It's the last Saturday of the month and that means it's Game Day at Midwest Comics & Collectibles at 18th and Broadway.
So during the course of the day I will be spending a few hours huddled over a game board of some kind playing something with friends. We'll probably order out for pizza too.
Want to see what it's all about? Stop by and tell them Kevin sent you. There are plenty of folks who will gladly teach you one of the easier games that we like to play. Mention Settlers of Catan, or BattleLore, or even Axis & Allies naval miniatures...or just ask if there are any fun Euros you can try out.
And if you're really brave and you see me, you can ask for a turn or two of Byzantium Reborn, a game on the fight between the Greeks and the Turks post World War 1. Brave not because I'm any good at playing, but because it's somewhat more complex than the Euro-games that we usually play.
Midwest opens at 11. They start gaming at 12. I'll likely be there mid-afternoon.
And for those who think I'm nuts for playing these games, I'll post an After Action Report later tonight. :)
PS. If you don't want to play games, go to the rock show at John Wood, or any of the other activities taking place today. Really, honest, just get out of the house and enjoy the day!
Saturday, September 29, 2007
Friday, September 28, 2007
It's the time of year....
...when there's too much football going on.
Of course, I would say that because I'm not a big sports geek. Sorry, that's just how it is. That is strange though, seeing that the game is all about using resources tactically and strategically to achieve your goals, and I'm a big strategic and tactical gamer. Why just last night I rolled over the French at Agincourt...but that's another posting.
I like baseball, high school basketball (come on, I grew up in Indiana and now I live in Quincy, you KNOW I have to like h.s. hoops :), even have seen some impressive soccer. But football leaves me cold.
My friend "J" doesn't understand this. He's a football nut--a freak--a fanatic. He looks at my pictures in my (now ancient) yearbooks and wants to know how I didn't get roped into football when I was young.
The fact is, I did play backyard football all through grade school. I have wonderful memories of a "big game" between my buds and myself against some kids from another classroom at Holman School in Peru, Indiana. We were in Steve Beiter's backyard, the ball was passed to me and I went across the goal line with five of the "enemy" trying to drag me down. I was too big and too strong for those little punks to stop. Thank god it wasn't flag ball.
But then in 6th grade they started a "real" football program for the kids. And they badgered me and badgered me to sign up. I wasn't interested in organized play but I finally gave in, figuring if nothing else it would be fun to re-enact some of our better plays from the backyard.
I played for less than 30 seconds in one game of the 8 game "season". The coach never explained, never offered instruction, never did much of anything, and I ended up being the one guy who never got on the field. And therein lies the foundation of my complete non-interest in football. No thanks, not even in a boardgame simulation or on the computer.
I turned my attentions to marching band, where I got to be involved in every event (albeit I was a pretty bad trombonist). That also wore thin, since I ended up having to learn a new show for every home football game, and that fouled up Friday nights for three years of high school. So there's some resentment of football, too, for messing up my free time. I quit band after my junior year in h.s. too!
So that's why I'm not into football and you won't see much beyond this post on my blog, "J".
But I COULD be coaxed into some backyard gridiron action sometime this fall, if the price is right. :)
Of course, I would say that because I'm not a big sports geek. Sorry, that's just how it is. That is strange though, seeing that the game is all about using resources tactically and strategically to achieve your goals, and I'm a big strategic and tactical gamer. Why just last night I rolled over the French at Agincourt...but that's another posting.
I like baseball, high school basketball (come on, I grew up in Indiana and now I live in Quincy, you KNOW I have to like h.s. hoops :), even have seen some impressive soccer. But football leaves me cold.
My friend "J" doesn't understand this. He's a football nut--a freak--a fanatic. He looks at my pictures in my (now ancient) yearbooks and wants to know how I didn't get roped into football when I was young.
The fact is, I did play backyard football all through grade school. I have wonderful memories of a "big game" between my buds and myself against some kids from another classroom at Holman School in Peru, Indiana. We were in Steve Beiter's backyard, the ball was passed to me and I went across the goal line with five of the "enemy" trying to drag me down. I was too big and too strong for those little punks to stop. Thank god it wasn't flag ball.
But then in 6th grade they started a "real" football program for the kids. And they badgered me and badgered me to sign up. I wasn't interested in organized play but I finally gave in, figuring if nothing else it would be fun to re-enact some of our better plays from the backyard.
I played for less than 30 seconds in one game of the 8 game "season". The coach never explained, never offered instruction, never did much of anything, and I ended up being the one guy who never got on the field. And therein lies the foundation of my complete non-interest in football. No thanks, not even in a boardgame simulation or on the computer.
I turned my attentions to marching band, where I got to be involved in every event (albeit I was a pretty bad trombonist). That also wore thin, since I ended up having to learn a new show for every home football game, and that fouled up Friday nights for three years of high school. So there's some resentment of football, too, for messing up my free time. I quit band after my junior year in h.s. too!
So that's why I'm not into football and you won't see much beyond this post on my blog, "J".
But I COULD be coaxed into some backyard gridiron action sometime this fall, if the price is right. :)
Thursday, September 27, 2007
Autumn arriving
For the most part, autumn has to be my favorite time of the year.
As the trees begin to turn, and the temperatures fall into a zone that I find very comfortable (60 to 70 degrees) and the sun loses its summer ferocity, I begin to feel the urge to take walks again, to breath fresh air, to ramble a bit (physically, not verbally).
Quincy is a great place to ramble about. There's one heck of a lot of cool stuff to see, from the riverfront to the airport, from the lock and dam to Moorman Park. Nature, manmade wonders, people, all kinds of stuff. Lots to see, lots to do. Or not do--I spent an hour yesterday just sitting in Washington Park and enjoying the day now that the heat finally seems to have gone bye-bye for another year.
Don't get me wrong: while I hate the incredible heat of summer, and the extreme cold of winter, those seasons have a beauty of their own in Quincy (and maybe other places, but I'm not talking about them today). I like them, especially that one night we seem to get every year when snow has fallen all day and now the sky is low and the snow undistrubed and its silent and no one is around. Or the K of C and the county fair and various other fun things in the summer.
But I'm a red and gold, scrubbed blue sky, chilly night/pleasant day, apple cider, corn maze, guitar and folk songs by a fire, let's-hear-it-for-fall fun kind of guy. Quincy fall days seem to have something special. Maybe it's just me, but there it is.
Sure, as a community we have issues, but all in all I don't think I'd want to live anyplace else, especially in autumn.
"And if I'd ever leave you,
It wouldn't be in autumn.
Seeing you in autumn, I never could go.
Your hair streaked with sunlight,
Your lips red as flame,
your face with a luster
That puts gold to shame..."
I like it here, falling leaves and all.
As the trees begin to turn, and the temperatures fall into a zone that I find very comfortable (60 to 70 degrees) and the sun loses its summer ferocity, I begin to feel the urge to take walks again, to breath fresh air, to ramble a bit (physically, not verbally).
Quincy is a great place to ramble about. There's one heck of a lot of cool stuff to see, from the riverfront to the airport, from the lock and dam to Moorman Park. Nature, manmade wonders, people, all kinds of stuff. Lots to see, lots to do. Or not do--I spent an hour yesterday just sitting in Washington Park and enjoying the day now that the heat finally seems to have gone bye-bye for another year.
Don't get me wrong: while I hate the incredible heat of summer, and the extreme cold of winter, those seasons have a beauty of their own in Quincy (and maybe other places, but I'm not talking about them today). I like them, especially that one night we seem to get every year when snow has fallen all day and now the sky is low and the snow undistrubed and its silent and no one is around. Or the K of C and the county fair and various other fun things in the summer.
But I'm a red and gold, scrubbed blue sky, chilly night/pleasant day, apple cider, corn maze, guitar and folk songs by a fire, let's-hear-it-for-fall fun kind of guy. Quincy fall days seem to have something special. Maybe it's just me, but there it is.
Sure, as a community we have issues, but all in all I don't think I'd want to live anyplace else, especially in autumn.
"And if I'd ever leave you,
It wouldn't be in autumn.
Seeing you in autumn, I never could go.
Your hair streaked with sunlight,
Your lips red as flame,
your face with a luster
That puts gold to shame..."
I like it here, falling leaves and all.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
