So Mike wants to know what True Dungeon is.

It's the closest I've ever come to LARPing (live action role playing), though it might qualify.

True Dungeon is a walk-through dungeon created for GenCon. Players pay $19.50 for the right journey through up to 8 rooms...solving puzzles and killing monsters in a "real" dungeon type atmosphere. Players are themselves but they select a character class to provide a balance to the party and ensure all the adventuring skill-sets are covered. Parties consist of a Paladin, mage, thief, cleric, fighter, bard, ranger (in optional Hardcore adventures a barbarian is added).

You're outfitted with stats and some basic features like one weapon, one set of armor (both random), and class specific abilities. Players have the option of purchasing bags of tokens that (also random) represent different equipment you can use in the dungeon. Things like scrolls, magic, potions, armor, weapons. This gives you the ability to survive the challenges of the dungeon and the near inevitable failure of your party (at one or all of the challenges).

Here is a link to their site where you can learn more. I see no need to re-type what someone else has already done.

It was a lot of fun. Though the price speculation and the rarity of the tokens was a bit tedious. Nerds gone wild. They're only little pieces of wood....and truth be told they didn't actually play a large part of the game (aside from the healing scrolls and potions...they're the only ones to stock up on).

I'll gladly do it again next year. The puzzles are actually pretty simple but I think most groups over analyze them and get it wrong. Simple common sense prevails. I need to remember this next year.

Mike, you would love it. There's going to be a Gencon in SoCal in Nov. along with another True Dungeon. I imagine it's fully booked...but you might look into it. And...you can always plan on going with us next year....

As requested by Kat...Life-sized Devil Bunny Needs a Ham. This is looking "up" the building. The row of white at the top is the safety area you're trying to reach. This wasn't as fun as Life-sized Kill Dr. Lucky. Similar setup. The house was drawn on the floor and people were their own avatars trying to kill Dr. L. Unfortunately I didn't take a photo of that game.

Obviously...Lucas needs to consider adding female troopers to any future Star Wars project. Perhaps even the last three would be redeemable if the clone troopers were...

View of the Gencon convention floor...with all the vendors. I still think carnies at the Fair are scarier.

It's the Thing....and he's coming right for me...that left a mark. Next time...I'll ask for a photo (or maybe just leave him alone).

It's Batman...from one of the card-playing rooms.

Giant-Sized Settlers of Catan. Someone built a big hex-board with sculpted mountains, forrests, grasslands, etc. The game played the same but it was GIANT. And fun.

I went to my first Gencon. Will it be my last? Uncertain. Did I have fun? Sure.

What is Gencon? Only one of the largest gaming conventions in the country, if not the world. All kinds of gaming. Miniatures (though no Games Workshop), card games, board games, role playing games, LARPS, even computer games. I went with my good friends Wes and Frank after hearing them rave about how much fun they had last year.

I played hard and thankfully had some canceled events so I had time to visit the vendors. My biggest find of the week was a reletively new miniatures company, Magnificent Egos. Good looking figures and they had an archer with a longbow that's similiar to a character I'm playing in Pete's world (Ereth). One of the cool things about this company...they gave away free mini's based on purchase amount. I found some that I liked and planned to purchase...when they were bagging my merchandise they added three extra figures. I spent something like $49.50 and they game me the figures for the $10, $25, and $50 level. Very cool. The folks were friendly and not pushy.

The other find was the card game Fluxx. I had fun playing it with some strangers and had to buy it. I hope it can be integrated into regular weekend gaming rotation. It was won some Mensa award for good games.

Let's see, what else....there were a lot of obese people, black t-shirts, greasy hair, and gamer funk. But people were friendly and relaxed. There were people in costumes that would gladly let you snap pictures of them.

I learned that, while I like to hack/slash with friends...it's not the same with strangers and limited to four hours. I actually think I enjoy the role playing better than the roll playing. If I go next year I will sign up for more board games.

I played giant Settlers of Catan, Robo Rally, fun life-sized versions of Kill Dr. Lucky and Devil Bunny Needs a Ham.

True Dungeon was a lot of fun. I take a great deal of pleasure in knowing I made it farther than anyone else in our party. We all died in the last room. Then we had a chance to defeat Death in order to return to the land of the living. I was the only one to score the critical head-shot. Of course I then forgot to grab a light source from one of my slain companions...but it was still very fun.

And a word about Indy (the very small part I saw). I didn't like their water. But they do have White Castle and there was one near the convention center so I had some sliders. The convention center was great...though Gencon is so large that they're actually running out of space. Or so it seemed to me.

Oh...and the vendors were giving away very little in swag. I was hoping for some free stuff and it didn't really happen.

My test in allowing anonymous postings has failed. Photos and GenCon reports over the next few days.

Off to Gencon for the next four days. Hope to return with lots of stories and photos. I've never been to a convention like this before so I have no idea what to expect.

Started a new book this evening and I am racing to finish it. I should be done by tomorrow or Wed. So...what is this juggernaut of literature that I cannot put down? It's a book with a series of critical and comical essays surrounding everyone's favorite canceled sci-fi series: Firefly.

The book is Finding Serenity : Anti-Heroes, Lost Shepherds and Space Hookers in Joss Whedon's Firefly. I am liking it a lot. For the most part the book consists of fan essays gathered in a volume, but the authors are (up to the point I've read) all actual writers and some were even attached to the show. Jewel Staite (Kaylee) even wrote a piece detailing her thoughts and favorite moments. It's one of the last esays so I haven't read it yet. Also included is the English translation for all the Chinese used in the series (on a per episode basis). Next time I watch an episode I'll have that section handy.

When I'm done I'll gladly pass it around the the friends here in F'ville. Peter has already requested first crack at the book. I figure the Collin, Kat, or Wes will want to get a shot at it as well.

More on my other new book once I get started on it...which should happen on the flight to Indy on Wed.

So, I was watching Attack of the Show on Monday. They occasionally have crappy LA bands play live on the show. I usually give them about 30 seconds before I fast forward. This band, Hot Waffles, played and despite the fact they truly are not a good band they're kinda quirky like Tenacious D.

I mention this because the song they played was titles "George Lucas Raped Our Childhood." What a great title. And the song expresses some of the frustration that a lot of us have felt these past few years with the new Star Wars movies and the various special editions (Mike...talking about you). Check the link and click on the Music tab. Then give the song a listen. You'll be happy you did. I can tell you that the song on their site titled "Bert and Ernie are Gay?" isn't that good and doesn't live up to (what I hoped was) it's humorous potential.

Vagabond...looking sad and thoughtful...it's fair to say he is neither.

Wikipedia is a dangerous place. So much information. So many links. I find it hard to get out of there once I visit. I keep finding new subjects to explore.

Big News

The Carvel/Cinnabon is finally opening. Saturday Aug. 6. I'll be there. Who wants to come with me? I hope they actually serve the ice-cream that I like. If not life will go on and the trips to Dallas and Syracuse will continue to hold a little bit more meaning.

In other news...and to enhance a post from a while back...here is a link to a blog of photos of old malls and shopping centers during their heyday: Malls of America. Kinda retro-cool.

The mysterious avocado-jello salad. Should a color like that be ingested? We all did...interesting texture and flavor. Not bad but not necessarily good either.

Me and Jack Derden...exhausted after a day of drinking. He's got more hair than me!

Metroplex 2005

The, now annual, trip to the Dallas Metroplex is finished. I am tired. (warning now...long post)

We headed out Wednesday evening...getting on the road at 5pm sharp. Arrived Colleyville, TX around 10:30. We feel that was pretty good time. The folks from Little Rock didn't arrive until 11:30ish. It's a slightly longer drive and traveling with a baby can hamper progress. Jess and I got all excited when we passed a HUGE Ikea store...but its grand opening isn't scheduled until Aug. 3. But...we know where we're going to visit next year.

Slept late on Thurs. Then we headed out for some shopping. Rich and Eloise offered to watch the baby so we were free to wander and shop.

First stop...World Market. Basically, the women picked up some Ritter-Sport and I purchased two Abba-Zaba's. These are taffy, filled with peanut butter. I first saw them on a candy-themed Unwrapped. Once spied, I could not pass up the chance to try something new.

We then headed to the Grapevine Mills Mall. Which is essentially a giant outlet mall. The women were looking for clothes and baby gear. The guys had no real agenda. Then, as we walked in, I spotted a cart with the word Mikasa on it. I then realized we were at the mall where my Godmother works. The Mikasa store was near so Jessica and I popped in to see if she was available. Marilyn was working and I think we shocked her a bit as I don't believe she had any inkling we were in the area. Suffice to say she looks great, it was good to see her, and she offered up a bed for our last night in town (more on that later).

So the shopping continued and we ended the trip with some gelato. Our hosts were excellent and we had grilled chicken and some avocado-jello salad. Needs to be seen and tasted to be believed. As soon as I get copies of the photos I will post a shot of this dish.

Friday was the day of drinking. We went out for a late breakfast and then returned for some lounging, swimming and drinking; lots of sangria, margaritas and wine. I ventured out and found a Carvel so I could have some tasty ice-cream. Dinner was at a local Italian place...also very good.

The initial plan was for the Little Rock bunch to return on Saturday to ensure they could be home for Jack's Baptism on Sunday. Before we knew about the Baptism, Jess and I had solidified plans to see my father and stay through Sunday (his birthday). Then, after running into Marilyn (Godmother), we accepted her offer to say the night at her place as Jess and I decided against staying and my father's home (due to the smoking inside). Follow that? So...Wade and JJ ask us (and Rich and Jen) to be Godparents to Jack. With an offer like that, how could we refuse? Thus, we had to scrap some of our plans so that we could make it to the Baptism. Unfortunately, we had to tell Marilyn that we weren't staying, and opted to only spend the afternoon/evening with my Dad and his family before heading to Little Rock no later than 8pm.

Well...the visit with Dad was nice, if too short. We talked a lot about soccer and went out with him, Anna (my step-sister), and Jessica to get some new soccer gear. The selection in NWA is rather weak. Barb, Dad's wife, was doing well. I took Dad his birthday gift; some 10-year old Laphroaig as well as taking them all out to dinner. After shopping we, conveniently enough, ended up at a Carvel for more ice-cream. No complaints. We were on the road by our targeted 8pm time.

Of course it took close to 6 hours to get to Little Rock. Only to have to get up early in order to get to Conway for the Baptism. Didn't get much in the way of sleep last night. I've got to make sure I thank Jessica for staying awake the entire drive. She was instrumental in making sure I was able to make the drive from Dallas.

So...all this was to say that the weekend was good. I'm tired and I could use another day off. It will be a busy week. But...GenCon is in a few weeks. My tickets arrived and I'll probably come back from that trip even more tired than I am now. Having fun is a lot of work.

Oh....and Jack Derden...great kid. He's got great parents and was fairly even-tempered the entire weekend. Sure he cried a bit, but it wasn't oppressive or for long periods. I didn't hear him at night...but that also may have been influenced by the size of the house.

More later when I get those photos...glad to be back.

Okay...no pictures from this year's trip to Dallas...so this holdover from last year will have to do. This is from the surprise party planned by my lovely wife Jessica. The folks in the photo are Rich, Eloise, Rich, Jen, Me (I Rule...so says the hat), Jessica, Wade, JJ, and of course, Chet. Unfortunately Chet could not make it this year. His role taken over by the new baby Derden (just kidding Chet). I'll get some photos up here when Wade, who was the only one taking pictures, sends them to me.

I just finished watching the PBS series, Guns Germs, and Steel. Surely not as good as the book but I haven't read it, nor did the series make me want to read it. That said, Jared Diamond has some interesting ideas. I'm not going to explore them here save to say that it seemed to discount the Asian and Indian sub-continent. If you get a chance to watch the three hour series it's not a bad way to spend your time (though actually reading the book would probably be better).

I did learn of an event in South African history that was amazing and sad...based on the numbers involved and how it was such a seminal event in the European expansion in that part of Africa. It was the Battle of Blood River (probably could find a better site if I searched a bit harder).

It seems that 470 Voortrekkers (pioneers) slaughtered (defended against?) 10,000 Zulus. Killing 3000 and only suffering three minor casualties. This was largely due to the guns the Voortrekkers had. Technology often trumps numbers.

This got me thinking about other battles where a smaller group survived against, or overwhelmed, a much larger force. To what degree did technology, faith, perserverance, strategy, incompetence, geography, or climate play a factor. And how did the victors interpret their victory?

Does anyone know of any books on the subject?