Let's try this again... life/crafts in Fantastic Realities.

Why is Epic Fantasy (and to a lesser degree Sci-Fi) such an influence in my life?

Where to begin...  maybe in the 3rd Age of Middle Earth? (In my case before Elementary School...)

I learned to read on Tolkien. My father read 'The Hobbit' to me at a very young age. I honestly think he was tired of 'The Cat in the Hat,' and just wanted something a bit "more" for his own entertainment as well as a continuing story for multiple bedtimes... but it didn't work that way for long. It quickly became my most requested story, and then one day he suggested I read it to myself.

I did. I vaguely remember getting to the end, and being horrified that there was more to the story that I didn't know! There are more books to this world? I had to have them. Thus by that fall, when I was to go to Kindergarten, I was struggling my way through 'The Silmarillion' for my own, and brought 'Farmer Giles of Hamm' for shared story time.

Some early time, just after initial release (Yes, White Box) I started playing, then within 2 Years DMing a D&D game... and have followed that through it's edition and company charges. I was drawn into Magic (the addiction) and still play (very casually.) while these are fun, I wanted something more.

Then, in College, a good friend introduced me to LARP, and the Idea of immersion Role Play. However, when he tried to start up the LARP he was familiar with (Amtgard,) locally it did not take hold.. at least not then. There was SCA, but they were both not Fantasy, and (at that time locally) not very welcoming. 

However, over time the same LARP (albeit by a different sponsor) did eventually establish and grow here... and the SCA group went through a change in leadership and focus to become much more entry friendly.

At different times, I ended up trying both... for a while. As expected, real life has a way of pushing in, so as I grew older (more stable, a family, more responsibilities, ect) thus more of a frequent visitor to those realms that a regular. But I also found the focus wasn't what I wanted. Both Amtgard and SCA the primary focus is combat. While I find Swordplay, Pole Arms, and Archery interesting, they aren't what I was primarily interested in. However, a few of their special events I attended, like Ren Fairs, and Camping Trips, these hit my buttons so much better.

It has been a few years since I have been to either a LARP, or even SCA's Colleguim (crafting introductory courses,) but I have continued occasionally making/wearing Anachronistic items/clothes. Considering my hobbies include Woodworking, Spinning and Weaving, and I like the look of Fantasy/Renaissance/Medevil clothes, it should be no surprise that a lot of my wardrobe is at least inspired by those styles.

Recently, I stumbled across a group of hobbyist who are devoted to Lord of the Rings, living the dream fantastic at least part of the time, inspiring their crafts and leisure to promoting a semi-realistic (functional) way to walk on this Earth in a reflection of Middle Earth. I so love this idea, and it seems to be exactly the type of thing I was trying to do before.

SO, after a long pause, let's restart this again with the new year. beginning with restarting the 'Walk to Mordor' with my nerdy version of showing my intent by being in Garb of some sort. Making more Gab-esc clothing, and exploring Middle Earth's reflection in my own ways....

Aiden-

Shane-

Jan 2026

Why, you caught me monologuing

 --- begin----

   Hmph, a monologue.

    Worse than that, a "two minute monologue." That assumes a spoken presentation. That would make sense if the source was a ' How to make a Podcast,' but I was under the impression that it was instead a ' Get your creative juices flowing' series. And I plan to continue using it as such.

    As to a 'Spoken Word' presentation? That has never been my strength. My voice wasn't 'cute' in youth, and now it's"Ancient Tones" do not evoke the melody or charisma to keep an audience engaged.

   Add to this breathing issues of treatable Apnea, that makes my breathing awkwardly noticable in recordings... Making those recordings feel a killer or stalker from old procedural TV shows' voice overs. 

     Not wanting to convey that creepy feeling reminiscent of any crime drama; (from Streets of San Francisco to the current CSI shows, and half the slashers films in between;) I won't subject you to that. Maybe if I can figure out how to filter or disguise it, but not now.

     Besides, compared to our hosts, 'none can match the flavor and simple beauty of the original.' And they are the original podcast content creators from my limited experience, as Welcome to Night Vale was my first podcast experience.

_-------------_

Okay so Assignment#2 was a '2 minute monologue with 3 randomly generated inclusions.

1 Bluegrass Title -- " Ancient Tones"

2 US City -- " San Francisco"

3 A Phrase from a ' Best Food's description' -- " none match the flavor and simple beauty of the original."

And I am already not sure of my own tentative rules... Modification to be that I can skip forward if the assignment is either irrelevant or quarantine/situationally unreasonable.

Done for now..

Staring Here ( thanks )

 With thanks to Jeffrey Cranor.

__assignment begins___

So, I am always behind the times and trends. Not like being born in the wrong timeline; well not often, and that's a different topic.

 No, I just seem to be out of step with the general trends of society. For example when I started this blog, v-logs and vid-casts were eating the bandwidth... It's even become a household joke, on that when I find a product I like, it is discontinued; changes it's formula; or goes through an 'update' that changes what I liked in the first place.

This is not to say I don't enjoy some popular items/ products/ etc. which leaves me just enough hope for each ' new' find. But even then, I may we'll find something at the ' wrong' time... ( a tabletop game a week before pandemic lockdown, yep, that's me.)

I am also easily sidetracked, as is witnessed by the several starts and long pauses of this Blog. Over the years I have had several friends encouraging me to share my history and creativity... but consistent blogging, forum posting, or any other consistent work is not my strong suite.

About three years ago, a friend suggested I listen to "Welcome to Night Vale." She suggested it fit my sense of humor and horror; and she was right. At the time I was doing a lot of distance driving for work ( approximately 300 to 400 miles a day, mostly out of radio reception.) 

After catching up, and beginning to explore similar podcasts... Following links to the other podcasts by the same people, l recently began "Start With This." 

The fist episode hit me right in the 'motivation.' The creative discussion, and short assignment lit my imagination. And they have a community that I could share these thoughts and get feedback, perfect. Connect with similar creative, but distracted minds, yes please.

Well, predictably, I was behind the times again... The support/ shared group is ending shortly. So, rather than join, l bought some of the Night Vale Presents merchandise. I did want to support the work after all, and it let's my geek flag fly.

Anyway, I decided even without the support group, I could revisit my old Blog to 'complete' the assignments ( as per 1st episode lesson. IE not complete until it is in the world.)  And this rambling recount of not being consistent with my creative endeavors is something I have struggled with. So, as the first assignment was to spend an hour free writing and editing something already in your head; I decided to us it as an introduction to the restarting of this Blog. 

Tentative rules, I will post assignments from "Start with This" here, and cannot go to the next episode until this is posted. Other posts may be added, but I plan to at least do two of their assignments per month... So at 1 hour and 6 minutes, my first assignment, and hopefully a new creative journey begins...

---- end Assignment ----

Aiden and Rosekin Bardolf...

Origin Story for both my wife, and myself in Amtgard Persona... originally published in forums in 2000.


Aiden was born of a gypsy and a woodsman, and raised in the Valleys of
the Everwarm Springs, deep in the Southern Evergreen Forests. He was
raised with a healthy respect for magic (mother was an alchemist) and
taught the splendor and strength of nature. Rosekin (my future wife)
was born of an Arms Dealer in the same area, and we grew together as
childhood sweethearts.

However this romance was short-lived, as the Arms Dealer moved to the
war-torn high plains of the west. Unbeknownst to Aiden, the arms dealer
became quickly wealthy, and proclaimed himself a Duke.

When Aiden had achieved manhood he was granted a name. As is the custom of
his Mother's tribe he was named based upon his personality. He enjoys the
company of few, trusted less, and between his trusty axe, a bit of
thread, and a flint-stone, could live for months at a time without the
company of others... thus they named me Bardolf... the Axe Wolf. Thus
named he decided to seek out his childhood love to ask for her hand.

Having the resources of his mother's tribe, he asked a seer to help find
her. The old woman did help, telling Aiden that he would need to recover
the Crystal Chalice before he could win her hand, and that then she could
be found in the high plains, when he was ready to find her.

The Chalice was difficult to recover, and that story shall be saved for
another time.

Upon his arrival at in the High Plains, Aiden discovers that the Arms
Dealer is trying to legitimize his claim to nobility by marrying his
daughter into the royal family. However, not everyone likes this idea...
and to try to stop the wedding (that Aiden was almost a week late to stop
himself) someone had kidnapped the Arms Dealer's only Daughter. Her five
brothers, though competent warriors and mercenaries, had not been able to
track her kidnappers.

Aiden offered his services to track the kidnappers, and reminded the So
called Duke of his woodland skills, tracking, and basic survival. All he asked
for in return was the use of a sure footed steed, a pouch of supplies
(rope, dried meats, etc.) and repairs to his weapons. The 'so called' Duke
insisted instead upon replacing weapons with the finest from his arsenal,
and agreed to the rest.

However during his stay Aiden noticed that his chalice was changed... a
subtle change in the shaping. It seems the 'So Called' Duke had it
'replaced' with a good copy, and was trying to trade the original as a
bride price to marry in one of his sons to one of the nearby Royal Families.
Not being happy with being duped, and with his basic knowledge of alchemy,
Aiden set several small reactions into place. Thus by midday after leaving the
'So Called' Duke's Palace (with both chalices),he noticed the smoke on the
horizon behind him. The 'so called' Duke's Palace had been built of
cedar... which makes a wonderful bonfire... After all the name his
alchemist mother had given him in his youth 'Aiden' means the Fire
Bringer.

Tracking the kidnappers was easy, as they had never tried to hide their
trail... they thought the wind upon the plains would be good enough. The
gypsy seer's words came true, and the power of the chalice was indeed
what was needed to achieve the girl of his dreams. You see the chalice's
power is simple, the bearer may not be attacked, and may not attack
anyone. Aiden used the power to it's full advantage, trapping his
opponents, and eventually recovering his love.

Having burned our bridges (or Palaces as it were) with her family, they
continued north until they were far away and found a community just
rising itself out of the wilderness. We live just outside this new 'civilization.'
Here, the lighted Chalice (or the chalice and the flame, depending
upon your point of view) became our family Crest.

The winters in Astral Winds may be a bit harsher...
but there are still hot springs and evergreens, so together we
make it their own warm home.


Notes on the Chalice-- it was approved back then as a non-combat artifact- And is the core to the safety  of our Household- It's effect are tied to old class abilities/effects... when a light is placed inside the chalice, everyone inside the lighted area is under the effect of a Monk-Like 'Sanctuary' effect- further, anyone outside the area effect is dissuaded from attacking by means of an Expanded Area equivalent of the then Scout's 'Camouflage' Ability... thus without 'Tracking' the people inside could not be found, and the people inside could not harm one another.

Devil's Rock - a movie rant

The Devil's Rock, a 2011 horror film was recommended to me by the Netflix AI.

(Fair use image for review-Movie Cover)

So, while I appreciated the story, and enjoyed the twist... I still found the film lacking. For want of a couple of pieces of wood, the movie was lost. Let me explain... and I'll try to avoid too many spoilers.

    The film is a WW2 period horror, set just before D-Day in the Channel Islands. It ties into the Historic Witch Trials, and thus a supposed strong Occult base that the Germans are attempting to modify/weaponize. This is stumbled into by a small commando team setting up a distraction away from the true D-Day launch. 

  So far, so good... the expected chaos insures, quickly reducing the cast down to three players. The story had obligatory mayhem (enemy of my enemy, but also my enemy,whom I can't trust, but need to help me.) And a few cool nerd references, (like named 'demons' from the Cthulhu Mythos,) and believable and consistent occult rules/rituals. 

   And the sets were 'almost' great. They used some of the existing locations of old German fortifications. Which they dressed with realistic looking furniture, and period appropriate lights, radios, and posters. However, they either missed, or couldn't put in a simple set of handrails. Even just 2 six foot 2X4's to set into the existing wall hooks would have made the sets believable. This lack destroyed the suspension of disbelief, even before introducing the supernatural evil character. 

  The story does work, and the end twist feels cool, and lends the ending a feel of disturbed 'was anyone actually good?' feeling. That ending works well for the story, but to accomplish it the Allied Soldier would need precognition and to reach from one side of the room to the other without moving his feet. But, I think, if I had not already been annoyed at the set, I would not have noticed the displaced reality of where the chain was locked.

  So, in short, I thought is a good attempt at a smart horror film... 

Till next time-

Calypso Farm Spin In

Well, actually it was an open house. But my wife and I were invited as part of the 'Fiber Arts' section.

First,  Calypso Farm is a non-profit, educational farm based in Ester, Alaska. They showcase and teach classic skills based on eco-friendly farming.

This last spring, we atteneded their 'Sheep Shearing and Wool Day.' I had not seen a sheep shearing, and we have several fleeces that need to be cleaned (so we were hoping to learn a trick or two to make that easier as well.) And of course, we bought spindles and spun.

This led to us being invited to the open house (mid-summer) to be part of the Fiber Arts demo. And so, for a few hours today, my wife and I showed off both drop and supported spindles. I even brought out my kick spindle (shown above) just to have something different.

 The other invited guests showed off a couple of different styles of wheels, and one guest had a backstrap loom. There was a bin of odds and ends of wool, a couple of flick carders, and some 'stick style' mini drop spindles for people to try. All in all, a nice overall demo.

Game Developments - The 'Woof' Moment (Part 2)

So to recap,the party has figured out the arena, and in doing so have unintentionally acquired an NPC. This little dog named 'woof' eventally became a respected member of the party, with even the gruff Dwarf calling her "the world's smallest war dog."
    This new group dynamic 'testing' seems to have gone well, thus the game was building into a campaign. So I needed to continue my 'Worldbuilding.'
    My style of Worldbuilding is a series of outward spiraling idea builds. I usually start with a few basic sites (taverns, guild houses, maybe a blacksmith, and a few quick adventure hooks) and  then let the play inspire touches of unique interactions. Those interactions inspire my behind the scenes expansion of the community, while my larger world grows as it occurs.
     I try to keep building  the outlying world ahead of the party, but take into account the things they have done, and the things they leave to others. In this way the realm is constantly evolving, as a living world. Other parts of the world are built as inspiration  strikes, as tangents to the spiral build... so circles and tangents.
      In this case,  I started adding arenas to nearby sites, and thinking about how those sites would be influenced. 'Advancement' via skills or ability enhancement could wildly shake up a more traditional fantasy racial society, so I began building a whole  pocket society of Tribal Champion style of Law. It was loosely  based on a cross between  classic chivalry, and the Battle Tech 'Clan' laws.
     I also worked out several 'types' of arenas. The first obviously  gave bonus from the loser to the winner. Others gave bonuses based on skills used, and some only gave punishments  for losses. And all were magically linked, allowing for easy scrying... as a magical sports and government channel.
      And the campaign  turned into a sports-movie  underdog story, with the party eventually challenging through the arena legal system for rulership of this pocket realm. This also led to a 'Test of Faith' for the party cleric  as the arena changes  disrupted the 'purity  of  nature' and made  the arena  'champions' into 'abominations. And 'abominations against nature' (which she now had become) are against her god's teachings. And even with the eventual BBG (Big Bad Guy) who had built the arena system as a slight XP leach conduit to power his attempt to ascend to godhood...

The original idea had been loosely based on a 'Hollow Earth' style pocket realm (think Land of the Lost,) with the eventual  goal for the party to try to close the link between the realms. After exploring and looting a bit would they would find out that to close the pocket realm (and avert major home realm disaster) they would have to gather and replace all the 'treasures' looted from the pocket realm before they could fix the break between the realms.
        All of these changes came about from the question, "You aren't going to kill my dog, are you?" -- Now known in my family and local gaming community as 'The Woof Moment.'