Blog Name

Apparently, *some* find my blog name off putting. Personally, I'm not much attached to it either. I am accepting nominations and love hearing people's ideas. Here are some ideas I like so far:

• "Mercurial Thoughts" (My current favorite, though I worry that might sound just as cold and technical as "System Observations")
• "Connecting Dots"
• "Homegrown and Naturally Sweet"
• "Green and Wild"
• "Confounded by Consciousness"
• "Eschewing Obfuscation"

Again, I'm not really attached to anything here, so keep the ideas coming!

Calvin Coolidge and Chickens

Everyone knows that I'm obsessed with chickens these days. I really want to have some chickens for fresh eggs every day. That being said, I came across this entry in wikipedia about "the Coolidge Effect" when reading up about the President:

The term comes from an old joke, according to which President Calvin Coolidge and his wife allegedly visited a poultry farm. During the tour, Mrs. Coolidge inquired of the farmer how his farm managed to produce so many fertile eggs with such a small number of roosters. The farmer proudly explained that his roosters performed their duty dozens of times each day.

"Perhaps you could point that out to Mr. Coolidge," pointedly replied the First Lady.

The President, overhearing the remark, asked the farmer, "Does each rooster service the same hen each time?"

"No," replied the farmer, "there are many hens for each rooster."

"Perhaps you could point that out to Mrs. Coolidge," replied the President.

Amazing.

Presentation Bingo

I go to a lot of presentations as part of my job. And living in a smaller city, I know a lot of the different presenters. In fact, it has gotten to the point where I can mentally come up with a list of different terms each presenter will use. For example, here is a list of terms I attribute to someone whom I value deeply:

• citizens
• visual quality
• Rome (or Roman)
• signature institutions
• redlining
• Philadelphia
• urban & urbane
• urban forestry

I have this strange fantasy of creating a bingo card with these terms on it. As he speaks each word, I check off that box. Eventually I will stand up in the middle of the presentation and shout out bingo.

Sometimes I wonder if I am really a professional, or just a kid in a tie.

How Path came to be

Path is a world that's been in my head since I was a teenager. Any game that I've run have been set in the world of Path (I didn't always call it that though). Now, I feel I've got some unique skills here when it comes to world building. I have training as a geologist, as a cultural geographer, as a landscape architect, and as a neighorhood / urban planner. So when I put something in Path, a lot of thinking has gone into that decision.

Path used to be a very high fantasy, sword and sorcery world. Dragons, elves, goblins, gnomes.... you name it. Spells were flung left and right. I was typically using D&D as the mechanic set for my games, and that brings with it a certain Tolkien-esque baggage. It made my world act like every other fantasy world out there. I just had different names for my cities, and different maps.

I was fine with this until two things: Brandon Sanderson and D&D 4th Edition. Sanderson's books show me fantasy worlds that weren't D&D and weren't Tolkien. And they were awesome, incredible worlds. Why have dwarves when you can have kandra? Why have arcane magic when you and have symbol-based magic? On the flip side, Wizards/Hasbro recently released an upgrade to the D&D line: 4th Edition. And you know... I didn't like it. Honestly, I gave it a chance. It's not that it's horrible or anything, it's just not what I'm looking for in a fantasy game. It make me question why I had to use D&D as a base at all. Why use a game system that has so much baggage?

Basically, each got me thinking and asking questions about Path. Why are there elves on my world? Why is there magic? What is magic, anyway? Who are the gods and why are they there? I asked "why" about some very big questions. And, not surprisingly, I started finding my own answers. I literally re-created the framework of my world from scratch. I started utilizing GURPS as a playtesting framework, which is by definition setting neutral. And this world, my own unique world, will be the setting for my novel.

A Novel

Well, I am taking the leap: I will write a novel.

I enjoy reading. But I also enjoy writing and story telling. I recently took a stab at a short story and have gotten some positive feedback and constructive criticisms. But really, I want to write a novel. So I am taking on the challenge. I will write a novel. This novel will probably preoccupy my blogging for the upcoming months. I'll be throwing out story idea, maybe comparing scenes. Expect me to talk a lot about my inspirations and my setting. Don't expect much personal reflection or social commentary. (Or maybe I'll be completely wrong and my blog will be my time away from the novel. Who knows?)

So let me start with the genre: fantasy. I love reading fantasy and it seemed the natural fit for my story. I've mentioned before that I have a world in my head: Path. This story will take place on Path. I intend to write about the Sammarian War. This war reshaped the cultures of a continent and I think its fascinating and epic. A lot of interesting figures emerged during this time and I am excited to tell their story.

Maybe I am taking on more than I can chew. I realize that a sweeping war epic can be really difficult to write. ... but I have to be honest with myself: it's where my interest is. If I fail at putting together a cogent novel, well... then I fail. That's not the point really. The point for me is that I write what I am interested to write about. The point is that I follow my passion and create that.

Wish me luck!