivors all think is a character building thing, so nothing changes. The first two books take young Harry, Ron, & Hermione… wait wrong book. El has been prophesied as the one to bring down all the Wizard Enclaves causing societal collapse. She’s doing her best not to. Orion is the hero of the school saving people right and left from evil creatures. The end of the second book leaves us outside of the Schoolmance and back in the “real” world. El is trying to figure out what to do, and keeps getting called to help Enclaves in need. Vague enough? (see? no spoilers) we learn a lot of the background of this world and how adults tend to justify horrible acts “for the greater good.” “The needs of the many…”blah, blah blah, but what if that wasn’t the case? El is about to show them, but will they listen?

  

• Curling Rocks! by John Cullen - after the Rock League and the end of the curling season I realized (again) that I am clueless when it comes to curling in general. Sports fans grow up knowing names like Babe Ruth, Joe DiMaggio, Jackie Robinson, Michael Jordan, and a bunch of football players. For me, I know no one… or very little about curling and those important moments in the sport. So while searching my local library I came across this book. Written by the guy who put together the “Broomgate” podcast. Who knows maybe he’ll do a “Boopgate” podcast soon. Basically, this was a book I needed to gain a better understanding of curling culture. I got a little lost when he was trying to determine the best curlers since I have no idea or can’t visualize these folks. I know some of the current players thanks to the Olympics, U.S. Nationals, and Rock League. What I learned was I needed to watch things like the Scotties, the Brier, and the Grand Slam of Curling events. This on top of just becoming a better curler. Then again the last bit of advice was golden- “play with people you like.” Don’t worry about winning or losing, play with people you want to be around. While some memories happen on the ice, most don’t. I’ve been lucky enough to play with a lot of people I like, so maybe I am doing it right. Now if only I could figure out weight. This book is good enough I’m considering buying a copy to leave at my curling club, along with Rachel Homan’s Curling ABC’s.

  

This year’s curling season came to a close and I have accomplished a few goals, but still am a neophyte when it comes to the art and science of curling. Yes, like many people I watched it during the Olympics, I also became a certified Junior assistant trainee instructor at my local Curling Club. I even helped prepare the ice for the Wednesday morning league. So like many things- I have kinda did a swan dive into the shallow end (I did that once as a kid- my nose still shows the results of that effort). I had heard over the interwebs about an attempt to create a professional Curling League, and decided (not to try out- duh!) to see what it was all about.

When you think about professional sports you think of seasons, and teams, stars, and stuff like that. When I think about professional sports I tend to think of… well nothing. I’ve never been into sports of any kind. I tried football (except in the U.S. it’s called “Soccer”) as a kid- still have nightmares about that time my parents sent me to soccer camp. My older brother was the athlete. Growing up I got shuffled into whatever he was doing - Springboard diving as a kid. He was excellent at it- me… not so much. I did place 5th once in a competition. After that I don’t recall if it was me, or my parents who decided that I should stop (probably a bit from Column A and a bit from Column B). Since we lived at the pool, I got signed up for swimming… I may have already mentioned my mom called me “Speedy” because I was so slow. I gave up on that too. I learned early to avoid sports and competition of any kind. This included watching sports on TV, following teams, or anything related to sports. I’d be polite and cheer teams on, but I couldn’t tell you (and still can’t) who plays for what team.

So starting a professional curling league seemed like a good place to try to embrace my inner sports fan. The Rock League was the place to start even if many of the curlers I knew either scoffed at it, or hadn’t even heard of it. The “inaugural season” this year was one event, which lasted a week. Usually a season is a number of games spanning a few months and a variety of locations. Rock League - One event, I can do that. The league is usually a number of teams usually each with a home base. Rock League has six teams. Geography gets a little weird, they really don’t have a “hometown.” I’m probably looking at wrong, but here’s how I broke it down:

• Maple United - Canada

• Shield Curling Club - Canada

• Frontier Curling Club - United States

• Northern United - Northern Europe

• Alpine Curling Club - Central Europe

• Typhoon Curling Club - Asia and Oceania

As with any professional sports team the players actually came from various locales so I could be completely off on my geography. Which brings me to another thing- I’m not great with names… I don’t know who all the players are. I hope to get better, but two years in and not really having a good place in the U.S. to watch the best play, outside of the Olympics I have very little idea as to who I should be cheering on.

As a U.S. citizen (according to all the legal documents I need to vote) I guess I should cheer for the Frontier Curling Club… as a person with ancestry from Sweden and Scotland my other option was Northern United. I wasn’t the only one as I kept hearing fans while we were there trying to figure out who they should cheer for. I finally settled for Northern United, something about some of the Frontier players tearing off the sleeves of their shirts (I guess to look “cool” Iguess it’s the US version of the Norwegian curling pants), and the general depression about the current state of politics in the U.S. - I know there’s no politics in sportsing! Just ask the NFL about their Super Bowl halftime show. Sue and I actually were pretty neutral and just cheered for “Good Curling” all around. And there was a lot to cheer about on that front.

Day by Day- How Things Worked

Like the Olympics it started with round robin play to determine seeding for the playoffs. In this each team played a men’s, women’s, and mixed doubles game. So three sheets were being used at once. Each day had three scheduled times. You could spend the day and watch all the teams. We discovered our weekend tickets didn’t actually start until 7:00 PM Friday, so we paid for the first match and then took a break before the Friday night event Maple United vs. Shield Curling Club- Basically Canada vs. Canada.

The venue was interesting with floor curling available for those interested in the “fan Zone”, the “Rock Shop” for souvenirs, along with food and drink concessions. Rock League promoted a sheet side option, the “Between the Sheets Pub,” for an extra charge. This was a bar between Sheets A and B and you could watch what was going on about a meter away from the action. This also made it difficult for people to see what was going on on all three sheets since there was a crowd standing between two sheets. The other thing that was interesting was the same competitions occurred on the same sheets. So Sheet A was always mixed doubles, Sheet B was always men’s and Sheet C was always women’s. Which translated to, if you weren’t interested in the mixed doubles, you needed to make sure you had West Concourse seats to be able to see Sheets B & C.

Scoring was pretty much a point for each sheet the team won, and an extra half point if the team swept all the matches. Ties were broken by comparing the number of points the team had accumulated throughout the event.

The playoffs were only on two sheets and consisted of mixed teams. Basically how things tend to work at a Curling Club. This was a bit more enjoyable to watch. Yes, I still didn’t know all the players, but it was more like what I was used to watching. Not all the players played, but substitutions were allowed if needed. so the entire team was present, just eight out of ten players were actually on the ice.

The rest of the event was back to three sheets like the round robin matches. The first teams out were Maple United and Frontier Curling Club. After that we got down to the finals- Shield Curling Club against Typhoon Curling Club. there were some amazing shots and it got down to the wire.

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If I was an extrovert I’d have jumped right into the pub and paid the extra to hang out there. Many of the curlers not playing would stop in to watch. As an introvert and a rule follower it was hard for me to not want to got to my seat and watch from there. Which I learned I really didn’t have to do. The venue was not full, or maybe since those folks at the exclusive bar weren’t using their seats it didn’t look too full.

Sue and I figured out that we could see a lot more of the action from the top level and spent most of our time away from our seats and just watching as much as we could.

Overall Impressions

Can there really be too much curling? For Sue, the answer (like Ancient Astronaut Theorists like to say) is “Yes.” Not following or know much about the players made it fun to watch, but hard to get overly excited about. Yes, there were som great plays, but you might miss them as you focus on the action on another sheet. Think of it as trying to watch three baseball games at the same time. Just as you focus on one game, some other game has an amazing play. Multi-tasking is not my strong suit when in comes to watching any sport. I had the same issue when watching the U.S. Nationals.

The curling was amazing, even though some trolls on the interwebs were claiming the players weren’t trying hard enough 🙄. There were some rule changes to up the excitement. The one I really liked was in the last end if you had a stone covering the pin (the very center of the button) your team would get an extra point. This did change the outcome of a few matches. Helping amp up the power of the hammer (last rock thrown).

Rachel Homan (Maple United) had written a Curling ABC book, which I purchased and had the opportunity to get signed. Being an old elementary school teacher I know the power of putting complex ideas into simple terms for kids which is helpful for adults trying to digest what everyone is talking about.

While in Canada I did pick up some new curling shoes, along with a cookie cutter. I was planning on going to some of the company stores, but many were closed since the season was over. I did end up buying a Northern United jersey, something I would have worn on team spirit day at school. It’s nice and warm and happen to be in the colors of the Swedish flag even though its got a Norwegian players name on it… That’s what happens when you arrive on Friday and the SWAG is all but sold out.

There were a few things they could improve… The first thing for me would be to eliminate assigned seats. it really wouldn’t matter so until you sell out. Most people didn’t seem to mind moving around. Next they only had one video display… my club has a camera on each sheet (we have three) and one over each house. Being able to watch what is happening on each sheet and even having replays of great shots would be helpful. They would also switch to interviews of players and VIPs, without any sound or captioning. So the screen would fill with a guy (I didn’t know) commenting on some important thing that just happened (that I can’t hear). Having more screens might make it easier for everyone especially with the pub in the middle blocking the view for one side of the venue. One other solution might be to rotate what is played on each sheet. Then again there are those folks who are really into mixed doubles and may only want to see those matches.

Sue and I talked about if we would do this again… we decided that we would consider it, but only go to the playoffs, that way we could see all the teams compete over the course of the day. I would return for the finals, although on TV you see something like the Super Bowl and everyone is on the field yelling and screaming with announcers talking to people. I now know what happens in the stands during these made for TV moments… people start heading home. Once the trophy was handed to Shield Curling Club, we hung around a bit, but while there was celebrating on the floor, not much to keep the audience hanging around.

I think having a badge for the weekend might have been nice instead of having to manage my tickets for each match. It also would have been a nice souvenir. The lanyard & badge was available for the Pub and VIPs.

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