My Eleven Minutes in the Light

Yes, that's right. The ever-generous Asslessman, who has had such a loyal and abiding interest in my humble corner of the internet, has nominated me for a Liebster award (well, like 3 weeks ago...oops). Thanks A.man!

I know that Liebster posts can be kind of long and self-interested, so for those who don't feel like reading my waffle, I've included my photo-and-caption version of the "Blood-Soaked Back Alleys" battle report for Song of Blades and Heroes. Just look at all the pictures. They are the stepping stones across my brook of babble.

The mists of morning part around Vildeburg to reveal the hulking forms of dwimmer-beasts and dire men at the edge of town, gathered around the idly flapping pennant of the Mammet of the Eye. The merchant princes are plump with trinkets for the pawing; the men of the watch are daft and restive after a long night.

For those unfamiliar, the Liebster is kind of a blogger-to-blogger chain-award. The nominee has to say 11 true things about themselves, then answer 11 questions posed by the blogger who nominated them. Finally, they nominate 11 further deserving bloggers who have 500 followers or fewer, and then pose them 11 further questions.

The Shivering King and the Lord of the Lichens, snarling and bellowing inanities respectively, emerge from the fog of the street to ride down the men of the watch amid a resounding of hooves and cobbles.

So, without further ado, here are 11 true things about me:

• I am somewhere between 5'10" and 5'11" in height. But when asked I always say 5'11"
• I have a tremedous capacity for re-watching/reading/listening to shows/books/albums that I've already watched/read/heard.
• I really like beer, and I like brewing it too. (It's another hobby that I've been meaning to put on this blog, but I haven't gotten around to it yet.)
• I am obsessive about making things. If I find something that I think is cool, my first thought is usually to wonder if I can make it myself. (Usually the answer is no. But it doesn't stop me trying.)
• I enjoy bicycling. It's another hobby I want to include in this blog, but I'm not really sure how...

Meanwhile the Warder of Wyrd and his retinue of foul things burst from the crypt of the Church on the hill, where they snuck by ways most dark.

• I desperately want a garden so I can grow my own food. (I live in the city, though. So no good.) The thing I am most excited to cultivate, though, is moss.
• I'm a self taught guitarist! :D
• I'm a really shitty guitarist! :(
• I'm having trouble coming up with more truths (true story).
• It's taken me three days to write this post so far (I'm doing this part last).
• I probably own more books that I haven't read than ones I have.

Brittlegast the Cut-Pate smiles a sickening smile in anticipation of the struggle and the blood. Bale Grimly holds the Comely Visage aloft so that its eye might catch the sun. 

And here are my answers to the questions Asslessman asked:

• How did you end up spending a lot of time/energy/money on such a hobby? I started gaming with the ubiquitous 40k. I had an Eldar army that I loved but that was, even in the early aughts, far too expensive. So eventually I gave it up in favor of having pocket money and trying to meet girls. Then in college, after meeting the spectacular girl that I love today, I discovered the awesome skirmish game called Skulldred, authored by the even awesomer Delaney King (see blog recommendations). I also rediscovered Blood Bowl, and found out that one of the biggest North American Blood Bowl tourneys is right in my backyard. I discovered that I could game affordably using free/independently-produced rule sets and a small number of figures from any range that I fancied. I found an awesome, awesome gaming group (again, see blog recommendations) , and that was that. Here I am. Here you are. Hi.
• What or Who had been your major influence(s) over the years? Delaney King. John Blanche and Rick Priestly. Alessio Calvatore and Andrea Sfiligoi. Al Cisneros, Jason Simon, Mervyn Peake, Stephen Fry, Bill Bailey, Tom Fitzgerald. And so many others. If I see/watch/listen to anything cool, I try and absorb it.

Mercenary allies lie in wait for the Barbarian Prince to flee with his gems.

• What part of your hobby would you want to explore further? I want to start sculpting in a more serious way, and then I want to resin-cast what I sculpt. I also want to write some more supplemental materials for the games I love, and maybe even make a (super basic) game of my own.
• What does this hobby bring you, what makes you keep it? It gives me self-expression, but the stakes are lower than drawing or writing or composing. I guess that’s the easiest answer. I like making cool things! (Or trying, anyway.)
• What part of your personality would you change if you were forced to? If I could make myself more disciplined and focused without sacrificing my groovy, relaxed demeanor, I would totally do that. I’d also like to give myself a photographic memory.

A squadron of stout Blunderbussers charge the nightmare troupe at the chapel, in hopes of breaking through and meeting their leader at the docks.

• What animal would you be? A person? Most animals can’t hold things. That kind of ruins the whole idea for me. Wings would be nice though.
• Is your glass half empty, half full or twice too big? Half full. Often entirely full, actually. I almost always have a beverage.

Krynek, the Bloody Knell, is nearly gunned down by the oncoming cavalry, but he chews his beard and readies himself before screeching an oath and launching himself into the teeth of the boars.

• What would the 10 year old you say of the present you ? “You have cool toys.”
• What makes you really laugh? A whole lot of things, a disturbing number of which are connected in some way to Stephen Fry. But all kinds of others too. Douglas Adams still gets me every time.
• What are your top 5 songs or musics? I’m going to go with albums for this one (though this list is always changing): Dopesmoker by Sleep; Dead Meadow by Dead Meadow; Pilgrimage by Om; Pink by Boris; Electric Wizard by Electric Wizard.
• What are your top 5 reads? The Gormenghast Trilogy by Mervyn Peake. If you only read one, read the first (Titus Groan). I totally understand if you can’t make it through the last (Titus Alone); The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle by Haruki Murakami; The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams; The Silmarilion by J.R.R. Tolkein; Infinite Jest by David Foster Wallace.

Turned at last by the daemonic cohort, the boar-riders turn instead to provide aid to the mageling, who is attempting to gain the safety of the wards of his sorcerous tower. In frothing madness, the Heaper of Teeth leaps down after them and unseams the reargard rider from scalp to stirrup. The Heaper of Teeth gleefully collects the boar's tusks and the riders jaw bone...they will surmount his most wonderous pile yet.

And here are my nominations for the excellent blogs that I think deserve a Liebster. They are all very inspiring, and have pushed me to improve my own hobby and blog. I don't really care whether they accept the award or not (i.e. go through this whole rigmarole); what's really important to me is that you go check them out. They do great work.

1. Chicago Skirmish Wargames: This is the blog for the club I game with. Without these guys (and their blog, which is how I found them), I would still be sitting around painting and playing solo games. They have groovy, relaxed demeanors just like mine!
2. King’s Miniatures: The blog of the girl who brought me into skirmish gaming. Amazingly creative, charmingly relaxed, old-school-ically kick ass.
3. Middenmurk: A crap-sack setting for Labyrinth Lord or other OSR role-playing games. Each post is a new random table or adventure hook, but they are heavily contextualized with Northern Renaissance and other dark fantasy art, as well as intense philosophical musings on what fantasy should be. Tom Fitzgerald’s writing, like Peake’s, has been hugely influential to me over the past year, and combined they have taught me more words than anyone else in my living memory. And I don’t even play role-playing games! (Yet, anyway).
4. Tales From the Maelstrom: This blog encapsulates everything I love about Rogue Trader and the Oldhammerish ethos of havin’ fun and playin’ quirky games.
5. Carmen’s Fun Painty Time: Not only is Carmen a great painter, but he also puts together some of the best small scale narrative after-action reports on the web. Check him out!
6. Tales from Farpoint: The oddly pseudonym’d Space Cow Smith is currently working on using Rogue Trader to model a kind of alternate timeline of 40k, in which humanity is prosperous, technology is progressive, and there really is something other than war. It’s delightful stuff, and he really owns his setting.
7. Devlanmud: A blog after my own heart. All about gaming, sculpting, modeling, and, occasionally, guitars.
8. Sho3box: Just found out about this blog, but the figures are outstanding. And check out the Deathworld jungle terrain, it’s spectacular.
9. Thenickeninja’s blog: Has some of the most spectacular Necromunda terrain I’ve ever seen, as well as amazing models for classics like Gorkamorka.
10. From the Sorcerer’s Skull: Like Middenmurk, Trey’s inspiring blog contains elegant ideas about fantastical worlds, laid down in beautiful prose. I love reading his posts over lunch.
11. Sir Skofis’s Workshop: home of the Warhammer and Blood  Bowl projects of Sir Skofis and his brother. These señores have some serious scratch-building chops. From tanks and walkers to custom-sculpted Blood Bowl figs. I love seeing what these guys have next.

The Shivering King and Brittlegast delight in the sport of hunting the desperate men of the watch, while the Mageling flings himself toward the doorposts of his tower.

Again, I won’t be offended if any/all of my nominees do not answer these questions, but it’s part of the whole (surprisingly lengthy) Liebster process. So below are the 11 questions for my nominees:

1. What brought you to create your blog?
2. What or who are your most important influences?
3. What is the most important hobby, gaming, or blogging tip you would impart to a beginner?
4. What is your favorite gaming text of all time?
5. What is the common fantasy or gaming trope that annoys you the most?
6. What is the best sentence you have ever read? Or, if you can’t think of a particular line, what is the best book?
7. What music do you listen to, man?
8. Are you as burnt out on these questions as I am?
9. I don’t know, favorite sandwich topping?
10. Who’s your favorite Wizard?
11. How about your favorite sidedness of dice. And, I guess, why?

But the Flayer of Shins is upon him in a twinkling, vaulting a cart and casting down the Mammet of the Eye, he cuts the Mageling's knees from under him The remainder of the watch flees in terror. The Flayer of shins scrambles in the mud for his grizzly prizes, and the Shivering King calmly leans from the saddle to collect the mage's enchanted eye-jewel. The din of the fight still envelops Vildeburg, but the sun is rising and it is time to return to the Wold with the takings.