Month: November 2016

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The Associated Press just published guidelines for usage of the term “alt-right”, and I feel like it’s important to take note, because they are damn good guidelines.

Again, whenever “alt-right” is used in a story, be sure to include a definition: “an offshoot of conservatism mixing racism, white nationalism and populism,” or, more simply, “a white nationalist movement.”

Finally, when writing on extreme groups, be precise and provide evidence to support the characterization

We should not limit ourselves to letting such groups define themselves, and instead should report their actions, associations, history and positions to reveal their actual beliefs and philosophy, as well as how others see them.

One can only hope that the impending doom of the President-ELect will force Western journalism to get its collective ass in gear again.

https://blog.ap.org/behind-the-news/writing-about-the-alt-right

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I’m no fan of Millenial-bashing, but this is troubling.

That trend is particularly strong among young people. For instance, in a previously published paper, the researchers calculated that 43 percent of older Americans believed it was illegitimate for the military to take over if the government were incompetent or failing to do its job, but only 19 percent of millennials agreed. The same generational divide showed up in Europe, where 53 percent of older people thought a military takeover would be illegitimate, while only 36 percent of millennials agreed.

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The nerd appeared in pop culture in the form of a smart but awkward, always well-meaning white boy irrationally persecuted by his implacable jock antagonists in order to subsume and mystify true social conflict — the ones around race, gender, class, and sexuality that shook the country in the 1960s and ’70s — into a spectacle of white male suffering.

Nevertheless, the myth of nerd oppression and its associated jock/nerd dichotomy let every slightly socially awkward white boy who likes sci-fi explain away his privilege and lay his ressentiment at the feet of the nearest women and people of color.

http://reallifemag.com/what-was-the-nerd/

http://reallifemag.com/what-was-the-nerd

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This is an old tumblr post from Mike Doughty, former frontman for Soul Coughing, but I was reminded of it by a friend when we were talking about a show I went to this weekend.

A show where I was standing on a concrete floor for four hours, dodging a mosh pit, had Inevitable Drunk Person™ spill her drink all over me one song into the headliner’s set, where I spent more time listening to the opening bands than I did the band I came to see, and where white dudebros were constantly planting themselves two inches from face to take over my halfway decent view of the stage.

If shows were at 7:30 pm sharp, adults might go.

If everybody got chairs, adults might go.

If drunk talkers got shut up, and the story wasn’t “I went to see _____, but some asshole was jabbering away, ruined the music, why go back?”, adults might go._

The talking people in the bar are 5 out of 50. Bars, there’s more money in the 50 than the 5. Do you want those 50 to come back to your bar?

…

Seriously, who out there is trying to crack this nut? Nobody wants this money?

I realized that most of the live music industry is predicated on a lifestyle in which I am simply unable to participate any more.

http://mkdo.co/post/36073438268/forget-piracy-the-music-industrys-biggest

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RuneQuest Classic Edition (2e), p. 116:

A new referee should begin simply. Plan to have a couple of beginning players, monsters, and few opportunities for error. Test a few rules at a time, and be prepared to check the book as necessary, and always discuss rules questions with the players – it’s their game, too! Working together, a few trial attempts will instill you with confidence (or convince you that you don’t want to referee).

This was written in 1980. 1980. I love this.

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Okay, jumping on the #GamesToPlayIn2017 bandwagon

I’m not going to be posting a big list, because if the last two years of being a parent have taught me anything, it’s that odds are very good any gaming I do will be few and far between.

So…

An old friend has demanded that we play Fria Ligan’s new Tales From The Loop — he even backed it. We seem to always have a hard time scheduling with each other, so I have no idea if it will actually happen, but it’s an actual standing request from someone near me, so I’m listing it.

I’m also trying to be good about making 2017 the Year I Read All Of Glorantha™, and it’s been proceeding, albeit slowly, so I am hoping to actually find a way to play some RuneQuest — be it the “Classic” edition or the upcoming new one — or possibly HeroQuest.

It’s very likely that my Sunday group’s every-few-months D&D 5e campaign will continue, so add that to the list. (Though, hoo-boy has my enthusiasm for that game cooled. Anyone want to buy a mint copy of Curse of Strahd?)

Beyond that, I can’t really say. There’s a bunch of Kickstarters that will deliver at some point, and probably more that will come up. City of Mist seems like a good candidate for a Chicago Gameday one-shot, and if Ben Robbins’ Follow delivers by the time Forge Midwest hits — and assuming I can attend — I can see myself running that for my fellow Forgies. I’d love to return to Steve Hickey’s Left Coast in that venue as well.

Otherwise, all bets are off, and I am not going to get my hopes up. If I get to do any gaming at all in 2017, I’ll be happy.