The Toronto police aren’t messing around. According to the The Globe and Mail, while providing security for the G-20 summit, the cops have nabbed all sorts of weaponry, from baseball bats and crowbars to boffers, yes boffers, the foam-covered arrows,
Superhero For a Day: LARP fulfils cancer kid’s wish.
Meet 13-year-old Erick Martin, a/k/a Electron Boy, who lives with liver cancer by day, but fights the powers of darkness with light by night. Thanks to the Make-A-Wish Foundation, and to hundreds of Seattle-area volunteers, Martin fulfilled his wish of
Harry Dresden’s Life Changes Forever
A sneak peek at the newest Harry Dresden novel.
House + Dungeons & Dragons = Analytic Genius
Just wanted to alert you to crack web designer Daniel Quinn’s excellent analysis of a recent House episode, using the Chaotic-Lawful Good-Evil alignments from Dungeons & Dragons.
In other news, I’m abandoning the massive LARP calendar, not because it’s unhelpful, but because updating it sucks up too much time for someone like me, who has about eight bajillion gigs/side projects. Instead, when I have a moment to breathe, you can expect to see an index of gamer jargon, and a list of some LARP resources coming at you after the holidays are over.
And be warned: NaNoWriMo is over, so I should be starting to blog again soon. Happy web surfing.
Nanowrimo Is Making Me Delinquent
Just a little note to say: I know I’m viciously late on my most recent flash, but it’s for a good reason. I took last week off to start planning my novel for National Novel Writing Month, which began on Sunday along with the month of November. I’ll catch up with the aforementioned Superlative exercise as soon as I’ve written my 50,000 words.
Ethan Gilsdorf on Gamer Shame
When I spoke to Ethan Gilsdorf about his new book, Fantasy Freaks and Gaming Geeks, we couldn’t seem to get away from the idea of gamer shame. Basically, many gamers feel guilty and ashamed of their obsession with LARP, World of Warcraft
In my own research on LARP, I’ve encountered a couple cases of gamer shame — a long-time LARPer who hides his hobby from friends he’s known for years, for fear of ridicule; a woman who doesn’t want people at her office to find out about her weekends in the woods, because LARP is hard to explain and at first blush, sounds like a child-like past time; gamers who treat other forms of nerdularity — massive multiplayer online games, Cosplay, and Rennaisance Faires — with ridicule.
LARP in Colorado
It’s no secret that people all over the country like to dress up in medieval gear and spend a weekend whacking things in the woods. But here’s the proof. An esteemed colleague and former collaborator over at the Boulder Daily Camera sent me this excellent, respectful introduction to LARPing by Aimee Heckel.
Call Him Dirty Harry Potter
Move over Twilight. The underworld’s Philip Marlowe is on the case. This piece looks at bestselling author/LARPer Jim Butcher’s Turn Coat, the newest in the supernatural detective series the Dresden Files.
Jedis on TV
Check out this awesome story on the Jedi exercise routine from my buddy, the inestimable Vidya Rao. Well done, Ms. Rao — a fine use of the force.
Giant Spiders Jumped Me On My Way To Bed
I spend last weekend medieval camping in the wilds of Sparta, New Jersey at the Knight Realms LARP as part of my book research. Well, not quite medieval camping — I and around 60 others huddled in heated cabins that had electricity, but we wore medieval style dress and lugged around boffers.