Common people

Today, I had to travel to Villa Rica, Georgia, for my great aunt's funeral, which I mentioned in an earlier post. While a solemn occasion, I did have an opportunity to interact with "small-town" folks. My mother's people are from West Georgia, near the Alabama state line. These are country people, generally simple in their beliefs and needs. While I'm a suburbanite myself, it's refreshing to be around them. There seems to be less duplicity and less of a need for myself to conform or prove myself.

Today

Today, I had to attend my great aunt's funeral. I admit, I wasn't very close to her, I mostly saw her around the holidays and at the odd family gathering. I probably saw her an average of four times a year, so I'm not too sad about it. It does put life into perspective, however. I do want an open bar at my funeral.

Gaming

Last night, my AD&D (2ND Ed.) group finally made it out of The Undermountain. We switched editions a few months ago and I've been very happy with the results. I've been a roleplaying geek since I was thirteen years old and I've played and gamemastered in numerous systems. I don't know why, maybe nostalgia, but to me, many of the earlier game systems seem better for actual roleplaying. AD&D/ D&D is a great example.
While First Edition had it's faults, mostly a slant towards powergaming and rules organization, Second Edition cleaned it up and stream lined the core rules (in my opinion). It's big problem was the tidal wave of optional rules that came later. Third Edition made some elements of the rules run more smoothly, but added books upon books of rules, not counting books from other companies published under the Open Gaming License. There was also a tendency to base everything on dice rolls. Roleplaying, though not quite gone, was being relegated more to random chance than previously (the two previous editions had charts for this, but the characters had to initiate roleplaying before rolling). In Fourth Edition, actual roleplaying is rarely mentioned in the books. The previous three editions had entire chapters dedicated to the subject; how to act in character, how to come up with a background, the difference between player and character knowledge, etc. Many people, including myself, think that the product has just become a money grab by a clueless company.
My party made it out of The Undermountain last night. It was a good feeling.

My Great Aunt

I found out yesterday that my great aunt, Elsie, has passed. Admittedly, I was not close to her. She was on my mother's side of the family and we rarely saw her ; except on holidays and such. I am a little sad, however. It means the family's getting smaller and smaller. It means things never get any easier.

It's been a while...

It's been nearly a year since I've written anything; I've had many profound changes in my life since last I wrote and I'm still working out some of the kinks. My Father passing was before my last post, but the ramifications of that are still resounding through my life. I've been divorced for nearly six months now and my Mother's home (my family home)may be foreclosed upon soon. The last year and half have been a trial, but I am pushing forward. I have neither the time nor inclination for a personal pity party.
I do plan on working on my writing more now. A friend of mine suggested I try and write something, no matter how small, everyday. Some of that will be here on this blog. I also plan on writing a few short stories. These will likely be put here on the blog. Ultimately, I'd like to write novels, but I feel the short stories will help me refine my abilities (if any, the jury's still out). They'll also be easier for others to read and critique.
I hope to discipline myself and start doing the things I want to do with my life. Today, I woke up early and worked out with my kettle bell and wrote this post. These are tiny steps, but they may be the beginning of a journey I wish to make.

Will we be heading this way?

http://www.nytimes.com/2002/06/03/international/europe/03PETE.html

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/6210255/EU-funding-Orwellian-artificial-intelligence-plan-to-monitor-public-for-abnormal-behaviour.html

http://www.newsweek.com/id/215564?GT1=43002

The Russians are trying to, in select areas, force people to quit swearing. I understand in certain places, eg. children's schools. obcenity is unwarranted, but doesn't this go a bit beyond even censorship? One of the articles above concerns the funding by the European Union to find means of monitoring for "abnormal behaviour". Who'll decide "abnormal behaviour"? I also wonder how long it'll take before we begin to look into such things here.

Bleh....

I haven't posted in awhile and, to be honest, I really don't feel like posting today. I just feel I need to post something. I'm in a bit of a funk right now; in my life, in my job, in general. I'm not really depressed, or angry. Just bleh.