The season at The Grand is all but over. There were some annoyances but over all it was a descent season.

GARF was much fun this year and I was able to see many friends but not enough time was spent there.

The summer is starting up and I am looking forward to spending time with friends and family and doing some side work to pay the bills.

I have been in a packing frenzy so that new linoleum could be laid in the house. I will not be unpacking all those boxes. I may be tossed out of my house in a few months or choose to move out in a year but at least much of the stuff will already be packed.

My A/C seems to be acting stupid. I think it is low on freon again.

Luna is getting really old. She is starting to loose weight again and I am really worried about her. Urza is doing well. The aquarium needs some love in the form of $ for supplies. I hope it survives the summer.

I am as always looking for new employment opportunities that will offer me a salary or at the minimum consistent work for most of the year. If anyone hears of anything in my field (Technical Theatre (Tech Director, Lighting Designer/Master Elect, Sound engineer, etc.)) Please shoot me a line.

Back home again from Missoula, Montana, where I spent the weekend as GOH at Miscon 26.

'twas my first trip to Montana, and I can't say I really saw much of it, but Missoula was a pleasant little city, and the con itself was great. They drew 1300 people, I'm told, a record for Miscon, and I think all of them had a great time. I know I did. Miscon fen party like we did in the old days, and the hotel -- Ruby's, a small indy with local ownership -- was really great. None of the nonsense with noise complaints and shutting down parties and elevators that has plagued so many cons of late. In fact, some of the hotel management partied with us.

So a tip of the hat to Justin, Cthulhu Bob, Clay, and the rest of the Miscon Miscreants, and to Tim, Dustan, and Vicky from Ruby's. You were great.

Me: "..he's essentially like if Mieville got ahold of Conan and weirded it the fuck right up. You saw "Destroyer", right? Remember Bombatta, it's going to kind of -"
Chrissie: "You know you're doing it, right?"
Me: "I'm.. doing it?"
Chrissie: "Yes. Yes, you are. Right now."
Me: "What are you-"
Chrissie: "You're being that guy who corners someone and tells them about their character."

Oh god no.

Hey, listen up, true believers.

GAME OF THRONES won the Stan Lee Award for Best Television Program.

http://robot6.comicbookresources.com/2012/05/scott-snyder-and-sara-pichelli-dominate-stan-lee-awards/

It's not a No-Prize, but it's pretty cool.

'Nuff said.

Very much enjoyed one of the readings (http://www.costik.com/vidiot.html) today.  Really got the juices flowing.

I don't see any reason not to use our proposed game as the assignment for this week, and I'm hoping that won't undermine my ability to learn from it.

Design a board-game adaptation of any video game. Post your complete rule set on the forums. Include a list of all components necessary to play. This game should be playable without the player having to design anything!

As above, and once you’ve finished your design, make a playable prototype of the core systems in under an hour. On the forum, give a complete list of materials used.

If I post the rules here, it will (of course) be friends-only.

I don't know much about social media. I don't have a facebook or twitter account. But I've been told a few people have them, and that some of those people like to play social media games. I'm told the biggest social media game involves running a farm.

Surely, I thought, there must be something one could do on social media that would be more fun that growing turnips and feeding chickens. Like, say, scheming and plotting, murders and marriages, contesting for power.

HBO shared the feeling, and together we have granted the license for a social media game based on GAME OF THRONES to a great new start-up company called Disruptor Beam ((http://disruptorbeam.com/ )) Game development is already well under way.

Jon Radoff, CEO of Disruptor Beam, says:

"This will be the first Facebook game based on the TV series and books and, trust me, this game isn’t just going to be another Farmville! George RR Martin is working very closely with Disruptor Beam to ensure the game will deliver an authentic experience. I can tell you that it will not only be highly story and character-driven, but Game of Thrones Ascent will give you the chance to experience the world from your own perspective and with your own friends."

"Sounds fun, right!? Want to know more? Well, additional information about the game will be released in the coming months, including details about how to participate in a pre-release beta program. To follow its progress, be sure to “like” Game of Thrones Ascent on Facebook (http://facebook.com/gameofthronesascent) or follow on Twitter (https://twitter.com/#!/GoTAscent)."



I saw several early versions of the game demonstrated, and Jon and his designers took great pains to make sure the flavor of the novels is here. I saw alliance building, treachery, marriages, murders, and most of all the constant struggle to be the greatest house in Westeros.

So create a character, pick a liege lord to swear to, and start playing the game the way Tyrion would, because in this game you win or you die.

(No turnips will be involved).

Coming next Sunday, to a television near you.



I'll be watching from Montana.

Just got a note from Chris Beasley at Valyrian Steel.

He writes, "Just wanted to let you know that Longclaw is almost permanently sold out. I do not expect it to last through the month of June."

So if perchance you're one of the folks who has been saving your dimes and nickles to pick up one of the Longclaw replicas, act now, or you may soon be out of luck. These swords are limited editions, so once they are gone, they are gone. Valyrian Steel will not be making any more.



(I should add that Valyrian Steel has obtained a license from HBO to produce replicas of the weapons seen on the TV series, so they will be producing a "show Longclaw" at some point down the line. I don't believe that one will be a limited run. This post relates only to their current version of Jon Snow's blade, produced under a direct license from me -- the "book Longclaw," that is. That's the one that is almost sold out).

To order, head over to the Valyrian Steel website at
http://www.valyriansteel.com/shop/

Not all brushes with mortality have to do with death.

Sometimes they have to do with life, too.

This weekend I missed the wedding of one of my cousins.  She was the first of all the grandchildren to be married, and the youngest of the girls.  The wedding was gorgeous...almost like a fairy tale.  The place was packed with family from all corners.  They're pulled out of their daily lives to witness and celebrate the beginning of new life.

I was not completely left out.  I got pictures from many of them, snippets of events, and smiles shared over things that will probably never happen again...such as my grandmother dancing for an hour and a half straight.  It was all wonderful, and it made my chest warm to think about it, and I couldn't help but smile...

...and at the same time, events like this cause you to consider where your life is going.  So begins the consultation with my mortality.

 I am 28 years old...and I do not know where I stand.

I don't have any questions for G-d. I know the answers. "When G-d created Man he gave him free will. This is what separates man from the angels." A friend once asked me why G-d just didn't make man with out evil desires (think 7 deadly sins). Man would still have the free will to do what he wanted, he just wouldn't want terrible things. To me, the answer was pretty obvious. The things we think of as "negative" desires are only negative when taken to excess. Greed is what motivates us to better ourselves, to craft a life for our children that is better than the one we had. Pride is what gives us the strength to stand when everything around us is collapsing. Fear is what motivates us to protect our loved ones and anger is what motivates us to help others. I imagine I'll get some disagreement with that last one, but think about it. Compassion and empathy may make you feel sorry for some suffering demographic, may even make you cry over a news story. But the last time you wrote your congressman, picked up a picket sign, or boycotted a store it wasn't because you were sad. It's because you were angry.

In order to have the freedom to do good, we must have the potential to do evil. Sometimes, though, someone does something so idiotic and senseless with their free will that I'm just left wondering, "Is it worth it?" Can we handle the responsibility? Do we even deserve the chance to see. Like idiotic 18 year olds voting for whoever had the funniest interview on the Tonight Show, we have so little appreciation for the privilege of choosing our own destinies that maybe we shouldn't be allowed to.

This is a time when faith is useful. Like a parent handing their teenager the keys, I trust that G-d is sitting at home, waiting by the phone, with bail money in hand and a lawyer on speed dial. Because he's willing to give us a chance to prove we're responsible, but he's not counting on it - and he has a plan.

Even if its just to be the shoulder we need to cry on.