The Friday 56

I found this via my lovely wife's blog of randomness and she found it on Shiloh Walker's blog who found it at The Bookaholic Zone who got it from Storytime With Tonya & Friends which, as far as we can tell, seems to be the originator.

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Rules:

* Grab the book nearest you. Right now.
* Turn to page 56.
* Find the fifth sentence.
* Post that sentence (plus one or two others if you like) along with these instructions on your blog or (if you do not have your own blog) in the comments section of this blog.
*Post a link along with your post back to this blog.

* Don't dig for your favorite book, the coolest, the most intellectual. Use the CLOSEST.

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Equally distant from me are the Final Fantasy Tactics Strategy Guide, A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court, and my PRS-505 e-reader. The FFT Guide is slightly closer than the others but page 56 only has four sentences. And since the 505 has hundreds (or at least dozens) of books, I think I'll go with Twain's classic:

"All mines were royal property, and there were a good many of them. They had formerly been worked as savages always work mines--holes grubbed in the earth and the mineral brought up in sacks of hide by hand, at the rate of a ton a day; but I had begun to put the mining on a scientific basis as early as I could."

I love this book. I haven't read all of Twain's works yet ("Joan of Arc" is next in line) but this is my favorite so far.

Shield Monkey Holiday and Rememberance

Happy GM's Day, fellow gamemasters.

The 4th of March is set aside to show our gamemasters how much we appreciate all the work they put into preparing and running the games we love.  So do something nice for your GM this week. Even if it's a simple "Thank you", it will be greatly appreciated.

Today is also, coincidentally, the second anniversary of the passing of Gary Gygax, the father of tabletop roleplaying games as we know them.  We salute you, Gary, the greatest GM of us all.

Getting Out of the Basement

Happy Read an RPG Book in Public Week.

For many people, roleplaying games are something to be hated or hidden. But in reality, trpgs (Tabletop RolePlaying GameS) are simply childhood games of cops and robbers with rules to avoid "I got you!" "No you didn't!" arguments. It's not only an entertaining hobby, but it helps keep the imagination active so we don't stagnate as adults.

RaRPGBiP week is a triannual event that encourages roleplayers to bring their hobby out of the basement and into the light of public view. The hope is that the event will increase public awareness of the hobby.

I am unable to participate simply because I'm rarely out in public long enough to read a book unless I'm already at our FLGS (Friendly Local Game Store) which would kind of defeat the purpose. But for those of you who do have a life outside the home, take your books with and read them on your lunch break, or between classes, or any other time you can. Who knows? Maybe you'll round up some new players.

Come to think of it: I could use a few more players for the low-fantasy GURPS game I've been itching to run. Maybe I'll take GURPS Martial Arts with me to read while I wait for my prescriptions at Sam's Club tomorrow...

Haiku Character Summaries

I've been bitten by the haiku bug and wrote haiku character summaries for some of my roleplaying characters.  They're still a bit rough but I'm so excited about them that I just had to share.

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Manny, system-less game as well as HackMaster and Shadowrun

no more mindless thug
this lowly tavern keeper
an ogre of peace

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Arauhir, party face, kalashtar ardent, D&D4e

her beauty serves her well
muddling the minds of men
hiding great sword skill

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Qasali berserker/cleric/monk, GURPS

his berseker rages
exiled him from his homeland
so he heals his foes

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"RAT", street rat in 2112 Texas, GURPS

poor homeless orphan
possesses a great secret
gets by on his luck

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Manny's is the one I'm proudest of.  Manny also happens to be one of my favorite characters.  I've had a great deal of fun writing his story.  Rat's and Arauhir's need a lot of work but I'm stuck.  What do you think, humble reader?

Just Today

I got this in a recent Joke-Of-The-Day email and just had to share it:

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Rex Barker here with "Just Today," sent in by Dara F of Portland, Maine...

Please submit your favorite inspirational stories, pictures, quotes, or dog pictures to RexBarker@Joke-Of-The-Day.com

There are two days in every week about which we should not worry. Two days which should be kept free from fear and apprehension.

One of these days is yesterday, with its mistakes and cares, its faults and blunders, its aches and pains. Yesterday has passed forever beyond our control. All the money in the world cannot bring back yesterday. We cannot undo a single act we performed. We cannot erase a single word we said. Yesterday is gone!!

The other day we should not worry about is tomorrow, with its possible adversities, its burdens, its large promise and poor performance. Tomorrow is beyond our immediate control. Tomorrow's sun will rise, whether in splendor or behind a mask of clouds. But it will rise. Until it does we have no stake in tomorrow, for it is yet unborn.

This leaves only one day: today.

Any man can fight the battles of just one day. It is when you and I add the burdens of two awful eternities - yesterday and tomorrow, that we break down.

It is not necessarily the experience of today that disturbs one's peace of mind. It is often time the bitterness for something which happened yesterday and the dread of what tomorrow may bring. Let us therefore live one day at a time.

This is Rex Barker reminding you that while we should remember the past and plan and anticipate the future, it is critical that we don't get paralyzed by either. By focusing on making the best of the present, we can actually make the past a sweeter learning experience, and make tomorrow's hopes and dreams closer to reality.

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Or as Professor Harold Hill would say: "You pile up enough tomorrows, and you'll find you are left with nothing but a lot of empty yesterdays. I don't know about you, but I'd like to make today worth remembering."

Which is part of why The Music Man is one of the greatest musicals ever.  8o)

NaNoWriMo

First off I'd like to welcome all of my new readers.

Secondly, I'd like to apologize to those readers for the lack of new content. I, along with my wife and thousands of other people around the world, am attempting to write a 50,000 word novella during the month of November so I don't really have time for blogging right now. But I've got plenty ready for post-NaNo so stick with me until then.

"For Sensitive Skin"

Why is it that nearly everything that's labeled "For Sensitive Skin" contains moisturizers, fragrances, aloe, and other things that irritate my skin? Why can't "For Sensitive Skin" simply mean "no unnecessary crap added"? It would sure make shopping a lot easier for me and result in my poor hands hurting a lot less often.

I can't even buy razors anymore because so many of them have aloe in their lube strips and don't bother saying so on the package. And now I have to be careful about buying soap (SOAP!) because it so often contains aloe and other irritants (my hands were oddly and painfully dried out for several months before my better half noticed aloe listed in the tiny print ingredients list on the massive bottle of Dial that we had purchased from Sam's Club). It's almost like HBA companies don't WANT me to buy their products...

Now I realize that my aloe allergy probably puts me in the minority but there's no reason for EVERY BLOODY SKIN PRODUCT to contain aloe. Sheesh.