TJ came a callin' and then...

TJ came to visit me.

Unfortunately, his constitution seems to be a lot more fragile these days than it use to be so during the night he started feeling sick and drove home. My only notification was a message from his wife on Facebook. It was a truly baffling moment for me. I can't imagine why he didn't contact me directly. Hum. What would I have said?
I have known some people who would not take a dump at work and hold it all day till they got home. This is baffling behavior to me as well.

I think when I want to see TJ, I'll just have to visit him at his home. Hopefully, he will get his skype and such fixed so I can at least chat to him by some means.



JAPAN

Used schoolgirl panties? Really? Every day, Japan gets a bit weirder. Assuming these goods are legitimate, can you imagine the people who have to collect them? How do they get the kids to give them up? It's all very baffling to me.



GO AWAY

The 'Go Away' website is good for a laugh, thank you Josh for introducing me to this freaky guy. An example of a quote from it is: "I understand the importance the resurrection story holds in your particular religion. If I too knew some guy that had been killed and placed inside a cave with a rock in front of it and I visited the cave to find the rock moved and his body gone, the only logical assumption would be that he had risen from the dead and is the son of God."

Logan's Run

LOGAN'S RUN

Bert said that he believes a lot of the hits I have gotten on my blog come people looking for the movie "Logan's Run". I wanted to do a test on that and see if posting something that specifically had things on the movie Logan's Run would actually get more hits than one that didn't. Here's another picture just in case you wanted one. If you've never seen the movie, it is an oldie but a goodie. It was made back in 1976 which usually tightens the sphincter of any of the younger readers but it's not bad. I'd give it 7/10 on my scale.



WHY?

I have been asked the question a couple times "Why are you writing (this) blog?"

Simply put, there are two answers - a) for others and b) for myself. Breaking that down -

I am writing this blog for others because I am going to be doing something unusual (ie NOT sitting at home and watching TV) and it's a lot easier than sending out a whole bunch of e-mails updating people on where I am and what I'm doing. People seem to be curious about other places. Some might be planning a trip, others living vicariously through me (as they can't or won't do an actual adventure trip) and some others just like to 'see what the crazy fat bastard posted this time'. I think (hope) it has a high humor and entertainment value. Plus, it should also be a good indicator of when/if I perish unexpectedly. I don't think anyone would be able to do anything about it if it happened but maybe they'll raise a glass in my honor if they notice I've gone for several months without posting.

I am writing this blog for myself because, I believe, first and foremost it will provide a record of where I've been and what I've done. Anyone who knows me well knows that my memory isn't all that great. I'd like to have a record and pictures to look back on to see where I've been, what I've done, who I've met and all that. I think it also takes care of some of the creative urges - who hasn't wanted to write a book at some point in their lives? The bad thing about writing a book is that it's usually (unless you're Steven King or some such) a labor of love that takes several months or years and won't sell enough copies to make you any money. Print is dying anyhow. So, this is my 'creative work'. Would I be writing it if a film crew was following me around on my trip? Don't know - we'll have to try it out.



TV SHOW REVIEW

A Cook's Tour aka Anthony Bourdain No Reservations. It seems to have switched from the first title to the second starting with season 3. Probably because the first title wasn't all that snazzy. With the show itself, it's OK. I don't really recommend it all that highly. I've only been watching the ones of places I'm intending to travel. He has a different take on traveling - he is going for the food. I can respect that. As an example, when he went to Egypt, he did not go to the Pyramids. No big deal there but it does show he isn't really a 'typical' tourist. It's an OK show but there are better.



ELECTRONIC SMOKES

A bus driver told me about this recently. The Blu brand is $70 but I heard they have one at 7-11 (convince store) for $10. I might just check it out. The ones by Blu have the end light up and you get to breath out ionized air that looks like smoke. The charging unit is apparently shaped like a packet of smokes. Brilliant - it's a nice idea. I really don't know if I want to spend $70 - or even worse, carry more electronic shit. Something to think about. It would probably be a big improvement for health.



SWEARING

Anyone who knows me (or has been in my presence) knows that I consider 'swear words' as 'just other words'. I firmly hold to the belief "There are no bad words, only bad intentions." In other words, if you say "Well, mutherfucker" when something goes wrong, I don't see that as bad. If you call someone a "Mutherfucker" then that is bad - or at least showing you probably don't like them. For our foreign readers, it totally depends on voice inflection here. If someone says "mutherfucker!" in surprise when they see you - they probably aren't calling you a name, they are just using that to express surprise and possibly joy at seeing you. Yes, the English language is just that fucked up.

Anyway, I was hanging out in Bollo's coffee shop as I have for the last few months talking to a buddy. Some guy I've never seen before (with a slight British accent) comes over and asks me to watch my language, he was there with his nine year old son. Everyone looked to him in surprise (like 'where did this come from?').

I completely failed my 'quick witted' skill at this point - way too many answers jostled for position. Apparently, the look on my face gave away the game as he backed away repeating "Be cool, just be cool" like a mantra. Soon after, he and his son left. Hopefully for good.

Here are some of the answers that jostled for position in my mind:

"Have you heard of 'freedom of speech'?"
"Who the fuck are you?"
"I feel really sorry for your son. If you are such a domineering asshole to complete strangers, his life must be a living hell."
"He's nine. I'm not saying anything he hasn't heard before."
"You ever see Deadwood on HBO? I swear so little I couldn't get on that show."
"Fuck off you sanctimonious asshole."
"Are you anyone important or can I tell you to fuck off now with impunity?"

And so on.

I know that America was founded by prudes but holy cow. Sanctimonious is such a good word, here is the definition for those not familiar with it.

I have no problem with people who don't want to use swear words but if you don't want to expose your kids to it you'd better be home schooling them. And keeping them inside the house. And not letting them have access to any media such as TV's or the internet. Don't run around telling others how to speak - that's just not right.



THURSDAY TOOTH

Dune: "The tooth! Remember the tooth!" What a wacky bit from the movie. Anyway, I've got to say I am not looking forward to this Thursday - the big dentist day. It's the last (hopefully) medical thing I've got to get done while I'm here in the states. The last three times I've been there, I've gotten 'jerked around'. By that I mean they looked in my mouth, maybe taken an Xray and said "We can't do anything about that." or "I'm not a good enough dentist to pull a tooth." If I get any of that shit this time, I'm going to walk out and have it pulled in some other country. Sick of going in there to wildly inept dentists. Pretty much, if you need anything more complicated than a cleaning, stay away from the 'free' American dental system. It's rubbish.



FRIDAY TJ

On Friday, we have the wacky TJ coming out to visit again. In addition to getting in on the game Friday, I believe he'll be interviewing me on the various Call of Cthulhu modules to get some story and my opinions on them. Yes, we'll put up that as a podcast in the Silhouette podcast as well. I'm not sure what day TJ is staying till, but it will be a good time.

Did Ben Franklin say "bitch"?

MORE TSA SHENANIGANS

In an effort to be more friendly and less fascist, it turns out the TSA does a blog! Within it, they post that it is an 'urban legend' that things like nail clippers are not allowed. One person who claimed to work for the TSA said "Nail clippers were still being taken as far out as 2003. So even if we (I work for TSA) did change the policy, a lot of screeners didn't get the message til later." Another said that if nail clippers were taken out at one time and now allowed, that doesn't really make it an 'urban legend'. The TSA regulations are pretty wild and all over the place. It seems to come down to 'if they don't like it, you don't get it'. Should you argue, their stock response is "Do you want to fly today?" They worry that someone could get a syringe and drain the coke out of a coke bottle and refill it with some sort of 'bad chemical' (hence you can't bring fluids, even 'factory sealed') but they aren't worried about a long wooden sewing needle with a blunt tip that anyone could easily use as a shiv. It seems to me that the regulations are all over the place. Sadly, since people are always willing to give up freedom for safety, I think we'll have these strange, silly and inconsistent regulations for years to come. [Ben Franklin: "Those who would give up Essential Liberty to purchase a little Temporary Safety, deserve neither Liberty nor Safety." I'm sure if he were alive today, he'd say "You guys were the ones screaming for the government to give you more airplane security after 9/11. Now you got it, bitches." That could be a paraphrase...]

Heck, they even have people trained in watching people now. And the digital see through the clothing and get a pat down from a poorly trained part time worker doth continue...

I'll be sure to post up my experiences going through international TSA inspection, the duty free shop and all of that fun stuff when the time gets here.



THE "N" WORD

As many of you know - or have guessed from reading my blog - it is my belief there are "no bad words, only bad intentions". George Carlin, who was a lot smarter than I am apparently came up with that phrase.

My question - did this phrase become this phrase?

I had a lot more to this article but I parred it down for two reasons. First, people get really unnecessarily worked up about the issue of words and second, I see no upside for me in getting into this argument/discussion.



INTERVIEW WITH TJ


As promised in an earlier blog, I did do an interview with TJ. You can listen to it (for free, you lucky people) either on the normal Silhouette game podcast or you can get it from here.

In it, TJ discusses the last twenty years of history (his), gaming, his thoughts about marriage (and why so many of them fail) and life in general. It is a thought provoking interview - some people will think it is good, others that it suck but either way, thinking will go on.

Fortunately, absolutely no talk of past illegal deeds goes on in this goody two shoes interview.

56 days and counting...

ADDENDUM TO BRIBING

1. You must be able to 'read' people fairly well to see if it is working the way you want it to work.

2. If you ask someone a question like "What can we do about this?" and they say "What do you suggest?" - beware. It may be a trap.

3. If you get in trouble for bribing an official, be sure to blame it on this blog. I am a publicity whore.



TV SHOW REVIEW - "PILOT GUIDES"

The hosts themselves make such a huge impact on the show and thoughts of the destination that I had to talk about them a bit.

Ian Wright - This guy is pretty funny and loves clowning around with the locals. He is always looking to make them laugh and have a good time with them.

Megan McCormick - Fun girl, loves to experience new things, good host.

Justine Shapiro - I dislike this host to the point where I won't watch shows she's done. Although she is knowledgeable in the areas, she feels very judgmental and bitchy. Bleh.

Now, I'm not sure extactly which shows it's been done with but I've noticed that some shows (for example season 1, episode 4 and season 3 episode 8) are exactly the same. Like nobody would notice! Not sure why that is. [Disclaimer, made up the shows and seasons in example. I have been deleting the shows off of my computer after watching them or if I come across a duplicate.] Maybe they felt that if they spread them out over a couple years, nobody would notice if they doubled up.

The show is pretty good. The travelers tend to cover a pretty good amount of territory in the forty five minute show so you get only the smallest taste of the country. I am not sure if it is really enough to make people say 'hell I want to go there' or not. It could be something I'm doing just to twiddle my fingers until it's time to get out and about.

A good quote from season 6, episode 3: Ian was getting ready to go up in a fighter aircraft. The guy who was going to fly him was explaining the chute. Ian asked why he would have to use the chute.
Pilot: "In case the aircraft breaks."
Ian: "How will I know if it breaks?"
Pilot: "You'll see me leavin'."



WHINE WITH YOUR WINE

Apparently, vegans (and vegetarians whom vegans look at as pussies) are not able to drink wines due to them being made with animal products. I had no idea about this but Austin filled me in that often animals are used to help make wines. While I personally enjoy having animals tortured for no apparent purpose while my wine is being made and drunk, this does tend to offend vegans and even many vegetarians. I'm sure we all have our own oppinion on vegans/vegetarians and it will be considerate. But, it's an interesting fact none the less. Also, if you recently saw a picture of a cat, get your mind out of the gutter.



GOOD IDEA FROM TRAVIS

Travis recently gave me a good idea (to be fair, he has lots of good ideas) - try to live out of my pack for a week. That will tell me what I need to pack and what I might be able to lose. I'm going to have to wait till after the weekly game and a visitor. I'm going to need to lay all of the stuff on the table so that I can get into it and out of it easily.



TJ TO VISIT

I think I met TJ (or Tim as he now likes to be called) at age 16. He was a little freaky. Yeah, I was in my 30's but gaming transcends age. TJ (as I still insist on calling him) has gone from that to a respectable (in the loosest possible form) parent. [Note, if you look closely in the eyes of his child in the preceding picture, you can see they are lit with the fires of Hell. Good stuff.] I'm not saying that the past can predict the future, but parenting is hard.

Anyway, enough introduction of this guy and onto his schedule while he's in Blacksburg:

10AM This is the supposed arrival time. I'm not sure if there is anyone who believes TJ (as I insist on calling him despite his pleas to the contrary) will actually wake up at 6AM to start the drive down here. But he is holding to this wild claim.

12PM More realistic arrival time. When he actually arrives, we will spend some time loading things into his car. These things may hereafter be referred to as 'loot'.

12:15PM till 3PM Tour around Blacksburg with TJ signing autographs. We may be stopping by Bollo's for a photo shoot. [No, I don't know who the people in the picture are. Sorry.]

3:01PM till 3:59PM General psyching up for gaming. This involves both of us sitting across the table from each other and him saying "Is it time yet?" and me responding "Not yet." many many times. Only in this way can one truly be prepared for the game.

4PM till 12AM Midnight. Gaming. It will be recorded and you can listen to it.

12:01AM TJ (who I keep calling that despite several court orders to not) will insist on driving home despite being dead tired. I will attempt to dissuade him from this suicidal attempt.

Who will win the discussion? Reason or self destruction?

Stay tuned!



AUFMERKSAMKEIT (ATTENTION)!

It has come to my attention that people like the "56 days to go" titles. Unfortunately, the reason why they seem to be popular is that it will (hopefully) spell the end of Logan whining about being trapped in the USA. Like I can't figure out something new to whine about?